My first introduction to the Qabalah, was from Will Parfitt's "The New Living Qabalah" book - his "Complete Guide to the Kabbalah" is an updated version of this original book. I have used his original book extensively. It contains a series of practical exercises, and I recommend it very highly.

This short and very readable book is an excellent introduction to Qabalah, Magick and Tarot. Highly recommended.

A very readable book on the history of the Qabalah, originally published as "Tree of Life - An Introduction to the Kabbalah"

Very readable; I bought this book because the others I'd read on the Qabalah were very much from a New Age perspective. This book is written from a Jewish religious viewpoint.

Another book written primarily from a Jewish perspective; it's an anthology of theoretical and applied Kabbalah covering healing, mind-body relationship, dreamwork, women's spirituality and tikkun olam ("repairing the world"). Very readable, and from a wide range of viewpoints ranging from Jewish orthodox to Native American.

Originally written in 1932 by Israel Regardie, Crowley's student and secretary, this edition has been enhanced by the addition of practical exercises (by the Ciceros) for pathworking on the Tree of Life. It's described as "The best single introduction to the Qabalah for magicians", and I think it probably is.

Dion Fortune is considered the most important woman thinker of the 1890's occult revival in England, and was initiated into the Golden Dawn in 1919. This is her most famous book, a Qabalistic classic.

I haven't read this one all the way through yet, but it looks fascinating. It's a metaphysical discussion of the Qabalah.

A two-volume encyclopaedia of all the main esoteric systems, including gematria and many, many other ancient languages and systems. Volume 1 contains Cuneiform, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese; Volume 2 Greek, Coptic, Runes, Latin, Enochian, Tarot and English. Fascinating stuff. Now reissued as "The Eastern Mysteries" and "The Western Mysteries".

An attempt by the author to harmonise modern science and the Bible's creation account. Personally, I'm not convinced - but it's a very well written book, and I'm grateful to the author for pointing out the similarity between the Ramban's description of creation and the Big Bang theory.

Not an easy read (I didn't manage to wade through all of it), but it is a classic, written by the mediaeval Qabalist Maimonides (known also as the "Rambam").

There is now an English translation available; the Commentary comprises 5 volumes (one for each book of the Torah). You'll have to hunt around for these - the first book (the commentary on Genesis) is apparently not available in the UK. It's written by Nachmanides, also known as the "Ramban", another mediaeval Qabalist, not to be confused with the "Rambam", who is Maimonides. Confused?

A fascinating book by a former nun about the nature of humanity’s perception of God.

I haven't read this yet, and by all accounts it's not an easy read! It is a multi-volume set, and costs nearly sixty pounds. This (together with the Sefer Yetzirah - see below) is the key work of the Jewish Kabbalah. However, Amazon do have a number of books (at much cheaper prices) that are a selection of readings from the Zohar.

This is the oldest and most mysterious of kabbalistic texts, whose authorship is attributed to the patriarch Abraham. The text itself is very short but very obscure, and this book is a detailed commentary on the text.

Astrology tends to be frowned upon by orthodox Jews; this book shows just how rich the Hebrew system of astrology really is.

Astrology tends to be frowned upon by Christians, too - this fascinating book is a commentary on the Book of Revelation. John's bizarre imagery has an underlying astrological theme, which the author brings out in a clear and highly readable way. After discussing the seven traditional planets, Revelation appears to allude to additional planets - which were not discovered until recent times. The author then relates the prophetic imagery to these discoveries, and events that have occurred in the last two centuries.

A brilliant introduction. Written by a rabbi professor of Jewish theology with a sense of humour ("Have you ever wondered what Adam really said to Eve?").

A weighty and expensive tome, but a useful reference guide if you're seriously interested in studying Biblical Hebrew.

A two-volume encyclopaedia of all the main esoteric systems, including gematria and many, many other ancient languages and systems. Volume 1 contains Cuneiform, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese; Volume 2 Greek, Coptic, Runes, Latin, Enochian, Tarot and English. Fascinating stuff.

According to Jewish legend, the Hebrew "aleph-bet" (the first two letters - from where we get our word "alphabet") was in existence prior to the creation of the world, and each letter is a living entity. This book explores the symbolism and meaning of each letter.

Why is A the first letter of the alphabet? Why is O round? Why is M a zig-zag? This fascinating book shows how each letter of our alphabet, and each letter of the Hebrew alphabet, derived from an earlier alphabet derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics.

I've included this one, because it's cheap, it has loads of pictures and the text descriptions are easy to follow. I had great difficulty in following written descriptions when I was starting to learn the form, but I was able to follow the descriptions in this book (just!).

Taoism through the eyes of Winnie the Pooh and friends. There are many worthy introductory books about Taoism, but this one is actually readable! There is also a sequel, "The Te of Piglet", which I did not find as inspiring.

This is the book I'd choose for my desert island, and it's so good I've bought it half a dozen times now. There is also another book by Barefoot Doctor - a kind of sequel - called "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook for Heroes - A Spiritual Guide to Fame and Fortune".

The Taoist classic. There are lots of versions - the one I've shown here is simply the cheapest.

An excellent introduction to astrology, well-written and easy to read. In cartoon format.

A simple and interesting approach to chart interpretation, based on considering the positions of Saturn, the Sun and the Moon to represent the Parent, Adult and Child within us.

A good introduction to astrology, explaining signs, houses, aspects in easy-to-read language.

A sequel to Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain, dealing with transits and predictions.

An annotated version of Crowley's classic treatise on astrology (Liber 536), together with two shorter treatises. The main one was written by Crowley in 1917-18, before Pluto was discovered. This gives an interesting perspective to the book, which concentrates on what was then the two outer planets, Uranus and Neptune.

A guide to asteroids in Astrology.

A guide to the fixed stars in Astrology.

Astrology tends to be frowned upon by orthodox Jews; this book shows just how rich the Hebrew system of astrology really is.

Astrology tends to be frowned upon by Christians, too - this fascinating book is a commentary on the Book of Revelation. John's bizarre imagery has an underlying astrological theme, which the author brings out in a clear and highly readable way. After discussing the seven traditional planets, Revelation appears to allude to additional planets - which were not discovered until recent times. The author then relates the prophetic imagery to these discoveries, and events that have occurred in the last two centuries.

This short and very readable book is an excellent introduction to Qabalah, Magick and Tarot. Highly recommended.

A two-volume encyclopaedia of all the main esoteric systems, including gematria and many, many other ancient languages and systems. Volume 1 contains Cuneiform, Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese; Volume 2 Greek, Coptic, Runes, Latin, Enochian, Tarot and English. Fascinating stuff.

A classic book - not the best read if you're looking for an introduction to Tarot, but splendid nevertheless.

A practical, but more "New Age", approach to learning tarot by experiencing the cards.

This short book is written in a very eccentric (and rather opinionated) style, which I personally found rather irritating. However, it is an excellent read, and ties together Tarot, I Ching and Qabalah, has some good practical exercises, and a fascinating game based on the Tree of Life.

This is the book I'd choose for my desert island, and it's so good I've bought it half a dozen times now. There are also two other books by Barefoot Doctor - called "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook for Heroes - A Spiritual Guide to Fame and Fortune", and "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook for Lovers".

An excellent introduction to cosmology. Lucid and not difficult to follow.

Easy read, but covering some very esoteric topics arising out of current theories in physics.

A novel with a difference - the Universe through the "eyes" of a proton. This book had a profound effect on my view of spirituality, too. The book is now out of print, but well worth getting hold of it if you can.

The best-selling book on cosmology of all time. Stephen Hawking's groundbreaking work. No hard maths in it, but so profound it's not an easy read.

If you tried to read "A Brief History" but couldn't get through it, try this book instead - well-written, in cartoon format.

A highly readable summary of the latest views on cosmology.

An attempt by the author to harmonise modern science and the Bible's creation account. Personally, I'm not convinced - but it's a very well written book, and I'm grateful to the author for pointing out the similarity between the Ramban's description of creation and the Big Bang theory.

Frank Tipler is a famous cosmologist, and professor of mathematical physics, and is more usually associated with the "anthropic principle" of cosmology, which in its simplest form states that the universe is the way it is because if it wasn't, we wouldn't be here to ask questions about it! While his books on the anthropic principle were taken seriously by physicists, this book has caused a storm - just look at its subtitle: "Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead". A fascinating book, but a difficult read.

An excellent introduction, from a Pagan perspective.

This made my brain hurt! Very, very esoteric - Enochian magic is based on the writings of Queen Elizabeth the First's astrologer, John Dee, and his conversations with angelic entities.

The inside story of the Golden Dawn - this is a history, not a textbook.

A short, down-to-earth approach to following a magickal path.

This short and very readable book is an excellent introduction to Qabalah, Magick and Tarot. Highly recommended.

This excellent book is a practical course in ceremonial magick. Highly recommended.

Members of the Golden Dawn generally give their names as "Frater" (brother) or "Soror" (sister) followed by initials, remaining anonymous. This book, despite its obscure title, is an excellent book to constructing magickal sigils - symbols for meditation.

A superb book. William Bloom is a brilliant writer; I first came across his book "The Sacred Magician", written under a pseudonym in the seventies, which was a diary of his ritual to contact his Holy Guardian Angel, which nearly resulted in his death.