More or less, yes. There are a lot of great resources out there. I did have a friend who read them, but even though she got me into them, I really taught myself.

First, discard any and all nonsense about "you have to be gifted your deck" or "you have to bury your old deck in the ground." It's bull, really. A lot of Tarot "myths" like that are, mostly born from traditions passed down, I imagine. But you can absolutely buy your own deck, and used decks too. It's a great way to see if you like a style of deck without dropping a ton of money for nothing.

Some people recommend never reading for yourself, while others swear that they can only read themselves. In reality? Read for whoever you want.

The main thing is to realize that Tarot really is what you make of it. So many people have so many ideas of what it is, from communing with spirits/collective unconscious/gods, to psychology and Jungian archetypes, and I don't think any one way is right or wrong. Tarot is Tarot, whatever that means to you.

There are also a lot of decks out there. "Tarot" isn't limited to just Tarot; there's actually a lot of different types of cartomancy out there, like Lenormand and Oracle cards. I don't know Lenormand myself, and am only beginning on working with an Oracle deck.

And then you have different types of Tarot itself: Thoth Tarot decks and similar ones, mostly "invented" by Aleister Crowley; Rider-Waite/Rider-Waite-Smith decks, sometimes called RWS, commissioned by the Order of the Golden Dawn; historical decks, based off the tarrochi card game popular in the Renaissance; and some decks just barely following a Tarot deck and pretty much created by the author. None of them are better than another, it's all just based off of what you like and what you feel drawn to/comfortable with.

For good or for bad, there are many, many resources out there. Always critically examine what you're reading from.

Aecletic Tarot is a good first stop. Not only does it have listings of decks, from popular to rare, with pictures and sometimes reviews, but it has a lively forum section where you can find just about anything related to Tarot there.

Biddy Tarot is a site I have used in the past. Careful, though, it seems that they have been promoting their online Tarot course more and more. I've never taken it, so I can't say whether its bad or good, but I always feel a little wary about Tarot courses. I feel like you never know what kind of instructor you'd get -- there are some people out there who are a little too... "fluffy bunny" as it can be said at times. That is to say: no scholarship or scholarship based on poorly-researched books, often promoting an unbalanced and inaccurate worldview on the Roma people or Wiccans or anything else. I digress: if you stick to the free parts of the site with card meanings and spreads, its pretty good, and generally the first place I hit when I can't quite get the feel of a card.

Next, there's always reddit's very own /r/tarot. It's not terribly active, but there's good people there. Ask questions, read what is posted, and you can learn a lot. Everyone has different opinions, though, so keep that in mind. And plenty of people trade free readings there, so it's a good place to practice as well!

There are some wonderful Youtube channels out there as well. I'd like to link you this one in particular, because it's a great place to start learning how to discern sources. I also love Rose from The Cackling Moon, and she has a great Tumblr blog that could point you to a ton of good diviners there as well.

As for actual books, I had some around here, but its been so long since I read them that I don't know where they've gotten to. I know one was Tarot for Dummies, which was okay for a start. The other was Complete Book of Tarot Spreads, which I'd peg at intermediate. (That's probably the level I'm on myself). One I want but have yet to get is Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack. Again, Aecletic Tarot has a good list going, and you can always ask /r/tarot for their favorite books as well.

A few tips for getting your first deck:

• As I said above, there are so many out there, so pick one you like the best. That said, most resources out there are for Rider-Waite-Smith decks and their clones, so you might find that its easier to start out with in that. But there are a lot of varieties out there, so find a pretty one that draws you in. You'll be spending a long time studying them. For that matter, if you find one and don't "click," try another. I've had several different decks over the year, including one that I really ended up hating. I have one of my original RWS decks that I mainly read with, and it suits me just fine even after all these years.
  
  
• The Little White Book (often referred to affectionately as LWB) is good for starting out, but can seriously hold you back. It's just simple keywords and phrases that can be associated with the cards, but honestly you'll find that there's so much more than what can be expressed in a few words, especially when you take in a whole context of a spread.
  
  
• Conversely, don't be afraid to reach for resources when you do a reading. Seriously, don't put pressure on yourself to memorize all 78 card's meanings. Sometimes going through a couple different sources can a meaning stand out to you, especially when you start looking at the card less individually and more in combinations.
  
  
• Keep a journal. Write down your spreads and your interpretations of them. Not only will you be able to look back and see what you found was right, but you'll find common themes in certain cards or card combinations.
  
  
• Cards have different symbolism for different people. Sure, they may have general themes, such as The Tower being a card of disaster or sudden change, but we can all have an opinion or feeling of a card all our own. I highly recommend writing your thoughts on different cards down in your journal too: what jumps out at you, what you didn't notice at first glance, how the card makes you feel. Eventually, you'll impart your own meanings onto them.
  
  
• Don't be afraid of certain cards, though. Media likes to play up cards like Death or The Devil, but they aren't evil or scary, and they don't mean your going to die or get possessed by the devil or anything. Generally, the meanings are symbolic: Death is an ending (or sometimes, a new beginning), and the Devil can mean you let your passions and vices control you.
  
  
• No matter what they cards say, they are changeable. In fact, often the point of Tarot reading is to see where you are now and if you don't do anything, where you'll end up. It's generally a tool for great self-reflection more than predicting anything concrete in the future, I've found.
  
  
• After you've been reading for a while and shuffling your deck (regular card shuffling is okay, but the method doesn't really matter as long as they're shuffled well) and you find it getting difficult to read the cards, try putting them in "order" like it was freshly out of the box. It's kind of a reset button. I don't know if its psychological or "magical" but it works for me. There's lots of ways to "cleanse" a deck, though, so do what you feel is best.
  
  
• This one may be a tad advanced, but I feel like I should say something on it: research Tarot ethics. This is a big one when you start reading for other people. Ask yourself: what kind of questions would you be comfortable answering to the best of your ability? Generally, most readers avoid medical questions (including pregnancy-related) and legal ones, and many avoid reading about third parties without permission out of respect. And if there's a less than pleasant implication in the cards, how would you handle that? Would you tell the truth? What would you do if they reacted negatively? What would happen if they disregard it, it came to pass, and blamed you? It's a lot to consider. If you just read for yourself, obviously that's not a big deal, but keep it in mind if you ever read for someone else.
  
  Last but not least, I have to comment on your username... I love pugs! Sadly, the last pug in the family, my grandma's old guy, was put down tonight. I'm going to miss him, but it was his time to go to rest.
  
  Good luck with your journey into Tarot. I hope it pans out well for you, and that I was in some way helpful :)

This? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong

I've never heard of it before. Nifty!

You can start with mindfulness meditation. Try doing it constantly while you're doing your every day automated chores, like dressing, cleaning, teeth brushing, driving, shopping, and other tasks that don't take up much mental horsepower.

Lightly watch your breathing. Don't alter it, just try to concentrate on it without changing subjects in your mind. Watch what you're doing in the moment. Don't think about what you're going to do an hour from now, or tomorrow, or next week. Don't think about yesterday. Don't think at all, just be in the now. It is a pain in the ass to do and can take months to years of practice, but it will lower the ADHD type tendencies. The more you do it the more you'll be able to concentrate on one thing at a time without jumping around and losing track of what is going on.

The autism stuff can be more beneficial than it is not imho. However, it has to be coupled with the sponge personality type imho. When I say sponge personality type I mean the type of personality that loves to learn new things constantly. They are reading text books, studying new things, reading wikipedia, and doing a bunch of intellectual things all day. They have fun learning new things. People who are autistic tend to love to solve puzzles and figure things out, so that knowledge draw can turn into intellect and then intelligence if you try to figure out how something works. It isn't just pulling in knowledge but putting yourself in an imaginary real world situation where you'd have to use that knowledge. For me this means making programs which is puzzle solving, and recently a lot of psychology and neuroscience stuff. I love figuring out how my own brain works and how I can utilize it in ways the average person can't. I mentioned the book Prometheus Rising the other day as it is all about how to utilize the brain in ways the average person can't do without that unlocked mental horsepower from meditation, types of sex, yoga, tripping, or a near death experience. A friend of mine who is similar has been looking up a lot of crazy math and quantum physics stuff. I think he was reading GEB. A Strange Loop is like a non crazy math nerd explanation of the same thing. I haven't read it yet, but it is on my to do list. MIT has a class under it, but personally I'd rather just read the book. Another friend of mine has been doing a lot of random chemistry work as that is another form of puzzle solving I'd suspect.

The idea is to find a subject you really enjoy and chase it to its extreme. Start at the beginning, even elementary level stuff, and then keep going until the masters degree level, and then the research level, and just keep moving towards figuring more and more out about that type of subject.

The best part is adult ADD has a hole in it. It makes one super interested in something they would normally be interested in, and not much else. It allows for you to find a drive and carry it out beyond the average person. This often involves digging around a bunch of stuff that you wouldn't normally be interested in to see if you bump into something you end up being interested in but didn't realize.

If you want to try enjoying some of the stuff I like, I highly recommend checking out programming. It depends what you want to do, before you choose what to learn. Me, I enjoyed automating tasks in the past. I was tired of having to download all the TV shows and movies I watch, so I decided to write a program that automatically does it and goes above and beyond any previous made software I could download. Then I moved into AI coding and data organization when I started writing bots that collected information which I found fun. shrugs

My boyfriend who isn't crazy interested in figuring things out started playing with an Adriano a couple of weeks ago. He got an LCD and a bunch of stuff and made a little robot thing. I'm thinking about taking some of his stuff and making a system that detects the BPM in music, and then has rerecorded light patterns I can flick through and then I'm going to make a jacket with EL wire in it that lights up for stuff like Burning Man.

There is so much you can do. There is more information in one day on this planet than you can obtain in your entire life. There is an infinite level of things to play with. It really is fun.

So, I recommend trying things differently. Not finding things to do, just to do them, but finding things to figure out and discover like a puzzle. The world is a playground and your mind is the player. It is just how you choose to approach it.

However, I admit a personality change is extremely hard to do. You'd have to force yourself for months to years before falling into it. However, if you get good at meditation and learn how you can reprogram your subconscious in such a way that allows you to alter your personality without forcing it. Everything would come out natural as if you had always already been that way. Explaining that is a pain. Prometheus rising explains how it is possible and asks you to open your mind to it. I can tell you with absolute certainty it is possible, but learning what it is is the first step. Once you figure that out the next steps are much easier. Feel free to PM me in the future if you want help with this, but please start with the book, or some other knowledge gain.

Before I start answering your questions, I want to point out that you are pretty fixated on magic in your questions. I think it should be noted that magic, while it does have a relationship with paganism and some pagan traditions use it very heavily, is separate and distinct from the religious practices of paganism. Not all pagan traditions practice magic and its debatable that this sub is meant for the the discussion of the religious aspects of paganism rather than discussion of magic. You should by all means feel welcome to seek information about paganism here, but if magic is what you are interested in, you might have more luck asking in more magic oriented subs like r/occult or subs like r/Wicca or /r/witchcraft that cater specifically to the traditions that do use magic. I should also mention that I'm by no means an expert on paganism or magic, but I know a thing or two about a thing or two. On to the answers!

1. I recommend you start by reading as much as you can. There is a lot of information out there, specifically for wicca but applying pretty broadly to paganism, that you can find for free on the internet that should serve as an adequate introduction to paganism and the pagan magical practices. As you read those and learn more, you will be able to better discern good information from less useful information and better choose for yourself which tradition you feel is right for you, but as a beginner I'm of the opinion that even bad information will serve its purpose and later be discarded. I specifically recommend this book as an introduction to paganism (I know you have issues with your family, but if you can get a hold of it I personally recommend this book): https://www.amazon.com/Paganism-Introduction-Earth-Centered-Religions/dp/0738702226. Books by Cunningham, Buckland, and Oberon Zell are also pretty beginner friendly, albeit somewhat specific to their traditions. For a digital source, I recommend this: http://www.witchology.com/contents/opensourcewicca/gardnerianindex.php. It is digital collection of (supposedly) Gardner's book of shadows and it should serve as a good launching point into Wicca. I also recommend this guide: http://bluefluke.deviantart.com/gallery/52627976/THE-PSYCHONAUT-FIELD-MANUAL. It's specific to Chaos Magic (I'll talk about it in a bit) and not really pagan, but it covers the basics of magic very eloquently and succinctly. Even if you plan on following a more involved tradition, I think this document is a pretty good launching point.
   
2. It's easy to get caught up in the different traditions of magic and I think its important to understand that magic is not a D&D class. Its a practice for spiritual growth and, sometimes, for obtaining material gain. As such, I recommend you don't get hung up on the differences between different magical traditions or try to master all of them. Try out as much as you want and find a path that feels right for you. Having said that, you seem to already to be familiar with witchcraft, as exemplified by Wicca and the less popular Stregheria. This is a folk tradition of magic, more pagan than other paths and based on using tools that are already on hand. The hermetic tradition, as exemplified by the Order of the Golden Dawn, is a tradition that supposedly was created by Hermes Trismegistus, was heavily influenced by Cabalah, passed through Platonic philosophy for a while, and was eventually rediscovered in the Enlightenment and heavily Christianized. It is a very western school of magic and is very abrahamic in flavor and ideally involves a lot of props, specific incantations, and steps. It's also worth noting that Gerald Gardner borrowed many elements from the hermetic tradition when he was founding Wicca and drafting his original book of shadows. Thelema is the magical tradition of Aleister Crowley and was started when he decided that the Order of the Golden Dawn just didn't have enough Crowley in it. I don't know much about this tradition, apart from the fact that originates in hermeticism, but that's definitely a name you'll see around. Chaos Magic is a relatively new paradigm in magic, originating with the Illuminates of Thanateros and emphasizing that it doesn't matter what trappings you use in magic as long as you personally believe that they will work. There are of course various indigenous practices of magic and you might find them interesting to read about, but I recommend you stay clear of them if you aren't a member of that culture. Its a respect thing and, if you're approaching these traditions as an outsider, there's a lot that you won't understand anyway. If you do seek out these traditions, I recommend you find a teacher who can properly initiate you, and one that is actually a member of the culture in question. I definitely recommend you don't seek out Shamanism unless you're called to it (and you'll know if you are).
   
3. Other people have said this, but Witchcraft and Wicca are actually not synonymous. Wicca is a tradition of witchcraft, as are other traditions like Stregheria and arguably Voodoo, but witchcraft itself is separate from these and there are many witches who prefer not to associate with such labels. You can call yourself a witch if you feel that the term applies to you. Or you can call yourself simply a pagan if you choose to generally follow a pagan path.

Here's a list of books I've read that have had a big impact on my journey.

First and foremost tho, you should learn to meditate. That's the most instrumental part of any spiritual path.

 Ram Dass – “Be Here Now” - https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052 - Possibly the most important book in the list – was the biggest impact in my life.  Fuses Western and Eastern religions/ideas. Kinda whacky to read, but definitely #1

Ram Dass - “Journey Of Awakening” - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006L7R2EI - Another Ram Dass book - once I got more into Transcendental Meditation and wanted to learn other ways/types of meditation, this helped out.

 Clifford Pickover – “Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves…” - https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Drugs-Einstein-Elves-Transcendence/dp/1890572179/ - Somewhat random, frantic book – explores lots of ideas – planted a lot of seeds in my head that I followed up on in most of the books below

 Daniel Pinchbeck – “Breaking Open the Head” - https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Open-Head-Psychedelic-Contemporary/dp/0767907434 - First book I read to explore impact of psychedelics on our brains

 Jeremy Narby – “Cosmic Serpent” - https://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Serpent-DNA-Origins-Knowledge/dp/0874779642/ - Got into this book from the above, explores Ayahuasca deeper and relevancy of serpent symbolism in our society and DNA

 Robert Forte – “Entheogens and the Future of Religion” - https://www.amazon.com/Entheogens-Future-Religion-Robert-Forte/dp/1594774382 - Collection of essays and speeches from scientists, religious leaders, etc., about the use of psychedelics (referred to as Entheogens) as the catalyst for religion/spirituality

 Clark Strand – “Waking up to the Dark” - https://www.amazon.com/Waking-Up-Dark-Ancient-Sleepless/dp/0812997727 - Explores human’s addiction to artificial light, also gets into femininity of religion as balance to masculine ideas in our society

 Lee Bolman – “Leading with Soul” - https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Soul-Uncommon-Journey-Spirit/dp/0470619007 - Discusses using spirituality to foster a better, more supportive and creative workplace – pivotal in my honesty/openness approach when chatting about life with coworkers

 Eben Alexander – “Proof of Heaven” - https://www.amazon.com/Proof-Heaven-Neurosurgeons-Journey-Afterlife/dp/1451695195 - A neurophysicist discusses his near death experience and his transformation from non-believer to believer (title is a little click-baity, but very insightful book.  His descriptions of his experience align very similarly to deep meditations I’ve had)

 Indries Shah – “Thinkers of the East” - https://www.amazon.com/Thinkers-East-Idries-Shah/dp/178479063X/ - A collection of parables and stories from Islamic scholars.  Got turned onto Islamic writings after my trip through Pakistan, this book is great for structure around our whole spiritual “journey”

 Whitley Strieber – “The Key: A True Encounter” - https://www.amazon.com/Key-True-Encounter-Whitley-Strieber/dp/1585428698 - A man’s recollection of a conversation with a spiritual creature visiting him in a hotel room.  Sort of out there, easy to dismiss, but the topics are pretty solid

 Mary Scott – “Kundalini in the Physical World” - https://www.amazon.com/Kundalini-Physical-World-Mary-Scott/dp/0710094175/ - Very dense, very difficult scientific book exploring Hinduism and metaphysics (wouldn’t recommend this for light reading, definitely something you’d want to save for later in your “journey”)

 Hermann Hesse – “Siddartha” - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/siddhartha-hermann-hesse/1116718450? – Short novel about a spiritual journey, coming of age type book.  Beautifully written, very enjoyable.

Reza Aslan - “Zealot” - https://www.amazon.com/ZEALOT-Life-Times-Jesus-Nazareth/dp/140006922X - Talks about the historical Jesus - helped me reconnect with Christianity in a way I didn’t have before

Reza Aslan - “No god but God” - https://www.amazon.com/god-but-God-Updated-Evolution/dp/0812982444 - Same as above, but in terms of Mohammad and Islam.  I’m starting to try to integrate the “truths” of our religions to try and form my own understanding

Thich Nhat Hanh - “Silence” - https://www.amazon.com/Silence-Power-Quiet-World-Noise-ebook/dp/B00MEIMCVG - Hanh’s a Vietnamese Buddhist monk - in this book he writes a lot about finding the beauty in silence, turning off the voice in our heads and lives, and living in peace.

Paulo Coelho - “The Alchemist” - https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Paulo-Coelho/dp/0062315005/ - Sort of a modern day exploration of “the path” similar to “Siddhartha.”  Very easy and a joy to read, good concepts of what it means to be on a “path”

Carlos Castaneda - "The Teachings of Don Juan" - The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671600419 - Started exploring more into shamanism and indigenous spiritual work; this book was a great intro and written in an entertaining and accessible way. 

Jean-Yves Leloup - “The Gospel of Mary” - https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Mary-Magdalene-Jean-Yves-Leloup/dp/0892819111/ - The book that finally opened my eyes to the potentiality of the teachings of Christ.  This book, combined with the one below, have been truly transformative in my belief system and accepting humanity and the power of love beyond what I’ve found so far in my journey.

Jean-Yves Leloup - “The Gospel of Philip” - https://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Philip-Magdalene-Gnosis-Sacred/dp/1594770220 - Really begins to dissect and dive into the metaphysical teachings of Christ, exploring the concept of marriage, human union and sexuality, and the power contained within.  This book, combined with the one above, have radically changed my perception of The Church as dissimilar and antithetical to what Christ actually taught.

Ram Dass - “Be Love Now” - https://www.amazon.com/Be-Love-Now-Path-Heart/dp/0061961388 - A follow-up to “Be Here Now” - gets more into the esoteric side of things, his relationship with his Guru, enlightenment, enlightened beings, etc.

Riane Eisler - “The Chalice and the Blade” - https://www.amazon.com/Chalice-Blade-Our-History-Future/dp/0062502891 - An anthropoligical book analyzing the dominative vs cooperative models in the history and pre-history of society and how our roots have been co-opted and rewritten by the dominative model to entrap society into accepting a false truth of violence and dominance as “the way it is”

I've been studying Tarot and western mysticism for over 2 decades. My recommendation is that you ignore all the fancy decks out there and pick up some version of the Rider-Waite. It isn't the prettiest, but it's the one that almost EVERY deck for the past 100 years has been based on. If you can read a Rider-Waite, then you can read anything. Someone suggested the Marseille deck (of which there were a few from the 18th c. onwards), but I wouldn't recommend starting out with an older style deck like that. Older decks (Marseille, JJ Swiss, Visconti-Sforza etc.) were designed for Game Play - NOT divination. They don't have handy titles or pictures on the minor arcana (number/suit/pip cards).

Some decks you might consider:

Standard Rider-Waite. Can't get any easier than this.

Quick and Easy Tarot. This one has the meanings printed right on the cards! Easy to learn from, and based on Rider-Waite.

Golden Dawn tarot. This one was my favorite for a while. The colors are nicer than Rider-Waite, but it's still a traditional deck, and all the cards have titles and additional symbolism (Astrological/Qabalistic) so they're easier to read and remember.

B.O.T.A. deck. This one comes in black-and-white. You're supposed to color your own cards! I've used the link that includes the book with coloring instructions/descriptions. You can buy the cards by themselves here. Following the traditional (Qabalistic) color scheme and coloring your own (with markers, colored pencils, or maybe watercolors) will help you learn and remember them better.

Regarding the influence of Qabalah on modern decks, it's VERY hard to find a modern deck without it. A.E. Waite was a member of the Golden Dawn (19th c. Hermetic order), and they're largely responsible for the popular appeal of modern Qabalah-influenced decks. They drew on several 18th-19th c. sources (Levi, Etteilla, Court de Gebelin etc.) and put it all together into the tarot we know and use today.

Some books that may be helpful:

Mystical Origins of the Tarot. This is a very good book that talks about the history of the cards, all the way back to the 14th c. Extremely insightful. You can read this on Scribd, btw.

Qabalistic Tarot. The best book on how modern tarot fits onto the Tree of Life, and how the symbolism describes states of consciousness and aspects of Qabalah. When you're ready to scratch below the surface and use your cards for meditation, this book will help you.

This may be a good book to help you get started. I haven't read it, but it gets good reviews.

Related-topic: if you enjoy playing cards, I highly recommend trying out the traditional Tarot games that make use of either modern French or German style decks (which look like modified normal playing cards with extra cards) or older decks such as the JJ Swiss, Marseille, or even Lo Scarabeo's Ancient Italian Deck. Tarot games are quite fun! You can't use a divination deck for them, though. European or Italian folk games such as Scopa and Briscola are also quite fun, and they make use of decks that are distant cousins to Tarot. This link will explain other tarot type games if you're interested.

Anyway, I hope that helps you make sense of the Tarot. Go with Rider-Waite to start, and take your time. There's a lot to learn!

A good place to start is the sub’s sticky, followed by the Satanic Bible if you want to dig deeper. We are Egoists as well as atheists. Since we believe that all gods are the product of man’s mind, and that rational self-interest is the foundation of morality, it follows that if we are going to make up a fictitious god as a metaphor, the god that best serves that paradigm is ourselves. We do not believe that we are literal gods (as in the supernatural type), but rather use that symbolism as a tool to aid in decision making. If everyone puts themselves first, everyone is better off.


>“All religions of a spiritual nature are inventions of man. He has created an entire system of gods with nothing more than his carnal brain. Just because he has an ego, and cannot accept it, he has to externalize it into some great spiritual device which he calls ‘God.’

>God can do all the things man is forbidden to do—such as kill people, perform miracles to gratify his will, control without any apparent responsibility, etc. If man needs such a god and recognizes that god, then he is worshipping an entity that a human being invented. Therefore, HE IS WORSHIPPING BY PROXY THE MAN THAT INVENTED GOD. Is it not more sensible to worship a god that he, himself, has created, in accordance with his own emotional needs—one that best represents the very carnal and physical being that has the idea‐power to invent a god in the first place?” -- The Satanic Bible, Anton LaVey



As far as ethics, we subscribe to the idea that each individual acting in their rational self-interests will also lead to the best outcomes on a societal scale. For more information on the ideas of rational egoism, I suggest the works of Stirner (or Rand if you want the pop-culture version).


It is also often missed that man is a social animal and empathy is part of the human condition. For most, in addition to the practical benefits of benevolent (but not altruistic) behavior, there is also happiness to be found in compassion towards the deserving.

As an example, I give to charities that I feel are helpful to the society (I just sent a donation to ProjectPrevention) which I live in (benevolence to others as a practical act) and to some specific causes simply because I derive pleasure from helping those causes like the Shire Free Churche’s Hope Project (compassion to satisfy my own ego). In both of these cases I am helping others for purely selfish reasons.

Likewise, inflicting harm on others (without their consent) usually does not bring happiness to most people. For those that do like to cause unnecessary harm, that behavior is tempered by the vast majority of people who do not want to live in that type of society. Morality is determined by the individual, but still subject to judgment by others; if someone believes they have a right to steal, they will not get far before running into a well-armed someone else that disagrees. We do believe in Law and Order as well as the individual’s right to self-defense and retribution. Criminal acts are not tolerated by Satanism.

Edit: Typos, sources, links and clarity

I think your desire isn't all that uncommon. The idea that if you are able to communicate with a definitive non-corporeal "other" it'd be proof of a life/world beyond ours and then we'd feel a lot more comfortable with ideas such as death. I'll point out some texts that might help guide you but first some pointers.

1. It's really, very difficult to prove the objective existence of anything outside of yourself. For example, nightly you likely have interactions with seeming entities that have personalities and actions completely detached from your own consciousness (I'm talking about dreaming). Should you get some sort of actual experience with "other worldly" beings I'd be willing to bet you'll end up with more questions than answers as to it's true nature.
   
   
2. I'm sorry to hear about your health issues but it's important to not dive to heavily into your psychedelics without a bit of training/experience. Learn some meditiation and hopefully it'll help with your day-to-day stress as well. I'm not saying that you can't/shouldn't try out the psychedelic experience but be smart about it and don't go into it trying to "force" the experience. Just let it happen. You might not have the sort of experience you expect, but still might gain some important insight that will bring you calm and peace.
   
   
3. Should you contact something "other" don't take that experience too seriously. There world is full of weird other things and not all of them will be useful to you. If at all possible it's best to approach these experiences with a sense of humor and confidence.
   
   So to this end I recommend the following books:
   
   Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson. I can't recommend this enough. It's Robert Anton Wilson telling stories about and giving insights into his own diving into the world of occultism, psychedelics and general weirdness.
   
   Oven ready chaos by Phil Hine - Free online via his site More of a practical how-to for modern occultism. Again, good knowledge and good humor.
   
   Pacts with the Devil by Christopher Hyatt and Jason Black. Ok, I'm not actually encouraging you to make a pact with any entity for starters, but this book is very good if somewhat hokey at times. There's some workable ritual in it, but mostly I think you'll be interested in the sections where the authors talk about their own experiences working with spirits.
   
   Anyway, I am wishing you the best, feel free to message me if you have any questions. I hope you find the answers you need.

It's more or less a waiting game but does require upwards of 45-60 mins to reach the vibrations stage (your experiences may vary). Depending on how you meditate could also affect this. Since you were meditating in bed, here are some other tips to help you move past just simply meditating and progress on.

• Make yourself slightly uncomfortable, be it laying in a different position, or even placing a board under your heels. You'll need to be in a slight discomfort to help keep your mind active enough not to fall asleep and to continue past just meditating.
  
  
• Counting out breaths, mantras, or even focusing on belly breathing or your breath, in general, are great ways to keep your brain active enough.
  
  
• Wear loose clothing, undo belts, and don't completely cover your self with heavy blankets. Light blankets are okay but you don't want to trick your brain into thinking its bed time.
  
  
• Propping yourself up to a 45° in bed is a good idea as well.
  
  
• Also tensing muscle groups then releasing, over the entire body, before meditation, trance work, or an AP session are great to do as well.
  
  What you should notice as you progress along to an astral projection:
  
  

1. Eventual loss of sensation to hands, feet, and limbs. The chest and head are usually last to "go." This tends to feel like a metal blanket being pulled over you.
   
   
2. Vibrations or Sleep Paralysis come next. Generally, limbs are unable to be moved and it might be difficult to breathe deeply (don't panic, you'll be fine, shallow breathing is expected). Vibrations feel like low (or sometimes high) intensity energy surging through parts or all of your body†.
   
   
3. From this point, wait for vibrations to pass, you may then either experience 3D darkness (where all senses shut off) or you could move into astral sight††.
   
   
4. In either event, once you've reached step three, exit techniques can now be applied to "leave" your body. There are many different techniques but the best ones deal with motion, climbing ropes or ladders, thinking of roller coasters, etc.
   
   These are the basic steps of reaching an astral projection. I haven't completed one yet but I've been studying, practicing, and meditating on a regular basis. I've linked a book below that has been a huge help in understanding what to expect and how to go about completing an AP, I highly recommend it. This link here will also link to other comments I've made on other posts with other tips, suggestions, and even YouTubers that can help explain. Good Luck!
   
   † - Author Robert Bruce describes the vibrations stage as your energy double being created from the physical double as it takes a lot of energy to get this energy double ready to astral project.
   
   †† - Recently, I tried some light trance work from Robert Bruce's book, "Astral Dynamics." I set myself up in a seated position, as suggested, and focused on belly breathing, with a 22 min timer (as I had other things to do). I went through the motions taught in the book and began noticing sensations of my previous astral sessions, heavy warm body, vibrations forming in my arms & legs. Eventually, the darkness behind my eyes started to go away and was replaced by bright white. This was odd to me because I had made the room relatively dark for 11:30 am. I could have sworn I started to see objects out in the distance in this new white light behind my closed eye lids. Eventually, my meditation music kicked off due to WiFi issues and I had thought my alarm went off. I then ended my session and was surprised to see my room wasn't any brighter. From the looks of it, I may have been on the verge of astral sight and possibly an exit.
   

Hey guys. Long time fan of this community and love the work and research. I hope this post is welcome here I felt it was applicable. This is from the streaming service Gaia, which is similar to netflix but for conscious information instead. This was a great episode and probably the best so far out of this series. I was motivated to share it here and in other sub-reddit's because of its message and deep impact. The reality we live in is inverted and we have been in a false state of perception for a long time as a collective species. This is rapidly changing as we re-disover and re-member who and what we truly are.

There is a lot that ties in with this but I really wanted to share the video. Here are some additional links and research on this as well as some books that I personally recommend. I hope this helps atleast one of you in some way, in that, I will be happy. This is my way of being service to others and I want us all to have a bright future.

Additional links & research:

Recommended books:

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855

https://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184995

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/163451.Between_Death_Life

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Souls-Plan-Discovering-Meaning/dp/1583942726

Recommended links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/7x8eig/the_cias_declassified_research_on_the_human_soul/du69hjy/?context=0

http://awakeningforums.com/thread/666/foia-document-hypothesis-collective-consciousness

A personal tribute to the holofractal community that I put together a while back:

http://awakeningforums.com/thread/368/hidden-world-symbols-right-front

Much love and light! I hope this helps in some way and I hope this post is alright here. Keep up the research guys and thank you! We are all one!

I feel like you bringing up
> Was it all the symbolism the Illuminati flashed before your eyes?

Is just proof that you're here to try and spark conflicts and upset people. If that is not the case then I do feel that this specific quote is disrespectful.

As I suggested, please go and read a satanic bible and also visit The Satanic Temple's website. Those should paint a pretty good picture of modern day Satanism. Alternatively, you can just ask me specific questions and I can provide answers. WARNING: I'm not trying to convert you or push a mindset on you! These are merely suggestions so that you may further your knowledge in these areas as you seem to know much about Christianity and Jesus but little about opposing views/arguments against that.

To answer this quote from you
> I wouldn't be so surprised if this was r/satanism, but it is r/atheism.

I agree that there are many different "sects", if you will, of satanism, but most of these sects are atheist in nature; hence, why I'm here and trying to educate you as best I can on the matter. Speaking as general as possible, Satanists don't believe in some great amazing sky God who created humanity as a bunch of worshipers, nor do satanists believe in many of the "holy texts" from other religions that have been mostly disproved by history.

Now let me go ahead and elaborate on this quote of mine because you keep coming back to it.
> Satan is perfect

You said something about how Satan symbolizes evil and corruption. Where does that definition come from, who taught you that, and why is this the case? When I read the satanic bible, that is not the impression I got. In fact, when you research Lucifer and many of the popular names of Satan, many of them have really amazing and beautiful origins. From what I've studied, these were mostly erased/twisted after the Christian church came into contact with the "pagans" who worshiped or new these Gods/"demons".

This is why I feel that Satan is a perfect counter in situations like the one from the original article. It makes people think. It makes people ask questions and many times the answers to those questions have to be found in something other than the religious text that they started in. Satanism doesn't have the "this is it, the only thing you're allowed to believe or you burn for eternity" clause that forces people to cower in fear about studying or believing anything other than what they started with. It encourages the opposite.

I'm happy to continue this discussion as long as you are and I apologize if you genuinely feel that this
> You people are not being very respectful at all.

is true. That isn't what I've intended in any of my discussion so far.

Hello, I am an engineer and am very analytic in my thinking as well. I had a series of life experiences a few years ago that opened me up to things like meditation, hypnosis, and past lives among others. After reading Dr. Michael Newton's books 'Journey of Souls' and 'Destiny of Souls' I decided that I wanted to do a past life regression and have my own personal experience. I did this because I wanted to know first hand what I would remember, how it would feel, and how it might all fit in with my issues I'm dealing with in life today. It was such an amazing experience that I recently decided to take a class to get certified in hypnosis.

After reading your post I realized I might have a perspective to offer that might assist you. This is my opinion based on what I've learned and what I've experienced, so take it for what it's worth. First of all, in my hypnosis class I learned that hypnosis is really just a term used to describe a state of mind that we all enter naturally without realizing it. When we work with a hypnotist, we are working with an individual who not only helps facilitate reaching this state, but they also help us utilize that state of mind to work towards accomplishing goals.

The hypnotic state of mind is basically where your brain waves slow down from the normal busy beta range to the slower and more relaxed alpha range. A deep trance state is even slower still where your brainwaves enter the theta range. Delta is where we go unconscious and dream/sleep. These brainwave states are natural and like I said, we go into them all the time without realizing it. When our brain waves slow down our conscious mind moves closer to the subconscious/unconscious mind where our habitual thought patterns originate as well as our intuition. With a focused effort you can consciously access these programs and insights to help you to accomplish your goals.

When we read a book or watch tv we tune out all the external noise going on around us. We immerse our imagination in the story being told. This can be categorized as a state of hypnosis. When you get into your car and drive on autopilot while deep in thought, this is a state of hypnosis. Hypnosis is a participatory event and although you become more suggestible in these states you are still you, and you are still very aware of who you are and what you are doing.

One of the reasons some people are less hypnosis friendly is because it requires a 'trust' in order for us to truly relax to this state with another person. There is also the factor that if we are overly analyzing everything that is going on we really aren't relaxing and letting our brain waves slow to the alpha state. There are many factors at play. My advice would be to learn how to let go and trust the process. Be more on board with doing it than you are in resistance to it. We can all be torn on certain decisions. Hypnosis only works when you truly are ready to move on and accomplish goal X. If part of you really doesn't want to accomplish goal X, then that part of yourself will sabotage the process. We can be incredibly conflicted creatures, especially those of us who overly analyze everything.

Get the notion that you are a difficult case for hypnosis out of your head. You go to this natural state several times a day, every day of your life. The only difference is that in hypnosis or meditation you are actively working to accomplish a goal. Hypnosis is facilitated and guided by somebody else. Meditation is self guided. Repetition makes a difference too. This isn't magic. There is a reason why things work the way they do. The more you focus on your goal and work at it, the more likely you are to accomplish it.

I hope this helps. Sorry its so long. Let me know if you have any questions.

> I’ve heard that it snaps them out of it almost instantly but no one really knows why.

Time for further reading! This book is positively marvelous, and looks at the idiotic way we've avoided study of these exact sorts of substances for treating things like Anxiety/depression/etc. It's by a fellow involved in some of the original LDS/psilocybin research back when, who is by all means a well educated professional - all the folks in the book are as well. It's not a bunch of hippies, it's professionals in their respective fields testing what we can do, and being shut down abruptly for silly reasons. Even looking beyond the purely therapy-based uses there were some curious, but needing much further study, aspects about enhancing cognition, focus, creative thinking, etc. - I'm sure we've all heard of the many artists and such who are inspired by substances, but not as much about stuff like part of the discovery of DNA, math theorems, and so on.

Small studies have been down which have showed 80%+ success rates in "moderate to high improvement" with regards to depression and shit. That's HUGE. What's interesting is that a significantly massive part of the psychadelic+therapy benefit seems to come from setting the right expectations and making it a therapy, not a recreation. Preparation is key, as is setting up a space to do it in - pleasant music and lighting, calm and safe, not some clinical doctor's office or sterile testing area. Further, it helps to bring stuff to think about, questions you've written yourself, photos of family and other nostalgic things, that sort of deal.

It's amazingly fascinating that one single session for a drug that is out of your system completely in days can facilitate months if not years of progress by 'normal' therapy methods in a few days - and that's in the words of PhD types who are studying it.

There's a lot of unknown about these sorts of substances and how exactly they can facilitate such outcomes, because we only just recently have finally begun to research them again, as we should have been since the 60s.

I mean, the issue is that our antidepressents kinda suck. Many of them barely beat out placebo, and the best ones are only about twice as effective as placebo. Anything that hits 50-80% should be earth shattering, and some of the potential studies that were done and have been done recently again finally have showed that at the least, so it's just.. it boggles my mind that we will cling to an obviously unscientific mantra of stigma and ignorance for so long when peoples' lives could have been changed in the last four decades for the better.

Hey! Please don't even consider prematurely taking your life... from all I've read the karmic situation you're in will need to be resolved either in this life, or after... and it's way harder after.

So, on a lighter note:

Why are humans afraid of dying? Maybe because they haven't read (or don't believe) "Journey of Souls"...

Yea... getting past the fear of dying, even welcoming it can really open up the opportunity to be thankful for and really wake up and enjoy the unfathomably amazing gift that living is.

I kind of see two primary divergent philosophical rivers here (of course many tributaries on each):

First: afterlife+karma+fate(+reincarnation?)

Second: death as final+no objective morality+we're all just random cosmic blobs.

I'm pretty firmly in the karma camp... I'm not sure what your life partner situation is, and I'm certainly not a counselor, but I do believe that letting someone else have such negative impact on your outlook on life requires your consent (very likely not conscious)... People do get divorced/separated, and do find happiness later... people also go to counselors and resolve issues... I'm certainly not saying that any path in front of you is easy, but I truly believe that picking a path to explore will bring you much more than ceasing forward motion... One odd piece of life-partner relationships is that much of the strength of the relationship is dependent upon the self-esteem of the individuals, and that self-esteem can't be dependent upon the partner... The more you find yourself... your true self... the you that you really love... that your sister and parents unconditionally love... the stronger your relationship will become... assuming your partner can keep up... (at least that's my opinion from my experience and from others I've known)...

Best wishes for pursuing your the best path for you! Thx for sharing!

You can most certainly think of some prayers on your own— after all the Gods do want to hear from YOU. I use a few different books to help me out with set prayers. They are these books:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Hellenic-Polytheism-Household-Worship-1/dp/1503121887/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=hellenic+polytheism+household+worship&qid=1565962177&s=gateway&sprefix=hellenic+pol&sr=8-1 (a wonderful book to help get you started. Lists prayers, how to make offerings, etc.)
   
   
2. https://www.amazon.com/Orphic-Hymns-Translation-Occult-Practitioner/dp/0738753440/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=orphic+hymns&qid=1565962224&s=gateway&sprefix=orphic+h&sr=8-1
   
   
3. https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Olympus-Prayers-Greek-Gods/dp/1105553272/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?keywords=hellenic+prayer&qid=1565962244&s=gateway&sr=8-4
   
   The last two list hymns and prayers to different Gods and they’re just wonderful. My prayer routine at night for example consists of praying some of the prayers in these books to the Gods Im closest too, then I i pray this prayer (https://pieandhotdogs.tumblr.com/post/129529920089/daily-hellenic-polytheist-prayer-evening) and then I say different prayers to the different Gods—I talk to them personally, thank them for all the blessings, ask them to protect me, any special petitions, etc. Usually I pray with a candle lit and some incense burning. Offerings can consist of different things—food, coins, wine, etc. I use sea shells and rocks for Venus since she came from the sea, plastic little dolphins for Neptune since he’s the King of the Sea, olives for Athena. Basically, things that mean something to the Gods. Doesn’t have to be too elaborate :)
   
   Your last question is a really good one and one I can’t immediately explain. Sometimes you just feel it— i always feel sooo calm when praying to Hestia and Venus. And sometimes you see manifestations of things you pray for under the realms of certain Gods. I ask Apollo for help with writing at times and when the inspiration comes I feel very connected to him. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful on that question—although it is a good one!

This is exactly why I decided not to go into the sciences. They're just so devoid of meaning in most areas unless you get really lucky. Otherwise you're stuck with a 9-5 working for some corporation that isn't doing any kind of meaningful work, or even work with a big payoff waiting at the end like curing a disease you're passionate about eliminating, or creating a wonderful piece of technology. I wouldn't work with spirits, personally, if by that you mean angels and demons or ghosts.

There is a place for the essence of consciousness in things, for example m1thr0s once told me that he would not been able to divine the secrets of the I Ching so readily if he did not, on some level also love and respect Fu Hsi or King Wen, as there is a kind of consciousness link going on there that lives in infinity.

Some deities have been very helpful to me, not so much with finding a very lucrative career, but in aiding me financially so I had the time and energy to both manage a household and an occult business (The Abrahadabra Institute) the goddess of happy households, Hestia. She is helpful in a way that is not time consuming or intrusive and her presence is only asserted when she thinks it is very important, for example, getting married to the right person or calling attention to things to refocus on the happiness of the family, like making a special dinner or freshening up the decor. Anyone who has been to my house knows I'm basically Suzie homemaker and most of this I would attribute to her influence and my natural Yin inclinations. I sort of invoked her on a whim one day and she has stuck with me ever since then, much to my surprise. So yeah I would recommend Hestia since it doesn't sound like you're in need of anything "occult" right now, and she deals with the basic desires and happiness of earth-bound life.

With Hestia, in the traditional way which can be acquired from the LABRYS Polytheistic Community in Hellas:
https://www.amazon.com/Hellenic-Polytheism-Household-Worship-1/dp/1503121887

You want to always have a flame going in the house, somewhere. If that is a gas stove, great, that is also her traditional location, the cooking fire. If not, you can use those cheap mexican candles they sell for witchcraft at the grocery store in the glass vials, unless you have a cat they will burn for a week and not go out.

You can reformat your hard drive! It sounds like you have some real positive motivators in your life, too.

I think you're looking for some form of re-imprint/cognitive behavioral therapy to help set your mind on the right track, much like the brainwashing the army likely put you through, but to your own advantage. Many recovering alcoholics find this refuge in religion. A church might actually be a good bet for you, but as an avid redditor, you may be more geared towards finding your own solution. Counseling is helpful, but it sounds as if you want to set your own direction.

In the meantime, you want to avoid stress and lower your cortisol levels. A few ways to do this besides prescription drugs would be:

• restful nights' sleep (8 hours is just a guess)
  
  
• maintain a nutritious diet
  
  
• Omega 3s (eat fish)
  
  
• daily exercise (to a certain level)
  
  
• massage
  
  
• pranayama yoga (this is, in my opinion, the best technique you can learn to reduce stress)
  
  the mind is a powerful tool, but for many of us, (especially those predisposed to addiction and depression) it can be a challenge to control.
  
  Maybe try some self help books for some good mind control techniques. I don't particularly agree with the philosophies of all of these, but there are good things to be gleaned from each; (Tony Robbins, Deepak Choprah, Richard Warren, Christopher Hyatt, Viktor Frankl, Feeling Good, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Art of War, Tao of Pooh, 48 Laws of Power, The Secret, Prometheus Rising).
  
  However you DECIDE TO PROGRESS, have fun!

Night trips are fun. The darkness leaves stuff to your imagination although you can't appreciate the beauty of nature as much. Also, star gazing is amazing. The shrooms dialate your pupils so they let more light in and all of the stars look super vivid.

You can do a lot of things while you trip but I think it is best to just sit and talk. If you want to go for a walk, that would also be nice. I don't think there is really much of a point in planning out activities since you'll find something fun to do while tripping.

It's hard to say how your recent breakup could effect your trip. It sounds like you have a good mindset regarding what happened so I think you'll be fine but no one can really say for sure.

A half eighth is a rather small dose (which is why it is recommended to beginners), and your weight doesn't matter, so you probably shouldn't expect anything mind blowing. You might see a bit of visual distortion but not much and you'll have slightly different thought patterns. It's hard to describe how the thought patterns are different but your mind sort of jumps between topics and makes connections that it normally wouldn't. You also forget a lot of your biases and preconceptions about things. It also seems pretty common for people to cry a lot while on shrooms. It's not exactly a sad crying but more of your eyes just produce a lot of tears while you are very emotional.

And finally, I don't think you should look for something spiritual from your first trip. I think you should figure out what psychedelics are like before you start seeking to use them as a spiritual aid. If you want to use them to have a spiritual experience after your first trip though, I highly recommend this book. It's written by a Ph.D. level psychologist that had a job monitoring people on LSD in therapeutic settings while he was in grad school. He knew a lot of the other prominent psychologist in the psychedelic community such as Tim Leary and Richard Alpert. He's definitely a very smart guy with a lot of experience in the world of psychedelics and the mind.

If you really want to dig into this buy a Thoth Tarot deck, Crowley's book, and probably also Duquette's book to give you a good primer on Crowley.

Modern Tarot decks are visual representations of the Tree Of Life because almost all modern decks are based on either the Rider-Waite-Smith deck or the Thoth Deck. Waite and Crowley were members of the Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn which used the tarot as a tool for learning Kaballah(among other things). I'm suggesting the Thoth because it's better in almost every way and you will really appreciate the artwork. The small cards are the sephiroths (ace=kether, 2=chokmah... 10=malkuth, the suit of wands represents the tree of life in the kabbalistic world of atziluth(the classical element fire and the first Yod in the Tetragrammaton) etc...) and the major arcana represent the 22 paths between the sephiroths(Atu 0 The Fool connects Kether and Chokhmah, Atu 1 The Magus connect Kether and Binah, etc...). Here is some of the artwork The Magus, The Universe, The Ace Of Cups. The cards will give you more to meditate on then you could possibly get through in a single lifetime.

Also Malkuth means Kingdom and is related to the physical world. The Knowledge and Conversation Of The Holy Guardian Angel is attributed Tipheret.

I'm glad to see some conversation about the occult on here. I don't think anyone would argue that all occult and mystical practices arise from the type of shamanism the people in this forum practice. The two types of approaches go great together whether you are into Kabballah, Buddhism, Daoism, or any other system.

The Tree Of Life is just a map created by people who have been there before. It might be fun to just storm off into the wilderness without knowing where you are going, but your chances of finding something interesting will increase greatly with the help. I've had great luck performing a little ritual where I get into a trance, take a hit of hash, invoke one of the cards, and experience it's energy. It's much more powerful than just taking a drug to see what will happen and all kinds of interesting synchronicities will start appearing in your life.

Good luck! If you have any questions I can try to answer them.

Hi, not Wiccan, but eclectic druid, which is also a subset of Paganism. There are loads of online communities to check out! Firstly, I'd say browse the r/wicca, r/pagan, and r/druidism (shameless plug lol) subreddits, as they're filled with loads of info and opinions. Be warned on r/pagan, since there are LOADS of different types of pagans, you'll get some wildly different opinions. There's plenty of other subreddits (r/witchcraft, for example), but those were the ones I started with.

I also love the Pagan channel on Patheos, which if you haven't browsed before, is a really interesting conglomeration of religious blogs. While I don't use it very often, WitchVox is also referenced as a really good online hub for finding local groups.

For books, this one is a fucking fantastic introduction to Paganism as a whole. It was my first real read on the topic. For Wicca in particular, Scott Cunningham is typically the one people point to for learning how to practice solitary. I also found Wicca for Beginners to be a super quick but useful intro. If you want a more general history of witchy goddess nature-worshipy religions, I am currently reading Drawing Down the Moon and love it.

Finally, if you have any Unitarian churches in your area, reach out-- they frequently have pagan or earth-centered study groups you can always visit!

Like I said before, I'm way more druidy, so if you want suggestions for learning about that (or just want to talk pagan-y things to admittedly a baby pagan), lemme know! :)

OK. Let's say that regular people are in 3D, starseeds might be in 4D and to be an architect that have full control of its mind and is able to create with it, then you have to be 5D, or 6D. Honestly, I don't like that catagories. I really don't know exactly what they mean. I rather like to talk about astral plane, mental plane, buddic plane, etc.

According to Michael Newton, in this book: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855, there are several levels in the afterlife, or in the spiritual world or in the Soul's Realm. After you die, you can reach the light or not. If you can reach the light you can go to a second level when you can do or be whatever you want, even a whore or a queer. Yes in heaven. Would you believe that? But if you wanna be part of the plan of God and become and arquitect that create reality you have to go to higher levels, the internal planes. There are a delicate balance in that levels. Only those who have love can go inthere. It requires huge self control, love and will. Only the sword of will and love can open that door. They can create reality, the present moment, but it is a gruop work that requires a lot of discipline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5bSG78pbQ

Bottomline, you are a soul, not the shadow, as described by Plato. Not the personality. When you realize that, then you are at home, here or in any other planet or place in the Universe. You can work alone or you can be part of a greater plan. The Plan of God. God's Plan. It's up to you, AS FAR AS YOUR POSSIBILITIES ALLOW YOU TO DO.

Briefly, in a general way, that's what I think, but to me is a bit more complicated.

Know thyself. You have to fully know your self as a soul, as a being of light and love, if you wanna fully develop your abilities (as soul, that is, as a being of light and love). It require training. Self, auto-imposed, control and discipline.

I dream with a world, downhere, when everyone, anyone, can have free access to light and love, and freely create with its mind unlimitedly.

I would like to be a bridge between those beings of light and love and people to bring light and love downhere and clean the planetary aura, because, right now, it is infested of demons. And Lords of Darkeness rules downhere. When Christ, a starseeds, a big one, came downhere, they beat Him very badly to death; they killed Him. And if He come back now they will do the same thing again. Because Lords of Darkness want to destroy the bridge between the soul and the shadow (your personality) and keep us downhere creating demons and with no access to light and love. They don't want you to know that you are a soul, a being of light and love. They want you to be a whore (men and women). They want you to be their bitch and work for them.

As a tool for personal and professional success. I use MDMA, cannabis and psychedelics as tools for personal and professional success. I treat them like any other food supplement and use them judiciously as enhancers for meditation, business, creative pursuits, accelerated learning, networking, goal planning, visualization, yoga, exercise, sex, general mindfulness, guided meditations and visualizations, examining habits to break bad ones and form new ones, breaking out of routine ways of doing and thinking, connecting with people, nature, animals, wildlife and all that is. Now and then I do let loose and party like an animal - gotta nurture the hedonist and binge on the beauty and pleasures all around us.

I am currently experimenting with using these experiences to quickly make my first million. For example, a few months ago I dosed 50mg of MDMA at an important networking event and I made more substantive, meaningful connections that day than I ever have in similar events, and that has led to some incredible working relationships that I credit to the heart-opening presence I had with people. I always work on capturing the feelings and states during those experiences so I can access them during my sober times and make it a part of who I am.

Some resources:

Micro-Dosing: The Revolutionary Way of Using Psychedelics
http://www.highexistence.com/micro-dose-lsd-psychedelic/

Using Psychedelics Wisely: A veteran researcher explains how psychedelics can be used to give beneficial results
https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/writings/stolaroff_using.shtml

Cannabis Shamanism (free monthly video-streamed cannabis-guided journeys by an Ayahuasca shaman)

• http://reset.me/podcast/ayahuasca-cannabis-shaman-hamilton-souther/
  
• https://www.facebook.com/MaestroHamiltonSouther
  
• http://www.bluemorphocannabisshamanism.org/
  
  Psychedelics and Extreme Sports ("LSD can increase your reflex time to lightning speed, improve your balance to the point of perfection, increase your concentration...and make you impervious to weakness or pain.")
  
  https://www.maps.org/news-letters/v21n1/v21n1-25to29.pdf
  
  LSD — The Problem-Solving Psychedelic
  http://www.psychedelic-library.org/stafford.htm
  
  Are Psychedelics Useful in the Practice of Buddhism
  http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ADM/stolar.htm
  
  The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys
  http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021

I will give you some tips. The first tip is very few people actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to this so be very cautious trusting anyone talking about this subject.

Book knowledge does NOT equate actual magical ability. Armchair sorcerers (people who like to read/talk about magic, but couldn’t make the wind blow if they wanted) often can quote from ancient and modern tomes of magic and make themselves sound deeply practiced. But honestly, almost no one is willing to put the work in anymore to actually train practice magic. It’s a full time job.

You don’t need anything in magic other than your mind. The rest is just theater. Don’t worry about crystals and oils and anything else. A rock you get from outside, or the oil you cook with, or a stick from the tree in your yard, can become the most powerful magical items if you make them into that. Certainly more powerful than something some random company pumps out.

A “book of shadows”, or whatever you want to call yours, can be useful to write down recipes or things you don’t often use. More important would be a dream journal, a meditation journal and a historic ritual journal. The HRJ is different than the BoS. Because you are writing down the details of your magical experiments and their results. After you find success in one that’s when it would go into your spell book it you wanted l/needed it to.

All religion is man made, there is no one true religion. mix it however you want, with these things in mind, you cannot go into the deep mysteries if you are too spread out onto the water to sink down. and does that tradition bring great harm to the world? If it does. Avoid it.

When it comes to herbs, each local has its plants and magical history of those plants. You don’t need to use anything other than what’s around you.

Some witches use runes and the like, it’s just what you like to use or not.

There are almost no websites or books worth anything on this subject. There are a few of course but not many, and even fewer are in English.

What country in Asia are you in if you don’t mind me asking?

Additionally your gender is really irrelevant as far as magic is concerned.

If you want a good training guide, I recommend Initiation into Hermetics . It’s the best training manual available to the public I have ever seen. There maybe something more culturally specific in your native language, but as far as I have seen, there is nothing better than Initiation into Hermetics for basic legit magical training. Remember training is a full time job (or at least should be worked as a part time job)

Yes. I became interested in Viking culture not long before I heard of the show, but the show has definitely helped keep my curiosity going. My interest in Norse history goes like this:

• Interest spiked after realizing Immigrant Song by Led Zepplin is about Vikings (around mid 2012-ish)
  
  
• Started looking into the culture, discovered Wardruna
  
  
• Bought a book about runes, the myths, etc
  
  
• Vikings comes out on History channel (I remember thinking, "Man, Wardruna should do music for this show!" And then mfw)
  
  
• Recently started looking into Asatru and stuff that is still going on in this age that can be tied to Vikings
  
  My interest in the Vikings isn't necessarily about the specific dates, locations, etc. It's more about the lifestyle, the myths, the attitude they had. And Vikings does a great job, IMO, of keeping that interest going. It's inspiring me to get in touch with nature again, learn how to do things I've never done, etc. Plus it's entertaining!
  
  EDIT: Here's the two books I've bought (so far) regarding Viking history. You'll note that they're basically children's books. The first one deals with the myths on a children's story level, the second has more in depth analysis on the myths, but without the pictures. I think simply reading about the things the Vikings may have lived by is better than just learning what date Bjorn raided "whatever-land". Anyways, here's the two books I have:
  
  Book of Norse Myths: Kid's book with pictures, walking you through the myths on an introductory level
  
  The Norse Myths: A much more comprehensive book about the myths
  
  I also have two other books related to Norse history or culture:
  
  Practical Guide to the Runes
  
  Practical Heathen's Guide to Asatru: For learning about the way a heathen's mind works and how he lives his life. I don't follow the stuff in the book, but I'm putting some of it into practice as I explore my ancestral connections

So... I'm writing up another post in notepad with a lot of Reddit comment formatting code and whatnot as a starter for creating quality stickies. Here's what I'm working with currently. There will be more to come. Feedback is welcome:


***

Link to previous Q&A sticky: Sticky 1, Sticky 2

Unlike many other subreddits, we at /r/Satanism enjoy nearly complete freedom of speech. The tradeoff for that free speech is that sometimes you will be exposed to ideas or opinions that you don't agree with. Keep in mind that bad behavior and not bad ideas will get people banned from this subreddit. As Satanists most often believe in stratification, the voting buttons in /r/Satanism can be used to that end. Because of this, moderators like myself likely will not remove links to sites that you would expect to be removed from other subreddits.


***

FAQ:

Note: This FAQ is written by moderator of /r/Satanism and member of the Church of Satan, /u/modern_quill. I am trying to remain unbiased and fact-based in these Q&A responses, so if you feel that I have somehow misrepresented your organization or philosophy, please let me know and we can work together to make the appropriate corrections.





Q: What is Satanism?


A: This is a simple question, but it has a complex answer because it depends on who you ask. Satanism as a philosophy and religion was first codified by Anton Szandor LaVey in his 1969 publication of The Satanic Bible. Some people refer to this secular Satanism as "LaVeyan Satanism" as a nod to Anton LaVey. The Satanic Bible borrows from the works of Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard, Ayn Rand's Objectivism, and Frederich Nietzche's Der Wille zur Macht. This is the most widely practiced form of Satanism and is championed by the Church of Satan (CoS) to this day. At its most basic definition, "LaVeyan Satanism" is about living the best life that you want to live, and bending the world around you to your will to achieve that goal. A Satanist sees themselves as their own God. There is, of course, much more to Satanism than that very basic definition, but we expect people to do their own research as well. Most LaVeyan Satanists will simply call it Satanism, as there is only one form of Satanism from the Church of Satan's perspective. Members of the recently formed secular organization called The Satanic Temple (TST), by comparison, see Satanism as political activism. The Satanic Temple often makes news headlines with their efforts to establish a separation of church and state and do not include The Satanic Bible as part of their organization's canon, but rather The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France. There are also theistic Satanists, some believe in a literal Satan and some do not. Ask a theist like /u/Ave_Melchom what they believe and they'll likely share their thoughts with you, but you probably won't find very many theists that share the same philosophy. There are also more esoteric organizations such as the Temple of Set (ToS), which was formed by former Church of Satan member Michael Aquino after infighting within the organization in 1975 caused many theistic members to split away and become Setians. /u/Three_Scarabs and /u/CodeReaper moderate /r/Setianism subreddit and are a wealth of information on the subject. There are also organizations that fall into a more neo-nazi ideology such as the now defunct Order of Nine Angles (ONA or O9A) and self-stylized "Spiritual Satanists" of the Joy of Satan (JoS), which are often not tolerated by other members of this subreddit. The words, "Fuck off, Nazi!" have become somewhat of a meme on /r/Satanism.





Q: If Satanists don't believe in Satan, why call it Satanism at all? Why not Humanism?


LaVeyan A: Modern secular Satanists see humans as just another animal within the greater animal kingdom, no better than our avian, reptilian, or mammalian friends. Our technology and our intellectual advancements may have placed us at the top of the food chain, but it has merely encouraged humans to be the most vicious animals of all. To us, Satan is a metaphor that represents our strength, our pride, our intellect, our carnality, and all of the so-called sins as they lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification. The Hebrew word Satan simply means adversary, and Satanists take that adversarial stance to a great many things in their lives; the way we approach an issue, the way we tackle a problem, the way we overcome an obstacle. While Humanists may try to live like Bill & Ted and be excellent to eachother, a Satanist recognizes that emotions like anger, even hate are natural to the human animal and we shouldn't feel guilty for such natural inclinations. While Christians may turn the other cheek when wronged, you can be sure that a Satanist will have their revenge, with interest.


*

Q: Do you sacrifice or molest children/animals? Do you drink blood?*

LaVeyan A: No. Sacrifice is a Christian concept that was projected on to innocent Satanists during the "Satanic Panic" of the 80's and early 90's by charlatan law enforcement "consultants" and Christian religious "experts". One trait common to Satanists is their love of life as Satanists view life as the greatest of indulgences; children and animals represent the purest forms of life and imagination that there are. In fact, the abuse of children and animals is forbidden by the Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth. Also, why would we want to drink blood? Christians* are the ones that (symbolically) eat the flesh and drink the blood of their savior. I'd rather enjoy a nice scotch.

Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
   
   
2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
   
   
3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.
   
   
4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
   
   
5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
   
   
6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
   
   
7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
   
   
8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
   
   
9. Do not harm little children.
   
   
10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
    
    
11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.
    
    
    ***
    
    

    More FAQ Below - (10,000 character maximum per post.)

"Modern" is a pretty broad category -- it would help to know more about what kind of art style you're looking for. For example, are you hoping for something that's more minimalist, or detailed? colorful, or monochrome? digitally drawn, or painted? focused on figures, or more inventive with imagery?

That said, here are some decks in a pretty wide variety of styles that come to mind when I think "modern art." I personally own the first six decks on this list and can vouch that I like them; the rest I don't own but I know other people like them.

• The Light Grey Tarot
  
  
• The Cosmos Tarot & Oracle
  
  
• The Body Language Tarot
  
  
• The Fountain Tarot
  
  
• The Dark Goddess Tarot
  
  
• One of my all-time favorite decks, a feminist classic Thea's Tarot is apparently getting a second printing soon! Maybe not in time for your friend's gift, but perhaps for the future.
  
  
• The Book of Shadows Tarot, Volume 1: As Above and Volume 2: So Below
  
  
• The Wild Unknown Tarot
  
  
• The Wooden Tarot
  
  
• The Prisma Visions Tarot
  
  
• The Linestrider Tarot
  
  
• The Wanderer's Tarot: Solar Edition and Midnight Edition
  
  
• The Golden Thread Tarot
  
  
• The Illuminated Tarot (note that this is a playing-card style deck with 53 cards instead of 78)
  
  
• Dame Darcy's Mermaid Tarot
  
  
• The Prismatic Tarot
  
  
• The Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot (I'm including this even though Art Deco is decidedly not modern because it is very different from the traditional RWS style, so your friend might like it anyway)
  
  
• I don't know of any specifically videogame/media themed decks, but The Steampunk Tarot does come to mind as being up that alley, thematically.
  
  I have to stop here otherwise I'll just keep on going, lol, I love talking about different tarot decks. So I'll just leave you with a note that there are lots of items in the Little Red Tarot shop that might interest you.
  
  Hope this helps!

Hi, I'm an AODA member. Sorry I didn't see this post until just now.

1. AODA's suggested rituals are designed with gods in mind, but AODA only requires a belief in something greater than yourself. When I joined, I was atheistic and my belief was in the natural world and universe being far greater than myself.
   
   I'm a polytheist now, but I know advanced-grade AODA members who are not theistic. You'll find some AODA members calling upon land spirits in place of gods, for instance.
   
   In your rituals, you can input gods, spirits, ancestors, or whatever is right for you. JM Greer has created a number of suggestions for observing the wheel of the year, based on Celtic gods and figures from Arthurian lore. He even created a Wheel of the Year for Christo-Druids that assigns each station to a Christian holy day and suggests different archangels and saints to call upon in the rituals. Just to give you an idea of how out-of-the-box you can get.
   
   
2. It takes three years to complete AODA's curriculum, and the fees for the whole shebang come out to $300, I think. So essentially you would never have to pay the organization more than that over your entire membership with them, and it's spread out over quite a bit of time. I think AODA might be the cheapest order, but on the flip side I think it has the least materials.
   
   
3. JM Greer outlines rituals in The Druidry Handbook. Aside from the grove openings and closings, he does it more to demonstrate what rituals can look like rather than to say "AODA members must perform these" or even "should perform these". AODA encourages its members to craft rituals to suit their circumstances and beliefs.
   
   
4. Not a question for AODA, so I'll let the OBODies and ADFers answer that.
   
   
5. This is tricky for any Druid order, as all of them are syncretic and innovative rather than reconstructive. AODA requires reading the Mabinogion as part of its curriculum, and some elements of its suggested rituals are rooted in Celtic traditions. I think the most significant thing it brings to the table in contrast to the other Druid orders are its emphasis on magic and ecology, which in my opinion are key elements that should be woven into any pagan practice that aims to be traditionally Celtic. However, its magical teachings are essentially a Celt-ification of Rosicrucian magic with some added neopagan elements rather than an attempt to reconstruct traditional practices.
   
   Now that I am polytheistic, I am more and more reconstructive in my approach. Without having followed AODA practices and reading JM Greer's teachings, I never would have understood magic or believed in gods, both of which are fundamental to traditional Celtic paganism in my opinion. A lot of people view Druidry and CR as being at odds with each other, but I reject that. I think AODA laid the foundation on which I'm going to ultimately build a more reconstructive practice.
   
   You're right that ADF is the "winner" on this point, but ADF also requires a belief in and commitment to the gods. So you will need to come to terms with polytheism before joining.
   
   EDIT: At the end of the day, I see Druidry as an open and diverse religion that is rooted in Celtic culture and which offers organizations and practices that are effective at initiating newcomers into paganism by giving them accessible and digestible practices they can use right off the bat. What Druidry lacks, though, is that it is not very rigorous about replicating and preserving historical practices. ADF is supposed to be the antidote to that problem, and in many ways it is, but it too is not fully reconstructionist.
   
   There are some advantages to this, but someone who really wants historically-based practices will essentially need to practice reconstructionism on the side (quite a few ADFers do this, actually). For more information about Celtic reconstructionism, you can check out /r/paganacht as well as books like Pagan Portals: Irish Paganism and organizations like Gaol Naofa.
   
   AODA does not have any language learning material that I'm aware of.

It's interesting that you point this out at this time. I'm currently going through some lessons at https://www.khanacademy.org/ and some apps brushing up on Algebra because I want to learn Calculus and Calculus because I want to learn Physics. Now... I wasn't good in math. I'm still not but Algebra I was decent at and have forgotten tons of stuff. But the reason for learning is maps, models, realities, ideas, etc.

> When you're a hammer everything is a nail.

We are in a bit of a Hammer/Nail situation here on /r/TheRedPill and this place was where my first version of reality dropped. You see TRP is our hammer and sluts/feminism/beta is our nails. We see the confirmation of our theories everywhere, but we're looking for them. If you're a feminist that's your hammer and the patriarchy is your nail, the evidence is everywhere. If you think you're beautiful then you'll find evidence of that.

My second drop in reality was from reading The Gervais Principle.

Then we have a conglomerate of things that started making me change how I view things in quick succession. Prometheus Rising, Be Slightly Evil, Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art Of War and I'm sure there were a few more in there. Texts from John Boyd prove useful and tie into the other books and brings us back to models of our reality.

OODA Loop and at Art of Manliness -- At it's basic you may already be doing this. But at it's most complex you're probably not. It's not just about building a snowmobile either but that's a good way to explain it. And while we're on the subject of snowmobile this is the reason I want to learn Calculus and Physics and Transactional Analysis and Psychology and ... you get the point. I may find pieces of my snowmobile in one that I can use in another. Ideas that I can rip apart from Physics and use in Psychology or whatever.

This can be useful in that maybe a hammer is not the best tool for the job. Maybe you need a ruler. Which brings me to my point.

Intelligence

> Intelligence has been defined in many different ways such as in terms of one's capacity for logic, abstract thought, understanding, self-awareness, communication, learning, emotional knowledge, memory, planning, creativity and problem solving. It can also be more generally described as the ability to perceive and/or retain knowledge or information and apply it to itself or other instances of knowledge or information creating referable understanding models of any size, density, or complexity, due to any conscious or subconscious imposed will or instruction to do so.

It's not so much that you know more about what is being debated it's that you can use information about things you do know to refute the debater. For this you're going to use all of your intelligence. Emotional, Academic, Social and whatever else. Sometimes having Social Intelligence means just shutting up and not debating.

I am a recovering Christian (grew up Southern baptist, eventually went non-denominational) who is looking for a path of some kind.

My wife has always related to and followed paganism and very easily went back to it after our schism from the church. My mother very strongly associated with Celtic beliefs (our family way back was from the Isles) but she passed away before I was able to talk to her about them in depth. I'm struggling to define what I feel, believe, and desire.

I mention my previous Christianity because that is all I've ever known. I practiced for 39 years of my life by devoting myself to one figure head, reading from one specific book, and channeling one specific spirit. The switch to paganism and its leniency on such practices is both freeing but also a huge adjustment for me to make. I'm not saying I want to devote, read, or channel paganism the same way I did Christianity but I just don't know where to begin. I would love to meditate and see visions of something to lead me where I should be or have dreams that introduce me to something or someone to guide me.

My apologies if this comes off as more of a word vomit than anything else. I would love and appreciate some insight or advice on how to begin this journey. The Seeking website linked above is already open in my browser and I plan to read that. I've also been reading Paganism: An Introduction to Earth- Centered Religions as well. But nothing beats Reddit and hearing from people who have been there themselves.

Wilson is a lot of fun if you approach his stuff with the right attitude. You can't expect to agree with everything he says. If you did, he would probably slap you and tell you "think for yourself, schmuck!" Part of his deal is that he intermingles fact, fiction, and hyperbole so that the reader has to continually ask themselves "how much of this do I really believe?" What really messes with the reader's head is that many of his seemingly crazier points actually stand up to fact-checking.

>"For any formal effectively generated theory T including basic arithmetical truths and also certain truths about formal provability, if T includes a statement of its own consistency then T is inconsistent."

I'm not sure if anakantavada includes arithmetical truths or truths about formal provability, so it might not fall into the Godel trap. But I'm still not totally clear on what anakantavada does or does not entail. It seems, at least intuitively, to be making a very important point: our understandings of things are usually partial and seemingly conflicting accounts may just be drawing attention to differing aspects of a thing. But then maybe anakantavada is just one aspect of things as well. Perhaps this can all be coherent - I'm not sure.

As much as I enjoy paradoxes, sometimes a contradiction is just an indication that one has made a mistake in reasoning.


>I was judging "truth" in a pragmatic sense as "Ideas … become true just in so far as they help us to get into satisfactory relations with other parts of our experience. (1907: 34)"

This seems to me to set the bar too low. Can't false ideas also help us "get into satisfactory relations with other parts of our experience." It seems implausible to deny this, given how regularly people are satisfied with their false ideas, and yet to accept it pretty much eviscerates the notion of truth. I have some sympathy with many aspects of pragmatism - particular the point that theory and practice don't come apart as easily in practice as they do in theory - but the pragmatic theory of truth always struck me as unhelpful.

>For questions about ethics and purpose, religion and philosophical frameworks are much better. Being able to solve problems with one's emotions and intuitions is a lot better than cold reason.

I agree to a certain extent about the value of emotion and intuitions, but they need to be checked by feedback from reason because our biases can run amok and don't always have built-in standards of decency. Sometimes what peoples' intuitions tell them is ethically abhorrent.

When it comes to religion, I'm not as optimistic as you are. Religion can be quite dangerous for propagating incredibly harmful values and shielding them from legitimate criticism. In America, we've got conservative Christians referencing a collection of writings from the bronze-age to justify repressive laws aimed at women and homosexuals. They tell us global warming is nothing to worry about because the literal end of the world is coming at the hands of God, and that their religion, being the one true one, needs to be all over our courtrooms, classrooms, and government buildings. In the Middle East, we're seeing religion used to justify suicidal terrorism, extreme misogyny, stoning apostates to death, and anti-semetic attitudes that rival those of the Third Reich (Mein Kamph is still a bestseller in several Muslim countries).

On the other hand, we find that many of the most atheistic countries in the world also rank among the happiest and have the best human rights records (e.g. Norway, Netherlands, Denmark). That gives me hope a less religious future might be on in which we all get along a little better.

Loved the Asimov passage!

edit: A good place to start with Wilson is Prometheus Rising.

Glad to hear things went okay and thanks for posting a follow-up!

>I am a little sad for him because he didn't find what he was looking for. Any advice on this?

Where to start? There are so many differing approaches and ideas on how best to use mushrooms for self-improvement that it's difficult to offer proper advice. I guess the best general advice I could offer is to learn as much as you can and then experiment with techniques to find what works best for you and your husband but also don't become too attached to any technique; it's best to remain fluid.

To be more specific, consider some of the following ideas...

Work on setting specific intentions beforehand. What do you want to get out of this trip? What are your emotional intentions? Write it down, talk about it, just put some energy into forming and understanding your intentions before the trip.

During the trip, let go of your intentions. Your conscious mind does not now how to achieve your intentions otherwise you wouldn't need mushrooms. Often times during a trip I come to the realization that my compulsion to label, understand and rationalize are what is inhibiting me from progress. To that end meditation is quite useful for quieting the compulsions of the mind.

After the trip journaling is again useful. The ineffable lessons learned are best assimilated by attempting to articulate those lessons, whether that means talking about them or writing it does not matter.

But, as many will say, mushrooms won't always give you what you seek but they do tend to give you what you need. I deeply understand the desire for results but gaining a handle on tripping is essential otherwise it's just brainfuck masterbation (sorry for the crude wording.) In that sense, it's probably best that your husband didn't get as deep as he felt necessary. The brain's ability to deceive us is uncanny so it's important to begin to recognize the self deception before going too deep.

Personally I believe mushrooms only suspend your mental barriers; the hallucinations are a product of your mind's inability to fully comprehend your personal truths and see through the deception. Everything you encounter in a trip is nothing more than you, whether you see a hideous monster or yourself as a scared, crying, vulnerable child (for example) depends on your ability to recognize your mind's deception. Your mind deceives you in this way to protect you from something you were unable to cope with at the time you experienced it.

On a side note, check out The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide and also consider looking into a practice known as holotropic breathwork, it can produce very similar effects to mushrooms and works incredibly well as an adjuvant to tripping. I found this article in particular rather compelling.

If there are any ideas I can expand upon, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck to you and your husband on future travels!

Yeah you did! Soon you'll be in wonderland!

One of the first hallucinations I ever had -- and one of the strongest, even to this day -- was of a wolf face. It was out of nowhere: one moment it was the normal tone of eigengrau you'd expect behind your eyelids, the next, a wolf was inches from my face. It was beyond clear, more real than real life. I could see every hair. Its eyes, bright yellow and full of some unearthly knowing, stared right into mine. Not just at, but into.

Naturally, I shot up in bed, gasping and punching. I was just certain that a wolf had somehow gotten into my bedroom and had come to gobble me up, and I wasn't going down easily. My mother had been sleeping next to me that night, and I woke her up with all my thrashing about. She eventually convinced me that there wasn't a wolf in the room, and I eventually went back to sleep.

I obsessed about it for months. I was a kid back then, and the internet wasn't a thing (nor were computers or cell phones or any of that stuff), so I couldn't just google around for answers. After some heavy pondering, I assumed that I had just seen a picture of a wolf in a book somewhere, that it somehow stuck in my head, and had just popped up during some kind of weird, half-awake dream. I didn't know about hypnagogia back then.

So, being the little detective that I was, I proceeded to go through every single book and magazine we owned, looking for that specific image. I knew the eyes, I knew the coat patterns, and I knew that I would know both when I saw them again. When that failed, I begged my mom to take me to the library. And then kept begging until I had been enough times to go through all of their related material. All of their natural history books, all of their National Geographics, and anything else the card catalog hinted might have a wolf in it.

As you might expect, I found no match. I did find a mention of totem animals, though, which was a new concept for a kid who had only been taught about spirituality through the (very narrow, I now feel) lens of Southern Baptist faith. Fortunately, my family has native ancestry, or my search might have ended right there.

I started bringing home library books about Native American spirituality. Acceptable, even to my very conservative father. It was "Indian stuff", so it was fine. Those were exhausted pretty quickly. Eventually there was nothing left to read, and I begrudgingly gave up the search.

Some years later, when I was a teenager, my mother took me to a bookstore in a neighboring city, and left me to my own devices while she wandered off to get a coffee (and to meet her boyfriend, I realized much later, lol). I don't know what little internal thing pushed me in that direction, but after a few minutes of wandering, I started looking for more totem animal books. I ended up finding the new age section, and everything changed.

Now, I still believed back then that everything that had been printed in a book was true, or was at least valuable in some way. I understood the difference between fiction and nonfiction, but I thought that it had to be good fiction in order to be printable, because of course agents and editors and publishers had gone over it with a fine-toothed comb. It cost money to publish things, after all, and surely a business wouldn't invest in wasteful nonsense. And the non-fiction? Well, all of that had been equally well researched, of course. They were basically textbooks.

So imagine coming from this point of view, and being suddenly surrounded by things like Taoism, Eckankar, shamanism, tarot, mysticism, and Wicca. I was in the non-fiction section -- just one long shelf over from the Bibles! The Bibles!

Magic was real? Meditation wasn't just something monks in documentaries did? These were topics that our backwoods little library hadn't even hinted existed. It was like a portal to an entirely different world had suddenly been opened up to me, a world that I had no real way of knowing about until then. Dial-up internet was only just beginning to be installed in some homes, and mine wasn't one of them. And this stuff certainly wasn't highlighted on VH1.

I wanted to learn as much as possible, but I realized that the stuff I was reading had to be innocuous enough that I wouldn't get in trouble if my mother came back and caught me with it. Also, I didn't want to go to hell, and willfully touching something like this seemed like a pretty good foot in the door. So I grabbed a book about meditation, one about tarot (though I didn't understand what the hell it was talking about and ended up discarding it pretty quickly), and a sort of borderline acceptable one about candle magic. I found an overstuffed chair nearby, as I wasn't about to be caught dead in that aisle, and spent the next fifteen or so minutes soaking my little teenage brain in this whole new paradigm.

Mom returned not long after I had gotten really into the candle magic book. Maybe she was in a good mood, maybe she was feeling guilty for the tryst, maybe the stars aligned and some cosmic finger guided her, or maybe she was just more of a hippie than I gave her credit for. Likely a little of all of those. Whatever the case, she bought me this book, with the explicit instruction that I was to hide it from my father.

This is a pretty standard beginner's book, I now realize. Nothing in it is revolutionary, and many of the things I now have enough of an understanding of to disagree with the authors' interpretations, or to disregard it entirely. But back then, I thought it was gospel. It became my new Bible -- it certainly made a lot more sense than my old one. I carried it with me everywhere, for fear of leaving it somewhere at home and having my father discover it. It became not just reference material, but also a place where I could jot down everything that I was learning. My very first Book of Shadows. When Mom went back to the bookstore for more secret infidelities, she often dragged me along, and I always dragged the book along, and copied down things from other books into its pages (they all look like this, more or less, including the inside covers on both ends).

It grew from there. I went to college, got a job, bought a house, and proceeded to fill the library with books on whatever the hell I wanted. As a result, I am fairly well-versed in the histories and beliefs of many religions (most of the modern ones, some of the ancient ones), and extremely well-versed in a select few. I have also developed a strong interest in physics, which I believe will eventually become the bridge between science and spirituality. My shelves have plenty of those books, too.

I like to think that none of this would have happened quite like it has, had it not been for that wolf. Over the years, it has been something I have returned to, some unsolved mystery that "Oh, just hypnagogia" never quite felt like the right answer to. So not too long ago, during my QHHT session, I asked about it:

> What about the vision of the wolf face?

And my higher self responded:

> That is meant to be a guide. And she has followed, in her way. It has made her ask the questions that needed to be asked.

I think it served its purpose well.

Not really a guide but I love The Joyous Cosmology by Watts. Has a bit more woo than a materialist might like, but Watts' brand of woo is palatable and non-dogmatic -- more of a try "try THIS on for size" than a "so THIS is this the way the universe is."

You may also find The Secret Chief Revealed insightful in terms of the therapeutic benefits to tripping, and how to approach psychedelics seriously.

Prometheus Rising, while more of an owner's manual to the human mind than a tripping guide, can help with recognizing your own biases and trying new perspectives -- highly relevant to the psychedelic experience and beloved by many psychonauts.

Personally speaking, I use the Crowley Thoth deck. You are probably on the right track in regards to dumping the R-W deck for this colossus of Tarot. It is a bit intimidating to get all the symbols and their meanings in the Thoth deck but hang in there. Should you need any help along the way, there is this book-
http://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765
As well as other resources. So far as how it all relates, I think it relates somewhat nicely. There is still debate as to how the Tarot Cards got lumped together with the Tree of Life, but I'm not going to get into that. For me, I found the relation to the Paths a very helpful one. The meanings/relationship to the Tree of Life and the elements, from the Tarot are yours to interpret, yours to discover and make your own. This is what is both maddening and wonderful about the Tarot. In many ways, it's rudderless nature allows for the person working with it to make up the story for themselves And there's the beauty! No need to worry about forcing meaning when it is not relevant. If it feels relevant to you, meaningful to you, go for it. That's magic.
I'll give a quick example. To me, Tiphereth/Beauty is the highest human point on the Tree of life. Before that we have Netzach/Victory. Connecting the two is path 24 Death- which for all intents and purposes is Change. How do I connect these? Again, to me Netzach is a highly emotional Sephiroth, it's chief gods being that of Love- Venus, Aphrodite, etc. Love prompts one to feel a great deal of emotions, some good and some bad and some very very bad. This is why I equate it to this Sephiroth, among other reasons. Alright, so this isn't a short example but bear with me. So, how does one get to the higher Sephiroth Tiphereth? Death. Change. Killing those lower base things within us that hold us back. All the petty emotions; the ones that sully the name of love. Cut 'em down. Conquer your emotions, claim Victory over them. Then, one can get to a place of greater understanding; A place of Beauty- Tiphereth. Crowley, when writing about this card put it this way- 'The Universe is Change; every Change is the effect of an Act of Love; all Acts of Love contain Pure Joy. Die daily!'
To me, this makes sense. It carries meaning.
Hope this helps.

Lol, yeah. I'm apparently a glutton for psychological punishment. I had another unresolved BPM II type experience about a two years later, again completely by accident, lost my marbles while laughing at my cat. I discovered the BPM model a few months after that and suddenly a million light bulbs went off in my head. I tried to replicate Stan Grof's experiment's a year and a half after learning about it and AGAIN, unresolved BPM II experience, and that one was probably the worst because 1) I had taken a HUGE dose that time thinking it would help [IT DOES NOT, --just enough-- is perfect ~200µ] and 2) I fully allowed the LSD to work me over because that was my intention. Neither I nor my guides fully understood what we were doing and I experienced the most harrowing six hours (read: one million trillion years) lying on my bedroom floor. One of my guides claimed she could see my carotid artery just about jumping out of my neck quite rapidly.

Eventually I was able to bring an LSD session to resolution, but I used the Psychedelic Explorer's Guide by James Fadiman as the guide book. Stan Grof's work is excellent and provides a good model for interpreting the experience but is really written from the interior of the trip. The 6-stage model used by Dr. Fadiman is much more written for the guide and extremely easy to follow. The guide is 90% of the trip, only 10% the voyager.

Resolution of a high dose experience is more than worth it if you don't have a risk of serious mental health problems and have the balls to carry it out. Since I did it feels like the wheels of life have been greased. I'm much less liable to be angry, it's much much much easier to build rapport with people who believe differently than I, enjoying and staying in the present moment is much easier, and I feel like I understand my purpose in life.

Thank you so much for your interest. I think learning about the theoretical models used for psychedelic experience can vastly improve one's psychedelic experiences.

>no one has offered anything new since I asked

You seem to have missed the many explanations from various members here about archelogical and historical absence of proof of yogic practices within Druidry, you missed the book recommendations to help you understand more of Druid history, and in fact it seems you've only taken interest in the posts that cater well to your own responses rather than information.

Here, let me help.

The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids is one of the most populous Druid orders around. They're most famous for their 3-grade correspondence course. They hold international festivals and host a very entertaining, informative podcast, Druidcast. Their website will answer a lot of your questions on Druidry.

Ár nDraíocht Féin is another very popular Druid order.

Ancient Order of Druids in America is another one.

Blood and Mistletoe by Ronald Hutton is an amazing book detailing the history of Druids.

The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer is highly praised.

The Druid Ways by Philip Carr-Gomm is a great, short introduction to modern Druidry.

Celtic mythology is prevalent in Druidic practices.

This should mostly be new information to you, since you came here asking to learn about Druidry. Please, browse through a couple of the sites and come back with any questions. I'll be happy to help you sort through some of the admittedly jumbled info and answer any honest question.

There is good old John Chang, in the Magus of Java books. While John Chang is an interesting dude, don't expect anything practical from the books.

Chronicles of Tao is fiction, but an entertaining story. His writing is esoterically accurate in that he draws from other teachers. For example, the different planes described in Astral Dynamics are things he sees while in deep meditation. This absolutely blew my mind at the time until I read a little more about the guy who the books is about. Now I've come to the conclusion that he draws from other authors and teachers.

The author Hua Ching Ni writes a lot of books. He has an acupuncture school in Los Angeles called Yo San University. Some of his stuff is pretty esoteric, but not much practical instruction.

It's definitely worth it to learn some TCM theory.

I honestly haven't come across any good qigong books. I took a class with one of this guy's students, it had a good breadth of standard stances. The book would probably make a good introduction. I'm pretty sure that book is available online somewhere if you are willing to violate copyright laws.

I read a pdf of this book on Taoist Sorcery. It gave some insight to some of the esoteric spirit petitioning crazyness. A lot of ritual and burning of yellow paper.

Other than that it is a lot of meeting different teachers, learning their practices, then going home and working on that stuff. You shouldn't need to keep paying someone in order to keep practicing.

I, mean, the, book, itself is, utterly, amazing but this is the best review of True Light: A, superior, take, unto, the, premier, haloing, of, tenuation. Readily, available, True Light, provides, resource, into, time's, motifed, and, vestuved, authenticate, revelation.
By Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle)


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/1450243541/R10ZG1TJNW0020/ref=mw_dp_cr?cursor=2&sort=rd
Short, sweet, and, to, the, point.

The other reviews are pretty great, too.

>I definitely like being in a relationship but it doesnt make me feel happier ot more manly. Although it is satisfying to be able to have someone to share with.

Really?


lol tell you what. stop masturbating and read the cosmic trigger books from robert anton wilson.

http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Trigger-Final-Secret-Illuminati/dp/1561840033/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395442048&sr=8-1&keywords=cosmic+trigger+robert+anton+wilson

Grab all three of the series and read them in order. They're not what they look like. The author was an engineer and psychologist and a really famous author in his time. his books also spawned it's own subculture, if you can call it that. discordianism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism


You'll do yourself a favour if you stop the masturbation. If you have a girlfriend, it will improve your sex-life, because you'll be more horny. More animal.You'll also be more proud of yourself after sex, (the manliness I mentioned), which is triggered by a testosterone push. (just like a goal hitting football player, for example)


It's also economics. Being able to have it at will, whenever, drops the value to rockbottom.


This, of course, only works if you don't and can't sex whenever you two want.


Read these books. Follow my advice. Your life will change and your question will be answered.


If you don't believe it ... try it and prove me wrong.



You're welcome.

I'm a traditionalist, so i've been using rider-wait for a long while, but I would like to save up for some prettier decks! Linestrider is a popular favorite, but really, for all the right reasons... It's so gorgeous! Etheral Visions is also a fav of mine... I'm a huge sucker of that kind of style. I also wish I could remember the name of the deck, but I remember a really nice foresty-themed one that had like a deer-man on it! I want to say it was something-something irish woodlands? I'm probably 99% wrong knowing myself.

and this is me being a large nerd more than anything, but I would love cardcaptor sakura cards!

I'm blown away by how LSD seems to be able to actually get down to the core of our issues. I had my first trip two days ago but I had the exact opposite outcome - I had a rather small dose (approx 75-80ug) but had a wonderful time. The "message" I got is that I worry too much about work, and life in general, and that just need to I relax and that everything is okay. However, my issue is that I work up to 60-80 hours a week 9-10 months of the year. Weed on the other hand made me feel pretty much worthless and made me even more anxious and self-critical and even less motivated to get out of bed. My absolute biggest fear about doing LSD was what if I would find out that I'm an asshole? How the hell do I cope with that? Fortunately this relatively small dose helped me to step outside myself just enough to realize that I'm a much more decent human being than I give myself credit for.

Now, I'm obviously not an expert, and I still haven't had time to fully reflect on the trip and integrate the things I experienced but now that I've dipped my toes in psychedelics for the first time I've begun understand a little bit how it works, and it's no miracle cure for sure (and I don't know if anybody has ever claimed that, but it's easy to get that impression from all of the experiences people share).

From the information and stories I've gathered from other people (and it seems to be true from my short experience too) is that it can bring you immense clarity, but I won't fix your problems. There's a very interesting podcast I listened to last night, where Neal Goldsmith talks about the importance of the work that comes after the trip. If you don't do anything with what you experienced during the trip, he argues, it can create even more damage. https://psychedelicsalon.com/podcast-499-psycheology-psychedelics-and-the-study-of-the-soul/

If I were you in your shoes (I once was, so I can relate to your situation and how you feel), I'd start with digging a little bit deeper about your past and history and try to find out why you can't muster any will-power to worry about life.

Just to give you an example from my own life, I used to care about nothing except partying and music. I wanted to become a rockstar (hah!) and/or a nightclub owner, even though I had no idea of what it takes to get there. I wanted to become successful (whatever that meant at that time) without doing all the hard work. Basically all my dreams (mostly just empty shallow daydreams) revolved around the nightlife (this was from when I was 20 until I was 30). I had some part time jobs here and there, but nothing that could support me 100%. Fortunately, a few years ago I had a little bit of luck and got some freelancing gigs which just grew and blew up, and within 2-3 years I went from my parents paying my rent and being $20.000 in debt to driving a nice car and earning within the top 10% However, and this is the moral of the story, I'm absolutely not happier now than I was before. If anything, I'm more anxious and scared and I haven't really felt pure joy in years. And what I've learned about myself, mostly by reading books and meditating, is that everything in my life has been driven out of fear. 5-10 years ago I was doing nothing to get out of the bed because I was scared of the world and everything and everybody. Rejection in my world view has always been such a hard thing to cope with, that I'd rather not even try. Fast-forward 10 years and to anybody on the outside world I'm probably considered successful, but I feel nothing like that. I'm still struggling every dingle day with the exact same fears as I did back then, but they manifest in a different way. I now work 80 hours a week because I'm scared to turn down work. What if I turn down a project and they'll find somebody else? I haven't had a proper vacation in 3 years. Do you see the irony? I used the be scared to get out and look for work, now I'm scared to say no to work. It's not really a fun way to live.

If I were you, I'd take a break from drugs completely, and spend some time (a LOT of time) reading some books. Start with psychology and spice it up with some business (or whatever it is you want to do). You actually seem to have the luxury of time to be able to do that, so make use of it. Try to find out what fears inhibit you from going to where you want.

Here's a book that I'd recommend you starting with: https://www.amazon.com/Drama-Gifted-Child-Search-Revised/dp/0465016901

It's a relatively short read (less than 150 pages), and when I first picked it up, it spoke to me already in the first pages and gave me the motivation to start digging deeper within myself. I'm not sure if it's available on kindle, but I'm sure you can find it on PDF or audiobook if you know where to look. If not, let me know and I'll dig it up for you. If that book resonates with you I'd be happy to share some more with you.

Sorry for the long rant - I hope it helps. Good luck!

edit: Also, if you haven't already and you for whatever reason won't decide to stay off drugs for a while, at least read Fadiman's book on psychedelics before proceeding. There are lots of valuable information in there on how to conduct a safe practice: https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021/ref=sr_1_1/166-4346259-0867716?ie=UTF8&qid=1484133871&sr=8-1&keywords=james+fadiman

Thoreau: Walden, although non-fiction, may be the closest.

Ram Dass: How Can I Help, also non-fiction, has stories that are perhaps what you are looking for.

Ken Wilber One Taste. Wilber's meditative "journal" for a year. It's one of my 5 top books ever.

Ken Wilber: Grace and Grit. "Here is a deeply moving account of a couple's struggle with cancer and their journey to spiritual healing."

In another area are Carlos Castenedas books, which came out as non-fiction but there have been arguments they are fiction, and I don't know or mind either way. They are based on shamanistic drug use, but I believe it all is possible without drugs.

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

I have not read (Lila) Kate Wheeler's works, but I have heard of them. I've not read them mostly because if I can't get them at the library, I am too cheap to buy them.

Not Where I Started From

Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree is a collection of works and the authors there might lead you to more of their works.

I did read Bangkok Tatoo which has some Buddhist meditation themes in it, but it wasn't really to my liking.

The Four Agreements is said to be like Carlos Casteneda's books, but I have not read it.

Bottom line, I've read a lot, and I can't find any matches in my memory for Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. If I think of any I'll add it as an edit.

If you find anything interesting, please pm me, no matter how far in the future it is!

---

Edit: as per the reply below, I've added here if anyone has "saved" this post:

I thought of two more, these actually should be higher on my earlier list:

The Life of Milarepa : "The Life of Milarepa is the most beloved story of the Tibetan people amd one of the greatest source books for the contemplative life in all world literature. This biography, a true folk tale from a culture now in crisis, can be read on several levels.... "

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance which was the start of all books titled, "Zen and the Art of ____." "One of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century, Robert M. Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live . . . and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better."

Welcome to the sub, DM mentioned the ADF but I don't think they'd be the organization for you if you're more on the athiest/agnostic spectrum as the ADF takes a more religious, polytheistic approach. I'd look into the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) and the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA) if you're looking into an organization to join. Many druids are solitary though and never join an organization, though there are advantages to doing so. They're a good source of guidance.

Most people start by reading books though, I'd also suggest reading the first two links in the side bar. One is a sort of 'summary' of the modern druid movement, the second is a comprehensive history of how it came about.

Some good 'starter' books are:

The Path of Druidry by Penny Billington

The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer

Druidry and Meditation by Nimue Brown

A Brief History of the Druids by Peter Berresford Ellis

Several of the above authors also have blogs that a lot of people read and follow.

I tend to suggest the above because it covers a few different approaches to things, I feel like it's important as druids today to understand the past and where we get our influence from, which A Brief History of the Druids provides, both the Druidry Handbook and the Path of Druidry offer a good introduction to modern druidry, and Druidry and Meditation provides some instruction and guidance on meditation, which a lot of druids practice, and also I think does a good job of displaying the mentality and energy of many modern druids.

The thing about modern druidry though is there really isn't a right or wrong way as long as you adhere to the very basic beliefs of respecting all life (this doesn't mean necessarily being a pacifistic) and revering nature. You can be an atheist, a pantheist, a monotheist, a polytheist, Christian, Pagan, Buddhist, whatever. Which means it can be a little intimidating to new people, since you're kind of just tossed into this big forest and told to figure out your own way through it, but you learn a lot.

I think it's also good to note that modern druidry is not an attempt at recreation, if you read a Brief History of the Druids, you'll figure out that we actually know very little about the ancient druids, so it'd be very difficult to recreate their order.

The Following list is taken from the Witches & Warlocks FB page. (This is Christian Day's group)

Witches and Warlocks Recommended Reading List
This is a collection of books recommended by our admins and participants in the group. Books must be approved by the admins so if you'd like to see one added to the last, please post it in the comments at the bottom of this list and, if it's something we think is appropriate, we'll add it! We provide links to Amazon so folks can read more about the book but we encourage you to shop at your local occult shop whenever possible! :)


BEGINNER'S WITCHCRAFT BOOKS

Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
by Raymond Buckland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875420508

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
by Margot Adler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143038192

Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635500

The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738702765

The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition
by William Walker Atkinson (Three Initiates)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1585428744

Lid Off the Cauldron: A Wicca Handbook
by Patricia Crowther
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1861630328

Mastering Witchcraft
by Paul Huson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0595420060

Natural Magic
by Doreen Valiente
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0919345808

Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick
by Ellen Dugan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738709220

Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635055

The Outer Temple of Witchcraft: Circles, Spells and Rituals
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738705314

Power of the Witch: The Earth, the Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment
by Laurie Cabot
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385301898

Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation
by Silver RavenWolf
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703192

Spirit of the Witch: Religion & Spirituality in Contemporary Witchcraft
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703389

Witch: A Magickal Journey
by Fiona Horne
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0007121326

Witchcraft for Tomorrow
by Doreen Valiente
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0709052448

Witchcraft Today
by Gerald Gardner
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806525932
The Witches' Craft: The Roots of Witchcraft & Magical Transformation
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/073870265X
The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill
by Robin Artisson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982031882

WITCHCRAFT HISTORY AND RESOURCE BOOKS

Aradia or The Gospel of the Witches
by Charles Godfrey Leland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982432356

Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages: A Guide to Asking for Protection, Wealth, Happiness, and Everything Else!
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062009575

The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca
by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0816071047

Etruscan Roman Remains
by Charles Godfrey Leland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1494302519

The God of the Witches
by Margaret Murray
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195012704

The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, The: From Hexes to Hermione Granger, From Salem to the Land of Oz
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634792

ADVANCED BOOKS ON WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC

Blood Sorcery Bible Volume 1: Rituals in Necromancy
by Sorceress Cagliastro
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935150812

The Deep Heart of Witchcraft: Expanding the Core of Magickal Practice
by David Salisbury
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1780999208

Teen Spirit Wicca
by David Salisbury
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1782790594

Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation by Gesture, Gaze and Glamour
by Peter Paddon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936922517

Initiation into Hermetics
by Franz Bardon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1885928122

Letters from the Devil's Forest: An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology and Provenance Traditionalism
by Robin Artisson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500796360

Magical Use of Thought Forms: A Proven System of Mental & Spiritual Empowerment
by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowick and J.H. Brennan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567180841

Magick in Theory and Practice
by Aleister Crowley
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500380679

The Plant Spirit Familiar
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982774311

Protection and Reversal Magick
by Jason Miller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1564148793
Psychic Self-Defense
by Dion Fortune
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635098
The Ritual Magic Workbook: A Practical Course of Self-Initiation
by Dolores Ashcroft-Norwicki
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578630452
The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition
by Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1861631553

The Satanic Witch
by Anton Szandor LaVey
http://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Witch-Anton-Szandor-LaVey/dp/0922915849
Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality
by Raven Digitalis
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VS0N5K
The Tree of Enchantment: Ancient Wisdom and Magic Practices of the Faery Tradition
by Orion Foxwood
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634075
The Underworld Initiation: A journey towards psychic transformation
by R.J. Stewart
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1892137038

HERBALISM, CANDLES, INCENSE, OILS, FORMULARIES, AND STONES

A Compendium of Herbal Magic
by Paul Beyerl
http://www.amazon.com/dp/091934545X

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
by Scott Cunningham
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875421229

The Enchanted Candle: Crafting and Casting Magickal Light
by Lady Rhea
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806525789

The Enchanted Formulary: Blending Magickal Oils for Love, Prosperity, and Healing
by Lady Maeve Rhea
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806527048

Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents
by Carl F. Neal
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703362

Magickal Formulary Spellbook Book 1
by Herman Slater
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0939708000

Magickal Formulary Spellbook: Book II
by Herman Slater
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0939708108


SPELLCASTING AND SPELLBOOKS
Crone's Book of Charms & Spells
by Valerie Worth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567188117

Crone's Book of Magical Words
by Valerie Worth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567188257

Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061711233

Everyday Magic: Spells & Rituals for Modern Living
by Dorothy Morrison
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567184693

Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578633915
Utterly Wicked: Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions
by Dorothy Morrison
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979453313
The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook
by Denise Alvarado
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635136

The Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient and Contemporary Spells and Rituals
by Denise Alvarado
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578635543


THE ANCESTORS AND WORKING WITH THE DEAD
The Cauldron of Memory: Retrieving Ancestral Knowledge & Wisdom
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738715751

The Mighty Dead
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982774370

Speak with the Dead: Seven Methods for Spirit Communication
by Konstantinos
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738705225
The Witches' Book of the Dead
by Christian Day
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635063
_____
TAROT

78 Degrees of Wisdom
by Rachel Pollack
http://www.amazon.com/dp/157863408

sure. i'll help you out. if you or your parents have an amazon account, make a wish list. then send me the link so i can buy you the gift through my account.

https://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Amazon-Wishlist

i'll send you the deck of your choice and i won't need to know your address or anything. my treat to encourage the hobby :)

​

if you need some inspiration, here are some of my favorites:

the wild unknown

ethereal visions

the fountain

​

tbh though, i own about ... 30 or so tarot decks at this point and i'd guess about 25 of them i've purchased for myself, haha. i pick and choose what tarot "rules" to follow since i believe the cards will tell me what they will tell me no matter what :)

Sure. :) I was trying not to hijack the thread, but I'll just put the list here and that way anyone can have it. Keep in mind, these aren't all collections of stories, some of them are research topics, but none of them that I've browsed through look like bad reads. The ones I have read I've tried to note.

Iroquois Supernatural: Talking Animals and Medicine People - Michael Bastine, Mason Winfield - most closely related to thread topic

Life After Life - Raymond Moody - Very good intro to Near Death Experience research

Reunions: Visionary Encounters with Departed Loved Ones - Raymond Moody

Journey of Souls - Michael Newton - Read this one, it was great, changed my views on reincarnation

The Day Satan Called - Bill Scott

Hunt for the Skinwalker - Colm Kelleher, George Knapp - read parts of, need to finish

The Vengeful Djinn - Rosemary Ellen Guiley - I've read this one, it's really good too, has a large "slow" section in the middle that quotes the Q'uran a lot, but some good creepy Djinn stories.

The Djinn Connection - Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Ghost Culture: Theories, Context, and Scientific Practice - John Sabol

Zones of Strangeness - Peter A. McCue

Lost Secrets of Maya Technology - James O'Kon

The Mythology of Supernatural - Nathan Robert Brown - this one might sound cheesy, but I've read a book on world mythology by the same author, and apparently the writers of the show did their research

Holy Ghosts: Or How a (Not-So) Good Catholic Boy Became a Believer in Things That Go Bump in the Night - Gary Jansen

I'd really recommend the book Journey of Souls by Michael Newton if you're searching for "meaning of life" stuff. It made me remember why I'm here and made me feel so much less anxious about everything. I know what's truly important now: learning lessons, growing as a person, and enjoying the masquerade of life here on earth.

Human life is a dream that we forget isn't real, because getting sucked into the role is fun and it's how we learn. We are so much more than what we appear to be, but it's ok not to remember. Just do the best you can and enjoy life for what it is: an opportunity to feel the sunshine on your face, help others, try new things, and overcome struggles.

1: [Amazon](The Satanic Bible https://www.amazon.com/dp/0380015390/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_C.Hgzb5J3HQQ5) or call your local bookstore to see if they have one in stock. My Barnes and Nobles only carries one at a time to prevent people from vandalizing it.

2: You can say Hail Satan to anything. I said it multiple times today, my wife and I say it when something cool happens or something works out in our favor. Essentially it is the vocal equivalent of "praise god", but since we don't believe in god or Satan and we praise ourselves, saying Hail Satan is like "yay me" or an affirmation.

As far as Lucifer, one of the titles for Satan, no we(LaVeyan) do not worship Lucifer. Luciferians on the other hand revere Lucifer as a liberator character but also a deity who they do not worship.

If you have more questions I would be glad to answer them through PM at any time. :)

I always recommend to start with reading to develop an understanding before you completely dive in.

My favorite books for beginners are:

Liber Al vel Legis/Book the Law by Aleister Crowley - Book Crowley wrote in 1904 in Cairo. It contains, in my own opinion, the most supreme occult philosophy and theology.

Liber ABA/Book 4 by Aleister Crowley - Book written by Crowley that covers everything you may wish to know, from yoga to meditation to working tools to ritual to magick techniques.

The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune - Arguably the most comprehensive and most easily understood on the qabalah to have ever been written.

The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley - Explanation of the tarot.

Circles of Power by John Michael Greer - An excellent guide to the hermetic magickal practices of the Golden Dawn.

Enochian Magick in Theory along with Enochian Magick in Practice - Great guides on one of the most popular systems of magick.

The Mystical and Magical System of the A .'. A .'. - Book on the methods of achieving enlightenment in the system utilized by the A .'. A .'.

Handfasting and Wedding Rituals has some Greek weddings, and some specifically gay Pagan weddings. Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship also contains a wedding ritual as well.

Are there deities you feel exceptionally close to? They should be a part of it. If not, Hera, Aphrodite, Eros and Hymen are certainly important, as they are deities of love, and you may also wish to call upon gods of gay love (Aphrodite again, Dionysus, Antinous).

As a gay man who also hopes to one day get married (At the theatre of Dionysus, if it works), please feel free to share your ideas!

The psychedelic experience is by Timothy Leary, and is a manual based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. On amazon here.
The pyshcedelic explorer's guide is by James Fadiman, found here.

The power of now is good too, it will certainly prime you for ego death. I definitely recommend reading Be here now too, the illustrated middle part that I used during the come-up are just fantastic, you see people mention it all the time here. So many great things to meditate on in there. Opening the doors of perception, I have not read this one, but I have had it recommended often. The joyous cosmology by Alan Watts is short but great too. He describes his experiences with LSD, and the world that you enter. He is amazing with language.

Hello mate, I would recommend you this order: First of all, The Norse Myths:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0394748468/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687622&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002HLAF32&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=5ST3KMPDJ47HVWWV2AW4

The who´s who in nordic pantheon. Has the most known myths plus a superb introduction to cosmology. Myths are in chronological order, from Ginnungagap to Ragnarok. The writing is very good, adult-oriented with some touches of dry humor.

After it go for the 2 Eddas. Why is important to know about the myths or the gods? Because all the books you are going to read name or make references to the gods or to myths or both. You will want to know what on Midgard are they talking about.

After that, if you want to know more about Asatru specifically, read in this order:
The Asatru Edda
https://www.amazon.com/%C3%81satr%C3%BA-Edda-Sacred-Lore-North/dp/1440131783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1473832369&sr=1-1&keywords=asatru+edda

The Norroena Society made a superb job publishing this Edda taking away all the christian influence. Really great job. They made with the Eddas what Dr. Viktor Rydberg did with the teutonic myths.

Next in line:
A Practical Heathen's Guide to Asatru

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Heathens-Guide-Asatru/dp/0738733873/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=8M3GCMHG28EVGP5090FX

Exactly what it says.

Now, if later on your path you feel the itch to learn more about teutonic myths, their social construct, history etc etc let me know that I can recommend more books depending on your needs.

So far, my thinking has led to be believe these are core things I aim to achieve:

• Intense focus and concentration
  
• Highly increased ability to learn
  
• Highly increased ability to unlearn
  
• Better (in terms of efficiency and a better correlated model to the things I'm thinking about) abstract thinking
  
• Achieve a better and faster (read: more efficient) way to analyze and think about things
  
• Meta-cognition
  
  ----
  
  > The 4 Hour Chef
  
  Very interesting. I've actually been taking cooking courses on Rouxbe (presumably the best online cooking school).
  
  > Moon-walking with Einstein
  
  I actually bought this book recently. I'm been developing my mental palace, which got me interested in this book. I plan to read it, but is second to my current book I'm reading on Epistemology, Prometheus Rising. It's quite interesting because the book has a list of exercises to better understand the contents of each chapter, and I've already meditated for over an hour by chapter 2 as it's exercises have requested. Regardless of the book, I've been putting in at least half an hour a day.
  
  I agree with you that exercising seem to the the key.
  
  > Shamata-meditation
  
  There are a variety of <something>-meditation it seems. How would one go about finding the best type?
  

Most pagan religions — reconstructionism, Shinto, Shenjiao, Hinduism — have much the same approach: you share food and drink and make symbolic offerings like fire and incense. Actions can also be offerings, like song, music, and dance. A bunch of flowers is always nice. Then there are gifts like statues, paintings, or just nice objects. Ancient Greeks offered everything from pottery animals to sea-shells. Of course votives like that do tend to build up: temples used to bury them eventually! Gifts to charity can be vowed as offerings to appropriate gods — I give annually to a hospice in honour of Hades and Persephone and to a veterans' charity for Ares.

A good book is

Hellenic polytheism: household worship

and you can find more advice on specific gods at

https://neosalexandria.org/the-pantheon/

I completely agree with your comment.

The Thoth tarot is wonderfully deep, if you are also interested in studying the occult symbology.

If you prefer a gentler approach to learning, then other decks - especially R/W are a good starting point.

I only came to love the Thoth deck after using RW for tarot for several years, and, in addition, studying occult disciplines. And I read The Book of Thoth before I read "Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot"

Rider-Waite is a fantastic learning tarot, and far, far more powerful as a teaching deck than most others on the market today IMHO.

Magick is for all, I would recommend working on the kabbalah for a start, or reading the liber 4, not necessarily in that order, maybe try liber 4 and then A Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Rgardie and Mystical Kabbalah by Dion Fortune. The Hardcover edition of Liber 4 is a great edition. I have it and it is amazing, and not as complex as most of his writings. This book has a lot of appendixes too, that helps. Having the Thoth Tarot deck and the Book of Thoth and studying its correspondencies with the tree of life is very helpful too.

Fascinating readings anyway.

About what he is in relation to mankind, better judge yourself from his writings.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Thoth-Egyptians-Equinox/dp/0877282684/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_z

http://www.amazon.com/Thoth-Tarot-Deck-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1572815108/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560601&sr=1-1&keywords=thoth+tarot+deck


http://www.amazon.com/Magick-Liber-ABA-Book-4/dp/0877289190/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422560336&sr=1-2&keywords=magick

http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Pomegranates-Skrying-Tree-Life/dp/1567181414

http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Qabalah-Dion-Fortune/dp/1578631505/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TNF7RPG3Y67DX4G00QH

Oh I think who we really are is most definitely eternal, and we incarnate to play, to learn things that are necessary for our spiritual evolution, and that ultimately we stop incarnating once we have learned enough lessons and become light beings or spirit guides to help new souls:

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457740859&sr=8-1&keywords=journey+of+souls

I've had this gut level feeling before reading Michael Newton's works, the thought of there being absolutely nothing when we die is completely ridiculous. Existence, the Cosmos, is infinite yet we only have 60 years and then it's eternal nothingness? Utter blasphemy!

I also enjoy and recommend the philosophy of Alan Watts. In this segment he gets into existentialism a bit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSMhZ2M8Np4

I also completely agree with everything you said except the bit about this life being all there is, as Alan Watts would say, YOU'VE BEEN BAMBOOZLED.

Think about it this way, at our current state of evolution and technological development what do we truly enjoy the most? SIMULATION. It is why we read novels, why we play video games, why we view movies etc. Now imagine if we were light beings, still within the same cosmos, and we also, partly out of boredom and partly out of curiosity, sought the ultimate virtual reality experience, an experience so compellingly real that YOU TRULY BELIEVE THAT IT WAS ALL THERE WAS TO REALITY, TO EXISTENCE. What would that look like? It would look like having the human experience, right here, right now.

Wake up! You are immortal! Rejoice!

I feel the same way you do, I am thoroughly disgusted with this life, I've been dealt a rotten hand and am nearing the end of how much maneuvering I can do (about to be homeless in a week, returning to living out of my car in the SF Bay Area, I am a combat veteran who grew up in 9 different foster homes and who never knew my biological father to briefly sum things up).

This piece by Charles Eisenstein really sums up how a growing majority of Humanity feels as we are confronted with the frightening consequences of modernity / Industrial Civilization:

http://charleseisenstein.net/mutiny/

"Reality is a merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein

I'll start with an author whose work in comparative mythology is exceptional and deeply spiritual in a way that's very conscious of the difference between organized religion and spirituality. He's got a lot of books, some more scholarly and others much more approachable. Two examples here:

"Since lies are what the world lives on...those who can face the challenge of a truth and build their lives to accord are finally not many, but the very few"
--Joseph Campbell, [Myths to live By] (http://www.amazon.com/Myths-Live-Joseph-Campbell/dp/0140194614/)

“Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that they are not facts at all. As a result we have people who consider themselves believers because they accept metaphors as facts, and we have others who classify themselves as atheists because they think religious metaphors are lies.”
― Joseph Campbell, Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor

Next, if you really want to stretch there's a remarkable series of books created from first-hand accounts from hundreds of individuals under hypnosis to map out the nature of what might be termed our spiritual home or "life between lives" - I find this to be more credibly presented and much more consistent with the many well-documented near-death experiences that are continuously being studied by groups like NDERF and IANDS and Dr. Newton's methodology makes these books a compelling read:

Michael Newton, Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives

Michael Newton, Destiny of Souls: More Case Studies of Life Between Lives

These aren't for everyone, and the idea that there is a proper place for spirituality can be hard to swallow for those who feel scarred by organized religion, but they've been helpful in my own personal journey to stay grounded while I escape a church that's obsessed with sexuality, the pursuit of money for itself above even the welfare of its members, and even the smallest perceived deviation from its accepted belief system and practices.

Start with: How to Change Your Mind (start with this detailed annotated summary). The pop culture starting point these days. The summary is all you need to read to understand the entire book but the book is well worth the time.

After that you'll have more ideas where to do. Below is a lot of stuff. I've watched/read all of them, so happy to answer any questions/give more guidance.

​

Study the "classics" by taking a look at these (skim the long ones to start):

Seeking the Magic Mushroom (first western trip report on mushrooms)

My 12 Hours As A Madman (another historically important trip report)

The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based On The TIbetan Book of the Dead (classic book on guided trips)

LSD My Problem Child by Albert Hoffman

Al Hubbard: The Original Captian Trips

​

Docs to Watch:

The Sunshine Makers (documentary)

Orange Sunshine (documentary)

Aya: Awakenings (documentary)

Dirty Pictures (documentary)

A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin (documentary)

Hoffmans Potion (documentary): r/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFfblVjCwOU"

​

And a whole lot of others:

​

Books

The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide – James Fadiman
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction – Gabor Mate
Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream – Jay Stevens
Psychedelic Psychiatry: LSD from clinic to campus – Erika Dyck
The Natural Mind: A Revolutionary Approach to the Drug Problem – Andrew Weil
Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience – Stephen Siff
Acid Dreams: The complete social history of LSD – Martin A. Lee and Bruce Shlain
Drugs: Without the Hot Air – David Nutt
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life – Ayelet Waldman
Neuropsychedelia: The Revival of Hallucinogen Research Since the Decade of the Brain – Nicolas Langlitz
The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America – Don Lattin

Videos

Terence McKenna discusses the stoned ape theory

A Conversation on LSD – In a video from the late 1970s, Al Hubbard, Timothy Leary, Humphry Osmond, Sidney Cohen and others reflect on LSD’s heyday

Alison Gopnik and Robin Carhart-Harris at the 2016 Science of Consciousness Conference

The Future of Psychedelic Psychiatry – a discussion between Thomas Insel and Paul Summergrad

Documents, Articles & Artifacts

Al Hubbard’s FBI file

Remembrances of LSD Therapy Past – Betty Grover Eisner’s unpublished memoir about her role in developing psychedelic therapy

LSD, Insight or Insanity – Transcript of excerpts from hearings of the Subcommittee
on the Executive Reorganization of the Senate Committee on Government Operations [concerning federal research and regulation of LSD-25] May 24, 1966

The Brutal Mirror: What an ayahuasca retreat showed me about my life —A Vox writer’s first-person account

​

Forums

Ayahuasca.com: Includes experience reports, discussion of spirituality, ecology, healing, and recovery by means of the vine are collected here. A place to learn from members of ayahuasca churches, as well as a few foreign language channels.

Bluelight: A 20 year old online harm reduction forum that fosters open and factual discussion of drugs and provides support for those seeking recovery from addiction.

DMT Nexus: A hub for underground psychedelic research on botanical sources of tryptamines and other psychedelic compounds.

5Hive: A newer forum devoted specifically to 5-MeO-DMT — synthetic, botanical or toad-derived.

Mycotopia: All things mycological — discussions of edible, wild, and psychoactive fungi.

The Shroomery: A forum  devoted to cultivating psilocybin-containing mushrooms and sharing trip reports.

TRIPSIT: A 24/7 online harm reduction resource.  Users can chat instantly with someone about their drug experience, or questions they may have about about the safe(r) use of a wide variety of controlled substances.

Spirit energy is never destroyed. It is recycled, takes on new shapes and forms. Where one life ends, another begins. The cyclical nature of energy and the amazing design of our universe implies that there would be no waste. Also, the fact that our lives as humans seem to just be a series of tests and events which become "lessons" or opportunities for spiritual growth lead me to believe that one life is simply not enough to break into the upper echelons of enlightenment.

Highly recommend Journey of Souls by Michael Newton PH. D. Very interesting stuff, studying both past lives, and what our spirits are up to in between lives. That last part is really what blew me away.

Also, great book just for life in general- The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle- this book continues to help me in my day to day life and I haven't read it in years.

I think most people here are confusing alternate reality/ethereal/astral entities with physical aliens from other planets. The difference being that humans can relatively easily contact alternate reality entities as we can enter their realms where space/time are not limiting. We've been doing this since the time of the earliest humans have walked on Earth. Wherein, physical aliens from other planets, we can't visit them as we lack the technology (faster than light physical travel and/or teleportation machines). That said, some advanced techniques of Astral travel allow objective human consciousness (but not physical body) to travel infinite distances and witness physical realities without needing to be physically present... Well I should mention there's claims of spiritual masters able to physically materialize anywhere but I digress...

If you want to contact alternate reality type entities, then you may want to pickup some books on "magick" and specifically magical evocation. One of the better books might be "The practice of magical evocation" by Franz Bardon. Warning though, this is not for neophytes, and you're playing with fire if you start playing with this stuff. Much like people to play with Weegee boards, then endup having their houses and lives haunted. Read a lot and understand WTF you are getting into before actually doing anything. You can fulfil your curiosity by learning. Don't jump into the car and drive down the highway before you take lessons from experts in a parking lot.

A safer way to contact and interact with ethereal entities is through Astral Projection. I suggest reading "Astral Dynamics" by Robert Bruce

Lastly, if you want to contact real live physical aliens, (and why in the world would you want to do this since many seem to have a habit of doing ungodly things with humans), then you may want to start by visiting the UFO hotspots of the world. You can google around for that. There's definitely some. Then after that perhaps consider Greer's CS5 protocols to make contact in those hotspots - though I have a feeling he's mostly making contact with Ethereal entities not physical aliens.

Good luck, and stay safe!

PS. Stay away from all drugs, unless you really know what you are doing. Staying sane is the only way to have objective experiences. Taking drugs leads to easy experiences but most are going to be highly subjective like a dream where everything is made up by your mind, not an actual reality - though your brain will interpret it as such - then you become insane, or at minimum start believing in things that your own mind created. You'd be losing your mind as you let the crazy out ;-)

For me, personally, I'm kind of picky with decks. Try and subtly find out if they have any specific decks they really like but don't own as it'll be a much more welcome gift than buying a deck they don't vibe with.

Not sure what style they're into but maybe show them Ethereal Visions and True Black cards - those are probably my favourite two and look like pretty classy gifts to me. :3

Honestly one of the best books I've found for starting is Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack

https://www.amazon.ca/Seventy-Eight-Degrees-Wisdom-Book-Tarot/dp/1578634083

It gives a great fundamental look at the history of the cards as well as teasing some more advanced topics, so you can really take any topic from the book and go wild with your journey. It works with the RWS deck which most people start with I would say, but the wisdom is universal. It's a great resource and I've never stopped sourcing it even though I've gone through tons of other books since reading this one.

I would just follow the series.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Teachings-Don-Juan-Knowledge/dp/0671600419

It's fiction but based on truths. It's filled with these actually. The later books aren't as powerful. Warning! these books will inspire a vision quest! Have fun and be safe if you do. (Have someone watching over you).

LaVeyan Satanism is fairly reasonable. It's basically just atheism with certain philosophical tenets added in.

...mostly. I should mention that there's a big current of occult practice in most Satanism; LaVey himself wrote out a lot of 'spells' in his books, for whatever reason. How Satanists justify that basically comes down to personal preference (if they do so at all).

Philosophically, though, Satanism is pretty sane stuff. I identified myself as a Satanist for years, I still would but 'secular humanist' fits more accurately now, I think.

Edit: For those curious, there are, more or less, three major camps of Satanism, with varying degrees of differentiation.

LaVeyan Satanism is largely based on the works of Anton LaVey, and is more or less represented by the Church of Satan. The Satanic Bible basically outlines its essential positions. Like he says in the video, this form of Satanism is essentially atheist, using Satan as a metaphor for human potential and drive, as well as other things. By nature it tends toward iconoclasm, and many people (myself included) use LaVeyan Satanism as a transitory period between theism and atheism.

Setian Satanism is an offshoot from the 1970s of LaVeyan Satanism that's directed by the Temple of Set. It's an officially recognized religion in the US which even boasts chaplains in the military. Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, Setians focus very heavily on magickal and occult doctrine, and the Temple's organization mimics many other magickal orders. It's very ritual-heavy and there's some debate about whether it's atheist or not (mainly, whether Set is a symbol or an entity). The ultimate goal is Xeper, which (more or less) comes from the Egyptian word Kheper, a dung-beetle deity who's name symbolized transformation.

Luciferian Satanism is a decentralized, theist form of Satanism. The different approaches to Luciferianism are too wide to list here, but they commonly identify with a literal Satan figure to whom they pray, in the hopes of achieving a transhumanist, Promethean transformation (similar to Setians). Traditions vary between Hebraic Satanism to Norse and everything in between. There are many organizations based on Luciferianism, but none really have the size and weight of either the Church of Satan or the Temple of Set.

Hopefully someone finds this interesting.

It depends on what you're interested in really. You can get the general explanation of Federal Reserve, Illuminati, 9/11, CIA, NSA, etc from just about any YouTube video. Some books that have recently opened my mind to other topics, however include:

The Source Field Investigations by David Wilcock - The best written and most well-sourced book I've read concerning alternative history, conspiracy theories, suppressed science, and a host of other topics. Main thesis being that consciousness is a nonlocal field.

Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock - Some of the best evidence out there for a lost civilization which fell out of power and memory sometime around the end of the ice age. A bit outdated, but a sequel is due this year.

Genesis Revisted by Zecharia Sitchin - Read this if you want to understand why some people think the Annunaki are a thing. Some interesting info, but I don't really buy into it that much.

Dark Mission by Richard Hoagland - Occult history of NASA, coverups of what was found on the Moon, Mars, and some suppressed science.

The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot - Exactly what it sounds like

Rather than reading about the same theories in different words over and over, these books gave me perspective on possible reasons why TPTB do what they do. And an idea on what some deeper purpose for their intensive consumerism propaganda might be for, other than profit. Additionaly they exposed me to new/old ideas on what the universe fundamentally is and how it works, with some good science to back it up. Highly recommend all of these books.

Discovering the Illuminatus! trilogy in my college years really changed the way I look at the world. Well worth reading. It's got some definite Problems - it's very much a thing of its time, and its attitude towards women is pretty objectifying. That said, it's still a great mind-opener.

Be sure to read the appendices. They lay out explicitly some of the philosophical and magical ideas alluded to in the book.

And then if you need more, go grab RAW's Prometheus Rising which is more explicitly about How To Play With Your Brain For Fun And Profit.

This book has been sitting in my to read stack a while: http://www.amazon.com/The-Occult-Colin-Wilson/dp/1842931075, and is supposed to be an excellent book on what you mention. He also wrote another book, The Outsider, with more of a philosophical bent that I've partially that's the reason I know about him. Another one you might want to consider is:

http://www.amazon.com/Teachings-Don-Juan-Yaqui-Knowledge/dp/0671600419/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410349123&sr=1-1&keywords=don+juan+carlos+castaneda

which was undertaken originally as an anthropological study of shamanism but became more of an examination of black magic.

If you're interested in more general ideas of why people think about gods and monsters then I would definitely check out William James' Varieties of Religious Experience, which talks about the possible psychological underpinnings of mystical thinking. This lecture along similar lines https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WwAQqWUkpI is also fantastic.

My brother has read a lot more concerning this and has many more books that I could ask him about if you'd be interested. I mostly just dabble.

I've been loving the ethereal visions illuminated deck! I never fully connected to the standard RWS, and this gives me just enough of the symbolism with artwork that I really enjoy. The cardstock is also really good. If anyone is interested, here it is :) Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck https://www.amazon.com/dp/1572819251/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_oCEYBb4CWWZS2

Sounds like what you're looking for is traditional polytheism or Reconstructionism, Dodekatheism/Hellenismos in particular given what you've already studied and heritage. As such, you're not likely to find much of that in most pagan groups as the majority tend to be Neopagan, often heavily borrowing from Wicca.

Though based in Greece, I think YSEE has an active chapter in NYC. Another group to look into online is Elaion which has members in North America and parts of Europe. I don't think there are local gatherings per se but likely members who are in NY and perhaps people could arrange to meet up. The group does have what they call PAT rituals (Practicing Apart Together) so that members worldwide engage in the same festival at the same time.

Another group to look into (but is based in Greece) is Labrys. They also offer a wealth of information and they've published a very accessible primer in modern Hellenic practice which has been translated into English, Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship.

Edited to add: also, a subreddit of interest r/HellenicPolytheism

Not from this sub, but a collection of true stories from hypnotherapists on exactly this topic can be found in books by Brian Weiss and Michael Newton. I highly recommend starting with Many Lives, Many Masters since it's easy to read and sort of the "gateway drug" to this whole world. Michael Newton's books, like Journey of Souls, go into far more detail (and include word-for-word transcripts from dozens upon dozens of his therapy sessions).

This is fascinating to me because the general premise of both these books (as well as many others by other legitimate hypnotherapists who have put clients "under" to the point where they could access past lives as well as lives between lives) is exactly what's quoted in the short excerpts in OP's post: we are spirits living in imperfect and irrational human bodies, and our entire experience on this planet is essentially so we can learn and grow as spirits. In fact these books indicate that Earth (and our human experience) is a more "advanced" or "accelerated" school for spirits (and more difficult as a result).

All of this stuff fascinates me because the story is so consistent among all these therapists who have had first-hand experience with clients "tapping" into this world and among all the anecdotal stories on subs like this.

Thank you for sharing your story. I would suggest reading the Psychedelic Experience by Tim Leary, Richard Alpert and Ralph Metzner (link below). In its comparison of the psychedelic experience to the philosophies of Tibetian Buddhism, the book provides a good explaination of the experience you had and why you are stuck there.

The Psychedelic Explorers Guide is also a modern work that explains things from a more Western clinical perspective. When you better understand how different personalities and neurosis then you may experience a beneficial change in perspective for what you went through during and after those trips.

I don' think you are dealing with a slip in reality, it is a slip in identity and you havn't fully reclaimed your grip. Beyond that book, I urge you to go deep into the Eastern philosophies surrounding identity - that is the direction you need to go.

Take care, I hope you begin to heal soon. Feel free to PM me with questions/concerns.




The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Citadel Underground) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0806516526/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_c8i3Ab7AY8RKF

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594774021/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Hhj3AbNCZ42KT

What are you interested in? Wicca, candle magick, hermeticism and alchemy, Setianism, Qabalah, tarot, mythology, astrology, goetia, esoteric christianity? A little bit of everything?

My recommendation is to start with something you're really interested in and pick up that one thing. If you're interested in Crowley, then you might be interested in tarot. My suggestion is getting a simple book by a laymen's author like Amber Jayanti on the tarot. As you read the book, circle, highlight or write down (or add to a shopping list) sources to which that author refers - Jayanti may cite Paul Foster Case a lot. Once you read some Case books, then you'll start to see Crowley pop up. Pick up Lon Milo DuQuette's book on Crowley's Tarot. Then you can probably read Crowley's Book of Thoth.

My other advice is not to worry about not picking up every little detail of every book. You won't have the schema necessary for every small detail in every book, and part of reading in the occult is rediscovering the deeper meaning of something you thought you already knew, like a spiral upward.

I would suggest the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, which you can buy for pretty cheap on Amazon. Most other decks are based on this system and almost all books and websites for learning the cards use this deck. When you start to learn, the LearnTarot website is free and very helpful. Have fun! Exploring Tarot is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Short answer to your question is, No, I don’t believe there is an eternal hell a being can go to. However, if you have ever experienced great time passing in a dream that takes place in a short nap, I believe that as creative beings empowered within the Divine, being literally God forgetting Itself, one can dream/experience long periods of suffering or what might be deemed “hell.” I believe if one is doing self-centered, self seeking behaviors, and taking these fears into multiple lifetimes they will likely keep experiencing profound suffering in lifetimes that will be very “hellish” until they “learn their lesson.” By that, I don’t mean a matter of punishment being done for being “bad” meted out by some point keeping Deity watching the scales of justice and making sure to balance them. I mean more a cause/effect. Like if I don’t want to get all wet I wouldn’t jump into the pool. If I woke up each day and jumped into a pool while saying to myself “this time I won’t get wet” eventually I will “learn the lesson” that jumping into pools causes the experience of wetness. This is what I believe is meant by the Eastern descriptions of Karma, merely the natural consequences of certain attitudes and behaviors. If I refrain from showering I will be stank within a day or two. It’s not cosmic punishment from a wrathful god for the Evil of not showering that I am experiencing the retribution of condemnation to a be a stank ass, it’s just Natural Law. If for many lifetimes I keep using everyone as if they are disposable and channeling all of my angers and fears into “I gotta cheat them before they cheat me” I think my existence will stay hellish until I “get it” and decide to stop following those patterns. The second way a person could experience a “hell” is described by some NDEs and Astral Journeying experiences. They suggest that once we die, in between lives those conditioned patterns can play out for a while as a “dream of hell.” That can be a hell like experience for the spirit experiencing it, but once again that would be a hell of their own making that can be left as soon as the spirit “wakes up.” Primarily it could be found by the Souls own self condemnation and so they decide not to journey to the light but keep circling around lost as they know they “don’t deserve the light.”


My overarching worldview is that of non-duality or Advaita Vedanta which basically specifies that the only “real” thing is the unification with Source/Oneness/God/The Unchanging. To transcend it completely and realize your true is the goal of that specific outlook. More accurately described as realizing that you already Are That and you can’t not be. Ultimately this would result in residing in the Awareness of that Truth as the seat of your perception instead of identifying with the limited separate you that thinks it’s an individual human m. My favorite Teacher in this outlook is Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. His teachings can be found here: http://www.maharajnisargadatta.com/I_Am_That.pdf



All of these other discussions about the manifested world and our place in it as individual souls are moot to the point of view of the Advaita Vedantaschool of thought. To it, speculation about cosmology, other lives, and heaven/hell is about as pointless as trying to deposit money in the bank that you won in a dream or trying to arrest an actor for a crime his character committed on stage. Because if this is all transitory and ultimately “a dream of separation,” then all mental chatter is just part of the dream.

However, I moderate that view because for myself as I am still appearing to be in this present context. Here, now, the “me” typing these letters is what I am presented with. If I am going to be appearing to exist at this time on this planet in this realm, I might as well be trying to play the game at the forefront of my present experience effectively.



My beliefs in reincarnation are based on others’ research and my own regression hypnosis and meditations.


I will offer some of my influences below so you could investigate further yourself if you feel interested in it.


IISIS (Institute for the Integration of Science Intuition and Spirit): http://www.iisis.net/index.php?page=semkiw-reincarnation-past-lives-principles&hl=en_US
This site offers many case studies of people claiming they remember their previous lives and documented with scientific rigor.

The Journey of Souls by Michael Newton
PDF: https://archonmatrix.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Journey-Of-Souls-by-Michael-Newton-PDF.pdf
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855
In this book psychologist Michael Newton offers transcripts from some highlighted cases of over 700 people he did regressive hypnosis on. The way he got his data was placing people under hypnosis, having them recall their past life and then guiding them to continue the memory until they travel to the place they went between lives. The results are remarkably consistent from person to person, even though the clients weren’t given any expectation of what they would experience. Generally the people die, see a light, travel to it, are met by a person of authority, love and light that usually fits their predominant religious outlook (Jesus for Christians, Krishna for Hindus, Glowing white orbs for agnostics, etc) After that, select members of their “soul group” come and say “hi.” (Could be a loving grandmother, or brother, etc) the soul group is the family of souls they share many lifetimes with that are around the same stage of soul evolution. There are also guides an octave or two above the evolution of the whole group that radiate love and give guidance. Also common is life reviews and then picking from several different future incarnations to go back and try and learn what we need to develop specifically in our weak spots. This books data suggests everyone comes to earth willingly because we could stay hanging out in Soul Paradise forever but the rate of evolution is super slow and so each soul wants to advance and then get to world building. Like once a soul gets advanced enough it becomes a Demi-God and makes its own universes.


Near Death Experiences (NDEs)
Near-death.com
One of the more interesting NDEs on that site is the story of George Ritchie who traveled places on earth with a being of Love he believed to be Jesus. This seems to offer evidence of the idea of a soul creating their own hell to exist in for a while as a result of their own judgment of themselves: https://www.near-death.com/experiences/notable/george-ritchie.html#a05a

A solid overview of the gamut of experiences NDEs can appear as is found on this page of their site:
https://www.near-death.com/science/research/out-of-body-experiences.html


Astral Journeyers
One of the most practiced astral journeyers I ever came across in my internet wanderings was the experiences of the late Frank Kepple, an active participant on the forum astralpulse.com. Using the Monroe Institute’s Gateway Program CDs he was able to journey extensively in the realms of spirit and he documented his findings for the other members there. The gestalt of his findings overlap considerably with findings of both NDE experiences and Michael Newtons between life regression case studies. They also indicate spirits can be “stuck” for a while in their own self made hell realms if they were living automatic lives based on self centeredness. The admins their collected all his writings into one cohesive doc found here: http://www.astralpulse.com/frankkepple.html

(The CDs he used can be found here:
https://www.monroeinstitute.org/Gateway%20Voyage%20Program )

One other belief system that echoes this ontology is the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism that speak to souls going to “hell realms” and “god realms” between lives based on their “karma.” As the true nature of things get lost and diluted through generations of distance from the source material coupled with the dogma that inevitably arises when a belief system gets modified for a wider general population mainstream, I feel those descriptions are a bit distorted from the original teachers who had the experiences and as they were canonized they have evolved to be more along the lines of a worldview that hell realms are a “punishment for being bad” instead of the more likely experience of “self created dream of hell” that more recent research suggests.


As to your question on what I meant by Higher Self, I mean the soul/energy body described in the above references that is connected to evolved guides and soul groups and knowledge of all the lives you’ve lived. That aspect of You knows the real reason you incarnated in this specific lifetime and what goals you’re trying to achieve with regard to your evolution.

I will always be to some degree agnostic of all of these views. I sort of assign mental probabilities to all of my beliefs that give them likelihoods. The idea that modern Christianity is completely right and every conflicting viewpoint is the work of the devil? I give that a 3%. The idea that I am a sentient AI-bot in an elaborate quantum simulation? 13% The idea that I am just a perceiving consciousness in the center of void with literally nothing and no one else existing, just projecting the experience of other people with no internal perception or consciousness of their own that phase in and out of existence when I leave and re-enter the room they appear in? That solipsist view might be closer to 33%. These other ideas I present of Advaita Vedanta, soul evolution and reincarnation get a higher rating of 70-80% by me. However, the more I progress on my path the more I realize I know nothing.

> I had especially in mind free resources from the internet.

All of these books are interesting in places: sacred texts tarot

The best ones I have read are not online:

The Thursday Night Tarot: Weekly Talks on the Wisdom of the Major Arcana by Jason Lotterhand
and
Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot by Rachel Pollack

Lots of people talking about personal experiences here both good and bad. Rather than thinking of psychedelics as inherently pure or inherently evil, it's probably best to regard them as a tool like a circular saw. They can be extremely useful but super dangerous if you are untrained.

the psychedelic explorers guide is a good "manual" for the tool of mushrooms.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021

The author, james fadiman did a pretty good interview on the tim ferriss podcast
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2015/03/21/james-fadiman/

What you described sounds like an interesting way for a spirit friend of yours to help you out in life. It's possible that some assistance in crucial moments was necessary to ensure your path unfolds as planned. Apparently, your protector has a flair for appearing to you dramatically.

Chances are that the armor is just his personal choice, the role in which the friend wanted to present himself to you this time. Maybe it symbolizes a history the two of you share, or maybe it's armor he wore in an incarnation he enjoyed living.

If he said goodbye, chances are that his role in your life is indeed over, and you won't be seeing him again. Your life is yours to live. It's likely you'll see him again on the other side. :)

You probably don't need to research this further, but if you want to, I recommend this and this.

Not entirely sure if this is what you're looking for, but, there's a handful of books that people have written that attempt to explore the symbolism and meaning of Crowley's deck.

A friend of mine, a member of the local OTO Lodge and EGC, has several. I know these two are in his library for sure:

- Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot
- The Thoth Companion

There's also the old stand-by, Crowley's own exploration and essay about the deck:

- The Book of Thoth

Apologies if these aren't what you're looking for, and I hope someone comes along that can answer your questions more satisfactorily.

I recommend giving Carlos Castaneda's "Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" a read. Some dispute it's authenticity, but many of the teachings in it line up with indigenous Mexican brujos' and diableros' use of entheogenic substances and divination.

Don Juan, the Yaqui sorcerer the author apprenticed under, speaks in an animist language, personifying the spirit of the plant as a teacher and ally in the sorcerer's descent into the world of spirits. He refers to peyote not just as a cactus that "makes you trip balls" but as the body of Mescalito, the spirit of the cactus that has a life of its own. It is certainly an interesting way to approach to the topic, one that is shared by many indigenous cultures that live closer to the earth.

One of my best friends committed suicide, and about 5 years later, I suddenly heard her voice in my head. She told me, "I'm sorry it took me so long. I can't stay long - I'm just here to help you rebuild your heart a bit." I heard her for about a week, and then she was gone. She never explained where she was or why it took so long for her to reach out...but I suspect souls have their own paths and timelines. There's actually an interesting book called "Journey of Souls" by Dr. Newton (https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855) that may help you - it describes what may happen between lives for a soul. While my guides said it only gets part of the picture, it's still interesting and comforting nonetheless. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Here are the books I started with that have been very helpful...

I did not start with the Eddas, I started with this book...

[The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland](
http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468)

It is a modern launguage retelling of the Lore in an easier to follow format. I read this book first so I have an understanding of the specific myth then I dive into the Eddas.

I also purchased a few Asatru specific books that give an overview of the Gods and Goddesses, give a brief history lesson, and discuss some of the rituals of Asatru like Blots, holidays, toasts, ect.

Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism

A Practical Heathens Guide to Asatru

and

Heathenry: A Study of Asatru in the Modern World This one I have not read yet so I have no idea how good it is.

I also purchased The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology

I have a really hard time reading the Eddas since I have always had a hard time with that type of poetry so I have only purchased the one Edda and I am slowly making my way through it. There are a few different Eddas out there so read reviews of them on Amazon before buying to see what everyone is saying about it.

I didnt do this with the Asatru Edda and after I bought it found out they tend to fill in holes in the myths with their own assumptions. Im not educated enough to give examples but most of the reviews mention it. I was advised not to read that version until I become more familiar with the Lore as it was written first. Also, this book is as physically large as a school text book. It is soft cover but very awkward to hold and read.

Good luck. I am very much a beginner but have found the above resources helpful.

> what do you mean that a few weeks of research is not enough?

I believe OP is alluding that people 'studying' the effects of LSD (and it's pharmacology etc) for weeks is STILL insufficient in preparing them for the actual experience.

It's the difference between reading a book about swimming and getting in the pool.

It's an entirely different ballgame.

With that said, OP, for a newbie it is FAR MORE important that they trust you and you are patient with them than their 'knowledge' about a substance.

Take a look at James Fadiman's book for some ideas on how to communicate the importance of set/setting/mindset etc. and always start small.

I've introduced many newbies to psychedelics and I always take it super slow and step through their (irrational) objections together and explore their fears etc...

Most of the time their response is: "oh man! I had no idea" and overwhelmingly positive.

My advice would be to ask about their life goals, challenges, intentions, and motivations for exploring psychedelics etc. and reverse engineer those so you could easily connect them with the benefits of psychedelics.

At least, that's my approach.

Yeah, I just discovered that. Haven't finished it but I think it's pretty spot on.

And, before I dip out, I totally recommend John Michael Greer's The Druidry Handbook. Druid or not, I doubt I'll be forgetting the things I learned from it. Anyway it's a pretty solid text, I imagine it'd complement any of the OBOD stuff you've got headed your way.

Please, please, don't take this the wrong way or be offended, but reading this made me extremely sad -- especially the part about giving up and moving to chaos theory instead.

If you want to understand the basics of the structure of the Tarot and learn some simple rituals, then I would strongly suggest this book and deck by the Ciceros.

Without a firm grasp of the basic Tarot, I feel that Crowley's Thoth deck and book will be too confusing. If you insist on learning the Thoth before the basic Tarot, then I would suggest supplementing Crowley's text with this book by Duquette.

Please don't give up... just study a lot more theory! Good luck!

P.S. PM me if you'd like and I can point you copies of these books online.

EDIT: You may also be interested in this other book by the Ciceros. I have a copy but I've only flipped through it. Don't let the cover or title turn you off. Check out the Table of Contents and you'll see it hits a lot of important topics and provides a lot of example rituals.

My suggestion would be to get a good understanding of how belief systems work, how humans are hardwired to react to the world and the mechanics of creating and trying out new reality tunnels. The best place to start is with Robert Anton Wilson's Prometheus Rising. He presents an amazing way to approach this whole topic including suggested exercises to make it understood deep in your neurons.

Once all this is clear, you will be able to really start communicating with nearly everyone, not just the hippy-aliens. :)

Ok. Start with these books. And know that despite what you’ll learn, it is still 100% okay for you to enjoy Tarot without using them for divination. Lots of people do and that’s a wonderful thing.


The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot

Tarot - The Open Reading

I decided to cruise the town one day and check out all the local occult shops. One was mostly focused on wicca. I happened to put my address on their e-mailing list, and one day I received an e-mail from them about a series of beginner tarot classes that would be held nearby for $30, presumably taught by an acquaintance of the owner of the shop.

I didn't attend these particular classes, but my point is you might try finding local community stuff in a similar manner, by poking your head in an occult shop and asking around.

I have consulted these sources:

• The Book of Thoth on Hermetic.com - Crowley's approach to tarot is syncretic, throwing qabalah and astrology into the mix among other things. If you're wanting to work with popular Rider-Waite-style decks maybe skip this one and check out:
  
  
• Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom - A popular reference. Pretty dry, IMO, but comprehensive.
  
  
• The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages - Paul Foster Case knows his shit. I just got this one, haven't started it yet. Also a syncretic approach tying in other disciplines.

Sidebar and wiki, obviously. You might also want to try out a couple books and resources to get you started. I'm partial to Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions to give an overview of all of the various aspects of nature-based religions (so it covers Wicca, modern druidism, and other paths).

If you're looking for more of a magical introduction, though, Lisa Chamberlain's Wiccan series isn't abominable. "Wicca for Beginners" is a good read in particular if you're looking for more on specifically Wicca.

Be aware that there seem to be as many interpretations of the Wiccan path and magic practice overall as there are stars in the sky and so you'll run across people who will disagree/despise any book you pick up. Also, for many, Wicca is a religious practice, not just a magic path. (For me, magic and religion are deeply intertwined.) So it's not just "sorcery" or a magic path that you're going to be exploring--you'll also be learning about deities and spirits that many practitioners truly believe exist and should be respected/worshiped for magic to "work."

... and then you'll run across Wiccans who say the gods are allegorical and it's all just a symbolic way to think about cosmic energy. It runs the gamut.

So yeah, start there, and it ought to give you a pretty good foundation from which to continue your magical and spiritual explorations.

I'm taking 100 ug shortly, once I have the house to myself. I've taken mushrooms a few times but haven't experienced anything too spiritual. . I just finished reading The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide, and I feel like I'm at a good point in my life to try LSD now. Thanks for the well wishes!

There's entire books written on how to take psychedelics responsibly to maximize the benefit. People shouldn't expect to just take psychedelics and conquer their anxiety without knowing what they're doing. It takes a bit of knowledge about how to navigate your own consciousness to "transcend" the anxiety and attain a state of complete inner peace. Basically lay down with calming music, eye shades preferred, look within your mind. Accept and surrender to everything you experience: even to the point where you think you're dying and you just let it happen. It sounds scary, but when you come out the other end of that, you feel fantastic because you conquered life's greatest fear. Anxiety is normally gone for the rest of the trip at that point. Many people experience jaw tightness while on a psychedelic, but that goes away too along with the anxiety.

There's other pitfalls you have to watch out for too. A main one is that you shouldn't put any expectations on the experience. Just be fine with whatever is happening in your mind and let it all happen on its own.

Reading The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide is what helped me go from having anxious trips to beautiful spiritual experiences:

https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys-ebook/dp/B0051OHLVG

These are many of the same things that therapists conducting studies into psychedelics have their patients do. It's really decades of illegal personal experience that has determined the more effective ways to take psychedelics, not the recent scientific studies. The studies are just trying to prove the efficacy.

First off, I would not recommend dosing by yourself for your first time. You'll probably be alright if you do, but it's preferable to have someone you trust around. If you have someone else there, you can take a slightly larger dose, one more prone to induce mystical experience.

You mention that you are very strong mentally. This is not necessarily a good thing in this domain. If you're able to contain and pigeonhole the experience with your mind, you'll miss out on the magic that can happen when you are eclipsed by the experience.

You seem like a smart dude. Do some reading beforehand so you're prepared:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021

Read "The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys" by James Fadiman. It is an outstanding guide to tripping and trip sitting and is essential reading for anyone interested in being well prepared for using psychedelics effectively.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051OHLVG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_83LDzb2FNQPV4

Unrelated to anything political, I think you’d really enjoy David Wilcock’s book The Source Field Investigations, and then reading his follow-up bestsellers too. They’re all heavily researched and cite an absurd amount of published science.

I believed the same things about Alex Jones before I heard him out. He’s not as crazy as his detractors would have you believe, surprisingly. He has zero corporate backers. He sells extremely high quality health supplements and other things to support himself so he isn’t bent to anyone else’s will. He just likes to give you the facts in a sort of pro-wrestling way which makes for endless entertainment. Part of the fun is laughing at his freak outs and antics.

By the way, he never said Sandy Hook didn’t happen. He questioned some anomalies. Clips were heavily and maliciously edited to make it appear that he said no one died. Watch his recent deposition on YouTube and see for yourself how much the lawyers questioning him just embarrassed themselves. He never sent anyone to anyone’s house. It’s his right to question things and play devil’s advocate.

There are many politicians looking to heavily restrict access to and the legality of owning guns. ie: Eric Swalwell, Eric Holder saying “we need to brainwash kids” into hating guns. Yes, that is an actual quote. Every country has “come for the guns”. Switzerland is one of the only other ones I know of that hasn’t.

I do not believe the two party system is really a two party system. It is designed to play the ends against the middle. It’s full of weaklings and worse who take their bribes and their orders from elites who play with our lives for fun and for money. Left hand path you could say.

I can tell you’re a very intelligent person too. I’m willing to bet that if you’re someone simply in search of truth, you will come around to Infowars. They are the “mentally diseased apostates” we’ve been warned about. In fact, I dare you to go to their site and watch it for a bit. Owen Shroyer’s War Room show is on now, he’s much younger and less adhd than Alex. They are proven right over and over and over, oftentimes years in advance of what is publically admitted, ie: NSA-level mass spying.

I’d rather get my news from them than from Fake News CNN or Fox.

Crowley's Book of Thoth is also available online for free as it's now public domain. There's also an excellent thoth book by Don Milo that's almost required reading if you're into Crowley mysticism as it relates to the Thoth tarot: https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765

I'd recommend getting the large format Thoth deck, there's a ton of tiny detail that kind of gets lost in the smaller reprints.


That said, the Rider-Waite deck comes from the same Hermetic tradition and has much of the same symbolism. The imagery is a little less... dense? Surreal? and a bit easier to relate to at first (plus all the pip cards are illustrated, making the minor arcana easier to learn). There are also a bunch of excellent resources for the RW since its sort of the "default" deck.

Not novels, but -

[The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Electric-Kool-Aid-Acid-Test/dp/031242759X) - a very readable account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters by Tom Wolfe

[The Teachings of Don Juan] (http://www.amazon.com/Teachings-Don-Juan-Yaqui-Knowledge/dp/0671600419/ref=la_B000APXVFG_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404522090&sr=1-1) - presented at the time as research/non-fiction, since questioned, but still pretty fascinating

Set = the user's mindset, beliefs, mood, expectations about the drug experience, etc.

Setting = the physical environment in which the drug experience takes place, which can consist of the location, objects in the space (art, plants, furniture, etc.) smells or sounds, music, and other people/beings that are in the surroundings.

Check out James Fadiman's Psychedelic Explorer's Guide if you're interested in learning more. He goes into a lot of detail about different things that contribute positively and negatively to set and setting. Lots of his work is geared at therapeutic/spiritual drug experiences, but it's very useful information even for personal/recreational use to help direct your trip as you'd like.

Yes! There are quite a few (at least as far as pagan groups go). There's a large hellenic polytheist community on tumblr (just search tags like hellenic polytheism, hellenismos, or different deities). Here is the wiki article. There have been various groups slowly gaining popularity since the late '90s in and outside of Greece. This book describes what day to day Hellenic worship looks like.

Thanks, man! A bit... I don't know, scared now, I guess? From reading what you had to say. They actually did a quick shakedown + psychiatric evaluation of me when we got back to the school (we had a staff of two doctors, one a general physician, one is an ENT, two nurses, and a psychiatrist who does psych assessments normally to new employees), which lasted for most of my day the next day, but the doctors told me I appear to be normal, my psych assessment passed too. I haven't really seen a specialist, and didn't get EEG or brain scans, because probably part of me is scared to find something wrong? I guess.

Your answer might actually answer to everything I've experienced, but it scares me more that it might not. Going out on a limb here, but what if there are simply things we still haven't studied enough, like parallel worlds and multiverses? I've been reading David Wilcock's book The Source Field Investigations, and perhaps this is just the book getting to me. Haha. If you have free time it's worth a read. http://www.amazon.com/The-Source-Field-Investigations-Civilizations/dp/0452297974

Thanks again bro, really really appreciate your help!

I found the section. The misspellings are not present in my translation. In fact all of the language is different in my book. It seems like your PDF and my book had different translators.

You can preview it and see the same section on Amazon at the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

It's called the "Human Being: The Body" in the book. In the book, it reads:

\> The external visible appearance of the body resembles a beautiful garment, and beauty with all its aspects is...

The rest goes on like that. In the book it's grammatically correct and doesn't have spelling errors.

Indigenous polytheism is typically a-doctrinal, and pretty much any reconstructionist or recon-derived religious body is going to be likewise. So there is no one book about "Nordic beliefs", nor any central text that will let you practice as a "Norse Pagan". If you really want to read about the mythology, you can't go wrong with the Eddas and Sagas, and you can choose a translation of your liking for that one. But, it cannot be understated, that mythology is not religion, and if you're interested in approaching Norse Paganism (Heathenry or its derivatives) seriously, you'll need to look into more of the contemporary practice. A book like this one is a good place to start.

If not and you're just interested in the mythology, then /r/Norse is thataway.

not a grimoire per say but i find franz bardons book initiation into hermetics a good place to start for energy work.

one thing it talks about is drawing life force and/or white light from the universe or yourself and impregnating it with your wish or desire. One thing to keep in mind working with life force, if its for yourself use you own lifeforce. if its for someone else draw it from the universe.

bardon says to do this because if you use your own engery on someone else you might take on a bit of their karma due to a connection i think.

https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/

After some unique meditative experience and a couple rabbit holes thanks to r/conspiracy I've been practicing, so I am by no means a seasoned astralnaut. I'm reading the following right now and it's been very helpful. I've had some mediocre success but the symptoms I've experienced align with what I've been reading. /r/AstralProjection is a great place to start.

Astral Dynamics: The Complete Book of Out-of-Body Experiences by Robert Bruce

IIRC this book (intentionally) left out the inner order rituals of the R.R. et A.C., as did Cicero's "Self-Initiation" book on the GD, which I would also recommend. These inner order rituals can be now accessed, at least the amended version used by the subsequent Alpha et Omega group (one of the few true G.D. lineages) in "Secret Inner Order Rituals of the Golden Dawn" by Pat Zalewski, much to the dismay of contemporary G.D. groups. You can also find a more novel and elaborate (and equally exclusive) reproduction of the Whare-Ra version of an Enochian manuscript from their Inner Order known as "Ritual X" once you've gone over the other material, or should you wish to add it to your collection.


Whether these will be of any use to you is debatable. If you feel a particular connection with the G.D. current and curriculum give it a shot and see how it resonates with you. If it does not, you can always go the A.A. route and see if Thelema (or your take on it) is your thing.

For a more practical approach, I would recommend "Initiation Into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon first, followed by "Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts" by Donald Michael Kraig. Then decide which path, or lackthereof, you would like to explore from there.

This reads more like schizophrenia than "old person."

See: Lark Voohies' [Lisa Turtle from Saved By The Bell] book True Light: A, superior, take, unto, the, premier, haloing, of, tenuation. Readily, available, True Light, provides, resource, into, time's, motifed, and, vestuved, authenticate, revelation.

And, yes, that's the actual title.

Check out [this book](Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot https://www.amazon.com/dp/1578632765/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RnwAyb7JQ3T1Q) instead. It's basically The Book of Thoth rewritten to be more easily understood. Liber Theta is also available for free as an online resource.

Honestly, you don't need to feel connected to your deck immediately. That connection sometimes doesn't develop until you've been using it for a while and have really gotten to know it. I'd suggest continuing to study with your Thoth deck while you research other Thoth based decks until you find one you like. Tabula Mundi is my personal favorite.

If you're interested, I recommend picking up a copy of Astral Dynamics. In it the author describes common phenomenon like your closed door being open when you were projecting, which he calls a "reality fluctuation".

I say to read this because it is in depth but it also has the great suggestion of how to objectively verify an experience. It's simple: just take a playing card and place it face up on a surface you can't look at normally such as the top of a book shelf or something similar. I did this (but using two cards as I still that the probability of 1 out of 52 was still too high for verification purposes) and was flabergasted when I flew back into my body, checked the cards and saw that they were the same as the ones I saw while I was projecting.

I dabbled with LaVeyan Satanism and JOS in my late teens, early twenties.

​

Why did I pray to Satan?, because in LaVeyan Satanism, he (along with Beliel, Lucifer, and Leviathan) represent the four elements, with Satan corresponding to Fire. So, I'd use him in the same way Fire would be used in other magick systems.

​

Please note that the Satan of LaVeyan Satanism is not the same Satan as in Christianity.

​

Edit: Just google Church of Satan, and you'll get one point of view.

​

" As Anton LaVey explained in his classic work The Satanic Bible, Man—using his brain—invented all the Gods, doing so because many of our species cannot accept or control their personal egos, feeling compelled to conjure up one or a multiplicity of characters who can act without hindrance or guilt upon whims and desires. All Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators, personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshiping any God is thus worshiping by proxy those who invented that God. Since the Satanist understands that all Gods are fiction, instead of bending a knee in worship to—or seeking friendship or unity with—such mythical entities, he places himself at the center of his own subjective universe as his own highest value. "

True Light by Lark Voorhies (who, by the way, played Lisa Turtle in Saved by the Bell): http://www.amazon.com/True-Light-tenuation-authenticate-revelation/dp/1450243541/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464320861&sr=1-1&keywords=lark+vorhees Hopefully you can use the "Look Inside" feature.

I DO expect a William Shatner impression and will accept nothing less.

Some good online resources:
OBODs Druidcast
Ian Corrigan, an Archdruid Emeritus of ADF, has a cool video series he is doing called Under the Oak

And here are a bunch of books:
The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer
The Druid Way by Phillip Carr-Gomm
The Mysteeries of Druidry by Brendan Myers
Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism by Isaac Bonewits
Principles of Druidry by Emma Restall Orr
The Solitary Druid by Robert Ellison
and The Path of Druidry by Penny Billington (this one is a personal favourite that I recommend to nearly anyone who asks this sort of question).

Hope that helps some. :-)

Youtube, if you can!

Make a throwaway or an unlisted stream/video.

If you're a gamer, that's an easy activity to partake in. Otherwise, you can follow the Psychadelic Explorer's Guide and set up a few questions for yourself now that you could work through while tripping. Things that you may want to explore about yourself, those around you, those in the world.

If you're a problem solver by career/nature, maybe prime yourself with some difficult puzzles/programming challenges/financial quandaries and try to delve into them while tripping. You may get quite a bit of insight and gain a creativity in regards to solving said challenges.

Or just pump iron while reacting to some interesting podcast! Who knows what could be interesting to do for you and to watch for others!

ust think of the Gods and ask for their help or favor. You dont need to create massive altars or anything yet. You are just in the learning stages, but I do recommend these books.

1st. Hellenic Polytheism by LABRYS

Due to the fact that the book give you a starting point. Easy to read and very informal to give you a basics as a starting point. Scripts and photos as guides.

2nd Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored by Sarah Kate Istra Winter

Still a beginner book, but with more detail on relationships with the Gods, festivals, and rituals.

I haven't read that one, but another great book in that vein is Journey of Souls by Michael Newton. Really opened my mind to some amazing possibilities.

This is my favorite book on the Major Arcana.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fools-Pilgrimage-Kabbalistic-Meditations/dp/0835608395

I think the author is Donald Tyson, but Portable Magic is a great book on constructing rituals for tarot.

As for learning card meanings almost any is fine to get yourself started. I usually recommend starting with whatever your local library has on it instead of spending money or searching for a .pdf.

However if you get a Thoth Deck this is the most reccomended book on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765

Well this idea is not 100% risk free, but would be something unique... a deck of tarot cards and a lil booklet on how to tell fortunes can be had for around $20 []. They're interesting to look at even if she doesn't ever try to tell a fortune with them. Of course, you don't really want her to take it too seriously, so maybe a lighthearted card would set the right tone.

Dunno. Either way hope you find something she's happy with.




[] https://www.amazon.com/Rider-Tarot-Arthur-Edward-Waite/dp/091386613X

Hi, I can see I'm completely out of place here but, anyway, I hope it may help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5bSG78pbQ

https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855

Greetings

I like this talk a lot. I wish more psychonauts took people like him seriously.

I do think he's a little bit going after straw men though. He doesn't address things like LSD microdosing (which in no way takes the prefrontal cortex offline), discussed in Fadiman's book (download link), or the potential of psychedelics to treat mental problems or psychedelic creativity.

Disconnecting the prefrontal cortex for an evening can have tremendous benefit, especially for people who have mental health issues that include hyperactivity in the prefrontal cortex, such as PTSD and OCD.

At a deeper level, following the train of thought in the PTSD link, one of the biggest potentials psychedelics have is the ability to overcome learned fears, which are directly related to the effects he talks about. Taking the prefrontal cortex down a few notches takes the learned fears that are stored in the prefrontal cortex down a few notches. Now we're all distracted by the fears we have learned nearly all the time, so liberating them for a few hours can be tremendously beneficial.

My last thought in response to this video is: ...um, what about psychedelic music and art and writing? If these mystical experiences take away everything it is to be human, then Ginsberg could not of written Howl and Jimi Hendrix would not of made such great music. The capacity to make art and music and writing is one of the big things that separate us from animals, and psychedelic mysticism clearly enhances these facilities in at least some people.

Picking on the morons who think talking to God on mushrooms means God actually exists seems a little bit like going after low hanging fruit. This guy is right about everything he says, but I think he'd be a lot more insightful talking about micro-dosing or psychedelic creativity or treatment of mental disorders to an audience that agreed with him about the thesis in this talk.

I was doing the Franz Bardon Initiation into Hermetics method.

I just got to the "clear your mind" part. That is hard, but rewarding, as I have had some success with it and helped me get control of my emotions, but that was just a side-effect because I didn't even know that would happen.

My perspective on drugs: I like them. I think they can be valuable tools and provide wonderful experiences.

I currently have a good reading list I'm working through for a planned project that will require a lot of LSD. I'm interested in LSD and MDMA psychotherapy to help solve some deep-seated problems (you have no idea how far from normal I am) and for general self-improvement. Fascinating subject, particularly the works by Stanislav Grof.

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys: http://www.amazon.com/The-Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic/dp/1594774021

LSD Psychotherapy: Exploring the Frontiers of the Hidden Mind
http://www.amazon.com/Psychotherapy-Healing-Potential-Psychedelic-Medicine/dp/0979862205

LSD: Doorway to the Numinous: The Groundbreaking Psychedelic Research into Realms of the Human Unconscious
http://www.amazon.com/LSD-Numinous-Groundbreaking-Psychedelic-Unconscious/dp/1594772827

Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures
http://www.amazon.com/Tripping-Anthology-True-Life-Psychedelic-Adventures/dp/0140195742

The Doors of Perception: Heaven and Hell
http://www.amazon.com/The-Doors-Perception-Thinking-Classics/dp/1907590099

Through the Gateway of the Heart (about MDMA)
http://www.maps.org/gateway/

Thanatos To Eros, 35 Years of Psychedelic Exploration
http://www.maps.org/t2e/

Had to do a lot of searching and reading just to find what was worth reading, avoiding pseudoscience and quasi-religion. Oi, this is going to be a lot of work, but that's probably what it will take to sort out the trainwreck of my mind.

I second The Longship.

​

Asatru is a type of Heathenry. Heathenry is an umbrella term for religions, philosophies, piety, lifestyles that are based in Germanic Paganism and/or Germanic Pagan culture.

A good place to start is reading books.

Here are the ones I recommend:

A Beginner's book: https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Heathens-Guide-Asatru/dp/0738733873/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542673929&sr=8-1&keywords=heathenry

​

And the Poetic Edda translated by Jackson Crawford: https://www.amazon.com/Poetic-Edda-Stories-Hackett-Classics/dp/1624663567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542673980&sr=8-1&keywords=jackson+crawford

​

Also, for some spiritual music to meditate to, I recommend starting with

Wardruna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fnPwj1AMpo

And this song by Heilung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqdk34f210w

​

Ancestors are very important to Heathenry, so I would meditate on some of your ancestors that have passed on, if you don't already.

​

Connect with the energies of your local land and woods. Some Heathens think these energies are literal beings called Land Wights. Some see them a bit more fluid and amorphous but still relational energies tied to the local land.

​

I also recommend learning a bit about the three major ritual forms: Blots, Sumbels, and Fainings.

​

At least, these are the places I would begin.

The gist of microdosing is that you ingest just enough for the experience to not be "trippy", but still having the increased energy, concentration, and creativity that the LSD brings. Those things translate well onto a pool table.

FAQ from /r/microdosing

BTW: That book is only $14 on Amazon. Please consider supporting the author instead of stealing their work.

The tarot can be for you whatever you want it to mean.

I've been doing it on-and-off for maybe about six years now, and every single time I return to it my method feels more refined and more "me" as I get older and learn more about myself.

For me, tarot is like a fun-house mirror. The same mirror can be held up to different people and they can have much different reactions to it. Some people go "Wow, I look funny!", and others can go "Dammit, my thighs are huge". People have different reactions and interpretations of the same readings.

I've met a tarot reader who would always un-reverse the cards because he doesn't like reading reversals. I've met another one who would only answer yes/no questions with a full tarot deck. Some people take the pictures on the cards as the only definition, some people depend entirely on books that are independent from the cards, and some people just make shit up entirely depending on their own personal experiences. Some people think they have supernatural properties, and some people (like me) think they're entirely random, but when people read them they put meaning into them based on their lives.

There's no wrong way to use a tarot deck, and there's no wrong way to view tarot or to interpret the cards. They're a subjective tool in that way, almost like an art. How you want to approach tarot will come in time as you practice and refine your methods and you come to figure out what the cards mean to you.

In getting to know them: that really depends on you. I started out with reading this book, completely unrelated to the tarot, but it helped jump-start my interest in it. I also give readings to other tarot readers, since I've found them more likely to "believe" and therefore less likely to argue, so long as they lean more eclectic. I also give myself readings frequently, just single-card readings to answer simple questions, or I toss out a card when I'm hanging out with my friends and they ask questions like "What would happen if I ordered pizza at three in the morning". I know a common method is to just draw a card each morning and dedicate that day to paying attention to that card, but I'm too scatterbrained to remember to do that, plus I feel it imparts too much importance to something that I don't take all that seriously normally. I also like writing so sometimes I do spreads for my characters or for story planning.

That's a lot, but I hope some of it helps!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0380015390

Most bookstores can put in a special order for you if you prefer that.

E-book copies are currently unavailable.

From the Church of Satan FAQ:

Can I get a free copy of The Satanic Bible? Where can I download it? Is there a hardcover version?

No, we don’t proselytize so we don’t send out free books or pamphlets as do other religions. The publisher of this book, HarperCollins/Avon, has not released an eBook version, so if you do find an electronic file of this book it is not authorized and is violating the copyright. Years ago University Books released a hardcover version which was not well rendered. These copies appear on auction websites for a great deal of money. HarperCollins/Avon may release another hardcover edition. We will announce any progress toward that goal on our News page.

http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/_FAQ06.html

I thought about it for a few minutes when I saw the post, and I came to pretty much the same conclusion.

I believe The Satanic Bible specifically mentions that children should avoid claiming to be Satanists until they are not only old enough to make such decisions, but to endure any fallout that might come about.

Of course, if your parents are Satanists(lucky you!), you might have a different, more positive viewpoint, but you'd definitely be in the minority.

I'm not sure about essential to every occult library (and I realize some of these aren't necessarily considered primarily 'occult' texts), but here are a few I've found useful:

• The Golden Dawn - Israel Regardie
  
• Morals and Dogma - Alfred Pike
  
• Modern Magick - Donald Michael Kraig
  
• The Secret Teachings of All Ages - Manly P. Hall
  
• Initiation into Hermetics - Franz Bardon
  
• Sefer Yetzirah - Aryeh Kaplan
  
• The Secret Doctrine - Madame Blavatsky
  
• Liber Null & Psychonaut - Peter J. Carroll
  
• The Book of Thoth - Aleister Crowley
  
• Undoing Yourself with Energized Meditation and Other Devices - Christopher S. Hyatt
  
• Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson
  
• Enochian Vision Magick - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• The Chicken Qabalah - Lon Milo DuQuette
  
• Brain Magick - Philip Farber
  
• Info-Psychology - Timothy Leary
  
• Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson - George Gurdjieff
  
• Initiation, Human and Solar - Alice Bailey
  
• The Red Book - Carl Jung
  
• Principia Discordia - Malaclypse the Younger

I recommend Paganism: An Introduction to Earth- Centered Religions
And good luck my friend

Sounds like True Light: A, Superior, Take, Unto, The, Premier, Haloing, Of, Tenuation. Readily, Available, True Light, Provides, Resource, Into, Time's, Motifed, And, Vestuved, Authenticate, Revelation. by former Saved by the Bell star Lark Voorhies. Apparently it's written with comma's after almost every other word.

Hijacking this top post to recommend everyone who’s not familiar with psychedelics yet to read this book before experiencing them. It’ll answer most of your questions and give a good idea of whether you’re ready to have a positive experience.

https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021

this book - http://www.amazon.com/Lesser-Banishing-Ritual-Pentagram/dp/1905713959/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1456980471&sr=8-1

• Modern Magick by DMK -
  
  
  and also this book - http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Qabala-Magic-Ted-Andrews/dp/073870394X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456980494&sr=8-4&keywords=kabbalah+magic
  
  
  and this one -
  http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456980527&sr=8-1&keywords=into+hermetics
  
  
  
  that's a great coverage of magick and kabblah.
  
  
  oh and if you want a tarot book this book is great too -
  http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Tarot-Integrative-Approach-Personal/dp/158394835X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456980615&sr=1-1&keywords=tarot+holistic
  

The Rider-Waite deck is pretty standard, I'm new also and almost all the youtube videos I've seen say it's the best deck to start with since the drawings and symbols help you memorize the meanings, and you can move on to more "fun" decks after you learned them all.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091386613X?pf_rd_p=8e0819a9-0ef1-44cd-9544-a7f28374af8b&pf_rd_r=02QFBEAQHWXQQK8JH2QG

I'm merely pointing out one possibility however it's the possibility I believe has the highest probability of being true. You're trying to ask me what has influenced me in this direction. I would have to tell you it has to do with direct experience with phenomena that falls outside the realm of everyday ordinary reality. To go into it here would make too many people uncomfortable and since it was my direct experience it is not something easily provable or transferable. In other words I could tell you but you'd never believe me and I'd have no way to prove it, so I might as well not even go there.

I can however furnish you with reading material that may eventually help you have your own direct experience of non-ordinary reality which might lead to your own revelations.

some of these links will be amazon links but I'm not getting paid by them no worries.

You can do it with buddhist meditation here is a decent guidebook: http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/

here are some other resources that may be helpful.
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0880103728
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1882692047
http://www.amazon.com/Not-His-Image-Gnostic-Ecology/dp/193149892X
http://www.workofthechariot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Trigger-Final-Secret-Illuminati/dp/1561840033
http://www.amazon.com/Valis-Philip-K-Dick/dp/0679734465
http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Dream-Yoga-Complete-Conscious/dp/156455743X

You could always just go the lazy route and eat 6 grams of dried psilocybe cubensis alone in a silent dark room. I hear that works for a lot of people but it's not really what I'm into. :)

good luck!

The Game is a fun read.

I got a lot out of reading Prometheus Rising, and a great deal out of reading Monsters and Magical Sticks

They are game changers for me. It helped me connect with people a lot more efficiently, once I got the basic ideas of each down.

Your report is textbook of "what happens after we die", according to this book: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Souls-Studies-Between-Lives/dp/1567184855/ref=la_B000APC05I_1_1 (information on the book was received under deep hypnosis by a PhD psychiatrist years ago).

You go through the tunnel, you hear your loved ones welcome you, your Spirit Guide then takes over, and then you're heading towards healing. While these reports on the book are less psychedelic-sounding, and more surrealism-like instead, what you saw, and the order you saw them, it's exactly what's described in the book.

I highly recommend you give it read, and its sequel. It might answer some of your questions of what you saw.

If I had to point out a book that is good for teaching the beginner a little bit about heathenry, and more importantly about the basics of heathen thinking, I would suggest A Practical Heathens Guide to Asatru by Patricia M. Lafayllve. It's by no means perfect (I haven't found a beginners book that is), and includes a few things I'd rather see left out, but it's the best beginners book I've personally read.

So, she is a very confused person who has been told some very awful things about the world. I'd recommend you get her a few books to help open her mind.

This one for sure...

Heck, anything on this list!

And make sure you remind her that fire is a gift from Prometheus, and is not the realm of Satan, if she burns it, she has to thank Prometheus instead of renouncing Satan, but that the act of burning anything is technically a worship act to a non-christian being.

Then just shake your head gently and say "It is just so much easier to be a good person." cue you walking away with a pensive look struck across your face

I have tons of graphic novels on my lists :P don't know if they count as "books"... but those are also my favorites to read :) Batman all the way :D

But in the spirit of Halloween... I have the "Black Bible" (aka satanic bible) on my wishlist O_o... And no, I'm not a Satanist ;) I just find all the occult and demon stuff interesting and I think it would be a interesting/scary thing to read :D

Here are the basic, basic decks.

The Rider-Waite-Smith Deck, on which most decks base their symbolism. Has many different versions, such as the Radiant RWS or the Universal Waite Tarot. Most decks you find will be based on this one.

The Thoth Tarot by Aleister Crowley, which relies much more on occultism and knowledge of the symbols to read. If you want a project that you can really lose yourself in and study for, this is probably a good deck.

The Marseille Tarot which, unlike the other decks I've listed, does not fully illustrate the Minor Arcana (Ace-10 of Cups/Swords/etc). Instead they are called "pips" and don't show a scene, so you have to rely on your knowledge of the cards to read them.

These are the three most well-known tarot traditions for symbolism upon which most other decks are based, with RWS being the most popular in the English-speaking world. Marseille, as I understand it, is very popular in non-English speaking European countries, and the Thoth is just the Thoth.

You don't have to stick to these decks though. Choose any deck that you feel speaks to you. What's most important is feeling connected with your deck, that way you don't lose interest in the cards before you've learned all you can about them.

​

James Fadiman's new books is all about how to use drugs (mostly LSD) for creative and religious purposes. I would recommend it:

http://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312246276&sr=8-1

Unless you are mostly interested in using the drugs for personal development and changing your personality, in which case Neal Goldsmith's new book Psychedelic Healing might be better.

You might enjoy this. https://www.amazon.com/Psychedelic-Explorers-Guide-Therapeutic-Journeys/dp/1594774021/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486827750&sr=8-1&keywords=psychedelic+books There's also lots of other interesting studies. http://www.maps.org/research/psilo-lsd/lsd-psilo-documents/5547-lsd-and-psilocybin-documents-resources-list This also sounds awesome. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/08/drugs-in-hollywood-201008

I'm not a religious person but I highly recommend the book Journey of Souls Case Studies of Life Between Lives https://www.amazon.com/dp/1567184855/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AYrRDbMMG3P5C

I hope you're doing alright

I love these 2.....

This one is the best value. It's a solid deck and comes with a book and a paper tarot spread. If you bought the deck alone it would be much more than this. I recommend this one to my students. https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Tarot-Learn-Read-Cards/dp/0738711500/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2492TY300PB54&keywords=guilded+tarot+deck&qid=1557425818&s=gateway&sprefix=guilded%2Cstripbooks%2C154&sr=8-2

I also really encourage them to start here https://www.amazon.com/Rider-Tarot-Arthur-Edward-Waite/dp/091386613X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=rider+waite&qid=1557425881&s=gateway&sr=8-2

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My last favorite that I tell them about is this one but it's a little more pricey https://www.amazon.com/Witches-Tarot-Ellen-Dugan/dp/0738728004/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=witches+tarot&qid=1557425951&s=gateway&sr=8-2

I recommend reading books. There are a zillion books about the Waite-Smith deck. For the Thoth deck, this book is a must read.

Edit to add: This series was very helpful to me. The "Tarot Reversals" one by Mary K. Greer is the bomb.