Answers to the questions we are asked most often, at the desk and in writing.
What is the Adocentyn Athenaeum?
An independent, volunteer-run reference library devoted to Pagan, occult, esoteric, and mystical literature. We keep about 11,400 volumes for use in our reading room, and we publish research guides and reference pages on this website. See About the Athenaeum.
Is the Athenaeum a religious group or a magical order?
No. We are a library. We hold no rites, teach no practice, and initiate no one. Our readers include practitioners of many traditions and of none, along with students, novelists, historians, and people who have simply always wondered.
What does Adocentyn mean, and how do you say it?
Adocentyn is the name of a legendary city of wisdom founded by Hermes Trismegistus, described in the medieval handbook of astral magic called the Picatrix. We say ad-oh-SEN-tin. The full story is told under The Name Adocentyn.
What is the difference between Pagan, occult, esoteric, and mystical?
Pagan refers to polytheistic and nature-centered religions, ancient and modern. Occult refers to practical arts such as magic, astrology, alchemy, and divination. Esoteric refers to teachings meant for the prepared or initiated, and to a family of Western currents from Hermetism to Theosophy. Mystical refers to the direct experience of the divine. The four overlap, and many books belong to more than one. See Starting Your Research and the glossary.
Can I borrow books?
No. Everything is read on site. Many of our books are scarce and some are fragile, and a book that is out on loan cannot be consulted by the next reader. Day use of the reading room is free.
Where is the reading room?
We are a small library and do not publish our address. Directions are sent to anyone who asks: write to desk@adocentyn.us before your first visit. After that you are welcome on any open day without notice. See Visit the Reading Room for hours, access, and what to expect.
Do you offer scans or downloads of books?
No. We do not host, sell, or distribute digital copies of books, and we cannot send scans. Our guides are written so that you can identify a work precisely, by title, author, language, and date, and look for it in a library or bookshop near you. Many of the older works are long out of copyright and are widely reprinted.
Do I need to be a member, or a practitioner, to visit?
No. Anyone may read here for the day by signing the register. A reader ticket adds stack access and other conveniences, and helps to pay the rent, but it is never required.
Do you endorse the books you keep?
No. A place on our shelves is not a recommendation. We keep works that contradict one another, works that are historically mistaken, and works written to refute the rest. Our aim is to describe each one accurately. See Collection Policy and Our Stance.
Are these books dangerous?
Books are safe to read. Some historical texts do contain recipes and procedures that would be harmful or unlawful to carry out, and we keep them as records of past belief, not as instructions. Nothing in our collections or on this website is medical, legal, or practical advice.
Where should a beginner start?
With a question, and then with Starting Your Research. If you would rather simply read something good, try the Poimandres, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, The Cloud of Unknowing, or the first book of Agrippa. Each is short and each opens a door.
Do you hold rare manuscripts and first editions?
Very few. Ours is a working library of modern printed editions, translations, facsimiles, and scholarship, with some scarce small-press and self-published items and a good deal of ephemera. When you need to see what a famous manuscript looks like, a facsimile is usually the better tool anyway.
Can you identify or value a book I own?
We are glad to help identify a book: bring it in on an open day, or send the details on the title page to desk@adocentyn.us. We do not give valuations and we do not buy or sell.
Will you take my books?
Quite possibly. Please read Give Books or Time and send us a list before bringing boxes. We are especially glad to hear from people with runs of newsletters and zines.
May I photograph pages for my own study?
Yes, for private study, without flash, for works that are out of copyright or within the limits the law allows for those that are not. Ask at the desk before photographing newsletters and papers, which may name private persons.
How do I cite one of your guides?
Give the title of the page, "Adocentyn Athenaeum", the address of the page, and the date shown beside "Last updated" at the foot of the page.
I found a mistake. Whom do I tell?
Please write to journal@adocentyn.us with the address of the page and, if you can, a source. Corrections are made promptly and with thanks.
Something else?
Write to desk@adocentyn.us or ask in person during reading room hours. All our email addresses are listed under Contact.