A library of Pagan, occult, esoteric, and mystical literature

Enter by the Four Gates

Adocentyn had four gates, each watched over by an image. Our shelves are arranged the same way: four gates, four literatures, with the reference collection in the tower at the center.

• East Gate Gate of the Eagle

  Mystical Literature

  The literature of direct experience: Plotinus and the later Platonists, the Christian contemplatives, the Sufi poets, and the comparative study of mysticism.

  Enter by the East Gate: Mystical Literature

• South Gate Gate of the Lion

  Occult Literature

  The practical arts and their handbooks: ceremonial magic and the grimoires, astrology, alchemy, divination, tarot, and natural magic.

  Enter by the South Gate: Occult Literature

• West Gate Gate of the Bull

  Pagan Literature

  The gods and their people: ancient hymns and myths, the Eddas and the Mabinogion, folklore, and the books of the modern Pagan revival.

  Enter by the West Gate: Pagan Literature

• North Gate Gate of the Dog

  Esoteric Literature

  The hidden teachings and how they were handed on: the Hermetica, Gnostic scriptures, Kabbalah, the Rosicrucian manifestos, and Theosophy.

  Enter by the North Gate: Esoteric Literature

Research Guides

Each guide introduces one body of literature: what the key texts are, when and where they were written, which to read first, and what to watch for along the way. New to the subject? Begin with Starting Your Research.

• Hermetic Literature

  The Corpus Hermeticum, the Asclepius, the Emerald Tablet, the technical Hermetica, the Picatrix, and the Renaissance revival.

• Grimoires and Ceremonial Magic

  The magical papyri, the Solomonic handbooks, Agrippa and the learned magic of the Renaissance, the popular chapbooks, and the modern revival.

• Alchemy

  Greek, Arabic, and Latin alchemy, the great emblem books, Paracelsus, and the spiritual and psychological readings.

• Astrology

  Babylonian omens, Ptolemy and Vettius Valens, the Arabic masters, William Lilly, Indian astrology, and the critics.

• Divination and Tarot

  Cicero and Artemidorus, lot books, the I Ching, geomancy, and the documented history of the tarot from card game to oracle.

• Kabbalah

  Sefer Yetzirah, the Bahir, the Zohar, Cordovero and Luria, Christian Cabala, and the Hermetic Qabalah of the occult revival.

• Gnostic and Neoplatonic Texts

  The Nag Hammadi library and other Gnostic scriptures, with Plotinus, Iamblichus, the Chaldean Oracles, and Proclus.

• Witchcraft and Modern Paganism

  The trial-era treatises and their critics, the romantic reinvention of the witch, Gardner and Wicca, Druidry, and the wider Pagan revival.

• Mystical Classics

  Dionysius, Eckhart, the English mystics, Teresa and John of the Cross, the Sufi poets, Asian classics, and the modern studies.

See all research guides