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Book Discussion What Are You Reading (Occult)

Talk about a book(s)

BachausMaximus

Neophyte
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De Wijsheid van Bomen Kruiden ("the Wisdom of Trees and Herbs") by Abe J. van der Veen. I doubt there's an English version.
Last year I ordered some Mandrake seed and stumbled upon an excerpt from this book. I really like how he connects things and weaves a story.
It includes a recipe for flying ointment from 1456 among other interesting things.
Years ago I bought nightshade and mandrake ointments from Fern & Fungi and still have them but have never tried them due to the possibility of exasperating my existing health issues. Her blog posts were very interesting as she started out investigating the flying ointment from a religious perspective and ended up with a scientific perspective. Stopped reading her blogs due to the lame political bent she started inserting.
 

Wintruz

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Guido von List's The Secret of the Runes and a Dracula novel called The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.
 
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Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self Transformation by Christopher. Also The Mystical Qabalah by Fortune. Also Israel Regardie and the Philosophers Stone by Lisiewski.
Have requested The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie, Modern Magick by Donald Kraig, and The Middle Pillar by Regardie for Christmas.
 

Wintruz

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Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self Transformation by Christopher. Also The Mystical Qabalah by Fortune. Also Israel Regardie and the Philosophers Stone by Lisiewski.
Have requested The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie, Modern Magick by Donald Kraig, and The Middle Pillar by Regardie for Christmas.
I'm not a Golden Dawn magician but I did get a good way into Christopher's curriculum some years back, when I decided that I wanted to stretch/flex my magical muscles in an integrated way. It's an exceptionally good course.

I abandoned the work when someone very close to me died and the combination of grief, exhaustion and, by then, heavy magic was causing some less than stable mental states. I abandoned while in the later stages of Earth which was the element I most needed to focus on anyway. Still, I did lots of LBRPs afterwards to try to ensure that I wasn't left in a state of permanent imbalance.
 
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Sorry for your loss, I really am. Of all the relatives I've lost, and friends, my mom's death when I was eighteen took me thirty years to accept it all and start moving on with good emotions. I feel for you.

I am really digging his book. Should you wish to continue, Id pick back up at Neophyte and get all earthly matters resolved before moving into Zelator, and immediately enter therapy, as practicus or philosophus may bring up repressed emotions.
 

Vandheer

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Corpus Hermeticum at the moment.

Its a bit of a mess, there are somewhat ten translations about it.

David Myatts transliteration seems to be most authentic to me, but its a bit hard to read for me, I am not a native speaker. It also has only 8 parts of 18 of them.
 
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Tonight refreshing my mind with Kuriakos and seeing how common that is with Benjamin Rowe and Thomas Kristopher.
Also Regardies "Ceremonial Magick", to implement Opening by Watchtower with Christophers Zelator Formula.
 

balbir7

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I was reading Healing with Light frequencies by Jerry Sargeant. It is a wonderful book, but I stop due to the fact, that I am working with my Higher Self to get some answers rather than go to a book for answers. Many blessings!!
Please do suggest books or advice for working with higher self
 
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Absolutely nothing that I haven’t read before at the moment. I’ve got some more academic stuff on Exorcism, Gnostics, and early esoteric Christianity that I’ve been meaning to read but I think I’m going to just enjoy the holidays before I dive into any of that.

-Eld
 
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About to seriously read and analyze Zelator (chapter 5) from Thomas Chistophers "Kabbalah, Magic, and the Great Work of Self-Transformation", "Book Four" from "The Golden Dawn" by Greer and Regardie on the LRH, and "Ceremonial Magic" ("Opening by Watchtower") by Regardie.
 

pixel_fortune

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Currently I am reading Entering the Desert by Craig Williams.
I have a couple of questions about this book!

I read very interested in it but given it's $70 in Australia, I've held off for a couple of reasons

1. The gnosticism - specifically the conception of the earth as a prison or otherwise fundamentally negative and non-divine. That worldview is one I can only take in small doses. But you said it's not really trad gnosticism?

2. I saw a review that said it was heavily focused on technology being bad and the need to be in nature. These are not really ideas I need to hear more about, honestly! At least not for $70

And combined with 1 it paints a picture of a fairly misanthropic work

3. Heavy focus on finding a teacher. Just not of personal relevance

So my sense was that it's not likely to be a great fit for me - not in a "it's a bad book" way, just a "I wouldn't get much out of it" way. I was wondering if you could speak to those things?

I'm also really curious about how extensive the grimoire section is and what sort of workings are in it
 
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I have a couple of questions about this book!

I read very interested in it but given it's $70 in Australia, I've held off for a couple of reasons

1. The gnosticism - specifically the conception of the earth as a prison or otherwise fundamentally negative and non-divine. That worldview is one I can only take in small doses. But you said it's not really trad gnosticism?

2. I saw a review that said it was heavily focused on technology being bad and the need to be in nature. These are not really ideas I need to hear more about, honestly! At least not for $70

And combined with 1 it paints a picture of a fairly misanthropic work

3. Heavy focus on finding a teacher. Just not of personal relevance

So my sense was that it's not likely to be a great fit for me - not in a "it's a bad book" way, just a "I wouldn't get much out of it" way. I was wondering if you could speak to those things?

I'm also really curious about how extensive the grimoire section is and what sort of workings are in it

I added it to book shares library for you.

-Eld
 

pixel_fortune

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Oh wow, thank you so much! I didn't realise it was around in pdf form!
 

neilwilkes

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I'm interested in seeing what you guys are currently reading and/or studying in terms of occult texts. I'm currently studying two texts at the moment. The first is The Magical Mason by R.A. Gilbert. This one is a bit of synchronicity because several YT channels I'm subscribed to have been talking about astrotheology lately and using the Bible as their source. This book has a chapter on astrotheology and it blows guys like Micah Dank out of the water with their vague and loose interpretations of the topic. I seriously need to get my podcast going so I can get on channels like that and correct the often quoted misinformation. Anyway, the second book I'm reading is Occult Medicine & Practical Magic by Samael Aun Weor. What about you guys?
Lots & Lots of John Dee, specifically the new 3-volume edition of his complete mystical writings still extant by Kevin Klein, plus the 5 Books by Joseph Peterson for comparison purposes as well as the original ('Forgotten Books' reprint) of 'A True & Faithful Account' by Causubon. I've also ordered Stephen Skinners new edition of this. Additionally I am still working through the Monas Heiroglyphica, but contrary to what a lot of people seem to think the Monas is NOT an Alchemical or even really a mystical text at all - it's Dee's cosmology based on Arithmetic & Geometry (in short - it's more than that but it won't be of interest to anyone here as it has nothing at all to do with his Enochian system).

Also still studying Eric Purdue's translation of Agrippa's 'Three Books', with some other bits & pieces thrown in for good measure - but mainly the genius that was John Dee is occupying the bulk of my time (and I expect it to for the forseeable future)
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Very much looking forward to this one, but I have an immediate query - I will find the book review section if it exists, but I am confused because Dr Skinner states the Holy Table suffered a left-right reversal in Casaubon's edition yet the error seems to have been perpetrated in his edition, as the Holy Table in the 'Forgotten Books' edition of 'A True And Faithfull.....' exactly matches the one given in Dr Skinner's new book.
 
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