The Curriculum of A∴A∴
With links to electronic and print editions
Editor’s introduction
Latest updates
A∴A∴ Curriculum (general
introduction)
Course I (General Reading)
Course II (Probationer)
Course III (Neophyte)
Course IV (Zelator)
Course V (Praticus)
Course VI (Philosophus)
Course VII (Dominus Liminis / Adeptus Minor)
Course VIII (Adeptus Major)
Introduction
This is the third, and longest, version of the A∴A∴
general reading list. The first appeared in the final section of
Liber E. A shorter list, specific to
the preliminary grade of Student, was printed with minor variations in
Book 4 Parts I and II and in later issues of Equinox vol. I;
it may be studied in the notes to Liber 185
on this site.
The following list was prepared about 1919 and printed with a few
entries inadvertently omitted in Equinox III (1) and Appendix I to
Magick in Theory and Practice. The complete version first saw
print in the 1994 “Blue Brick” edition of Magick.
Anything in the bulleted lists below Crowley’s description of
each work is an addition by the present editor. Text in square
brackets is similarly an addition.
The above remarks apply only to Course I. Courses II-VIII in
which the various numbered Libri were referred to specific grades
are now also included here, though in these cases only links to online
copies, where known, are given; see the the links to
Crowley libri page for more information including details of print
editions. These courses include one text which is unpublished and
believed lost, and omit works issued subsequent to 1919.
The MTP printing omitted courses II-VIII, and instead followed
Part 2 of Course I with a Part 3 listing official publications of the
A∴A∴, with a number of omissions and editorial errors.
It is here omitted; the student is again advised to consult the
links to Crowley libri page (which however
includes some non-A∴A∴ papers) instead.
The links below are being sporadically checked and updated.
Back to top
Latest updates
- 16.12.2008: Fixed broken link to Equinox vol. 1, again.
My fault for deep-linking the Dutch OTO site, I suppose.
- 02.12.2008: Added links to Kabbala Denudata at scribd.
- 30.11.2008: Added links to both volumes of Hinton’s
Scientific Romances on scribd.
- 27.11.2008: The copy of Atalanta Fugiens on Googlebooks has
been fixed since I last checked and is now complete. Added links
to the previously unvailable texts comprising the second series of C.H.
Hinton’s Scientific Romanaces.
- 18.05.2008: Added links to online copies of German original and
AMORC translation of Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians and
cleared up the reference to the “third part” of this
work.
- 15.05.2008: Few more minor fixes; almost all remaining links to
93beast.fea.st redirected (this site still actually exists but I see no
reason to hit on its very limited bandwidth any more than
necessary). Turned out the link to Liber Aleph in Course II was
dead; linked a different, and in my biassed opinion less well produced
PDF.
- 14.05.2008: Fixed a few dead links and typos; added links to the
Latin of Atalanta Fugiens at Google Books, and G.R.S. Mead’s
Thrice Greatest Hermes at archive.org.
- 08.04.2008: Fixed broken link to Equinox PDFs, a few other
minor tweaks and fixes.
Back to top
A∴A∴
CURRICULUM
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
In order to facilitate the study of The Official Instructions and other
publications of the A∴A∴, the Præmonstrator of the
Order now issues a series of courses corresponding to the various
grades. The grades themselveepresent magical and mystical
progress, corresponding to which will be grades of studentship
representing intellectual progress, and an examination in each grade must
be passed before the equivalent magical grade is officially conferred.
It must be understood that the highest occult attainments are possible
even to people who have no intellectual knowledge whatever. But this
has been in the past a source of great iniquity, as it represents an
overdevelopment of one organ of the Nature at the expense of others.
It is the particular object of the A∴A∴ to see to it that
progress is orderly and thorough. It must further be stated that
although certain books have been chosen for particular study, the student
is not thereby absolved from the general study of all of them. For
it is important to him to make from the beginning a comprehensive effort to
understand the entire system, first, because it is desirable that he should
choose his practices from the whole armoury at his disposal, and, also,
because as he advances he must to be some extent familiar with all these
practices, so that he may be fitted to instruct those entrusted to his
guidance.
[Back to top]
Course I: General Reading
Section 1
Books for Serious Study
Liber AL vel Legis, the Book of the Law. This book is the
foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
The Equinox I (1) to the present number. The standard
Work of Reference in all occult matters. The Encyclopaedia of
Initiation.
- Electronic
copy; Re-set PDF of Vol. I from Celephaïs Press at Crystal Heart
Oasis O.T.O. in the Netherlands; mouse over “Equinox vol. I”
to bring up links for individual volumes. I really should send
them the latest corrections some day. . .
- Another one (plaintext
or HTML with varying levels of formatting, at the-equinox.org, multiple
files).
- Print copy
of vol. I (paperback reprint, has some extra editorial material including
transcriptions of Crowley marginalia, biographical sketches of
contributors, etc.; currently listed as unavailable by Amazon)
- Various facsimile reprints of vol. I have been issued prior to
this and are of varying availability.
- Vol. II was never issued, and not intended to be issued; it was
described as a “Volume of Silence.”
- Electronic
copy of Vol. III no. 1 (PDF from Celephaïs Press).
- Another one
(HTML, multiple files at the-equinox.org).
- Print copy
of Vol. III no. 1 (2005 (?) paperback reprint).
- III (2) was not published as intended, but would have included,
amongst other things, Libri VII, XXI, CLXXXV and DCCCLXXXVIII, as
well as a continuation of Liber CLXV.
- III (3) was The Equinox of the Gods which was later declared
to be Part IV of Book 4 (vide infra).
- III (4) was Eight Lectures on Yoga.
- III (5) was The Book of Thoth (sometimes cited as Liber
LXXVIII.
- III (6) was Liber Aleph (CXI) (an earlier abortive edition
had been provisionally designated III (4)).
- For online copies of the above-mentioned works see the
links to Crowley libri page.
- After this, four more numbers of vol. III, two numbers of vol. IV,
(with a third said to be in preparation) four numbers of vol. V and
various numbers of vol. VII have been published (not in that order,
either) by different people, some of whom have claimed to represent the
A∴A∴. I do not consider myself qualified to
adjudicate such claims and a detailed account of these volumes is beyond
the scope of the present note.
Liber ABA (Book 4). A general account in elementary terms
of magical and mystical powers. In four parts: (1) Mysticism (2)
Magical Theory (3) Magical Practise (4) The Law.
Liber II. The Message of the Master Therion. Explains the
essence of the new Law in a very simple manner.
Liber DCCCXXXVIII. The Law of Liberty. A further
explanation of The Book of the Law in reference to certain ethical
problems.
Collected Works of A. Crowley. These works contain many
mystical and magical secrets, both stated clearly in prose, and woven into
the Robe of sublimest poesy.
- Electronic copies (BaphoNet)
- The Yogi Publications reprint from the 1970s is out of print but
relatively common and can be bought from second-hand booksellers.
The I Ching. The “Classic of Changes”; gives
the initiated Chinese system of Magick.
- Electronic
copy of the SBE translation by James Legge (at sacred-texts.com)
- Electronic copy of Crowley's verse-rendition of the hexagrams (at Hermetic Library)
- Various more modern translations in print.
The Tao Te Ching. Gives the initiated Chinese system of
Mysticism.
- Electronic
copy of a translation by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus at sacred-texts,
includes Chinese text.
- Electronic
copy of the SBE translation by James Legge (at sacred-texts.com)
- Electronic copy of Crowley's massacre of Legge's translation (at Hermetic Library)
- Print edition of the above.
- Many more modern translations in print.
Tannhäuser, by A. Crowley. An allegorical drama
concerning the Progress of the Soul; the Tannhäuser story slightly
remodelled.
- Electronic
copy (barely formatted PDF of plaintext at Outer College Curriculum
Resources).
- Another one (larger file but properly formatted and so more readable)
- And
another (page images and unproofed plaintext from a 1907 reprint
on Crowley’s SPRT imprint).
- May also be found in Crowley's Collected Works.
The Upanishads. The Classical Basis of Vedantism, the
best-known form of Hindu Mysticism.
- Electronic
copy (SBE translation by Max Müller at sacred-texts.com)
- Another
one (a smaller selection that the SBE edition, translated by Swami
Paramananda; PDF at Penn State).
- Various more modern translations in print.
The Bhagavad-gita. A dialogue in which Krishna, the Hindu
“Christ”, expounds a system of Attainment.
- Electronic
copy (SBE translation at sacred-texts.com)
- Another
one (modern prose translation by Ramananda Prasad, also at
sacred-texts.com)
- A bewildering variety of translations are available in print.
Those published by the “Krishna Consciousness Movement” are
best avoided.
- See also The Song Celestial in Section 2.
The Voice of the Silence, by H.P. Blavatsky, with an elaborate
commentary by Frater O.M. Frater O.M., 7°=4°, is the most
learned of all the Brethren of the Order; he has given eighteen years to
the critical study of this masterpiece.
- Electronic
copy (HTML, multiple files at the-equinox.org). This copy is
frankly an abomination; a barely-proofed or unproofed OCR from the
version printed in Equinox IV (1) with a large chunk missing,
ineptly formatted and then bloated by being fed through Microsoft
FrontPage.
- Included in the electronic
copy of the Blue Equinox already mentioned.
- Electronic copy of the original work (lacks Crowley’s commentary but includes
Blavatsky’s original preface and notes, omitted in Liber LXXI.
- Another one (Canadian Theosophical association)
- The text with Crowley's commentary was printed in Equinox III
(1) and IV (1), and in the compilation Gems from the Equinox.
- Many other Theosophical texts including the whole of Isis
Unveiled and The Secret Doctrine are available online at
TUP online
and the Canadian
Theosophical Association online library.
Raja-Yoga by Swami Vivekananda. An excellent elementary
study of Hindu mysticism. His “Bhakti-Yoga” is also
good.
- Electronic copy (Celephaïs Press re-set at scribd.com; Bhakti-Yoga is also avaiable).
- This site
hosts an electronic edition of Vivekananda's complete works in HTML
(Raja-Yoga is in vol. 1, Bhakti-Yoga in vol. 3).
- Current print edition
- Another one (Kessinger reprint of an 1899 edition, includes Bhakti-Yoga and a glossary of techical terms).
The Shiva Samhita. An account of various physical means of
assisting the discipline of initiation. A famous Hindu treatise on
certain physical practices.
The Aphorisms of Patanjali. A valuble collection of precepts
pertaining to mystical attainment.
- Electronic copy (at sacred-texts.com).
- Another one (Judge and Connelly trans. at TUP).
- And
another (Johnston translation, Gutenberg plaintext).
- Vivekananda's Raja Yoga (q.v. supra) includes a
translation of and commentary on Patanjali.
The Sword of Song. A study of Christian theology and
ethics, with a statement and solution of the deepest philosophical
problems. Also contains the best account extant of Buddhism,
compared with modern science.
- Electronic copy (local, PDF format)
- The text was printed in Crowley's Collected Works
The Book of the Dead . A collection of Egyptian magical
rituals.
- Electronic
copy (Budge translation of Papyrus of Ani at sacred-texts.com)
- Print edition (modern translation by Raymond Faulkner, mostly based on Papyrus of Ani but includes chapters not there included).
- Another one (Arkana reprint of Budge
translations from various sources: this includes variant versions of a
number of chapters besides the well-known Papyrus of Ani version, but
omits the hieroglyphic text and interlineal translation.). The
student is advised that Budge’s translations are now considered
dated and flawed.
Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, by Eliphas Levi. The
best general textbook of magical theory and practice for beginners.
Written in an easy popular style.
- Electronic copy (PDF of the Waite translation by Ben Rowe at
hermetics.org; two separate files)
- Waite's translation is in print in various edition. I have
it on rumour that another English translation has been published, but
exists only in an expensive academic edition: I have never seen a
copy or been able to discover any further information concerning it.
- The French text is online as page images of a 1930 reprint
in two volumes at the Bibliothéque nationale de France site,
gallica.bnf.fr; search for
“haute magie” in “mots de titre.”
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage. The
best exoteric account of the Great Work, with careful instructions in
procedure. This Book influenced and helped the Master Therion more
than any other.
- Print edition (modern translation by Steven Guth, edited by Georg Dehn).
- Another one (English translation by S. L. Mathers from a corrupt French text).
- Electronic copy (PDF by Ben Rowe of the Mathers translation at hermetics.org; three separate files)
- Book III.
Another one (HTML of the Mathers translation at esoteric-archieves)
Mathers’ translation (and this of course was the version AC
cites) is still in print in various editions.
The earliest known copies of this work are in German, and contain
much material which was omitted or altered in the 18th-century French
MS. from which Mathers made his translation (some of this extra material
has been restored in the esoteric-archives edition). The George
Dehn / Steven Guth edition is based on multiple MSS. including the
earliest known German texts.
The Goetia. The most intelligible of all the mediæval
rituals of Evocation. Contains also the favourite Invocation of the
Master Therion.
- Electronic copy (PDF; includes Crowley's notes on the Preliminary Invocation and Enochian versions of the conjurations)
- Another one (PDF by Ben Rowe of the de Lawrence piracy of the Mathers-Crowley edition; de Lawrence introduced further errors and omitted the Enochian translations of the conjurations; as such this is a smaller download than the above)
- Current
print edition (Mathers-Crowley-Breeze “second edition,”)
- The favourite Invocation of the Master Therion was not originally a
part of the Goetia, a 17th-century ritual of Evocation deriving
from the Solomonic cycle of magical texts; rather it is an adaptation of
a Græco-Egyptian ritual of exorcism known as the “Headless
One Ritual” or “Stele of Jeu.” Modern acedemic
English translation of the original in Betz (ed),
The
Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. Original Greek text in
Papyri Græcæ Magicæ Die Griechischen
Zauberpapryi (ed. Karl Preisendanz) which can be found in academic
libraries. Crowley's final “working up” of the
ritual is Liber Samekh (DCCC).
The Hathayoga Pradipika. Similar to The Shiva Samhita.
[J.E.] Erdmann’s History of Philosophy. A compendious
account of philosophy from the earliest times. Most valuble as a
general education of the mind.
- Electronic copy (Megaupload links; vol. 1 and 2 about 40 megs each,
vol. 3 19 megs):
- Vol. 1 (ancient
and mediæval / Renaissance philosophy).
- Vol. 2 (the
seventeenth century through to Hegel).
- Vol. 3 (post-Hegelian German philosophy to about 1870).
- If the above are unavailable, try the
Internet Archive
which has all three volumes as PDFs and DJVUs of page images,
&c.; searching under “erdmann philosophy” will find
them.
- I tried putting the page images on Scribd, but the size of vols 1
and 2 caused problems.
- Print edition (2002 reprint by Routledge, insanely overpriced):
Vol 1;
Vol 2;
Vol 3
(vol. 3 is by far the least important, being a comparatively
unsystematic account of post-Hegelian German philosophy up to about
1870; the first two volumes are very systematic, Erdmann being
an Old Hegelian and proud of it. Kessinger have reprinted vol.
III but not, as far as I can tell, the first two.)
- The student may wish to substitute a more modern general history of
Western philosophy (Erdmann effectively finishes with Hegel).
Hamlyn’s Penguin History of Western Philosophy is good
if a little brief; Russell is entertaining reading but philosophically
worthless; and there are many others.
The Spiritual Guide of [Miguel de] Molinos. A simple manual of Christian Mysticism.
- Electronic copy (PDF of a 17th century English translation on Adam Ford’s Molinos site)
- Current
print edition (reprint of the above translation with new introduction
by Gerald del Campo).
- Another one (modern translation; unsure of integrity & completeness).
The Star in the West (Captain Fuller). An introduction
to the study of the works of Aleister Crowley.
- Electronic
copy (PDF by Sr. Luna 11 at invisiblehouse.org). This work
may still be in copyright, according to whether you apply UK or US
rules.
- Another one (Celephaïs Press re-set on Scribd).
- Print edition (rather haphazard availability).
The Dhammapada. The best of the Buddhist classics.
- Electronic
copy (SBE translation by V. Fausboll at sacred-texts.com)
- Another
one (modern translation by Acharya Buddharakkhita at
buddhanet.net)
- And
another (modern translation by Bhikkhu Thanissaro at
buddhanet.net)
- Various modern translations are in print.
The Questions of King Milinda. Technical points of Buddhist dogma, illustrated by dialogues.
- Electronic
copy (S.B.E. translation by T.W. Rhys-Davids at sacred-texts.com)
- Abridged
modern translation by Bhikku Pesala at buddhanet.net. This
edition includes renditions, albeit abridged, of two sections
which Rhys Davids, in accordance with the insane and dysfunctional
attitudes of the era towards the open discussion or even mention of
sexual matters, saw fit to completely omit.
- Print
edition (reprint of the 2-volume S.B.E. translation bound in one
volume; may be of limited availability). There have been other
reprints of the S.B.E. translation.
- Another
one (1964 translation by I.B. Horner for the Pali Text Society, may
also be of limited availability)
- Print edition–a popular abridgement.
Liber DCCLXXVII vel Prolegomena Symbolica Ad Systemam
Sceptico-Mysticæ Viæ Explicandæ, Fundamentum
Hieroglyphicam Sanctissimorum Scientiæ Summæ. A
Complete Dictionary of the Correspondences of all Magical Elements,
re-printed with extensive additions, making it the only standard
comprehensive book of reference ever published. It is to the
language of Occultism what Webster or Murray is to the English
language.
Varieties of Religious Experience (James). Valuble as
showing the uniformity of mystical attainment.
Kabbala Denudata, von Rosenroth: also The Kabbalah
Unveiled, by S.L. Mathers. The text of the Qabalah, with
commentary. A good elementary introduction to the subject.
- Electronic copy (page images at scribd): Tom. 1; Tom. 2.
Owing to how Scribd’s software handles documents with varying
page size, this displays with excessive margins on the text pages if
read online; if you download the PDFs (you need to register with scribd
to do this), they should display okay. At some point this might
get put on Megaupload.
- Electronic
copy of Kabbalah Unveiled (at sacred-texts.com; note this
only contains a small part of the material from Kabbala Denudata
in English translation)
- Another
one (Celephaïs Press re-set; based on the above, but adds
English translations of the bits Mathers left in Latin or omitted
altogether).
- Print
edition of Kabbala Denudata (facsimile reprint by Georg Olms,
available through amazon.de; some academic libraries may have it).
- Print edition of Kabbalah Unveiled
Konx Om Pax. Four invaluable treatises and a preface on
Mysticism and Magick.
- Electronic copy (PDF format)
- Appears not to be in print currently. Try Amazon marketplace,
Abebooks, etc. for the Teitan and Yogi reprints.
The Pistis Sophia. An admirable introduction to the study of
Gnosticism.
- Electronic
copy (complete G.R.S. Mead translation, Celephaïs Press re-set at scribd.com)
- Another one (complete G.R.S. Mead translation, multi-file HTML at sacred-texts).
- Another one
(Mead's intro and books 1 & 2 (McDermot trans.); HTML at
pseudoepigraphia.com)
- Print
edition (paperback reprint of Mead translation; cheaper and less ugly
than the Kessinger edition)
- Another one (new translation by Violet McDermot with foreword by Stephen Hoeller). MacDermot made her translation from the Coptic text as edited by Carl Schmidt, rather than the nineteenth-century Latin translation of Schwartze which Mead used. This
edition apparently (going on reviews at amazon.com etc) comprises only Books
I and II of the Askew Codex, i.e. the Pistis-Sophia treatise proper
(about two-thirds of the page count of the collection), further abridged by
deleting repetitions. MacDermot’s translation of the complete Askew Codex was published in a facing-page edition with a typeset of the Coptic text in the Nag Hammadi Studies series by E. J. Brill of Leiden (1978, r.p. 1997), but this edition is not readily available; some academic libraries have copies.
- Since this reading list was first compiled a large collection of
Gnostic texts was found at Nag Hammadi and translated into English.
Electronic copies of most of these can be found at the
Gnostic Society Library. Print
editions include
The Nag
Hammadi Library in English and
The
Gnostic Scriptures (the latter being a selection from the Nag
Hammadi material and Gnostic writings from others sources).
The Oracles of Zoroaster [Chaldæan Oracles].
An invaluable collection of precepts mystical and magical.
- Electronic copy (Thomas Stanley translation)
- Another one (Westcott edition, at Esoteric Archives)
- Westcott's edition of the Oracles has been reprinted by J.D. Holmes / Sure Fire Press. An
academic edition of the texts with
translation and commentary by Ruth Majercik was published by E.J. Brill
of Leiden in 1989 but is unfortunately out of print.
The Dream of Scipio, by Cicero. Excellent for its Vision and its Philosophy.
- Electronic copy (includes a brief biographical introduction)
- Another one (Sovereign Sanctuary Press re-set of the edition issued in the
Theosophical Society’s Collectanea Hermetica series,
with notes and commentary by Wynn Westcott and Percy Bullock)
- Latin text at the Latin Library.
- The Somnium Scipionis forms the extant part of Book 6 of Cicero’s De re publica, various popular and acedemic editions of which are in print.
- There is also extant a commentary on the work by a 4th century e.v. writer called Macrobius (in fact, it was initially through this commentary
that the Somnium Scipionis was known at a time the rest of De
re publica was lost).
- Latin text online (scroll down to “Author: Cicero”).
- Print edition (modern English translation)
- Cicero
Rocks! (Cicero fansite)
The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, by Fabre d’Olivet. An
interesting study of the exoteric doctrines of this Master.
- Electronic copy
(Unspeakable Press re-set of the 1917 edition of Redfield’s
translation, at Scribd.com).
- Another
one (multi-file HTML at sacred-texts of the 1917 edition).
- Print
copy (Kessinger reprint of the 1924 edition of the English
translation by N.L. Redfield).
- The French original of Fabre d’Olivet’s study can be
found on Gallica (try
searching with “pythagore” in “mots du titre”
and “d'olivet” in “author&rdquo); the 1917 first
edition of the Redfield translation is
online
at the Internet Archive as PDF or DJVU of page images, unproofed
OCR plaintext, etc.
- The “Golden Verses of Pythagoras” is a 71-line didactic
poem in Greek hexameter, attributed to either Pythagoras or one of his
immediate disciples, and concerned, as Crowley hints, with the exoteric
ethical teachings of the Pythagorean school. Fabre d’Olivet
translated the text into French verse and wrote a lengthy
“examination” of the material, which was published in 1813
bound up with a tedious discourse setting out the author’s views on
“the essence and form of Poetry,” the main bearing of which
latter on the Golden Verses is as a justification for the particular
verse form used in the French translation (and is thus rendered
completely pointless in the English edition, as the translator made no
attempt to imitate the verse form of the French).
The Divine Pymander, by Hermes Trismegistus. Invaluable as
bearing on the Gnostic Philosophy.
- Electronic copy (links to Mead translation of CH 1-13 at Hermetic Library)
- Another
one (HTML of Everard translation at the Alchemy website; the Everard
edition contains CH 1-14 in a different order from most other editions,
jumbled up with three tracts from the anthology of Stobæus)
- The whole of G.R.S. Mead’s Thrice Greatest Hermes is
available online at archive.org as
page images, unproofed OCR, etc.
Vol.
I is an extended introduction by Mead.
Vol.
II comprises translations of the Corpus Hermeticum and
Asclepius with lengthy commentaries interspersed.
Vol.
III contains translations of the Hermetic tracts and excerpts from
the anthology of Stobæus, fragments and references from Church
fathers and other writers of late antiquity, and Mead’s attempt to
classify the material. While Mead”s translation is not
academically respectable owing to his association with the Theosophical
Society through whom this edition was first published, and his
commentaries are indeed written from the point of view of the
theosophical schools of the late nineteenth century, this is far and
away the best public domain English translation of the Hermetica.
Copenhaver’s caveat that readers of Mead should be on the lookout
for “theosophical motivations” seems strange when one
considers that “theosophy” in the literal sense of
“divine wisdom” is not a bad label for what the original
authors of these tracts thought they were about.
- Print
copy (The Way of Hermes, a popular modern edition of the
Corpus Hermeticum and the otherwise hard to find Definitions of
Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius (previously cited as the
Armenian Definitions))
- Another one (academic translation by Brian Copenhaver of the
Corpus Hermeticum and Asclepius).
The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, reprint of Franz
Hartmann. An invaluable compendium.
- Electronic copy
(complete re-set of the Hartmann edition, PDF from Celephaïs Press
at Scribd.com).
- The above re-set was apparently printed in 2008 with the CP imprint
removed and that of “First Class Publishing House Isle of Paths
LXXVIII” substituted (you kind of gave it away by leaving the
whole of my editorial note in, people). Seems this edition has
been scaled down from folio (11in by 17in) to 6 by 9 inch, at which
point you'll need a magnifying glass to make out much of the text.
Not recommended. The perpetrators of this are apparently planning
to issue reprints of other Curriculum works (so far they've put out
vol. I of Rivers of Life and Blavatksy&lsquo's Voice of the
Silence); I will be watching with interest . . .
- Electronic copy of the AMORC translation at their Rose+Croix Journal
site: Preface,
Book I,
Book II.
Black and white PDFs of page images.
- Electronic copy of the German original (page images at scribd.com; can be downloaded
as a HUGE full-colour PDF (83 meg), but you need to register with the
site.
- Electronic
copy (Text sections only of the Hartmann edition, PDF from
Celephaïs Press)
- Electronic
copy (at Adam McLean's site. Excerpts only from the AMORC
translation).
- Print edition (Health Research reprint of Hartmann’s
translation, full title Cosmology, or Universal Science, containing
The Mysteries of the Universe regarding God, Nature, Man, the Macrocosm
and Microcosm, Eternity and Time explained according to the Religion of
Christ by means of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the
Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Kessinger have also
reprinted this edition, although the Health Research edition,
according to the publishers advertisment, renders the plates in
colour and at the original size.)
- Another one (A twentieth-century translation issued by
AMORC; printed full size though still lacking colour.
- This work has a complicated bibliography. It was originally
published in German in the 1780s in two, or possibly three parts (the
first half of the “erstes Heft” in some editions is the
undated “drittes und letstes Heft” in others, which also
corresponds exactly to the material completely omitted by Hartmann),
and was in turn a compilation from various sources, including seventeenth
century alchemical tracts and commentaries on the mystical works of Jacob
Böhme. Two of the longer alchemical texts had previously
appeared in The Hermetic Museum (1625, “restored and
enlarged” edition in 1678; an English translation edited by
A.E. Waite is available). About half of the plates have been
sourced to a German Rosicrucian-alchemical text which circulated in MS.
in the 18th century, known as the “D.O.M.A. Text” of which
the earliest known copy is believed to be mid to late 17th century
(see this article
by Rafal T. Pinke on the Alchemy website); Manly Palmer Hall has
published a version of this text from an MS. copy in his possession as
facsimile with English translation, as
Codex
Rosæ Crucis.
Franz Hartmann prepared an incomplete translation of the Geheime
Figuren, omitting 11 of the plates of symbolic diagrams as well as
much of the text on the 25 plates he did include, two of the
shorter alchemical texts and the bulk of the “Golden
Tractate,” (replacing it with a garbled summary mis-titled
“introduction”), which was published in 1888, including an
introductory essay and “vocabulary of occult terms.”.
He later wrote
a
species of commentary on it which was appended to his In the
Pronaos of the Temple of Wisdom (print edition available from
Kessinger). In 1935 the American “Rosicrucian”
society AMORC issued an more complete English translation, reprinted in
1967, 1987 and subsequently (a limited number of copies of the 1935
printing were hand-coloured, most copies of this work are in black and
white), also included (scaled down somewhat) in Paul Allen’s A
Christian Rosenkreutz Anthology from which the Kessinger reprint was
extracted (as can be seen from the page numbers in the latter).
Since this latter translation is still in copyright I have, with
reluctance, prepared a complete re-set of Hartmann’s travesty
(available from the Megaupload link above; a bit over 4 meg).
Scrutinium Chymicum [Atalanta Fugiens], by Michael
Maier. One of the best treatises on alchemy.
- Secretioris Naturæ secretorum scrutinium chymicum was
a 1687 reissue of Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens (1st. pub.
1617), omitting the musical scores and most of the front matter.
It probably had a larger print run than the original & and was thus
better known for a time; Jung for example cites the work under this
name.
- Electronic
copy at Adam McLeans’s Alchemy Website; transcription
by various researchers from an English translation (probably 17th
century) in the Sloane collection at the BL (Sloane 3645); includes
the introductory verses in Latin and English, translations of the
discourses and indifferent quality copies of the images for all fifty
emblems. Verse epigrams are given only for the first ten emblems,
of which only the first has actually been translated.
- MIDI versions of
the music.
- Electronic copy
(complete French translation with a very detailed commentary).
Includes the dedicatory epistle and Maier’s preface, and
MIDI versions of the music.
- Electronic
copy of the Latin edition (page images at Google of a 1964
facsimile of the 1617 original; includes option to download as a 14 meg
PDF).
- Electronic
copy of Scrutinium Chymicum,multiple formats at
archive.org
- In 1986, Magnum Opus issued a print edition of a translation by
Joscelyn Godwin, sold with a cassette recording of the music; it was
reprinted by Phanes Press in 1991 but is now out of print and
rare. This edition includes a re-set of the musical scores in
modern notation and a commentary by Hildemarie Streich; while I have not
managed to examine a copy, the references to this work I have found
suggest it lacks the discourses.
- Another
print edition (hardback reprint by Nicholas Hays of H.M. de
Jong’s commentary on the emblems; omits the music scores and
Maier’s preface; the mottoes and verse epigrams are translated,
the discourses are given as “summaries,” (though compared
with the translations on the Alchemy website they do not appear to have
many substantial omissions); includes scaled-down (quarto to octavo)
facsimiles of all the images with the Latin of the mottoes and
epigrams.
- Print
copy (new paperback facsimile edition).
Science and the Infinite, by Sydney Klein. One of the best essays
written in recent years.
Two Essays on the Worship of Priapus, by Richard Payne
Knight [and Thomas Wright]. Invaluable to all students.
- Electronic
copy at sacred-texts.com (HTML with the plates as linked images)
- Another one
(Celephaïs Press edition at scribd.com; includes material omitted
from the above edition; looks a bit odd in the Scribd reader
for technical reasons relating to page sizes in the PDF.
- Print edition (Kessinger reprint of the 1894 edition).
- Print edition (modern re-set, published as two volumes with the
sub-title “A History of Phallic Worship”:
Discourse
on the Worship of Priapus (Payne Knight),
On the
Worship of the Generative Powers (Wright).
- Crowley cites this work under its short title which may cause
problems when trying to find a copy. The first edition (1786) was
titled “An Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus, lately
existing at Isernia in
the Kingdom of Naples [...] to which is added a Discourse on the Worship
of Priapus and its connection with the Mystic Theology of the
Ancients.” It was privately issued and withdrawn by
Knight shortly after publication. In 1865 a new edition appeared,
“privately published” (by John Camden Hotten), with a new
introduction and the addition of an anonymous “Essay on the Worship
of the Generative Powers in the Middle Ages of Western Europe” (the
principal author of which was later identified as Thomas Wright).
This edition was reprinted in 1894 with some corrections and another new
introduction. There have been further reprints throughout the
twentieth century; however some of these at least (in particular, the
edition against which the sacred-texts copy was proofed) appear to have
substantial errors and omissions. Whatever its faults, the
Kessinger edition is a reproduction of the 1894 edition (complete with
narrow ‘s’s), and thus introduces no further errors.
The Golden Bough, by J.G. Frazer. The textbook of Folk
Lore. Invaluable to all students.
- Electronic copy of the 1922 abridgement (HTML at blackmask.com)
- Another one (HTML at
bartleby.com)
- Electronic copy of the complete 12-volume third edition (page
images at scribd.com, viewable online or downloadable as PDFs).
- Print
edition (fifteen volume set; includes all twelve volumes of the
third edition, Aftermath, a biography of Frazer by Robert
Ackerman, and The Making of the Golden Bough by Robert
Fraser. Very expensive – for rich or
serious students only.)
- Print edition (Penguin 20th Century Classics reprint of
the 1922 abridgement).
- Another one (cheap paperback edition of the 1922 abridgement from Wordsworth classics)
- And another (Oxford World’s Classic; a new abridgement edited by Robert Fraser, including significant material omitted from the 1922 edition).
The Age of Reason, by Thomas Paine. Excellent, though
elementary, as a corrective to superstition.
Rivers of Life, by General Forlong. An invaluble textbook
of old systems of initiation.
- Electronic copy (re-set from Celephaïs Press):
- Print
edition (Kessinger reprint). This is not that great quality
and makes a complete hash of the big chart, but first editions of this
work with the chart fetch over US$1000 on the antiquarian market, and
I have no information as to any other complete modern reprints (there
have been two reprints of vol. 1 only issued recently, a facsimile by
Sumner Press, and a pirate printing based on the Celephaïs
press e-text by “First Class Publishing House LXXVIII” of
Norway.
Three Dialogues, by Bishop Berkeley. The Classic of
Subjective Idealism.
Essays of David Hume. The Classic of Academic Scepticism.
First Principles by Herbert Spencer. The Classic of Agnosticism.
- Electronic copy
(Unspeakable Press re-set at scribd.com, based on the sixth edition,
including all front matter and appendices).
- Another
one (American publication of the fourth or fifth edition, various
formats at archive.org)
- Another one (badly formatted HTML)
- Print edition.
Prolegomena [to any Future Metaphysics], by Immanuel Kant. The best introduction to Metaphysics.
- Electronic copy
- Another one (plaintext, otherwise the same as the above, but may be more durable)
- A variety of academic print editions available.
The Canon [by William Stirling]. The best textbook of Applied Qabalah.
The Fourth Dimension, by [Charles] H. Hinton. The best
essay on the subject.
- Electronic copy (re-set from Celephaïs Press at scribd.com)
- Also available as page images &c. at archive.org
- Print edition (Kessinger reprint, a complete abomination but seems to be the
only one currently available new; you’d be better off trying the
antiquarian market for a worn but readable copy of one of the Unwin
reprints with the colour plate)
- This refers to Hinton's 1904 book. His earlier essay on the
subject, “What is the Fourth Dimension?” appeared in
Scientific Romances (q.v. infra).
The Essays of Thomas Henry Huxley. Masterpieces of philosophy, as of
prose.
- The Huxley File: includes all nine volumes of Huxley's Collected Essays plus much more. Follow links for the individual volumes:
- The complete 9-volume edition of Huxley’s essays was reprinted in the 1970s and may be
found in some academic libraries; it is not currently in print. Some short collections of
Huxley’s essays are currently available.
The object of this course of reading is to familiarize the student
with all that has been said by the Great Masters in every time and
country. He should make a critical examination of them; not so much
with the idea of discovering where the truth lies, for he cannot do this
except by virtue of his own spiritual experience, but rather to discover
the essential harmony in those varied works. He should be on his
guard against partisanship with a favourite author. He should
familiarize himself thoroughly with the method of mental equilibrium,
endeavouring to contradict any statement soever, although it may be
apparently axiomatic.
The general object of this course, besides that already stated, is to
assure sound education in occult matters, so that when spiritual
illumination comes it may find a well-built temple. When the mind is
strongly biased towards any special theory, the result of an illumination
is often to inflame that portion of the mind which is thus overdeveloped,
with the result that the aspirant, instead of becoming an Adept,
becomes a bigot and fanatic.
The A∴A∴ does not offer examination in this course, but
recommends these books as the foundation of a library.
[Back to top]
Section 2
Other Books, Principally Fiction, of a Generally
Suggestive and Helpful Kind
Zanoni, by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. Valuable for its facts
and suggestions about Mysticism.
- Electronic copy (Project Gutenberg plaintext)
- Electronic copy (Barely-formatted PDF at blackmask.com, probably from the Gutenburg text)
- Various editions in multiple formats at archive.org, including page
images of the 1842 first edition.
- Print edition (Kessinger reprint)
- Another one
A Strange Story, by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton. Valuable for its facts and suggestions about Magick.
- Electronic
copy (Gutenberg plaintext).
- Electronic
copy (PDF at blackmask.com).
- Print edition (Kessinger reprint, bound up with The Haunters and the Haunted).
- Various editions in multiple formats at archive.org; page images
available at Google Books.
The Blossom and the Fruit, by Mable Collins. Valuable for its account of the Path.
- Electronic
copy (PDF by Soror Luna 11 at invisiblehouse.org).
- The
last seven chapters are online on a Theosopical site, with a note
stating that it was alleged that the last six were written by Blavatsky
after Ms Collins “lost control of the story.”
- Print
edition (Kessinger reprint; Health Research have also reprinted
it.)
Petronius Arbiter. Valuable for those who have wit to understand it.
- This work is better known as the Satyricon.
“Petronius Arbiter” is the name of the imputed author, a
member of the court of the Emperor Nero (‘Arbiter’ was a
title). The extant text is believe to comprise fragments of a
much longer work which have been filled out and connected by later
writers.
- Resource
page includes the Allison translation and links to the Latin text
and other online resources.
- Firebaugh
translation (Project Gutenberg plaintext).
- Burnaby
translation (Project Gutenberg plaintext).
- Allison translation (HTML at sacred-texts.com).
- The Classics section at Blackmask.com hosts an illustrated
edition of the Firebaugh translation in seven parts, as well as PDFs of the Allison and Burnaby translations.
- Various popular and academic editions in print.
The Golden Ass, by Apuleius. Valuble for those who have
wit to understand it.
- Electronic copy (16th century English translation by William Adlington at English Server)
- Latin text
(HTML at the Latin Library)
- Various modern English translations in print.
Le Comte de Gabalis [by N. Montfaucon de Villars].
Valuable for its hints of those things which it mocks.
- Electronic copy (Unspeakable Press
re-set of the “Brothers” translation (text only, omits the
commentary) at Scribd.com)
- Another
one (“Brothers” edition including the commentary, HTML,
multiple files at sacred-texts).
- The French text is on the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
site (page images from an 18th-century anthology of “romans
cabalistiques;” search the catalogue for “gabalis”
in “mots du titre”); another copy, complete with the later
and probably spurious sequels, can be found on Google Books.
- Print
edition (Kessinger reprint of the “Brothers”
edition).
The Rape of the Lock, by Alexander Pope. Valuable for its
account of elementals.
- Resource page with text, illustrations and commentary.
- Electronic copy (plaintext at U. Penn.).
- Various popular and academic editions in print.
Undine, by de la Motte-Fouqué. Valuable as an
account of elementals.
- Electronic copy (English translation by F.E. Bunnett, Project Gutenberg plaintext)
- Another one (No definite translator credit, but probably by C.M. Yonge who provides an introduction; Project Gutenberg plaintext).
Black Magic, by Marjorie Bowen. An intensely interesting
story of sorcery.
- Electronic copy (PDF at HorrorMasters.com):
Part I
Part II
- Print
edition (Kessinger, who else). A popular paperback reprint was
issued in 1974 (Sphere Books; Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult
series) and can probably be had on the second-hand market for less.
Le peau de chagrin, by Honoré de Balzac. A
magnificent magical allegory.
- Electronic copy
Gutenberg plaintext of “The Magic Skin,” an English
translation of this work by Ellen Marriage (no date on any of the copies
I could find, but probably late 19th century).
- Another one (PDF of the Marriage translation at Penn State)
- The copy of the Frank Morlock translation previously linked to no
longer exists.
Number Nineteen [a.k.a. The Garden at #19], by Edgar
Jepson. An excellent tale of modern magic.
- Online
copy (PDF by Soror Luna 11 at invisiblehouse.org)
- Appears to be out of print; there was a limited edition reprint in
2003 (under the American title, The Garden at #19) which can be
obtained through AbeBooks and
elsewhere. An essay on Jepson which was prefaced to this reprint
can be read
here
Dracula, by Bram Stoker. Valuable for its accounts of
legends concerning vampires.
Scientific Romances, by [Charles] H. Hinton. Valuable as
an introduction to the study of the Fourth Dimension.
- Originally published as a series of pamphlets (1884-88s) and two
novellas (1895); later bound up in two volumes denoted “First
Series” (1886) and “Second Series.” (1896) The
first series comprises “What is the Fourth Dimension?”,
“The Persian King,” “A PlaneWorld,” “A
Picture of our Universe,” and “Casting Out the
Self.” The second consisted of the essays “The
Education of the Imagination” and “Many Dimensions“
along with two novellas, “Stella” and “An Unfinished
Communication.”
- Electronic copy (re-set by Celephaïs Press)
first series;
second series (links to read online at scribd).
- Another one (Multiple formats at archive.org,
a rather ropy copy of the first series bound up with “The
Education of the Imagination”).
- Electronic
copy of “Many Dimensions”
(HTML from Eldritch Press).
- Stella and An Unfinished Communication: Studies
in the Unseen (multiple formats at archive.org, the 1895 edition of
the the novellas; their subsequent inclusion in the “Scientific
Romances” series may actually have been a piece of opportunism
by Hinton’s publisher who did not otherwise have enough material
to justify a second collected volume).
- Print
edition (Kessinger reprint of first series only)
- Another
one (said to contain both series, but appears to be of limited
availability).
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol. Valuable to those
who understand the Qabalah.
Alice Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carrol. Valuable to those who understand the Qabalah.
- Electronic copy (HTML at Virginia with the Tenniel illustrations)
- Many print editions available
The Hunting of the Snark, by Lewis Carrol. Valuable to those who understand the Qabalah.
- Electronic copy (HTML at Virginia with the original illustrations).
- Many print editions available
The Arabian Nights, translated either by Sir Richard Burton or John Payne. Valuable as a
storehouse of oriental magick-lore.
- Online copy
(has the complete Burton translation including the supplemental Nights,
the complete Payne translation, plus others).
- Another Arabian Nights site.
- Payne translation (Gutenberg text, vols. 1-3 only).
- Various print editions, complete or selected, available.
Crowley’s reason for recommended the Burton or Payne translations
is that all other English editions available at the time had been
Bowdlerised.
Morte d’Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. Valuable as a storehouse of occidental magick-lore.
- Electronic copy (unmodernised Middle English text at the University of Michigan)
- Another
one (modernised text, multi-part PDF at Penn State)
- Various print editions available.
The works of François Rabelais. Invaluable for Wisdom.
- Electronic copy (Gutenberg plaintext of the Urquhart and Motteaux translations).
- Another one (PDF at Penn State).
- Various print editions available, including more modern
translations.
The Kasidah, by Sir Richard Burton. Valuable as a storehouse of
philosophy.
- Electronic
copy (re-set at Scribd, based on a 1924 illustrated reprint).
- Another
one (re-set PDF from Sovereign Sanctuary Press, at
93beast.fea.st, based on the first edition).
- Another one
(multiple formats at archive.org).
- Print
edition (Hardcover reprint from Octagon Press). There also
exists a Kessinger abomination.
The Song Celestial, by Sir Edwin Arnold. The Bhagavad-Gita
in verse.
The Light of Asia, by Sir Edwin Arnold. An account of the
attainment of Gautama Buddha.
The Rosicrucians [their Rites and Mysteries], by Hargrave
Jennings. Valuable to those who can read between the lines.
The Real History of the Rosicrucians, by Arthur Edward
Waite. A good piece of vulgar journalism on the subject.
The Works of Arthur Machen. Most of these stories are of great
magical interest.
The Writings of William O’Neill (Blake). Invaluable to all
students.
- Electronic copy of Blake's complete poetry and prose at the University of Georgia English
department.
- The Blake Archive hosts
most of Blake’s illuminated books as page images (hint: use the
“non-Java” option to make downloading images easier).
- Songs of Innocence (illustrated PDF at Penn State).
- Print
edition of Blake's complete poetry and prose.
- Print
edition of Blake's complete illuminated books (Thames and
Hudson).
- The claim that Blake was descended from an Irish family called
O’Neill was put forward by W.B. Yeats in 1893 when he edited a
volume of Blake’s work, but was discredited 14 years later; in
this instance Crowley’s own Irish sympathies and admiration for
Blake outweighed his detestation of Yeats.
The Shaving of Shagpat, by George Meredith. An excellent
allegory.
Lilith, by George MacDonald. A good introduction to the Astral.
Là-Bas, by J.-K. Huysmans. An account of the extravagances caused by the Sin-Complex.
The Lore of Proserpine, by Maurice Hewlett. A suggestive enquiry
into the Hermetic Arcanum.
- Electronic copy (PDF by Soror Luna 11 at invisiblehouse.org).
- And
some more (various formats at archive.org, including a Project
Gutenberg plaintext and page images of 1913 British and American editions.
- Print
edition (2007 p/b reprint)
En Route, by J-K. Huysmans. An account of the follies of
Christian mysticism.
Sidonia the Sorceress, by William Meinhold.
- Electronic copy (PDF at blackmask.com) vol. 1 vol. 2
- Various facsimile editions published by Kessinger and others.
[Mary Schweidler,] The Amber Witch, by William
Meinhold. These two tales are highly informative.
- Electronic copy (PDF at blackmask.com)
- Print copy (Kessinger reprint of The Amber Witch
bound up with de la Motte Fouque’s “Undine”
and another)
- The English translation of these two stories was first published
in a two-volume edition of which Sidonia the Sorceress occupied
all of the first volume and part of the second volume. Electronic
copies of this edition:
- Gutenberg plaintext
Vol. I,
Vol. II.
- Gutenberg text with accents
Vol. I,
Vol. II.
- Multi-part PDFs of page images at CRWU document preservation
Vol. I,
Vol. II. Note this will be a very large total download.
Macbeth; Midsummer Night's Dream; The Tempest, by
W. Shakespeare. Interesting for traditions treated.
Redgauntlet, by Sir Walter Scott. Also one or two other novels. Interesting for traditions treated.
[The Adventures of] Rob Roy, by James Grant.
Interesting for traditions treated.
- Electronic copy (PDF by Sr. Luna 11)
- Print edition (2001 paperback reprint which previously escaped my notice; also available through amazon.co.uk Marketplace).
The Magician, by W. Somerset Maugham. An amusing hotch-potch of stolen goods.
- Electronic copy (PDF by Sr Luna 11 at invisiblehouse.org). It is my understanding that Maugham’s work is in copyright in the UK.
- Another one
(Gutenberg plaintext)
- Print edition (Penguin 20th Century Classics reprint)
- The magician of the title was a thinly-veiled caricature of Crowley
who instantly recognised himself but decided not to sue.
The Bible, by various authors unknown. The Hebrew and
Greek Originals are of Qabalistic value. It contains also many
magical apologues, and recounts many tales of folk-lore and magical
rites.
- Unbound Bible site (includes
searchable texts of Greek and Hebrew versions plus many classic and
modern translations)
- Bible page
at sacred-texts.com.
- Very many print editions available. Caution should be exercised
as most translations have been distorted in the cause of religious dogma;
even the Hebrew and Greek texts, as we have them are themselves the
product of selection, editing and hand-copying over many centuries, and
(in the case of the Greek, at least) textual scholarship over many
decades; it should not be assumed that we have anything that can be
reasonably described as ‘Original.’
Kim, by Rudyard Kipling. An admirable study of Eastern
thought and life. Many other stories by this writer are highly
suggestive and informative.
For Mythology, as teaching Correspondences:
Books of Fairy Tales generally
Oriental Classics generally
Sufi Poetry generally
Greek and Latin Classics generally
Scandinavian and Teutonic Sagas generally
Celtic Folk-Lore generally
This course of of general value to the beginner. While it is not
to be taken, in all cases, too seriously, it will give him a general
familiarity with the mystical and magical tradition, create a deep
interest in the subject, and suggest many helpful lines of thought.
It has been impossible to do more, in this list, than to suggest a
fairly comprehensive course of reading.
[Back to top]
Course II
The basis of our whole work is The Book of the Law. It is
essential for every Probationer to study this book and those which are
directly connected with it, as commentaries:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER II. THE MESSAGE OF THE MASTER THERION. Explains the essence of the new Law in a very simple manner.
- LIBER DCCCXXXVII. THE LAW OF LIBERTY. A further explanation of The Book of the Law in reference to certain ethical problems.
- LIBER CL. DE LEGE LIBELLUM. A further explanation of the Law, with special reference to the Powers and Privleges conferred by its acceptance.
- LIBER CXI (ALEPH). THE BOOK OF WISDOM OR FOLLY. An extended and elaborate commentary on The Book of the Law, in the form of a letter from the Master Therion to his magical son.
- LIBER X. LIBER PORTA LUCIS. This book is
an account of the sending forth of the Master by the A∴A∴
and an explanation of his mission.
- LIBER TZADDI VEL HAMUS HERMETICUS sub
figurâ XC. An account of Initiation, and an indication as to
those who are suitable for the same.
- LIBER CDXVIII. LIBER XXX ÆRUM VEL SÆCULI, Being of the Angels of the Thirty Aethyrs the Vision and the Voice.
Besides being the classical account of the thirty Æthyrs and a model of all visions, the cries of the Angels
should be regarded as accurate and the doctrine of the function of the Great White Brotherhood understood as the foundation of the
Aspiration of the Adept. The account of the Master of the Temple should in particular be taken as authentic.
The instruction in the 8th
Æthyr pertains to Class D, i.e. it is an Official Ritual, and
the same remarks apply to the account of the proper method of invoking
Æthyrs given in the 18th Æthyr.
- LIBER LXV. LIBER CORDIS CINCTI SERPENTE. An account of the relations of the Aspirant with his Holy Guardian Angel. This book is given to Probationers, as the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel is the Crown of the Outer College. Similarly Liber VII is given to Neophytes, as the grade of Master of the Temple is the next resting-place, and Liber CCXX to the Zelator, since that carries him to the highest of all possible grades. Liber XXVII is given to the Practicus, as in this book is the ultimate foundation of the highest theoretical Qabalah, and Liber DCCCXIII to the Philosophus, as it is the foundation of the highest practical Qabalah.
- LIBER VI. LIBER O VEL MANUS ET
SAGITTÆ. The instructions given in this book are too loose
to find place in the Class D publications. Instructions given for
elementary study of the Qabalah, Assumption of God forms, vibrations of
Divine Names, the Rituals of Pentagram and Hexagram, and their uses in
protection and invocation, a method of obtaining astral visions so
called, and an instruction in the practice called Rising on the
Planes.
- LIBER IX. LIBER E VEL EXERCITIORUM.
This book instructs the aspirant in the necessity of keeping a
record. Suggests methods of testing physical clairvoyance.
Gives instruction in Asana, Pranayama and Dharana, and advises the
application of tests to the physical body, in order that the student may
thoroughly understand his own limitations.
- LIBER XXX. LIBER LIBRÆ. An
elementary course of morality suitable for the average man.
- LIBER LXI. LIBER CAUSÆ. The
Preliminary Lection, including the History Lection. Explains the
actual history and origins of the present movement. Its statements
are accurate in the ordinary sense of the word. The object of this
book is to discount Mythopœia.
- LIBER XXXIII. An account of
A∴A∴ first written in the language of his period by the
Councillor Von Eckarthausen, and now revised and rewritten in the
Universal Cipher.
- LIBER XXV. This is the chapter called
the “Star Ruby” in the Book of Lies. It is an improved
form of the “lesser” ritual of the Pentagram.
- LIBER CC. RESH VEL HELIOS. An
instruction for the adoration of the Sun four times daily, with the
object of composing the mind to meditation and of regularizing the
practices.
- LIBER CCC. A SPECIAL INSTRUCTION
for the Promulgation of the Law. This is the first and most
important duty of every Aspirant of whatever grade. It builds up
in him the Character and Karma which form the Spine of Attainment.
- LIBER ABA (Book 4). A general account in elementary terms of
magical and mystical powers. In four parts: (1) Mysticism (2) Magical
Theory (3) Magical Practice (4) The Law.
- LIBER
CCVII. SYLLABUS. An enumeration of the Official Publications of
the A∴A∴ with a brief description of the contents of each
book.
This course of reading will furnish the Probationer with a through
general knowledge of the whole system of Attainment, and of the practices
tending to this goal, so that he may choose freely as to what way he will
take in his Beginning. For this is always left by the
A∴A∴ to his Free Will; They only begin to advise and
criticize him on the information supplied to Them by himself in the Magical
Record which he prepares for Their Instruction.
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COURSE III
The following books are officially appointed for the study of the Neophyte:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER VII. LIBER LIBERI VEL LAPIDIS LAZULI, ADUMBRATIO KABBALÆ ÆGYPTIORUM Sub Figurâ VII, being the Voluntary Emancipation of a certain Exempt Adept from his Adeptship. These are the Birth Words of a Master of the Temple. The nature of this book is sufficiently explained by its title. Its seven chapters are referred to the seven planets in the following order: Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Sol, Mercury, Luna, Venus.
- LIBER VI. LIBER O VEL MANUS ET SAGITTÆ. The instructions given in this book are too loose to find place in the Class D publications. Instructions given for elementary study of the Qabalah, Assumption of God forms, vibrations of Divine Names, the Rituals of Pentagram and Hexagram, and their uses in protection and invocation, a method of obtaining astral visions so called, and an instruction in the practice called Rising on the Planes.
- LIBER IX. LIBER E VEL EXERCITIORUM. This book instructs the aspirant in the necessity of keeping a record. Suggests methods of testing physical clairvoyance. Gives instruction in Asana, Pranayama and Dharana, and advises the application of tests to the physical body, in order that the student may thoroughly understand his own limitations.
- LIBER XCVI. LIBER GAIAS. A Handbook of Geomancy. Gives a simple and fairly satisfactory system of Geomancy.
- LIBER
LXXVIII. A description of the Cards of the Tarot, with their
attributions, including a method of divination by their use.
- LIBER CDXII. A VEL ARMORUM. An
instruction for the preparation of the Elemental Instruments.
- LIBER CDLXXIV. LIBER OS ABYSMI VEL
DAATH. An instruction in a purely intellectual method of entering
the Abyss.
- LIBER DCCCXI. ENERGIZED ENTHUSIASM.
This course is specially adapted to the Task of this Grade, the
Attainment of Control of the Body of Light, development of Intuition, et
cetera.
[The Book of Thoth, which largely supercedes “A description
of the Cards of the Tarot,” and for which there is a good case for
citation as Liber LXXVIII, might reasonably be added to this course.]
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COURSE IV
The Zelator will be examined in the following books:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER CMLXIII. (Only the short note pertains to Class A.) This book is a superb collection of Litanies appropriate to the Signs of the Zodiac.
- LIBER CMXIII. LIBER VIAE MEMORIAE. Gives methods for attaining the magical memory or memory of past lives, and an insights into the function of the aspirant in this present life.
- LIBER III. LIBER JUGORUM. An instruction for the control of speech, action and thought.
- LIBER XIII. GRADUUM MONTIS ABIEGNI. An account of the task of the Aspirant from Probationer to Adept.
- LIBER XVII. LIBER I.A.O. Gives three methods of attainment
through a willed series of thoughts. This book has not been
published. It is the active counterpart of
Liber HHH. The article
“Energized Enthusiasm” is an
adumbration of this book. [Still not published; possibly no longer
extant, although I hear occasional rumours of it. — T.S.]
- LIBER XXXVI. THE STAR SAPPHIRE. Is Chapter XXXVI of the Book of Lies, giving an improved ritual of the Hexagram.
- LIBER CLXXXV. LIBER COLLEGII SANCTI. Being the tasks of the Grades and their Oaths proper to Liber XIII. This is the official paper of the various grades. It includes the Task and Oath of a Probationer.
- LIBER CCVI. LIBER R V VEL SPIRITUS. Full instruction in Pranayama.
- LIBER CCCLXI. LIBER HHH. Gives three methods of attainment through a willed series of thoughts.
- LIBER CCCXXXIII. THE BOOK OF LIES falsely so called. This book deals with many matters on all planes of the very highest importance. It is an official publication for Babes of the Abyss, but is recommended even to beginners as highly suggestive. Its Chapters XXV, XXXVI, and XLIV are in Class D.
- LIBER DCCCXI. ENERGIZED ENTHUSIASM.
This course is specially adapted to the Task of this Grade, the
Attainment of Hatha-Yoga.
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COURSE V
The Practicus will be examined in the following books:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER XXVII. LIBER TRIGRAMMATON, being a book of Trigrams of the Mutations of the Tao with the Yin and the Yang. An account of the cosmic process: corresponding to the Stanzas of Dzyan in another system.
- LIBER CCXXXI. LIBER ARCANORUM των ATV του TAHVTI QVAS VIDIT ASAR IN AMENTI Sub Figurâ CCXXXI. Liber Carcerum των QLIPHOTH cum suis Geniis. Addentur Sigilla et Nomina Eorum. This is an account of the cosmic process so far as it is indicated by the Tarot Trumps.
- LIBER CD. LIBER TAV VEL KABBALÆ
TRIUM LITERARUM Sub Figurâ CD. A graphic interpretation of
the Tarot on the plane of initiation.
- LIBER LVIII. This is an article on the
Qabalah in the Temple of Solomon the King, EQUINOX V.
- LIBER LXIV. LIBER ISRAFEL, formerly
called ANUBIS. An instruction in a suitable method of preaching.
- LIBER LXXXIV. VEL CHANOKH. A brief
abstraction of the symbolic representation of the Universe derived by
Dr. John Dee through the Scrying of Sir Edward Kelly. Its
publication is at present incomplete.
- LIBER DXXXVI. BATRACHOPHRENOBOOCOSMOMACHIA. An instruction in expansion of the field of the mind.
- LIBER D. SEPHER SEPHIROTH. A dictionary of Hebrew words arranged according to their numerical value. This is an Encyclopædia of the Holy Qabalah, which is a Map of the Universe, and enables man to attain its Perfect Understanding.
- LIBER DCCLXXVII. VEL PROLEGOMENA
SYMBOLICA AD SYSTEMAM SCEPTICO-MYSTICÆ VIÆ EXPLICANDÆ,
FUNDAMENTUM HIEROGLYPHICAM SANCTISSIMORUM SCIENTIÆ SUMMÆ. A complete Dictionary of the Correspondences of all magical elements, re-printed with extensive additions, making it the only standard comprehensive book of reference ever published. It is to the language of Occultism what Webstar or Murray is to the English language.
- LIBER LXVII. THE SWORD OF SONG. A critical study of various philosophies. An account of Buddhism.
- LIBER MMCMXI. A NOTE ON GENESIS. A model of Qabalistic ratiocination.
This course is especially adapted to the Task of this Grade, the
attainment of Gnana Yoga.
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COURSE VI
The Philosophus will be examined in the following books:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER DCCCXIII. VEL ARARITA Sub Figurâ DLXX. This book is an account of the Hexagram and the method of reducing it to the Unity, and Beyond.
- LIBER LV. THE CHYMICAL JOUSTING OF BROTHER PERARDUA. An account of the Magical and Mystic Path in the language of Alchemy.
- LIBER LIX. ACROSS THE GULF. A fantastic account of a previous incarnation. Its principal interest is that its story of the overthrowing of Isis by Osiris may help the reader to understand the meaning of the overthrowing of Osiris by Horus in the present Æon.
- LIBER CXCVII. THE HIGH HISTORY OF GOOD SIR PALAMEDES THE SARACEN KNIGHT and of his following of the Questing Beast. A poetic account of the Great Work, and enumeration of many obstacles.
- LIBER CCXLII. AHA! An exposition in poetic language of several of the ways of attainment and the results obtained.
- LIBER CCCXXXV. ADONIS. This gives an account in poetic language of the struggle of the human and divine elements in the consciousness of man, giving their harmony following upon the victory of the latter.
- LIBER XVI. LIBER TURRIS VEL DOMUS DEI. An instruction for attainment by the direct destruction of thoughts as they arise in the mind.
- LIBER CLXXV. ASTARTE VEL LIBER BERYLLI. An instruction in attainment by the method of devotion, of Bhakta-Yoga.
- LIBER XLVI. THE KEY OF THE MYSTERIES. A translation by Frater O.M. of the masterpiece of Eliphas Levi.
This course is specially adapted to the task of this Grade, the
Attainment of Bhakta-Yoga.
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COURSE VII
The Dominus Liminis will be examined in the following books:
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER XCV. THE WAKE WORLD (in
Konx
Om Pax). A poetic allegory of the relations of the soul and the
Holy Guardian Angel.
- LIBER
DCCCLX. JOHN ST JOHN. A model of what a magical record should
be, so far as accurate analysis and fullness of description are
concerned.
- LIBER VIII. See CDXVIII.
- LIBER XI. LIBER NV. An instruction for attaining Nuit.
- LIBER DLV. LIBER HAD. An instruction for attaining Hadit.
- LIBER DCCCXXXI. LIBER IOD, formerly called VESTA. An instruction giving three methods of reducing the manifold consciousness to the Unity.
This course is specially adapted to facilitate the Task proper to the Grade of Adeptus Minor, the Attainment of Raja Yoga and of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.
[Two other works in addition to those listed might perhaps be added to
the above course. Liber CCCLXX,
A’ash vel Capricorni Pneumatici, on the grounds that a note appended
to the Equinox publication states: “The Interpretation of this
Book will be given to members of the Grade of Dominus Liminis on
application, each to his Adeptus.” and Liber
DCCC, Samekh, which relates directly to the Task of Adeptus Minor, and
which moreover, on its publication in Magick, was said to be
official for that grade. — T.S.]
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COURSE VIII
- LIBER CCXX. LIBER L VEL LEGIS SUB FIGURÂ CCXX as delivered by XCIII unto DCLXVI. This book is the foundation of the New Æon, and thus of the whole of our work.
- LIBER I. LIBER B VEL MAGI. This is an account of the Grade of Magus, the highest grade which it is ever possible to manifest in any way whatever upon this plane. Or so it is said by the Masters of the Temple.
- LIBER LXVI. LIBER STELLÆ
RUBÆ. A secret ritual, the Heart of IAO-OAI, delivered unto
V.V.V.V.V. for his use in a certain matter of Liber Legis, and written
down under the figure LXVI.
- LIBER CLVI. LIBER CHETH VEL VALLUM ABIEGNI Sub Figurâ CLVI. This book is a perfect account of the task of the Exempt Adept, considered under the symbols of a particular plane, not the intellectual.
- LIBER XLIV. THE MASS OF THE PHOENIX. A Ritual of the Law.
- LIBER XLI. THIEN TAO. An Essay on
Attainment by the Way of Equilibrium.
- LIBER DCCCLXVIII. LIBER VIARUM
VIÆ. A graphic acccount of magical powers classified under
the Tarot Trumps.
Course VIII publications are specially suited to the grade of Major
Adept, whose task is the attainment of the full Magical Power. It is
highly desirable that Aspirants to this grade should have attained the 9th
degree of O.T.O., in which case much secret knowledge is offered them
besides that openly published. The methods of examination for the
Inner College differ therefore from those employed in the Outer.
Additional publications will be referred, as they are issued, to the
proper course. [With the exception of Liber DCCC, Samekh, this was
not in fact done, at least in anything Crowley published; it is likely
that internal materials in modern groups claiming to represent the
A∴A∴ have done so. — T.S.]
The Exempt Adept will possess a thorough knowledge of all these courses,
and present a thesis of his own, as a general epitome of his own Attainment
as reflected in the sphere of the mind.
Love is the law, love under will.
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A note: “print edition” links generally resolve to
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Text of Crowley material (c) Ordo Templi Orientis. Introduction,
bibliographical research, web-crawling (with much help from Google
and the U. Penn Online Books Page),
key entry and HTML coding by Frater T.S.
Respect to Sacred-Texts and
Project Gutenberg.
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