 At the end of 1973, he left W. H. Freeman to begin working on a Ph.D. at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley.He also started his own business as a consulting editor at this time.While working on his Ph.D. during 1974 and 1975, Kelly was able to study pages from an early Book of Shadows, purportedly typed by Gerald Gardner as well as a manuscript titled “Ye Bok of ye Art Magical” from Gardner's former Museum of Witchcraft, then owned by Ripley’s, now owned by the Wiccan Church of Canada.