Online Library of Thelema

This Library is organized for the purpose of collecting together in one place texts of interest to Thelemites, including those texts on the AA and OTO reading lists. It is expressly not an archive of Crowley's writings, which are available in many other places on the 'net.

Student Reading List - Liber ABA

A Student must possess the following books:

  1. The Equinox.
  2. 777
  3. Konx Om Pax.
  4. Collected Works of A. Crowley; Tannhauser, The Sword of Song, Time, Eleusis. 3 vols.*
  5. Raja Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda.*
  6. The Shiva Sanhita, or the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
  7. Tao Te King and the writings of Kwang Tze: S.B.E. xxxix, xl.
  8. The Spiritual Guide, by Miguel de Molinos.
  9. Rituel et Dogme de la Haute Magie, by Eliphas Levi, or its translation by A. E. Waite.
  10. The Goetia of the Lemegeton of Solomon the King.

These books should be well studied in any case in conjunction with the second part -- Magick -- of this Book IV.

* There do not seem to be electronic editions of Vivekananda's Raja Yoga, or Crowley's "Time", "Eleusis" or "The Sword of Song" on the World Wide Web.

Liber E vel Exercitiorum

sub figura IX VII A Course of Reading

  1. The object of most of the foregoing practices will not at first be clear to you; but at least (who will deny it?) they have trained you in determination, accuracy, introspection, and many other qualities which are valuable to all men in their ordinary avocations, so that in no case will your time have been wasted.

  2. That you may gain some insight into the nature of the Great Work which lies beyond these elementary trifles, however, we should mention that an intelligent person may gather more than a hint of its nature from the following books, which are to be taken as serious and learned contributions to the study of Nature, though not necessarily to be implicitly relied upon.

    3.       The Yi King (S.B.E. Series, Oxford University Press.)
      The Tao Teh King (S.B.E. Series.)
      Tannhauser, by A. Crowley.
      The Upanishads.
      The Bhagavad-Gita.
      The Voice of the Silence.
      Raja Yoga, by Swami Vivekananda.
      The Shiva Sanhita.
      The Aphorisms of Patanjali.
      The Sword of Song.
      The Book of the Dead.
      Rituel et Dogme de la Haute Magie.
      The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.
      The Goetia.
      The Hathayoga Pradipika.
      The Spiritual Guide of Molinos.
      Erdmann's History of Philosophy.
      The Star in the West (Captain Fuller).
      The Dhammapada (S.B.E. Series, Oxford University Press).
      The Questions of King Milinda (S.B.E. Series).
      777 vel Prolegomena, etc..
      Varieties of Religious Experience (James).
      Kabbala Denudata.
      Konx Om Pax.

  3. Careful study of these books will enable the pupil to speak in the language of his master, and facilitate communications with him.

  4. The pupil should endeavour to discover the fundamental harmony of these very varied works; for this purpose he will find it best to study the most extreme divergencies side by side.

  5. He may at any time that he wishes apply for examination in this course of reading.

  6. During the whole of this elementary study and practice he will do wisely to seek out and attach himself to, a master, one competent to correct him and advise him. Nor should he be discouraged by the difficulty of finding such a person.

  7. Let him further remember that he must in no wise rely upon, or believe in, that master. He must rely entirely upon himself, and credit nothing whatever but that which lies within his own knowledge and experience.

  8. As in the beginning, so at the end, we here insist upon the vital importance of the written record as the only possible check upon error derived from the various qualities of the experimenter.

  9. Thus let the work be accomplished duly; yea, let it be accomplished duly.

    (If any really important or remarkable results should occur, or if any great difficulty presents itself, the A.á. A.á. should be at once informed of the circumstances.)

Grimoires

These grimoires form the core material of classical ceremonial magick.

G.D. Rites.