Not all occult books are created equal—some offer profound esoteric wisdom, while others are misleading, poorly researched, or just a cash grab. If you’re passionate about magic, spirituality, or hidden knowledge, knowing how to spot a bad occult book can save you time, money, and frustration. From sensational claims to plagiarized content, overpriced grimoires, and books with no practical value, this guide will walk you through the key warning signs to help you make informed choices in your esoteric studies.
Overuse of Buzzwords and Sensational Claims
Keepers of the sacred word Banana
If a book constantly refers to “secrets THEY don’t want you to know” or claims to reveal powerful forbidden knowledge that has been lost for centuries. It’s often just marketing hype rather than profound esoteric wisdom. In the 19th century, one of the prime excuses that occult knowledge was “secret” was that it was “dangerous” or led to someone becoming “unbalanced.” However, secrecy is about power; it keeps those involved with it from going to jail or persecution, and any symbolic system used out of the hands of those who would not benefit from it anyway. If the symbol of a banana is a key symbol in my magic system, it would do no good for me to publish the secrets of Bananarama in a book because no one else would benefit from that system.
- No Clear Lineage or Tradition
Good occult books often acknowledge their roots in Western esotericism, Hermeticism, Wicca, Thelema, qabalah, Chaos Magic, or other structured systems. Be sceptical if the book seems to invent an entire system without acknowledging influences. Very little is genuinely new, and even the latest and most innovative stuff depends on other things. My Hellenistic Grimoire depends on the Key of Solomon, The Grand Grimoire, PGM, and the Homeric Tradition. Helios Unbound follows the Golden Dawn, the Abramelin, and PGM systems.
- Author Lacks Credibility or Experience
Check the author’s background and establish that they have studied under some teachers, been part of known occult orders, or worked in some system. They don’t need to have been excellent teachers or systems; they must have shown dedication and focus on magic and occultism for at least ten years to write a book on the subject.
You should be careful of those who present themselves as “masters of all occult arts” but have no track record; their books are probably shallow or misleading.
- Bad Occult Book’s are Poorly Researched or Plagiarised Content
If the book repeats widespread misinformation, such as:
- “The Necronomicon is a real ancient grimoire” (it’s a fictional creation by H.P. Lovecraft)
- “Aleister Crowley was a Satanist” (he was not)
- “Ancient Egyptians practised modern Wicca” (they did not)
- The Golden Dawn used the lesser banishing ritual of the pentagram daily.
- The Lesser Banishing Ritual (sic) was elemental.
It’s a sign the author didn’t do proper research or know their topic well enough. Some low-effort books copy and paste content from Wikipedia, the interwebs or older books without adding value.
- A Bad Occult Book has Filler and Repetitive Content
Bad Occult Books pad out the page count with:
- Pages of long, self-aggrandising personal stories instead of practical instruction. Personal stories are good but should be examples of techniques rather than self-marketing.
- Repetitive descriptions of basic concepts which are often found elsewhere. A lot of books are full rehashes of the lesser ritual of pentagram and the middle pillar.
- Pages of vague mystical philosophy without real substance.
- Long exerts from other people’s work. Generally, more than a page is taking the piss.
- No Practical Exercises
This is a personal view as it does not apply to many occult classics. But if a modern book is all theory and doesn’t provide actual exercises, rituals, meditations, or methods, it may be too abstract to be helpful. One of the ways modern writers make more difficult abstract ideas accessible is to provide valuable exercises that show the principles in action and give the students a chance to experiment.
- Bad Occult Books have Poor Formatting
With the bottom dropped out of the occult book market, professional occult publishers are thin on the ground. This makes editing and layout difficult, and typos and spelling mistakes are inevitable. However, a book should look like one. It should not be double-spaced, with two paragraphs on each page, or use comedy typefaces. There is no excuse for a book printed on low-quality paper with cheap binding as this indicates that a person has not used print on demand and gone to a printer and asked for the cheapest options to keep the profits down and margins high.
A BOOK MUST BE AT LEAST 80 PAGES LONG. Anything smaller is a monograph and not worthy of full book prices. It indicates the author has not developed the subject enough or has attempted to narrow the focus, so they do not have to think too deeply about it.
Covers are tricky. I have noticed that many bad books have a small (low res) illustration slapped on a white cover. However, some academic books seem to do the same thing. But I think it is possible to tell a book by its cover to a lesser degree.
- Overpriced for What It Is
If a book is costly but only contains basic beginner-level information, it’s likely not worth the money and will be a bad occult book. Be especially wary of self-published “grimoires” that cost $100+ but contain little new insight. Any black and white book should have at least 240 properly laid out pages and cost between $20-$30 for any book to be viable. There is some mileage in this. Colour adds to the cost, and the bigger a book is, the more costly it will be, which is why most pointless books are small.
- Unrealistic Claims About Results
A bad occult book promises instant enlightenment, supernatural abilities, or guaranteed success in magic, it’s a scam. Real occult work takes time, study, and effort.
- Dark Fluff
Dark fluff is a bad occult book that has been laid out and has expensive bindings. If it has a dust jacket illustration, it will favour black and red. It is a genre of books, usually claiming to be black magic, designed to sit on someone’s bookshelf and frighten guests. While pretty, it is intended for those who don’t do magic. Because of the bindings, they are generally expensive, but an AI could write the content and then lay it out in gothic text and it would have the same impact. If you don’t believe me this is what you get from an AI:
Invocation of the Veil-Shrouded One
Oh Keeper of the Forgotten Abyss, whose name is whispered only in the void between waking and death, I summon thee.
By the sigil etched in blood and the breath of the nameless winds, arise from the Black Gulf and stand before me.
Let the chains of the elder stars shatter, let the veil between worlds be torn, that thy form may manifest in shadow and flame.
In thy presence, I swear the pact unbroken—so speak, so command, and so it shall be.
These guys are more authentic
Necronomicon
If you are a collector, dark fluff keeps their value, while real occult books do not.
- Light Fluff
These are bad occult books which are generally paperbacks with rainbow colours on the covers. They are primarily designed for the New Age market and are often “channelled” meaning the author blames these atrocities on an angel or ancient wise human who clearly was not involved in the process. They mostly spout fluffy New Age mantras about how the Universe depends on you to be who you are and how crystal unicorns will somehow save the day. For all their spirituality, there there is a strain of them which have some hard core materiality so you end up with phrases like “By aligning your quantum chakras with the astral vibrations of Mercury in retrograde, you can unlock the 5D abundance matrix for blessings and love.” That sort of thing.
In this genre, you will likely find mentions of Atlantis, UFOs, Past Lives, and other unprovable nonsense. You are also going to find references to “abundance” and “blessing.”
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