/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.6682396]

Is there any book about occultism and/or new age that is actually worth reading ?

[Anonymous No.6682402]

not really. necronomicon is kinda okay for a flip through. almost like retarded poetry.

[Anonymous No.6682416]

Aleister Crowley's novels are a curiosity.

I think I have a copy of Moonchild gathering dust somewhere, I intend to read it some day.

[Anonymous No.6682437]

>>6682396

High Mysticism by Emma Curtis Hopkins

[Anonymous No.6682444]

>>6682396

If you want to know how cults function, Max Weber's Charismatic Authority.

[Anonymous No.6682455]

Julius Evola was a shit-tier philosopher, but apparently a good-tier wizard.

Make of that what you will.

[Anonymous No.6682458]

http://whofortedblog.com/2012/07/17/practical-guide-magical-consciousness-part-1/

A Practical Guide to a Magical Consciousness: Part 1 – Theory

Have you ever wanted to delve into the mysterious and often misunderstood world of the occult, but found yourself too intimidated by the sheer amount of seemingly differing opinions and lack of a clear starting point? Have you dabbled in the art of magick only to come up frustrated and empty handed? Perhaps you’re a skeptic or a tourist and you’ve just been curious as to how the whole process works...

You’re in luck! In this four part series, WF’s mysterious magic practitioner, S., is here to help guide you along the path toward a magical consciousness. Hopefully.
Part One: Theory and Practice

Being an autodidactic magician I realize how difficult or dismaying the first foray into the occult can be.

[Anonymous No.6682481]

>>6682396
No. There is a nice section in Adorno's Minima Moralia the critizes such trends from a marxian perspective, though.

[Anonymous No.6682494]

>>6682416
if you want to be bored to death go ahead and read it

[Anonymous No.6682525]

technoccult.net/archives/2010/10/21/lost-alan-moore-essay-on-magic/

An essay on magic by Alan Moore originally meant for Joel Biraco‘s KAOS 15 has finally seen the light of day

[Anonymous No.6682546]

>>6682458

The Thoughtwave is an ancient concept although it sounds ultra-modernist and perhaps a bit “New Age-y”. All the same, they are real and potent factors in the history of the human species. These are literally waves of conceptual energy arising from singular individuals or influential groups, responsible for inspiration, creation and motivation. They travel in waves and act as the waves of the ocean, whence the ancient masters derived the concept:

[Anonymous No.6682549]

Art of Magic Part 1 by College Girl. What is Real Magic?

youtube.com/watch?v=d8T5tSBGYmw

Art of Magic Part 2 by College Girl. Five Elements of Magic

youtube.com/watch?v=QIiKHSmXM5k

These videos will discuss the anthropology & philosophy of magic. The elements of magic spells. The different types of magical practices and practical applications of the philosophy of magic to life.

[Anonymous No.6682554]

Great Work
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WOjPyNLvpA4
Plane of Material
youtube.com/watch?v=hr5BwTVPYwA
Plane of Mental
youtube.com/watch?v=83oTRusr7LU
Plane of Emotional
youtube.com/watch?v=JDRTZ1ibpPk
Plane of Will
youtube.com/watch?v=zwMiqwwl-gQ
Quintessence
youtube.com/watch?v=7MJZLuwwX9E

[Anonymous No.6682562]

Alchemy - Sacred Secrets Revealed

youtube.com/watch?v=DGyYIJpMC-k

Solve Et Coagula - The Great Work of Alchemy

youtube.com/watch?v=711GUvU06eY

[Anonymous No.6682580]

ELIPHAS LEVI
L
I
P
H
A
S

L
E
V
I

[Anonymous No.6682581]

>>6682396
Focault's Pendulum.

>BONUS REC!!!
David Tibet's music.

[Anonymous No.6682610]

>>6682396
Jan Irvin

[Anonymous No.6682648]

>>6682396
Illuminatus! obviously

[Anonymous No.6682731]

>>6682648
Also, Prometheus Rising and Cosmic Trigger.

[Anonymous No.6684369]

>>6682396
Sure anon, there's a bunch of them. Might wanna give the Trickster and the Paranormal a spin, by George Hansen (or Bob, or something). I mean, if you are really interested, that's as good a place to start as any but you'll have to dig for yourself since that's the very nature of the game.

[Anonymous No.6684379]

>>6682525
>Joel Biraco

You mean Joel Biroco I believe. I've read a lot on his site on I Ching since it's very good, but never knew anything about this KAOS business

[Anonymous No.6684398]

>>6682396
Seconding some crowley

The experience of No Self by bernadette roberts is a cool mystical account.

Toss in a little Zhuangzi

What do y'all think of this guy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrbPsVAokpQ

[Anonymous No.6684408]

>>6682481

The Stars Down to Earth is a more extended treatment of the link between authoritarianism and occultism by Adorno. Definitely worth checking out.

[Anonymous No.6684416]

>>6684398
One of crowley's best here:
http://hermetic.com/crowley/eight-lectures-on-yoga/

[Anonymous No.6684473]

The western esoteric tradition is largely based on the Hermetic praxis of Egypt and Neoplatonic theurgy. In this respect, I highly recommend Algis Uzdavinys' "Philosophy As A Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism". It lays the whole theoretical foundation for esoteric practice, by drawing from varius authorities of antiquity such as Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus and Proclus, just to mention some of the more well-known personages. A solid scholarly work, and not just another armchair magician trying to sell his own theoretical speculations and flights of fancies in a flowery language, as is seen in so many works of todays "occultism".

Although the doctrines of Neoplatonism had been kept alive in the Sufic tradition, with Ibn Al-Arabi bearing the epithet "Son of Plato", it was with the Renaissance that we saw the revival of the Platonic tradition. It was Marsilio Ficino who translated, not only Plato, but also the scripture of the Hermetics known as Corpus Hermeticum - of which Brian Copenhaver has written an excellent translation.

Marsilio Ficino's "Three Books on Life" excercised a great deal of influence on Agrippa, who wrote the "Three Books on Occult Philosophy". The only reliable translation of this work is only of Book One, by Eric Purdue. There is the annointed version by Donald Tyson, but there are many mistakes in his footnotes. Agrippa is regarded as a huge authority in the world of occultism, but his work is definetly not for beginners. Since he draws heavily from Neoplatonism, Uzdavinys becomes rather useful.

In the milleu of Ficino, the Church was very much against any teachings other than it's own. A student of Ficino's Platonic Academy, Pico della Mirandola, thus introduced the jewish Kabbalah, providing a somewhat Christian veil for their Neoplatonic teachings. A similar trick had been executed centuries earlier by Dionysus the Aeropagite, who Christianized the daemonic hierachy of Neoplatonic theurgy.

Jewish Kabbalah is not the same as Hermetic Kabbalah. If you want to study the former, which has very little to do with western esotericism, check out the works of Aryeh Kaplan, such as the Sepher Yetzirah and Sepher Bahir. If you wish to study the latter, I suggest works dealing with the Pythagorean Tetraktys, such as "The Theology of Arithmetic" supposedly written by Iamblichus.

Franz Bardon's "Initiation Into Hermetics" is considered by many to be a solid manual for magical practice.

Keep in mind that many occult books who are legitimate employ initiatic blinds, meant to confuse the reader, since power in an immature soul is a dangerous thing. Crowley is notorious for sending readers in the wrong direction, so don't bother. Agrippa scatters his knowledge and uses metaphors, while Bardon over-simplifies, leaving the reader to expand both on the theory and practice.

[Anonymous No.6684483]

Pharmako/poesis
Pharmako/dynamis
Pharmako/gnosis

excellent trilogy by Dale Pendell. They deal more specifically with plant shamanism/herbcraft plantmagick in general.
It's very poetic.

Also Spiritual and Demonic Magic: From Ficino to Campanella.

[Anonymous No.6684494]

I started doing Bardon a couple of weeks ago, but I got stuck on the second exercise where you essentially have to list a 100 negative traits of yours.
I only manged to get up to fifty, and then I forgot about it.

>I will never be a wizard traveling the astral planes.

[Anonymous No.6684523]

>>6684398
I really like McKennas singular style. He's a bro, a humanist-activist, and a manipulative trickster.

[Anonymous No.6684526]

>>6684523
Perhaps I should have said manipulating trickster.

[Anonymous No.6684567]

Sacred-Texts has some good shit, but I don't think a lot of mysticism is considered new age as many texts are pretty fucking old

In general, I like to discuss it more than read about it
But there's no one to talk about it with

[Anonymous No.6684609]

>>6684473
A lenghty post, but I'm not done rambling.

If you wish to practice, and not simply indulge in intellectual masturbation - in which case you can read just about whatever - I suggest to build upon a foundation of mysticism. You see, magic is quantiative, a way of using the mind, while mysticism is qualitative, refinement of mind itself. It goes without saying that a refined mind is more effective in it's use. Crowley praised yoga, and Bardon's Initiation Into Hermetics is basically Tantric Yoga - as a side note, it is a western misconception that Tantra has anything to do with sex. Anyways, Swami Sivananda has written excellent books on yoga which you can find on http://www.dlshq.org and Sadhguru has some excellent talks on youtube. Marsilio Ficino has also written some of the most beautiful philosophical letters I have ever read. You can find a selected collection in "Meditations on the Soul", since the totality of letters is something like 12 volumes.

Mary Anne Atwood wrote a book called Inqury Into Hermetic Mystery. It is a book dealing with spiritual alchemy and has a cool backstory behind it. She lived a simple life, and studied with her devotional father, having access to a rather rich library. After having published it, she feared she had revealed too many secrets. She bought up the remaining copies in print and burned them. As fate would have it, a copy happened to survive. Since she too are drawing on a Neoplatonic foundation, Uzdavinys comes to the rescue yet again.

I've heard Atwood is a tough read. I own a copy, but haven't started yet. You might find Julius Evola's "The Hermetic Tradition" to be of valuable clarification. The great thing about this book is that Evola is not constructing his own system, but quotes heavily from various alchemists.

John Dee is also a very curious figure in the world of occultism. He actually had one of the largest libraries of his time, but it got burned down by the mob. Interesting to note, Agrippa was said to be on his desk, which is quite the compliment. I've been meaning to read "True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits". The title speaks for itself.

New Age is mostly a mish-mash of eastern philosphy and practice taken out of context, watered down for the masses, sprinkled with good-feelings, and coupled with flight of fancies of whoever decided to take a colorful dump. It is dangerous, because it has some truth to it, and it can be challenging to differentiate between sand and sugar. Many occult books are of the same caliber.

Chaos Magic is a joke. Mostly its just self-hypnosis with magical linguistics. Im not saying its ineffective, just that its more psychological than spiritual.

Jung seems to be popular, and I'm not talking shit, but in the light of Evola, Jung's view on alchemy is rather narrow.

Thats about it I suppose. Occultism is a broad field, which can be approached from different religions and time periods.

[Anonymous No.6684630]

>>6684609
So aside from listing a host of authors, based on what you've read and think, what have you come up with and have you practiced anything?

I relate a lot of - and you can feel free to correct my term - magic to physiology, and I'd really like to improve biofeedback to help its progress

[Anonymous No.6684631]

>>6684494
You should check out Veos' commentary on IIH. Just google "Veos IIH" and you'll find it on Veritas.

Essentially, you should spend 6 months to a year on Step I, aiming for 30 minutes of silence if you wish to see any success, and expand upon the practice with yogic excercises. This is one of the blinds Bardon employed by over-simplifiying.

If you're having problems finding over a 100 vices, I recommend doing a free natal chart to get the flow going. This is the only one online I have found to be accurate; http://www.astromitra.com/online_horoscope/natal_form_wheel.php

[Anonymous No.6684637]

>>6684473
>>6684609
im not at all into occult/magick/esoterism/etc at all but id just like to acknowledge your clearly knowledgeable contribution to this thread and /lit/ as a board

[Anonymous No.6684644]

I recommend checking out http://scarletimprint.com

They have a lot of high quality books on modern occult theory and practice. Only problem is they're somewhat overpriced. But they also release paperbacks of older titles.

[Anonymous No.6684682]

>>6684609

Posts like these are why I come here.

[Anonymous No.6684776]

>>6684630
While I'm not entirely sure if these two concepts are synonymous, I have noticed that there are mainly two different paths; in alchemy, they are known as the wet and dry path, and in eastern parlance, they are known as the path of fire and water.

For example, Hatha and Raja Yoga, which deals with the upwards rise of the kundalini, is the path of fire, because it uses willpower to forcefully awaken the doormant potential. When I practiced Hatha Yoga, I had some peculiar and distinct sensations. I like to keep my practice private, so I'll leave the details out of it. However, I did not experience the sweating and shaking during Sukha Purvaka as some reported. In fact, while many praised the practice of pranayama, I simply saw it as a toil on my lungs.

Recently, I have undertaken a Taoist practice, which is employing a water path of surrender. In its early stages, it is meant to purify the psychic nerves. As I said, I like to keep my practice private, but I'll say this; this particular system works wonders for me. However, on another forum, I've read accounts of people who said that this system did absolutely nothing for them.

My conclusion is therefore as follows - it is not about the system, but about ones compatability with it. Spiritually needs to be approached according to the individuals natural inclination for it to be potent, which means that there is no such thing as a uniform approach.

[Anonymous No.6684903]

>>6684630
Sorry, I missed the last part of your post.

I believe the eastern systems has the most sophisticated view on the physiology of man, since they grew openly while the western tradition was hiding in exhile. I know that many people practice specifically for better health, and there are practices revolving just around that, such as Chinese acupuncture and certain aspects of Taoism.

If you search around on the Daobums forum, I'm pretty sure you'll find some great resources and people with experience in these matters.

[Anonymous No.6684909]

>>6684776
I agree about the two paths (which are easily reflected in morality)
I can explain it in terms of Sangraal, and I think the answer goes as follows: San Graal means holy grail; something tangible, something to strive for
Sang Raal means divine blood; something you're simply born with
For the question of which it is, I think that whoever finds the holy grail has divine blood. Jonathan made himself anointed when he ran into battle. Neo made himself the one because he went for it, willing to lose it all (would it have turned out differently if the Oracle told him up front? Did the Oracle even know, was he even always the one? Either way it's implied he needed to do it himself through action)
I believe in an objective reality, which means there are two truths. The universal, reality as it applies to all; as it applies to God. And the relative, reality as it applies to the individual
I'm obviously an individual, and so I go with the latter, but I've found that the end result of that path actually leads back to the former.
For a small slice of what I'm getting at, see Adam Smith's justifications for greed

As far as practice
The common theory of meditation, from what I understand, is that our mind is like a crowded room with that something special in it (will?), the goal being to clear the room so that the mind only consists of that something special
My view is that you could just expand that something special and push everything else out which seems akin to how people talk of achieving gnosis, through intense feeling or anger

Bruce Lee saw schools of martial arts as adding a bunch of needless things, and I think it's the same way with the various systems of the spiritually
I do believe in a unified approach

[Anonymous No.6685030]

admit it, aliens use magic, and magic is an alien invention

t. ayy lmao

[Anonymous No.6685146]

I want to summon a demon to help me write a book. What book should I read?

[Anonymous No.6686193]

Inside the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica - Amsterdam - The J.R. Ritman Hermetic Library

https://youtu.be/43yhlcy59lw

Conference 'Around 1600': E. Ritman and P. Forshaw - Infinitie Fire Interview Series

https://youtu.be/ScQT7ZP8Wwo

The Infinite Fire Webinar Series - Introduction Dr. P.J. Forshaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBtLO1ZzOuA

The Infinite Fire Webinar Series - Selection of Dr. P.J. Forshaw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KtN1_exr8

The selection of topics by Dr. P.J. Forshaw - assistant professor at the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents (GHF) for the Infinite Fire Webinar Series.

From September to November, Peter will take us first to the 'Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae' - the Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom - the renowned work of physician and Hermetic alchemist Heinrich Khunrath

In the second webinar, Peter will discuss the alchemical emblem book 'Atalanta Fugiens' (1617) by the Renaissance alchemist Michael Maier. This book with 50 separate sections, may well be regarded as the first multimedia production ever. Each section contains an engraved emblem, a verse and an epigram connected to the emblem as well as a short prose piece discussing the alchemical meaning of each emblem. Another rarity are the short musical canons connected to the sections, each composed by Maier himself

Peter's third great interest relates to the Enochian language of John Dee. Together with the spirit medium Edward Kelly (Edward Talbot), Dee, an English occultist, 'mathemagician' and astrologer

More on these three fascinating alchemists in Peter's in-depth Infinite Fire webinars

[Anonymous No.6686200]

>>6686193
Is a response to
>>6682396

[Anonymous No.6686204]

>>6682396
[Spoiler]no[Spoiler]

[Anonymous No.6686209]

>>6686204
yes

[Anonymous No.6686545]

>>6682546
>These are literally waves of conceptual energy
>literally
>conceptual