Reddit reviews The New Hermetics: 21st Century Magick for Illumination and Power

I think this book gives the best theory and practice on what you are talking about.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Hermetics-Century-Magick-Illumination/dp/1578633052

Wow, I didn't think this particular facet of my knowledge base would be used here, but here we go. Please keep in mind that I am not an expert or a professional occultist but I have been involved in personal study for several years.

First of all, identify what you are most interested in and stick to it. There are so many different facets to the occult that it is easy to get overwhelmed and spread too far along the many subjects. Luckily, you can easily learn a lot about one subject by learning a lot about another.

For instance, you can learn about numerology, cabala, astrology, elemental magic and much more by learning all you can about the tarot. If you become an expert on one field, you can easily comprehend new information in different field.

That said, I highly recommend that you get a tarot deck. Even if you are not extremely interested in tarot, it's a good idea to have one around for reference. For beginners I recommend getting a basic Rider-Waite deck, which most contemporary decks are based on. If you are highly interested in ritual magic, Thelema or Aleister Crowley, you will want to get a Thoth deck, but definitely get a book on the deck and master it as soon as you can. Otherwise, fight the urge to get an theme deck as very few of them are consistent with symbolism and will be confusing for a beginner.

Get a good basic book. There are a lot of good basic books out there and you should be able to find something at is relevant to your interests.

I am a chaos magician with a fondness for Hermetic philosophy, so my suggestions will lean towards that realm.

New Hermetics by Jason Augustus Newcomb: A very good primer on the elements of magic. Basic on Hermetic magic with plenty of other traditions and schools of thought mixed in. Good for learning meditation and filled with exercises you can perform mentally.

Postmodern Magic by Patrick Dunn: A good primer for people interested in "new" magic. Not officially chaos magic but definitely in the same vein.

There are a lot of basic magic books out there. Don't get stuck reading books for beginners. Once you have the basics, you should move onto something more advanced.

Meditate regularly. Even if you don't want to do astral travel or deep buddhist meditation, make time as much as possible to do at least 15 minutes of some sort of meditation. Almost every tradition uses mediation for a reason.

Keep a journal. Record anything occult or magical that you do or learn. You may also want to journal your dreams, which will be beneficial to mediation and lucid dreaming.

Although very few occult teachers and books will suggest it, it is very, very important to maintain a healthy level of skepticism. You are going to be reading and learning about a lot a pretty crazy stuff and you should be able to discern the good stuff from the bullshit. As a good rule of thumb, bullshit is expensive.

Also, use your skepticism to integrate science and magic. A healthy understanding of the body, psychology, chemistry and physics will enrich your understanding of the occult.

If you have any other questions about learning about the occult, don't hesitate to ask.

Oh yeah, and check out /r/occult.