Follow setemheb

Beetle Tracks

The Temple of Set’s Reading List: TOS-1

These books are found to contain information that is fundamental to Setian Initiation. However
these texts are not considered to be blanket endorsed by the Temple of Set as fact or as the final
word. Rather these are resources to begin the process of challenging your ideas and reshaping your
understandings of your Self, of Culture and of Nature.

For ease of understanding the comments MA= Dr. Michael Aquino, DW= Don Webb, JL=James
Lewis, SF=Stephen Flowers

The full Reading List current to roughly 2003 can be found in Dr. Aquino’s Temple of Set

TOS-1 Books

0A. A Rulebook for Arguments, Third Edition by Anthony Weston. Patty A. Hardy IV°: “In 87 no-
nonsense pages Weston covers all essential elements of rational argument. The first chapter
introduces the ground rules; the next five lay out the strengths and pitfalls of various modes of
argument and explain the classical forms of deductive reasoning. Weston next distills the art of
writing argumentative essays into less than twenty pages, and ends with a concise tour of the
classic fallacies.”

2AF. Idea into Image: Essays on Egyptian Thought by Erik Hornung. NY: Timeken, 1992.
[Deutschland: Geist der Pharonenzeit. Artemis Verlag, 1989.] (TOS-1) DW: “This book is the best
introduction to Egyptian thought. Chapters include: Word and Image, Origins, Time and Eternity,
Limits and Symmetries, The Hereafter, The Temple as Cosmos, The Concept of Maat, History as
Celebration, Body and Soul. Horning’s books are the best of the best; any and all are
recommended. Originally written in German. He is a Professor of Egyptology at Basil.”

2AG. The Seven Faces of Darkness: Practical Typhonian Magic by Don Webb. Smithville, TX: Runa-
Raven Press, 1996. (TOS-1) DW: “A study of the magic of the Late Antique Mediterranean with a
special emphasis on the figure of Set-Typhon in the magical writings and practices of that time.
Useful for understanding the relationship of practical sorcery to the process of initiation.”

3Y. Hermetic Magic by Stephen Edred Flowers, Ph.D. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, 1995. (TOS-
1) DW: “This book is an analysis both scholarly & practical of the Southern tradition’s greatest
magical success [until the Temple of Set]. It deals with the synthesis of Greek & Egyptian traditions
into Hermeticism; with ancient, modern, & postmodern theories of magic; and with practical spell-
book methodology. The Hermetic tradition involves gaining & using power, and this is the best
gateway in the English language. It is the Arrow handed by Arrabis to me.” MA: “The term
‘Hermeticism’ brings to mind vague, inconsistent, & impotent Judæo/Christian mystical fluff. This
book has nothing to do with that. Rather Flowers explores the historical filtering of coherent
Egyptian magical theory & practice through a number of later cultures, then explains how the core
concepts may be put into effective practice.”

4B. The Morning of the Magicians (original French title: The Dawn of Magic) by Louis Pauwels and
Jacques Bergier. NY: Avon Books, 1968. [Deutschland: Aufbruch ins dritte Jahrtausend. Wilhelm
Goldmann Verlag (Nr. 11711), München, 1979.] (COS-3) (TOS-1) (TRP-1) (LVT-1) AL: “First and best
work ever done describing the Satanic influence in the world.” MA: “This is the book that kicked off
the occult revival of the 1960s and started the whole van Däniken show on the road. It highlights
many phenomena for which non-occultists cannot account [somewhat after the fashion of
Charles Fort]. Included is an especially interesting section on German Nazi esoterica, which until
recent years was virtually the only account of such material easily available to the public. It is also
the only recent book to discuss the original Council of Nine (the Nine Unknown). If there is a defect
to the book, it lies in its emphasis of fanciful, rhetorical questions and in the lack of adequate
footnotes in some of the most intriguing chapters. This is an excellent book to recommend to a
friend who thinks you’re crazy for being interested in the occult. [See also #17B and #22B.]” JL:
“MA’s comment on the book says it all.” DW: “This book represents French Romanticism at its
height with a little Gurdjieff thrown in. It inspired a huge occult revival in France. It has a twofold
Solve effect: It makes the reader 'wake up’ a bit and realize the effect of the suprarational in history.
Its enthusiastic reception in English-speaking countries facilitated the translation of related French
authors such as de Lafforest (#6O) and Charroux. This contributed to the rise of movements in
those countries such as 'New Wave’ science fiction and the Church of Satan. This book is not as
unique in the 1990s as in the 1960s, in part because of its own success in encouraging more
sophisticated and current imitators and successors. Fun for inspiration, but take with many grains
of salt.”

9Q. The Magick of Thelema by Lon Milo Duquette. York Beach: Weiser, 1993. (TOS-1) DW: “This
book has copies of the major rituals of the system and a useful commentary on them. Duquette
has been a practicing Thelemite for 20 years, and he discusses Crowley’s system from its initiatory
use, as well as providing factual and practical tips on the work. This book clears up a great deal
about the A.’.A.’., Crowley’s death, averse pentagrams, and other matters of interest. Because of its
straightforward language and initiatory applications, I would recommend it highly. The secret of
this book is the interrelationships between the rituals and real-life practice of initiation.” JPF:
Republished with additional information as The Magick of Aleister Crowley.

15C. Being Digital by Nicholas Negroponte. NY: Knopf, 1995. (TOS-1) DW: “This book, by the
Founding Director of the Media Lab at MIT, tells you where the digital world from TV to computers
is going, what’s hype, what’s going to be possible, and what social forces are working against the
media revolution. The predictions he makes about the type of new interfaces with the digital world
may be taken as accurate. 'By the year 2020 the largest employer in the developed world will be
"self”.’ Much of this book appeared as a series of essays in Wired magazine. Easy to read, and a
great source of learned excitement.“

16A. Political Ideas and Ideologies: A History of Political Thought by Mulford Q. Sibley. NY: Harper &
Row, 1970. [Deutschland: WU: 22a/11] (TOS-1) (LVT-1) MA: "Until you’ve read and digested this
material, you really oughtn’t to talk about 'political philosophy’ any more than someone who hasn’t
read an anatomical textbook should try to hold forth on anatomy. I teach university courses
surveying the history of political theory, and this is far and away the most lucid, objective, and
comprehensive survey text I’ve yet found. It has two conspicuous omissions - Nietzsche and
ancient Egypt - and it is oriented towards the political rather than the more abstract or conceptual
branches of philosophy. So you won’t find Kant, Schopenhauer, Sartre, etc. here. The author
[wonderful name!] was a very distinguished and a very controversial Professor of Political Science
at the University of Minnesota. If you wonder why something like this is TOS-1, trust me. After
you’ve absorbed the knowledge it contains, you’ll wonder on what basis you held political opinions
before reading it.” J. Lewis VI°: “Go read a textbook? In this case, yes. Sibley’s book lacks dryness of
text and contains doors opening onto the essence of politics. It is valuable for far more than
explanations of sandbox politics.”

16G. Political Thinking by Glenn Tinder. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1986 (4th Edition). (TOS-1) MA:
“This marvelous little (228 pages) paperback is composed completely of questions to the reader
concerning the great political/philosophical issues of history, together with information on how
major political philosophers addressed those questions. The questions are left open- ended, the
expectation being that the reader must think his own answers to them. This book is thus an active
mental exercise, not a textbook for passive memorization or indoctrination. Tinder is Professor of
Political Science at the University of Massachusetts.”

17B. The Eternal Man by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier. NY: Avon Books #380-16725-150,
1972. [Deutschland: Die Entdeckung des ewigen Menschen - Die Umwertung der
Menschheitsgeschichte durch d. phantastische Vernunft, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag (Nr. 7009),
München, 1975] (TOS-1) MA: “There are a great many sensationalistic paperbacks on the market
dealing with 'startling discoveries concerning human history and prehistory’. The Setian may
browse among them at will, picking and choosing substantive data for further investigation. This
book, by the dynamic duo who brought you #4B and #22B, is, however, a unique item.”

17D. The Ordeal of Change by Eric Hoffer. NY: Perennial Library #P-110. [Deutschland: Die Angst
vor dem Neuen, Rowohlt-Verlag, Hamburg, 1968 (WU: ZC-751-288)] (TOS-1) MA: “This book is
listed specifically because of its included essay 'The Unnaturalness of Human Nature’, which is
brilliantly conceived.”

17J. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. NY: Harper & Row,
1990. (TOS-1) DW: “If the crisis of 1975 had not caused the rapid change from Indulgence to Xeper,
but things had happened gradually, we would have Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of Flow. The way to
happiness lies not in mindless hedonism but in mindful challenge. This is about the art of
obtaining happiness by learning to control the psyche and seeking new challenges for the self. It is
about Xeper, written from the perspective of a non-magician. A great book, and one that you can
give to your nonSetian friends.”

17L. Becoming Human: Evolution and Human Uniqueness by Ian Tattersall (TOS-1) JPF: “For if
there is one single thing that distinguishes humans from all other life-forms, liing or extinct, it is the
capacity for symbolic thought: the ability to generate complex mental symbols and to manipulate
them into new combinations. This is the very foundation of imagination and creativity: of the
unique ability of humans to create a world in the mind and to re-create it in the real world outside
themselves (p. 177)” In an easy to follow conversational style Ian Tattersall, Curator of the
Department of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, outlines the qualities,
characteristics and possible origins of that which makes humanity unique and distinct from the rest
of the Animal Kingdom. By providing a tour of present studies with our closest living genetic
relatives, a look at the likely capacities of our evolutionary predecessors and spotlighting the first
appearances of human symbolic behavior Tattersall displays a bedrock understanding for the
emergence and uniqueness left by the Gift of Set from an Anthropological perspective. In addition
he provides a good basic introduction to the present state of Evolutionary Theory in its post-
Darwinian manifestations. Those those Setians looking to gain a further understanding of the
present state of knowledge related to Modern Human Origins will fine Tattersall’s book The Fossil
Trail: How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution an excellent primer.

17M. Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment by George Leonard JPF: Leonard, a
WW2 bomber pilot and Aikido Master, provides in a few short pages one of the most impressive
articulations of the Path to Mastery. By showing the common ways that people sabotage their
learning process and the periods of radical change and homeostasis that the Path of Mastery
requires Leonard not only shows the importance that regular practice and perseverance in the long
term quest for self-transformation but how for the Master practice, rather then goal, becomes the
greatest source of pleasure and gain. An excellent book to lend to non-magician friends to help
them understand Xeper.

19A. The Philosopher’s Stone by Colin Wilson. NY: Warner Paperback Library #0-446-59213-7,
1974. (TOS-1) MA: “A novel concerning the Metamind - with a Lovecraftian accent. A more
intellectual treatment of the theme than Wilson’s better-known #7E [although #7E has a more
colorful plot]. An expansion on much of the historical and bibliographical data in #19A may be
found in Wilson’s earlier book The Outsider (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1956).
Subsequently Wilson wrote #4A and became thoroughly confused when he tried to explain the
Metamind as a natural phenomenon.”

19B. The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution by Peter D. Ouspensky. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969.
[Deutschland: Die Psychologie des möglichen Menschen, Barth-Verlag Bern, Edition Pleyaden,
Berlin, 1981] (COS-1) (TOS-1) (SHU-1) AL: “Should be read especially by those members whose
magical ability is hampered by flaws in their balance factor.” MA: “A series of lectures which explain
the Gurdjieff approach to the concept better than G. himself was able to do. If you’re unfamiliar
with G., see Gurdjieff by Louis Pauwels (NY: Weiser, 1972). See also the section on G. in #4A.” DW:
“This is a great book for Pylons to discuss - one lecture per meeting. For those who catch the
Gurdjieff bug, I recommend that they later read Ouspensky’s In Search of the Miraculous (NY:
Harcourt, Brace & World, 1949).”

19AB. Luck by Nicholas Rescher. NY: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1995. (TOS-1) DW: “This book is an
enlargement of Rescher’s 1989 Presidential Address to the American Philosophical Association on
the topic of 'luck’. This is a very readable 30-year study of the effects, benefits, and perceptions of
randomness in human life. A great cross-read to #6I.”
23J. Success with the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense by Suzette Haden Elgin. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1990. (TOS-1) Rosemary Webb III°: “This volume of Dr. Elgin’s 'Gentle Art’ series
summarizes her first five books. An example of LBM techniques, that is to say
metacommunication applicable to long-term successes in the business world. Useful to teach the
magician the difference between her purposes and the reactive environment. Unlike most NLP
manuals, this book doesn’t serve as a hook to get you to buy more NLP manuals. Its TOS-1 rating
reflects both ease of readability and broadness of topics covered.”

230. NLP: The New Technology of Achievement edited by Steven Andreas JPF: Neurolinguistic
Programming, a communicative art derived from the revolutionary methods of Dr. Milton Erickson,
can be a valuable tool for enhancing one’s control over their perceptual universe and provide keys
for more effective communication and meta-communication. NLP the book provides a
comprehensive course in the fundamentals of Neurolinguistic Programming marred only by
having been geared for the corporate setting. A valuable tool for the Setian toolbox.

24J. The Fraternitas Saturni or the Brotherhood of Saturn formerly Fire and Ice by Stephen E.
Flowers (TOS-1) (TRP-2) SF: “This is a general and fairly comprehensive introduction to the history,
ideology, structure and rituals of the Fraternitas Saturni, which is a Thelemite (but non-Crowleyan)
lodge which has dominated the German occult scene since the time of its inception in the late
1920s. With this book, I took a step out and back to my occult roots in the 'mainstream’ western
magical tradition. One of the main reasons for undertaking this study and writing this book was to
explore the way in which an Æonic Word finds expression beyond the bounds of its Magus. A
preface by Michael A. Aquino is scheduled to appear in future printings.” DW: “Michael Aquino’s
preface is available from Runa-Raven Press. Certain technologies from this book have been
adapted with great success by Pylons such as the Bull of Ombos and the Black Phœnix. A good
study of the Black Flame as perceived before the coming of our Æon.”

24K. Rune Song: A Practical Guide to Rune Galdor by Edred Thorsson. Smithville, TX: Runa-Raven
Press, 1993. (TOS-1) (TRP-1) SF: “Rune Song is a combination book and tape package. I have for a
long time seen that the pronunciation of the now-exotic-sounding words and phrases of the
Teutonic tradition was felt to be a major stumbling-block along the way to learning the lore. This
project is designed to remedy that problem. Pronunciation of languages such as Proto-Germanic
(the reconstructed language from which all Germanic tongues are derived), Old English, or Old
Norse is usually the kind of thing only learned in the Ivory Towers of Academia. With Rune Song I
hope to make this kind of information available beyond that sphere.”

24M. The Book of Ogham by Edred Thorsson. Llewellyn, 1992. (TOS-1) (TRP-4) SF: “This
represents the first grand experiment in the use of the Polarian method moving outside of the
home base of the Germanic tradition into the kindred Celtic tradition. It seems that no magical
tradition has been subject to more bastardization than the Celtic, so this effort at creating a useful
synthesis according to my methods seems a worthwhile endeavor.” DW: “Persons interested in the
matrix which produced Ogham may wish also to consult Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in
Ireland and Wales by Alwyn and Brinley Rees. London: Thames & Hudson, 1961.”

24Z. Runarmal-1: The Rune Talks (Summer 1991) by Stephen Edred Flowers. Smithville, TX: Runa-
Raven Press, 1996. (TOS-1) DW: “This is the essential text for persons seeking Runa. It is much
more universal than Magus Flowers’ other books, and contains the essential relationship between
Xeper and Runa. I consider it one of the most important magical texts working in the world today.”

Aug 22, 2016

⤮ ♥ ⬀

differentstudentauthortree liked this

pi-rameses liked this
svarteulf2015 liked this
serpentine-sorceror liked this
joecrow liked this
ninjatheenigma liked this
awaitindread liked this
setemheb reblogged this from setemheb
nimuekauna liked this
maresdcare liked this
vohugaona liked this
blaqmercury reblogged this from setemheb
blaqmercury liked this
tempest-of-set liked this
bhaktivisual reblogged this from setemheb
bhaktivisual liked this
drafon liked this
redserpentart liked this

◄ ►

Indy Theme by Safe As Milk