SOL was founded in 1965 by W E Butler. He received his training in Dion Fortune's Fraternity of Inner Light, which in turn stemmed from The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He was also trained by the psychic Robert King. Mr Butler served as Director of Studies until his death in 1978 when he was succeeded by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, third-generation psychic, mediator, author, lecturer and workshop facilitator.

The purpose of the SOL is to assist in spreading esoteric knowledge in an ethical manner to all who want to receive it, regardless of religious denomination, gender, nationality, race, age, social position or income. All who desire to do so should be able to study the Mysteries, the true inner spiritual heritage of the West.

SOL is not affiliated to any political or religious organizations. Neither is the SOL affiliated with any other organization on the earth-plane.

It is a registered non-profit organization. This means that nobody is making any money out of the school. There are no offices and no hired staff. All teaching is done on a non-profit basis. Not even the Director of Studies or the Supervisors get paid for the work they do.

We emphasize independence and free thinking. The school is organised as a loose structure to emphasize this and in order to avoid all forms of sectarianism. Our students are expected to draw their own occult conclusions and to depend first and foremost on their own judgment.

SOL now has 2600 members in twenty-three countries. A wide range of traditions are represented within the school: we count ourselves fortunate to have Wiccan witches, Pagans, Christian nuns and priests, Shamans, Hermetists, Kabbalists, Buddhists, Isis-worshippers and many others among our students. All paths to the Light are worthy of respect.

The SOL is a school. This means that our members work according to a specific curriculum. Each student has a personal tutor who guides the student and helps him or her to get the most out of their studies.

It teaches through correspondence. In other words, there is no such thing as a school building. Each student works in her or his own home, independently of other students. The First Degree Course consists of fifty lessons of one month each. Each lesson contains written teachings as well as exercises and meditations. The student keeps a journal of all work performed, and at the end of each lesson this journal is sent to the supervisor who assesses and comments on it.

SOL is centered around the Western Mysteries. The First Degree Course teaches and uses the Kabbalah, since it makes it possible to build bridges between different types of esoteric philosophies. It also enables the student to translate higher forms of mentation into concrete terms. The First Degree course also uses Tarot symbolism and the symbolism of the Arthurian myths.

The aim of the studies is to balance the inner and outer selves and to give the student a comprehensive theoretical and practical understanding of the ancient Mysteries. If any psychic talents are there, the courses will stimulate them into activity and polish them. In this way the student may make his or her own inner contacts.

It is possible to combine the SOL Correspondence Courses with a modern, busy life-style. All that is required is that the student is able spare between 15 and 45 minutes daily for the meditation session, plus some extra time to read the course literature and lessons.

Since the SOL is non-profit, all you pay is a low cost per correspondence course lesson. You will also need to get one or two text-books. No other costs are involved. There is no membership fee.

A student can leave the SOL at any point. We will not try to stop you from pursuing your own path. We can recommend other schools should you feel that your path lies elsewhere.

The SOL is what is termed a contacted School. This means that it is in direct psychic contact with the Inner Planes. This is something we rarely talk about, since it tends to distract the student from the really important issue - their own inner development. Suffice to say that the school is firmly and deeply linked to the Inner Hierarchy, where its true Directors reside.

The fact that the SOL is contacted also means that Initiation in the true sense of the word can be conferred within the structure of the school.