Buy These Books - Essential Library for Studying Western Esotericism & the Occult
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Building a reliable library of Esoteric and Occult books is simply difficult. What sources are accurate? What translations are dependable? What editions are the best? After years of building my own library I created a master list of what I take to be the most important academic volumes for the study of Western Esotericism through c. 1650. With hundreds of books in numerous fields, I've created a massive, though systematic, list that I think contains the essential books you should have in your library of Esoterica, the Arcane and the Occult! Check this list out and start building your own Esoteric Library!
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A few nights ago, I went to a metal gig to see a band called Spite - brutal, awesome metal! Anyway, there was an advert for a rock group called Esoterica playing later in the month and as I moshed the night away dodging stage divers I occasionally broke into a smile thinking of Doctor Sledge up on the stage delivering an extremely informative and witty lecture in front of a rowdy and drunken crowd, having to shove stage divers out of his way and occasionally demanding the audience forms a brutal pit in which the occupants fear for their lives!
Spite is sick.
@@rogeliodominguez5651yup, seen them twice now, the second time was at a tiny venue where I was middle of the front. Close enough to smell the singer!
Dr. Sledge: "And John Dee and Edward Kelly asked how to find buried treasure."
The Mosh Pit: WOOOO YEAHH BURIED TREASURE *crashes into each other*
I have had Esoterica promoted on my Instagram feed. I always get them mixed up with the excellent funeral doom metal band Esoteric. Both are English as well.
@@pinkcupcake4717"Erotic Binding Magic" and "Immortality Technology" are always crowd pleasers. Demiurge got actual airplay though, so I just groan when I hear it.
Justin you are simply a treasure.
Lynn Thorndike History of Magic and Experimental Science is on sale right now in Kindle for $2
Thanks for making this video I got busy and had already forgotten the suggestion you made in your last live.
You deserve a hero’s wage
He said he is not a practioner but he has taught us how to curse asymetrical markets and conjure words from the void!! 🪄
It would be phenomenal to have Esoterica Publishing someday to reclaim, proofread, and re-print all these super expensive and out of print works, either as physical books and/or PDFs
THIS is the video I've been wanting. Filtering through countless modern ~spiritualism~ books is exhausting (especially as someone who wants to focus into astrology and astrological magic), thank you for the shortcut to the good stuff!
my bookbinding hobby may just become very useful now. print pdf, turn into hardcover leather book, put on book shelf.
I was wondered if that was possible! Good to know
Don't let Brill read this
That's cool
germans in 1440 be like
View the Bibliography here - docs.google.com/document/d/1caKNlW7sogEF7lAeYNbOQF9pt5O5b70yAXa-icUJO3o/edit?usp=sharing
You should pin this comment
On my part, my kinda foolish pondering of putting it out there:
Would one gain a virtual practically accredited standing and almost audited/graded near equivalent to a masters/bachelor's degree from the school of Esoterica? Or a fun yet rigorous and scholarly (if not officially academic or scholastic) MOOC type (EdX style) certificate of completion from Esoterica? ...although that would require an actual informal yet progressive and trackable curriculum, much like the awe-inspiring Kabbalah lecture playlist! 📖 📚 🌌 🪽💡 💼📝 📜 🎬 🌟⛰️ ☁️
@@sageinitit's in the Description, which makes sense.
In the words of Dr. Irving Finkel: "For those of you who never thought you might spend your life reading cuneiform, what a foolish decision that was...and perhaps we're in time to rescue you so you can immediately drop everything and take up cuneiform studies."
Uneven is a considerable understatement. It’s been largely through your channel and Dr. Angela that I’ve distilled my library down to the good stuff
two legends!
This video exemplifies why I think you're one of the best channels on TH-cam (in this field, at least)! Thank you Dr. Sledge, for your commitment to transparency and empowering others to learn seriously.
Justin,
You are truly doing wonderful, important work. I’m consistently in awe of the quality and generosity of your contributions. I do not think it is an understatement to say that Esoterica is a great gift to humanity, and I truly admire your commitment to the earnest pursuit and sharing of knowledge of these subjects. There simply is no other single source of this caliber, that covers such a broad array of subjects so deeply, in such a delightful presentation, and I do not think there will every be another. _You_ are the secret sauce-thanks to your generosity, integrity, creativity, sweat equity, mentality, and intellect.
Thank you! 🙏
Such a kind comment! Thanks so much it really warms my heart and I appreciate it deeply.
Lmao we're not pirates we're wizards!
Ethernet wizards.
something i'd recommend is setting the titles to each section as headers to populate the outline and make it easier to go through. if you switch it to pageless mode (under Format) it'll also be cleaner to read on a computer. i'm excited to have a list like this
Great recommendation - done!
I think I missed how to access the list.
🙏🌍🕊🕊
@@ancientwisdom108 View > Show outline
Of course I skipped by the entire bibliography and instead located Volume 1 of A History of Magic and Experimental Science. Opening a page at random, I found Pliny, who is referenced often in another book I’m reading. Truly there are no coincidences. Thank you for your deep scholarship. I will now go back and acquire Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed. I’m an old woman, so these two books may last me the rest of my life.
conjuring up books from the ether is the only magic i know ;)
It's an excellent magical skill to have!
"From the ether"... .Love the delivery.
"Yes Guillermo, I know how the Ether works"
I think that upbringings in religious fundamentalist households can produce three different kinds of relationships with scripture. People who hate it and are uninterested, people who buy into the fundamentalism, and people who genuinely love the texts for what they are and are massive fucking nerds for that. Through some bazaar alchemy I ended up in the third camp.
My wife's father was a kabbalist with a massive library of books on the subject, many in Hebrew only, which we obtained after his death. I noticed several of these within his collection so I'm interested to investigate those. Interestingly he has Scholem's Origins of Kabbalah, but not simply Kabbalah. Would Origins still be worth a read?
I was just gonna be a casual fan but I mean, sure why not let it consume my life instead?
My brother became very curious about all of these topics and I'm happy to say I highly recommended this channel and this video was perfectly timed. Thanks Doc!
The profound giving heart of the true academic is on display here, thank you for this resource Dr Sledge! I hope this little beginners list fuels not only a passion for further study amongst viewers, but a greater drive to make accessible and preserve the harder to find, and more expensive volumes. It sucks that texts go out of print.
Well done sir. your vid strikes me as a modern version of the bibliography of Dr John Dee's library, But... with modern scholarship as we understand it. A very well direct discussion of the subject, from a academic perspective, not that of a practitioner. For that I applaud. Well done. I have also been studying this field for a long time. I also am a collector of such bits of subjects of forgotten lore. You sir I respect. Well Done.
As a fellow bibliophile I appreciate this list. I read a lot of myth, biblical mysticism, epic poetry etc. in college (many years ago unfortunately). Recently I started reading about theosophy because of the TH-camr Styxhexenhammer666 and I discovered your channel and have been binge watching your videos. I look forward to learning more!
I just ordered the Guide for the Perplexed! 🤘
Thanks for the syllabus professor
This dropped at the perfect time for me. I've got a creative project around HP Lovecraft. I've taken the recrurring character of Randolph Carter and imagined a modern day Miskatonic student finding his lost journals. The student is then sharing Carter's notes on Lovecraft's own stories as well as on some essoteric texts that I am imagining Carter researched. Now I have a great list of texts to pull from. Thank You!
I'm deciding between the Norton KJB and the Oxford Annotated - would love to know what led you to choose Oxford!
I would add the following titles:
Faraone, Tovar - Greek and Egyptian formularies:Text and translation. (As an addition to Betz Greek magical papyri)
F. L. Griffith - The Leyden Papyrus.
Erik Hornung - The One and the Many: conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt.
Frances Yates - The art of memory.
Marsilio Ficino - Dionysius the Aeropagite. Parts 1, 2, 3.
Steven Botterrill - Dante and the mystical tradition: Bernard Clairvaux in the Commedia.
The timing is rather odd. I started getting addicted on reading academic and historical books about magic last week and was looking for a good reading list this Tuesday.
I especially wanted a good recommendation on the Bible, since it's hard to find non-christian recommendations, even in the scholar field. In fact, I even looked in your channel for it. A few days later you posted it. I'm so happy!
Timing is PERFECT, as it was meant to be. A little magick happened right there!
The timing is uncanny for me as well: I'm three weeks into teaching myself Middle Egyptian, and this serendipitous pep talk from Dr. Sledge is giving me some extra fuel!
Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall, I'd start there
@@cuervojones4889 I love to think that.
@@lewismillar-nelson4953 Thank you for the recommendation.
I looked it up and apparently it is not considered accurate anymore, with people pointing out his giant bias of Freemasonry. I don't know if that affects the whole book, tho. As I learn more, I will definitely check it out for myself at some point.
I don't have words to express how thankful I am for this Doc, your experience is indispensable beyond description.
This is exactly what I needed! Turns out my uni library has the entire Lynn Thorndike collection (in the bowels of compact storage but available nonetheless) Thank you Dr. Sledge!
As somebody with a deep interest in the occult from the perspective of RPGs like Call of Cthulhu, hope you can get some Taco Bell!
Thank You SO MUCH for this!
Had I the money I would throw it at you for compiling such an invaluable resource!
I remember a few years ago you had some obscure texts that you mentioned you wanted to sell but were considering options. By the time I saw the video there were too many comments to be seen, but at that time I was going to suggest scanning/ digitizing & creating your own saleable digital copies. A "Dr. Sledge Library of the Obscure and Esoteric" would be a great way to support yourself/ the channel or other such philosophical endeavors.
I love that these texts have endured some academic rigor as well as an academically rigorous filter of your scholarship as well.
Hurray! You even gave an entry level survey!!
Thank you again.
Some damn fine recommendations here, folks!
Many of these are absolutely essential!
Great work as usual, Dr. Sledge!
Looking forward to your exploration into Freemasonry. I have learned more from literature on the subject than I have from speaking to any Freemason directly , but I suppose that’s intentional.
I feel like I am witnessing something seminal. I feel like this library document may be a turning point for the study of “Western” esotericism.
the timing!!! ❤❤❤ i was literally just looking to make the jump to also reading books on esotericism!! legit so perfect. your timing and scholarship is impeccable, dr. sledge! thank you!! ❤❤❤
I’m a bit shocked that you (if I heard it right) are “not a practitioner” - seems like many academics are - kinda nice to have a resource via the channel and you that is academically focused (could even help with objectivity)
I'm definitely not. But, as long as a person is abiding by academic principles, practitioner or not, their scholarship should be just as appreciated as any other.
@@TheEsotericaChannel - makes sense, and appreciate that thought 🙂
I’m glad I’ve been on the right track building out this large portion of my library. Many of your recommendations are already on my shelves or on my wishlist. Some of these have definitely been recommended by other scholars I follow as well.
Thank you for making this video and list!
Gosh, I can’t wait to use the channels partnership with Brill to secure some of these texts!
Thank you Justin!
I made it through most of Hanegraaff's New Age Religion and bought Western Esotericism to dive into this year. I also read The Myth of Disenchantment earlier this year and I absolutely devoured it and rereading it slowly. Juggling that with Mesiter Eckhart: Philosopher of Christianity translated from Kurt Flasch. Don't know if you're familiar and, if yes, what you think?
Anyways, thank you again! Have a lot to read 😅
Thank you for this amazing list. I think I lost about three pounds since reading it, all around the pocket area!
10:12 This is such a welcome little pep talk. I'm a practitioner, but I've still felt called to dive deeper: our local college library had a copy of James P. Allen's "Middle Egyptian: an Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs." I'm about 3 chapters in, and while it is slow going, the more I learn, the more "do-able" this feels, which is astonishing to me. Taking notes, making flash-cards, quizzing myself, and just really *thinking* about language is giving my mind such a healthy ongoing challenge! Taking myself "back to school," purely for the challenge, enjoyment, and empowerment of it, is a choice I am not regretting.
I'm already compiling a little "wish list" from the Esoterica library to help supplement this pursuit. Thank You, Dr. Sledge, for putting this "next level" within reach for practitioners.
Still can’t believe I’m learning about all this stuff for free. Much appreciated and keep up the fantastic work
Thorndike at the Internet Archive for the win
They have Only a few volumes I have a full set of 8 if anyone is interested
The broad strokes of the first 2/3rds of the video can apply to so many disciplines. Just great advice in general.
I only have the dungeon master’s guide and a third party campaign setting
Subscribed. I came for the transmutation of gold/silver... I stayed for the education and knowledge. some $$ would help, but books will do. =D
oh... would it be worth... making a child book series... covering esoterica. Something a 10-12 yr old might find interesting, similar to kids books about subjects like homer, jason, hercules... or information theory like puzzles and such. =D
In a way I think the list is too big, but I understand why you did it that way. I'll read the Haanegraf and go from there. Thanks.
It's less than half of what it was originally
It's hard out here for an esotericist
When he's trying to get this money for citrinitas
For the aqua regia boiled to a gas
And a whole lot of clerics talking sass.
Hustle flow reference lol
Thank you doctor for your insightful resources and wonderful channel, which I’ve become addicted to.
8:58 Being a practitioner, I have found the most relevance in studying the solidly known historical foundations and engaging with others, historians, practitioners and the general public on topics in esotericism on those grounds by far more productive. To my mind, the mythological elements are for me and me alone to find myself in; by sticking to what can be known and internalizing that the importance of mythology as the importance of imagination, I can not only maintain the purity of my practice and avoid corrupting the practice of others (except nazis, corrupting their practices is called praxis) but it's very helpful in never suddenly realizing I fell into a narcissistic personality cult.
I also would love to hear you talk about Mesmerism.
'The publisher that shall not be named'. That sponsorship didn't last long :)
My demented ravenous need for more books should be on a tshirt.
It's a pity that academic literature is so hard to find and acquire, somehow both priced as a luxury and dismissed as unimportant.
Thanks for making it more accessible and identifiable.
What a fantastic idea, thank you Justin!
Hope the list helps the community and hope you are well, friend!
I like what you said about language.
I've recently started studying Pali to better understand Buddhist texts.
After spending years reading English translations I've come to realize a lot of them are translated by Western Orientalists with an incomplete knowledge or in some cases uncharitable opinion of the subject. For example, I've yet to find ANY translation of the Pali Canon that doesn't admit it's abridged and edited for length.
Thats nice. I wonder how Christians would feel about a Bible edited and abridged for length.
Apparently Sanskrit is a walk in the park once you have Pali under you belt so I'll be doing that too.
Hi Dr. Justin, are there any youtubers with an academic background that cover eastern religions and topics? would like some reccomendations.
I don't know of any academic channels like that. Would love one!
@@TheEsotericaChannel any non academic ones you know or like?
I can't really evaluate non-academic material.
@@TheEsotericaChannel Yeah fair, thank you for the replies sir.
Kaitlyn Ugoretz, PhD, runs a channel here called Eat Pray Anime that is focused on Japanese religion and Japanese pop culture and how they interact. She's still getting up to speed after moving to Japan following acceptance of her diss at UC-SB (I believe), but there promise to be good things to come.
After that, I second Religion for Breakfast, but also agree that it's not that channel's focus at all.
You mean you weren’t a practitioner before you made the anti-melancholia draught😂
Thank you for putting together this list! I purchased the first book after seeing an early video we’re you advised getting it and I am reading it now. It is an awesome book. I can’t wait to get some of the others and boost my library. I love your channel.
Pro tip: If you find a pdf but want to have a physical book you can let one print for you. Where I live this is even possible with books who still have a copyright, as long as you only do it for personal use. I am currently editing a pdf I found for a lightnovel I would like to read and it will cost just 10€ to make it a book.
Have you heard of a gentleman by the name of Manly P Hall? if so whats the concensus on his works in terms of an academic perspective?
It's a historical importance but a very little academic value.
@@TheEsotericaChannel Thank you, much appreciated.
Doctors have told me I have dyslexia & I can barely read English. I don't want no books, Winnie the Pooh is hard. I understand every word but not every sentience, unless I read it like 20 times. But I want these books to be preserved & other people without my issues to study them. I've been trying to lean Spanish & Swedish via Duolingo, & my Swedish family in the USA, but still don't get a thing (I get good scores on Duolingo!). I also don't get a thing in English with like more then 4 people in the conversation. But, if you can, learn Latin! I'll finish Beowulf on of these year.
Thank you Dr Justin! This is an incredible resource! Just, wow :)
ESOTERICA, or Dr. Sledge, would you some day do an introduction to Lullism? I'm not sure it's your field of expertise, but you are probably quite familiar to a degree, for it has ties to mysticism. It's an author that doesn't really recieves coverage, not in english, and not too much in spanish or catalan.
Yep, eventually
Awesome list.
Heavy Metal - bringing balance to the force since Elvis left the building.
20 30 years ago my friends & I would have committed crimes to get our hand on this bibliography.. just gd amazing !!! Thank You Professor Spooky!
“Why would you care about my methodology.”
😂😂😂😂
Methodology is EVERYTHING.
I started with CG Jung everything else came after….
Great list, will be picking up a few of these. Prof. Hanegraaff is excellent!
I recently acquired my copy of the book of qab'itz.
My mom: why did you order four more books on neoplatonism??
Me: 🧍♀️cause funny magic man told me to
The time you put into compiling this excellent list is appreciated.
Thanks for another great video, Justin! Your videos and book recommendations have played such a helpful role in my own academic journey over the years. My research is on the PGM and belief and cult in Late Antique Egypt, and I have a couple of recommendations you may find helpful. For more up-to-date translations of the material covered by Betz, Meyer and Smith, I would highly recommend getting your hands on Greek and Egyptian Magical Formularies by Christopher Faraone and Sofia Torallas Tovar for the Graeco-Egyptian material, and Papyri Copticae Magicae by Korshi Dosoo and Markéta Preininger for the Coptic Christian magical tradition. For secondary literature, the works of David Frankfurter are invaluable. I would highly recommend his Religion in Roman Egypt and Christianising Egypt for discussions of the PGM and Coptic magical tradition in context. The volume he edited a few years ago Guide to the Study of Magic is also a fantastic introductory text (although I have a sneaking suspicion it was published by Brill). For older material, I think Jonathan Z. Smith's Map is Not Territory is dated but a classic. I hope this is helpful. Keep up the great work!
Oh boy my wallet is getting real afraid of this one lol
Thanks for such an invaluable resource!
Dear Dr. Sledge (dear Justin), this time you have outdone yourself! Again, I would say. There are not enough words to thank you for such generosity: such a curated and accurate list is a gift to all your supporters and followers: thank you very, very much, my good “doc”!❤❤❤
Dr. sledge: "Curse them."
Me: looks up book of curses to buy... Published by brill
"What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers." - The Commiefesto
Thanks!
I think I can hear my wallet screaming.
Who is the publisher who shall not be named?
@@davidhays2846 a pox on Brill!
I think one of the most spiritual exercises is reading old books on ancient history with a problem in mind, because once that connection is made, wow what a mindgasm. It's like slowly putting a mental puzzle together and fitting one of those pieces, that historical picture becoming clearer, nothin better. It's actually one of the reasons I believe in the transmigration of souls, I believe the most accurate way of explaining it is that it's a feeling of retrieving lost data, recollecting lost memories.
The language section is particularly valuable, since most language courses are designed to make the learner a bad tourist, not someone who can read texts in the language.
Thank you Justin, i always struggled to fins channels that i trust or at least am interested in, your videos go above and beyond, they are the measuring stick i use every time i have a collage paper, thank you
After every video I've seen, after every book I've read, I'm only left in more wonder and awe. humbled by how little I know and driven to deepen my understanding on such an equally fascinating and misunderstood field of study.
Well. I'm off to be a pirate and magic things from the ether.
As a practitioner, I already own and or have read a lot of those books. Hehe.
Just ordered Hanegraaff, can't wait to dig into it and take it from there.
I really appreciate this list, sir. Figuring out where to start has been difficult, despite my own habit of reading modern scholarly articles on a range of topics over the past decade. This field in particular has proven dense and nigh-impenetrable for someone without a degree in philosophy or the classics (maybe for them, too, I wouldn't know).
My pocketbook, however, has some choice words for you, as seven minutes with your bibliography is set to cost me over a hundred dollars. Well worth it, and far cheaper than what a solo meandering would cost, but still.
Only $100? Just wait.....and worry.
@@TheEsotericaChannel - Thank you for the warning, sir. Lol. That price is just for the specific list of primers that I've been missing.
This is amazing. As to your study/recording studio reorganization, I'm sure we'd all love to see the before and after! Also, do you have some sort of wish list? I'm sure there are those of us on here who would love to contribute a book or a piece of equipment to help with your amazing work. Love all this stuff and I can't wait until next week's collaboration with Dr. Puca!
Oh yes! I'll be documenting the whole process!
i started a personal library at 11 years of age , it is a quest , if it is not esoterica then find a set of books that you wish to contend with !
I'm looking for books on alchemy in the Americas. So far I have found word of "Gershom Bulkelty" but I have been struggling to find any of his work that is publicly available. They exist I just have not been able to view them.
Check out America's Prospero
If anyone wants to learn Latin with me I'm doing small study sessions on twitch under Chinojo25 at 8:00pm central American time every day.
Love this! You are the man as usual, my dude!
Two Gnostics watching this moment: 13:00 (very loosely applied but understandable wordplay reference, maybe not for Steve Rogers, though)
🌟 🗡⚔️🔫 🪖
Gnostic apprentice:
"Can this power be learned??"
Sethian Gnostic Master:
"Not from a Jeuian..."
(Hope you catch this reference anew, and may we strike back at the empirical cartel, to usher in the rerun of the Jeuian (Gnosticism episode)!
Thanks
I just recently got some new bookshelves... had intended to make them into an occult library, but they were looking a bit bare. Now I know what to fill them with!