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<<<IF YOU DECIDE TO DO BLOOD OFFERING
BE VERY CAREFUL. >>>

Read this link: https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/cuts-or-lacerations-treatment

I recommend don’t do it, but if you are going to do something dangerous at least practice safety.

It’s extremely easy to accidentally go to deep and then panic. Please have your phone ready, first aid kit ready and a calm head about you. I’m sorry to be a dad about this but I have two little girls that have softened me.

This stone was placed in Reed City, Michigan. This is my twenty-second placed stone in the United States. See my history for the others, placed in different states.
I’m an over the road trucker (Semi Truck) so this is how I’m able to travel quickly.

Two people were involved in calling child protective services on my wife while I’m away traveling. My wife is a stay at home mother who has cancer. The two people spread vicious rumors that I had abandoned my wife and children, called Child Protective Services, and then claimed they were going to personally adopt our children.

1. The 33 days to completely neutralize the two individuals involved are up. The one who was close friends with my wife lost her job. She was later seen mowing her own and her neighbors yards to have her rent reduced by her landlord.
   The second individual involved deleted her Facebook, reported to mutual friends that she was “backing down from her CPS threat” and was now “scared”.
   After completing this 33 Stone Ritual I will be solely focusing on mass healing rituals for my wife and putting this specific retribution ritual behind me. I don’t believe I will be doing revenge rituals again.
   
   
2. I’m using sharpie to draw King Paimon’s sigil on a palm size stone that I find at or near the location. This is a show of appreciation for King Paimon who’s gone out of his way for me.
   
   
3. How did I evoke King Paimon?.... I meditated into gnosis and called upon King Paimon, I do not use physical means of doing so. This is just MY method. I commented this to a fellow Redditor:
   My wife called me sobbing while I was it of town for traveling. She told me everything that was happening. After we got done talking I went into a rage where I I wanted to hurt someone. I don’t remember ever being that angry but I laid down and just meditated. I eventually called on King Paimon begging for help. This ritual flashed into my head, along with the number 3.
   I added 33 stones in 33 States to go big and I wanted plenty of time to do it, so 333 days. It just felt right.
   So I just focused all of my energy on these two people involved. I asked for them to be tormented, suck their health and energy and give it to my wife as retribution.
   
   
4. If you think this is going to disrupt your own magical practices by me placing these sigilized stones in your neck of the woods then place your own and fight back. I’m not going to stop until this is done. And I have more rituals planned after that which will span the entire country. There are quite a few magicians talking and acting witchy, but only a handful doing something. Are you a magician or just a bum who shares edgy witchy memes?
   
   
5. Why King Paimon? ....I chose King Paimon because he’s the most powerful entity I’ve been working with for the longest and he’s been patient and understanding with me. You go to those you know when you have a big favor.
   
   
6. What are the basics or how to summon entities?...
   I am not an expert. I’m an eclectic magician that uses what works and tosses what doesn’t. This ritual works for me, it might not for you. If you are a beginner you need to get your basics down. You wouldn’t make a paper airplane then suddenly decide you’re ready to fly fighter jets. Please for your safety read the basics.
   But here is a very basic appetizer to give you a little edge to the machete that you’ll need to carve your own path in the jungle that is occult information:
   
   Start here: This is an easy comic to give you the basics and get your feet wet.
   
   https://www.deviantart.com/bluefluke/art/The-Psychonaut-Field-Manual-FOURTH-PDF-EDITION-530005584
   
   The Last Podcast on the Left
   (a podcast... hail yourselves....) has episodes on the occult, the right hand path, the left hand path, chaos magic, Aleister Crowley, and a few others I’m forgetting, it’s beginner friendly. And it’s hilarious.
   
   This is kind of a text book that you can follow if you want a thelemic approach.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0970449607?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2
   
   Also I recommend Gems of the equinox.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1578634172?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2
   
   This is very beginner friendly and highly recommended:
   https://www.amazon.com/Prometheus-Rising-Robert-Anton-Wilson/dp/0692710604
   
   This is a fantastic meditation app, free, and very beginner friendly.
   https://www.insighttimer.com/meditation-app
   
   I also use Cryo Chamber records to put myself into the setting I need:
   http://www.cryochamberlabel.com/allreleases/?a=776
   It’s ambient sounds like space, polar wastelands, lovecraftian beings in the middle of the ocean. Very good stuff. And most can be found on YouTube.
   
   **
   
   I do not recommend summoning powerful entities without first summoning “safer” beings such as ancestral spirits, but you are going to do what you want. I did. And it’s worked for me. But PROTECT yourself.
   
   You need to get meditation and focus down pat. I’d recommend evoking an ancestor first since they should have your best interests. Then moving onto other entities.
   The Goetia can be friendly, indifferent, malevolent, or simply plain alien. (Think lovecraftian incompressible)
   I know King Paimon and Duke Bune are friendly to beginners, overly patient and open as long as you recognize their rank, are humble and respectful.
   This doesn’t mean try to enslave them. That’s not going to work out great for you. What would happen if you blackmailed a powerful head of state of a country? It’d annoy him and in turn people would find you suicided with a double shotgun blast. Approach them like you would meeting a friendly CEO and you should be fine.
   
   Ultimately realize that you can follow in the footsteps of someone else, but that’s only going to put you on the path devoid of what will really fulfill you. You eventually need to fly, baby bird, And start cutting your own path.
   
   
7. Thank you for all the kind words and support! And to people who disagree with this ritual, and have been amicably in their disagreement, thank you as well!

>I would also like to start 'working' with a higher entity. I'd like to make contact with my HGA, but am not adept enough to perform The Abramelin Operation (seems very scary).

The Abramelin Operation is a bit dated and a lot of people (not all though) use Crowley's Liber Samekh Ritual to establish contact with the HGA. It's supposed to be performed astrally several times a day. Lon Milo Duqette wrote a clearer explanation than Crowley did of how to perform the ritual in his book A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema. However, that's not usually the first step in contacting the HGA. In Crowley's system, a person must :

1. Gain control over the body of light and rising on the planes. This is often assigned due to the fact that, as I already said, the ritual is not suppose to take place on the physical plane, rather in the astral one after rising on the planes.
   
   
2. Master Asana and Pranayama. Asana is being able to sit completely still in a single position without moving a single muscle for a prolonged period of time and Pranayama is breath control. This is because the HGA is often seen as your subconscious mind and these meditative practices are necessary to be able to quiet your conscious mind so that you may better hear and listen to your subconscious. If you'd like to read more about this, I'd recommend Liber ABA
   
   
3. Master ceremonial magick techniques (i.e. Star Ruby, Star Sapphire, lesser rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, greater rituals of the pentagram and hexagram, etc.) and develop a better understanding of ritual. This is obviously assigned due to the fact that in order to successfully perform a ritual to invoke the HGA, you need to have an understanding of ritual and ability to do it.
   
   
4. Perfect the art of Bhakti. Bhakti is complete devotion to a deity. It includes such things as devoting all acts (i.e. eating, drinking, sleeping, working, breathing, etc.) to the chosen deity, developing a mantra for the deity and reciting it constantly in your head every second of the day without stopping, developing an invocation to the deity, performing ritual service for the deity several times in a 24 hour period including the middle of the night, modeling yourself to behave like the chosen deity, etc. This is necessary as it helps develop the one-pointed focus and devotion needed to successful invoke the HGA. If you'd like, you can read more about this in Liber Astarte
   
   >I would love suggestions from you all regarding anything that would help me practice low-level ritual work!
   
   I'd recommend trying out
   
   The Star Sapphire
   
   The Star Ruby
   
   The Greater Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram
   
   The Solar Adorations
   
   The Threefold Eucharist
   
   The Mass of the Pheonix
   
   The Form of Hoor-pa-kraat
   
   >Are there any other ways to do this? I feel an affinity toward Angelic forces and have a keen interest in Enochian but am unsure where to begin.
   
   If you're looking to get into Enochian magick, (which I would highly recommend; it's one of my favoritae systems of magick) I'd recommend reading Enochian Magick in Theory and Enochian Magick in Practice by Frater Yechidah.
   
   >I have stayed away from Goetia thus far and would like to focus a little more on white magick (not because I think Goetia is 'wrong'; its just not for me right now). However, I am curious if The Key of Solomon would provide any use for someone wanting to learn about white magic? Am I correct in stating that the astrological pentacles are of use for the magus to use at their will?
   
   I wouldn't classify the Goetia as black magick. Demons in the occult are not the same as demons in Abrahramic religion. In fact, I (as well as others I have talked to) have noticed that the Enochian angels are very similar in character and personality to the Goetic demons. I would also not characterize the Key of Solomon pentacles and sigils as black magick.
   
   But to answer your questions; yes, anyone could use the pentacles (with or without conjuring any of the Goetic demons; the consecration rite for them does not include any evocation, just a blessing) and see results.
   
   As for general books I would recommend to a beginner:
   
   The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford by Lon Milo Duquette
   
   the Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
   
   The Mystical and Magical System of the A .'. A .'. by James A. Eshelman
   
   777 And Other Qabalistic Writings by Aleister Crowley
   
   Gems From the Equinox by Aleister Crowley and edited by Israel Regardie
   
   
   
   

I gotchu.

So, like I said above, what you actually want to is change your luck:

1. Karma
   
   You don't come here a blank slate. There is a massive amount of "bad" karma that has to be worked through, not all in this lifetime of course, but a certain amount has been allotted to be worked through in this lifetime. You can voluntarily take on more if you like, but you can't take on less.
   
   So how do you work through bad karma? Part of it is just suffering or more accurately: situations appearing with the potential for causing you to suffer, but karma is a funny thing. It's less cosmic justice and more a teaching tool. So if you understand this and practice viewing the world through this lens, the lens of a student, you get better and better at learning the lesson and learning it quickly. This prevents you from having to endure the same lesson over and over again, as most people do, quickly pushing it out of their mind and forgetting, instead of engaging with the experience and trying to learn the lesson.
   
   See this story
   
   And, by getting better and better and at learning the lessons the Universe teaches you, you'll suffer less and less. This is because the Universe starts out with very subtle lessons, that you'll only catch if you train yourself to look for them. From there, She proceeds to more and more obvious lessons until she has to crack you over the head to try and make you get the message.
   
   The other side to karma is creating good karma, to balance your bad and and bring good things into your life. The key to this is giving and vibrating positively.
   
   You must give, you must give every day. Give anything, make a habit of carrying change or a pack of cigarettes to give to homeless people. Give compliments whenever you see the opportunity. Give positive energy psionically to people when you learn to do that. Give love to all things in your own head, thoughts are actions too and influence karma. If you think positive things positive things will find you, and vice versa.
   
   Remember, you mind is your first and closest territory, you have to have absolute control over your domain. If anything negative and dark comes into your mind, you have to banish it with the full force of an army repelling an invader. Your mind is a microcosm of which your reality is the macrocosm. The two are tied together, affect one, you affect the other. This can be difficult, but only in the beginning. How difficult it is depends on how much power you have, which brings us to:
   
   
2. Power
   
   Your luck is also a manifestation of your power. if you work with this stuff there will come a time when power will pour into you and everything will start to go your way. You should start this process now, although it will be subtle in the beginning and difficult to notice.
   
   You can get power in many ways. If you learn energy manipulation you can take it and handle it directly. But that's not necessary. Daily meditation will probably be the most bang for your buck, but you should also do yoga or tai-chai, or any form of physical exercise that appeals to you, but it's extremely important that you exercise your body if you want power. You should exercise at least 3 times a week, ideally more. If no specific appeals to you do yoga. Smoke weed if that's your thing before doing yoga or meditating, it'll power you up.
   
   Those are your routines, but gaining power is an active thing you do in your life. You have to learn to spot disempowerment patterns. That is the dominant thing I'm getting from your post, is disempowerment. You have to take power back!
   
   The most constant disempowered is yourself. You have been conditioned to disempower yourself, you'll realize this if you examine your thoughts and think about how you learned to think this way. You need to engage in gardening, your mind is the garden. Meditation will make this easier and easier. The most effective tool though, for this topic or honestly for any beginner imo, is Undoing Yourself. Not everyone likes the writing style (I personally love it) but the important part are the exercises, if you practice those regularly you will see incredible results. Weed also helps with those.
   
   Anyway, this has been a huge post. My advice on trying dimensional jumping still stands, even though I didn't get to in the post. You can learn how to do it from the subreddit though, just remember that the stuff I talk about here is more important, and harder since its a daily struggle. Dimensional Jumping can make the work I've outlined here much easier though.
   
   Feel free to hit me up if you any questions.
   
   

Hey man, sorry for the too long delay in getting this information to you. Hopefully you haven't given up hope :)

Anyway, in terms of meditation I'm going to recommend the following sources which are my personal favorite.

1. Here are some good techniques from the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn (weird name I know, but they do quality work). When it talks about "taking Refuge" and that sort of thing they're talking about a ritual opening they borrowed from Buddhist traditions. Really any sort of ritual opening you like (ex. reading from a holy book of your choice, visualizing a white light surrounding you, banishing etc.) will work.
   
   That page has a good general system that's borrowed from the old Order of the Golden Dawn. It might not click with you personally in it's entirety but take from it what you will.
   
   
2. My absolute favorite beginners text for spirituality of any sort though is Israel Regardie's "Art of True Healing." The key to this one is really working through the system methodically. I don't know what your previous experience is, but I found that even with my years of practices of different sorts just refocusing on rhythmic breathing and that alone did wonders for me. Take your time. Make haste slowly and don't underestimate the importance of simply focusing on your breath. The rest of the text is a guided visualization that's borrowed in part from the Golden Dawn and in part from Eastern techniques. The technique can be adapted easily to other traditions though.
   
   
3. I'm also a huge fan of Alan Watts. You can find a really excellent talk of his about meditation here. It's long but it's good.
   
   There's a start for you. I have some books I'd also recommend but it seems like you are primarily starting by internet research (which if fine, but you'll find it to be somewhat limited). But if you liked the JoS stuff, you'd probably like where they stole it from even better. Which would be this book: http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122
   
   Anyway, glad I could be of help and I wish you well on your path. Feel free to message me if you'd like to chat more.
   

> In case some don't know, Religious-traditional Jew or not a Jew is still a Jew forever, that's what the covenant is about,

I recognize this point of view, though I do not necessarily subscribe to it myself. I say "necessarily", because I'm not intrinsically opposed to the idea either, but I suspect I use these terms quite differently from you.

>but I understand you got the impression i a speaking from a religious point of view because many Christians see Christianity as a faith in Jesus and religion, these seals mix some gospel stuff too which does not work with Judaism, nit even messianic texts.

Again, it's a lot more helpful to describe my outlook on faith as pragmatheism than anything else. I believe in what works. From this point of view, there's no difficulty in syncretizing various traditions even though their original adherents wouldn't be able to make it work like that for themselves. To each his own.


> It may upset some rabbis and provoke curiosity if they see anyone sharing what iam with other nations who may be seeking to use the light from the Jewish nation to bond, communicate and pack with unseen beings hashem banished during creation billions of years ago,

I'm very happy that you're willing to have this conversation, and I hope the downvotes won't put you off. Our perspectives may vary, but we've got plenty to learn from each other, and I wish I could be more helpful in answering your questions.

> Th g-d of Israel is one and everyone's g-d and creator, those who use hashems names to conjure or invoke unseen beings who where banished are using the names in vain, especially if they are Christian and no way around during solomons time, it would mean a pagan is trying to trick hashem or the spirit into a service., and it was the Arabs who wrote stories about Solomon and his ring blending it all with Arabian nights, the gienie in the bottle etc, Arabs believe these spirits get burned for coming near a living person (especially ones thousand of years old) and so they will only do so as long as that person proves them they lower the grace of hashem, his angels and names to their level, some times even mocking, sacrificing something or sharing their own blood to pack or connect with them.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm taking the Holy Names in vain through my practices, but I'm not worried about it. My approach to these names and the Hebrew alphabet is quite Hermetic (or Chicken-ish, if you will), and they work just fine without the dogmatic framework of Judaism. This video gives a good intro to the perspectives I'm describing, please forgive the blatant heresy.

> But since they are banished it's called praying using hashems name in vain.
> But if your a Jew you talk to hashem and ask permission which is how it should be done, that's the point of the names of hashem, but I guess depending on what someone is asking it's gonna be hard to go that route,
>
> Anyway, so the Latin text and other esoteric writing on Solomon's seals was contributed by who?

I wish I could answer your final question. I believe the texts are traced back to the 1500s, but I'm in no way sure. There are people frequenting this subreddit that are way better versed in the Solomonic tradition than I am, Here's hoping some of them will chime in.

^^Paging ^^dr. ^^/u/Lucifereus!

I feel like getting a bunch of versions and reading them with and against each other is a good way. I don't read Chinese, so I don't really know for sure what I am missing in the translations. I like Huang's translation and my teacher recommends that one as a good translation but I also have Baynes and Cleary's translations.

Plum blossom oracle is a way to use the I Ching without needing coins or sticks. One uses events and anomalies, basically the world around us, to construct the hexagrams using the attributes and correspondences of the various trigrams as guides. Two good books on this are I Ching Numerology by Da Liu and The Tao of I Ching: Way to Divination by Tsung Hwa Jou. Both these books have tables of correspondences which I find very helpful.

I am very fascinated by connections between the Chinese system and Egyptian magical systems. When in the Qigong state during meditations and exercises I have often connected with energies that strike me as very Egyptian. Granted, I doubt there has to be any sort of historical link for me to connect with it on that plane, but it's interesting to entertain.

My understanding is that the "elements" are more phases/states or different manifestations of Qi than actually different things. They can definitely be used to balance each other out (I manage my chronic back pain (water) by balancing it out with heart energies (heart) and by containing/blocking it using the stomach/spleen/pancreas (earth), while continuing to build up the water energies to become stronger.

I don't own this book but The Complete Magician's Tables seems like it'd be really helpful for syncretic explorations.

It sounds like you have the vibration thing figured out, but if you struggle with it, you could practice out loud when you have privacy to get a feel for it.

Yes, those are the tools I was talking about. If you can store that stuff discretely, then you should be good to go for continuing with the book.

For book recommendations, I will first give the disclaimer that I’m not an expert/adept/whatever, there are many books to choose from, and different people would recommend different books. Also, it is a common mistake (that I’ve made myself many times) to jump from one book/system to another without working any of them long enough to make meaningful progress. The key to progress is putting in the work and sticking with it—not finding the best book. If you like Modern Magick, you should continue to work with it until you've gotten everything from it that you can.

With that in mind, I will say that I am fond of John Michael Greer as an author. While I’m more interested in his work on Druidry, he does have a trio of books, which I've seen recommended, that relate to the kind of magick in Krieg's book:

Learning Ritual Magic

Circles of Power

Paths of Wisdom

Israel Regardie's The Golden Dawn is probably also worth reading for the original GD teachings that JMG and DMK learned from.

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.

Raziel is probably most famous for the book he gave to Adam. There are many versions of the story, including one where angels steal the book back from Adam out of jealousy. It supposedly passed through the hands of Enoch, Noah, and Solomon, inspiring the Book of Enoch, teaching Noah how to build the Ark, and granting Solomon great knowledge and power in magic respectively. Source

The origin of this story is pretty interesting: "The myth of the Book of Raziel grows out of a midrash attempting to explain the verse, This is the book of the generations of Adam (Gen. 5:1)." Source, also a good read

Raziel is mentioned in Targum Ecclesiastes 10:20 - "Do not speak evil of the king in thy conscience, nor in the secret of thy heart, nor in the most hidden place in thy house, curse not a wise man; for Raziel calls daily from heaven upon Mount Horeb, and his voice goes through the whole world; and Elijah, the great priest, goes, flying through the air like a winged eagle, and publishes the words which are spoken in secret by all the inhabitants of the earth." The Targumim are pretty old - they date back to the 1st to 7th centuries. This page offers an interesting theory about Raziel's early role in Jewish mysticism - not as the keeper of secrets but rather the revealer.

According to Maimonides (1135-1204) in his Mishneh Torah, Raziel is the chief of the order of Erelim, also the herald of God and preceptor of Adam.

Now, there is a 13th century medieval grimoire known as "Sefer Raziel HaMalakh". The true author is unknown, but it's commonly attributed to Eleazer of Worms or Isaac the Blind, medieval writers of the time. It draws heavily on Sefer Yetzirah and Sefer Ha-Razim, the former being the oldest and probably the most important Qabalistic text.

As for the Sefer Raziel itself, you can read it online here. Steve Savedow's translation is unfortunately not great, the amazon reviews sort of speak for themselves, but it's better than nothing. You may find something interesting there.

tl;dr Raziel is a very old and important angel, considering he derives from Genesis 5:1. If you are trying to connect to angels in a Qabalistic context, I'd highly recommend starting with the books they originated from, like Sefer Raziel and its predecessors. Hope this helps.

One of the oldest and most fundamental books for students of the Kabbalah is the Sepher Yetzirah. This text has literally been used for centuries by Jewish mystics, and it was one of the primary sources for the Kabbalistic elements of modern western occultists (e.g. the Golden Dawn and affiliated individuals like Crowley, Case, Waite, etc.). You can't go wrong with any of the books listed thus far -- Duquette, for example, is a great author -- but they are all second hand accounts of Kabbalistic sources like the Sepher Yetzirah.

One of the best modern versions of the Sepher Yetzirah is by Rabbi Kaplan. His book has received praise by both students of the occult and the Kabbalah. It has everything you are looking for (e.g. the cube of space is discussed in 5:2 on page 203) and more (e.g. gematria, the 231 gates, astrological associations, anatomical associations, planetary rulers and their seals, etc.). On top of that, you should be able to find a free PDF version online with a little Googling, but it's so comprehensive that it's worth having a physical copy.

first post long time lurker I have been following the GD tradition for over a decade so i can shed my own personal viewpoint if that helps. I believe that everyone who practices the occult in any way, shape or form should pick and choose what he or she likes. That being said if you follow the GD system to its conclusion you can and will have a strong base of occult knowledge. You could also join the OTO, AA, BOTA or a number of other groups where you will find credible, proven systems that work for those operating it. No one system is right or wrong. So pick what you like and dedicate yourself to it.

I enjoy the GD work because it provides a strong framework for me when i write my own rituals. There are a number of magical systems within the walls of most legitimate GD Temples which gives you a good platform for your future. If you are blessed to live within driving distance of one you should, if you are interested, seek them out.

The system itself is well put together and incorporates a system that works if you apply it. However, the problem with any social organization is always its members. You will, whether in school, temple, work, sports, or any other group/social activity, inevitably run into assholes. You will also run into amazing, loving, smart, wise, intelligent, caring, powerful people and every other mindset you can imagine in human form. So meet with the group first and see if you like them regardless of its affiliation.

If you are not near a GD temple never fear you can self initiate at home! It does take some work and dedication but you can learn and do everything you need from whats out there in print right now. Some of the books I would look at to begin with are probably from the author [Israel Regardie] (http://www.amazon.com/Israel-Regardie/e/B000APBPWM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1376711546&sr=8-2-ent). More specifically [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Teachings-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=sr_1_1s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376711553&sr=1-1) would be a good place to start in conjunction with [this book] (http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786) as a compliment.

There are modern temples run in many parts of the world but one of the major ones are run by the [Cicero's] (http://www.hermeticgoldendawn.com/) a quick google search will find you everything you need about the major groups in existence today. Try not to get too hung up on lineage and drama within the bubble of GD, there are good occult groups and bad judge for yourself what is right for you.

I apologize in advance for my grammar, lack of reddit know how, and general newness to the community I hope you got something out of my rant.

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

First, you might do some work before leaping right into the Geotia. I'd recommend Modern Magick to you like I'd recommend it to anyone. Start slowly, without

Second, it might turn out that you simply don't have the psychic sensitivity to do an effective evocation by yourself. That's okay! John Dee, who was one of the greatest magicians of the Renaissance, didn't have the psychic vision to do an effective evocation or scrying on his own. So he partnered with Edward Kelley, and had Kelley act as the "receiver." So why not follow in his footsteps? Find someone you know who seems to be very psychically potent, and ask them to work an evocation with you.

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. 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, obviously more training is better than less)

It’s very very hard training, but it’s all legit. If you do it right, you’ll come out of the other side a true mage.

Feel free to ask if you have questions about it.

You can put your faith in magic if you want. But that will require experiences, which will come with legit practices.

But magic itself is higher spirituality. You will slowly learn to see without the kaleidoscope.

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.

No problem.

This might have already been suggested to you, but you might really like Prometheus Rising. The goal of the book is to learn how to explore different perspectives in great detail, and imho does a good job. It's a fun read too.

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.

Do's:

• Get into ceremonial technique, if you haven't already.
  
  
• Consider working with something "easier" first; /u/raisondecalcul recommended Seven Spheres, and I'd recommend Ashan Chassan's Gateways Through Stone and Circle as well. Even if you don't work with them, at least consider reading them, as the do provide some insight into this sort of working.
  
  
• Give some serious thought as to why you want to do this. Write it down, revisit and revise, and argue with yourself while prepping. Know what it is you're trying to find or do.
  
  Do not's:
  
  
• Don't undertake a Goetic operation on a whim. Prepare for it according to the text.
  
  
• Don't take any of the text for granted; don't skip straight to the "fun stuff." Read the whole damned thing, do the prep work, use the recommended materials. It's an initiatory text.
  
  
• Don't break the rules until you've done several operations according to the rules with success.
  
  
• Don't worry about being a satanist. If you wish to find out what is needed, read the book. For starters, it is intended to leverage one's relationship with divinity. Jewish mythology and mysticism figure heavily into this, and you probably won't find yourself talking to the Christian notion of Satan in order to establish a relationship with whatever is evoked.

It sounds like you are wanting some usable ritual work. Some books that do a good job of easing you into ceremonial magic are:

• Modern Magick - A good primer, from beginner to more advanced work.
  
• By Names and Images - Covers the basics, but get more advanced more quickly. Gets into Skrying more quickly.
  
  And to lesser extents
  
  
• Middle Pillar - Covers the basics of Qabalistic philosophy
  
• Garden of Pomegranates - Gets a little more advanced into Qabalistic Philosophy with some good Skrying "how to" as well, such as testing entities, visuals, etc.
  

It doesn't contain any rituals, but you might find that this book could inspire you. Inanna is the Sumerian/Babylonian goddess associated with love and sexuality as well as the planet Venus.

I think you may actually want at least a couple of different books here. But to get you started with a book that includes the lists of many deities and other entities, astrological, stone, color, and other correspondences, check out The Complete Magician's Tables. It's a really nice and useful book.

With regard to prayers and invocations, I'd say you may have better luck if you look at books that are specific to that tradition. For example, I'd find it unlikely that you would find any book that very comprehensively lists every single thing (including lengthy stuff like prayers and invocations) about both Judeo-Christian angels and about Hindu deities.

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.

https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Up-Runes-Complete-Divination/dp/1578633257

This is argubably the best book on runes currently on the market. It'll teach you the meaning of the runes, how to divine with them, and even delves into rune magic if you're interested in it. The author is a Asatru and has a really good reputation in the Pagan community.

evidence of psychosis, yup exactly what I am going for. (note my sarcasm)

Would you like some more evidence of a similar practice?

-------------------------------------------------------

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1353653

Detection of extraordinary large bio-magnetic field strength from human hand during external Qi emission.

This magnetic field strength was greater than that of normal human bio-magnetism by 1,000 times at least.

------------------------------------------------------

http://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Qigong-Exploration-Zuyin-Lu/dp/0965713571

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/

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.

I highly recommend Modern Magick by Donald Kraig. It was recommended to me when I first started out. :)

Also, check out The History of the Occult Tarot by Ronald Decker. It contains plenty of good overview/perspectives of thought.

Lastly, I just recently read Thelema: An Introduction to the Life, Work & Philosophy of Aleister Crowley by Colin Campbell The book is a great introduction to Thelema.

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

Assuming that you mean books about astrology, you may find the following an excellent starting place: The Modern Text Book of Astrology and Applied Astrology both by Margaret E. Hone, and From pioneer to Poet: or, the Twelve Great Gates; An Expansion of the Signs of the Zodiac Analyzed by Isabelle M. Pagan. You may also find this article on the Art and Science of Astrology enlightening.

Thank you for getting the joke.

I would not really advise to solely look at Enochian Text for this, you might want to start looking at
A Dictionary of Angels for some good baseline info
and the Sepher Rezial Hemelach

Fifth World Books - 419 E. 2100 South, SLC, UT. Ph.(801)486-6437 Will often know where to point you as well. Rosenblum's World of Judaica on Devon St. In Chicago can direct you as well as get you some very hard to find reference books.

Hope those can give you some more diverse and accurate sources of information.

EDIT: Also of course the Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation and The Magician's Companion

My personal favourite work on the subject of Inanna-Ishtar is Ishtar by Louise M. Pryke as part of Routledge's Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World series.

It's quite expensive in hardback form, so I suggest trying out the Kindle edition or searching around elsewhere. Perhaps you'll be able to find it in another format.

Also, of course, there's Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth by Diane Wolkstein. I've heard very good things about it, but haven't been able to get to it yet, unfortunately.

For correspondences, things of a Venusian nature might work very nicely. :)

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

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
  

It is very difficult to establish any kind of reading order for occult studies. Occultism itself is an infinitely tangled strand of truths, half-truths, and lies. It is difficult (perhaps in possible) to identify a starting point and (getting lost is part of the fun).

Nonetheless, I will do my best to identify some possible entry points.

• Crowley Created a reading list for A.'.A.' initiatives. This is not a bad place to start if you are interested in the Thelemic approach.
  
• If Chaos Magick interests you, Liber Null & Psychonaut is not a bad place to start.
  
• My personal favorite approach would be to start withUndoing yourself with energized meditation and other devices After sufficiently "deprogramming" yourself, you may hugely benefit from reading The Dao De Ching, The Torah, The New Testament, the Koran, The Bhagavad gita and other sacred texts not necessarily associated with esotericism. These books contain the most profound truths beneath layers of bullshit (the bull being Taurus/ the sacred cow/ ra) and allegory.

You use the Great Table: from the appropriate quadrant and sub quadrant, you get the Greater Name of God, the Lesser Name of God, the name of the Ruling Archangel, and optionally the name of the appropriate Angel, and you invoke in that hierarchical order.

The books by Aaron Leitch and Dean Wilson give the method in detail.

This book by Israel Regardie (a disciple of Crowley) is the best introduction to the Hermetic Qabalah which includes astrology and other correspondences. The stuff by the Ciceros is very good as well.

Qabalah is great. But I recommend you read some work by Alan Watts first. He takes the greatest lessons the Qabalah has to offer and distills them into ideas so simple and self-evident, you'll be amazed that you never realized it before. His best works are "The Book" and "This Is It."

Then, if you still want to study Qabalah (you should), start here: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

"...for if ye take but one step in this Path, ye must arrive inevitably at the end thereof."

Crowley's book is not an easy starting point, more of a reference work. As usual, Lon Milo Duquette offers a much easier starting point.

But it is also worth keeping in mind that "the occult" isn't really a thing. There are plenty of hidden things out there, and there are plenty of techniques for making sense and nonsense of the clues that may or may not point there. But there isn't a grand hidden conspiracy of great knowledgable masters who communicate via arcane symbols and snatch aircraft out of the sky.

Or is there?

Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig has got sections on this - explaining the spheres and also giving practical techniques for using them.

From what I've heard the book is one of those "omg I can't believe I read that X years ago" type books that people cringe about, lol. So maybe don't take it all at face value and be prepared to use it as a starting point.

Chicken Qabalah by Lon Milo DuQuette is supposed to be pretty good, never read it though: http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Qabalah-Rabbi-Lamed-Clifford/dp/1578632153

Anyone have an ebook to share?

Check out the Thoth tarot book for more info on reading the cards. I also recommend reading Lon Milo Duquettes book on understanding the Thoth Tarot. Also also, check out liber Theta from Temple of Thelema . There's also an explanation and analysis on divination with Tarot from Soror Meral in Temple of Thelema's periodical called In the Continuum.

book of thoth

understanding Thoth tarot

liber Theta

in the Continuum vol 1

You'll want to read issue no.7 for divination

It’s really against the spirit of the AA exam to ask for outside help. It’s an entrance exam, and they are going to judge your qualifications based upon your responses to the exam questions.

Do it on your own, without any outside help. If you are accepted, you know it’s because of you.

Also, I recommend Eshelman’s book on the system of the AA to see if you “mesh.”

The Mystical and Magical System of the A .'. A .'.

It seems very boring to a lot of mystic newbs but I've been evangelizing the shit out of Qabalah lately. If you want to see the connections between all things and the machinery that runs the universe, this is the place to start.

Begin with something breezy that'll let you ease into the concepts: Lon Milo DuQuette's Chicken Qabalah. It's like an exegesis of Douglas Adams's Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Then dive in deep.

Dion Fortune's Mystical Qabalah

Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth

This shit will blow your mind wide open. You can see how the 10 Sephiroth directly correspond to the 10 dimensions of the universe, how the first 4 correspond to actual space and the 5th to time as we understand it.

It'll show you the operating schematic for literally everything and how we are all connected and sprang forth from the same no-thing. Every new page I read blows my mind.

Are you going through an A.'.A.'. Student Examination?

Let's break this down.

What is a Talisman?


Answer: A talisman is an object believed to contain certain magical properties thought to draw good luck to the possessor, or offer the possessor protection from possible evil or harm. - Wikipedia

What is Numerology?


Answer: Numerology is any belief in the divine, mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events

How do I find the meaning/ideas/associations of a number?


Liber 777
The Complete Magician's Tables - Skinner

Is there a recognized way to go about this?


References to materials to get you started.

Do you have any further questions or anything you would like to know in particular?

Whaddya think of this sort of thing?

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2l6zFOG5f0
The head of the mind science foundation, a medical doctor and PhD. in biophysics, taking John Chang to a random location they chose, stripping him to his shirt and underwear, checking him with a metal detector, and getting a demo that would pass the Randi foundation challenge.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1353653
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
Detection of extraordinary large bio-magnetic field strength from human hand during external Qi emission.
This magnetic field strength was greater than that of normal human bio-magnetism by 1,000 times at least.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408084858.htm
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0058244
Apr. 8, 2013 — A team of researchers led by Associate Professor Maria Kozhevnikov from the Department of Psychology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences showed, for the first time, that it is possible for core body temperature to be controlled by the brain. The scientists found that core body temperature increases can be achieved using certain meditation techniques (g-tummo) which could help in boosting immunity to fight infectious diseases or immunodeficiency.
Published in science journal PLOS ONE in March 2013, the study documented reliable core body temperature increases for the first time in Tibetan nuns practising g-tummo meditation. Previous studies on g-tummo meditators showed only increases in peripheral body temperature in the fingers and toes. The g-tummo meditative practice controls "inner energy" and is considered by Tibetan practitioners as one of the most sacred spiritual practices in the region. Monasteries maintaining g-tummo traditions are very rare and are mostly located in the remote areas of eastern Tibet.
The researchers collected data during the unique ceremony in Tibet, where nuns were able to raise their core body temperature and dry up wet sheets wrapped around their bodies in the cold Himalayan weather (-25 degree Celsius) while meditating. Using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings and temperature measures, the team observed increases in core body temperature up to 38.3 degree Celsius. (that is 101 Fahrenheit)
http://www.wimhofmethod.com/uploads/kcfinder/files/PNAS.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRsNh0eB-Io
Wim Controlling his immune system via tummo meditation, for researchers.
Almost 100% of people experience violent reactions to bacterial endotoxin administration, but Wim was able to suppress this reaction which is something not believed possible until it was demonstrated.
https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Qigong-Exploration-Zuyin-Lu/dp/0965713571
Other studies from China documented in this text detail huge amounts of electrostatic charge developing during qi emission, but no one I've met that thought John Chang's video was a fraud ever accepted Chinese research published in Chinese journals.

Franz Bardon IIH. Exactly what your looking for. Get a good physical copy of the book and dont rely on PDFs, cheatsheets etc.

Comment I made on another post on it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/occult/comments/5ij1d9/iih_first_step_help/

Good version(which I have)

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

The Chicken Qalabah by Lon Milo Duquette. His humorous voice helps me understand fundamental concepts of ceremonial magick. After I read this, I started looking at the world differently, connecting things.

By far the best place to start is with Lon Milo DuQuette's book.

Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon

Modern Magick: Donald Kraig

The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic by Eliphas Levi

Words to the wise by Manly Hall

That should keep you busy for a while.

Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune was an excellent introduction for me.

The Modern Text Book of Astrology by Margaret E Hone.
See: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Text-Book-Astrology-Margaret-Hone/dp/1933303352

It's old, but has never been bettered in my view. It's how I learnt astrology before later gaining a diploma from the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London.

This was my first book on the subject and was extremely enlightening. I still reference it often.
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Pomegranates-Skrying-Tree-Life/dp/1567181414

This pretty foundational textbook on Modern Magick.

I'm a bit old-school, so I tend to be of the opinion that all magick students should ignore chaos magick and other modernisms (since half of them aren't very effective without a solid foundation in at least ONE tried and tested system) and learn Golden Dawn and Medieval/Renaissance occultism first. You can learn the modern basics from Golden Dawn source material. If the Golden Dawn doesn't do anything for you and you're really more interested in going back to the source of ALL western occultism, then read Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (the version with notes by Tyson because they're very helpful in explaining obscure references), and Aaron Leitch's Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires to get a good understanding of the technology of Medieval/Renaissance magick. It'll make the Key of Solomon and The Goetia make more sense. The Key of Solomon contains planetary sigils for working with Venusian spirits.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738715786?pc_redir=1396384841&robot_redir=1

This is my favorite.

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Golden+dawn+israel&qid=1565839265&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Best book you get on the topic. Written by Israel Regardie, an former member of the GD and personal secretary of Aleister Crowley. Shared a lot of the inner knowledge of the GD what brought him a lot of hate.

For a basic overview of astrology and its significance/purpose, I'd suggest you read Margaret Hone's Modern Textbook of Astrology. As an adjunct to that, Isabelle Pagan's From Pioneer to Poet gives helpful detail on the specific signs.

I'd reccomend getting books or pdf's like Modern Magick 12 Lessons in high magick http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

Or Franz Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics http://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449847399

Those are quite practical

AMORC look really good but I have been told they lack practical magical work. You may also like to work through a book such as Modern Magick by Kraig https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

Get the following:
The Golden Dawn: The Original Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738743992/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zqnWBbPQ82981

The Essential Golden Dawn: An Introduction to High Magic https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703109/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yrnWBb98G4WRB

The Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind and Magic https://www.amazon.com/dp/1567181406/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vsnWBbPTAX7M9

The Complete Magician's Tables.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Magicians-Tables-Stephen-Skinner/dp/0738711640

The Complete Magician's Tables

https://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Magicians-Tables-Stephen-Skinner/dp/0738711640

Donald Michael Kraigs Modern Magick

Donald Tysons Magicians Workbook

Jason Newcombs The New Hermetics

You can find copies at libgen.io

Cheap too! It’s a large book, about A4 sized

https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Magick-Twelve-Lessons-Magickal/dp/0738715786

Do all the exercises in this book. Then you'll know more and maybe have some experience. Take it slow.

Modern Magick by Donald M. Kraig (RIP)

https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=golden+dawn&qid=1571784127&sr=8-1

I'm using these to learn

Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot:

https://www.amazon.ca/Understanding-Aleister-Crowleys-Thoth-Tarot/dp/1578632765

Book of Thoth

https://www.amazon.ca/Book-Thoth-Egyptian-Tarot/dp/0877282684/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CWZHPFQA9ETTKABGTTGP

Have you thought of trying a different deck? I could only find one source of information on that type of deck.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Thoth-Short-Egyptians-Equinox/dp/0877282684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396830124&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Book+of+Thoth

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

This is very concise - http://www.amazon.com/Enochian-Magic-Theory-Frater-Yechidah/dp/1908705035/

One of the most practical: https://www.amazon.com/Initiation-into-Hermetics-Franz-Bardon/dp/1885928122

This edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Original-Teachings-Ceremonies/dp/0738743992/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3CSTC1N873G04ATXD55P

is, I think the most up-to-date; though some of the reviews on Amazon point out that there are uncorrected and newly introduced errors in this 7th edition.
This edition (the 6th I think):
https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Teachings-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=pd_sim_14_8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AM0NAE0V1C2359V57JAQ
Is the one that was readily available for the longest time.

In no particular order, I recommend you read

• Homemade Magick: The Musings & Mischief of a Do-It-Yourself Magus
  
  
• Low Magick: It's All In Your Head ... You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is
  
  
• Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts
  
  Those should be enough to get you started.

i can't help you with making rituals as i'm pretty new to the practical side myself. i haven't read these, but they've been highly recommended by multiple people:

[modern magick by daniel michael kraig](http://smile.amazon.com/dp/0738715786
)

advanced magick for beginners by alan chapman

> How do I undo the conditioning that causes me to irrationally fear/reject/recoil at any mention of the Devil, Serpent/Snake, Baphomet, and other spiritual concepts that would go against my Pentecostal upbringing?

practice, both in the sense of trying repeatedly and developing a practice. the more educated you become about the significance of these symbols, the less the perverted pentacostal interpretation will appeal to your instincts or even stand out.

knee-jerk reactions from ingrained beliefs are a function of the lower emotional and animal body. you (your reason) are riding a horse that gets spooked whenever it sees a snake or a goat, and whenever it gets spooked, you get spooked and attribute significance to the horse getting spooked. someone with mastery over their horse would calmly allow the horse to be spooked and simply rein it in.

>What book have you read that gave you instructions on how to do something and when you did it, it worked?

For me my first such book was "The Art of Dreaming" by Castaneda.

I don't follow it explicitly, but I do many similar things especially compared to the early sections of the book, and with good results, and therefore have confidence that the book is 100% solid: Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon.

>I don't want base concepts or history, I want results.

All results-oriented books are basically cut off at the knees and you won't get very far with them. Do you understand why? Probably not, or you'd not be asking like this. So let me try to explain why.

All your intentions are conditioned. Your intent does not operate in a vacuum. Thus when you move your arm, this is conditioned by the idea that you have an arm, that you can validly move it toward an object which you consider to be a valid object, inside a valid universe and so on. In other words your confidence rests on a vast network of entrenched beliefs and based on that you produce intentions which are conventional and limited.

So for example, can you leave your body? Probably not. Why not? Because in your likely worldview you likely are the body and it makes no logical sense to intend to leave it. The body can't leave itself, so it's senseless. And if you try, you experience failure. Then you start to look for results-oriented books which work while you ignore the problems in your own psyche that keep you back.

So for an occult intent to become properly operative, that intent needs to first be made sensical. This requires the books you hate! The theoretical books. The contemplative books. The books that superficially seem to have no point to them. The books that help you clear out the debris of old occult-inhibiting beliefs and replace them with the occult-enabling beliefs.

And if you are the sort of a person who doesn't want to get stuck in a belief system just for the sake of the occult, you need to go higher toward meta-beliefs (beliefs about beliefs), the way Chaos Magick does.

So your results orientation is a severe obstacle, actually. It's a throw back to materialism and convention.

Let's return to a book like "Initiation into Hermetics." If there ever was a results oriented book, that one is it. That book is void of theory and it just contains exercises which work. The problem is, your psyche is very likely not prepared for what will happen once you succeed with the exercises. Furthermore, some of the exercises might sound nonsensical to you if you don't have the theoretical grounding first. And you won't be able to follow something you consider nonsensical. So even the best results-oriented book might fail for you if it doesn't match your mental propensities.

That doesn't mean there aren't stupid fluff books out there. Because there are! But many excellent and worthwhile books are not in fact immediately results-oriented.

I read a description of "Initiation into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon on Amazon. It said:

> Franz Bardon is considered by many as the greatest adept of the 20th century. A tireless worker for the light, he survived Hitler's concentration camps but died a victim of Communist persecution in 1958. He left behind him four legendary books which have become acknowledged classics of occult literature.

As a believer in and neophyte practicioner of magick, I mean this question seriously. How do you die a victim of Communist (or really any kind of) persecution when you're supposed​ly the greatest adept of the century? Can't you magick your way out of that sort of thing? Am I misunderstanding how magick works?