Sex, Magic, & Rockets or the Implications of the Babalon Working for Theories of Belief and Rationality

Abstract This article revisits the Babalon Working, an influential mid-20th century occult ritual, to critique and extend the theoretical framework of “Alternative Rationalities and Esoteric Practices from a Global Perspective.” By examining the ritual and its reception in contemporary esotericism, Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm challenges prevailing assumptions about the irrationality of magical beliefs and practices, problematizes received notions of “belief” and “rationality” themselves, celebrates the research group’s focus on praxis, and advocates for a methodological shift in religious studies that makes room for a new form of comparative studies rooted in the analysis of social kinds.