An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar. James Wasserman

An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar. James Wasserman. Ordo Templi Orientis. Occult

James Wasserman passed away a couple years ago. He was known for his involvement in Ordo Templi Orientis and for his work as an author/editor/publisher of Occult books. He also wrote a few great books on the Templars. "An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar" is very well written in addition to being lavishly illustrated.



Presents the myths and historical truths of the Knights Templar, the elite warrior army of the pope who were destroyed as heretics some 700 years ago

Examines the evidence of the Templar connections to the Assassins and the Cathars

Includes more than 170 period illustrations and contemporary photos of former Templar strongholds in Europe and Jerusalem

Despite the increasing scholarship devoted to the study of the Templar order, founded in 1119, the mystery surrounding the Templars endures. Secret societies from the Freemasons to the Ordo Templi Orientis claim descent from this religious order of warrior-monks. As the private army of the pope, the Knights Templar were initially established to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land but grew to become one of the most powerful organizations in the Middle Ages. With period illustrations from manuscripts from the Crusades, interpretive romantic paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries, and contemporary photos by Steven Brooke and others of former Templar strongholds in Europe and Jerusalem, James Wasserman, author of the bestselling The Templars and the Assassins, provides a fascinating history of the Order and the many mysteries and legends that surround it.

Wasserman presents the evidence for the Templar connection to mystical Islamic organizations such as the Assassins as well as their ties to “heretical” groups such as the Cathars, who were targeted by a crusade in southern France to expunge the challenge they presented to the orthodoxy of their time. In addition to providing an overview of the Templars’ actions during the Crusades, Wasserman revisits the trial and the charges leveled against them, showing how the Order was ruthlessly crushed. He also explores the nature of the treasure they left behind, which has fueled popular imagination for centuries.

Egregores. The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny. Mark Stavish

Egregores. The Occult Entities That Watch Over Human Destiny. Mark Stavish

I'm revisiting "Egregores," an excellent book on an intriguing topic, by Bro. Mark Stavish.


The first book to explore the history and influence of egregores, powerful autonomous psychic entities created by a collective group mind
• Examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day, including their role in Western Mystery traditions and popular culture and media
• Reveals documented examples of egregores from ancient Greece and Rome, Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, modern esoteric orders, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant, and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley
• Provides instructions on how to identify egregores, free yourself from parasitic and destructive entities, and destroy an egregore, should the need arise
One of most important but little known concepts of Western occultism is that of the egregore, an autonomous psychic entity created by a collective group mind. An egregore is sustained by belief, ritual, and sacrifice and relies upon the devotion of a group of people, from a small coven to an entire nation, for its existence. An egregore that receives enough sustenance can take on a life of its own, becoming an independent deity with powers its believers can use to further their own spiritual advancement and material desires.
Presenting the first book devoted to the study of egregores, Mark Stavish examines the history of egregores from ancient times to present day, with detailed and documented examples, and explores how they are created, sustained, directed, and destroyed. He explains how egregores were well known in the classical period of ancient Greece and Rome, when they were consciously called into being to watch over city states. He explores the egregore concept as it was understood in various Western Mystery traditions, including the Corpus Hermeticum, and offers further examples from Tibetan Buddhism, Islam, modern esoteric orders such as the Order of the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucianism, the writings of H. P. Lovecraft and Kenneth Grant, and the followers of Julius Evola and Aleister Crowley. The author discusses how, even as the fundamental principles of the egregore were forgotten, egregores continue to be formed, sometimes by accident.
Stavish provides instructions on how to identify egregores, free yourself from a parasitic and destructive collective entity, and destroy an egregore, should the need arise. Revealing how egregores form the foundation of nearly all human interactions, the author shows how egregores have moved into popular culture and media--underscoring the importance of intense selectivity in the information we accept and the ways we perceive the world and our place in it.

The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley. by Richard Kaczynski. Edited by James Wasserman

The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley. by Richard Kaczynski. Edited by James Wasserman

"The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley" by Richard Kaczynski is one of the best introductions to the subjects of Crowley, Thelema and Ordo Templi Orientis.



In addition to the fascinating biographical sketch drawn by Richard Kaczynski, author of the classic biography Perdurabo, this book offers Crowley's teachings in his own words. A carefully chosen series of his instructions for concentration, meditation, magick, invocation, even sex magick are included. Crowley's descriptions of the teaching Orders A:.A:. and OTO are presented, along with the Creed of EGC. In addition, a suggested reading list of Crowley's "top-eleven" most important books is enhanced by an extensive bibliography for further in-depth research. This is the first and only introductory book that does not pretend to "improve" upon the Master's writings, but attempts to showcase them into a coherent introduction to his spiritual system.
.A practicing occultist whose mastery of western magick and eastern mysticism was unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries, and who continues to be an icon for many of today's practicing magicians.
.The founder and prophet of the new religious movement of Thelema, best known by its oft-misunderstood catchphrase, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
.A prolific poet whose Collected Works, by age thirty, filled three volumes, and whose last published work, Olla, was subtitled Sixty Years of Song.
.A maverick mountaineer whose numerous innovations and world records in the sport are acknowledged by even his most vocal critics.
.An adventurer whose exploits in the far east were serialized by Vanity Fair magazine as "A Burmese River."
.An impresario who took the violin troupe, the Ragged Ragtime Girls, on a tour of Russia.
.A British secret agent who marshaled his literary and occult connections to the service of his country, including (reputedly) the invention of the "V for Victory" sign as a magical antidote to the swastika.
.A ranked chess master who could trounce many players without even looking at the chess board.
.A pioneering entheogenic explorer who conducted psychedelic experiments with mescaline.
.Producer and star of The Rites of Eleusis, a series of ritualistic plays featuring an innovative blend of magick, drama, music and poetry.
.One of the most unjustly vilified men in the history of journalism, garnering headlines like "The Wickedest Man in the World" and "A Man We'd Like To Hang."
More mistruth and rumor has circulated about Aleister Crowley than perhaps any other figure in recent history. When the reporter Henry Hall introduced him to readers of the New York World Sunday Magazine, he wrote, "Some said that he was a man of real attainments, others that he was a faker. All agreed that he was extraordinary." Crowley openly defied social conventions, challenging people to examine what they really believed, and why they believed it. He confronted blind faith with rational skepticism. Yet he likewise challenged the skeptic with scientific illuminism, a systematic approach to spirituality that he described as "The method of science, the aim of religion."

The Key to Solomon's Key. Lon Milo DuQuette. Knights Templar. Freemasonry. Goetia. Ceremonial Magick

The Key to Solomon's Key. Lon Milo DuQuette. Knights Templar. Freemasonry. Goetia. Ceremonial Magick

An interesting (and very different) perspective on King Solomon, the Knights Templar and Freemasonry... by the knowledgeable and engaging Lon Milo DuQuette.

"Sketching out a fascinating network of historic figures, cults, and Christendom, this book by an occult-studies expert and respected authority on magic and sorcery takes Western spiritual traditions seriously—but examines them with common sense and self-effacing humor. Working backward from the Freemasons to one of their original orders, the 14th-century Knights Templar, the account considers sorcery, heresy, and intrigues; explores the legend that the Knights possessed a powerful secret dangerous to the Church of Rome; and finds an essential clue to the order's practices in their connection to the biblical Solomon, king of Israel in the 10th century BC. This updated edition features new images, chapters on important symbols, and a new preface."

The Templars and the Assassins. The Militia of Heaven. James Wasserman

The Templars and the Assassins. The Militia of Heaven. James Wasserman

I was saddened to hear the recent news that author James Wasserman has passed away.
A lot of his writing focused on the history surrounding the Knights Templar and this is my favorite of his books.




"• An examination of the interactions of the Christian Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Assassins, and of the profound changes in Western society that resulted.
• Restores the reputation of the secret Muslim order of the Assassins, disparaged as the world's first terrorist group.
• Dispels many myths about the Knights Templar and provides the most incisive portrait of them to date.
A thousand years ago Christian battled Muslim for possession of a strip of land upon which both their religions were founded. These Crusades changed the course of Western history, but less known is the fact that they also were the meeting ground for two legendary secret societies: The Knights Templar and their Muslim counterparts, the Assassins.
In The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven, occult scholar and secret society member James Wasserman provides compelling evidence that the interaction of the Knights Templar and the Assassins in the Holy Land transformed the Templars from the Pope's private army into a true occult society, from which they would sow the seeds of the Renaissance and the Western Mystery Tradition. Both orders were destroyed as heretical some seven hundred years ago, but Templar survivors are believed to have carried the secret teachings of the East into an occult underground, from which sprang both Rosicrucianism and Masonry. Assassin survivors, known as Nizari Ismailis, flourish to this day under the spiritual leadership of the Aga Khan. Wasserman strips the myths from both groups and penetrates to the heart of their enlightened beliefs and rigorous practices, delivering the most probing picture yet of these holy warriors."