What's the most reliable and up to date source on biblical apocrypha, both old and new Testament?

I've been seeing a lot of varying quantities of books, from 15, 18, 55, 100, or 101 on the internet. So, what's the exact number?

I'm already familiar with texts like the Nag Hammadi library, Enoch, and the dead sea scrolls, if that helps narrow it down.

Hey guys, I was just curious what people do for the supermoon! Seeing if there's anything I can add to my practice!

Blessings✨ happy casting!

I know this will sound weird, and maybe I'm nos asking in the right place, or there's no way what I'm going to ask can be true but, ¿can I be cursed like a horrocrux (yeah, those from Harry Potter)?

I feel like, with the past of time, all the people that love me deeply starts at one point changing to worse with me. And I'm sure to this point that some of them are really good people, and I am really really really not doing anything bad too. This happened to me sooo many times that I'm becoming paranoid. I don't know if there's a chance that this will follow me every place I go, with the people that I most love.

Sorry if this question is out of place. I just really need an advise.

As the title says, I'm finding myself interested in Esotericism at large, but as a beginner I am somewhat overwhelmed at the vast number of sources out there, as well as just the immense history of it over all. I was curious for some recommendations on best jumping off places for beginners? I've been listening to some lectures by Manly P. Hall on Esoteric history, seemingly focused most on Hermeticism, Gnosticism and Neoplatonism. I've also been reading "The Philosophy of Freedom" by Rudolf Steiner.

I'm not new to philosophy overall. For years I've been mostly into Eastern philosophy/mysticism and Existentialism, but I also studied a bit of Western philosophy in college, so I have a general understanding of Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, etc. This flavor of mysticism, a.k.a. the "occult," is pretty new to me, though I have heard vague mentions of it from time to time.

Hi!!

For a long time I've been thinking I should get a deeper understanding of White Magic, at all levels. Understanding the values, morals and beliefs.

So if anyone wants to write about it, I'll be glad to read and understand. Links, images, book titles would be helpful for me to get material reading into my own life.

Thanks!

Do you know if exist a kind of ritual that can localize your missing pet, that should connect with its soul and show its position. There’s a guy that tell me that he’s can do it, but i dubt about his service cause he want money and i think its a scam

EDIT: We find our cat!!! we find him near my house (but he lives at my girlfriend's house, around 8-10 km from mine) probably he went inside the car, or in the car engine i think. fortunately we spoke to a lady who told us that she found him and adopted him and took care of him, so for these days he has been well and safe. the thought that it was literally 50 meters away from home amazes me, but everything ended well... thanks everyone

The last member of my family to practice an unknown tradition passed a long time ago and his daughter didn't chose to accept the same ability during his life. My relatives are getting older and his story will die with them. I've been trying to find more info for years but I don't have much to go on besides stories from my grandmother. I'll share what I know about this relative (who I think is my great-great-great-Grandfather). I'll call him O.

1. O was alive probably mid to late 1800's to early 1900's.
2. The primary goal of what O practiced was healing.
3. He had a book he used. This was apparently lost in a fire generations later.
4. O most likely lived in Armenia or Turkey and was most likely ethnically Armenian. There's also a chance of at least part of the family practicing Judaism as my grandma says she would see a male member of the family wearing Tefillin to pray. She was raised Christian and her family moved to Russia before she was born as Armenians were being persecuted/discriminated in Turkey at the time.
5. The tradition was passed in a ritual where O's daughter (or granddaughter) would be tied to a tree and he would be tied to the other side. He would read something and she would stay there for the entire night 'experiencing all of the pain in the world' that he had also experienced. This would come in the form of negative hallucinations. I don't know if any substances were involved.
6. One 'easy thing' that one of his descendants (my great-grandma) could do was lift the evil eye. she would move her hands around the victim 'like reiki' while sighing the whole time. The energy came out through her absorbing it then sighing out
7. The first story I heard about O is that he performed a trick where he 'made a wave sweep through town' to trick a bully into taking off his clothes and running away, most likely some kind of illusion or hypnosis. This man was heckling him and O warned him to leave him alone or he would prove his ability.
8. My mother has always been lucid while she dreams. She has recurring dreams of rescuing/saving people that are very distressing. She has always been afraid of hospitals and cries easily if she visits one.
9. Without knowing about O or my mother's dreams, I became interested in lucid dreaming when I was around 13. As I started to get better at lucid dreaming, having many strange dreams along the way, I started to experience extreme episodes of sleep paralysis and developed insomnia as a result. After having recovered, I barely ever dream at all. I was raised non-religious although I was baptized.
10. I also remember leaving my body and playing in my room whilst sleeping when I was only 3 or 4 years old. This is one of my earliest memories and it's always been exceptionally clear.

Let me know if any of these things ring a bell. I think the tree ritual is the most unique part so I'm really seeking info about that. Thank you.

Hello! I’m new to this group and happy to be here. I have always been very fascinated by the esoteric. From the hermetic principles to ancient civilizations and the nature of time and space. I was seeking to meet more like minded people to engage in conversation. I also maintain a substack where I write about stuff like this and wanted to share my writing with people who might be interested! But was not sure about the rules so thought I would ask first! Let me know if okay and I’ll add the link to my substack blog here ☺️

The Infinite Source is an infinite dynamo, continually pouring strength, happiness, and power into the soul. That is why it is so important to rely as much as you can upon the Infinite Source.

—Paramahansa Yogananda "SRF Lessons"

I've reached out to Prof. Sonu Shamdasani over a year ago and for various reasons we could make that work. Now that it's finally happened, I feel honored that I got a chance to speak with the scholar who contributed the most to bringing Carl Jung's Red Book to light.

Prof. Shamdasani is a world-renowned expert on the works of Carl Jung and the history of psychology. He has authored several books on Jung, but most notably for us today, he served as the editor of both The Red Book and the Black Notebooks that preceded it.

If there's one major idea that I took from this conversation with Prof. Shamdasani is the idea of Jung as an esoteric thinker. A scientist who works on another, secretive and personal level – the level of visions, dreams, and meditations. Or, as Jung himself terms it, coming to scientific understand through "Confrontation with the Unconscious".

You can listen to it here: https://libraryofbabel2.substack.com/p/episode-5-sonu-shamdasani-on-the

Hey I am new to this form of magic I have read some books and documents on society is like the hermetic order of the Golden Dawn and things like that and it really interests me I just have no idea where to start I live in Utah and I don't know if there are any groups I can join or anything if anyone has any advice would be greatly appreciated

Over the last week I've been exploring the syncretism between the European tarot and traditional Chinese mysticism in a series of blog posts. Some of you might find it interesting. (My sources are Benebell Wen's book, "I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes" and the Wilhelm-Baynes translation of the I Ching.)

https://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com/2024/05/16/creation-and-destruction-the-tarot-trumps-and-taoist-alchemy/