Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick Subject: Re: Where to start??? References: <3c056855.0@news1.mweb.co.za> From: nocTifer Reply-To: nagasiva@yronwode.com User-Agent: nn/6.6.0 Lines: 91 Message-ID: Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2001 06:57:39 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.242.18 X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 1007017059 208.201.242.18 (Wed, 28 Nov 2001 22:57:39 PST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 22:57:39 PST Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.magick.tyagi:30082 alt.magick:277780 50011128 VI! om safe never succeeded; reliable never exceeded "Müller" : >I am a beginner looking for a safe and reliable way to start >learning about the occult and magick.... correspondence is an age-old method, whether snailmail or via internet forums (typically focussed on the subject matter of your interest and better suited for supplementary reference than main courses -- there are exceptions, courses offered online, people willing to take on students, etc.). ask some questions in this usenet newsgroup, one can self-start an educational atmosphere almost anywhere in the internet. >It seem to me that astrology, kabbalah and tarot are the first >stepping stones on most paths. The little I know seems to guide >me in the direction of a hermetic path and at this early stage >it seems like the one I prefer. astrology I like Meier's "Humanistic Astrology" and enjoy texts on Chinese astrology very much, so I have few recommendations for Hermetics. given this, prerequisite are a basic understanding of astronomy (rent the Cosmos series or something), a firm grasp of terra-centric temporal and celestial concepts inclusive of equinoctic precession, and a copy of Hamlet's Mill to start. the subject is far more complex than initially imagined, because of the cultural biases as compared with natural configurations (constellation-sign shift; a rectification of names is in order). kabbalah Halevi's not a bad author for intro material. Scholem has a couple of basic introductions you can get at any large chain bookstore. tarot consider Zalewski's "Golden Dawn Tarot", plus there's always Case's construct-a-tarot playkits. get yourself a Smith-Waite deck and Waite's book on the tarot. don't bother with much beyond this unless it really attracts you. let taste be your primary guide as you understand the basics of the Tarot Game. get a Harris-Thoth deck even if you want to avoid Crowley. I think you'll find it worth your attention. >I have read about Agrippa and would like to read his Occult >Philosophies as a basic background book. This is the only >book I know I want. you might want to get a copy of Barrett's "Magus" to compare with the version of Agrippa you acquire. you may also wish to consider what is called "The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy" by pseudo-Agrippa. it is, like many famous grimoires, falsely attributed by Agrippa, but it has great material in it and is famous for its associations. reprints are easily acquired from Kessinger or some other reprint press. >It seems to me that Kraig, Fortune, Bardon and Regardie >are all possible authors I would need to consult. I already >own a book on the Kabbalah by Ted Andrews but I am not sure if this is >enough or sufficient. insufficient. Andrews has a decidedly skewed perspective on the kabbalah if I am not mistaken. then again it depends on what you want to *do* with the thing you will identify as kabbalah/qabalah. keep that in mind as you see and hear what people tell you a QBL is. blessed beast! nocTifer ======== n a g a s i v a @ l u c k y m o j o . c o m