I have been meaning to post more about what I am reading. Finding Satanic books is difficult and I want to do my part to help others find the good stuff.

So here are my top five picks of the moment.

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlsson. 

This is hands-down the best introduction to the Qliphoth or Klipot that one can find in print. It is intelligent, clear, well-cited, and deeply readable, which are the qualities one desperately needs in any text on Kabbalah or the Klipot.

Karlsson is very familiar with Jewish Kabbalism, as well as Western Esoteric Qabalah, and provides a refreshingly lucid survey of the literature on the Klipot before diving into practical ideas for self-initiation through the Tree of Death. Both the theory and praxis in this book are generally super solid. The entirety of the Goetia is also included, along with suggestions for contacting those demons and thoughts on their connection to the Klipot.

However, I must caution that Karlsson may have some nasty right-wing sympathies. While he explicitly disavows violence and hatred early on in the text, there are numerous dog-whistles sprinkled throughout which make me suspicious. Karlsson really likes Nietzsche and Julius Evola. Shout-outs to Nietzsche may not on their own be red flags– hell, I like ol’ Friedrich well enough myself– but Evola was a self-avowed “superfascist,” and putting him next to the far right’s favorite philosopher to misconstrue is one heck of a dog whistle. (Also, Karlsson’s facebook friends list reveals some… dubious associates.)

For this reason, I am attaching the PDF of this book so that my readers can benefit from Karlsson’s essential text without the risk of financially supporting a crypto-fascist.

Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism by Ruben van Luijk

This book is just a straight-up delight. It is a fascinating history of Satanism, first as an idea and eventually as a reality. Van Luijk clears up many misconceptions about the origins of Satanism as an actual practice, and surveys the intellectual trends and social movements that influenced the development of our faith. If you want to cling to the fantasy that Satanism is an ancient religion stretching back at least to the witches of the Middle Ages, you will not enjoy this book. If, however, you want to know where Satanism actually comes from, you’ll love it.

While this is a scholarly text, it’s also a damn entertaining one, full of amusing quotes and anecdotes. It’s also very thought-provoking, as it tracks the various philosophical and political tendencies that fed into Satanism. It can help one discover the lineage of one’s own Satanism– mine, for example, largely grows out of the milieu of 19th century anarchists and romantic writers who saw Satan as a heroic liberator.

The Black Sun: Alchemy and the Art of Darkness by Stanton Marlan

First of all, a necessary disclaimer: this is not a Nazi text. The concept of the Black Sun is much older than the Nazi appropriation of phrase. This book has to do with the Black Sun as it appears in alchemy.

This is also not a Satanic text. It is written from a Jungian perspective and explores alchemy as a psychological metaphor, and as a theme in art, poetry, mythology and mysticism.

However, this book is highly relevant for anybody undergoing Satanic initiation, particularly Klipotic work, especially as the initiate approaches the realm of Thagirion (the Black Sun).

One note: while this is definitely not a fascist text, and isn’t Nazi-racist, it does have some gross, fetishistic moments of racism. (Mystical white-people visions of “African Tribesman” described in the most stupid and ignorant way possible.) It was also first published in 2005, so it’s not as if we can excuse this as a product of a much earlier and less enlightened time.

Nevertheless, I must recommend this book as a solid introduction to the Black Sun for people who are curious about its meaning before the fascists got to it, for Klipotic workers, and for anybody undergoing a process of spiritual death and rebirth.

The Monk: A Romance by Matthew Gregory Lewis

Here’s some really fun summer reading. Are you in a mood for a batshit insane novel about a monk gone bad, featuring: cross-dressing! Ghosts! Witchcraft! and Satan himself? How could you resist?

This story heaps on the crazy-sauce from beginning to end. And when Lucifer has his big moment at the story’s climax, you’ll probably cheer.

Aut Diabolus, Aut Nihil by Julian Osgood Field

Not a whole book, actually a short story. This little gem is a prime example of the fin de siècle decadent literary take on Satan and Satanism. It’s certainly not pro-Devil, but does portray him in a mesmerizing and attractive fashion. No matter how hard I try to shake it off, something about this story sticks with me.

The plot concerns a cynical young man who becomes a priest mainly for the money and the social status. He does not believe in the Devil, and probably doesn’t even believe in God. However, his life is changed forever when a friend brings him to a secret Satanic ceremony and he encounters Lucifer in the flesh.

In this tale, we see the decadent Satan perfectly embodied. He is a symbol of ennui, despair, cynicism and faithlessness. He is beautiful and tempting, in the same way that despair and cynicism can be nearly irresistible.

I honestly recommend this story to Satanists and Christians alike. Actually, I’d recommend it to anyone. For Satanists this is a fascinating example of Lucifer in literature, for Christians it is a provocative meditation on the necessity of duality (not necessarily dualism, don’t get mad). And for everyone else, it’s a touching little fable about the dangerous allure of depression and despair, and the necessity of faith and hope in the face of those insidious forces.

Remember how I scored a second-hand copy of the first volume of The Zohar (translation by Daniel C. Matt) real cheap?

Well. I think whoever had this book before me must have been into the left emanation, because a bunch of the demonology related passages are already underlined.

Satan loves me.