Liber E vel Exercitiorum

The object of most of the foregoing practices will not at first be clear to you; but at least (who will deny it?) they will have trained you in determination, accuracy, introspection, and many other qualities which are valuable to all men in their ordinary avocations, so that in no case will your time have been wasted.

That you may gain some insight into the nature of the Great Work which lies beyond these elementary trifles, however, we should mention that an intelligent person may gather more than a hint of its nature from the following books, which are to be taken as serious and learned contributions to the study of Nature, though not necessarily to be implicitly relied upon.

[Ed. note: we have copies of these documents, and pointers to links where you can buy them, here.]

The Yi King [S.B.E. Series, Oxford University Press.]
The Tao Teh King [S.B.E. Series.]
Tannhauser by A. Crowley.
The Upanishads.
The Bhagavad-Gita.
The Voice of the Silence.
Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekânanda.
The Shiva Sanhita.
The Aphorisms of Patanjali.
The Sword of Song.
The Book of the Dead.
Rituel et Dogme de la Haute Magie.
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.
The Goetia.
The Hathayoga Pradipika.
Erdmann's History of Philosophy.
The Spiritual Guide of Molinos.
The Star in the West (Captain Fuller).
The Dhammapada [S.B.E. Series, Oxford University Press].
The Questions of King Milinda [S.B.E. Series].
777. vel Prolegomena, &c..
Varieties of Religious Experience (James).
Kabbala Denudata.
Konx Om Pax.

Careful study of these books will enable the pupil to speak in the language of his master and facilitate communications with him.

The pupil should endeavour to discover the fundamental harmony of these very varied works; for this purpose he will find it best to study the most extreme divergences side by side.

He may at any time that he wishes apply for examination in this course of reading.

During the whole of this elementary study and practice he will do wisely to seek out, and attach himself to, a master, one competent to correct him and advise him. Nor should he be discouraged by the difficulty of finding such a person.

Let him further remember that he must in no wise rely upon, or believe in, that master. He must rely entirely upon himself, and credit nothing whatever but that which lies within his own knowledge and experience.

As in the beginning, so at the end, we here insist upon the vital importance of the written record as the only possible check upon error derived from the various qualities of the experimenter.

Thus let the work be accomplished duly; yea, let it be accomplished duly.