Quareia | Frequently asked Questions 

SECTION 1 

• What should I know before starting the course?

• How do I best get started with Quareia? - Includes how to organise your journals, notes and tasks for submission to Quareia

• When and how was Quareia founded?

• How are donations to Quareia used?

• How is Quareia organised?

• How is the Quareia Course structured?

• The online community forum dedicated to Quareia students

• Does Quareia offer personal mentoring as part of the course?

• How do I apply for mentoring?

• Who is Josephine McCarthy?

• Who is Frater Acher?

SECTION 2  

• Quareia's Privacy Policy 

SECTION 1

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW BEFORE STARTING THE COURSE?

This course takes years, not months.

The Quareia course in its entirety is free of charge – it is a self-study course, and free mentoring is available for the Initiate and Adept section. There are no hidden charges at all, but you can donate if you wish to.

The Quareia course is a long and extensive training in mystical magic/Western Esotericism that gives the student a deep understanding of theoretical and practical magic that can then be applied in any magical system. The course also includes progressive teaching in ancient, classical, and medieval history, cultures and religions, geography, literature, mythology, classical languages, art, and civil responsibility. Students are free to choose how much or how little they study and draw from the training, and as sole practitioner training it encourages self organization and personal responsibility.

Many of the practical questions students may have are answered in the Apprentice Study Guide which can be found on our free texts page. Also, please read the next section of this document how to get started with Quareia.

To begin the course, go to the Apprentice drop down menu, click on Apprentice Module One, Lesson One. If you wish to study the course properly with a view to being mentored through the Initiate and Adept section, then it is important to do all the lessons and modules in sequence and do not skip any lesson or module - also ensure that you do all of the practical work as well as theory study.

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH QUAREIA

The course is written in a strict sequence, and each lesson advises you how often to do something, what tasks to do, and so forth. Start with Apprentice module one, lesson one, and work your way through each module, always working the lessons in number sequence (1, 2, 3 etc). Please read the lesson directions carefully.

SEQUENCE

The course is specifically designed so that each lesson builds upon the next. If you cherry pick the lessons, they will make no sense to you and they will not work to their full magical potential, as each lesson dovetails magically into the next. In the early modules, you will find that some lessons can be done side by side, but as the course progresses, each one lays a foundation for the next lesson.

If you have already had major magical training, still don't skip over modules or lessons as they form part of an overall magical inner pattern. Instead, you will find that you only need to do a certain exercise once rather than the suggested repeats. This will help you move faster through the pattern of training.

Within the lessons are many subtle pointers, details and pertinent information. Do not skim through the lessons as you will miss the fine details woven into them: even if you feel you have already covered the subject matter, many of the lessons, even the most basic ones, have seeds within them for the later work. These seeds are not in any of my books or anyone else’s books: work carefully if you wish to be successful.

Also be aware that besides the practical tasks listed towards the end of each lesson, there are also other tasks/suggestions in the main body of the lesson text.

Where some practical work has directions to repeat the work for a set length of time (over weeks) do not skip this regime – it is designed to strengthen you, and to embed the work into you. Without this strengthening and embedding, you will find the later work problematic and at times impossible.

PACING

Do not rush through the lessons. Some of the lessons have exercises within them that are energetically tough and are designed to push you in mind, body and soul, to strengthen you and focus you in subtle ways. Many early exercises are repeated for weeks or months to enable you to strengthen and really learn your craft. Find your own pace that works for you and treat the course like long term marathon training. It is perfectly normal to spend a whole year on one module – so do not worry about being slow.

JOURNALS AND EXERCISES - HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR NOTES FOR SUBMISSION TO QUAREIA

Each lesson potentially presents a combination of exercises, tasks, journal keeping, computer logs, and most have experiments. There is a lot of practical tasks and work in the course, and you are expected to keep a journal of how the work went for each session, - your journal should include what you felt, what you observed, and what happened or didn’t happen. These journals are important as they are a record of your work done, and without these notes, you cannot apply to join our online debate forum, nor can you attend any online or in person Quareia events. It is also a prerequisite for mentoring – without suitable apprentice notes you cannot apply for the free mentoring in the Initiate and adept sections of the course.

When you are directed to specifically handwrite your notes in a journal, please do so if you can, as the handwriting will later form a part of contacted writing training. For submission to Quareia, if the hand notes are easily readable (each page should have the module and lesson number), scan or photograph them, and name each file according to the lesson and module. If your handwriting is difficult to read, please type it up into a MS word or PDF format. If handwriting is difficult for you, do your notes and journals on computer, but also practice a little in using your hand for contacted writing/sigil drawing – these hand scribbles will just be for yourself so it doesn’t matter what they look like, but whenever possible practice using the hand briefly in a magical way.

All other written work, essays and journaling can be done on computer file – keep backups or print outs, as you cannot be mentored or accepted into the debate forum if you cannot produce them.

Quareia Journalling - how to

Don’t just get one journal and put everything into it. Have an exercise book or notebook for each module (or individual word files for each lesson if done on computer) - journals do not need to be expensive or fancy, a simple school exercise book with suffice. Don’t worry about wasting paper - you will need space of at least 2 or three pages after each lesson is completed, as you will need to go back in the future and add reflections and notes. Type up your notes on computer for submission - postal costs have risen dramatically since the course was started, so all submissions should be computer files. If your journal pages are very clear to read then you can scan them.

All documents for submission (notes, essays, journals, projects) must have your name, the date, which lesson and module the work is from. Each set of session/practice notes/journals must have the date of each session beside the text. One file per lesson - don’t run lessons into each other.

When they are ready for submission, put them into computer folders, one folder for each module, and name the folder according to the module and your name. Put them into dropbox or a similar online storage so that you can send us the link. Have these ready when you apply for the forum, mentoring or an event, so that we can look at them when you apply. Do not wait for us to ask you to organize them. If you cannot organize yourself before hand, you are not going to do very well at magic!

Finally, it would be wise to read the full Quareia Apprentice study guide as it is designed to inform, guide you, and answer most questions that arise.

WHEN AND HOW WAS QUAREIA FOUNDED? 

Quareia was founded as a new magical school in 2014, and is the brainchild of occultists Josephine McCarthy and Frater Acher. In 2014, occultist author and teacher Josephine McCarthy, after two years of discussions between herself and Frater Acher, undertook to write a full ‘no holds barred’ in depth magical training course from beginner all the way through to adept and beyond that will always be available free online as downloadable lessons: that course is Quareia. 

A comment from Josephine: 

'I became aware that there is no accessible high quality training that is freely available, free of dogmatic styles, agendas or commercial interest. Magical training that is heavily tied to profits, fashions, and group politics cannot flourish properly, nor can an individual fully grow in such an environment. True magical development is dying under the weight of heavy commercialization and group factions: it is time to look at a different way of ensuring that the integrity of magic continues for future generations.’ 

HOW ARE DONATIONS TO QUAREIA USED? 

At Quareia, everyone is a volunteer, no one gets paid including Josephine, and all the money you donate is used to ensure the work of Quareia continues. The ongoing work of Quareia consists of maintaining and expanding the website, mentoring and assisting students on line from all over the world free of charge, maintaining an archive, up keeping the private student forum known as the Porch, developing and producing free E books as supporting study material, and organising low-cost residentials, and free video content for students. Student volunteers from the Porch community also do projects for the benefit of students.

OUR ETHOS 

In a world that is becoming intellectually crippled by consumerism and the constant drive for higher and higher profits, we decided to step back and rethink how magic, western esotericism and mysticism can move forward into the future if it is to survive the onslaught of commercialism. 

We provide the free training, with free mentoring, and it is up to people to contribute as they wish or can. We encourage those who cannot donate or do not wish to, to instead pay it forward – help others in life, as you have been helped. Making a better world for all starts with us as individuals. 

Unlike universities, we do not have funding nor do we have paying students: we rely solely on donations to keep the work online, to develop necessary resources for student study, and to give lots of time and attention to mentoring students. We achieve this through donations from students, and also supporters who wish to see the Quareia project succeed and grow. 

Note: You can make a one-time donation or register for a monthly subscription directly on the main page of quareia.com.

HOW IS QUAREIA ORGANISED? 

We have formed ourselves into a British company limited by guarantee that trades under the name Quareia. Our company Articles of Association (our governing document which is legally binding) expressly state that without exception, no one in Quareia gets paid, no one profits from Quareia, and the donation income can only be spent on education projects and running costs. 

THE QUAREIA DIRECTORS

The Quareia directors are a small collection of people who have specific legal responsibility in the company for oversight of the use of donations, for accounting for those donations, and for all legal matters. 

THE QUAREIA TRUSTEES 

The Quareia trustees are a group of people who are committed to the work, aims and objects of Quareia. The trustees are all volunteers and comprise of student representation, academic representation, magical adept representation, and people who bring specific organisational skills to the table. The Quareia trustees keep an eye on the school director, the board of directors, and volunteers to ensure that there are no abuses of power or finance. 

HOW IS THE QUAREIA COURSE STRUCTURED? 

Quareia is a practical magical training course that is complete from total beginner to adept. It is aligned to no particular school or specific religious/mystical school of thought, and yet it looks at and works with some of the many different magical, religious, and mystical practices that have influenced magical thinking in the Near Eastern and western world since the early Bronze Age to present day. 

It is divided into three sections, Apprentice, Initiate and Adept, each section being approximately 500,000 words, each split into ten modules, with eight lessons per module, and each section having one extra initiatory lesson. It is a self-study course, but light touch mentoring is offered from the Initiate section onwards if required, and the whole course is offered in its entirety for free as online download study modules for personal use. It can also be bought in book form from Amazon and most internet retail outlets.

The course is not an academic study exercise, rather it is a course that is highly practical in its application, in conjunction with study. It is wide and deep in its subject reach and takes on average between six and ten years to complete. The course does not rely on belief; rather it is rooted in knowledge and practical personal experience, thus ultimately creating a unique path for each individual.  Students are free to choose how much or how little they study and draw from the training, and as sole practitioner training it encourages self organisation and personal responsibility. 

For in depth information on the course content and structure, please read section 2 of this facts page.

IS THERE A COMMUNITY FORUM DEDICATED TO QUAREIA PRACTICE? 

For students who are actively studying the course in its prescribed manner and have completed at least Apprentice Module One, there is an online closed forum for debate which is known as The Porch.

If you wish to join the forum, you can send us an email using the webform on the quareia.com main page. Please use the header ‘forum request’. In the message box, please put the email address you would like to use, and include your age, name and what module and lesson you are currently working on. You will be asked to provide all of your notes/written tasks from Apprentice Module One to show that you have indeed completed the first module have them ready to show a mentor, preferably in word or PDF format, and/or a scan of your notes. 

Upon joining the forum, please read the forum rules and also introduce yourself. 

DOES QUAREIA OFFER PERSONAL MENTORING AS PART OF THE COURSE? 

Once a student has finished the Apprentice section, they can apply to Quareia to be mentored through the Initiate and Adept sections.  This is free but you can donate if you wish to. To be accepted for mentoring, all of your Apprentice work must be properly prepared for submission, and the Apprentice section must have been completed properly as prescribed. Not everyone is accepted for mentoring - the submitted work must be of a standard that demonstrates the work has been properly done and properly understood.

Quareia mentoring is not teaching, rather it has two functions: one is to witness that you have done the work (by checking your notes and asking you questions), and to ensure that you have understood fully the work that you have done. The second function of mentoring is to ensure that the mentored student has all the necessary advice, guidance or discussion, and resources when and where it is necessary. All mentoring is done by Josephine McCarthy.

At the end of the adept section, the magician is challenged by Josephine McCarthy to demonstrate their theoretical, technical, and practical knowledge and skills. If the magician passes these tests, they are acknowledged as an adept ashlar of Quareia: an Ashlar of the Quarry. Your name will be registered in the Quareia rolls as an adept, and you will be invited into the Fellows of Quareia. 

The Fellows of Quareia are a magical family spread across the world who support each other as needed, who work together on necessary projects, and who pool their collective knowledge in order to work, teach and serve. Fellows are from all walks of life, including scientists, business people, artists, carers, writers, and tech developers. The Fellows also oversee the magical health of Quareia, to ensure it stays magically true to its founding principles.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR MENTORING? 

There is no mentoring for the Apprentice section. Mentoring starts with the completion of the Apprentice section, and the beginning of the Initiate section.


To apply for Initiate mentoring you must have completed the full Apprentice section of the course and have completed all the tasks in each lesson, and have the written work, records and journals to prove that you have done it and that you have understood it. If you are applying for adept mentoring, you must have all of your apprentice and initiate work completed. If you have been already mentored as an initiate, and successfully completed the Initiate section, your application for adept mentoring will be automatically accepted. 

Have all of your files in word format or PDF, and all images requested should be JPEGs or PNG files. Pages of hand written journals should be sent in scanned PDF form and should be clearly readable with the date, lesson/module number and your name on each document. If the journals are not clearly readable, you will need to type them up.

All documents for submission (notes, essays, journals, projects) must have your name, the date, which lesson and module the work is from. Each set of session/practice notes/journals must have the date of each session beside the text.

When they are ready for submission, put them into computer folders, one folder for each module, and name the folder according to the module and your name. Put them into dropbox or a similar online storage so that you can send us the link. Have these ready when you apply for mentoring so that we can look at them when you apply. Do not wait for us to ask you to organize them. If you cannot organize yourself before hand, you are not going to do very well at magic!

If you have demonstrated that you have completed and fully understood the assigned work, you will be invited to be mentored. 

Once you are ready to apply and have all your study papers and written assignments in a proper format held in online storage, email the Director of Quareia School at director@quareia.com or use the webform at the bottom of the main page of quareia.com.

WHO IS JOSEPHINE MCCARTHY?

Josephine McCarthy is a British adept based in the south west of England. She was raised and educated in Yorkshire in the north of England, and worked for many years in the USA. She began her magical adventures in the 1970’s, and by the 1990’s she was teaching extensively in the USA and UK, giving lectures at conferences and experimenting with magical forms. She is the author of numerous books on magic and magical subjects, and is the author of the Quareia course. Josephine lives with her husband, magical artist and classical ritualist Stuart Littlejohn in the UK.

Josephine's blog can be found at https://josephinemccarthy.com

“She is revolutionizing esoteric teaching with her honesty, courage, and dedication to the work” – Greg Kaminsky | Occult of Personality 

WHO IS FRATER ACHER? 

Next to being the patron of quareia.com, Frater Acher is the author of theomagica.com and project host of holydaimon.com. He has studied Western Ritual Magic in theory and practice at I.M.B.O.L.C. (magieausbildung.de) and has been actively involved in magic as a lone practitioner for more than twenty years. Frater Acher is a German national, and after several years of living abroad, he is now resident in Munich, Germany. Previous publications include ‘Holy Daimon’ (Scarlet Imprint 2019), 'Cyprian of Antioch - a Mage of Many Faces' (Quareia Publishing UK 2017), 'Speculum Terræ' (Hadean Press 2018), and Rosicrucian Magic (TaDehent Books 2021). 

Section 2

QUAREIA'S PRIVACY POLICY 

This Privacy Policy applies to information we at Quareia collect about individuals who interact with our organisation. It explains what personal information we collect and how we use it. 

If you have any comments or questions about this notice, feel free to contact us at 

director@quareia.com 

1. Personal Data That We Process 

The following explains the types of data we collect and the legal basis, under current data protection legislation, on which this data is processed. 

1. Enquiring about our organisation and its work - Name, email, message: Legitimate interests - it is necessary for us to read and store your message so that we can respond in the way that you would expect. 

2. Subscribing to email updates about our work - Name, email: Consent - you have given your active consent. 

3. Making a donation - Name, email, address, payment information: Legitimate interests - this information is necessary for us to fulfil your intention of donating money and your expectation of receiving a confirmation message. 

4. Mentoring - Name, email, address: Contact – on acceptance of mentoring, we use your email and contact information to enable us to send you any relevant information and resources. We do not use your contact information for any other purpose and we do not share it with anyone under any circumstances. 

5. Website functionality - Website activity collected through cookies: Legitimate interests - it is necessary for us to store a small amount of information, usually through cookies, to deliver functionality that you would expect. 

2. How We Use Your Data 

We will only use your data in a manner that is appropriate considering the basis on which that data was collected, as set out in the table at the top of this policy. 

For example, we may use your personal information to: 

• reply to enquiries you send to us; 

• handle donations or other transactions that you initiate; 

• where you have specifically agreed to this, send you communications by email relating to our work which we think may be of interest to you. 

3. When We Share Your Data 

We will only pass your data to third parties in the following circumstances: 

·        you have provided your explicit written consent for us to pass data to a named third party; we are using a third party purely for the purposes of processing data on our behalf and we have in place a data processing agreement with that third party that fulfils our legal obligations in relation to the use of third party data processors; or

·        we are required by law to share your data. 

In addition, we will only pass data to third parties outside of the EU where appropriate safeguards are in place as defined by Article 46 of the General Data Protection Regulation. 

4. How Long We Keep Your Data 

We take the principles of data minimisation and removal seriously and have internal policies in place to ensure that we only ever ask for the minimum amount of data for the associated purpose and delete that data promptly once it is no longer required. 

Where data is collected on the basis of consent, we will seek renewal of consent at least every three years. 

5. Rights You Have Over Your Data 

You have a range of rights over your data, which include the following: 

• Where data processing is based on consent, you may revoke this consent at any time and we will make it as easy as possible for you to do this (for example by putting ‘unsubscribe’ links at the bottom of all our newsletter emails). 

• You have the right to ask for rectification and/or deletion of your information. 

• You have the right of access to your information. 

• You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner if you feel your rights have been infringed. 

A full summary of your legal rights over your data can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website here: https://ico.org.uk/ 

If you would like to access the rights listed above, or any other legal rights you have over your data under current legislation, please get in touch with us. 

Please note that relying on some of these rights, such as the right to deleting your data, will make it impossible for us to continue to deliver some services to you. However, where possible we will always try to allow the maximum access to your rights while continuing to deliver as many services to you as possible. 

6. Cookies & Usage Tracking 

A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that is downloaded on to your computer when you visit a website. Cookies are used by many websites and can do a number of things, eg remembering your preferences, recording what you have put in your shopping basket, and counting the number of people looking at a website. 

Where cookies are used to collect personal data, we list these purposes in section 1 above, along with other personal data that we collect. However, we also use some cookies that do not collect personal information but that do help us collect anonymous information about how people use our website. We use Google Analytics for this purpose. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website usage by means of cookies, which are stored on users' computers. The information collected by Google Analytics about usage of our website is not personally identifiable. The data is collected anonymously, stored by Google and used by us to create reports about website usage. Google's privacy policy is available at http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html. 

7. Modifications 

We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time and will publish the most current version on our website. If a modification meaningfully reduces your rights, we will notify people whose personal data we hold and is affected.