A beginner’s guide to studying occultism(with book recommendations and resources)
I’ve been asked a couple of times about how to study occultism and where to start.This is not the type of post that i usually
do here but there you go.I’ve constructed this post based on my
experience and knowledge that I possess at the moment.Occultism looks like such
a fascinating subject but the huge amount of information that is out there can
be intimidating so I hope this post will guide you safely on your path.
Occultism is
defined as "knowledge of the hidden" and it can also be a synonym to
magick,a philosophy that includes a system of occult discliplines.By
disciplines I mean cults, sects or practices around the world which profess their own views in a
large number of current and historical literature and spiritual philosophy.
First,familiarize yourself with the
basic occult terms and the occult philosophy(and history)as a whole:
A short but
comprehensive introductory book to magick is ‘The Basics of Magick’ by Amber K.
Old texts:Egyptian book of the
dead,Tibetan book of the dead(I also recommend reading an interesting
interpretation by Timothy Leary),Book of Thoth,The Bhagavad Gita.
Grimoires(classical magick texts) and general esoteric books: Three books of Occult Philosophy by
Cornelius Agrippa,Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley, Dogme Et
Rituel de La Haute Magie by Éliphas Lévi ,The necronomicon(and also Aleister
Crowley’s explained version),Grimorium Verum.
Famous occultists: Aleister
Crowley,Anton LaVey,Henry Cornelius Agrippa,Hermes Trismegistus,Solomon,John
Dee,Eliphas Levi,Dion Fortune,Gerald Gardner.
Occult Organizations:
Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucians
(Order of the Rose Cross)
Ordo Templi
Orientis (O.T.O.)
Society of the
Inner Light
Servants of the
Light
Theosophical
Society
After gaining some
general knowledge,choose a path to study.Here's
the most popular Western traditions and
some books I recommend you to start with:
·
Alchemy:Alchemy :The Black Art by David
Cherubim
·
Witchcraft/Wicca/Neopaganism:A witches
Bible by Janet and Steward Farrar,Witchcraft Today by Gerald B. Gardner
·
Satanism:The Satanic Bible
·
Demonology,Grimoire Solomonic Magical
traditions:Goetia:The Lesser Key of Solomon,Daemonolatry Goetia by S.Connolly
·
Angelic and Enochian traditions
·
Hermeticism:Initiation Into Hermetics by
Franz Bardon
·
Gnosticism
·
Qabalah
·
Ceremonial Magick
·
Chaos Magick
·
Thelema
·
Voodoo/Hoodoo
·
Shamanism
Note:there are some philosophies that I
haven’t researched in too much detail yet and I prefer not to recommend
something that i’m not sure of.
Sources
and free e-book libraries:
Symbol dictionary:
Blogs:
The occult world is full of
symbols,sigils and suggestive images worth exploring so keep an eye on them
too.I encourage you to keep a journal to record your
progress,write quotes that you liked,draw symbols etc.
If you have any questions,please leave them in the comment section.I’d
be glad to help you!
Photo credit:Matthew Venus@flickr.com
One of the well known Occultists of modern times is Helena P Blavatsky who co-founded Theosophical Society. There are many articles by her as well as there is also a book - Occultism and Occult Arts. Much of the material can be located by Googling. Her works are very valuable in that she discusses various issues concerning Occultism especially from the point of safeguards one needs to protect oneself from dangers inherent in pursuing occult practices. There are also a couple of Wordpress blogs by Minoo which are helpful to understand the subject. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of her before.Thank you for sharing!
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