Who we are

The people behind Alice in Deep

A journal is its editors as much as its writers. Here is who we are, what we believe, and why we made this.

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Editor

Portrait of an Old Man — Thomas Rowlandson

Keith Idell Founder & Editor

Keith Idell was born in 1948 in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in California. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master's in Therapeutic Recreation from Brigham Young University — disciplines rooted in a holistic understanding of the human being: mental, physical, and spiritual. It was a formation that pointed, in time, toward deeper ground. Now retired and living in Dallas, he has spent six years as a Freemason and currently serves as Worshipful Master of Mercury Lodge No. 950 in Farmers Branch, Texas. His research moves through the esoteric, mystical, and alchemical traditions, with a particular focus on initiation — its spiritual architecture, its historical forms, and its continuing relevance to those who take the examined life seriously. Alice in Deep is the place where that inquiry found its proper home.

Portrait of an Old Man — Thomas Rowlandson (public domain)

Our philosophy

Why Alice in Deep exists

There is a tradition of inquiry that runs beneath the surface of Western thought — Hermetic, Neoplatonic, Kabbalistic, Masonic — that has never been comfortable in either the academy or the popular press. Too serious for one, too unfashionable for the other. Alice in Deep was made to give that tradition a home.

We are not a magazine of belief. We do not ask our readers to accept any particular doctrine or adopt any particular practice. We ask only for the quality of attention that serious inquiry requires — the willingness to sit with a difficult idea long enough to understand it before deciding what to make of it.

The name comes from Lewis Carroll, whose Alice crossed a threshold into a world that operated by different rules — not chaotic rules, but deeper ones. That is the territory we are interested in. The deep that lies beneath the surface of ordinary experience, and the traditions that have mapped it.

Contributing editors

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Contributing editor — position open

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Contributing editor — position open

Contributing writers

The voices who have made each issue what it is. Each entry names the writer, the section they contributed to, the article they wrote, and a short note about them.

Vol I · Issue I · Winter 2026

S. McPherson Initiation “Descending to Light”

S. McPherson is a physician, Fellowcraft Mason, and writer on initiatory tradition, ritual psychology, and the Western esoteric inheritance. He describes himself as “Human(oid), Father, Husband, Fellowcraft Mason, and Physician.” He is a contributor to Alice in Deep.

Robert G. Davis Craft “Freemasonry and the Wisdom Tradition”

Robert G. Davis is Secretary Emeritus of the Guthrie Scottish Rite Bodies, having served as Executive Secretary for 30 years. A Past Master of three Masonic lodges in Oklahoma, a 33° Mason, recipient of the Grand Cross, and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma in 2021. Author of four books on Masonic ritual, manhood, the Scottish Rite, and Symbolic Lodge instruction. He is a contributor to Alice in Deep.

Filip Holm Meditations “Der Voghormia”

Filip Holm is a public educator, artist, and musician from Stockholm, Sweden. He holds a master’s degree in the academic study of religions and has dedicated his life to studying the world’s religious, philosophical, and cultural traditions. Creator of the YouTube channel and podcast Let’s Talk Religion. He is a multi-instrumentalist and composer whose music explores the same themes artistically. He is a contributor to Alice in Deep.

Keith Idell Ritual “More Than Unity”

Keith Idell was born in 1948 in Camden, New Jersey, and raised in California. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master’s in Therapeutic Recreation from Brigham Young University. Now retired and living in Dallas, he serves as Worshipful Master of Mercury Lodge No. 950 in Farmers Branch, Texas. His research moves through the esoteric, mystical, and alchemical traditions, with a focus on initiation. Alice in Deep is the place where that inquiry found its proper home.