THE METHOD FILES

The Method Files / Online learning

Studies.

Texts, symbols
and traditions,
examined with care.

A 24-lesson programme for investigating grimoires, figures and esoteric traditions through their sources.

Read a free lessonExplore the programme

At your own pace · Reading, analysis and writing

Source
The starting point for every claim.
Context
Read a source alongside its history.
Interpretation
What the evidence supports. And what it does not.

A complete lesson · No registration

Start with
a close reading.

Discover how learning works here: sustained reading, case studies, activities and sources to check what you have read.

View all six free lessons
Foundation Path · First lesson

How to read
a grimoire.

A starting point for approaching a text, recognising its context and distinguishing a source from an interpretation of it.

  • Read the explanation and worked case study.
  • Try the activity, then read the answer.
  • Open the sources and return to the text.
Start this lesson

The programme · 24 lessons

A shared foundation.
Six fields to explore in depth.

Begin with the tools for reading, then follow the subject that interests you. Expand each field to see its three lessons, numbered 01 to 03 within that subject area.

Six subject areas · 18 lessons

Grimoires and ceremonial magic

Texts, manuscripts, authorship and transmission.
  1. Relationships between versions of a grimoire
  2. How to reconstruct a manuscript dispersed into fragments
  3. How to check whether an author really wrote a work
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Demonology and left-hand path traditions

Names, translations, figures and hierarchies.
  1. How a figure changes across sources
  2. How to compare demonological hierarchies
  3. How a word can become a figureFree reading
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Theurgy and devotional traditions

Ritual texts, testimonies and devotional traditions.
  1. How to read a ritual prayer in the Ars Notoria
  2. How to recognise when a modern title changes our reading of an ancient textFree reading
  3. How to distinguish the layers of a ritual tradition
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Chaos magic and sigils

Techniques, publications and contemporary movements.
  1. From desire to sigil: tracing a modern techniqueFree reading
  2. How to reconstruct the origins of a modern organisation
  3. How to follow a concept from a book into a community
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Witchcraft and folk magic

Objects, records and testimonies.
  1. How to reconstruct a practice from objects and texts
  2. How to read a historical database without losing sight of individual cases
  3. How to read a confession obtained under interrogationFree reading
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Symbolism, iconography and material culture

Images, diagrams, inscriptions and objects.
  1. How to trace an image from a manuscript to an object
  2. What science can tell us about a historical objectFree reading
  3. How to identify a figure when several clues converge
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The six free readings are marked in the programme. The others require the relevant course access.

To support your studies

Your working
library.

Four complete documents, included with any Studies purchase. Explore their overviews and download the PDFs with your course access.

View all materials
Study guide

How to study in STUDIES

THE METHOD FILES

Guidance and learning paths to help you organise your reading sessions.

55 pages · Complete PDF
Research guide

How we research

THE METHOD FILES

Sources, evidence and criteria to guide your research.

51 pages · Complete PDF
Reference

Essential glossary

THE METHOD FILES

185 searchable terms, with links to the lessons they come from.

50 pages · Complete PDF
Independent work

Research workbook

THE METHOD FILES

Worksheets, case studies and space to print, write and reflect.

70 pages · Complete PDF

The Archive · 20 free articles

Stories that begin
with a source.

Texts, names and images: 20 complete articles exploring the history of esotericism, with references and related lessons.

Explore all twenty articles
A seated winged figure looking towards a bright star.

THE ARCHIVE · ARCH-02

LUCIFER

Vulgate · Doré

  • TEXTS
  • HISTORY
  • MANUSCRIPTS
  • CONTEXTS
  • CONTINUITIES

THE METHOD FILES

Full article · Free

Lucifer before he became the Devil

Read the article
Several grimoire title pages, including the Dictionnaire Infernal and Key of Solomon.

THE ARCHIVE · ARCH-14

HOW TO READ AN OLD GRIMOIRE

Seven questions before trusting the title page

  • DATE
  • ATTRIBUTION
  • EDITION
  • TRANSLATION
  • PROVENANCE

THE METHOD FILES

Full article · Free

How to read an old grimoire

Read the article
An open multilingual Bible with Hebrew manuscript fragments.

THE ARCHIVE · ARCH-13

WHEN A TRANSLATION CREATES A TRADITION

From hélél to lucifer and from ha-satan to diabolos

  • TEXTS
  • TRANSLATIONS
  • RECEPTION
  • CONTEXT

THE METHOD FILES

Full article · Free

When a translation creates a tradition

Read the article

Studies access · One payment

Choose how
you want to study.

Start with the Foundation Path, choose a single subject or access the complete programme. No subscription.

The entire programme

Complete Studies

All 24 lessons: the Foundation Path and six subject areas, with activities, sources and their PDFs.

149,99 €Explore full access

Every access option includes all four study resources. Keep private notes and pick up your reading in your account. Studies is purchased separately from OUIJA and Esoteric BDSM.

Compare what each option includes

Complete readings, free of charge

Open a reading to explore the content and consult its sources.