Book Discussion WHAT IS THE FIRST BOOK YOU READ ABOUT MAGIC ?

[zyfrtheFirst]

Mine is the Golden Bough by James Frazer - a book about pagan magics and how modern religion might have evolved from totem spirits associated with hunting, fertility and the weather.
In it he describes the 2 laws of Sympathetic Magic: The law of Simulation and the Law of Contagion.

This was my first exposure to ritual magic. I had intended to learn about the history of religions of White People in my country, before they had been exposed to Christianity. What did the old Britons believe? As it turns out, those superstitions are very strange, like many of the indigenous people in the world! A rich and vibrant history worthy of study.

There is a section where he describes Diana of Nemi, and Rex Nemorensis, which to me might represent the 2nd Roman invasion.

I had not known at the time that this book was a GIANT; one of the most significant and respected books in all of paganism!
It's principles extend to Wicca, Houdou and even Solomonic ritual theurgy traditions!

 

[Morell]

Franc Bardon - Initation Into Hermetics
The first I got and in my country. At the time there were not many, also this one was already back then available for free online. (and that same file is still up on the page where I found it)

 

[Lucien6493]

It must have been really bad because I can't remember the name. It was one of those little books of maybe thirty pages given away at Shell gas stations back in the sixties, for free, and it had a fluffy white cat on the cover, a red candle, and a silver cup. It had all kinds of useful information in it like how to turn your husband into a toad and how to make a homunculus. Really! I must have been eight or nine at the time and simply read it to pieces, silly as it was.

 

[Morell]

It must have been really bad because I can't remember the name. It was one of those little books of maybe thirty pages given away at Shell gas stations back in the sixties, for free, and it had a fluffy white cat on the cover, a red candle, and a silver cup. It had all kinds of useful information in it like how to turn your husband into a toad and how to make a homunculus. Really! I must have been eight or nine at the time and simply read it to pieces, silly as it was.

Ah men, are they in the library? Would love to take a look!

 

[Lucien6493]

I so wish, but no. Novelty shops that sell first editions of batman comics, Ebay collections, vintage memorabilia emporiums, curiosity shops, dusty old book sellers that the world forgot that have portals to far Carcosa? Your guess is as good as mine. I looked. Never found.

 

[Morell]

Awwww, that's a shame.

 

[Magus314]

My first read that made me want to practice magic - some 20+ years ago - was Richard Cavendish's The Black Arts.

 

[Jsinclair]

Well, it seems that @Magus314 already had my answer posted So, I'll tell you the second...

Satanism : The Seduction of America's Youth by Bob Larson

Picture it : America. 1989. The entire country is crazed by Satanic Panic. A young man fresh from being forcibly subjected to a relatively mild but thorough Assemblies of God youth. Done with it but still with ears in the community.

And other than that laughable mess The Satan Seller, THIS was what was spoken of in hushed tones among concerned and titillated fundy folk.

So I snuck it from the public library and into school. And I read it. Beyond the last page.

To the bibliography.

That crazy bastard Larson had basically drawn me a MAP.

And the rest.....

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

It must have been really bad because I can't remember the name. It was one of those little books of maybe thirty pages given away at Shell gas stations back in the sixties, for free, and it had a fluffy white cat on the cover, a red candle, and a silver cup. It had all kinds of useful information in it like how to turn your husband into a toad and how to make a homunculus. Really! I must have been eight or nine at the time and simply read it to pieces, silly as it was.

https://imgur.com/a/WgTRYSK

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Holy blazing broomsticks, Batman!!!

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

Well, it seems that @Magus314

It must have been really bad because I can't remember the name. It was one of those little books of maybe thirty pages given away at Shell gas stations back in the sixties, for free, and it had a fluffy white cat on the cover, a red candle, and a silver cup. It had all kinds of useful information in it like how to turn your husband into a toad and how to make a homunculus. Really! I must have been eight or nine at the time and simply read it to pieces, silly as it was.

already had my answer posted So, I'll tell you the second...

Satanism : The Seduction of America's Youth by Bob Larson

Picture it : America. 1989. The entire country is crazed by Satanic Panic. A young man fresh from being forcibly subjected to a relatively mild but thorough Assemblies of God youth. Done with it but still with ears in the community.

And other than that laughable mess The Satan Seller, THIS was what was spoken of in hushed tones among concerned and titillated fundy folk.

So I snuck it from the public library and into school. And I read it. Beyond the last page.

To the bibliography.

That crazy bastard Larson had basically drawn me a MAP.

And the rest.....

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

https://imgur.com/a/1CWZvAQ

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Holy blazing broomsticks, Batman!!!

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

Well, it seems that @Magus314 already had my answer posted So, I'll tell you the second...

Satanism : The Seduction of America's Youth by Bob Larson

Picture it : America. 1989. The entire country is crazed by Satanic Panic. A young man fresh from being forcibly subjected to a relatively mild but thorough Assemblies of God youth. Done with it but still with ears in the community.

And other than that laughable mess The Satan Seller, THIS was what was spoken of in hushed tones among concerned and titillated fundy folk.

So I snuck it from the public library and into school. And I read it. Beyond the last page.

To the bibliography.

That crazy bastard Larson had basically drawn me a MAP.

And the rest.....

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

It must have been really bad because I can't remember the name. It was one of those little books of maybe thirty pages given away at Shell gas stations back in the sixties, for free, and it had a fluffy white cat on the cover, a red candle, and a silver cup. It had all kinds of useful information in it like how to turn your husband into a toad and how to make a homunculus. Really! I must have been eight or nine at the time and simply read it to pieces, silly as it was.

I can't get the correct image to share but here it is. There were 12. Everyday Witchcraft was the final one. (Really should've been 13th IMHO)

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

 

[Lucien6493]

Well, it seems that @Magus314 already had my answer posted So, I'll tell you the second...

Satanism : The Seduction of America's Youth by Bob Larson

Picture it : America. 1989. The entire country is crazed by Satanic Panic. A young man fresh from being forcibly subjected to a relatively mild but thorough Assemblies of God youth. Done with it but still with ears in the community.

And other than that laughable mess The Satan Seller, THIS was what was spoken of in hushed tones among concerned and titillated fundy folk.

So I snuck it from the public library and into school. And I read it. Beyond the last page.

To the bibliography.

That crazy bastard Larson had basically drawn me a MAP.

And the rest.....

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

https://imgur.com/a/WgTRYSK

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Holy blazing broomsticks, Batman!!!

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

Post automatically merged: Dec 23, 2025

I can't get the correct image to share but here it is. There were 12. Everyday Witchcraft was the final one. (Really should've been 13th IMHO)

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Everyday Witchcraft. I so cannot believe this actually turned up.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

Principles of Wicca, Vivianne Crowley was my first book however I was doing magic for 4 years already.

 

[arielbnz]

Liber Null by Peter Carroll.

 

[Kepler]

I had intended to learn about the history of religions of White People in my country, before they had been exposed to Christianity.

H.G. Wells' Time Machine, but I wasn't intending to specifically learn the future history of Morlocks. It was to learn how to discover future history for myself.
Possibly not the kind of title you meant.
There was a lot of material. It's difficult to say exactly with so much being sifted through. I've narrowed it down to about a dozen titles it could've been.
However, the first book I worked through from those available in the early 80s was Jane Roberts' Nature of the Psyche: It's Human Expression | A Seth Book.
Followed that up with her How to Develop Your ESP Powers then through her material and some adjacent work with self-hypnosis before moving on. That'd be from middle school(Grade 8) to high school. As I'm finishing up typing this post I just realized it may have been reading The Chrysalids in Grade 7 that was a catalyst to get more serious over the summer holidays.

 

[iseht]

Crowley's Book 4. For some reason my high school library had a small section of Crowley and miscellaneous wicca books. Followed Crowley up with a bit of Starhawk's Spiral Dance and spent a good while being very confused about goddess energy.

Several years later returned to Kraig's Modern Magick and that one pretty much set me forward.