Tankhem
House of Life

Suggested background reading

'Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law'

Here's a basic reading list. You could also look at the curriculum of the AA as published in Crowley's Magick for many other useful texts. It might take a while to get through these books, assuming you are able to get hold of them. You don't need to have read them all before continuing. Professor Ronald Hutton once expressed the view that if a candidate read and assimilated all of the material suggested by Crowley, they would be better educated than most university students.

Magician's Reading List #1


Magick

Magick: The Western Tradition by Francis King
Ritual Magick In England by Francis King
Sexuality, Magick and Perversion by Francis King
Techniques of High Magick by Francis King and Stephen Skinner [The Francis King books are a little bit out of date but are easy to read and full of useful information. The titles can belie the serious content. Copies should be available in most public libraries. ]
The Search for Abraxas by Neville Drury
The Occult by Colin Wilson
Magick : An Occult Primer by David Conway
Visual Magick by Jan Fries [excellent beginners book]
The Splendour That Was Egypt by Margaret Murray


Thelemic Magick

The Great Beast by John Symonds (reprinted as King of the Shadow Realm)
[The author is hostile to Crowley, but this is a fascinating account if one bears in mind the author's prejudices.]
'Virgins, Whores and Scarlet Women - Women and Magick' article by Shantidevi in the Thelemic journal Nuit Isis Issue 1.
Becoming Magick by David Rankine 'New and Revised Magicks for the New Aeon, drawing on over twenty years of magickal work in a variety of systems, this book is a forward-looking manual full of new material and techniques created to push the boundaries of contemporary magick'.
[A fresh approach to Qabalah, Gematria and Magick. Among many other things, contains instructions on how to make top quality Abra-Melin Oil and Incense, and the legendary Kyphi Incense of the ancient Egyptian priesthood, essential items for the magician.]
 The Eye in the Triangle by Israel Regardie
The Middle Pillar by Israel Regardie
Legacy of The Beast by Gerald Suster
Magical Dilemma of Victor Neuberg by Jean Overton Fuller
Magick, Liber ABA etc. by Aleister Crowley
[Not an easy book to read in one sitting but worth having a copy of and working through over a few years as your experience grows. The best edition used to be the Penguin/RKP has been withdrawn. Weiser have produced a definative edition at $49. Otherwise there are several reprints of the first edition available but they lack an index and decent contents page but they are very cheap. If your edition has the section on yoga then have a look but I recommend skipping this and getting a decent yoga and meditation teacher instead.
It is really a rewriting of Vivekanandas Raja Yoga which is in turn a commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. These are crucial magical ideas here but take a bit of digesting. Read Introduction then go to section two on ceremonial magick. Read through the various short chapters that sets out the basic symbolism of the magical weapons.] Dip into the fascinating chapters in part three, which begins with the fantastic 'Hymn to Pan'.
Much of the instructional material is actually contained in Appendices VI and VII 'a few principle rituals' (an understatement if ever there was one), which can be worked through in the following order (perhaps it might take a few years to do this)
'Liber O'
'Liber Astarte '
'Liber HHH'
Appendices IV 'Liber Samech' is an advanced ritual and you need a bit of experience before making much of it,
The smaller rituals such as 'Star Sapphire', 'Star Ruby' and 'Mass of Phoenix' are very much Crowley/Thelemic rituals and can, if you wish, be used to substitute the older Golden Dawn formulae given in
'Liber O'. 'Liber Resh' is worth memorising as a neat way of worshipping the sun on solstices etc
. 'Liber 15 - The Gnostic Mass' is a church like ritual for larger groups who are into that sort of thing. Various tapes of this are available.
Do not slavishly follow the formulae in Magick, use your brain.]
The Confessions or Autohagiography by Aleister Crowley
[Long winded, but if you're hooked by now, you'll love it]
Aleister Crowley and The Hidden God by Kenneth Grant
The Magical Revival by Kenneth Grant
Cults of The Shadows by Kenneth Grant
[Not the easiest or the most scholarly of writers, but very original and even though you may only understand 25% of what he says, you'll either be fascinated or repelled. Read in conjunction with Shantidevi's article mentioned above.]

Articles

'Aleister Crowley' in Dictionary of National Bibliography
'Aleister Crowley - Great Ideas of the Twentieth Century' by Snoo Wilson (transcript as published in Thelema 94 edited by Mogg Morgan)

Crowley factsheet

Kabbalah

'Gematria' by McGregor Matters [Reprinted in collection entitled The Kabbalah of Aleister Crowley- which also contains 777 a book of correspondences which is essential part of any magicians library and also Sepher Sephira, a dictionary of kabbalistic terms also worth having.]
The Mystical Kabbalah by Dion Fortune [Flawed but important study of Kabbalah which shows how the image can be integrated into astral work.]
The Sefer Yetzirah Edited and translated by Aryeh Kaplan [Work of great genius.]
The Bahir Edited and translated by Aryeh Kaplan
The Kabbalah by G Scholem
Readings from The Zohar by G Scholem
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism by G Scholem
[Scholem is a famous scholar of the Kabbalah although he has received some criticism of late for his failure to acknowledge the centrality of magick to Kabbalistic thought.]
Kabbalistic Fact Sheet, now as introduction to Steven Ashe's Qabalah of 50 Gates

Astrology

Modern Textbook of Astrology by Margaret Hone [Old but much ripped off introduction to main tenets of astrology and a must for any serious occultist.]
History of Astrology by Jack Lindsay

Witchcraft

Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks & Covens by Paul Huson
The Spiral Dance by Starhawk
Witch Cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray
Witchcraft Today by Gerald B Gardner
The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald B Gardner
Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente
Natural Magic by Doreen Valiente
Ecstasies: Decoding The Witch's Sabbath by Carlo Ginsberg
The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton
The Triumph of The Moon by Ronald Hutton
[An in depth scholarly study of Modern Witchcraft by Professor Hutton. An excellent read.]
 Wicca: The Old Religion in The New Age by Vivianne Crowley [A very influential modern classic.]
Witches: An Encyclopedia of Paganism and Magic by Michael Jordan
Witchcraft: A Complete Guide by Teresa Moorey
Witcha: A Book of Cunning by Nathaniel J Harris [A book of operational English Witchcraft, with original artwork and photographs from the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle.]
Helrunar by Jan Fries [A manual of rune magick, highly illustrated, third revised and enlarged edition.]
Magick Without Peers, A Course in Progressive Witchcraft for The Solitary Practitioner by David Rankine and Ariadne Rainbird
Circle of Fire: The Symbolism and Practices of Wiccan Ritual by Sorita D'Este and David Rankine [You can check out and buy this title, as well as more books they've written, directly through David and Sorita's website.]
The Western Way by John & Caitlin Mathews [The first and for many, best book by this prolific pair. May be a useful intro to some aspects of Celtic Magick.]
What Witches Do by Janet and Stewart Farrar
Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar
The Witches Way by Janet and Stewart Farrar
Progressive Witchcraft by Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone.
Discovering Witchcraft - Journey Through The Elements
and The Mysteries -
2 DVD Box Set,
with Janet Farrar, Stewart Farrar and Gavin Bone,
buy directly from Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone's website
[A practical course taught by Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone, through the initiatory journey of one of their students. Includes one of the last appearances by Stewart Farrar. Filmed vith verve in the magical landscape of Ireland. Very enjoyable viewing.]

Tarot

The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley
Encyclopaedia of Tarot by Richard Cavendish
The Encyclopedia of Tarot by Stewart R Kaplan
78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack 2 vols
The Truth About The Tarot by Gerald Suster
[Not bad introduction]

Theosophy

Blavatsky and Her Teachers by Jean Overton Fuller [A well researched, elegantly written and profoundly insightful biography of the extraordinary Madame Blavatsky, the pioneer of the modern occult and new age movement by a respected Theosophical scholar.]
Madame Blavatsky Medium and Magician by John Symonds [A humourous, well written biography, and a very good read.]
The Secret Doctrine by HP Blavatsky, abridged by Christmas Humphreys
Isis Unveiled by HP Blavatsky
The Secret Doctrine by HP Blavatsky
The Key to Theosophy by HP Blavatsky
The Voice of The Silence by HP Blavatsky
Collected Writings by HP Blavatsky
The Masters and The Path by CW Leadbeater
Light On The Path by Mabel Collins
The Idyll of The White Lotus by Mabel Collins

Comparative Religion

Varieties of Religious Experience by William James
The Golden Bough by JG Frazer
[Useful as a compendium of sources but theoretically dubious.]
Yoga Immortality and Freedom by Mircea Eliade
Shamanism by Mircea Eliade
Gods and Myths of India by Alain Danielou
Shiva & Dionysus by Alain Danielou
Masks of God by Joseph Campbell
[see also the PBS video series by Joseph Campbell (with Bill Moyers), The Power of Myth in six programmes. ] I borrowed a copy at my local library although copies are available for sale from Mandrake of Oxford.
History of Religious Ideas (3 vols) by Mircea Eliade
Three Pillars of Zen by Roshi

Fiction

The Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
Lammas Night by Katherine Kurtz
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
Siddharta by Herman Hesse
The Chemical Wedding by Lindsay Clarke
Angel of The West Window by G Meyrinck
The Golem by G Meyrinck
The Green Face by G Meyrinck
La Bas by JK Huysmans
Moon Child by Aleister Crowley
The Perfume of Egypt and Other Weird Stories by CW Leadbeater
The Demon Lover by Dion Fortune
The Secrets of Dr Taverner by Dion Fortune
The Winged Bull by Dion Fortune
The Goat Foot God by Dion Fortune
The Sea Priestess by Dion Fortune
Moon Magic by Dion Fortune
[Dion Fortune's novels are hardly works of art but they contain some key magical ideas]
High Magic's Aid by Scire (alias Gerald B Gardner)
Winged Pharaoh by Joan Grant

Chaos Magick

'On The Other Hand Path' by Ray Sherwin published in Nuit Isis Reader 1
Liber Null and Psychonaut by Pete Carroll
The Book of Results by Ray Sherwin
Liber Kaos by Pete Caroll
SSOTBME by Ramsey Dukes
Thundersqueak by Angerford and Lea
Chaos Ritual by Steve Wilson
Chaos International Journal, various authors
Condenced Chaos by Phil Hine
Chaotopia by Dave Lee
Now This Is What I Call Chaos Magick by Greg Humphries and Julian Vayne
Kaos Hieroglyphica by Anton Channing

Tantra

Tantra Magick by AMOOKOS
The Tantrik Tradition by A Barati
Shiva & Dionysus by Alain Danielou
Yoga Immortality and Freedom by Mircea Eliade
Gods and Myths of India by Alain Danielou
Tantra Sadhana by Mogg Morgan. This is an Amookos introductory practice as an Ebook.
Tantra by P Rawson

'Love Is The Law, Love Under Will'

(C) OGDOS, PO Box 250, Oxford, OX1 1AP.

Go to 'On beginning a first magical practice'
[*] If you would like discuss further some of the ideas above,
before moving then you can do so by email here