Reddit mentions of Magical Use of Thought Forms: A Proven System of Mental & Spiritual Empowerment

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

General Discussion feels similar to other subreddits "Free Talk Friday" threads.

Anyway, for those who are tiny bit interested about the occult and has read at least Ahriman:Exile +Ahriman:Sorcerer...Let's just say that reading the book "Magical uses of Thought Forms" palace section is very very VEEERRYYYYY familiar :D.

I can post excerpts if you like :D. But unlike 40klore though, info of this would be very insufficient if you haven't read from the start.

Try Magical Use of Thought Forms by Ashcroft-Nowicki & Brennan. It covers a lot of info about creating thought forms that operate under the creator's control or independently and also creating thought forms to be filled and controlled by deities.

It sounds like you're like 98% of the other magick students out there without a competent teacher who can provide examples in front of you to help you learn to sense energy and make progress. In my experience, magick is mostly a psychic activity. It requires the ability to perceive, raise, and direct (with surgical precision) the 'energy' of the universe. (Whatever that stuff truly is. It doesn't really matter, as it's merely a mental concept to pacify our intellectual mind so we can work with it. So long as we accept and consistently stick with that mental model/map, it will produce results.) I was fortunate in that I got my start with 2 very highly skilled practitioners who were capable of producing results in front of me. It scared the shit out of me and forced me to accept a new view of reality. This paved the way toward further development with my own practices, since I KNEW that reality was more vast than I'd previously imagined. Disbelief can really limit your results, so it was great to have that blown away. However, it also produced extreme mental instability for a couple years, so in hindsight I wouldn't recommend it. You can't go from semi-normal to full-blown wacky in a matter of days and expect to remain stable. (I could sense and speak with spirits as a child, but what they showed me was on a whole other level. I really wasn't ready for that.)

My recommendation for you is to work on your ability to perceive and direct 'energy'. Use Robert Bruce's New Energy Ways document for an easy to follow method. Unless you're naturally psychic, it WILL take several weeks/months of hard work until you start to see/feel results. Most magicians/witches are born, not made. Meditation on its own isn't enough. Most meditational practices are mainly for mental discipline/focus (see Franz Bardon's Initiation into Hermetics for most of the mental exercises you'll need to develop your focus and ability to observe your own thought processes). Robert Bruce's methods are unique and rely on kinesthetic awareness rather than visualization. They're easy to pick up and apply.

Don't obsess too much about the area you live in. Perform a daily banishing such as the Golden Dawn's Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. I do mine before bed every night as a daily cleansing - haven't missed a day in 15 years. Work on raising your awareness through Bruce's tactile methods. Eventually move on to the Greater Pentagram ritual (for example) and start learning to sense and manipulate elemental energy. Then, maybe use that energy raising skill to create a construct/thoughtform and then program it to perform a task. Breathe the energy in, exhale it out in front of you while forming a ball (or whatever shape you want the astral robot / synthetic entity to be in) and program it by giving it commands and specifications. Then release it to do your bidding. With practice, you will be able to sense the thoughtform, and maybe even see through its eyes.

Summary: Magick is a psychic/energy activity. Rituals and spells help to direct and focus the will, but without the ability to perceive, raise, and direct the energy, you'll have limited results. I hope that gives you some ideas to start with. Also, you might want to try the ritual and chants from Geoff Grey-Cobb's New Avatar Power book. (Click on the Libgen mirror link on the lower left of the screen, then click Download on the next screen.) It reads like a cheesy 1970s infomercial, but STICK WITH IT. The purpose of the fake testimonials is to program your subconscious, so make sure you read all the way through. The names and 'words of power' he cites are from MUCH older sources. Most importantly, they get results. It's a relatively safe modern 'grimoire' to work with. Enjoy!

Edit: Here's a useful forum for people practicing from the New Avatar Power book. The other forums on that site are also educational.