A Short Annotated Bibliography for Newcomers to Thelema

Crowley, Aleister (2004). The Book of the Law. York Beach, Me: Samuel Weiser. [Etext]
This book, received by Crowley in 1904 via a “praeter-human intelligence”, is the cornerstone of his magical philosophy. The best editions of this book will contain a facsimile of the original handwritten manuscript.

Crowley, Aleister (1991). Magick: In Theory and Practice. Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books. [Amazon]
Originally printed in 1929. Many consider this work by Crowley to be the foremost book on ceremonial magick written in the twentieth century. It is fairly accessible to the new student.

Crowley, Aleister; Beta, Hymenaeus; Kaczynski, Richard, & Jacobs, Samuel Aiwass (1998). The Revival of Magick and Other Essays. Tempe, AZ: New Falcon Publications in association with Ordo Templi Orientis International. [Amazon]
A collection of essays highlighting explanations of Thelema and magick in non-technical language. Contains Crowley’s highly recommended essay Duty.

DuQuette, Lon Milo (2003). The Magick of Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema. Boston, MA: Weiser Books. [Amazon]
A practical step-by-step guide to all of the foundational rituals of Thelema.

Kaczynski, Richard, & Wasserman, James (2009). The Weiser Concise Guide to Aleister Crowley. San Francisco, CA: Weiser Books. [Amazon]
An excellent short biographical introduction to the man Aleister Crowley and his work.

Kraig, Donald Michael (2010). Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts. St. Paul, Minn: Llewellyn Publications. [Amazon]
A survey of ceremonial magick featuring simple step-by-step instructions of how to learn classic foundational rituals of ceremonial magick like the Lesser Banishing Ritual, the Lesser Hexagram Ritual and others.