8 Poetry Collections That Double As Grimoires

Poetry has always been intrinsically linked to spellcasting; from creating rhyming rituals to Shakespeare’s wyrd sisters. The rhythm of the language in both poems and incantations makes them almost interchangeable. It’s difficult to demonstrate where a poem ends and a spell begins, or vice versa.

Terri-Jane Dow has collated some occult poetry collections to get you started.

WITCH, by Rebecca Tamás

Rebecca Tamás’ first full-length collection is full of spells (quite literally; it includes “spell for reality,” “spell for agency,” and “spell for online porn,” among others) and hexes. It’s also full of feminism and fire, history, and the need for change. It’s a phenomenal collection. You can read a sample from Penned In The Margins.

The Collected Poems, by Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes both dabbled in the occult to help them write. Using a tipped over glass and a homemade ouija board, they invoked a spirit they called Pan, and at various points, both mused on Pan’s influence on their writing. Plath’s poem, Ouija, found in The Collected Poems, being one of the more notably inspired by the occult.

Spells: 21st Century Occult Poetry, ed. Rebecca Tamás & Sarah Shin

Opening with the reminder “spells are poems : poetry is spelling,” this collection of thirty-six poems brings together the best modern poetry on the occult. It includes poems from Amy Key, AK Blakemore, Emily Berry, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Kaveh Akbar, among others.

Animal, by Dorothea Lasky

Spells contributor and half of @poetastrologers, Dorothea Lasky’s latest full-length collection, Animal, comes out in October, giving you just enough time to read up on her other writings. We’d start with Snakes, or her previous collection, Milk.

While Standing In Line For Death, by CAConrad

Written following the murder of CAConrad’s boyfriend, Earth, While Standing in Line for Death won the 2018 Lamda Literary Award for Gay Poetry. Veering through grief and anger to clarity, it’s a journey through the poet’s depression, containing 18 rituals and the poems that follow them. You can read more about CAConrad’s (Soma)tic Rituals for poetry writing, and learn how to make your own poetry rituals, here.

Unicorn, by Angela Carter

Better known as a novelist, Angela Carter was also a poet. This posthumous collection contains poems written between 1963 and 1971, and shows Carter’s early explorations of myth reworkings and magic. These poems begin to pick up the darker sides of the folklore stories we know, and which Carter expanded on in her later writings, such as The Bloody Chamber. You can read her poem Two Wives and a Widow here in The London Magazine, where it was first published in 1966.

Selected Poems, by Aleister Crowley

This wouldn’t be much of an occult reading list without including Aleister Crowley, would it? A prolific writer of works on the occult, Selected Poems gives a broad look at Crowley’s poetry, including his famous poem Hymn to Pan.  

The Collected Poems, W. B. Yeats

And finally, we cannot mention Aleister Crowley without mentioning his poetic rival, W. B. Yeats. Yeats was also part of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and was one of the members who ousted Crowley from the Order in 1900. Crowley, of course, went on to create his own society, but apparently never overcame his envy of Yeats’ writing talent. Yeats’ own interests in the occult were far-reaching; he claimed that “the mystical life is the centre of all that I do and all that I think and all that I write.” Read The Second Coming here.

Where To Begin? 14 Books To Re-Enchant Your Worldview

Stepping into an esoteric bookshop can feel like clambering through a dark forest. With this list, we hope you will find one of the many crisscrossing paths through those wild woods. The recommendations here are mainly from Western esotericism, but much of what we think of as Western has at some point come from the East. Many of the books below are available to purchase from our friends at Treadwell’s Books in London.

Illustration by Rachael Olga Lloyd

The Book of English Magic by Richard Heygate and Philip Carr-Gomm

England has a long, albeit quiet history of magic. This book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of our enchanted past through to our magical present. Along the way, the author explores how magic has both fascinated and scared us. We are introduced to scholars who practised alchemy, authors of fantasy and their magical inspirations, some of the places that were sacred to our ancestors or had a significant role in myths and legends, and the Neopagan beliefs alive today.

That Sense of Wonder: How to Capture the Miracles of Everyday Life by Francesco Dimitri

As children, wonder comes naturally to us. I remember lying on my childhood bedroom floor, at 8, surrounded by beautiful books, open atlases and encyclopaedias. The world was vast and exciting then, and I wanted to explore it. Francesco Dimitri argues this simple impulse, wonder, is the driving force behind many works of scientific enquiry and creative endeavours, from the monuments that grace our skylines to the stories and art that move us. Wonder encourages us to light candles in the dark and set forth into unchartered territory in search of something new. This book explores how life sometimes gets in the way of that. Caught up in a society that values certainty over mysteries, distracted by the burden of mortgage repayments and endless bureaucracy, we can lose that sense of wonder; Dimitri reveals how to reclaim it.

Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa

Arguably one of the best starting points for understanding western occultism, practitioners of ritual magic and literary authors still draw inspiration from Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy today. The books were published in 1531 in Paris, Cologne and Antwerp, and are noted for being more scholarly and intellectual in content than many of the other grimoires around at the time. The three books concern themselves with Elemental, Celestial and Intellectual Magic, and include extracts from obscure work by the thinkers such as Pythagoras and Plato. The topics covered include the classical four elements, Kaballah, astrology, the virtues, scrying, alchemy, ritual magic and geomancy. A tome at 1,024 pages, this doesn’t make for light reading.

The Lesser Key of Solomon - anon

An anonymous grimoire from the mid-17th century, The Lesser Key of Solomon is another occult classic—and a good illustrated introduction to demology. It provides detailed descriptions of its 72 daemons, and instructions for successfully evoking and manipulating them. Amazon reviews warn: “not for beginners.” Most readers will read this out of curiosity, rather than a desire to summon spirits. This text is often referenced in films and novels that involve demons.

The Golden Dawn by Israel Regardie

For those who have read Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the content here will be familiar. Borrowing ideas from Kabbalah, Tarot, Theosophy, Freemasonry, Paganism, Astrology and many more, The Golden Dawn puts forward a viable system of magic. When Israeel Regardie published the teaching of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn after the order’s dissolution, Crowley said the publication of this material was “pure theft,” despite having incorporated ritual magic gained from the order in his own magical system. Regardie wanted to ensure the Golden Dawn ritual system wasn’t lost—and wanted to make these ideas accessible to more people.

The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley

This short but dense book feels like it was written during a drug-induced high, though Crowley sustained he was merely transcribing the words of a mysterious messenger, Aiwass, who he encountered in the Egyptian desert. The book has however, like the infamous author himself, been hugely influential in the occult. It remains the central text for Thelemites. The central premise, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” is often misunderstood as “descend into anarchy and do whatever the hell you want.” The true meaning is closer to “find your true path.”

The Golden Bough by James Frazer

Published in 1890, The Golden Bough is a wide-ranging study of comparative religion and myth. Authored by the Scottish anthropologist and folklorist James George Frazer, this books documents the similarities and universal motifs among magical and religious beliefs around the world. The mythologist Joseph Campbell drew heavily from it when writing The Hero with a Thousand Faces, describing The Golden Bough as “monumental.”

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Joseph Campbell gained international recognition when George Lucas credited this work as influencing the Star Wars Saga. The Hero with a Thousand Faces, published in 1949, chronicles the hero’s journey in its many iterations. It’s a classic still used by screenwriters and authors today. Based on an introduction to myth class he taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Campbell dissects myths, exposing the universal themes disguised beneath the clothing of a specific cultural context. He also considers the relevance of myths to our lives today.

The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton

Perhaps the definitive academic history of Neopaganism, and in particular of Wicca, one of the fastest growing homegrown new religions. Hutton examines the history of ritual magic, deity worship, cunning folk, 18th century revivalist movements and secret societies through to strands of modern day witchcraft. Many practitioners of magic today claim an unbroken connection with a Pagan past, which Hutton contests. Hutton maintains an unbiased and rigorously academic objectivity, though is never dismissive. Instead, he argues persuasively that the origins of Wicca go beyond Gardner, and sees Neopaganism as an arena for creativity.

Animism: Respecting the Living World by Graham Harvey

Animism is the belief that all objects, places and creatures possess a soul or spirit. But what relevance does animism have in our modern world? Through a series of case studies, Professor Graham Harvey explores current and past animistic beliefs and practices of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians, and eco-pagans. Emphasised is the maltreatment of animism, often patronised by social scientists of the past. As we face global warming, one big takeaway is the ecological implications of animism. Maoris, we’re told, see themselves as “an integral part of nature.” They feel the have “the responsibility to take care of the whenua (land) and, tangata (people).”

The Earth, The Gods, and the Soul by Brendan Myers

Europe's first philosophers were Pagan and The Gods, the Earth, and the Soul restores the spiritual coherence of that intellectual legacy for the modern reader. Arguing the work of ancient sages across Europe sets out Humanism, Pantheism, and Platonism are core tenets, Myers' provides an accessible introduction to each in turn. An inspiring and rigorous review of the moral and conceptual lessons that Pagan ways have to teach.

Witches, Sluts and Feminists by Kristen J. Sollee

“Witch,” like “slut” and “feminist,” has often been used pejoratively. Sollee has noted these terms also pertain to a lineage of resistance. The book presents a compelling argument for reclaiming these terms—and archetypes. The witch, says Solleee, is “someone who can shift perceptions and create change.” We are shown, among other things, how Hillary Clinton was often cast as a witch during her campaign, the reconsideration of the term ‘witch’ during the suffrage movement, and the fear among men of women’s bodily autonomy. The author also reminds us of the continuing persecution of witches in some parts of the world.

What is a Witch? by Pam Grossman

What does the word ‘witch’ evoke for you? Written by Pam Grossman and illustrated by Tin Can Forest, this graphic novel-come-poetry collection-come-grimoire-come-illustrated manuscript is a deep and beautiful reflection on the witch archetype—that ultimate icon of feminine power. “Daughters, mothers, queens, virgins, wives, et al. derive meaning from their relation to another person,” said Grossman in 2013. “Witches, on the other hand, have power on their own terms.”

A Treasury of British Folklore by Dee Dee Chainey

A concise yet entertaining collection of folk stories, legends, and superstitions from Britain. Many of us know about Maypoles, fairies and kelpies, but do we know the beliefs behind them? It becomes apparent while reading that many of our regional stories and rituals derive from a universal need to converse with nature.