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Book Reviews Archives - Spiritual Satanist Blog

Category: Book Reviews

  • Selected Books On Satanism and The Occult

    Selected Books On Satanism and The Occult

    Books on Satanism

    At my website I compiled a list of books that can broaden your knowledge on Satanism and the Left Hand Path. These ten books are influential in the occult scene and they may just help you to advance in many ways. I have included books that were useful to me when I first started out in Satanism, as well. I hope you find the list to be interesting and useful on your journeys in the occult. You can purchase any of these books by clicking on the links.

    SpiritualSatanist.com Suggested Reading
     

    Left Hand Path Books Blog

    For more books like these, take some time to visit the Left Hand Path Books blog. Updated regularly, you can find the largest selection of books on Satanism on the net. Also, books on Dark paganism, magic, spirituality, grimories, ritual magic, demonolatry, Left Hand Path Magic, witchcraft and more. Visit today and subscribe to the monthly newsletter!

    Left Hand Path Books

  • My Name Is Legion, For We Are Many

    My Name Is Legion, For We Are Many

    Imagine being able to tell others about your own path in Satanism, published into a book filled with other contributor works that also provide personal stories and reflections on finding Satanism, living Satanism and creating Satanism?  Now is your opportunity.

    My Name Is Legion for We are ManyS J Reisner, a well-respected author who has written both fiction and non-fiction in the field of Demonolatry [the religion of Demonology] is putting together this project, named ‘My Name Is Legion, For We Are Many’. This book will be a community effort by which we can all have the opportunity to get our own personal story about finding Satanism and the Left-Hand Path.

    Visit the link at the end of this post so that you can find out how you can submit your own personal story into this book.  Don’t worry if you have no writing experience.. its personal experience that they want for this book, not technical expertise. A submission for this book will be easy if you break down your story into an outline and use that for writing.

    What they are looking for is short personal stories, from 1,500 to 3,000 words. I am sure that they will do a preliminary edit, but before you submit, do take some time to spell check and pre-edit before publishing. Contributors receive a copy of the book, and while that’s not cash in your pocket that’s not the point. The idea is that we all have a story to tell so if you take the time to get your idea out there, you may help others who will read this book.

    When this book is published, I would enjoy placing it in the storefront of my Satanism and Occult Writer’s Group at Lulu, a group that I formed in 2009 to gather the best and brightest writers from LuLu who write about Satanism and the Occult, all under one roof.

    But that’s not all.. You also have the opportunity to contribute financially towards this project which will ensure that the proper editing and producing will be available. The book will be produced even if they do no meet their projected goal of 1, 5000 by October of this year.

    Here is a breakdown of what could be on the table as far as publishing and editing expenses go if they meet the financial goal:

    Compensation to Authors: $3,500
    Contributor Copies: $100 (estimated – includes shipping).
    Expanded Distribution & Proofing Fees: $50.
    Editorial (for interior publication file creation and eBook formatting, may include additional artwork or compensation to contributors): $1000.
    Cover Art: $500.

    If you wish to financially contribute toward this project you can visit this url which takes you to their donation page where all of these details are revealed. You will receive compensation afterwards, including copies of the book, a beautiful Lucifer talisman and more. With proper funding this book could do well with sales, and it will likely be presented as a very professional project.

    This book is available at Amazon –  My Name is Legion: For We Are Many

    Left Hand Path Books
  • Building Your Research Materials

    This is a reply to a letter that was sent to me via my youtube channel. The person who wrote to me wants to know where to start in magic and occult practices. Her focus, as it seems from her letter is on magic and demonology.

    “I want to get back to the way that I was and I think that starting my own compendium of knowledge well get me back to that. I was wondering how you started out building your research materials. I know that I need to re-read a lot of books that I’ve been just letting sit in my personal library, but I have no idea where to start into the more detailed things like specific demons and magical practices.

    I also wanted to know if it would be alright to print off copies of your essays on your website to put them in a binder for reference materials. I would really appreciate your insight.”

    You are more than welcome to print out my writings and use them for reference, as long as they are for your own use. Remember, though that I keep my pages updated and I am always researching new ideas, so my pages go through changes and edits over time.

    My first books that I bought in 2004 when I started my new adventure into Satanism, was the books that I felt would be the foundation of my practices. These were The Satanic Bible The Satanic Rituals & The Satanic Witch[LaVey], which taught LaVey’s basic philosophies. And just for fun, I got The Necronomicon [Simon]. I wanted to make sure that my collection would start with these books. I think these basic books belong in a satanic library, especially the Satanic Bible because it is the Satanist’s primer.

    So, how did I build my research materials? I lived two blocks from downtown at the time, and there was a shop called ‘Abraxas Books’ , a used bookstore that had a very large section of metaphysical books. Every week I would make a trip there, and I would always find something that would spark my interest. One of the first books that I got from that place was The Book of Black Magic and Ceremonial Magic [A.E. Waite]. This was a book that had listings and interpretations of Grimoires. I also got a copy of The Black Arts [Cavendish]

    Some books I got for reference, and others I got so that I could try what was in them and experiment with different things. Books on demonology that I found to be useful were the Dictionary of Satanism [Baskin] and the book, A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels [Carol Mack]. These books had a realistic interpretation of demons. Other books that ive seen on demonology were Christian based and weren’t really as historical about the origins of demons as they could have been.

    How did I know which books to buy? I didn’t. my only intention was to find books that focused on the things that I liked, and at the time it was demonology and black magic, summoning, and witchcraft. Along the way I learned what was useful for me, and what wasn’t.

    I started a ‘book of shadows’ and I kept a magical diary in spiral notebooks. I was living alone at the time so it was convenient for me to pay attention to recording what happened for me [magically, spiritually], what i was doing, why i was doing it, how I was doing it, and the results. my book of shadows had things like the runes/magickal alphabets, the elements, the planets and other correspondences, and things that I had found useful in magic.

    The idea was to have all the information in one place. You can see an example of this early work at my video -> My Research Materials. I am not very organized by nature, so at the time it was a challenge and it really kept me focused on my goals, and I learned a lot along the way.

    I also got into tarot reading, because I had a desire to increase my intuitive abilities, and I wanted to learn a form of divination. So I got the The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.. When I was learning it, I wrote down the names/correspondences of the cards. i found that by writing it was easier to learn each aspect, plus it helped me to have a reference that i could refer to when i was learning how to read tarot.

    At the time, [2004] I had my cat, my computer, my ritual items and books, my clothes my art supplies..and that was about it! because of my background as an artist, I have always been the type to avoid ‘materialism’. There were only certain things that I felt that I needed. For years, I only had my clothes, and my art supplies, and not much else *by choice*, because all I cared about was my art, and living as an artist. living as an artist meant that I spent most of my time and money on my art, and art materials, and really I didn’t care about much else.

    when I had my apartment, I really limited the things that I bought, that didn’t have anything to do with what I needed. this means that i had no tv, and it was great! i could basically fit all of my belongings into a few boxes. This was not unusual for me. it helped me to focus on why I was really there, and what i was doing and I was able to spend a lot of time in study and practice. I wasn’t completely isolated from society, though, of course – I had my job, and the hours allowed me to maintain my lifestyle as I needed.

    Along with reading things that interested me for specific reasons, and building and maintaining my ritual space, i also spent a lot of time in meditative practices. I studied Initiation into Hermetics, [Bardon] so that i could learn about elemental magic. I also spent time with meditation and mind control. I explored the use of crystals so that I could get used to feeling energy. I worked with chakra meditation to get in tune with my body and my intuition. i never studied anything specific, but I did experiment with different practices.

    So, I had my ritual space, my books, my ritual tools, my spiritual practices, and my tarot reading. I also had my book of shadows and my magical diary. All of these things helped me to stay focused. the point is to immerse yourself into practice, along with study. I am not going to recommend one single book as the absolute way to go, because there is no such thing. There are many different practices and you have to find what suits you, and then do it.

    You could always get into a specific practice, however. You mention demons and magic. For that I recommend the practice of demonolatry. there is a website called ‘OFS Demonolatry‘ that has lots of information on demons, and magic, and they have published several books on demonolatry. You will find that they also focus on hermetics and elementalism as a basis for demonic magic. Some of their books, such as Goetic Demonolatry [Ellen Pursewell] and The Complete Book of Demonolatry [S. Connolly] are workbooks for demonolatry magic. I do not like the book ‘demonolatry’ by Nicholas Remmy, it was writ in 1595 and it is medieval witch hunt material.

    The keyword is dedication, I would have never gotten as far as I have without being dedicated to learning and experimenting. and nobody showed me the road, i had to make one for myself. I am glad that I have, because as an independent satanist I would have it no other way.

    If you want to get motivated and inspired, I encourage you to take that step to begin today. And, if you would like to join my discussion group, visit the HISS [Horde of Independent Satanists]

    See Also: Good Books for Beginners

    Bibliography:
    The Book of Black Magic by Arthur Edward Waite (Weiser Books)
    The Necronomicon by Simon (Avon)
    The Satanic Rituals: Companion to The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey (Avon)
    The Satanic Witch by Anton Szandor LaVey (Avon)
    The Complete Book of Demonolatry by S. Connolly (DB Publishing)
    The Complete Book of Demonolatry Magic by J. Thorp (DB Publishing)
    Lessons In Demonolatry by S. Connolly (DB Publishing)
    Demonolatry Rites by S. Connolly (DB Publishing)
    Goetic Demonolatry by Ellen Purswell (DB Publishing)
    A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels and Other Subversive Spirits
    by Carol K. Mack (Holt Paperbacks)
    Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon (Merkur Pub Co.)

    Left Hand Path Books
  • Book Review: The Al-Jilwah For Satanists


    THE AL-JILWAH FOR SATANISTS
    The Al-Jilwah is a book of mystery and enlightenment, belonging to the Kurdish tribe of people known as the Yezidi. It is also known as a sacred book for Satanists. This book is for all satanists who want to learn about the origin of the Al-Jilwah, and why it is so popular in Satanism.

    WHY THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN:
    This book was written to expose the false history of the Al-Jilwah as a book of the Devil. For many years, the Yazidi have been wandering desert nomads and their sacred book has been labeled as evil by the religious right. Unfortunately this caused many Satanists including LaVey to label the Yazidi as the devil’s own, and their sacred Al-Jilwah book became a representation of the Devil’s revealed words.

    WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR:
    This book is for all Satanists who want to explore the historical origins of the Al-Jilwah, a mysterious religious book that has been labeled as ‘evil’ both by Christians and by Satanists. Don’t just accept these stories without knowing the real origins of the religious material that you accept as sacred. This book reveals the truth about the origins of the Al-Jiwah, and it exposes the historical errors in its writing and representation as a Satanic holy book.

    PURCHASE THIS BOOK:
    The Al-Jilwah for Satanists is available for instant PDF download at lulu.com. Also available as a 26pg. softcover book. Contains complete references and a bibliography.
    [–>Get the Al-Jilwah for Satanists at LuLu.com]

  • Review: The Demonic Bible

    Ahhh.. The Demonic Bible… a mysterious tome written by the Disciple of the Dark Lord, and the AntiChrist, Magister Tsirk Susuej. According to his account, his un-holy guardian angel, Azazel revealed these invocations to him and inspired him to write this book.

    I met Tsirk back in 2005. We talked through emails and we discussed ideas about Satanism. At the Time he was running a Luciferian organization, [The Embassy of Lucifer] and he approached me and asked me to host his book at my website. Tsirk was the protege of the Satanic Magician, Yaj Nomolos – He wrote several books [including, The Magic Circle]. Yaj Nomolos had ties with the original Church of Satan in the 80’s.

    The Demonic Bible is a bare-bones guidebook of incantations and invocations. It is meant to be used as a guide to inner understanding of the dark and animalistic aspects of the soul. Through the invocations of demons, vampires, the undead and werewolves, the author takes you on an inner journey through the subconscious. These invocations are related to the dark and dangerous associations of the Left Hand Path.

    How you use this book is up to you. My interpretation is that this book can be used to introduce the subconscious to these demonic forces, by identifying with the imagery and associations of the left hand path through a series of rituals. If you are seeking to understand or experience these aspects, then this book could be a great introduction for you.

    The latest 4th revised edition can be found at amazon.

    Link: The Demonic Bible

    Also, See:Deitus – A Commentary on the Demonic Bible and Deitic Philosophy

  • Review: The Book of Lucifer

    I finally decided to research the Book of Lucifer.

    The original edition of Livri Luciferi is a ‘translated’ version by a person named “Sollog Immanuel Adonai Adonai [PDF]” who runs a ‘prophecy website’, and he has undoubtedly gotten much attention for releasing this book on the internet.

    Supposedly this document was created by a Jewish man named Ben Shakur, and translated into the Vulgate version, which is available in English. The Livri Luciferi [or Livri Luciferius, The Book of Lucifer] is an internet document that was “originally written on the parchment of human skin in human blood” and worse yet, according to the author’s warning there is a ‘Curse of Lucifer’ in the book.

    I researched the name “Ben Shakur” It is not a Jewish name, it is Arabian. the alternate form is Shakir and translated it means “Grateful, or Thankful”. I seriously doubt the claims of the author at that point.

    The author claims that the oldest version of this book is from the 4th century, a translation created by Pope Sylvester. Through comparisons of the verses in this document, I was able to find that the Latin text of the Livri Luciferi matches, word for word, the Stuttgart edition of the Biblia Sacra Vulgata [the Latin vulgar edition], first printed in 1969. At this point I was convinced that this document was created in modern times, by a singular author.

    If this had been a true 4th century edition of the Vulgate there would have been a large variation in the translation. The Stuttgart Edition of the Bible would have been a standard, and very modern source of Latin verses for Sollog Adonai to use, to create the verses of the Livri Luciferi.

    What I don’t like about this book, and the author uses it for a selling-point, is that it is based on conspiracy and a created history. This created history is established by the authority of public leaders, and people believe it is true, regardless of the actual origins.

    In this ancient history that the author created, the famous people who had their hands on this book were the Templars, and The Priory of Scion, Copernicus, Galileo, Nostradamus, and even Isaac Newton. To me, this notion that this book was handed down to all of these people is quite ridiculous. To complete the conspiracy the author writes that this is the book of the most secret societies in the world. It made me wonder if it was that special and that ancient why it was available on the internet for free.

    I do not think that this document is original, nor is it useful to satanists. the Livri Luciferi is a book created from bible verses transposed with the name of Lucifer. Unless you have a desire to use it for blasphemy or reading bible verses with the name of Satan or Lucifer in them, it is not much use for a satanic grimorie. What do you think about the book of Lucifer? Is it a hoax?

    View the original document here: The Book of Lucifer

    Dark Moon Merchant
  • Where to Start when Getting into The Occult

    Where to Start when Getting into The Occult

    This was a letter from my YouTube page, a question about what direction to take with occult study.  There are many books out there so it can be difficult to know where to start and what to read.

    I know this because I have studied the occult since the early ’90’s and I didn’t have anyone to show me which books were good for what I wanted to study –  I had to learn along the way.

    So here now are my views and opinions on which books would be good to start an occult library, and along with this I am posting links to these books at amazon.com so you can visit and read the reviews about these books as well.

    Mike asks:
    “I’m an occultist, beginner And I would like to know, what books should I start with, a library of satanism, golden dawn, thelema, rosicruciansim, kabbalah, qlippoth, and witchcraft. Out of all those religions and sects, what books do you recommend. I know it will be a long list. But I think you are very knowledgeable. Please get back to me..”

    Ave Satanas
    In the light of the adversary,
    Mike

    Mike, the occult has a long history and there are many different paths or methods when it comes to occult practice. Occultism can be defined as a method which includes the study and practice of magic, divination, religion, spirituality, or metaphysics, for a mundane or spiritual goal.

    So in order to have a good library, which takes years to develop, you should know what subjects you like and what authors you prefer or are considered to be the best, depending on your specific focus or study. In this post, I will discuss the general books that I feel are the best for a beginner.

    For your Satanism Library:

    A Satanism library should include the The Satanic Bible and the companion book, The Satanic Rituals at the very least. Written by Anton LaVey, the creator of the Church of Satan, they provide a good starting point.

    Even if you are not interested in Satanism from the point of view of the Church of Satan, a study of these two books will help you to get a good perspective on what Satanism is about. Don’t forget, Satanism as we know it today is relatively new as a social phenomenon, which began in the late 60’s but new books on Satanism are being published every day.

    You could also refer to the books about the Uncle Setnakt’s Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path, written by Don Webb, who has been behind the Temple of Set since the 1970’s. I hear his books on the inner teachings of the Temple are very enlightening and educating giving you an inner view of what it’s like to practice magic and ritual as a Satanist.

    The Qlippoth:

    Writings on the qliphoth were best expressed by authors like Kenneth Grant, who wrote the Nightside of Eden trilogy, based on the teachings of the Typhonian OTO [Crowley].

    His book, Nightside of Eden, details a path of qliphotic path working, gathered from sources such as Crowley’s 777 and Liber 231.

    There was also a useful book focused on the tunnels of the qliphoth, written by Thomas Karlsson, titled Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic. This is a magical and ritual pathworking book that serves as an introduction and excellent companion to Kenneth Grant’s Nightside of Eden.

    Golden Dawn and Ceremonial Magic:

    Before you attempt to work with the Qlippoth, however, you should take some time to explore the concepts behind the Golden Dawn and Ceremonial Magic.

    A study of the Golden Dawn would be excellent if you are interested in Ceremonial Magic. The most famous and well-written book on this subject is The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic, written by Israel Regardie and Lon Milo Duquette, both respected authors, who describe the basic elements of the Golden Dawn teachings along with descriptions of the rituals, and the Grade work. The Golden Dawn is an initiatory system of magic from which many other occult traditions were based upon.

    Many of the Golden Dawn teachings require the assistance of other participants. For those who want to study and practice on their own, another excellent book on the subject is Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition by Tab and Chic Cicero.

    The Golden Dawn teaches several different areas of magic including ceremonial magic, geomancy, kabbalism and gematria, magical correspondences, and things of that nature.

    Books on Kabalah (or Quabalah!)

    And, a book on Kabalah should compliment these studies. One of the best authors on this subject is Lon Milo Duquette who wrote: The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford (Dilettante’s Guide to What You Do and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist).

    Lon Milo Duqutte has an interesting angle when presenting the ideas of the qabalah and while his methods are considered to be unconventional, he is a very notable author and his methods are easy to understand and make a great introduction for further studies into qabalism.

    Aleister Crowley Books:

    There are several books written by Aleister Crowley worth looking into, most notably Magick: Liber Aba : Book 4 which details the ideas and philosophy behind Crowley’s personal method of Thelema, magic and ritual.

    Another book that would compliment this study is the Liber Al Vel Legis: The Book of the Law, to help you understand and meditate on the theories behind Crowley’s system of magic. Along with this,  Magick Without Tears, can give you some insight and a general guide to the occult through Crowley’s eyes. This guide was written by Crowley in his later years as a magician and mystic.

    Of course, I would not recommend Crowley to a beginning student because it is a specialized area which requires some knowledge in occult studies before any of it can be really understood, and even then some of his methods and teachings can never be understood by anyone but the one who created them, because Croweley wrote in riddles in most of his books, using his own poetic language.

    Along with these books you should eventually aquire 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings, and [the companion book to this] The Complete Magician’s Tables, written by Stephen Skinner, both of which will help you to navigate through the teachings of the Golden dawn, and Aleister Crowley.

    Books on Witchcraft:

    Witchcraft books; there are several which you may like that can help you to explore the world of magic. The first that I would recommend is Nocturnal Witchcraft: Magick After Dark, written by Konstantinos.  I have found that he has collected some good theories and ideas into his book, describing methods of dark witchcraft based on many different sources, giving an eclectic view on dark magic. It’s certainly recommended for beginners for his down to earth style of writing.

    Some good reference books for witchcraft Candle Burning Magic: A Spellbook of Rituals for Good and Evil by Anna Riva, which has basic methods and techniques of candle magic, a useful book if candle spells appeal to your style.

    Another basic beginners book that discussed theory and technique on witchcraft is Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson, which outlines his basic ideas on what witchcraft is and why witches do what they do, a very comprehensive guide. Your library of occult and magic would not be complete without it!

    Try to seek out authors that are well known and respected. Some authors with a better reputation in the occult use past knowledge and references from other authors to create a new method or way of thinking while providing references, indexes and bibliographies for their books, which come in handy while you are studying.

    The types of subjects you asked about seem to be geared towards ceremonial and ritual magic..So, I hope these references help you to start your own occult library, something which takes years to build through time and the desire to learn new knowledge.

    See Also:

    Recommended Reading List at SpiritualSatanist.com
    5 Ways to Improve Your Occult Practice Now  Here at the Spiritual Satanist Blog
    Left Hand Path Books Blog with reviews and information on Satanism, Magic & Occult

     

    Dark Moon Merchant