First, understand everything I say here is my own opinion. It is how I see things. Others may disagree and their viewpoint is no less valid.
Yes, I am a practitioner in the Western Esoteric Tradition. Which means my magick is influenced by the magick that has been practiced in Western cultures with most reliable sources dating from the Middle Ages onward. I practice what is called chaos magick.
One thing I like about chaos magick is that it’s main sources are modern and are much easier to understand (for me) than most books in the tradition. For example, a popular text on the Western tradition, Magick in Theory and Practice (sometimes called Book 4 or Liber ABA, magicians like to give things lots of names), by Aleister Crowley is an incredibly difficult read for most people. Also, many traditional books on magick seldom stop to examine why magicians do what they do.
In any case, I think a great place to start is a lecture given by one of the founders of chaos magick named Peter J. Carroll. The lecture, The Philosophy and Practice of Magick, lays down some basic and well-reasoned ideas on why magick works and how it has developed. You can listen to it for free in the first episode of my own Scroll of Thoth Podcast. Feel free to ignore my own blatherings and that of my partner and just listen to the lecture.
After that, I recommend Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll.
You may say at this point, “but I don’t want to read a bunch of books. I don’t learn that way.” Alas, that’s the Western Esoteric Tradition. Be prepared to be a perpetual student if you choose this path.
Feel free to ask me any new questions you come up with.
