ALBANY, Calif. – The Adocentyn Research Library defines itself as “an on-site use only, multi-cultural, and inter-religious library.” After surviving almost three years of COVID lockdowns, isolating fear, and supply chain disruptions, the Adocentyn Research Library plans to re-open by the end of 2022. While an exact date has not yet been determined, the Pagan community will soon again have in-person access to this valuable resource.
“Adocentyn” (pronounced “æ-doh-SEN-tin”) is an unusual name. In the Hermetic dialogue, “Asclepius,” Hermes Trismegistus made a prophecy. At some future time, humans would cease to worship nature as “a manifestation of the Divine.” In response, the gods would leave Egypt. They would then dwell in a city “to the furthest west from Egypt.” A much later ceremonial magic text, “The Picatrix,” called the city to which the gods would withdraw to Adocentyn. That name evolved from the Latin “ad occidentalem.”
As the library’s website says “San Francisco is about as far west from Egypt as you can get … and we even already have our own pyramid.” The library lies just north of Berkeley and across the Bay from Marin County and San Francisco at 1029 Solano Ave, Albany, California.
The library is an extraordinary project and has set an ambitious goal for itself. It is archiving, preserving, and disseminating “available information related to Paganism—understood as all Indigenous, tribal, polytheistic, Nature-based, and Earth-centered religions, spiritualities, beliefs, practices, and cultures around the world and throughout human history.”
Street view of the Adocentyn Research Library – courtesy
Adocentyn Library was designed for “researchers, scholars, and the general public” to use, and anyone can access its catalog online. It has collected occult and Pagan material from the Afro-Diasporan, Arabic, Asian, Euro-American, Indigenous, Inuit, and Pacific Islander traditions, among others.
In addition to academic and popular books, Adocentyn stores the newsletters of Pagan groups. Prior to the internet, Pagan groups had to have other ways to connect with their members and other individuals and organizations. Generally, we relied on either face-to-face or hard-copy newsletter contact. Those newsletters contained some of the seeds of major debates within Paganism. Unfortunately, when people moved, those newsletters and flyers were lost, discarded, or destroyed.
Adocentyn notes that is how history disappears.
Don Frew serves as its president and Anna Korn is its treasurer. In an email, they said that they had planned to open in February 2020, after returning from a trip to Egypt. Soon after their return, the pandemic closed airports and resulted in lockdowns. Frew and Korn were forced to postpone the opening of Adocentyn.
Library stacks prior to the pandemic – courtesy
But, Frew and Korn used the two years wisely: they upgraded their website and continued to expand and catalog their collections. They also reported that during the downtime of the pandemic, Adocentyn received two large bequests.
One bequest came from a Baptist minister, the late Rev. Andrew Kille. He had “specialized in Jungian analysis of Old Testament texts.” Kille did a lot of Interfaith work. His estate gave Adocentyn over 1000 books. The library will sell the books received in the bequest that are not appropriate for its collection, and the proceeds of that sale will benefit Kille’s widow.
The other large bequest consisted of over 1,500 books. The late Matthew J. Whealton, a Kemetic, made that donation. Besides being a Kemetic, Frew and Korn reported that Whealton had specialized “in vocalic reconstruction of Middle Egyptian.” Whealton felt that understanding the sounds of Middle Egyptians could help “bridge the gap between [the] academic study of Ancient Egypt and the modern, lived practice of Kemeticism.”
Whealton gave Adocentyn “an amazing collection of academic works on Ancient Egypt.” The library is working with the University of California (UC) “Berkeley’s Baer-Keller Library (Near Eastern Studies) to organize these books in a way that assists both UC Students,” as well as people using Adocentyn.
These bequests and other acquisitions have grown the library. Adocentyn’s holdings are now over 16,800 books not including ephemera such as newsletters.
That growth meant that space became an issue. The shelves were at capacity. Books remained in boxes. Adocentyn lacked the space for people to have easy access. Critically, it had lost wheelchair accessibility.
Adocentyn worked out a deal with its landlord, allowing them to expand to the unit next door and cut a doorway between them. This doubled their space, but now they needed more bookcases. Unfortunately, this occurred at the height of supply chain problems. Finally, in late August 2022, 32 steel bookcases arrived weighing almost two tons.
The new bookcases proved a challenge because Bay Area structures have to comply with complex regulations to reduce earthquake risk. Nevertheless, on October 31, Frew and Korn reported that assembly of those shelves has begun.
Their new space for the library
In their new expanded space, Adocentyn has a large, separate room for public study. That room will have duplicate copies of books for sale. The library will display items like Tarot Decks on the mezzanine. One room will contain only magazines and ephemera like newsletters. Display cases will showcase “interesting historical objects related to the history of Paganism and the occult.” Another room exists for lectures and other presentations. The library has also developed its online capabilities as its digital collection.
Anyone wishing to access Adocentyn before its opening should call the Library at (510) 280-3911 or email them to make an appointment. It will be open on an ad-hoc basis. The library can be found on Facebook and Instagram also.
Of course, all of this costs money, and Adocentyn can also use our financial support. They still need new shelves, furnishings, and help with the rent. Donation options can be found on their website.
Adocentyn is now a key piece of Pagan infrastructure and their work to preserve our stories and Pagan culture will continue with our collective support.
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