Tag Archives: reading list

A Suggested Satanic Reading List

BIBLE

Genesis 3

Genesis 11:1-9

Isaiah 14:12-14:21

Luke 4:1-4:12 and/or Matthew 4:1-4:11

Revelations

 

APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA

Enoch 1 (The Book of the Watchers)

Thunder, Perfect Mind

The Testament of Solomon

 

KABBALAH

Treatise on the Left Emanation by Rabbi Jacob ben Ha-Kohen

The Nightside of Eden by Kenneth Grant

Liber 777 by Aleister Crowley

The Zohar by Moses de Leon

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlsson

Tree of Qliphoth by Asenath Mason

The Vision and the Voice by Aleister Crowley

PROTO-SATANISM

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake

The Synagogue of Satan by Stanislaw Przybyszewski

La Sorcière by Jules Michelet

The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley

THEISTIC SATANISM

Lucifer: Princeps by Peter Grey

The Luminous Stone ed. Michael Howard

The Diabolicon by Michael Aquino

MAGICK

Compendium Maleficarum by Francesco Maria Guazzo

Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley

The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey

The Satanic Rituals by Anton LaVey

Black Magic by Michael Aquino

The Pseudonomicon by Phil Hine

The Psychonaut’s Field Manual by Arch-Traitor Bluefluke

A Pictorial Guide to the Tarot by A.E. Waite

Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge

Principia Discordia by Malaclypse the Younger

Grimoirium Verum

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Tahir Shah

 

DEMONOLOGY

The Lesser Key of Solomon Crowley/Mathers edition

The Compleat Book of Demonolatry by S. Conolly

The Devil’s Bride by Martin Ebon

Eros and Evil by R.E.L. Masters

Demoniality by Ludovico Sinistrari

A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson

 

HISTORY

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

The Devil: A New Biography by Phillip C. Almond

The Birth of Satan by Gregory Mobley and T.J. Wray

Devil Worship in France by A.E. Waite

Satan’s Silence by Debbie Nathan and Michael Snedeker

FICTION AND POETRY

Paradise Lost by John Milton

The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France

Là-Bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans

Aut Diabolus, Aut Nihil by Julian Osgood Field

Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire

Cain by George Gordon Byron

The Monk by Matthew Lewis

Eloa by Alfred de Vigny

The Demon by Mikhail Lermontov

Hymn to Lucifer by Aleister Crowley

Demian by Herman Hesse

Malice in Saffron by Tanith Lee

PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY

God and the State by Mikhail Bakunin

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

Wage Labor and Capital by Karl Marx

The Soul of Man Under Socialism by Oscar Wilde

Liber Oz by Aleister Crowley

Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword by Jack Parsons

My Words to Victor Frankenstein above the Village of Chamounix by Susan Stryker

Powers of Horror by Julia Kristeva

The Monstrous Feminine by Barbara Creed

The Black Sun by Stanton Marlan

The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche

Ur Fascism by Umberto Eco

My Reading and Resource List (Updated)

  • The Bible 
  • The Qur’an Will tell you nothing about Lucifer, because as a Satanic figure he is only present in Christianity. However, his Muslim opposite number, Iblis, is an arresting figure in his own right. You can learn a lot by comparing and contrasting these two entities. Also, Lucifer wants you to seek knowledge! In this time of rising Islamophobia, refuse to be ignorant. Learn about Islam.
  • Sefaria.org Collection of Jewish texts including the Torah. Side-by-side English and Hebrew.
  • Gnosis.org Collection of Gnostic texts.
  • Complete Books of Enoch, Dr. A Nyland Finding a lot that is profitable in this translation and the commentary. Learn about the Watchers and their kids, the Nephilim!
  • Pseudepigrapha.com Giant online collection of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Seems to be run by a Mormon. Sure.
  • Lucifer: Princeps by Peter Grey. Peter Grey is a bit of a blowhard, but this is a very useful book. I recommend it reluctantly but strongly. It’s primarily a survey of scriptural, apocryphal, and mythological sources for the Lucifer legend, and as such it’s quite valuable.
  • The Luminous Stone, diverse collection of writings on Lucifer from a number of Western occult and historical perspectives. A mixed bag. But hey, it’s writing specifically about Luciferianism that wasn’t done by Michael Ford, and therefore it is precious.
  • Hemaphrodeities by Raven Kaldera. Good book on transgender spirituality in general, sections on Lilith and Baphomet may be of particular interest.
  • The Devil: A New Biography by Philip C. Almond. History of the “idea” of the Christian Devil, traces his origins in scripture. Includes a bunch of fascinating and entertaining material on witchcraft in the middle ages, witch trials, exorcisms and possessions. (Did you know Catholics and Protestants were literally using possessions and exorcisms as a way of talking shit about each other? This and other fun facts in the book!)
  • The Birth of Satan by Gregory Mobley and T.J. Wray. Retraces a lot of ground covered in the first two chapters of the book above, but in way more detail. An analysis of the scriptural sources for Satan. Good, fast read.
  • The Book of Adam and Eve (Latin version) Contains an early version of the fall of Satan which probably inspired the account of the fall of Iblis in the Qu’ran.
  • All the Kabbalah You Really Need to Know A video lecture given by a friend of mine. Great crash-course.
  • The Devil’s Bride by Martin Ebon a neat little book about exorcism from a psychological stand point– particularly about demonic possession and exorcism as a cathartic ritual which leads to emotional healing. Reads as fairly skeptical but is surprisingly open-minded about ESP and psychokinesis. But not demons. OK! We all have our biases, I guess. Anyway, it’s a fun read, but by no means essential.
  • A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson What it says on the tin. Shouldn’t be your only source but if you happen to find yourself wondering who the fuck Cabriel is this probably beats Wikipedia for a first stop. Nicely cited and will lead you straight to better sources.
  • A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans by Jeffrey Burton Russell A neat, elaborately illustrated little history of witchcraft aimed at the layperson, by a scholar who has written much lengthier works on the subject that I will soon be reading. Not perfect but fairly legit.
  • God and the State by Mikhail Bakunin Satanic anarchy?! Not really, except for the first chapter or so. Still, worth the read!
  • The Tawasin of Mansur Al-Hallaj Interested in Iblis/Satan in Islam/Sufism? This is essential.
  • On the Origin of the World Trippy gnostic gospel, including retelling of Eden sympathetic to the Snake and to eating the damn fruit.
  • The Testament of Solomon Potentially useful demonology and also weirdly goddamn funny.
  • The Lesser Key of Solomon Get your Goetia on.
  • Demoniality by Ludovico Sinistrari. A weirdly sympathetic Catholic text about Incubi.
  • Compendium Maleficarum An old witch-hunting manual. Contains a description of a supposed Satanic witchcraft initiation/black baptism, which I adapted for my own use with great success. Also lots of fascinating history and exciting spell ideas!
  • Zohar.com Do yourself a favor and create a fucking account. It’s free. Search one of the most fascinating occult texts and one of the most important sources on demonology, particularly regarding the Devil’s four consorts.
  • The Revolt of the Angels, Anatole France Amusing philosophical Luciferian novel.
  • Paradise Lost, John Milton Because your image of Lucifer probably comes largely from this. And also, because it’s amazing.
  • Duino Elegies, Rilke “Who, if I shouted, among the hierarchy of Angels, would hear me?“
  • Litanies of Satan, Baudelaire Just gorgeous, perfect for use as a prayer.
  • Eloa, Alfred de Vigny Not necessarily much spiritual content, but it’s fun. A poem about Lucifer seducing an angel.
  • The Demon, Mikhail Lermontov Apparently romantic poetry about Satan seducing pure-hearted maidens is practically a genre. This is more fun than Eloa.
  • The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake Beautiful, trippy, pro-Satanic, a fast read. Link is to full text.
  • La-Bas, Joris-Karl Huysmans A 19th century novel about Satanism. Gruesome, disturbing and not really Satan positive, but helpful for understanding how Satanism has been conceptualized.

Quick Book Reviews

I have been doing a LOT of reading. Unfortunately I am not too pleased with most of it.

  • The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley- OK, well, been there, read that, guess I had to at some point. That sure was a book, and also a thing that exists, and you can read it with your eyeballs if you feel like it. 
  • Witchcraft and the Gay Counterculture by Arthur Evans- I really wanted to like it, but it made me shriek with uncontrollable rage. If you like soft polytheism and historical inaccuracies, you’ll love this. 
  • I, Lucifer by some dude straight up named Corvis Nocturnum– Don’t buy this, please don’t. There are pretty pictures but it’s the most poorly written thing I have encountered this side of “The Eye of Argon.” I don’t think there was an editor. It is possible there wasn’t even a second draft. There may not have even been spellcheck.

Some better reads:

  • The Devil’s Bride by Martin Ebon- a neat little book about exorcism from a psychological stand point– particularly about demonic possession and exorcism as a cathartic ritual which leads to emotional healing. Reads as fairly skeptical but is surprisingly open-minded about ESP and psychokinesis. But not demons. OK! We all have our biases, I guess. Anyway, it’s a fun read, but by no means essential.
  • A Dictionary of Angels Including the Fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson- What it says on the tin. Shouldn’t be your only source but if you happen to find yourself wondering who the fuck Cabiel is this probably beats Wikipedia for a first stop. Nicely cited and will lead you straight to better sources. 

What should I read?

Everything! Read every single thing you can get your hot little hands on!

Just kidding. But hey, if you are asking me for a Luciferian-ish book list, here ya go. This is taken from the most recent update of the “sources” page on my blog.

POTENTIALLY USEFUL SOURCES

These are sources I would actually recommend others look at.

  • The Bible (Full disclosure: I often read the KJV because I find it to be the most beautiful version, however I am aware of its failures of accuracy, and compare it to other translations.) 
  • The Qur’an Will tell you nothing about Lucifer, because as a Satanic figure he is only present in Christianity. However, his Muslim opposite number, Iblis, is an arresting figure in his own right. You can learn a lot by comparing and contrasting these two entities. Also, Lucifer wants you to seek knowledge! In this time of rising Islamophobia, refuse to be ignorant!
  • Sefaria.org Collection of Jewish texts, including the Torah. Side-by-side English and Hebrew.
  • Gnosis.org Collection of Gnostic texts.
  • Complete Books of Enoch, Dr. A Nyland Finding a lot that is profitable in this translation and the commentary. Learn about the Watchers and their kids, the Nephilim!
  • Pseudepigrapha.com Giant online collection of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. Seems to be run by a Mormon. Sure.
  • The Luminous Stone, collection of writings on Lucifer from a number of Western occult and historical perspectives. A mixed bag. But hey, it’s writing specifically about Luciferianism that wasn’t done by Michael Ford, and therefore it is precious.
  • Hemaphrodeities by Raven Kaldera. Good book on transgender spirituality in general, sections on Lilith and Baphomet may be of particular interest.
  • The Devil: A New Biography by Philip C. Almond. History of the “idea” of the Christian Devil, traces his origins in scripture. Includes a bunch of fascinating and entertaining material on witchcraft in the middle ages, witch trials, exorcisms and possessions. (Did you know Catholics and Protestants were literally using possessions and exorcisms as a way of talking shit about each other? This and other fun facts in the book!)
  • The Birth of Satan by Gregory Mobley and T.J. Wray Retraces a lot of ground covered in the first two chapters of the book above, but in way more detail. An analysis of the scriptural sources for Satan. Good, fast read.
  • The Book of Adam and Eve (Latin version) Contains an early version of the fall of Satan which probably inspired the account of the fall of Iblis in the Qu’ran.
  • All the Kabbalah You Really Need to Know A video lecture given by a friend of mine. Great crash-course.

FOR FUN

These are not necessarily scholarly and include works of fiction and poetry.