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el-brujo-postergado · 5 years ago

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How to lay a curse

Disclaimer: I (the wolf of antimony) am not responsible for what you choose to do with this information. Use at your own risk.

Cursing is the act of sending out ill will, and negative energy at a construct, or entity, and hopes to do harm, or create misfortune. Curses act as a form of spiritual attack that allows the practitioner to force their will, and power upon another. There are many reasons why one would want to throw a curse from revenge to teaching people life lessons, but it depends on the practitioner’s ethical judgement to decide in what circumstances a curse would be necessary. All these different practitioners that practice cursing have their own ideas, morals, and ethics, and if you believe that you would like to incorporate this into your practice, you will have your own as well. By understanding these practices you can not only learn how to do them, but you can also learn how to prevent them, and to break them. You will have an understanding of the processes that it takes for them to be carried out, and you will achieve an overall higher understanding of what people would perceive as a more negative form of magick. So let’s understand the fundamentals of cursing, and how you would go about it, if you ever decided you were going to cast one.

Target:

Before you can choose to curse something, you must have some form of target to lay that curse upon. The target can be anyone, anything, or any place. It is usually not a good idea to curse other practitioners, because they may reverse the curse back to you, and may spiritually attack you back. Which can lead to a form of magickal warfare, which can end badly for everyone involved. It is also good to understand for what reason you are targeting that target in the first place. This will allow you to be more connected to your intention, and to make sure that it is even worth going through with the curse in the first place. Once you have your target, and you understand why you have chosen that target you can move on to the next step.

Intention:

Once you have someone to curse, it’s time to set your intention for what you want the curse to do. this can be anything you can imagine that you would like to manifest onto the target. You could use this curse to manifest bad luck, paranoia, depression, laziness, sickness, nightmares, and pain, along with many other manifestations. You can also place in this intention how long you would like the manifestation of this curse to be manifested. This time frame will program the energy to spread out, and effect them over a continuous time frame. You will also be able to set up triggers into the intention, so that the curse will activate when a certain parameter or parameters are met. This would be useful if you wanted it to activate on specific people, who performed a specific action. An example of this would be like cursing a book, so that anyone who opened it would receive the curse. Both of these will allow more control over the curse, and will also allow you to personalize it for different situations. Now that you have what you want the curse to do, and who you want to do it too, you can start the next process of gathering up items.

Taglock:

You are going to need to get some form of taglock of this construct, or entity that you are trying to curse. This will act as a magical link between your magickal working, and the target. Taglocks will be connected to the construct, or entity through name, association, similarity, or contagion. Name taglocks are one of the simplest form and are connected to the name of what you are targeting. It can be any name that is used to represent that construct, or entity such as magickal name, birth name, spirit name, the true name, or any other name that you can think of for it. You can even go through the process of giving what you are trying to curse a name, so that you could use it as a taglock. Taglocks that are connected through association with the target will be able to be used, whether they are associated in contrast, contiguity, or by any other imposed, or imaginary conditions. Taglocks that would work for this would be a person’s favorite color, or animal, or aspect that you associate with them. Taglocks that are connected through similarity are taglocks that reflect the being of the individual construct. Taglocks that would work like this would be a picture, a doll, or an artist representation of the person, or place. A contagion taglock is one that has come in contact with what you are trying to curse, and has some of their energy on it. This can truly be anything that is come in contact with the target from something they have touched once, to their hair or fingernails. There is really a plethora of different things you can probably find to use through this taglock type. Once you have collected one, or multiple of these taglocks you’ll be able to use them in your work, and move on to the next step.

Raising negative energy:

During the curse you’re going to need to raise a lot of negative energy, so that you can then go through the process of programming it, and releasing it. A lot of this energy will be personal energy fueled by your anger, disgust, and hate for the target. You may also want to bring in some other items that may allow you to raise energy such as crystals, herbs, or candles. Good candles for this would be black, or red candles. The crystals that you would want to bring in would be things like obsidian, onyx, and flint, among other things, or any other stones that are black, and/or have aggressive energies. The herbs that you would want to bring in would be things like chili powder, pepper, onion, rose thorns, or usually plants that have more of a spiciness to them, or that are poisonous (be careful with poison, not recommended). Through visualization you will be able to draw the energy from these objects, and gather it together, so that you will be able to send it out with your intention, to manifest your curse upon your target.

Protecting yourself:

During this entire process you must also remember to protect yourself from the negative energy that you will be raising. You can do this by setting up shields to protect yourself from the negative energy, and to cleanse before, and after the ritual. This will make sure there are no energies beforehand that interact with, and disrupt the curse that you are trying to send out, and the afterwards cleansing will make sure there is no residual negative energy to cause harm to you. It is important to keep yourself safe by sending out curses, so you do not accidentally end up cursing yourself, or interacting with the negative energy in a disharmonic way.

Simple cursing format:

1) Cleanse the area through any cleansing method, then bring your tools, and taglock into the area, and setup a shield around yourself.

2) Begin to raise up energy by focusing on your anger, disgust, and hate for your target, while also chanting, or stating your intention.

3) Focus this intention at the person through the taglock visualize the target in your mind’s eye receiving orders coming to them.

4) Release your negative energy, and intentions towards the target by visualizing them shooting out into the universe to manifest.

5) Once that is done you can undo your shield, and cleanse the area again of leftover negative energy.

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el-brujo-postergado · 5 years ago

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Some color plates by Augustus Knapp from “The Secret Teachings of All Ages” by Manly P. Hall (1928). Images in order are:

Mithra in the form of the Leontocephalic Kronos (eternal time). See also: Aion (Uranus), Chronos, Phanes and the Orphic Egg.

Abraxas (“The embodied form of God”).

Cherubium of Ezekiel (c.f. “Living Creatures” and Tetramorph).

Celestial Virgin with Sun God in her arms. See also: Isis & Horus, Mary & Jesus. Note Orphic Egg c.f. Kundalini wrapped around a Lingam in Muladhara chakra.

The Jewel of the Rose Croix (where “Rose” is an anagram for “Eros” or Love).

Magician invoking Elementals (Gnomes, Undines, Salamanders, Slyphs) from within a Magic Circle.

Paracelsus performing the experiment of palingenesis (creation of a new universe). See also: “The Rose of Paracelsus” by Jorge Luis Borges (1983).

The Consummation of the Magnum Opus (“Great Work”). See also: creation of Homunculi, Golems, Tuplas, Egregores and “Assumption of God Forms” (a form of Theurgy).

The Philosopher’s Stone (note double-headed eagle in centre of diamond). See also Vajra (diamond, thunderbolt).

Double-Headed Eagle (The end product of the Magnum Opus). See also: Rebis in Alchemy, the divine Hermaphroditus (child of Hermes (Intellect) and Aphrodite (Feeling)), Ardanarishvara (androgynous form of Shiva merged with Parvati).

A follow-on post shows a different set of images exploring the relationship between Norse mythology and the Kabbalah.

For more please visit “Noise vs. Signal”.

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el-brujo-postergado · 5 years ago

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of Solomon’s Pentacles Construction

[post susceptible to edits and updates]

In this post I will attempt a brief categorization of the pentacles of Solomon, based of Mathers’ “The Key…” with briefs references to MS. Sloane 3091 (I still want to get my hands on the italian one) and their connection to Agrippa’s work. There won’t be much theorizing besides basic geometric relations and minimum possible “correction”. This post is mainly an observation of the construction of pentacles.

Why do this?

By understanding the rationale behind the construction of the classic pentacles, it becomes easier to not only correct them but also to reverse-engineer them to create new pentacles from the old tradition.

[Mathers’ Key]

[Sloane 3091]

[Agrippa’s De Occulta]

Special thanks to @kojoteundkraehe for helping me out with this

obs. I am just using this style of language for DRAMA

Seguir leyendo

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el-brujo-postergado · 5 years ago

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“Using the “magic of focused attention,” Neo-Shamanism endeavors to help its practitioners secure habit and lifestyle changes for both oneself and one’s clients in order to transmute suffering, relieve stress, gain personal understanding, and locate a core of wellness that can implement one’s life dream. While part of its effort is to train the would-be aspirant to supply fee-based healing and training services to others, the main concentration of Neo-Shamanic activity is directed toward the self. In this sense, it is in full accord with the essential thrust of New Age concerns with personal transformation.”

— Michael York, “Shamanism and Magic” in Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America (2005)

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el-brujo-postergado · 5 years ago

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Eliphas Levi’s Kabbalistic Prayer

Be favourable to me, oh ye Powers of the Kingdom Divine.

May Glory and Eternity be in my left and right hands, so that I may attain to Victory.

May Pity and Justice restore my soul to its original purity.

May Understanding and Wisdom Divine conduct me to the imperishable Crown.

Spirit of Malkuth, Thou who has laboured and hast overcome; set me in the Path of Good.

Lead me to the two pillars of the Temple, to Jakin and Boaz, that I may rest upon them.

Angels of Netzach and of Hod, make ye my feet to stand firmly on Yesod.

Angel of Gedulah, console me. Angel of Geburah, strike, if it must be so, but make me stronger, so that I may become worthy of the influence of Tiphereth.

Oh Angel of Binah, give me Light.

Oh Angel of Chokmah, give me Love.

Oh Angel of Kether, confer upon me Faith and Hope.

Spirits of the Yetziratic World, withdraw me from the darkness of Assiah.

Oh luminous triangle of the World of Briah, cause me to see and understand the mysteries of Yetzirah and of Atziluth.

Oh Holy Letter s, Shin.

Oh ye Ishim, assist me by the name Shadai.

Oh ye Kerubim, give me strength through Adonai.

Oh Beni Elohim, be brothers unto me in the name of Tzabaoth.

Oh Elohim, fight for me by the the Holy Tetragrammaton.

Oh Melakim, protect me through Jehovah.

Oh Seraphim, give me holy love in the name Eloah.

Oh Chashmalim, enlighten me by the torches of Eloi and the Shekinah.

Oh Aralim, angels of power, sustain me by Adonai.

Oh Ophanim, Ophanim, Ophanim, forget me not, and cast me not out of the Sanctuary.

Oh Chaioth ha Kadosh, cry aloud as an eagle, speak as a man, roar and bellow.

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Shadai.

Adonai, Jehovah, Ehyeh asher Ehyeh.

Hallelu−Jah. Hallelu−Jah.

Hallelu−Jah.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

This prayer should be made use of every morning and evening, and it should be recited as a preliminary to all grand magical and Kabalistic ceremonials; it should be recited when facing the orient with the eyes raised to the heavens, or fixed on the Kabalistic emblem of the sublime Tetragrammaton.

– From Levi’s The Magical Ritual of the Sanctum Regnum.

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el-brujo-postergado · 7 years ago

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Evoking Divinatory Egregores

I often say that beginners to evocation/spirit stuff should evoke divinatory egregores as practice, but I realize most people have no idea what that means and it’s kind of complicated to explain.

An egregore is a type of thoughtform usually, but not always, defined as a loose collection of archetypal energy that gathers around a place or concept that was not intentionally trying to create a thoughtform, but gets a lot of conceptual traffic. It’s like when a certain part of a city that has a lot of history and lore feels like it has its own personality or spirit to it - that’s the egregore of the place.

Something that closely fits this bill is divination symbols - runes, the major arcana, geomancy figures, divination symbols are by design loaded with strong archetypal associations and people constantly meditating on and interpreting them gives them some pretty solid egregores behind them. Especially if they consist of a single glyph or figure serving as a main focus for the attention.

The part that makes them good beginner summons is that they are extremely predictable and well-defined because they are made entirely out of very clear archetypes. The Sun or Albus would never be scary or give you unexpected problems because they’re defined as being positive and nonviolent symbols, whereas you pretty much know exactly what you’re getting into if you evoke The Tower. They literally cannot act against their archetypes because they are made of archetypes. If they seem to be acting against their nature, you know right away that the problem is with you, not them, making troubleshooting much easier.

Another good thing about evoking these types of thoughtforms is that there’s not really any hierarchy to go through. There’s no need to pay tribute to their superiors before they’ll be sent down to you, no invoking scrillin, no thwarting angels - because of how they were coalesced, they are basically all formed in a vacuum apart from each other and so you’re not sticking your hand into an entire hornet’s nest trying to bring out a single one, you’re opening a partitioned glass case and taking it out.

So basically you have these entities that are extremely predictable, don’t come with any baggage, and can be cherry-picked for ones that you know won’t behave badly. Also, entities created in this way typically have a very low level of consciousness or awareness, so there’s no worries about just calling it up and staring at it for a while or testing to see how you can sense it, without necessarily asking it or offering it anything.

The procedure I usually follow for evoking entities that don’t have any established protocol, like thoughtforms, is to alternate between vibrating its name (if you don’t know what ‘vibration’ means in terms of magick it’s a bit more than just saying the name in a melodramatic voice - you treat the individual syllables like individual vibrations filling your body. It’s very commonly instructed as the proper way to recite secret godnames in the kemetic-hellenic synchrony) and reciting a simple one-size-fits-all conjuration while visualizing its symbol(s). When I evoke geomantic figures I usually form the figure itself in appropriately colored stones and lay out a simple circle around it for manifestation. Obviously for physical divination sets, like cards or runes, you should definitely use the object itself as your focus. Here’s the conjuration I use that’s a good example of the kinds of loopholes you should close:

“I, the [title] [name], conjure and command [name of entity] to appear before me in this [circle/triangle], peaceably and visibly, in the name of [power]”

If it’s taking a few times and you can’t feel, hear, or see anything, pointing a blade or other ritual weapon threateningly at the circle/triangle helps.

Invoking a higher power’s name is optional. Note: peaceably and visibly. Obviously you won’t get many violent spirits in this method but it’s important to remember for other stuff that if you don’t specify that, it might show up and be non-cooperative because all you asked it to do was be here. Visibly is also important - yeah it showed up, but you never said it had to be discernible.

Words are always taken literally in magick, and doubly so for spirits. Do not speak lightly or without thought. They will take and twist every word you say out of line to benefit them because your word as a magician is sacred and inviolable. Spirits in general, that is. Not to fearmonger but if people are reading this because they’re new to evocation, it’s a very important thing to know for when you start calling more dangerous things!

I have always gotten visible manifestations when doing this in the past, as well as strong emotional influences from the entities. They can definitely do things for you, make no mistake, they’ve all granted requests for me appropriate to their natures, but unlike higher entities like celestials or infernals there’s no implicit rule saying you need to be calling them for a reason. Please banish afterwards though, they might not be all that dangerous but the emotional imbalancing can be long-lasting if you don’t wipe that shit off when you’re done.

My series of geomantic evocations that I’ve done so far (I swear I’ll finish up all 16 one of these days) can be found here for an example of the kinds of things I personally have seen/experienced with this method. It’s a very underexplored topic in magick that only me and phil hine seem to have done, and I encourage people to start writing down what happens when they evoke the egregores of runes or tarot cards. It would give a lot more insight into how thoughtforms develop naturally and what kind of entities are really at work when we divine, which might even improve some divination methods!

#evocation #spirit work #magick #witchcraft #divination

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el-brujo-postergado · 7 years ago

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[Revised 11/1/17] Book Recommendations for Witches, Spellcasters, and the Curious

I periodically (usually once a year) make an updated post of my annotated bibliographies for witchcraft, magick, and divination studies. I recently noticed that I hadn’t done this in a long time!

Since I’ve read a lot of new books in that time, and since many are worth adding, I thought I’d go ahead and post an updated list.

I’ve added just ten new ones this time! Unfortunately, still, it’s getting quite long, so I’m splitting it into two posts - one for divination, and one for magick/witchcraft. I will be tagging both as #long and #long+post because I realize this is pretty extreme in terms of length.

For Absolute Beginners

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, by Judika Illes. Even better than the Weiser Field Guide to Witches - this book is huge and chock-full of information. It’ll explain in easy-to-understand language how the concept has developed throughout time, why witches do what they do, and different types of witches.

The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, by Judika Illes. This gives an excellent look at the historical lore concerning witches, from the perspective of a witch herself. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it does have some information that won’t be found elsewhere.

The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, by Skye Alexander. Great book for those who’re really absolute beginners and are wondering what witchcraft is all about. Skye takes a very postmodern, utilitarian, and unfailingly honest approach, and it’s geared towards those of almost any belief system.

Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Attractively packaged and readible for almost all ages, this is a great (mostly) non-denominational look at the foundations of magical practice. It’s extremely detailed. Some of it only applies to Zell’s own tradition, but it’s quite useful, anyways.

Of Witchcraft and Whimsy, by Rose Orriculum. Written by Tumblr’s own @orriculum, this is one of the best, most modern an no-nonsense Craft introductory books I’ve seen. It’s unabashedly up-to-date and self-aware in its portrayal of the contemporary Craft.

Basic Techniques

Protection and Reversal Magick, by Jason Miller. This gets a little woo-woo at times, but he gives good advice on how to avoid serious problems that can come up as you begin to practice. Take with a grain of salt, though - some of this has the potential to make you feel paranoid.

City Magick, by Christopher Penczak. If you’re at all interested in tech witchery, or just want to practice magick within an urban setting, do check this out. It is by far the best look at the subject I’ve seen, and his discussion of urban tutelary spirits is worth the price alone.

Power Spellcraft for Life, by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. Nicely done, quite secular book providing basic beginner information regarding writing original spells and workings. It does fall prey to the trap of just listing correspondences with little information at times, but also contains a great deal of detail about ritual timing, raising power, and other topics essential for the beginner.

Sorcerer’s Secrets, by Jason Miller. This is a decent volume that describes a lot of techniques you don’t usually see in books, such as gesture and gaze-based magick. Be warned that Miller writes extensively about manipulative techniques, but it’s useful theory regardless of how you put it into practice.

Witch’s Bag of Tricks, by Melanie Marquis. This is not recommended for beginners, because the whole point of this book is to help existing practitioners refine and improve their already-established techniques. It’s got some novel ideas in it, and I like the author’s approach to symbolism in spellcasting.

Spirit Conjuring for Witches, by Frater Barrabbas. Frater B. is a very learned and rather famous magician and witch. This book is mostly geared towards Wicca, but even if you’re not Wiccan, his techniques are innovative and interesting, many utterly unlike anything I’ve seen elsewhere.

Direct Magick (Energy Work)

The Un-Spell Book, by Mya Om. This non-denominational guide to working with magical forces is filled with useful exercises that go beyond the author’s previous work. I recommend reading this after readingEnergy Essentials.

Instant Magick, by Christopher Penczak. Excellent beginner’s guide for those who don’t have access to a lot of fancy tools or prefer to work without them. This book won’t instantly teach you magick, but it will help even a seasoned practitioner find quicker, less-complicated ways of achieving results.

Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters, by Mya Om. Though I balk at the use of the term “energy” to describe magical forces, this book is worth a look. It’s a bit like a workbook, with various exercises. Expect a lot of pseudoscience, though, and there are many religious references, but the techniques are solid.

Hedgewitchery and Astral Travel

Ecstatic Witchcraft, by Gede Parma. This is actually probably my favorite book on this subject, even though hedgeriding is only a part of what the book discusses. The only bad thing I can really say about this book is that it’s really not recommended for beginners, and it’s helpful to have the basics of visualization already mastered (for example) before doing the exercises Parma recommends.

By Land, Sky and Sea, by Gede Parma. This book goes into even greater details regarding different ways of conceptualizing the cosmology of hedgeriding, and I find it a very refreshing book that appreciatively draws from a number of different perspectives while grounding itself, so to speak, with the overarching metaphor of land, sky, and sea as the three worlds.

The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, by Christopher Penczak. Penczak is usually a pretty mixed bag, and this book is no exception. It gives a lot of good practical information and a very in-depth exploration of the three worlds (a useful concept), but it’s primarily framed by Wicca, so it might not resonate with those of other faiths and particularly those who aren’t pagan at all.

Ascension Magick, by Christopher Penczak. There’s a chapter or two in this that address alternate ways of conceptualizing the architecture of reality, and it’s pretty helpful for a hedgerider. Beyond that, this book is mostly about ceremonial magick, but it’s a (mostly) good book. Certain parts (such as the bit about UFOs) are a little off, in my opinion.

The Shamanic Witch, by Gail Wood. This book is really best suited for someone who practices Wicca and, besides the background info and cosmological descriptions, is really only useful in the context of that tradition. If you’re Wiccan or willing to pick around a lot of Wiccan-talk, though, this is a good foundation.

Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. It can be hard to find scholarly works on these phenomena that are affordable, but here’s one I personally enjoyed. It details many accounts of journeying experienced by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.

Betwixt and Between, by Storm Faerywolf. This book is mostly a guide to the Feri tradition of witchcraft, but while I myself don’t practice that, those who do seem to know a lot about hedgeriding! The book has several chapters on the subject and is highly recommended for this reason.

The Psychic Energy Codex, by Michelle Belanger. A lot of people have strong opinions about this author, but this is book actually provides a lot of good information about so-called “energy work” which can be a step in the right direction for those wanting to ride the hedge.

Psychic Dreamwalking, by Michelle Belanger. In this book, Belanger discusses, essentially, how to use your non-waking life as a vehicle to for journeying, and while I myself don’t usually dreamwalk, much of what she says applies to hedgeriding in other states, too.

Hedge Rider by Eric De Vries. Considered a classic on this subject, this book contains a lot of good information on making the jump across the Hedge, but with a lot of editorializing about “true witchcraft,” etc. A mixed bag, but still recommended.

To Fly by Night, edited by Veronica Cummer. This is an anthology about hedgecraft by many different authors. The essays vary in quality but there’s something for everyone, and the text doesn’t shy away from tough topics, either.

Magical Writing, Words, and Symbols

Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells, by Claude Lecouteux. Mostly a historical text, this book isn’t exactly practical or terribly useful. It is, nevertheless, incredibly interesting. It’s a bit difficult to navigate, but worth a glance.

Composing Magick, by Elizabeth Barrette. A very general, but well-done, look at writing in a magical context. Some of the ritual templates are slightly specific to religious witchcraft traditions, but most information is widely applicable.

Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink, by Susan Pesnecker. Focuses both on the physical act of writing as a magical act, and the mental state associated with it. Highly recommended

The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire, by Skye Alexander. This book is for those who want to create their own grimoire. It gives fairly good advice for doing so, as well as providing hints and tricks for spellcasting and useful correspondences.

General Concepts

Practical Astrology for Witches and Pagans, by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. This book, unlike most astrology texts, won’t tell you much about interpreting a chart - instead, it’s an entire book on timing your magick with the stars!

Planetary Magick, by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. If you want to work with the planets at all, particularly in a highly ritualized context, I recommend this book. It’s large, comprehensive and gives a good foundation beyond what you find in general astrology books.

Practical Planetary Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Shorter than I would have liked, but a useful reference to have on your shelf, with excellent tables and appendices in the back. The meditations are also quite useful.

Practical Elemental Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Should be read alongside the other book by this pair. Comprehensive guide to working with the elements in a ritualized fashion. Not as accessible to newbies as Lipp’s book, but good for seasoned practitioners.

The Way of Four, by Deborah Lipp. Though mostly geared towards Wiccans, I found this author’s in-depth treatment of the four elements highly fascinating. I will note that it’s probably best to get the print version of this book, as it contains exercises and quizzes.

A Handbook of Saxon Sorcery and Magic, by Alric Albertsson. I really enjoyed this little book, which focuses on older magical traditions common among the ancient Saxons. It is very much introductory, but worth a read for those new to those traditions.

Ingredients and Correspondences

The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook, by Karen Harrison. I cannot praise this book enough for its concise and well-formulated approach to astrology, herbs, and magick as a whole.

The Weiser Concise Guide to Herbal Magick, by Judith Hawkins-Tillirson. This is excellent for anyone who’s interested in any kind of magick. Yes, the focus is generally herbs, but there’s a lot to be learned here about Kabbalah and other correspondence systems, as well.

Mixing Essential Oils for Magic, by Sandra Kynes. Fills a very difficult gap in published knowledge regarding the use of essential oils by discussing, in great detail, how scents interact with each other and how to create a formula that’s not only palatable, but evocative.

Dunwich’s Guide to Gemstone Sorcery, by Gerina Dunwich. Given the New Age fascination with all things shiny, it was quite a chore to sort through the myriad crystal books to find something with good information. While far from perfect and not exactly devoid of fluff, this book does give a level of detail about the lore surrounding gemstones not seen in many other texts.

Real Alchemy, by Robert Allen Bartlett. Excellent book, lots of history and detail. There’s a strong focus on tradition within the text, yet the author is quite accommodating of his audience and describes alternate methods that work better in a modern context.

Spagyrics, by Manfred M. Junius. With a highly-developed academic tone and attention to detail, this book is a meaty look at traditional alchemy. I recommend this more for intermediate practitioners due to the sheer density of information.

The Hearth Witch’s Compendium, by Anna Franklin. This book is essentially a recipe book for various home remedies and magical purposes. For the most part, it focuses on healing work, but there’s some great tips in there for making your own cleaning products and such, too. Highly recommended.

Magical Housekeeping, by Tess Whitehurst. This is worth reading if you keep your own house/apartment and are looking for practical magical techniques for cleanliness and inviting harmony into your spaces. It could be more detailed, but I enjoyed it.

A Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook, by Patricia Telesco. This is a recipe book. It is mainly geared towards Wiccans and those who celebrate the eight sabbats, but the dishes are tasty and sure to please anyone.

Spellbooks

The Goodly Spellbook, by Dixie Deerman and Steve Rasmussen. The title sounds horribly fluffy, but this is a hidden gem. It explains obscure concepts like alternative alphabets and potential uses of musical notes, as well as plant lore and other bits and pieces. Definitely worth checking out. It’s way more than just “a book of spells.”

Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells, by Judika Illes. The title sounds trite to some, but it delivers. This book has spells from almost every culture and spiritual philosophy, as well as a very detailed formulary. I read it when I’m bored sometimes, too, just because I always learn some tidbit from it.

Book of Spells, by Nicola Pulford. In most editions, this book is absolutely gorgeous and describes spellcasting traditions from a variety of perspectives and traditions. Recommended for those who already understand the basics, as this book jumps straight into spellcasting and gives only a small amount of information about how things work.

Ceremonial Magick

Modern Magick, by Donald Michael Kraig. I received this as a gift several years ago. It is essentially a workbook meant to be completed slowly, step by step, and while the format will not appeal to everyone, it’s a good easy-to-read introduction to ceremonial magick.

Familiar Spirits, by Donald Tyson. Though geared towards ceremonialists, any practitioner can likely learn a thing or two from Tyson’s interesting stroll through the whys and wherefores of spirit work and thoughtform creation. This is by far the best book I’ve seen on the topic of familiar spirits.

Secrets of High Magick, by Francis Melville. The most recent edition of this (the one I own) is lavishly-illustrated and full of rudimentary, yet useful information. He stresses the basics of ceremonial practice, and his writing style is very accessible. Highly recommended for absolute beginners.

My Life With The Spirits, by Lon Milo DuQuette. This is a memoir of a ceremonial magician, but it gives a good look at the magickal mindset in a highly developed form from someone who’s experienced quite a lot. I havemajor issues with DuQuette’s approach to Qabalah, but his memoirs are worth a read.

Chaos Magick

Liber Null and Psychonaut, by Peter Carroll. Classic book of chaos magick. I consider it required reading for almost anyone interested in the occult. Even if you have no love for chaos magick, do give it a read, just to understand how influential Carroll is, and why.

Hands-On Chaos Magic, by Andrieh Vitimus. Knowing some of the people involved in the creation of this book, I’m a bit biased towards it. That said, even if I didn’t know them, I would still recommend it. It’s especially interesting to read alongside Liber Null and Psychonautin order to see how the chaos “current” has developed over the years.

Pop Culture Magic 2.0 by Taylor Ellwood. There aren’t a lot of books on using pop culture symbolism in magick, but this one is nearly perfect. The author writes in a highly erudite, literate fashion, while still being accessible to newbies. Many useful resources cited, as well, so prepare to branch off a bit while reading it.

History-Related

Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton. An inside no-holds-barred look at the history of Wicca and Modern paganism. Highly recommended. This is sort of the book that fluffbunnies don’t want you to read.

Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult, by Richard Metzger. Lots of facts and history of magick in the context of Postmodernity. This is different from the Crowley text of the same name, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you want to focus on his tradition.

The Place of Enchantment, by Alex Owen. This is a purely historical text that documents the occult revival within the context of Modernity. I remember it being very good, but please realize I haven’t really picked it up much since graduating, and it might just have served my mindset at the time.

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