It doesn’t matter to which religion you subscribe; there is always a mystical teaching bubbling beneath. The Gnostic Christians, Esoteric Buddhists, Jewish Kabbalists, and Islamic Sufis are just some examples of mainstream faiths that have sunk deeper into the occult, seeking to merge with the Supreme Being while decoding the secrets of the Universe. Of course, strict dogmas reject these practices as wicked blasphemy, but there’s no stopping human curiosity, and the deviating quests continue to capture spiritual imaginations today.
Such texts are plentiful, with the best ones hidden away from the public eye (or so we’d like to believe). However, there are readily available gateway scriptures to wet your eager tongue, leading you astray into even darker regions. Here are 10 of the most popular.
01. Secret Doctrine
If you’re keen to stretch your mind to the absolute limit, then The Secret Doctrine‘s 1,478 pages over two volumes may be the challenge you are looking for. Written by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and published in 1888, it is considered her defining work and the most crucial text behind the Theosophy religion.
Any attempt to summarise The Secret Doctrine‘s exhaustively comprehensive teachings would be a disservice to its profound impact on Western occultism. But to do our best, it covers everything from the birth of the Universe to the evolution of the material world and how the human species fit within that picture. Helena backs up her claims by connecting every ancient religious tradition with modern science, an endeavour that has wowed spiritual seekers and frustrated scientists across the globe. Regardless, this list has no entry quite as impressive as this one.
For a more extensive analysis, read this Secret Doctrine review!
02. Nag Hammadi library
It’s difficult to imagine, but Christianity existed long before the orthodox church compiled the Bible and declared those texts as the accurate word of Jesus. The most notable sect of this pre-establishment was the Gnostics, who had such wild ideas about Christ’s teachings that it was almost a completely different religion.
They tell us that the resurrection was symbolic, that the gods of the Old and New Testament were separate deities, and that women were—gasp—equal to men. It’s no wonder their gospels were suppressed and ultimately destroyed. That was until the Nag Hammadi Library was discovered in 1945, buried beneath Egyptian ground in a jar, gifting us with insights that were thought to be lost forever. The originals are now housed in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, Egypt, but translations can be freely found and admired.
03. The Kybalion
Sold as a hermetic work credited to the “Three Initiates”, scholars are unconvinced. They have concluded that William Walker Atkinson wrote The Kyblaion, and as Atkinson was a New Thought Movement pioneer, it is argued that he exploited the Hermeticisim label to seduce followers towards his belief. In that sense, calling it a hermetic philosophy is inaccurate through stricter terminology. However, these disputes are irrelevant when the content is so powerfully inspirational.
By teaching “mental alchemy” to manipulate the material world, this brief read relays seven principles one must study to take control of the Universe’s reigns (namely Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender). These ideas proved so effective that esoteric seekers are more aware of them than authentic Hermetica itself! So, while purists may consider the text blasphemous, even the staunchest of opposers would struggle to deny The Kyblaion as one of the simplest yet most potent mystical books available.
For a more extensive analysis, read this Kybalion review!
04. The Zohar
The Jewish mysticism school of Kabbalah has consumed esoteric wisdom seekers above most other teachings, and no texts are as foundational as The Zohar. Its authorship is unknown, although scholars point fingers at Spanish Rabbi Moses de León as he was the first known person to sing its praise. De León flatly denied the rumours, claiming it to be an ancient guide penned by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. But, of course, he would say that.
Regardless, its debut edition, printed in 1558, was quickly revered as a powerfully complex text dealing with topics such as ethical behaviour, accessing secret knowledge through thought, and reading The Torah in symbolic ways to reach upper planes of enlightenment. As a result, it remains highly influential today.
05. Janthopoyism Bible
As the most recent book on this list, the Janthopoyism Bible has an advantage by building cutting-edge quantum science upon the mysticism set by ancient occult concepts. Using the pantheistic model whereby the entire Universe is seen as a singular divine organism, this publication teaches us to live a life as uniquely as possible to feed fresh data into the collective evolutionary machine. It does so by breaking existence into two components: the external world we interact with and the internal world of our mind/being.
By subvertly dripping its understandings, the Janthopoyism Bible trains a person in a different type of idealism magic called Reality Hacking, i.e. exploiting one’s confirmation bias to manipulate the source code and manifest tangible outcomes. More in-depth Janthopoyism information here!
06. Corpus Hermeticum
What do you get if you cross the Ancient Egyptian god Thoth with the Ancient Greek god Hermes? Well, Hermes Trismegistus, of course! But unlike most deities of the time, Hermes has left a wealth of texts to his name, dating from between the 2nd and 4th centuries. One famous example is the Emerald Tablet, coining the far-reaching phrase “as above, so below”.
A more substantial work is the Corpus Hermeticum, which focuses on anthropology, cosmology, and theology. Here, Hermes’ education takes place through dialogue with assorted disciples, teaching of an all-encompassing God that is accessible through the Nous (collective intellect). These ideas changed Western esoterica forever, and their influence can be found everywhere, from Christian Gnosticism to Neoplatanism and almost every other entry on this list.
For a more extensive analysis, read this Corpus Hermeticum review!
07. The Golden Dawn
As their name suggests, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a secret society that studies Hermetic practices. Still, their beliefs have been modernised to incorporate many other ideas, including Kabbalah, Theosophy, Freemasonry, Tarot, Renaissance magic, astrology, and sacred geometry. From 1883 until today, their existence has inspired much of Western esotericism (especially Wicca and Thelema), but its teachings were always intentionally shrouded in mystery.
However, what we do know is owed mainly to British-American occultist Israel Regardie. He was a former member but grew disenchanted with the power-hunger of the leaders and retaliated by writing this book to expose their inner workings. From their rules to rituals, their talismans to astral travelling techniques, this is as far behind the curtain as we are permitted to peek.
08. The Book of the Law
Otherwise known as Liber AL vel Legis, Aleister Crowley‘s central text to the Thelema religion comes with a backstory as weird as the man himself. It starts in 1904 on Crowley’s Cario honeymoon with his wife, Rose Edith Kelly. She abruptly began to claim a being called Aiwass was speaking through her as a medium for different Egyptian deities, namely Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit. Each character dictated a chapter that Crowley hurriedly scribbled down and then spent the rest of his career analysing.
Interpretations of the complex teachings differ across Thelmites, with many disagreeing with Crowely’s own observations. However, the consensus is that The Book of the Law is about pursuing an individual’s true purpose as we usher in a spiritual evolution referred to as the Æon of Horus.
For a more extensive analysis, read this Book of the Law review!
09. The Key of Solomon
According to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, King Solomon was the head of ancient Israel and the son of King David. In each of the Abrahamic traditions, the man is celebrated as a wise prophet, which is why his name packs an additional punch when stamped upon this book. The Key of Solomon (dating back to the 14th or 15th century’s Italian Renaissance) is a grimoire textbook of magic, instructing how to invoke otherworldly entities through rituals, spells, and symbols.
There is also the Lesser Key of Solomon, which arrived around the 17th century, featuring comparable content.
10. The Book of the Dead
Originating in ancient Egypt, The Book of the Dead is not technically a book but rather a loose collection of texts that come in many variations, updated and rewritten numerous times across a thousand years.
However, its purpose was critically significant to the Egyptian nation, offering detailed instructions on transitioning through the underworld to a peaceful afterlife, complete with magical spells to protect the spirit. Chapters were carved into the tomb walls, and the dead were buried with the funerary text on papyrus. No matter what you believe, you may as well read it, just in case.
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