100 Books Like A Science for the Soul

For those interested in a compelling work of fiction built loosely around Nazism and the occult, Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is the perfect novel.

Whether it’s one of the protagonists, a young Jewish magician, escaping Nazi-occupied Central Europe in the coffin of the “Golem of Prague” or the eponymous cousins finding success with their own comic book series infused by contemporary esoterica, Kavalier & Clay evokes the world in which young, first and second generation Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe created the Marvel and DC superheroes and super(natural) villains, often allied with the Third Reich, that have defined our popular culture for the past eighty years. 

Although there is no longer a shortage of scholarship on the occult or supernatural before 1945, Monica Black’s Demon Haunted Land is the first major history in English to investigate the afterlife of these cultural and intellectual traditions in the early years of the West German Federal Republic.

Beautifully written and based on extensive archival research, a Demon Haunted Land shows how witchcraft, the occult, and a belief in miracles played an important role, alongside democratic stabilization and the so-called “Economic Miracle”, in helping Germans work through the trauma of defeat and legacies of the Third Reich in a new postwar reality.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke’s Occult Roots of Nazism is arguably the first scholarly monograph to take the relationship between occultism and Nazism seriously, providing a fascinating overview of the “secret Aryan cults” and “Ariosophic” beliefs that ostensibly influenced Nazi ideology.

While Goodrick-Clarke stops short of drawing a direct connection between prewar occult doctrines and Nazi policies during the Third Reich– indeed, his study concludes in 1935––no historian before or since has done as thorough a job, based on copious empirical research, of chronicling the eclectic and ubiquitous occult underground that helped shape the interwar folkish movement that produced Nazism.

An ideal complement to Goodrick-Clarke’s study of the links between Nazism and Ariosophy, Staudenmaier devotes his well-researched and comprehensive monograph to examining the relationship between fascism and Rudolf Steiner’s occult doctrine of Anthroposophy.

Like Goodrick-Clarke, Staudenmaier finds important points of ideological and sociological convergence between proponents of Anthroposophy and Nazism, including Waldorf Schools and biodynamic farming, but also highlights many instances of intellectual tension, political hostility, and persecution.

Just as importantly, Between Occultism and Nazism looks at the role of Anthroposophy in fascist Italy, providing an explicit comparative framework that is missing from most studies of Nazism and the occult. A must read for anyone interested in the “occult roots of Nazism” or the history of Western esotericism.

This book shifted how I view the energetic universe, helping me realize its true nature and the principles that govern it. I love how this book breaks down the seven Hermetic principles which literally dictate our physical reality.

These teachings helped me understand how we have the power to shape our reality through our thoughts and actions. By aligning with these universal laws, I can now manifest more intentionally and accurately, enjoying better results. Before, it felt like the laws were using me, but now I’m using them to create harmony in my life. 

This book is another that has a similar vibe to The Dresden Files and my books. This one had a really unique take that I liked, mixing in ghosts with the other supernatural creatures and elements. The main character has some fun, memorable quirks that I enjoyed, and the plot had some great twists that I didn’t see coming. The world is really broad, and there’s a lot more to uncover about how things work, so I liked that it didn’t tell everything in the first book, so it left me with the desire to read more.  

This book is, hands-down, one of my top “Stranded on a Desert Island” books. Why? Let me count the ways! For one, the author himself is a walking encyclopedia—trust me, I’ve spent time with him! John-Michael is also a practicing Druid and is a member of various occult orders and fraternal lodges. Basically, he’s a genius.

I adore this monumental book’s approachability and depth of knowledge. The information is academic but easy to read. Regardless of a person’s mystical, metaphysical, or occult leanings, there’s a rabbit hole of wisdom waiting to be uncovered. The investigation of one topic quickly leads to another. In fact, I’ve found myself (on numerous occasions) researching one occult term, only to realize that hours had passed; studying one fascinating entry led to another, and another, and another!

This is an indispensable book for spiritual seekers of all ages and all varieties. Without question, I’ll continue… show more.

Lobsang Rampa was a Tibetan Monk that took over the body of an Englishman in order to accomplish his destiny in teaching Westeners the Wisdom of the Ancients.

I found this book at 18 years old while searching for the meaning of life, needing to know that what I experienced and could do was not an overactive imagination. As I read the book, a great calmness settled into my soul. All the information related was confirmation that I knew all these concepts already. Now I had the terminology to go with it. It was such an exciting discovery.

If you wish to learn ancient knowledge in a nutshell, this is the book to start with.

If you know Hellboy only from the movies, you’re seeing a very limited image of the character and his adventures. Hellboy has many roots (pulp sci fi and crimefighter stories, superhero tales, Lovecraft’s mythos), but one of his earliest is in real world magic and folktale. We see this in his encounters with Baba Yaga, Hecate, and others, but also in his battle fairy creatures that are vulnerable to unforged iron.

Hey, this non-fiction book I’ve read has a lot to offer. Great study for those who wants to understand more about metaphysical world!

This is his fourth book that I’ve read besides Reincarnation, The Secret Teaching of All Ages, and The Wisdom of the Knowing Ones. I love his books, because can I learn a lot of mystical things which is related to the fantasy series that I’ve been working on. And it has a great impact on my writing for the first book in my series.

It taught me that we are not alone in this world. There are a lot that we don’t know about spiritual dimension that can’t be seen with our mundane eyes. As within, so without. Our inner wisdom creates the reflection of our reality.
I feel contented with the knowledge shared in this book. It helped me to enlighten my perspective… show more.