Crowley was terrible at this and one of the reasons I think he sucked as a magician. It was only later in his life he had some realization at how bad at the topic he actually was. The poor newbies subjected to the intricacies of advanced magick, either they will think you are crazy, or just instantly be lost and feel they could never achieve those feats.
QTFT, this... this a lot...
Personally, I think Crowley was excessively overrated. You can measure a teacher by his students and what students of his were really successful or teaching his system? Even the A.'.A.'. and the OTO (reinvented, not original) are basically ghosts in the annuls of history.
I also concur greatly on what you've mentioned in regard to teaching -- you must meet students where they are. You also must filter them, because invariably there is a type of student which can learn from you and ones that cannot. You'll be wasting both your time and theirs if you try to make it work.
However, the stuff I 'teach' earns pay -- pay I cannot receive while I am teaching you. This is the only reason to ever charge. However, I always felt that this can be kept reasonable and to a low level and mostly be about discounted time and materials. I never expect my students to go shuffling for books, papers, and whatever. I rather tell them it costs X and then have that all together for them so they can focus on the study. Charging for some things also makes sense in terms of avoiding the conflict of having to decide between your customers and your apprentices. That's the only reason I've ever thought to do that, but I digress it depends on WHAT you're teaching. You can always learn on your own w/o paying a dime, and I'd never even suggest that you can't -- but, you're not just paying for the instruction itself... You're paying for the teacher streamlining the experience for you and having their direct attention to your issues as you go. (And, they've probably seen a lot more of them than you working with other people... They probably already have a solution in mind to any of your difficulties.) However, there is such a gap between teachers in mystical or spiritual subjects and I think from that perspective it's very hard to keep from being taken. Most of the resentment in regard to the student for paying is not the nominal fee, but the fact that they received very little of value for it. I think you are attentive to the students and help them toward mastery you're doing your job and probably deserve compensation. The other angle is that I've used fees to keep me from working with a lot of people whom are not serious about the subject. I'm looking to train my replacements on the earth not some dabbler -- I am doing what I do to let my craft thrive. It's a completely non-ego position that drives the endeavor. The fees weed them out nicely...
As far as lesson plans, I really don't use those... What I use is sort of requirement-based pathing. So, at first we do this... If you have success doing X then you might be ready for this, and so on... Sometimes that branches and the lessons are really just dabbling in a couple of things to see where you're at. In essence, I might teach two people something completely in reverse at times because they're ready for something. If the student wants to try something else and it fits in line with the progression of the lessons we will go there. I respect intuition very greatly and what is right for someone else isn't necessarily what I have in mind. These types of decisions are not to be made by me especially after we've spent a great deal of time clearing out your head space. I'm not trying to subjugate you to my lesson plan, but rather move you into a position of being able to curate and develop your own. However, I am there to teach you how to hold the bat, hit the ball, run properly, and run the bases. After that basic level I am not working on making you follow the plan but assisting you in cultivating your own style that fits like a glove. I always feel that if I am doing my job right you become the best you, not a mini-me.
