There are the 'classics' that every occultist has/should have - and luckily, most are available for free as pdf files online. It's not the same as holding a book in your hands, but they can also be found at amazon.com:
- The Greater Key of Solomon, edited by SL MacGregor Mathers
http://www.occult-underground.com/ebooks/greaterkeysolomon1.zip
http://www.occult-underground.com/ebooks/greaterkeysolomon2.zip
- The Lesser Key of Solomon aka 'The Goetia', which is fact, just the first of 5 books that actually comprise the complete Lesser Key. THE edition to own of 'The Goetia' is edited by Aleister Crowley. For the complete 5 books, see the EXCELLENT hardcover edition by Joseph H. Peterson, available at amazon.com(where I bought mine).
http://www.occult-underground.com/ebooks/lesserkeysolomon1.zip
- Liber 777 - THE book of correspondences; what this means, and why do you use that... example: Mercury = the color orange and the number 8. Therefore, if you're doing a ritual that involves Mercurial forces, you would draw an 8-sided star(an octagram) in orange on the floor, within your magickal circle(among other things). Released by Aleister Crowley, some people say he actually stole the manuscript from SL MacGregor Mathers, his magickal guru in The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
http://www.occult-underground.com/ebooks/liber777.zip
- The Book of Ceremonial Magic - edited by A.E. Waite, it is a compilation of several different magickal 'grimoires'. There are some editorial errors here and there, and Waite can be incredibly long-winded, with a single sentence lasting an entire page(!), but it IS one of the CLASSICS, and is THE single book that prompted Crowley to seek out membership in a real occult order(The Golden Dawn, of which Waite was actually a member).
http://www.occult-underground.com/ebooks/bookceremonialmagic.zip
There are many others that are considered 'occult classics'. but these are, in my opinion, MUST HAVES.
***I would normally put "Magick In Theory and Practice" by Aleister Crowley in the MUST-HAVE category(especially the 'big blue brick' edition), but it's not something a beginner can even hope to grasp... so it's better saved until one has the basic knowledge down. Crowley sometimes made the mistake of assuming others were as brilliant as he was! It will go straight over your head if you jump into it too early - once you've 'been around the block' you will appreciate it and return to it over and over again... and you will - and every time you do, you'll 'get it' just abit more.
The 'Solomonic grimoires' are the basis of most of the western magickal tradition. The over-whelmingly Judeo-Christian bent of the whole thing is a turn-off to many(if you've not read these yet, you'll see what I mean), but it's also a testament to the fact that the preservation of these age-old manuscripts is actually due to various unknown clergymen across medieval Europe... some have said that the church elders believed 'to battle the forces of evil, one had to be adept at their ways of working'. I don't buy that for a minute(meaning they were using these grimoires for the same reasons others were, IMHO), but I'm glad they made copies and hid them away just as well! LOL
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (founded in 1888) is perhaps the MOST influential magickal order in modern history, which is why things almost always seem to trace back to them. That's how I came to delve into ceremonial magick - I kept seeing references to them in witchcraft circles, but had no idea what it was they were referring to. So, I started looking... and found Aleister Crowley there as well! Before The Golden Dawn, magick was an incredibly scattered thing, and truthfully, the average joe would have never even heard of this stuff, except in old wives tales and fire & brimstone preacher's sermons! LOL The founders of The Golden Dawn, and specifically SL MacGregor Mathers, literally mined the manuscript archives of the British Museum and its French counterpart, translating various texts in various languages, basically designing a coherent(some would argue that! LOL) magickal tradition from the ground up. The three members were also long-time Freemasons, so much of the structure of The Golden Dawn is very similar to masonic design as well. In fact, many of their meetings were actually held in masonic lodges - but they were NOT operations of or 'in league with' Freemasonry itself. There were many esoteric orders founded/populated by Freemasons at that time(and some today as well).
Here are some of the base instructional documents of The Golden Dawn system: http://www.occult-underground.com/goldendawn.html
Here some books I personally own myself and can highly recommend on The Golden Dawn:
The Essential Golden Dawn: an introduction to High Magic by Chic Cicero - a great introduction, with both history and some limited ritual instruction. An EXCELLENT 'first' book.
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Golden-Dawn-Introduction-Magic/dp/0738703109
The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie - Regardie was once Crowley's secretary and a member of a Golden Dawn off-shoot called the Stella Matutina. He felt that the system was in danger of being lost to history and that the information belonged not to a select few but to mankind - so he published everything he had, ALL of their papers. He was immediately considered a 'traitor', but he did it for the benefit of all of us... and he just may have been the savior of modern occultism. The book itself is voluminous(about the thickness of a freakin' phonebook!{it was originally released in 4 volumes}), but abit scattered in its editorial layout, but again, a 'must have' when it comes to the Golden Dawn.
http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Dawn-Teachings-Ceremonies-Llewellyns/dp/0875426638/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition by Chic Cicero - if there was only ONE book you could buy on the Golden Dawn system, this is it. It's literally ALL here.** This is like Crowley's Magick In Theory and Practice... it's that good!
http://www.amazon.com/Self-Initiation-Into-Golden-Dawn-Tradition/dp/1567181368/ref=pd_sim_b_2
**clarification - the Golden Dawn Tradition actually has 3 'orders', and as such, this book covers only the 'outer order'. For more details go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn#Structure_and_Grades
Despite this seeming like a veritable book of information, this is actually barely scratching the surface! LOL I really do have several more recommendations as 'must have' occult books, but I don't wanna overwhelm anyone... hahahaha The best way to show someone nothing, is to show them everything.
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