Book Discussion Books that shouldn't be practiced or even read

[jin2494]

The "becoming a living god" phrase is straight out of E.A. Koetting's modern marketing of the Left-Hand Path... a kind of occult self-help wrapped in infernal aesthetics. It's understandable why it appeals to younger practitioners: it frames rebellion as transcendence. But the concept drifts far from the deeper initiatory current it borrows from.

If you're genuinely interested in the Nightside or Qliphothic current, I'd really encourage staying close to the original material, especially as outlined by Kenneth Grant. His Typhonian work treats these forces as conditions of consciousness rather than deities to worship or command. Grant's approach is phenomenological and initiatory-about transformation through confrontation with the Unknown, not personal glorification.

In short: Koetting promotes empowerment through dominance; Grant maps metamorphosis through surrender. The difference is profound, one inflates the ego, the other refines it in fire.

And as you said... a "Spirit of Violence" might well offer care, but only to those who mirror its nature. If you're not that kind of being, its current will burn rather than bless. Discernment is the real initiation.

A yes Koetting the king of UPG

 

[Sedim Haba]

Yes, Donald Tyson has said publicly that it wasn't his personal grimoire on Lilith. It is a novel written to look like a grimoire (not hard to do just add in some Lovecraftian horror to be edgy).

Good to know. I have the PDF but not gotten to it yet. I don't connect to Lilith that way anyways.

I'd say anything in the NT written by Paul I find extremely toxic, as is some other NT books like 'revelations'.

The Qliphothic magic books I would not even touch, I already know all I need to from my years of Lurianic Kabbalah.

 

[DiscordianNun]

Personally there are no books off the top of my head that I would feel comfortable saying I think "no one" should practice or read. There are plenty that I'm not particularly fond of or don't like incorporating into my practice or have had bad experiences with but I think most still might be of some benefit to someone (some perhaps only as a learning experience but regardless).

 

[dcwilson]

Dealing With Demons: An Introductory Guide to Exorcism and Discerning Evil Spirits by Bob Larson is not a positive book on magick, it's a rightwing Christian diatribe against the Occult in general and Magick in particular. He is an ignorant exorcist evangelical preacher who hates us. This whole book is not a book on magick it is a fundamentalist proselyting attack against magick!

 

[vaughnblondetail]

Dealing With Demons: An Introductory Guide to Exorcism and Discerning Evil Spirits by Bob Larson is not a positive book on magick, it's a rightwing Christian diatribe against the Occult in general and Magick in particular. He is an ignorant exorcist evangelical preacher who hates us. This whole book is not a book on magick it is a fundamentalist proselyting attack against magick!

Interesting. Are there any other books by right-wing Christians about Satanic encounters and signs? I'm fascinated about what people against the occult who have no experience on the subject write about it, like the Malleus Malleficarum.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Not a book that shouldn't be read, but a book about a book that shouldn't be read - Robert Chambers' "The King in Yellow", a fictional play that ends in madness.

"It is well known how the book spread like an infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by Press and pulpit, and censured even by the most advanced of literary anarchists. No definite principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine promulgated, no convictions outraged. It could not be judged by any known standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art had been struck in The King in Yellow, all felt that human nature could not bear the strain, nor thrive on words in which the essence of purest poison lurked. The very banality and innocence of the first act only allowed the blow to fall afterward with more awful effect."

My theory about "The King in Yellow" is that it is supposed to be a summoning ritual in play form. Summoning rituals normally have three basic sections:

Preparation/cleansing
The Summoning itself
Banishing

But The King in Yellow is described as only having two acts. There is no banishing. And that is what drives people mad.

 

[HoldAll]

Not a book that shouldn't be read, but a book about a book that shouldn't be read - Robert Chambers' "The King in Yellow", a fictional play that ends in madness.

"It is well known how the book spread like an infectious disease, from city to city, from continent to continent, barred out here, confiscated there, denounced by Press and pulpit, and censured even by the most advanced of literary anarchists. No definite principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine promulgated, no convictions outraged. It could not be judged by any known standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art had been struck in The King in Yellow, all felt that human nature could not bear the strain, nor thrive on words in which the essence of purest poison lurked. The very banality and innocence of the first act only allowed the blow to fall afterward with more awful effect."

My theory about "The King in Yellow" is that it is supposed to be a summoning ritual in play form. Summoning rituals normally have three basic sections:

Preparation/cleansing
The Summoning itself
Banishing

But The King in Yellow is described as only having two acts. There is no banishing. And that is what drives people mad.

In case anyone wants to go bonkers:

Book – PDF - The King in Yellow : Annotated and Illustrated edition - Robert Chambers & Kenneth Hite

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen a "fiction" share on here. This particular offering was inspired by this post : Thread 'The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers' Book Discussion - The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers I had to do a bit of light digging, but I...

wizardforums.com

 

[Robert Ramsay]

In case anyone wants to go bonkers:

Book – PDF - The King in Yellow : Annotated and Illustrated edition - Robert Chambers & Kenneth Hite

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen a "fiction" share on here. This particular offering was inspired by this post : Thread 'The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers' Book Discussion - The King in Yellow - Robert W. Chambers I had to do a bit of light digging, but I...

wizardforums.com

It's ok, "The King in Yellow" is not The King in Yellow, it's only about The King in Yellow, despite being called "The King in Yellow"

 

[MageJohn183]

Interesting. Are there any other books by right-wing Christians about Satanic encounters and signs? I'm fascinated about what people against the occult who have no experience on the subject write about it, like the Malleus Malleficarum.

There are loads of these books. It's all useless crap and the ideas are not worth having bouncing around in your consciousness. They will just eff up your thinking. And I am saying this as a guy who spent nearly his whole life in evangelical Christianity. Do yourself a favor and forget it.

 

[Lu_CiD]

oh any of the Temple ov blood stuff shouldn't be. they promote ritual killing pedophilia, rape as well as to nazi stuff it was also thought to be a originally formed as an fbi honeypot.

 

[Forneus]

I would be careful with the books from 'BALG'. Most of them are full of BS like, 'take a human skull ...' or 'draw a circle, gaze in the flame and when the demon appears in front of you ...' yeah, it's that simple in their opinion. But one of these guys, V.K. Jehannum, gives dangerous invocations, like 'possess me...' or 'say the prayer backwards.
I have done one ritual from their books, 'Abaddon: The angel of the abyss' to exile one evil guy from my life - it worked, he lost his job, moved out quickly. But... one of my cats died that evening, a few hours after I did the ritual.