According to Google, November 18 is National Occult Day!
When I say occult, you’re probably thinking about secret societies practicing dark magic, right? The media has it all wrapped in its hyped-up stereotypes (especially those Illuminati Taco Bell commercials). The occult refers to hidden knowledge. The term stems from Latin meaning “secret” or “hidden.”
Did you know Pythagoras was considered an occult leader? He taught far more than what was forced into our heads in high school math. His sacred geometric teachings were forbidden knowledge. Followers died for spilling secrets to outsiders!
Other famous figures of the occult world included Manly P. Hall, John Dee, Aleister Crowley, Helena P. Blavatsky, and many more. Alchemy, divination, Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and astrology are considered occult practices.
Interested in learning more about the occult? Here are 18 books to read on National Occult Day:
OCCULT BOOKS
- Arcane Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Georg Luck
- Corpus Hermeticum trans. By Brian P. Copenhaver *REVIEW*
- Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon
- Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment by Rudolf Steiner
- Magic by Aleister Crowley
- Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation by Mitch Horowitz *REVIEW*
- Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age by Francis Andrew Yates
- Real History of the Rosicrucians by Arthur Edward Waite
- The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie
- The Kybalion by The Three Initiates *REVIEW*
- The Magus: A Complete System of Occult Philosophy by Francis Barrett
- The Morning of the Magicians by Jacques Bergier and Louis Pauwels
- The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca by John Michael Greer
- The Occult: A History by Colin Wilson
- The Secret Doctrine by Helena P. Blavatsky
- The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall *REVIEW*
- Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
- Transcendental Magic, its Doctrine, and Ritual by Éliphas Lévi
Like book lists? Here’s more:
- 55 Books for Atlantis and Lemuria Nerds
- 17 Sasquatch Books to Read this September
- 18 Books I’m Ready to Read Coming in Fall 2018
(Pics: Amazon, Wikimedia)
Duckie's Book Nook 