100 books like Real Magic

By Dean Radin,

Here are 100 books that Real Magic fans have personally recommended if you like Real Magic. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Practical Solitary Magic

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Author Of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition

From my list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been studying American styles of magic for more than 30 years. Having received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, I have explored the idea of magic as a natural counterpart to both religious thought and scientific theory. After teaching courses on this subject to college undergraduates, I recommend these books based on what I have found to be the favorites of students and peers as the most accessible, enjoyable, and practical sources for beginners.

Yvonne's book list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Why did Yvonne love this book?

This is an easy-to-read introduction to magic for people who don’t want to join organized groups or participate in spiritual traditions in order to learn. It allows readers to experiment with practices and techniques on their own and includes everything a beginner needs to know about the art and craft of magic, including visualization, ordinary ethics, ritual practices, and vital safety measures.

By Nancy B. Watson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Practical Solitary Magic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Many students don't want to be tied to a particular group or spiritual tradition, but prefer to search, experiment, and grow on their own/ this book is perfect for these people. Watson discusses the principles that underlie magical practice in a veryeasytounderstand manner. She includes information on affirmations, visualization, spiritual practices, folk magic, and ritual. Safety measures and ethical considerations are stressed throughout.


Book cover of Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Author Of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition

From my list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been studying American styles of magic for more than 30 years. Having received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, I have explored the idea of magic as a natural counterpart to both religious thought and scientific theory. After teaching courses on this subject to college undergraduates, I recommend these books based on what I have found to be the favorites of students and peers as the most accessible, enjoyable, and practical sources for beginners.

Yvonne's book list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Why did Yvonne love this book?

If you want to know about some of the earliest forms of magic that originated in America, this book is for you. This book focuses on folk magic, with an emphasis on Hoodoo, the magic of enslaved black people, with practices that include nature and the elements as sources of power. The text provides botanical information on magic plants, and spell recipes for healing and protection. As a plus, the book is lavishly and beautifully illustrated with extensive how-to guides on creating your own charms for good luck and fortune.

By Catherine Yronwode,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the first book of its kind, presenting accurate botanical information about roots and herbs employed in conjure, with sample spells that will show you how to make and use your own mojo bags, spiritual baths, and incenses. 224 pages

500 herbs, roots, minerals, and rare zoological curios, 750 traditional spells, tricks, and magical recipes, 50 black and white illustrations


Book cover of Six Ways: Approaches & Entries for Practical Magic

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Author Of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition

From my list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been studying American styles of magic for more than 30 years. Having received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, I have explored the idea of magic as a natural counterpart to both religious thought and scientific theory. After teaching courses on this subject to college undergraduates, I recommend these books based on what I have found to be the favorites of students and peers as the most accessible, enjoyable, and practical sources for beginners.

Yvonne's book list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Why did Yvonne love this book?

The title of this book says it all. It is about effective, practical magic with an emphasis on manifestation. Six ways an incantation that is as simple as it is powerful. The book goes into detail about different styles of magic that are available for readers who want to learn more about sorcery, witchcraft, chaos magic, and spirit work. I like this book because it takes one deep into the inner world of magic that exists within the recesses of the mind, opening up the practitioner to spiritual possibilities that have the goal of improving the self. Techniques such as meditation, trance, spiritual cleansing, and dreams are dealt with in an easy and straightforward way.

By Aidan Wachter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Six Ways as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Six Ways is a handbook of practical skills and methods that help build the foundation of a sound magical practice. Six Ways looks at relationships with allies, sigils, energy work and other simple approaches to magic presented in clear and direct language. It explains how to develop the internal and external skills required for effective practice.


Book cover of Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money, and Success

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Author Of Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition

From my list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been studying American styles of magic for more than 30 years. Having received a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, I have explored the idea of magic as a natural counterpart to both religious thought and scientific theory. After teaching courses on this subject to college undergraduates, I recommend these books based on what I have found to be the favorites of students and peers as the most accessible, enjoyable, and practical sources for beginners.

Yvonne's book list on for beginners who want to practice real magic, folk magic, and Hoodoo

Yvonne Patricia Chireau Why did Yvonne love this book?

Another book on American magic, but with a focus on the folk magic practices of black people. This is an immensely readable guide to the venerable tradition of African American magic, a gift made possible only by the perseverance and determination of those who maintained the old ancestral ways. This book contains gems of wisdom, wit, and lots of information for readers who want the basics on how magic is applied for well-being and happiness.

By Tayannah Lee McQuillar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rootwork as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A reader-friendly, fun, and practical guide to improving one's love life, career, health, and overall happiness with African American folk magick.

In this groundbreaking book that places Rootwork in its rightful spot among other magickal traditions, Tayannah Lee McQuillar offers a fun and practical guide to improving your life with the help of African American folk magick. Rootwork begins with the basics, from explanations about the magickal powers of the four elements (air, earth, fire, and water) to instructions on creating talismans, charms, and mojo bags. Also included are spells to help you:

-Find your soul mate
-Spice up your…


Book cover of Unbelievable: Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory

Mitch Horowitz Author Of Daydream Believer: Unlocking the Ultimate Power of Your Mind

From my list on the extra-physical potentials of the mind.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a PEN Award-winning historian of alternative spirituality and a writer-in-residence at the New York Public Library. I track the impact and substance of supernatural beliefs—a source of fascination since my Queens, NY, boyhood—in books including Occult America, The Miracle Club, and Uncertain Places. I often say that if you do not write your own history, it gets written for you—usually by people who may not care about or even understand the values that emanate from your work. Given my personal dedication to the spiritual search, I call myself a believing historian (which most historians of religion actually are). I labor to explore the lives, ideas, and practices behind esoteric spirituality.

Mitch's book list on the extra-physical potentials of the mind

Mitch Horowitz Why did Mitch love this book?

I have been praising this book for years and have no plans to stop anytime soon. Using investigatory skills and a keen sense of human pathos, journalist and NPR producer Horn tells the full-circle story of the parapsychology lab founded by the Rhines. She doggedly and accurately presents the “unbelievable” findings of the Duke lab and the struggle of its founders to swim against a tide of orthodox reaction. As a work of history, it is significant—and as a piece of dramatic historiography it is enthralling. 

By Stacy Horn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Unbelievable as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Author Stacy Horn dissects all the things that go bump in the night—ghosts, poltergeists, your ex-boyfriend Klaus—in [her] macabre book.”
 —Marie Claire


A fascinating, eye-opening collection of “Investigations into Ghosts, Poltergeists, Telepathy, and Other Unseen Phenomena, from the Duke Parapsychology Laboratory,” Unbelievable by Stacy Horn explores science’s remarkable first attempts to prove—or disprove—the existence of the paranormal. A featured contributor on the popular NPR program “All Things Considered,” Horn has been praised by Mary Roach, bestselling author of Spook, for her “awe-fueled curiosity [and] top-flight reporting skills.” Horn attacks a most controversial subject with Unbelievable—a book that will appeal to…


Book cover of A Demon-Haunted Land: Witches, Wonder Doctors, and the Ghosts of the Past in Post-WWII Germany

Eric Kurlander Author Of Hitler's Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich

From my list on Nazism and the occult.

Why am I passionate about this?

I would trace the genesis of Hitler’s Monsters to three distinct influences. The first was my childhood love of Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age comics––Batman, Superman, Captain America, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four––which, as illustrated by the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, are replete with themes of Nazi occultism and border science. The second was a conversation with my thesis advisor early in graduate school, when he noted that he was advising a dissertation on German occultism (Science for the Soul). The third influence was observing the mid-2000s resurgence in rightwing populism across Europe and North America, seemingly fueled by recourse to esoteric and supernatural thinking. The rest, as they say, is history.

Eric's book list on Nazism and the occult

Eric Kurlander Why did Eric love this book?

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.

By Monica Black,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Demon-Haunted Land as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Evocative. . . . Epic. . . . Chock-full of colorful anecdotes and charismatic figures, A Demon-Haunted Land not only offers a brilliant rethinking of postwar German history, but also asks us to see the irrational as an integral part of modernity.” ―Boston Review

In the aftermath of World War II, a succession of mass supernatural events swept through war-torn Germany. A messianic faith healer rose to extraordinary fame, prayer groups performed exorcisms, and enormous crowds traveled to witness apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Most strikingly, scores of people accused their neighbors of witchcraft, and found themselves in turn hauled…


Book cover of Undead and Unwed

Jean Marie Bauhaus Author Of Restless Spirits

From my list on haunting and unconventional love stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated with ghost stories since I was a kindergartener hiding in the closet with a flashlight, swapping scares with my friends. To this day I don’t walk into a bathroom without turning the light on first, just in case Bloody Mary is lurking in there with any ideas. Add in a love of reading spurred on by early exposure to a copy of Jane Eyre and the discovery of my mom’s secret stash of gothic romance novels. I love a good romance as much as I love a good scare, and when you combine the two… well, you pretty much had me at hello.

Jean's book list on haunting and unconventional love stories

Jean Marie Bauhaus Why did Jean love this book?

While I didn’t set out to copy this novel, I have to admit that unconsciously this mashup of chick lit and horror with a vampire protagonist probably spawned my idea to write a romantic comedy/horror mashup with a protagonist who has just become a ghost. If you enjoyed Restless Spirits, this book has a similar vibe, albeit one that’s quite a bit more, ahem, spicy than you’ll typically find in my own writing. At turns hilarious, frightening, poignant, and steamy, this is probably the book that put paranormal chick-lit on the map.

By MaryJanice Davidson,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Undead and Unwed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

First Betsy Taylor loses her job, then she's killed in a car accident.  But what really bites is that she can't seem to stay dead.  And now her new friends have the ridiculous idea that Betsy is the prophesied vampire queen, and they want her help in overthrowing the most obnoxious power-hungry vampire in five centuries.


Book cover of A Natural History of Ghosts: 500 Years of Hunting for Proof

Nina Dodd Author Of Witches, Giants and a Ghost Cat: A travel guide to the mystery tales of Dunster

From my list on Britain’s haunted village of Dunster.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a Finnish-born writer-journalist and photographer who, for the past 12 years, has lived in and around Dunster, traditionally described as one of the best-preserved medieval villages in the UK. The title of Dunster being “Britain’s most haunted place” came about after the British media got wind of my book launch in September 2023. I was brought up in a family where my mother, aunt, and grandmother strongly believed they had had otherworldly encounters. With such a background and armed with an MA in English Literature, Cultural History, Comparative Religions, and Journalism, it is no wonder that the first book I wrote focuses on these “long-term” interests of mine.

Nina's book list on Britain’s haunted village of Dunster

Nina Dodd Why did Nina love this book?

This title drew me in right away, and the contents did not disappoint. This is a well-written and thoroughly researched book with interesting first-hand accounts of ghost hunts by an English author who, as a child, lived in a haunted house, yet has never actually seen a ghost.

The approach to the subject is also right up my alley: why do people fear the supernatural, and why are some cultures and people more likely to encounter ghosts than others?

Ghost stories are fascinating in their own right, but exploring how people in different times and places reacted to these encounters is even more interesting. 

By Roger Clarke,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Natural History of Ghosts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A natural history of the supernatural from Roger Clarke, lifelong investigator into England's creepiest real-life ghost stories

'Is there anybody out there?' No matter how rationally we order our lives, few of us are completely immune to the suggestion of the uncanny and the fear of the dark. The subject of whether ghosts exist has fascinated some of the finest minds in history and it remains a subject of overwhelming interest today.

This is the first comprehensive, authoritative and readable history of the evolution of the ghost in the west, examining as every good natural history should, the behaviour of…


Book cover of The Psychic Energy Codex: A Manual For Developing Your Subtle Senses

Mat Auryn Author Of Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation

From my list on the psychic witch.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a witch, professional psychic, occult teacher, and multi-award-winning author of the international bestselling book Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide To Meditation, Magick, and Manifestation. I have been fascinated with the topics of magick and psychic ability since a young age and have been researching both topics and how they intersect since about eight years old. I've had the honor of studying under some of the most prominent witchcraft teachers, elders, and witchcraft traditions. I’m constantly asked by readers which other books I recommend after reading mine, so here are the top picks I feel are essential for every psychic witch’s library that have been highly influential on my work.

Mat's book list on the psychic witch

Mat Auryn Why did Mat love this book?

While not explicitly written from a witchcraft point of view, The Psychic Energy Codex by Michelle Belanger is a highly approachable book for awakening your psychic ability and learning how to manipulate energy, which are very crucial skills for the psychic witch. Despite being a world-famous psychic and an occult researcher with encyclopedic knowledge, the way Belanger breaks everything down in this book makes the information easy to understand for even the absolute beginner. In addition, the book provides foundational techniques that are essential for any energy worker, witch or not. One of the brilliant aspects of this book is that Michelle emphasizes that everyone is wired differently energetically, perceiving and working with energy differently. As such, the author provides impressive guidance and insight to help you tailor practices to suit you so that you can effectively engage in psychic and energetic practices.

By Michelle Belanger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Psychic Energy Codex as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An authoritative manual for psychic development, The Psychic Energy Codex explores the roots of modern metaphysical beliefs, including the doctrine of the subtle body in the Western tradition, the origin of belief in the chakras, and core principles behind time-honored techniques such as meditation and creative visualization. Like Belanger's Psychic Vampire Codex, The Psychic Energy Codex makes esoteric topics accessible and understandable.

The Psychic Energy Codex:

Demystifies psychic experience, taking a practical, rational approach to phenomena from psychometry to spirit communication with a style that will engage beginners and experts alike Provides many handson exercises that encourage readers to develop…


Book cover of Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality

Mario Beauregard Author Of Expanding Reality: The Emergence of Postmaterialist Science

From my list on the new science of consciousness.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became interested in the relationship between the mind and the brain around the age of 8. It was at this age that I decided to become a neuroscientist. Years later, I completed a bachelor's degree in psychology and then a doctorate in neuroscience. I’ve spent part of my research career in neuroscience at the University of Montreal. I have also been affiliated with the University of Arizona (Tucson). My groundbreaking work on the neurobiology of emotional self-regulation, consciousness, and spiritual experiences has received extensive international media coverage and numerous awards. I am one of the main proponents of a postmaterialist paradigm for the new science of mind/consciousness.

Mario's book list on the new science of consciousness

Mario Beauregard Why did Mario love this book?

In my view, one of the most illuminating books ever written about the so-called "psychic phenomena" (also called psi phenomena) (e.g. telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis).

In this volume, Dean Radin – a scientist known internationally for innovative experiments in the field of psi research – reviews rigorous scientific investigations of these phenomena. He debunks the skeptical myths surrounding them; moreover, Radin convincingly demonstrates that psi phenomena are both real and widespread.

In addition, he explains why these phenomena are a direct consequence of the interconnected, entangled reality we live in. 

By Dean Radin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Entangled Minds as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fascinating, yet-unexplained scientific phenomenon shows that individual objects in the universe are not quite as separate as they seem. Once two objects interact, they remain connected in space and time in what Einstein called 'spooky action at a distance.' Could the same interaction explain psychic occurrences? Psychic researcher Dean Radin argues that human minds are likely interconnected or entangled in the same way, and this interconnected fabric of reality is the key to those puzzling yet profoundly meaningful experiences called psychic phenomena. ENTANGLED MINDS shows how science has rigorously demonstrated genuine psychic effects and why these phenomena are the…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in parapsychology, magic-supernatural, and folk religion?

Parapsychology 33 books
Magic-Supernatural 651 books
Folk Religion 7 books