The Picatrix says that among the trees of Adocentyn stood one great tree that bore the fruit of every kind. This is ours: an alphabetical list of the subjects under which the Athenaeum shelves its books, with the shelf class for each and, where we have written one, a link to the research guide.
The letter in each shelf class tells you the gate. B is the Bull, the West Gate, Pagan literature. D is the Dog, the North Gate, esoteric literature. E is the Eagle, the East Gate, mystical literature. L is the Lion, the South Gate, occult literature. T is the Tower, and W is the Waters. See Collections.
A
- Alchemy L 4The art of transmuting metals and preparing medicines: Greek, Arabic, Latin, and Asian.
- Amulets and talismans L 2Objects made or inscribed to protect, or to draw down a power. Ancient amulets are shelved at L 1. See also Astral magic.
- Ancestor veneration B 3Rites for the honored dead in ancient and living religions.
- Angels and angel magic L 2Angelic hierarchies, names, and invocation, from late antiquity to John Dee.
- Animism B 3The understanding that places, animals, and things are persons, with studies and critiques of the term.
- Astral magic D 1Drawing the powers of the stars into images and talismans. The Picatrix and its kin are shelved with the Hermetica. See also Planetary magic.
- Astrology L 3Natal, mundane, horary, electional, and medical astrology of all periods and schools.
- Augury and omens L 5Signs from birds, weather, entrails, and chance events in the ancient world. Celestial omens are shelved with astrology at L 3.
B
- Bibliography T 2Lists of books and manuscripts in all our fields.
- Book of Shadows B 5The handwritten ritual book of Wiccan tradition, and its printed versions.
- Books of secrets L 6Recipe collections of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that mix craft, medicine, and natural magic.
C
- Cartomancy L 5Divination with playing cards, tarot, and oracle decks.
- Celtic religion and literature B 2Irish and Welsh medieval texts, classical reports, and modern Celtic spirituality.
- Ceremonial magic L 2Ritual magic of circle, consecrated tools, and names of power.
- Chaldean Oracles E 1Fragments of a second-century revelation revered by the later Platonists.
- Charms and charm books L 6Spoken and written formulas for healing and protection, in household manuscripts and printed collections.
- Christian mysticism E 2Contemplative writing from the desert fathers to the present.
- Correspondences L 2Tables linking planets, metals, plants, colors, and names. Agrippa and his successors.
- Critical and skeptical literature T 4General works against magic, astrology, divination, and witch belief. A work written against a single art is shelved with that art.
D
- Demonology L 7Learned writing on demons and their dealings with humans, chiefly from 1430 to 1700.
- Divination L 5Lots, dreams, oracles, cards, and every other means of asking what cannot be known otherwise.
- Dreams and dream books L 5From Artemidorus to the dream dictionaries of the nineteenth century.
- Druidry B 4Ancient reports of the Druids and the modern revival since the eighteenth century.
E
- Egyptian religion B 1Funerary texts, hymns, and temple religion in translation, and the Egyptian background of the Hermetica.
- Emblem books L 4Alchemical and Hermetic picture books of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
- Ephemera W 3Flyers, programs, catalogs, and course lessons.
- Esotericism, Western D 7The academic study of the esoteric currents as a field.
F
- Fairy lore B 3Belief in the good neighbors in Britain, Ireland, and beyond, with its collectors and critics.
- Folk magic L 6The everyday magic of healers, charmers, and cunning folk.
- Folklore B 3Custom, tale, and belief: the classic collections and the comparative studies.
G
- Geomancy L 5Divination by sixteen figures of dots, cast by chance and read in a chart.
- Gnostic literature D 2The Nag Hammadi library and related scriptures, with their ancient opponents.
- Goddess spirituality B 5Feminist witchcraft, the theology of the Goddess, and the debate over ancient matriarchy.
- Greek and Roman religion B 1Hymns, myth, cult, and the mystery religions. Oracles are shelved with divination at L 5.
- Grimoires L 2Handbooks of magic from the Key of Solomon to the chapbooks.
H
- Heathenry B 4Modern religions that draw on Norse and Germanic sources. See also Norse religion and literature.
- Herbals and plant lore L 6Medical, magical, and folk uses of plants in historical sources.
- Hermetic literature D 1The writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus and their long reception.
- Hymns and liturgies B 1Homeric, Orphic, and later hymns. Modern Pagan liturgy is shelved at B 5.
I
- I Ching L 5The Chinese Classic of Changes, its commentaries, and its Western reception.
- Initiation D 6Rites of admission in the ancient mysteries and in modern esoteric orders.
J
- Jewish mysticism E 3Merkavah and Hekhalot texts and Hasidic teaching. Kabbalah is shelved at D 3.
K
- Kabbalah D 3The Jewish tradition and its Christian and Hermetic adaptations.
L
- Lot books L 5Books of fate consulted by dice, numbers, or chance.
M
- Magic, history of T 3General histories from antiquity to the present.
- Magical papyri L 1Greek, Demotic, and Coptic handbooks from Roman Egypt.
- Mesopotamian religion B 1Myths, hymns, and incantations in translation. Celestial omens are shelved with astrology at L 3.
- Mystery religions B 1Eleusis, Dionysus, Isis, Mithras, and the Great Mother.
- Mysticism, comparative E 6The psychology and philosophy of mystical experience.
- Mythology B 1Collections and studies arranged by culture. Northern mythology is shelved at B 2.
N
- Natural magic L 6The hidden properties of stones, plants, and animals, from the ancient lapidaries to the Renaissance.
- Neoplatonism E 1Plotinus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, and their heirs.
- Norse religion and literature B 2The Eddas, the sagas, and skaldic verse, with studies.
- Numerology and number symbolism L 5Pythagorean number lore, gematria, and modern numerology.
O
- Occult revival D 5Eliphas Levi, Theosophy, and the esoteric thought of about 1850 to 1930. The orders of the period are shelved at D 6 and its practical handbooks at L 2.
- Oracles L 5Delphi, Dodona, Didyma, and the oracle collections of late antiquity.
- Orphic literature B 1The Orphic hymns, the gold tablets, and the theogonies.
P
- Paganism, modern B 6Histories, studies, and memoirs of the contemporary Pagan movement.
- Palmistry L 5The reading of the hand, from medieval chiromancy to the present.
- Periodicals W 1Journals and magazines in all our fields.
- Picatrix D 1The Latin handbook of astral magic in which the city of Adocentyn appears.
- Planetary magic L 2Rites, images, and prayers of the seven planets.
- Polytheism B 6The theology and philosophy of many gods, ancient and modern.
- Pseudepigrapha T 2Works written under borrowed names, with guides to dating and attribution.
- Psychical research D 5The investigation of mediums, apparitions, and telepathy since the 1880s.
R
- Reference works T 1Dictionaries and encyclopedias of religion, mythology, magic, and symbolism.
- Ritual and liturgy B 5Modern Pagan ritual. Initiatic ritual is shelved at D 6.
- Rosicrucian literature D 4The manifestos of 1614 to 1616 and the literature they provoked.
- Runes B 2Inscriptions, rune poems, and modern runic practice.
S
- Scrying L 5Vision in crystal, mirror, or water. The angelic records of John Dee are shelved with ceremonial magic at L 2.
- Shamanism, studies of B 3Scholarship on the term and its uses, shelved with comparative religion.
- Sigils and seals L 2Signs of spirits and planets in the grimoires, and their modern descendants.
- Solomonic literature L 2Magical books attributed to King Solomon.
- Spiritualism D 5Mediums, spirit communication, and the movement that began in 1848.
- Sufism E 4The mystical tradition of Islam: poetry, manuals, and lives of the saints.
- Symbolism T 1Dictionaries and studies of symbols.
T
- Tarot L 5The cards as a game, as an oracle, and as an esoteric system.
- Theosophy D 5The movement founded in 1875 and its literature. For the older Christian theosophy see D 4.
- Theurgy E 1The ritual philosophy of Iamblichus and Proclus.
- Tree of Life D 3The diagram of the ten sefirot in its Jewish, Christian, and Hermetic forms.
W
- Wheel of the Year B 5The eight seasonal festivals of modern Paganism and their sources.
- Wicca B 5The religion made public by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s, and its many branches.
- Witchcraft, historical L 7The trials, the treatises, and the modern histories.
- Witchcraft, modern B 5Witchcraft as a contemporary religious and magical practice.
Z
Not finding your subject?
The tree lists the headings we use most. The full shelf list at the desk has several hundred more. Try a broader word, look in the glossary, or write to desk@adocentyn.us.