These guides are written by the keepers of the Athenaeum for anyone beginning to read in one of our fields. Each one says what a body of literature is, when and where its main texts were written, which to read first, and what to watch for. They describe works, not particular printings, so they are useful in any library or bookshop.
-
Starting Your Research
Begin here. Defining the four terms, searching library catalogs, telling kinds of sources apart, and five questions to ask of any book.
-
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.
How the guides are arranged
Every entry gives the title of a work, its author or attribution, its language and date, and a short note. The green label is the shelf class where the work stands in our reading room: D 1 is the Hermetica at the Dog Gate, L 4 is alchemy at the Lion Gate. The scheme is explained under Collections.
The notes aim to be fair. Where a book claims to be older than it is, we say so. Where historians have rejected a famous thesis, we say that too, and we still list the book, because its influence is part of the story.
What the guides leave out
The guides list primary sources and older landmark studies. They do not try to keep up with current scholarship, which moves quickly in these fields, and they do not recommend particular modern editions, which go in and out of print. For both, ask at the desk or write to desk@adocentyn.us. On judging an edition for yourself, see Choosing a Translation.
Citing and correcting
You are welcome to cite these pages. Give the title of the guide, "Adocentyn Athenaeum", the address of the page, and the date shown under "Last updated". If you find an error, please tell us. Corrections are made promptly and with thanks.