Located in Midtown Manhattan, The Psychedelic Athenæum is part library, part museum, part … [+]
Four women united by their appreciation for psychedelics have launched a cultural forum and member-supported library in the heart of New York City, providing a community hub for well-travelled psychonauts and the psychedelic-curious alike. Operated by Psychedelic Assembly founders Kathleen Lakey, Abby Lyall, Sarah Fernandez, and Suzy Baker, the Psychedelic Athenæum is “essentially a library with a social element,” says Lyall.
In Ancient Greece, athenæums (named for Athena, goddess of wisdom) were places where writers and scholars gathered to share their work. In New York City, the world’s first psychedelic athenæum offers members and guests a place to connect over a curated collection of psychedelic literature, learn from experts like Dennis McKenna, and integrate in community.
The Element of Connection
If you’re steeped in all things psychedelic, the word “integrate” is likely one you’ve heard before. At its simplest, integration is the process of exploring and making sense of the insights one receives during a psychedelic experience. While journaling and meditation can be helpful in the integration process, these practices are most often done alone. The athenæum offers guests a place to practice integration together—something its founders understand is imperative to the psychedelic experience.
Kat Lakey helps a guest at the Psychedelic Athenæum.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted her plans, Lakey recognized the importance of group integration while practicing to become an ayahuascara in the Peruvian Amazon. She says her biggest lesson from the three-year experience was that while ayahuasca was a powerful medicine, it was often the interactions that took place after the ceremony that offered the most profound healing.
“In my mind, it was these moments of connection where people would gather together and talk about their experiences and be open and vulnerable in a way they never were before, that were crucial,” says Lakey. “The element of connection seemed really important.”
A Community-Oriented Initiative
From left to right, Psychedelic Assembly founders Sarah Fernandez, Suzy Baker, and Abby Lyall.
Lakey returned to the U.S. and took a job working for a friend in the Blue Building in Midtown Manhattan. She formed the Psychedelic Assembly in early 2022 intending to create a small-scale psychedelic conference in the unique space where she worked, where guests could engage in the same kind of connection she witnessed in the Amazon. Soon, Lyall, Baker, and Fernandez were part of the team, and in September 2022, the assembly hosted its inaugural event, boasting a lineup including William Leonard Pickard, Julie Holland, Sutton King, and Dennis McKenna.
“It was a huge hit,” says Baker. So successful, she says, that the sold-out event prompted the building’s landlord to offer Lakey and team a chance to rent the private storefront he’d been using to house his library and Alice in Wonderland antiques and turn it into something bigger.
While the conference was a success, says Baker, “we didn’t exactly have money to start paying rent at a storefront in Midtown Manhattan.” To open the doors of the athenæum, the assembly launched a crowdfunding campaign and raised $12,000. More than 90 donors supported the fundraiser, with mostdonations averaging under $100. Since the athenæum’s launch, publishers Inner Traditions and Synergistic Press have also helped beef up its collection of books.
“We truly are a community-launched, community-funded, and community-oriented initiative,” says Lyall.
A Place to Come Out of the Psychedelic Closet
Since opening in February, the Psychedelic Athenæum has hosted several events including panel discussions, psychedelic-inspired art installations, book launches, and stand-up comedy. It also offers a monthly membership program granting access to the athenæum, a discount on books, and early access to event tickets, plus access to a members-only events calendar.
Alex and Allyson Grey speak to a crowd at a recent event at the athenæum.
“The more people that are part of that community and the more diverse that community is, the more valuable it is for everyone,” says Lyall, noting that accessibility factored into how the assembly structured its membership. “We’re not trying to be an exclusive social club for rich people to hang out – there are already lots of those.”
“We want to co-create this space with the community and create opportunities for people to come out of the proverbial closet,” adds Fernandez. “There’s an aspect of homage to the generation that has been carrying this. That’s part of our mission, too. The athenæum is a portal from the underground community, where psychedelics have historically lived, to the mainstream.”
