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>I would also like to start 'working' with a higher entity. I'd like to make contact with my HGA, but am not adept enough to perform The Abramelin Operation (seems very scary).

The Abramelin Operation is a bit dated and a lot of people (not all though) use Crowley's Liber Samekh Ritual to establish contact with the HGA. It's supposed to be performed astrally several times a day. Lon Milo Duqette wrote a clearer explanation than Crowley did of how to perform the ritual in his book A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema. However, that's not usually the first step in contacting the HGA. In Crowley's system, a person must :

1. Gain control over the body of light and rising on the planes. This is often assigned due to the fact that, as I already said, the ritual is not suppose to take place on the physical plane, rather in the astral one after rising on the planes.
   
   
2. Master Asana and Pranayama. Asana is being able to sit completely still in a single position without moving a single muscle for a prolonged period of time and Pranayama is breath control. This is because the HGA is often seen as your subconscious mind and these meditative practices are necessary to be able to quiet your conscious mind so that you may better hear and listen to your subconscious. If you'd like to read more about this, I'd recommend Liber ABA
   
   
3. Master ceremonial magick techniques (i.e. Star Ruby, Star Sapphire, lesser rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, greater rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, etc.) and develop a better understanding of ritual. This is obviously assigned due to the fact that in order to successfully perform a ritual to invoke the HGA, you need to have an understanding of ritual and ability to do it.
   
   
4. Perfect the art of Bhakti. Bhakti is complete devotion to a deity. It includes such things as devoting all acts (i.e. eating, drinking, sleeping, working, breathing, etc.) to the chosen deity, developing a mantra for the deity and reciting it constantly in your head every second of the day without stopping, developing an invocation to the deity, performing ritual service for the deity several times in a 24 hour period including the middle of the night, modeling yourself to behave like the chosen deity, etc. This is necessary as it helps develop the one-pointed focus and devotion needed to successful invoke the HGA. If you'd like, you can read more about this in Liber Astarte
   
   >I would love suggestions from you all regarding anything that would help me practice low-level ritual work!
   
   I'd recommend trying out
   
   The Star Sapphire
   
   The Star Ruby
   
   The Greater Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Solar Adorations
   
   The Threefold Eucharist
   
   The Mass of the Pheonix
   
   The Form of Hoor-pa-kraat
   
   >Are there any other ways to do this? I feel an affinity toward Angelic forces and have a keen interest in Enochian but am unsure where to begin.
   
   If you're looking to get into Enochian magick, (which I would highly recommend; it's one of my favoritae systems of magick) I'd recommend reading Enochian Magick in Theory and Enochian Magick in Practice by Frater Yechidah.
   
   >I have stayed away from Goetia thus far and would like to focus a little more on white magick (not because I think Goetia is 'wrong'; its just not for me right now). However, I am curious if The Key of Solomon would provide any use for someone wanting to learn about white magic? Am I correct in stating that the astrological pentacles are of use for the magus to use at their will?
   
   I wouldn't classify the Goetia as black magick. Demons in the occult are not the same as demons in Abrahramic religion. In fact, I (as well as others I have talked to) have noticed that the Enochian angels are very similar in character and personality to the Goetic demons. I would also not characterize the Key of Solomon pentacles and sigils as black magick.
   
   But to answer your questions; yes, anyone could use the pentacles (with or without conjuring any of the Goetic demons; the consecration rite for them does not include any evocation, just a blessing) and see results.
   
   As for general books I would recommend to a beginner:
   
   The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford by Lon Milo Duquette
   
   the Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
   
   The Mystical and Magical System of the A .'. A .'. by James A. Eshelman
   
   777 And Other Qabalistic Writings by Aleister Crowley
   
   Gems From the Equinox by Aleister Crowley and edited by Israel Regardie
   
   
   
   

Hey man, sorry for the too long delay in getting this information to you. Hopefully you haven't given up hope :)

Anyway, in terms of meditation I'm going to recommend the following sources which are my personal favorite.

1. Here are some good techniques from the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (weird name I know, but they do quality work). When it talks about "taking Refuge" and that sort of thing they're talking about a ritual opening they borrowed from Buddhist traditions. Really any sort of ritual opening you like (ex. reading from a holy book of your choice, visualizing a white light surrounding you, banishing etc.) will work.
   
   That page has a good general system that's borrowed from the old Order of the Golden Dawn. It might not click with you personally in it's entirety but take from it what you will.
   
   
2. My absolute favorite beginners text for spirituality of any sort though is Israel Regardie's "Art of True Healing." The key to this one is really working through the system methodically. I don't know what your previous experience is, but I found that even with my years of practices of different sorts just refocusing on rhythmic breathing and that alone did wonders for me. Take your time. Make haste slowly and don't underestimate the importance of simply focusing on your breath. The rest of the text is a guided visualization that's borrowed in part from the Golden Dawn and in part from Eastern techniques. The technique can be adapted easily to other traditions though.
   
   
3. I'm also a huge fan of Alan Watts. You can find a really excellent talk of his about meditation here. It's long but it's good.
   
   There's a start for you. I have some books I'd also recommend but it seems like you are primarily starting by internet research (which if fine, but you'll find it to be somewhat limited). But if you liked the JoS stuff, you'd probably like where they stole it from even better. Which would be this book: http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122
   
   Anyway, glad I could be of help and I wish you well on your path. Feel free to message me if you'd like to chat more.
   

> In case some don't know, Religious-traditional Jew or not a Jew is still a Jew forever, that's what the covenant is about,

I recognize this point of view, though I do not necessarily subscribe to it myself. I say "necessarily", because I'm not intrinsically opposed to the idea either, but I suspect I use these terms quite differently from you.

>but I understand you got the impression i a speaking from a religious point of view because many Christians see Christianity as a faith in Jesus and religion, these seals mix some gospel stuff too which does not work with Judaism, nit even messianic texts.

Again, it's a lot more helpful to describe my outlook on faith as pragmatheism than anything else. I believe in what works. From this point of view, there's no difficulty in syncretizing various traditions even though their original adherents wouldn't be able to make it work like that for themselves. To each his own.


> It may upset some rabbis and provoke curiosity if they see anyone sharing what iam with other nations who may be seeking to use the light from the Jewish nation to bond, communicate and pack with unseen beings hashem banished during creation billions of years ago,

I'm very happy that you're willing to have this conversation, and I hope the downvotes won't put you off. Our perspectives may vary, but we've got plenty to learn from each other, and I wish I could be more helpful in answering your questions.

> Th g-d of Israel is one and everyone's g-d and creator, those who use hashems names to conjure or invoke unseen beings who where banished are using the names in vain, especially if they are Christian and no way around during solomons time, it would mean a pagan is trying to trick hashem or the spirit into a service., and it was the Arabs who wrote stories about Solomon and his ring blending it all with Arabian nights, the gienie in the bottle etc, Arabs believe these spirits get burned for coming near a living person (especially ones thousand of years old) and so they will only do so as long as that person proves them they lower the grace of hashem, his angels and names to their level, some times even mocking, sacrificing something or sharing their own blood to pack or connect with them.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm taking the Holy Names in vain through my practices, but I'm not worried about it. My approach to these names and the Hebrew alphabet is quite Hermetic (or Chicken-ish, if you will), and they work just fine without the dogmatic framework of Judaism. This video gives a good intro to the perspectives I'm describing, please forgive the blatant heresy.

> But since they are banished it's called praying using hashems name in vain.
> But if your a Jew you talk to hashem and ask permission which is how it should be done, that's the point of the names of hashem, but I guess depending on what someone is asking it's gonna be hard to go that route,
>
> Anyway, so the Latin text and other esoteric writing on Solomon's seals was contributed by who?

I wish I could answer your final question. I believe the texts are traced back to the 1500s, but I'm in no way sure. There are people frequenting this subreddit that are way better versed in the Solomonic tradition than I am, Here's hoping some of them will chime in.

^^Paging ^^dr. ^^/u/Lucifereus!

I feel like getting a bunch of versions and reading them with and against each other is a good way. I don't read Chinese, so I don't really know for sure what I am missing in the translations. I like Huang's translation and my teacher recommends that one as a good translation but I also have Baynes and Cleary's translations.

Plum blossom oracle is a way to use the I Ching without needing coins or sticks. One uses events and anomalies, basically the world around us, to construct the hexagrams using the attributes and correspondences of the various trigrams as guides. Two good books on this are I Ching Numerology by Da Liu and The Tao of I Ching: Way to Divination by Tsung Hwa Jou. Both these books have tables of correspondences which I find very helpful.

I am very fascinated by connections between the Chinese system and Egyptian magical systems. When in the Qigong state during meditations and exercises I have often connected with energies that strike me as very Egyptian. Granted, I doubt there has to be any sort of historical link for me to connect with it on that plane, but it's interesting to entertain.

My understanding is that the "elements" are more phases/states or different manifestations of Qi than actually different things. They can definitely be used to balance each other out (I manage my chronic back pain (water) by balancing it out with heart energies (heart) and by containing/blocking it using the stomach/spleen/pancreas (earth), while continuing to build up the water energies to become stronger.

I don't own this book but The Complete Magician's Tables seems like it'd be really helpful for syncretic explorations.

Hi! Ok, I need to talk about the end game first: If you practice enough, you not only will get results, but you will start getting them all the time, without actually doing anything. Looks wonderful? Yes and no. The problem here is not to get to that point, but who you will be when you get there.

If you have hate, insecurities, fears, those will start to manifest too on their own. Basically what you are inside will all become 'external'.

That is why the very first thing you need to learn, and keep practicing daily, is banishing.

The goal of banishing is to align you with the divine, and to clean you up and transform you. As Crowley said about the LBRP "Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spirits, are unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise".

Roughly, the four elements correspond to core elements of the human personality: air is thought, fire is will, water is emotion, and earth is the physical. So it is like a respiration: First you exhale all the used up/low/unwanted elemental energy in each quarter. Once you have emptied, you can then 'inhale' the high grade stuff delivered to you by gently asking the archangels.

The quabalistic cross at the beginning serves to make a first rough alignment with the divine and draw a bit of energy to kick start the process: You pull some energy from above, ground it down below, then equilibrate it between Severity/Strength/Mars and Mercy/Jupiter. The center of the cross then becomes Tipharet/Beauty/Sun (Brush up on your tree of life if needed to understand that better).

I recommend reading Israel Regardie's 'Middle Pillar'. By the way don't start up on the Middle Pillar straight away, you risk being blown off by the energy since you are not a proper vessel to it yet (been there). Repeated practice of the LBRP is needed first. The middle pillar is used to basically draw a shitload of energy into you.

Once you have started a daily practice of banishing, you can safely take up magick. There I have to, once again, recommend Alan Chapman 'Advanced Magick for Beginners'

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1904658415

Everything you need to know about magick is in there. Will save you the trip through Old School Ritual/Chaos Magick. It is really extremely simple once you get the knack. Just play with it, and start practicing it balls to the wall. You'll get results, just remember to choose wisely what you want and plan in advance, because you can be damn sure you will get exactly what you asked for.

Also, the goal of it is not to get something for nothing. This will transform you as much as it transform the world around you. It will then be made obvious by experience that internal and external is the same thing. Hopefully at this stage you will have found your 'true will' and everything will be peachy.

Edit: Because I tend to repeat myself a lot when the kids are around :)

Personally speaking, I use the Crowley Thoth deck. You are probably on the right track in regards to dumping the R-W deck for this colossus of Tarot. It is a bit intimidating to get all the symbols and their meanings in the Thoth deck but hang in there. Should you need any help along the way, there is this book-
http://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765
As well as other resources. So far as how it all relates, I think it relates somewhat nicely. There is still debate as to how the Tarot Cards got lumped together with the Tree of Life, but I'm not going to get into that. For me, I found the relation to the Paths a very helpful one. The meanings/relationship to the Tree of Life and the elements, from the Tarot are yours to interpret, yours to discover and make your own. This is what is both maddening and wonderful about the Tarot. In many ways, it's rudderless nature allows for the person working with it to make up the story for themselves And there's the beauty! No need to worry about forcing meaning when it is not relevant. If it feels relevant to you, meaningful to you, go for it. That's magic.
I'll give a quick example. To me, Tiphereth/Beauty is the highest human point on the Tree of life. Before that we have Netzach/Victory. Connecting the two is path 24 Death- which for all intents and purposes is Change. How do I connect these? Again, to me Netzach is a highly emotional Sephiroth, it's chief gods being that of Love- Venus, Aphrodite, etc. Love prompts one to feel a great deal of emotions, some good and some bad and some very very bad. This is why I equate it to this Sephiroth, among other reasons. Alright, so this isn't a short example but bear with me. So, how does one get to the higher Sephiroth Tiphereth? Death. Change. Killing those lower base things within us that hold us back. All the petty emotions; the ones that sully the name of love. Cut 'em down. Conquer your emotions, claim Victory over them. Then, one can get to a place of greater understanding; A place of Beauty- Tiphereth. Crowley, when writing about this card put it this way- 'The Universe is Change; every Change is the effect of an Act of Love; all Acts of Love contain Pure Joy. Die daily!'
To me, this makes sense. It carries meaning.
Hope this helps.

Raziel is probably most famous for the book he gave to Adam. There are many versions of the story, including one where angels steal the book back from Adam out of jealousy. It supposedly passed through the hands of Enoch, Noah, and Solomon, inspiring the Book of Enoch, teaching Noah how to build the Ark, and granting Solomon great knowledge and power in magic respectively. Source

The origin of this story is pretty interesting: "The myth of the Book of Raziel grows out of a midrash attempting to explain the verse, This is the book of the generations of Adam (Gen. 5:1)." Source, also a good read

Raziel is mentioned in Targum Ecclesiastes 10:20 - "Do not speak evil of the king in thy conscience, nor in the secret of thy heart, nor in the most hidden place in thy house, curse not a wise man; for Raziel calls daily from heaven upon Mount Horeb, and his voice goes through the whole world; and Elijah, the great priest, goes, flying through the air like a winged eagle, and publishes the words which are spoken in secret by all the inhabitants of the earth." The Targumim are pretty old - they date back to the 1st to 7th centuries. This page offers an interesting theory about Raziel's early role in Jewish mysticism - not as the keeper of secrets but rather the revealer.

According to Maimonides (1135-1204) in his Mishneh Torah, Raziel is the chief of the order of Erelim, also the herald of God and preceptor of Adam.

Now, there is a 13th century medieval grimoire known as "Sefer Raziel HaMalakh". The true author is unknown, but it's commonly attributed to Eleazer of Worms or Isaac the Blind, medieval writers of the time. It draws heavily on Sefer Yetzirah and Sefer Ha-Razim, the former being the oldest and probably the most important Qabalistic text.

As for the Sefer Raziel itself, you can read it online here. Steve Savedow's translation is unfortunately not great, the amazon reviews sort of speak for themselves, but it's better than nothing. You may find something interesting there.

tl;dr Raziel is a very old and important angel, considering he derives from Genesis 5:1. If you are trying to connect to angels in a Qabalistic context, I'd highly recommend starting with the books they originated from, like Sefer Raziel and its predecessors. Hope this helps.

One of the oldest and most fundamental books for students of the Kabbalah is the Sepher Yetzirah. This text has literally been used for centuries by Jewish mystics, and it was one of the primary sources for the Kabbalistic elements of modern western occultists (e.g. the Golden Dawn and affiliated individuals like Crowley, Case, Waite, etc.). You can't go wrong with any of the books listed thus far -- Duquette, for example, is a great author -- but they are all second hand accounts of Kabbalistic sources like the Sepher Yetzirah.

One of the best modern versions of the Sepher Yetzirah is by Rabbi Kaplan. His book has received praise by both students of the occult and the Kabbalah. It has everything you are looking for (e.g. the cube of space is discussed in 5:2 on page 203) and more (e.g. gematria, the 231 gates, astrological associations, anatomical associations, planetary rulers and their seals, etc.). On top of that, you should be able to find a free PDF version online with a little Googling, but it's so comprehensive that it's worth having a physical copy.

first post long time lurker I have been following the GD tradition for over a decade so i can shed my own personal viewpoint if that helps. I believe that everyone who practices the occult in any way, shape or form should pick and choose what he or she likes. That being said if you follow the GD system to its conclusion you can and will have a strong base of occult knowledge. You could also join the OTO, AA, BOTA or a number of other groups where you will find credible, proven systems that work for those operating it. No one system is right or wrong. So pick what you like and dedicate yourself to it.

I enjoy the GD work because it provides a strong framework for me when i write my own rituals. There are a number of magical systems within the walls of most legitimate GD Temples which gives you a good platform for your future. If you are blessed to live within driving distance of one you should, if you are interested, seek them out.

The system itself is well put together and incorporates a system that works if you apply it. However, the problem with any social organization is always its members. You will, whether in school, temple, work, sports, or any other group/social activity, inevitably run into assholes. You will also run into amazing, loving, smart, wise, intelligent, caring, powerful people and every other mindset you can imagine in human form. So meet with the group first and see if you like them regardless of its affiliation.

If you are not near a GD temple never fear you can self initiate at home! It does take some work and dedication but you can learn and do everything you need from whats out there in print right now. Some of the books I would look at to begin with are probably from the author [Israel Regardie] (http://www.amazon.com/Israel-Regardie/e/B000APBPWM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1376711546&sr=8-2-ent). More specifically [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Teachings-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=sr_1_1s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376711553&sr=1-1) would be a good place to start in conjunction with [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786) as a compliment.

There are modern temples run in many parts of the world but one of the major ones are run by the [Cicero's] (http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.com/) a quick google search will find you everything you need about the major groups in existence today. Try not to get too hung up on lineage and drama within the bubble of GD, there are good occult groups and bad judge for yourself what is right for you.

I apologize in advance for my grammar, lack of reddit know how, and general newness to the community I hope you got something out of my rant.

See here's the issue with this kind of question, you want instant results, like just as water, but it doesn't work like that. You'd have to work many years to learn the basis of magic and learn evocation (which some of us here have), and then become familiar with a particular spirit or demon by working with him/her for a long time. Then you may offer that spirit a trade for great power and wealth.

Here's a good resource where some of the ancient manuscripts are listed: http://www.esotericarchives.com/. A lot of them discuss working with spirits.

For a more modern book on the subject I would suggest Summoning Spirits by Konstantinos but he's going to require you have some basic knowledge of high magic first. So for that I would recommend High Magic: Theory and Practice

Happy hunting.

Magick is for all, I would recommend working on the kabbalah for a start, or reading the liber 4, not necessarily in that order, maybe try liber 4 and then A Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Rgardie and Mystical Kabbalah by Dion Fortune. The Hardcover edition of Liber 4 is a great edition. I have it and it is amazing, and not as complex as most of his writings. This book has a lot of appendixes too, that helps. Having the Thoth Tarot deck and the Book of Thoth and studying its correspondencies with the tree of life is very helpful too.

Fascinating readings anyway.

About what he is in relation to mankind, better judge yourself from his writings.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Thoth-Egyptians-Equinox/dp/0877282684/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

http://www.amazon.com/Thoth-Tarot-Deck-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1572815108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560601&sr=1-1&keywords=thoth+tarot+deck


http://www.amazon.com/Magick-Liber-ABA-Book-4/dp/0877289190/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560336&sr=1-2&keywords=magick

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Pomegranates-Skrying-Tree-Life/dp/1567181414

http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Qabalah-Dion-Fortune/dp/1578631505/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TNF7RPG3Y67DX4G00QH

It's easiest to think of the astral plane as a real place, lower levels of which roughly correspond to our physical plane (while even lower levels could correspond to some people's ideas of 'hell'), while other higher aspects can be like alternate realms/worlds. When you sleep, a part of you often floats above your physical body like a boat tied in the harbor. If you train yourself to see through that floating astral body, you can do 'astral work' i.e. have a presence in the land of dreams, and then see just how real that land can truly be, especially around the 'real-time zone' (in the part that corresponds to the physical world you know).

Because I've dealt with spirits for years, I would say that what you experienced was an astral encounter with helpful spirits, the results of which became apparent after you woke up. It's not uncommon to become suddenly more aware while dreaming and then have a dream turn into a fully conscious astral event. I've been pulled out many times by spirits and human mentors. Welcome to our world! It only gets weirder and more fascinating from here. ;)

Edit: Buy or download this book. It will tell you everything you need to know.

First, you might do some work before leaping right into the Geotia. I'd recommend Modern Magick to you like I'd recommend it to anyone. Start slowly, without

Second, it might turn out that you simply don't have the psychic sensitivity to do an effective evocation by yourself. That's okay! John Dee, who was one of the greatest magicians of the Renaissance, didn't have the psychic vision to do an effective evocation or scrying on his own. So he partnered with Edward Kelley, and had Kelley act as the "receiver." So why not follow in his footsteps? Find someone you know who seems to be very psychically potent, and ask them to work an evocation with you.

I recently fell into the Occult world as well. A was given a deck of tarot cards. It was the Rider-Waite deck. I started reading about it and a spark lit. Now I am consuming everything I can get my hands on.

I like MindandMagick as well. Also, I found this video on the Hermetic Principles very helpful and well explained.

As for reading, I have started reading the Liber Null by Peter Carroll and Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine. Recommend both if you're interested in Chaos Magick.

Some of the seminal works on Wicca are Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. by Scott Cunningham and Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland.

Good luck on your journey. Personally, I am starting small by working on my meditation, mindfulness and single-pointed thought. Also, studying the tarot a few cards at a time.

I've been reading these new writings by JK Rowling and the excitement over the new Magical Beasts movie made me remember a book I read a few years back.
There is a book called Occult America (http://www.amazon.com/Occult-America-Seances-Circles-History/dp/0553385151)
It talks about the lesser known occult origins of the United States and all the strange magical religions that come over from the old country and/or sprang up in the early history of the USA. It's fascinating that the majority of the things that book talks about have roots in upstate NY which is close to where it seems Ilvermorny is on the map. Interestingly enough, in another magical fiction, The Magicians by Lev Grossman, the magical school called Brakebills is in upstate New York, and in real life, in almost the same place is the real life magic wizard school called Omega Institute (eomega.org). I lived at the Omega Institute for a year and have gone back as a teacher several times, teaching psychic meditation, energy healing, and other magical things including once, a Harry Potter guided meditation! It's the real deal for staff and when you work there, people regularly refer to it as the "real life hogwarts"
Anyway, I love the magical world of Harry Potter, but it's really cool when it overlaps the real life world of real witches and wizards and upstate NY is a HOTBED of magical history!

After I finished reading the fourth new story on Pottermore, I was reminded me a lot of some more real life wizardry that I learned about this past summer.
During World War 1, there was this semi secret thing going on called The Magical Battle of Britain, where Dion Fortune (famous occultist of the early 1900's England) was living at the bottom of the Glastonbury Tor (famous magical power spot) and doing regular rituals and meditations with a local group and correspondences all over the world to try and use magic to help win the war. I met a guy who is writing a book on it.
Check out the photo for this event about the book. Archangel Michael using the power of the holy grail and the Tor in the background to fight Nazi SS "Knights" ! : https://www.facebook.com/events/220966324915854/
Also there is a book about this that Dion Fortune wrote back in the day
For more interesting real life info check this link: http://godsandradicals.org/2015/07/27/the-magical-battle-of-britain/
Seems like JK Rowling's newest article "1920's Wizarding America" is somewhat based on true events! :0

Despite the name this book is good and easy introduction: Practical Sigil Magic - Creating Personal Symbols for Success

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Sigil-Magic-Creating-Personal/dp/0738731536

Easy to find as pdf also

After you learn to use sigils, I'd recommend to check memes and stories as sigils. An naturally learn the theory behind magic so you have better understanding what consequences of your actions might be.

Unfortunately there isn't really a book that teaches you the methodology without having to do a lot of reading between the lines. Picatrix, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, and Three Books on Life are basically the best source texts.

There are links to my site that talks about different parts of astrological magic, but I haven't written a step-by-step thing about it. I share a lot of astrological timing for various talismans as they come up on my site's Facebook page. Renaissance Astrology is another option, but that website is, in my opinion, kind of a design nightmare, but there are a lot of examples of talismans and elections (some good, some bad). There are even courses available, I took one starting out, but it was really meh and I was pretty disappointed in it. Private tutoring is another really great option, nothing beats one-on-one attention. :)

If you want a good training guide, I recommend Initiation into Hermetics . It’s the best training manual available to the public I have ever seen. As I have seen, there is nothing better than Initiation into Hermetics for basic legit magical training.

Remember training is a full time job (or at least should be worked as a part time job, obviously more training is better than less)

It’s very very hard training, but it’s all legit. If you do it right, you’ll come out of the other side a true mage.

Feel free to ask if you have questions about it.

You can put your faith in magic if you want. But that will require experiences, which will come with legit practices.

But magic itself is higher spirituality. You will slowly learn to see without the kaleidoscope.

What are you interested in? Wicca, candle magick, hermeticism and alchemy, Setianism, Qabalah, tarot, mythology, astrology, goetia, esoteric christianity? A little bit of everything?

My recommendation is to start with something you're really interested in and pick up that one thing. If you're interested in Crowley, then you might be interested in tarot. My suggestion is getting a simple book by a laymen's author like Amber Jayanti on the tarot. As you read the book, circle, highlight or write down (or add to a shopping list) sources to which that author refers - Jayanti may cite Paul Foster Case a lot. Once you read some Case books, then you'll start to see Crowley pop up. Pick up Lon Milo DuQuette's book on Crowley's Tarot. Then you can probably read Crowley's Book of Thoth.

My other advice is not to worry about not picking up every little detail of every book. You won't have the schema necessary for every small detail in every book, and part of reading in the occult is rediscovering the deeper meaning of something you thought you already knew, like a spiral upward.

Depends what you want. If you want rituals and mystery and so on, then you can immerse yourself in that. If you just want to get practical, then you can simplify things a bit. There are probably two sides: finding out about 'magickal practices' and then exploring 'the nature of reality' (which turns out to be about 'the nature of the self').

There's a free copy of Phil Hine's Condensed Chaos available here. Alan Chapman's Advanced Magick for Beginners is definitely worth your while. And perhaps a mix such as Magick on the Edge to give you a flavour of different people's approaches.

To explore about reality/yourself, you should consider looking into non-duality (e.g. Presence by Rupert Spira, The Direct Path by Greg Goode, the work of Douglas Harding.) It's a nice thing to be doing in parallel to any more esoteric stuff; keeps your perspective intact perhaps. If you're feeling daring, George Berkeley, or later authors, exploring things more philosophically.

Have fun.

get this book it's similar to a "mutus liber" (mute book) in that it tells the history of western esotericism in pictures but there is on average 1/4 page small print commentary on most pictures.

Art history gets close to the history of civilization from the weird perspective but if your not careful about your texts, the occult will be studiously left out. The renaissance was a blaze of occult Anamnesis that was quickly squelched via Protestant appropriation (Rosicrucians) and swept back under the magic rug of materialist history.

Also a fun exercise is learning to write/draw with your "wrong hand". Force yourself to write a few sentences everyday with the hand you do not write with. Eventually the script will get smaller and smaller until you have total control. May take a few weeks but it's quicker than you think. Need to do it everyday though.

What happens (IMO) is that you start rewiring your brain a bit.

Once your good at writing with your wrong hand, practice sketching with it as well.

I did a sketch of an eagle once with both hands at the same time and I did the right side with my right hand and the left with my left. It looked pretty good and you couldn't tell which was which. Sadly I let this practice go (I'm not an artist) but I can still write with my wrong hand.

Thanks for posting that! I recognize a lot of those illustrations from this book called "Alchemy & Mysticism" by Alexander Roob. Have you ever seen that one? It's a really amazing collection of artworks. I wish it were a little larger, but it's a great resources nonetheless, and it was really affordable. The hardcover sells on amazon for less than $20. Well worth a purchase if you into such things!

*edit - here is the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Mysticism-Alexander-Roob/dp/3836549360/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1526840172&sr=1-1&keywords=alchemy+and+mysticism+alexander+roob&dpID=5168YyiXUkL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Not entirely sure if this is what you're looking for, but, there's a handful of books that people have written that attempt to explore the symbolism and meaning of Crowley's deck.

A friend of mine, a member of the local OTO Lodge and EGC, has several. I know these two are in his library for sure:

- Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot
- The Thoth Companion

There's also the old stand-by, Crowley's own exploration and essay about the deck:

- The Book of Thoth

Apologies if these aren't what you're looking for, and I hope someone comes along that can answer your questions more satisfactorily.

Do's:

• Get into ceremonial technique, if you haven't already.
  
  
• Consider working with something "easier" first; /u/raisondecalcul recommended Seven Spheres, and I'd recommend Ashan Chassan's Gateways Through Stone and Circle as well. Even if you don't work with them, at least consider reading them, as the do provide some insight into this sort of working.
  
  
• Give some serious thought as to why you want to do this. Write it down, revisit and revise, and argue with yourself while prepping. Know what it is you're trying to find or do.
  
  Do not's:
  
  
• Don't undertake a Goetic operation on a whim. Prepare for it according to the text.
  
  
• Don't take any of the text for granted; don't skip straight to the "fun stuff." Read the whole damned thing, do the prep work, use the recommended materials. It's an initiatory text.
  
  
• Don't break the rules until you've done several operations according to the rules with success.
  
  
• Don't worry about being a satanist. If you wish to find out what is needed, read the book. For starters, it is intended to leverage one's relationship with divinity. Jewish mythology and mysticism figure heavily into this, and you probably won't find yourself talking to the Christian notion of Satan in order to establish a relationship with whatever is evoked.

It sounds like you are wanting some usable ritual work. Some books that do a good job of easing you into ceremonial magic are:

• Modern Magick - A good primer, from beginner to more advanced work.
  
• By Names and Images - Covers the basics, but get more advanced more quickly. Gets into Skrying more quickly.
  
  And to lesser extents
  
  
• Middle Pillar - Covers the basics of Qabalistic philosophy
  
• Garden of Pomegranates - Gets a little more advanced into Qabalistic Philosophy with some good Skrying "how to" as well, such as testing entities, visuals, etc.
  

I think you may actually want at least a couple of different books here. But to get you started with a book that includes the lists of many deities and other entities, astrological, stone, color, and other correspondences, check out The Complete Magician's Tables. It's a really nice and useful book.

With regard to prayers and invocations, I'd say you may have better luck if you look at books that are specific to that tradition. For example, I'd find it unlikely that you would find any book that very comprehensively lists every single thing (including lengthy stuff like prayers and invocations) about both Judeo-Christian angels and about Hindu deities.

I found the section. The misspellings are not present in my translation. In fact all of the language is different in my book. It seems like your PDF and my book had different translators.

You can preview it and see the same section on Amazon at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

It's called the "Human Being: The Body" in the book. In the book, it reads:

\> The external visible appearance of the body resembles a beautiful garment, and beauty with all its aspects is...

The rest goes on like that. In the book it's grammatically correct and doesn't have spelling errors.

not a grimoire per say but i find franz bardons book initiation into hermetics a good place to start for energy work.

one thing it talks about is drawing life force and/or white light from the universe or yourself and impregnating it with your wish or desire. One thing to keep in mind working with life force, if its for yourself use you own lifeforce. if its for someone else draw it from the universe.

bardon says to do this because if you use your own engery on someone else you might take on a bit of their karma due to a connection i think.

https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/

I highly recommend Modern Magick by Donald Kraig. It was recommended to me when I first started out. :)

Also, check out The History of the Occult Tarot by Ronald Decker. It contains plenty of good overview/perspectives of thought.

Lastly, I just recently read Thelema: An Introduction to the Life, Work & Philosophy of Aleister Crowley by Colin Campbell The book is a great introduction to Thelema.

IIRC this book (intentionally) left out the inner order rituals of the R.R. et A.C., as did Cicero's "Self-Initiation" book on the GD, which I would also recommend. These inner order rituals can be now accessed, at least the amended version used by the subsequent Alpha et Omega group (one of the few true G.D. lineages) in "Secret Inner Order Rituals of the Golden Dawn" by Pat Zalewski, much to the dismay of contemporary G.D. groups. You can also find a more novel and elaborate (and equally exclusive) reproduction of the Whare-Ra version of an Enochian manuscript from their Inner Order known as "Ritual X" once you've gone over the other material, or should you wish to add it to your collection.


Whether these will be of any use to you is debatable. If you feel a particular connection with the G.D. current and curriculum give it a shot and see how it resonates with you. If it does not, you can always go the A.A. route and see if Thelema (or your take on it) is your thing.

For a more practical approach, I would recommend "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon first, followed by "Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts" by Donald Michael Kraig. Then decide which path, or lackthereof, you would like to explore from there.

You can find the Equinox online here.

The print edition of Book 4 is much better than any of the online copies I've found. However, I find that Daniel Ingram's guidance on breathing and meditation is more direct and easier to follow.

You may want to look into a few Crowley biographies before you dive too deep into purchasing all of his books. Context may help you decide whether you want some guidance here and there or are ready to commit to the entire path.

This is my favorite book on the Major Arcana.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fools-Pilgrimage-Kabbalistic-Meditations/dp/0835608395

I think the author is Donald Tyson, but Portable Magic is a great book on constructing rituals for tarot.

As for learning card meanings almost any is fine to get yourself started. I usually recommend starting with whatever your local library has on it instead of spending money or searching for a .pdf.

However if you get a Thoth Deck this is the most reccomended book on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765

Thank you for getting the joke.

I would not really advise to solely look at Enochian Text for this, you might want to start looking at
A Dictionary of Angels for some good baseline info
and the Sepher Rezial Hemelach

Fifth World Books - 419 E. 2100 South, SLC, UT. Ph.(801)486-6437 Will often know where to point you as well. Rosenblum's World of Judaica on Devon St. In Chicago can direct you as well as get you some very hard to find reference books.

Hope those can give you some more diverse and accurate sources of information.

EDIT: Also of course the Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation and The Magician's Companion

I'm not sure about essential to every occult library (and I realize some of these aren't necessarily considered primarily 'occult' texts), but here are a few I've found useful:

• The Golden Dawn - Israel Regardie
  
• Morals and Dogma - Alfred Pike
  
• Modern Magick - Donald Michael Kraig
  
• The Secret Teachings of All Ages - Manly P. Hall
  
• Initiation into Hermetics - Franz Bardon
  
• Sefer Yetzirah - Aryeh Kaplan
  
• The Secret Doctrine - Madame Blavatsky
  
• Liber Null & Psychonaut - Peter J. Carroll
  
• The Book of Thoth - Aleister Crowley
  
• Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices - Christopher S. Hyatt
  
• Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson
  
• Enochian Vision Magick - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• The Chicken Qabalah - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• Brain Magick - Philip Farber
  
• Info-Psychology - Timothy Leary
  
• Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson - George Gurdjieff
  
• Initiation, Human and Solar - Alice Bailey
  
• The Red Book - Carl Jung
  
• Principia Discordia - Malaclypse the Younger

this book - http://www.amazon.com/Lesser-Banishing-Ritual-Pentagram/dp/1905713959/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1456980471&sr=8-1

• Modern Magick by DMK -
  
  
  and also this book - http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Qabala-Magic-Ted-Andrews/dp/073870394X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456980494&sr=8-4&keywords=kabbalah+magic
  
  
  and this one -
  http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456980527&sr=8-1&keywords=into+hermetics
  
  
  
  that's a great coverage of magick and kabblah.
  
  
  oh and if you want a tarot book this book is great too -
  http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Tarot-Integrative-Approach-Personal/dp/158394835X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456980615&sr=1-1&keywords=tarot+holistic
  

I keep seeing these 'what is it" posts. If you are a serious occultists you are going to need a reference volume.

The Magician's Companion: A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism (Llewellyn's Sourcebook)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Magicians-Companion-Encyclopedic-Llewellyns/dp/0875428681?tag=lhitecom-20

Best availability and price is at amazon. You will love the comprehensiveness of this! I urge you to get one.

It is very difficult to establish any kind of reading order for occult studies. Occultism itself is an infinitely tangled strand of truths, half-truths, and lies. It is difficult (perhaps in possible) to identify a starting point and (getting lost is part of the fun).

Nonetheless, I will do my best to identify some possible entry points.

• Crowley Created a reading list for A.'.A.' initiatives. This is not a bad place to start if you are interested in the Thelemic approach.
  
• If Chaos Magick interests you, Liber Null & Psychonaut is not a bad place to start.
  
• My personal favorite approach would be to start withUndoing yourself with energized meditation and other devices After sufficiently "deprogramming" yourself, you may hugely benefit from reading The Dao De Ching, The Torah, The New Testament, the Koran, The Bhagavad gita and other sacred texts not necessarily associated with esotericism. These books contain the most profound truths beneath layers of bullshit (the bull being Taurus/ the sacred cow/ ra) and allegory.

Qabalah is great. But I recommend you read some work by Alan Watts first. He takes the greatest lessons the Qabalah has to offer and distills them into ideas so simple and self-evident, you'll be amazed that you never realized it before. His best works are "The Book" and "This Is It."

Then, if you still want to study Qabalah (you should), start here: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

"...for if ye take but one step in this Path, ye must arrive inevitably at the end thereof."

Here is a link to arguably the best introduction to wicca that there is.

https://www.amazon.com/Wicca-Solitary-Practitioner-Scott-Cunningham/dp/0875421180/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1519634712&sr=8-3&keywords=wicca+guide&dpID=51j%252BwKpACML&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

This was the first "occult" book i have ever purchsed/read. I am not a wiccan but that book "opened the doors" for me so to speak. Once I realized that i was interested in much more than just wicca the following book by peter j carrol steered me in the right direction based on the practical exercises in an almost textbook like format.

https://www.amazon.com/Liber-Null-Psychonaut-Introduction-Chaos/dp/0877286396/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519634960&sr=1-1&keywords=liber+null&dpID=516TsWggnKL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

I'd recommend checking out general "energy work" stuff. This book is one of the best I've ever found:

https://www.amazon.com/Astral-Dynamics-Out-Body-Experiences/dp/1571746161/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=astral+dynamics&qid=1572989589&sr=8-1

You're welcome. No worries about the length, it was relevant to what you were asking.

Everyone has a 'sixth sense' it's the mind. It's where all the other senses get sorted out and you get your perceptual experience. Your mind is good at using the information it has on hand, sometimes that information is commonly accepted as legitimate by your current conscious awareness, all to often it is filtered out by socially created constructs that determine what experiences are acceptable in a given culture/society.

Freaking out is a pretty typical reaction when experience defies your expectations of what you have come to accept reality as.

You seem to be doing fine already, just intuitively picking things up. Feeding the fire, candles, fire related rituals, offerings to the salamander. It sound like it's taken an interest in you, possibly from before, not sure.

If you can remember the feeling of it when it arrived, the sense of it, and you can visualise in meditation, and ask it to come back while lighting another candle, I'm sure you can continue your process. Pick up some literature on how to go about it. I've seen this book recommended before, but haven't read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Spirits-Evocation-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/1567183816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402090374&sr=8-1&keywords=Summoning+Spirits%3A+The+Art+of+Magical+Evocation

If you have any questions, or need clarification while continuing, you can come to this r/occult to ask questions.

Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig has got sections on this - explaining the spheres and also giving practical techniques for using them.

From what I've heard the book is one of those "omg I can't believe I read that X years ago" type books that people cringe about, lol. So maybe don't take it all at face value and be prepared to use it as a starting point.

Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette is supposed to be pretty good, never read it though: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

Anyone have an ebook to share?

I think the book Practical Sigil Magic is a good beinner resource that shows pretty well how to go about it.

Check out the Thoth tarot book for more info on reading the cards. I also recommend reading Lon Milo Duquettes book on understanding the Thoth Tarot. Also also, check out liber Theta from Temple of Thelema . There's also an explanation and analysis on divination with Tarot from Soror Meral in Temple of Thelema's periodical called In the Continuum.

book of thoth

understanding Thoth tarot

liber Theta

in the Continuum vol 1

You'll want to read issue no.7 for divination

It seems very boring to a lot of mystic newbs but I've been evangelizing the shit out of Qabalah lately. If you want to see the connections between all things and the machinery that runs the universe, this is the place to start.

Begin with something breezy that'll let you ease into the concepts: Lon Milo DuQuette's Chicken Qabalah. It's like an exegesis of Douglas Adams's Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Then dive in deep.

Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah

Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth

This shit will blow your mind wide open. You can see how the 10 Sephiroth directly correspond to the 10 dimensions of the universe, how the first 4 correspond to actual space and the 5th to time as we understand it.

It'll show you the operating schematic for literally everything and how we are all connected and sprang forth from the same no-thing. Every new page I read blows my mind.

Are you going through an A.'.A.'. Student Examination?

Let's break this down.

What is a Talisman?


Answer: A talisman is an object believed to contain certain magical properties thought to draw good luck to the possessor, or offer the possessor protection from possible evil or harm. - Wikipedia

What is Numerology?


Answer: Numerology is any belief in the divine, mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events

How do I find the meaning/ideas/associations of a number?


Liber 777
The Complete Magician's Tables - Skinner

Is there a recognized way to go about this?


References to materials to get you started.

Do you have any further questions or anything you would like to know in particular?

I'm fond of Bill Whitcomb's The Magician's Companion.

...also Crowly suggested in Magic Without Tears that a serious practitioner would construct their own 777. I think the idea is to have intimate knowledge of the correspondences of all of the symbols you work with. Symbols can be powerful tools, but they are definitely amplified when they interact with each other in your subconscious perception.

If you're looking to dive headlong into practice, I found Advanced Magick for Beginners to be a helpful, fun read.

Aside from Liber 777, Stephen Skinner's The Complete Magician's Tables is quite good.

I also like to refer to Harold Roth's correspondences at his Alchemy Works website.

Franz Bardon IIH. Exactly what your looking for. Get a good physical copy of the book and dont rely on PDFs, cheatsheets etc.

Comment I made on another post on it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/occult/comments/5ij1d9/iih_first_step_help/

Good version(which I have)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

By far the best place to start is with Lon Milo DuQuette's book.

The Chicken Qalabah by Lon Milo Duquette. His humorous voice helps me understand fundamental concepts of ceremonial magick. After I read this, I started looking at the world differently, connecting things.

Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon

Modern Magick: Donald Kraig

The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic by Eliphas Levi

Words to the wise by Manly Hall

That should keep you busy for a while.

oh wow i completely forgot to reply to this comment, anyway this book briefly talks about it https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1567183816/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune was an excellent introduction for me.

I've been playing around the with idea of doing a project (series of articles, book, whatever) about the influence of occult groups and Alternative Religious Movements on contemporary right-wing politics, inspired by both Dark Money and Occult America. Mitch Horowitz's book is great, but I feel like it tapers off after the 60's and focuses heavy on East coast history. There are a ton of interesting, obscure tangents and threads of inquiry between the two coasts that are often ignored, and the effect some groups have had on right-wing politics is a story worth telling.

As an example, Charles Koch funded an organization in Colorado Springs during the 60's/70's called the Freedom School, which was ran by self-described "autarchist" Robert LeFevre. Lefevre was heavily involved with the I AM Activity movement in Chicago, a Theosophy-inspired group that derived their teachings from Ascended Masters. Around the same time in Colorado Springs, another theosophy derivative called the Summit Lighthouse was also running pretty hot and heavy. They would eventually change their name to the Church Universal & Triumphant and become a relatively spooky doomsday cult in Montana that became embroiled in an illegal gun purchasing scandal in the 80's.

This pretty foundational textbook on Modern Magick.

https://www.amazon.com/Liber-Null-Psychonaut-Introduction-Chaos/dp/0877286396/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501867525&sr=8-1&keywords=liber+null+and+psychonaut

A quick google or YouTube search will help with this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mtzU9mVlk0

Grant Morrison cause he's punk rock.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738715786?pc_redir=1396384841&robot_redir=1

This is my favorite.

My fav on occult art though the ages:
https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Mysticism-Alexander-Roob/dp/3836549360

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Golden+dawn+israel&qid=1565839265&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Best book you get on the topic. Written by Israel Regardie, an former member of the GD and personal secretary of Aleister Crowley. Shared a lot of the inner knowledge of the GD what brought him a lot of hate.

For a biography I suggest This one

you can find works here
and some more here.

If you like Liber Null I suggest picking up Frater U.'.D.'.'s book on sigils. Which can also be found here

Interesting. What are you most into? Catholicism? Wicca? Afro Religions? Chaos Magic - Goethia?

Well, here's some searching topics for you:

Catholicism: Look for "extreme unction" (accepted by the Official Church), "La Santisima Muerte", "San La Muerte", "San Lázaro" (Not accepted by the Church).

Wicca: Search for some works of a Wiccan called Konstantinos. Has some interesting books.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Spirits-Evocation-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/1567183816/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511354337&sr=8-2&keywords=konstantinos+wicca

Afro Religions (Umbanda, Kimbanda, Candomblé): Look on info about Orixá Omulú, Orixá Obaluaié, Exús. Well, most Afro Religions has good knowledge about the Dead.

Chaos Magic: Well, that isn't my expertise, but here's a lot of people into it, keep asking if this is your case.

-------------------------------------------

These are just some beggining points you can search. Enjoy!.

> Liber MMM

Its also a part of Liber null if your interested in more information on the topic.

Have a look at Robert Bruce's book Astral Dynamics. I don't care for his new-age style marketing, but his material is sound, original, and road-tested.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Magick-Beginners-Alan-Chapman/dp/1904658415

In this book it offers this framework for ANY magic (I cut and pasted this from a review - it appears in the book repeatedly):

1. Decide what is to occur.
   
2. Ensure the occurrence has the means of manifestation.
   
3. Choose an experience (ritual experience).
   
4. Decide the "Ritual Experience" means the same as the intended occurrence.
   
5. Undergo Ritual Experience.
   
6. Results.
   
   For example
   
   
7. It will rain today
   
   
8. It can rain from the sky via gathered clouds
   
   
9. Spilling water onto the ground from a cup
   
   
10. Spilling water onto the ground means it is raining
    
    
11. Spill water onto the ground
    
    
12. It rains in the near future
    
    According to Mr Chapman's theory following those 6 guidelines will enable you to create your own rituals, complicated or simple. On some level what you put in, you will get out.
    
    Edit: Chapman, not Carroll.

I'd reccomend getting books or pdf's like Modern Magick 12 Lessons in high magick http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

Or Franz Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449847399

Those are quite practical

AMORC look really good but I have been told they lack practical magical work. You may also like to work through a book such as Modern Magick by Kraig https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

By chance this?

Get the following:
The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738743992/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zqnWBbPQ82981

The Essential Golden Dawn: An Introduction to High Magic https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703109/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yrnWBb98G4WRB

The Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind and Magic https://www.amazon.com/dp/1567181406/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vsnWBbPTAX7M9

Nah, it's totally on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0877289190/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1501562410&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

That was almost as good as the Ramsey Dukes.

Unlike the Ramsey Dukes this one added to my ToReadPile:

Occult America: White House Seances, Ouija Circles, Masons, and the Secret Mystic History of Our Nation;

Upstate Cauldron: Eccentric Spiritual Movements in Early New York State.

Practical tidbit: if you have a kindle, you can promote books to your friends with no risk of adding to your store of lent and then lost books. I had never thought about that before but I really like this idea.

The idea that more resources for paranormal research would be beneficial is almost totally debunked by Michael Polanyi Personal Knowledge. Polanyi does not explicitly state that the secrets protect themselves, but they do.

One of these days Gordon is going to ask somebody if they were a weird kid and his guest is going to say their father was an abusive monster and their childhood and youth are too painful for podcast discussion material.

Everything covered in Mitch Horowitz's "Occult America"

The Complete Magician's Tables.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Magicians-Tables-Stephen-Skinner/dp/0738711640

The Complete Magician's Tables

https://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Magicians-Tables-Stephen-Skinner/dp/0738711640

Donald Michael Kraigs Modern Magick

Donald Tysons Magicians Workbook

Jason Newcombs The New Hermetics

You can find copies at libgen.io

Cheap too! It’s a large book, about A4 sized

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

Do all the exercises in this book. Then you'll know more and maybe have some experience. Take it slow.

Modern Magick by Donald M. Kraig (RIP)

Answers to all of your questions, and more!

http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Sigil-Magic-Creating-Personal/dp/0738731536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1459321261&sr=8-1&keywords=practical+sigil+magick

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=golden+dawn&qid=1571784127&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Golden-Dawn-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411520174&sr=8-1&keywords=israel+regardie%2C+golden+dawn

I'm using these to learn

Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot:

https://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765

Book of Thoth

https://www.amazon.ca/Book-Thoth-Egyptian-Tarot/dp/0877282684/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CWZHPFQA9ETTKABGTTGP

Have you thought of trying a different deck? I could only find one source of information on that type of deck.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thoth-Short-Egyptians-Equinox/dp/0877282684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396830124&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Book+of+Thoth

http://www.amazon.com/Magick-Liber-ABA-Book-4/dp/0877289190

Magick: Liber ABA

https://www.amazon.com/Astral-Dynamics-Out-Body-Experiences/dp/1571746161

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploring-World-Dreams-Stephen-LaBerge/dp/034537410X

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Dreaming-Carlos-Castaneda/dp/006092554X

One of the most practical: https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

Here is the desktop version of your link

As above, so below.

Try this Alchemy-Mysticism-Hermetic-Museum

This edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3CSTC1N873G04ATXD55P

is, I think the most up-to-date; though some of the reviews on Amazon point out that there are uncorrected and newly introduced errors in this 7th edition.
This edition (the 6th I think):
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Teachings-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AM0NAE0V1C2359V57JAQ
Is the one that was readily available for the longest time.

Sounds like you might want to check out this book. I can't vouch for its accuracy but it sounds like exactly what you're looking for, and you can further research how accurate it is. The guy who wrote it is not some random crackpot; he's editor-in-chief of Tarcher/Penguin, the metaphysical division of Penguin Books, so that's a good sign.

https://www.amazon.com/Occult-America-Seances-Circles-History/dp/0553385151

And here's an article about it, by him:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitch-horowitz/the-occult-in-american-history_b_774765.html

Also, read up on Spiritualism. It started in America about a decade before the Civil War.

In no particular order, I recommend you read

• Homemade Magick: The Musings & Mischief of a Do-It-Yourself Magus
  
  
• Low Magick: It's All In Your Head ... You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is
  
  
• Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts
  
  Those should be enough to get you started.

The confusion is understandable, and complicated by the (interesting) history of 'Book 4', ...which necessarily, was composed of 4 separate sections, composed over several years . Subsequently, 'Book 4' has been printed (and re-printed) both in parts and in whole - the copy you link here appears to be limited to the first two sections (indicated by "Reprint of 1913 Edition").

a 'complete' Book 4 will contain;

1: liber ABA part 1: mysticism (1912)
2: liber ABA part 2 : magick (elementary theory) (1913)
3: Magick in Theory & Practice (1929/30)
4: ΘΕΛΗΜΑ - The Law (Equinox of the Gods) (1936/37)

i can't help you with making rituals as i'm pretty new to the practical side myself. i haven't read these, but they've been highly recommended by multiple people:

[modern magick by daniel michael kraig](http://smile.amazon.com/dp/0738715786
)

advanced magick for beginners by alan chapman

> How do I undo the conditioning that causes me to irrationally fear/reject/recoil at any mention of the Devil, Serpent/Snake, Baphomet, and other spiritual concepts that would go against my Pentecostal upbringing?

practice, both in the sense of trying repeatedly and developing a practice. the more educated you become about the significance of these symbols, the less the perverted pentacostal interpretation will appeal to your instincts or even stand out.

knee-jerk reactions from ingrained beliefs are a function of the lower emotional and animal body. you (your reason) are riding a horse that gets spooked whenever it sees a snake or a goat, and whenever it gets spooked, you get spooked and attribute significance to the horse getting spooked. someone with mastery over their horse would calmly allow the horse to be spooked and simply rein it in.

>What book have you read that gave you instructions on how to do something and when you did it, it worked?

For me my first such book was "The Art of Dreaming" by Castaneda.

I don't follow it explicitly, but I do many similar things especially compared to the early sections of the book, and with good results, and therefore have confidence that the book is 100% solid: Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon.

>I don't want base concepts or history, I want results.

All results-oriented books are basically cut off at the knees and you won't get very far with them. Do you understand why? Probably not, or you'd not be asking like this. So let me try to explain why.

All your intentions are conditioned. Your intent does not operate in a vacuum. Thus when you move your arm, this is conditioned by the idea that you have an arm, that you can validly move it toward an object which you consider to be a valid object, inside a valid universe and so on. In other words your confidence rests on a vast network of entrenched beliefs and based on that you produce intentions which are conventional and limited.

So for example, can you leave your body? Probably not. Why not? Because in your likely worldview you likely are the body and it makes no logical sense to intend to leave it. The body can't leave itself, so it's senseless. And if you try, you experience failure. Then you start to look for results-oriented books which work while you ignore the problems in your own psyche that keep you back.

So for an occult intent to become properly operative, that intent needs to first be made sensical. This requires the books you hate! The theoretical books. The contemplative books. The books that superficially seem to have no point to them. The books that help you clear out the debris of old occult-inhibiting beliefs and replace them with the occult-enabling beliefs.

And if you are the sort of a person who doesn't want to get stuck in a belief system just for the sake of the occult, you need to go higher toward meta-beliefs (beliefs about beliefs), the way Chaos Magick does.

So your results orientation is a severe obstacle, actually. It's a throw back to materialism and convention.

Let's return to a book like "Initiation into Hermetics." If there ever was a results oriented book, that one is it. That book is void of theory and it just contains exercises which work. The problem is, your psyche is very likely not prepared for what will happen once you succeed with the exercises. Furthermore, some of the exercises might sound nonsensical to you if you don't have the theoretical grounding first. And you won't be able to follow something you consider nonsensical. So even the best results-oriented book might fail for you if it doesn't match your mental propensities.

That doesn't mean there aren't stupid fluff books out there. Because there are! But many excellent and worthwhile books are not in fact immediately results-oriented.

I read a description of "Initiation into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon on Amazon. It said:

> Franz Bardon is considered by many as the greatest adept of the 20th century. A tireless worker for the light, he survived Hitler's concentration camps but died a victim of Communist persecution in 1958. He left behind him four legendary books which have become acknowledged classics of occult literature.

As a believer in and neophyte practicioner of magick, I mean this question seriously. How do you die a victim of Communist (or really any kind of) persecution when you're supposed​ly the greatest adept of the century? Can't you magick your way out of that sort of thing? Am I misunderstanding how magick works?