✨New to the Occult: What Should I Read First?

[mysteryx88]

Hey everyone,

Just joined and wanted to say hi. Lately, I’ve been asking myself some big questions—who I am, why I’m here, what my purpose is, all that stuff. I’ve been looking into different religions and philosophies for answers, but I’ve also found myself really drawn to the occult—magick, tarot, astrology, and everything in that realm.

I wasn’t expecting to find a community of people who are into the same things, so it’s cool to be here. I’m totally new to all this and would love some advice on where to start. What books would you recommend for a beginner? Something easy to get into at first, and then maybe some more advanced stuff later on.

Thx a bunch! Looking forward to learning and chatting with you all.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Welcome!
I always recommend Alan Chapman's "Advanced Magick for Beginners". It's a clear, honest conversation about magic that is free of a lot of unnecessary baggage.

 

[HoldAll]

Welcome! Strictly speaking, introductions should ideally be kept apart from asking specific questions because many who would have something useful to say might routinely ignore introductions. Instead, you might want to check out this thread:

Seeking Recommendation - Best book on magick for a beginner?

Hey all: I am new to the forum and to magick generally. So far in my journey I've been reading academic works on western esotericism. I'd like to start venturing deeper into magick and I want to ask for your guy's advice on where to start. Can any recommend their top books for beginners on...

wizardforums.com

As you can see, recommendations vary. It all depends on your interests (quick results vs. philosophical background, for example), the specific occult fields (you mentioned astrology and tarot) you want to explore, and your general approach to learning - do you want to dive straight in and go down the rabbit hole as fast as you can or woud you rather proceed more systematically and thoroughly? Our Forum Library is huge, and the first thing you'll probably learn here is discernment, finding out what resonates with you and what doesn't.

 

[mysteryx88]

Welcome! Strictly speaking, introductions should ideally be kept apart from asking specific questions because many who would have something useful to say might routinely ignore introductions. Instead, you might want to check out this thread:

Seeking Recommendation - Best book on magick for a beginner?

Hey all: I am new to the forum and to magick generally. So far in my journey I've been reading academic works on western esotericism. I'd like to start venturing deeper into magick and I want to ask for your guy's advice on where to start. Can any recommend their top books for beginners on...

wizardforums.com

As you can see, recommendations vary. It all depends on your interests (quick results vs. philosophical background, for example), the specific occult fields (you mentioned astrology and tarot) you want to explore, and your general approach to learning - do you want to dive straight in and go down the rabbit hole as fast as you can or woud you rather proceed more systematically and thoroughly? Our Forum Library is huge, and the first thing you'll probably learn here is discernment, finding out what resonates with you and what doesn't.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome and for sharing such useful information! I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction. Since I’m new to the forum, I wasn’t entirely sure where to properly ask my question, so I’m grateful for your suggestion to post them in the appropriate section. I’ll definitely check out the thread you linked and follow your advice to ask my questions there.

To answer your question about my approach to learning, I’m someone who likes to take my time and really understand the theory behind things before diving into practice. I’m not in a rush to learn everything at once—I prefer to build a solid foundation first. As for specific interests, I don’t have anything particular in mind yet, but most topics in the occult realm have caught my attention for now. Whether it’s magic, tarot, astrology, or something else, I’m open to exploring it all!

Thanks again for your guidance, and I look forward to learning more from this community.

 

[Konsciencia]

Welcome!!!

 

[IllusiveOwl]

Welcome to the forum!

Given that this is your life, your path, and only you are going to reap its rewards, you should read whatever book you like!

Follow your interests. Look into them, read books on them - consume all other forms of media with moderation - and build your own foundation.

I wish you luck!

 

[Audiolog Edu]

Hello, I am really a begginer and I just got me my first Rider Waite Tarot deck, Ive been using it with Quareia website course, and downloaded the book "The Symbolism of the Tarot - Philosophy of Occultism in Pictures and Numbers" by P.D. Ouspensky

 

[Philou]

Howdy!
If you like to take your time and undertstand theory, I would recommand starting with the tradtionals

Agrippa's Occult Philosophy (+fourth book)
Agrippa's Arbatel of magick
Eliphas Levi's Rituals & Dogmas of High Magick

 

[Accipeveldare]

Hey everyone,

Just joined and wanted to say hi. Lately, I’ve been asking myself some big questions—who I am, why I’m here, what my purpose is, all that stuff. I’ve been looking into different religions and philosophies for answers, but I’ve also found myself really drawn to the occult—magick, tarot, astrology, and everything in that realm.

I wasn’t expecting to find a community of people who are into the same things, so it’s cool to be here. I’m totally new to all this and would love some advice on where to start. What books would you recommend for a beginner? Something easy to get into at first, and then maybe some more advanced stuff later on.

Thx a bunch! Looking forward to learning and chatting with you all.

I would recommend Peter J. Carrols book "Liber Null" it was my most useful book when I started Occultism. It teaches on the basics of Magick, Meditation, and even helped me gain my ability to Astral Project. Also, welcome to the community! I hope you have a great esoteric journey.

 

[mysteryx88]

Howdy!
If you like to take your time and undertstand theory, I would recommand starting with the tradtionals

Agrippa's Occult Philosophy (+fourth book)
Agrippa's Arbatel of magick
Eliphas Levi's Rituals & Dogmas of High Magick

Hi!
Thanks for sharing your recommendation. I have heard great stuff from the authors you mentioned. I'll definitely look into them.

Post automatically merged: Mar 7, 2025

I would recommend Peter J. Carrols book "Liber Null" it was my most useful book when I started Occultism. It teaches on the basics of Magick, Meditation, and even helped me gain my ability to Astral Project. Also, welcome to the community! I hope you have a great esoteric journey.

Hi thanks for sharing your recoomendation.

I'll look into this book!

Post automatically merged: Mar 7, 2025

Welcome to the forum!

Given that this is your life, your path, and only you are going to reap its rewards, you should read whatever book you like!

Follow your interests. Look into them, read books on them - consume all other forms of media with moderation - and build your own foundation.

I wish you luck!

Hi,

Thanks for your response! Since I’m just starting out, I’d love specific recommendations for beginners in the occult world—astrology, magick, and more. Any books, authors, or resources you’d suggest for someone with no prior knowledge? I would like to get a general knowledge of the different topics.

 

[HoldAll]

No idea if this book is any good (haven't read it) but its title seems to fit the bill:

Book – PDF - Sarah Lyons - How to Study Magic: A Guide to History, Lore, and Building Your Own Practice

An insider's guide for beginner mystics, How to Study Magic is your ultimate introduction to the main areas of magic—from witchcraft to grimoires—what it means to practice them, and, most of all, how to get started. Have you ever wanted to dive into the world of magic, but weren't sure where to...

wizardforums.com

 

[Libra.Libera]

Hi! I'm new here, too!

If you're completely new to the occult, I would actually recommend The Occult Book by John Michael Greer. It gives you an overview of a wide breadth of occult branches arranged in chronological order. When you find an entry or event that interests you, you can use the Notes and References section for further reading, or just use the keywords in that entry to springboard your internet search. It's far from being complete by any means: it ends in 2012 and does not have any entries that would explain the source of some popular concepts of today, like chaos magick or left-hand path. Maybe other folks have a similar and better book in mind.

Still, what I really like about starting this way is that it shows you how it's natural for occult ideas/traditions to build on each other. And that, you can pretty much start your studies anywhere (say divination using Tarot) and that might lead you to studying something you would originally think is completely different (say alchemy and herbalism).

Have fun!

 

[mysteryx88]

No idea if this book is any good (haven't read it) but its title seems to fit the bill:

Book – PDF - Sarah Lyons - How to Study Magic: A Guide to History, Lore, and Building Your Own Practice

An insider's guide for beginner mystics, How to Study Magic is your ultimate introduction to the main areas of magic—from witchcraft to grimoires—what it means to practice them, and, most of all, how to get started. Have you ever wanted to dive into the world of magic, but weren't sure where to...

wizardforums.com

Thanks so much for sharing this!

I took a quick look and read a few pages—it seems like a fantastic starting point. I’ll definitely be checking it out soon. Really appreciate the recommendation!

Post automatically merged: Mar 10, 2025

Hi! I'm new here, too!

If you're completely new to the occult, I would actually recommend The Occult Book by John Michael Greer. It gives you an overview of a wide breadth of occult branches arranged in chronological order. When you find an entry or event that interests you, you can use the Notes and References section for further reading, or just use the keywords in that entry to springboard your internet search. It's far from being complete by any means: it ends in 2012 and does not have any entries that would explain the source of some popular concepts of today, like chaos magick or left-hand path. Maybe other folks have a similar and better book in mind.

Still, what I really like about starting this way is that it shows you how it's natural for occult ideas/traditions to build on each other. And that, you can pretty much start your studies anywhere (say divination using Tarot) and that might lead you to studying something you would originally think is completely different (say alchemy and herbalism).

Have fun!

"Thank you for sharing this!

I’ll definitely look into the book. My goal is to build a general understanding of all the different branches of occultism first, and then I plan to dive deeper into each one over time. Really appreciate the suggestion—it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!

 

[cofe267]

Hey everyone,

Just joined and wanted to say hi. Lately, I’ve been asking myself some big questions—who I am, why I’m here, what my purpose is, all that stuff. I’ve been looking into different religions and philosophies for answers, but I’ve also found myself really drawn to the occult—magick, tarot, astrology, and everything in that realm.

I wasn’t expecting to find a community of people who are into the same things, so it’s cool to be here. I’m totally new to all this and would love some advice on where to start. What books would you recommend for a beginner? Something easy to get into at first, and then maybe some more advanced stuff later on.

Thx a bunch! Looking forward to learning and chatting with you all.

I'd recommend The Temple of Solomon Crash Course in Hermetic Magic - Its what i'm reading currently