“The most thorough and understandable exposition of the underlying theories and the practical applications of the spiritual disciplines of Thelema currently available. A landmark work.” —Lon Milo DuQuette, author of The Magick of Aleister Crowley The system of spiritual attainment developed by Aleister Crowley is notoriously challenging in its scope. Living Thelema, adapted from the popular podcast of the same name, brings a welcome approachability to Crowley’s material, without diminishing the depth of the system. The author focuses on the practical and experiential aspects of the path of Thelema, allowing the reader to grasp the true transformative power of the system. Beginners and advanced practitioners alike will find much useful advice here, as Shoemaker brings his characteristic down-to-earth style to bear on topics such as ritual and meditation practices, sex magick, astral projection, psychotherapy for magicians, the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, and that pinnacle of attainment known as the crossing of the Abyss. The author’s background as a practicing psychotherapist allows an entirely unique fusion of esoteric wisdom and cognitive science. “In this entertaining and (dare I say it?) lively book, David Shoemaker reminds us that Thelema is not just a philosophy or a study but a spiritual practice. From applied ‘how to’ advice to thought-provoking ‘how about’ posers, Dr. Shoemaker offers his personal take—informed by twenty years of walking the talk, along with his incisiveness as a professional therapist—on how to get the most out of the fundamental Thelemic practices of yoga and ritual, both inside and outside of the temple.” —Richard Kaczynski, author of Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley

The Eloquent Blood focuses on the changing construction of femininity and feminine sexuality in interpretations of the goddess Babalon. A central deity in Thelema, the religion founded by the notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), Babalon is based on Crowley's favorable reinterpretation of the biblical Whore of Babylon, and is associated with liberated female sexuality and the spiritual ideal of passionate union with existence. Combining research on historical and contemporary Western esotericism with feminist and queer theory, the book sheds light on the ways in which esoteric movements and systems of thought have developed over time in relation to political movements.

The Simple Life (1981) was Fiona MacCarthy's first book, written while she was the Guardian's design correspondent (and before her acclaimed lives of Eric Gill, William Morris, and Edward Burne-Jones.) It tells of a venturesome effort to enact an Edwardian Utopia in a small town in the Cotswolds. The leader of this endeavour was progressive-minded architect Charles Robert Ashbee, who in 1888 founded the Guild of Handicraft in Whitechapel, specialising in metalworking, jewellery and furniture and informed by the desire to improve society. In 1902 Ashbee and his East London comrades removed the Guild to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, hoping to construct a socialistic rural idyll. MacCarthy explores the impact of the experiment on the lives of the group and on the little town they occupied - tracing the Guild's fortunes and misfortunes, hilarious and grave, and the many fellow idealists and artists who were involved (among them William Morris, Roger Fry, and Sidney and Beatrice Webb.)

Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) is one of the most famous and significant authors in the history of western esotericism. Crowley has been long ignored by scholars of religion whilst the stories of magical and sexual practice which circulate about him continue to attract popular interest. "Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics" looks at the man behind the myth - by setting him firmly within the politics of his time - and the development of his ideas through his extensive and extraordinarily varied writings. Crowley was a rationalist, sympathetic to the values of the Enlightenment, but also a romantic and a reactionary. His search for an alternative way to express his religious feelings led him to elaborate his own vision of social and political change. Crowley's complex politics led to his involvement with many key individuals, organisations and groups of his day - the secret service of various countries, the German Nazi party, Russian political activists, journalists and politicians of various persuasions, as well as other writers - both in Europe and America. "Aleister Crowley and the Temptation of Politics" presents a life of ideas, an examination of a man shaped by and shaping the politics of his times.

The Book of Lies was written by English occultist and teacher Aleister Crowley under the pen name of Frater Perdurabo. As Crowley describes it: "This book deals with many matters on all planes of the very highest importance. It is an official publication for Babes of the Abyss, but is recommended even to beginners as highly suggestive." The book consists of 91 chapters, each of which consists of one page of text. The chapters include a question mark, poems, rituals, instructions, and obscure allusions and cryptograms. The subject of each chapter is generally determined by its number and its corresponding Qabalistic meaning.

This book’s primary focus is an understanding of the change to the formulas of Initiation brought about by the advent of the New Aeon—the Aeon of the Child—in 1904. It draws deeply from Jungian psychology, world mythology and religion, the teachings of Aleister Crowley, and the doctrines of the Mystery traditions. It explains how the revelations unique to this stage of human evolution impact the work of the individual aspirant. Much of what is written here is revealed for the first time, with every attempt to do so in clear and precise language.

Over a decade in development, Tantric Thelema develops author Sam Webster's Pagan Dharma work uniting Pagan, especially Thelemic spirituality with Buddhist wisdom and ritual technology. It gives a complete method for learning a Mahayoga Tantric technique for invoking the primary deity of Thelema, Ra-Hoor-Khuit. Forty-seven practices are described in fine detail with clear theory to enable the reader to advance spiritually. For the first time ever the Initiatory and Couples practices are published, along with a practice to prepare for Death. Sam Webster, M. Div., Mage, has taught magick publicly since 1984. He graduated from Starr King School for the Ministry at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in 1993. He is an Adept of the Golden Dawn and a cofounder of the Chthonic-Ouranian Templar order, as well as an initiate of Wiccan, Buddhist, Hindu and Masonic traditions. His work has been published in a number of journals such as Green Egg, Reclaiming Quarterly, Mezlim, and Gnosis. He founded the Open Source Order of the Golden Dawn in 2001 (www.OSOGD.org), and serves the Pagan community principally as a priest of Hermes.