OccultForum.org

Original post: Gizank

Psycho-Cybernetics - Maxwell Maltz - Just, wow. This book changed how I perceived the world and myself, and led me on the path to Mastery in life.

Modern Magick - Donald Michael Kraig - The first taste I ever had that Magick was something to be taken seriously. I first read this in 1990, and my view of the Universe and its possibilities were changed forever. Until this book, I just viewed it all as interesting stuff to read. Crowley caught my imagination, but this book changed my understanding.

Mystical Qabalah - Dion Fortune

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - for more reasons than I can possibly list.

Neuromancer - William Gibson

Unveiling the Edge of Time : Black Holes, White Holes, Worm Holes - John Gribbin - The book that helped me make real sense of A Brief History Of Time

The Way of Zen - Alan Watts

Tropic Of Cancer - Henry Miller - Changed forever my views on choosing a path in life.

Sperm Wars - Robin Baker - Changed my understanding of sex drive and mate choice.

Mind-lines: Lines For Changing Minds - L. Michael Hall, Bobby G Bodenhamer - The first NLP book (Meta Model) I read that left me with concrete tools I could use, a paradigm shift, and a new perspective on experience.


*Edit -
I don't know how I could have forgotten:
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid - Douglas R. Hofstadter
Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino
This list could go on forever, as most (as in more than half) of the books I have read have had significant effects on me.

Original post: Nuhad418

[QUOTE=Mmothra]Have you read Anti-Oedipus? If not, do. Also, Guattari's book Molecular Revolution is excellent.[/QUOTE]
Hi Mmothra, Alas I was a moron and started reading 1,000 before Anti-Oedipus. I will read it at some point though. I have not read Guattari's book though...I will look into it! Thanks!

Original post: Frater Tvec

The Barddas by Iolo Morganwg-I know, I know his research was more invention than fact but he really got me intrested in magic and paganism.

The House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs-this is what really got me into ceremonial magick. His reference to John Dee just made my young mind inquisitive. It has all been uphill since.

Original post: Fernpattern

Hmmmm let me see, life changing books.
Well Undoing Yourself is still my fave. I really enjoyed the Invisible comics. They gave me alot to ponder. Cosmic trigger gave me so many 23 coincidences that it did my head in, but i loved RAW forwriting that book. Energized hypnosis on new falcon is my current muse.

Original post: Finger of God

Illusions by Richard Bach -- kinda warm and fluffy but I did have a religious experience reading it.

Original post: frateruranus

Funnily enough it was Ma'at Magick by Nema. It introduced me to the Typhonian OTO style of magick as before I had read nothing and resulted in me learning about Grant and his work and also Linda Falorio and Mishlen Linden as well as me engaging in a 4 year correspondence with Michael Staley where I learned a hell of a lot about Magick. I consider Staley the next step in progressive Thelemic Magick. He has all of Grant's positive qualities and none of his negative and he presents practical work for you to start with instead of having to extrapolate from his works.

Uranus

Original post: Calling Forth

Not necessarily 'favourites' but each of these has changed my outlook in some way:

Psychopath's Bible - Chris Hyatt
Total Freedom - Jiddu Krishnamurti
Dhammapadda - Sayings of the Buddha
History of the Church of Satan - M Aquino
Way of the Pilgrim - R M French
Letters from the Desert - Carlo Carreto
Fountainhead - Ayn Rand
Silent Power - Stuart Wilde

All highly recommended.

Original post: Ekron

"Satan's Disciples" by Robert Goldston, published 1962.

Opened many doors some of which I wished I never opened.

Original post: FraterAA

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse - ended a long, seemingly hopeless near-manic depression

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite - for my own non-obvious reasons

Kraig's Modern Magick, the Ciceros' Self Initiation. . ., and a few other occult texts continue to shape my life. . .I've found vital insight therein which makes all the difference.

I'm sure I'll kick myself later for forgetting a major one. . .

Original post: RavensHaelo

Condensed and Prime Chaos - Phil Hine
Prometheus Rising - Robert Anton Wilson (still going through it - again)
Nocturnal Witchcraft (the first book on magick I ever owned)
...And A LOT of fiction(?) that I can't recall right now that gave me pause and made me consider.
OH! American Gods - Neil Gaiman.

Original post: thief_and_a_liar

1. The Celestine Prophesy
2. Simon's Necronomicon
3. Mirror of the Soul by Gerd Ziegler

These transformed me on an early age.

4. The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune
5. The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
6. Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia by David Godwin

Of essential books, these are too obvious.

7. The Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage
8. The Grand Grimoire
9. De Vermiis Mysteriis

You can't have a library without grimoires like these.

At last I would really like to mention H. P. Lovecraft.

Original post: Kazahel

Hmm not many books have transformed my life. Ive read some great books etc but most dont change my way of thinking that much. The only book that really has is A Course In Miricles.

It was the first decent book I bought and I havent read anything else that can go against its logic. Its very logic'k'al imo and is a great read for anyone into healing etc or God.


Does anybody else own it?


Trust me, its worth a decent suss hey and its not a 'christian' christian book so there is no need to 'fear'.

Original post: MysteryMan

I own it...You can tell it's written/channeled from someone who is seriously a true ascended being. If you de-dogmafy it, it's an awesome read. I call it "buddhism for christians."

FSEM

Original post: the passenger

The Imitation of Christ is beginning to work its magic on me.

Original post: frateruranus

I wanted to add beyond Ma'at Magick these books altered my perceptions as well:

The Book of the Law... do you have to ask?

Nightside of Eden... again, why ask?

Modern Magick... the beginning and the end, the one book I ALWAYS refer to when I am stuck trying to explain something to my students.

Self-initiation into the GD... made what was essentially a bunch of odd shapes in Regardie's book and 777 into concepts I could grasp with explanations etc. Sometimes it gets into too much depth and unnecessary explanations but overall an EXCELLENT book on the GD.

Original post: AJAtheMetastasis

War Of The Worlds - H. G. Wells

Way of the Shaman - Michael Harner

The Book Of Pleasure - A. O. Spare

The Focus Of Life - A. O. Spare

The Logomachy Of Zos - A. O. Spare

The Zoetic Grimoire Of Zos - A. O. Spare

Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu

I-Ching - "all versions"

Goetia - Aleister Crowley

Original post: AJAtheMetastasis

Elric - Michael Moorcock

H. P. Lovecraft - Cthulhu Mythos

S.S.O.T.B.M.E. - Ramsey Dukes

Thundersqueak - Ramsey Dukes

Words Made Flesh - Ramsey Dukes

BLAST your way to megabuck$
with my SECRET sex-power formula - Ramsey Dukes

What I Did On My Holidays - Ramsey Dukes

The Good The Bad The Funny - Ramsey Dukes

UNCLE RAMSEY'S LITTLE BOOK OF DEMONS - Ramsey Dukes

The Theater Of Magic - Ray Sherwin

The Book Of Results - Ray Sherwin

Eight Lectures on Yoga - Aleister Crowley

Original post: Amur

[QUOTE=Qryztufre]First and foremost, The Bible. Until I read that I was a devout Christian
[/QUOTE]

Hehheh, I was a 'defender' of Christian religion until I read The Bible, after that I cursed and burned the very poor swedish translation of the book, the bastard didn't even burn properly :lol:

Some books:

Fermat's last theorem - Simon Singh (One of the best history books I've ever read, gives a nice view on mathematics and it's history)
The Constants of Nature - John D. Barrow ('proof' that the universe is designed to sustain life)
Sinuhe - Mika Waltari (a very nice fictive book on ancient egypt)
Physics of Consciousness - Ph.D. Evan Walker (Introduction unto Quantum Mechanics along with theory about the physics underlying consciousness, heavy to read tho)
Dune series - Frank Herbert
Discworld series - Terry Pratchett
Trance formations - John Grinder & Richard Bandler (Cornerstone for NLP/hypnosis, along with the rest by them)
Joining the group with Prometheus Rising - RAW

Original post: Qryztufre

[QUOTE=Amur on the Bible]Hehheh, I was a 'defender' of Christian religion until I read The Bible, after that I cursed and burned the very poor swedish translation of the book, the bastard didn't even burn properly :lol:
[/QUOTE]
Then I'm glad ya agree with me on it being a "life changing" book

I'm currently reading book two (Outer temple of Witchcraft) by Christopher Penczak(sp?) and while it will not be a major life change I can feel the currents moving...
Q

Original post: MysteryMan

I would like to add an update...the book "Soul Psychology" can seriously help many on their paths, as (although pretty opinionated at times) it shows a pretty decent working model of the mind to work with.

FSEM

Original post: ~ Serenity ~

Kaz...I have ACIM and I see a lot of value in it . Its just not my symbol system but as for perennial philosophy? its lovely.

All roads lead to Rome as long as you work them.
I just prefer dogs, lol...

fera

Original post: Kazahel

[QUOTE=feranaja]Kaz...I have ACIM and I see a lot of value in it . Its just not my symbol system but as for perennial philosophy? its lovely.

All roads lead to Rome as long as you work them.
I just prefer dogs, lol...

fera[/QUOTE] Yeah it took me awhile to get used to the words they used... I thought it was way too christian at first but the logic of the book made me not care about the wording in the end. So I keep on reading away. Its good to know others have even heard of it hey.

Cosmic Trigger by RAW
A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda
A People's History of the US by Howard Zinn
True Hallucinations by Terrance McKenna
Kingdom of Fear by Hunter Thompson
Contact With Space by Wilhelm Reich
Game of Life by Tim Leary
VALIS by P.K. Dick

Faces in the Smoke-Douchan Gersi
The Tao of Philosophy-Alan Watts

I was 19 and very depressed. I was living far from home, doing roofing for some very powerful psychic vampires. I would stare at the wall after work, not wanting to do anything. Then one day, while I was staring at the wall, it started breathing and pulsating, with circular dark wisps of smoke. It scared the F*%K outta me. I thought I was going crazy, and had to do something about my depression. I found these 2 books at a used book store around that time. Reading Alan Watts in that period of my life, was like an Angel telling me everything was going to be alright, a great big hug. Faces in the Smoke, was just an exciting non-fiction book on the "unknown", that really had me questioning the nature of reality.

Psychic Self-Defense- Dion Fortune
Cosmic Trigger- RAW

2 books that got me started on the Path. Psychic Self-Defense got me on the path of healing and protecting myself, while Cosmic trigger blew my mind on many different levels.(which reminds me, I can't remember who I've lent it to last [bummed] )

I am currently working though Modern Magick by Donald M. Kraig. and loving it.