To: personal email
From: Hsi Wang Mu <tyagi@HouseofKaos.Abyss.com>
Subject: Ceremonial Magick Studies
Date: Kali Yuga 49950107

|(I feel like I need crib notes to Liber Al). 

You do.  It is a damn thick and evil tome.  I don't recommend it unless you
are interested in studying the Thelemic pathway from ship to stern.  Better,
especially wrt Thelema, is Crowley's more scientific and emissary work, such
as _Magick Without Tears_, _Book Four_, _The Book of Thoth_ (esp. if you like
tarot, as do I), or even _Liber Aleph_.

For general ceremonial magick, Regardie, Butler and Ashkroft-Nowiki appear
to be favorite introductions.  Levi and Crowley being the darker aspects,
it seems.  Kenneth Grant is one popular writer who takes these latter and
extends them into more convoluted and peculiar spaces, combining them with
tantric and Lovecraftian twists.


|I don't think it was intended for self study (or I'm just rather thick).

It is, but it is blinded, occulted.  That is, it is extremely technical,
and thus has its own language, often composed of mythical and/or mystical
elements.  With brief exposure it is easy to become overwhelmed.  With
a dedicated effort, I am positive that one may continue to absorb the
various possible meanings as one becomes more and more familiar with the
set of knowledge-structures used by popular writers.

A parallel study of Tibetan Buddhism would seem valuable in this regard, 
since there are many similarities, as with martial arts.

[Hsi Wang Mu]