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Magickal Libraries

Lui qui s'approche
(prev. Le premiére étape du fou)

03:45 / 22.05.08

Just wanted to see what everyone's reading, read or owns. Maybe a bit of constructive critique, glaring omissions, etc...

While I know that this is a "Book" Thread, I think the nature of the books and critiques or praise thereof places this squarely in The Temple.

As for me, in no particular order:

40 odd isues of Man, Myth, & Magic
A Pictorial History of Magic & The Supernatural
The Secret Teaching of All Ages by Manley Hall
The Magic Arts in Celtic Britain by Spence
Vampires by Konstantinos
The Templars & Assassins by Wasserman
The Golden Bough by Frazer
The History of Magic by Levi
The Occult by Colin Wilson
The Book of Lies & Generation Hex - Disinfo
The Golden Dawn & The Tree of Life by Regardie
The Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Bertiaux
Voodoo at Cafe Puce by Martinie & Singh
Liber Null/Psychonaut by Carroll
Modern Sex Magic by Craig
Learning Ritual Magic & Techniques of High Magic by King
Extasy through Tantra by Mumford
Book 4, Magick Without Tears & 8 Lectures on Yoga by Crowley
Aliester Crowley & the Practice of the Magickal Diary by Wasserman
The Mystical Qabalah by Fortune
The Teaching of Don Juan by Casteneda
Know Thyself by Aivanhov
The Divine Horsemen by Deren
Prometheus Rising & Cosmic Trigger by RA Wilson

This list isn't quite complete and I've omitted various books about religion, philosophy, yoga, self-help, etc... I'm in my computer room glancing at a bookcase behind me...

FINKLESTEIN!
(prev. electric monk)

05:48 / 22.05.08

List threads make me frown in a "lost potential" kind of way. Any of these books would make a good topic of discussion in their own right. Throwing them all into a literary gumbo like this, while giving a flavor of the poster's interests, isn't really conducive to discussion. I'd rather threads on these books, or their authors, be started or bumped. A few of those titles are bound to turn up in 'lith searches.

In the meantime, there's a thread on the Pros and Cons of books on magic hanging around in the back.

And there's always this thread. A perennial favorite.

DRR... DRR... DRR...

12:30 / 22.05.08

Yeah, list threads are kind of not the thing on the Barb. They're a little dry.

Why not break it down a little? Tell us why those books. What niches do they fill? What did you get out of them? Why would you recommend them? How do they connect to your personal practice? And so on.

12:52 / 22.05.08

It's a little hard to say there's a glaring omission without knowing if you're trying to be focused, or a generalist, or what?

So yeah - why do you have what you have, and what are you looking for that you can't find?

--Ember--

Lui qui s'approche
(prev. Le premiére étape du fou)

14:39 / 22.05.08

Perhaps it would have been better to show how one book led to another, or how each consecutive book helped evolve my magickal thinking.
Sometimes I see myself as the product of the books I've read, the people I've met, the films I've seen: They seem to have had more of an impact on me that my own actions. My own actions have obviously shaped me, but I never seem to realize or remember those actions as much as the people, books and films in my life.
I have read most of the books on my list, am working on some, have started each: they have all held something for me, but never have I embraced a single book... I suppose I'm creating a magickal patchwork quilt for myself...
I think my mindset when I created this thread was that I was interested in finding out what books have influenced people. I think I thought I could figure people out or connect easier if I had an Idea of what their literary influences are, and vice-versa.
If everyone thinks that it's a pointless thread, I have absolutely no problem with it being closed or removed... It was a curiosity at most, almost like an "Introductory" thread.

Lui qui s'approche
(prev. Le premiére étape du fou)

14:45 / 22.05.08

So yeah - why do you have what you have, and what are you looking for that you can't find?

I never have figured out what i'm looking for, only that I'm looking... I have picked up various books at different times in my life hoping that I'd find a clue... And I did: The books all told me that there's something there, but that I need to keep searching.

As frustrating as that sounds, it isn't really, it's all about walking down a path.

22:36 / 22.05.08

For me, occult books have been a kind of addiction. There is nothing better for me than to pick up a kool book with "all the answers". I love the glamour of a "forbidden" book, like Lovecraft's mythical Necronomicon, providing more and more secret occult knowledge.

Much good advice has been given on this board about the difference between reading and doing. I'm in an uncomfortable position of having read alot of the "Necronomicons" I can't find new books to give me that rush. Which pushes me towards actual practice and independent and creative thinking.....Damn it..

01:57 / 23.05.08

As frustrating as that sounds, it isn't really, it's all about walking down a path.

*shrug* No, not really. I just thought from your first post that you were looking for suggestions as to things you should look into. It sounds like that's not quite it.

Personally I have a reference library, but I don't think my perspective on magic has actually been directly influenced by my reference library all that much. I just don't learn well from instruction manuals. I learn from stories, though, so I might be able to explain what insights I've gleaned from fiction books. Only I don't consider those reference books in magic, and I consider whatever inspiration I took away to be fairly incidental - a lovely side affect of being entertained by the stories being told.

But then I have the benefit of having other people around to work with and learn from.

--Ember--