Seeking Recommendation Books/sources for ABSOLUTE beginners

[dr41n99x67859]

I'm completely new to this, like I genuinely had 0 conception of it before a few days ago. Anything helps.

 

[odrep]

Jason Miller, Sara Mastros and Mat Auryn are IMO the most practical authors for beginners, look for these titles:

Real Sorcery: Strategies for Powerful Magick
Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation
Introduction to Witchcraft: Thirteen Lessons in the Practice of Magic

 

[Lu_CiD]

mastering witchcraft by Paul huson is always a great starting point

 

[CyanTheRedPanda]

Really depends on where you want to go, but Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn is a must. Donald Michael Kraig's Modern Magick is good for a ceremonial magick approach, while Raymond Buckland and Christopher Penzack have good books on witchcraft and wicca.

 

[fungus77]

Seconding the Psychic Witch recommendations. I also recommend Everyday Magic by Semra Haksever, its super simple but a good reference point to look back at for things like herbs, tools, moon phases, astrology stuff, etc.

 

[krafter]

Visual-Magick by Jan Fries

 

[HoldAll]

This thread and several others:

Advice To An Absolute Beginner

Hello everyone. I'm an absolute beginner to magick. I've been doing a bit of reading and am mainly interested in the Western Mystery Traditions at the moment. The thing is none of the books seem to be written for someone starting out at the very beginning. For instance, books that outline...

wizardforums.com

 

[Jhary-a-Conel]

Sophie’s World - Jostein Gaarder

A Rulebook For Arguments - Anthony Weston

Luck - Nicholas Rescher

Quantum Psychology - Robert Anton Wilson

All Star Superman - Grant Morrison

Program Or Be Programmed - Douglas Rushkoff

This stuff will teach you more about magic, mystical states and changing the world than any explicitly occult book. Will steer you away from a few pitfalls while you’re at it.

 

[Denise13]

I second Jan Fries.

 

[Deadking28]

Gallery of Magick books are good, if you are interested in the spirit work.

 

[jeefthefirst]

I would also recommend Strategic Sorcery by Jason Miller along with Lon Milo Duquette's work. The Gallery of Magick stuff is really good in the sense that it gets right into practical work. I currently look back at my work with it and it feels a little lightweight, but it was a nice introduction into practical workings, so I still think it has its place.

 

[TheGoddess888]

I'm completely new to this, like I genuinely had 0 conception of it before a few days ago. Anything helps.

I'd second what HoldAll recommended. That thread is a great place to start and will probably answer a lot of the questions that come up in the beginning.

Since you're just starting out, I'd also spend time developing your mind before worrying too much about advanced practices. Learn how to ground, meditate, strengthen your focus, and build a consistent protection practice. From everything I've read and from talking with more experienced practitioners, those seem to be the foundations that everything else is built on.

I also think it's worth educating yourself on the many different traditions and practices out there. Learning about different paths gives you a better understanding of what resonates with you personally. Some people follow one specific tradition, while others become eclectic practitioners, combining different practices or focusing on the parts that speak to them.

One thing I've realized is that there isn't a finish line. There will always be another tradition, another technique, or another perspective to explore. Taking your time with the basics isn't slowing you down, it's building a solid foundation so you have something to stand on as you grow.

 

[Denise13]

I agree with the above, as someone who's been into this over 50 years.

 

[reverendsteveii]

this is gonna be chaos oriented because i'm chaos oriented

Peter Carroll - Liber Null/Psychonaut: the theory behind what we do. Carroll essentially founded chaos magick, and these two books do a great job of explaining how there are so many schools of magick that all exist and work to varying degreees of effectiveness when it seems like there should be One Right Way and everything else fails

Alan Chapman - Advanced Magick for Beginners: The practical. What makes a magickal system work, the things they all have in common, the things they can vary on, how to recognize, work and even build good magickal systems that get results

Looking back on 20 years of practice, these are the two guides that I couldn't do without and with which I could do just about all of what I do now.

 

[georgewithaj]

Six Ways: Approaches and Entries for Practical Magic - Aidan Wachter