Libraries and the Occult

7/29/2019 Libraries and the Occult

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Libraries

and the

Occult

Cecile Dubuis

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of thedegree of MA of University College London.

September 2004


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Abstract

The principal aims of this study are to look at how libraries currently deal with occult

collections and as to why such materials are still not widely available to the public

through the library system.

Its intent is to cover both historical and current collections, how libraries have dealt with

them and on the classification difficulties that arise from such a broad yet relatively

untouched subject.

A further section of the dissertation will consider some of the history of occult

collections, on where they have gone to, on the changes or lack thereof between then and

the present day, and on how some libraries advertise such collections whilst others still

hide them away.

Another aspect of the project will discuss some of the issues of censorship and how the

occult field is under constant pressure to either remain hidden or to prove its validity and

useful. Here, I will also consider some of the current controversies and the librarians

dilemma.

The majority of the collections that I have been able to access and explore are based in

London, or in other parts of the United Kingdom. However, I have also incorporated

studies on important collections that are housed overseas.

In addition to both historical and present day collections, a further section looks at the

future of the occult collection with regard to online resources and current library-building

projects.

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The occult, whilst continuing to enjoy a significant growth in interest with the public at

large, remains predominantly unchartered territory for the librarian. This study will try to

consider and discuss some of the issues that surround this most mysterious of subjects.

Signed declaration

I declare that this dissertation is my own

work and that all sources have beenacknowledged

Cecile Dubuis

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Contents

Items Page no.

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

1.1The definition of an occult collection 11.2 A new demand for a new society 21.3 Misconceptions and controversy 4

Chapter 2. Classification 62.1 The difficulties 6

2.2 How different classification schemes deal with the occult 8

2.2.1 Dewey Decimal Classification 8

2.2.2 The Library of congress Classification 12

2.2.3 The Bliss Classification 14

2.2.4 The Librarie Lucien Dorbon 17

2.3 Special collections 20

2.3.1 Generalities 20

2.3.2 The Ferguson Collection 21

2.3.3 The Harry Price Collection 23

2.4 The alternative 26

Chapter 3. Library Collection 29

3.1 Occult as a main subject 29

3.1.1 The Library of Avalon 29

3.1.2 The Theosophical Library 35

3.2 Libraries on other subjects but with a very

Substantial occult section 41

3.2.1 The Wellcome Library 41

3.2.2 The London Library 45

3.2.3 The Warburg Institute 49

3.3 Public Libraries 54

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3.3.1 The Battersea Lending Library 54

3.3.2 The New York Public Library 55

3.4 Other special libraries in the UK 56

3.5 Major collection outside the UK 59

3.5.1 The Bibliotheca Hermetica Philosophica 60

3.5.2 The Monash Library 61

Chapter 4. Censorship 63

4.1 Introduction to censorship 63

4.2 Occult representation 65

4.3 The librarian dilemma 66

4.4 Children and the occult literature 69

4.5 The Harry Potter dilemma 68

4.6 Conclusion to censorship 71

Chapter 5. The historical tradition and the

online revolution 72

5.1 Libraries as keeper of forbidden knowledge 725.2 The tradition of occult library 73

5.3 The online revolution 75

Chapter 6. Conclusion 77

6.1 The future 77

6.2 Summary of what has been covered 78

Bibliography 81

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Bliss PX: The Occult

Appendix 2: The Magical Library of Harry Price, exhibition booklet

Appendix 3: Exhibition leaflet: Confession of a teenage witch.(Wellcome)

Appendix 4: London Library subject sub-divisions on science and miscellaneous

Appendix 5: London Library map

Appendix 6: Monash Library exhibition on the occult (prints from their

WebPages.)

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Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 The definition of the occult

According to the Oxford English dictionary, the term Occult in the sense of not

understood or able to be understood by the mind, beyond the range of ordinary

knowledge, dates from 1545. By 1653, the accepted meaning of the word had extended

to cover those would be sciences of the ancient and medieval worlds, such as magic,

alchemy, astrology and theosophy, which were supposed to contain some knowledge of,

or to have power to activate, the secret and mysterious forces of nature. However, it

took the work of Eliphas Levi in 19th

century Europe to develop occultism into a way of

looking at the world, with its own rites. In fact, the beliefs, theories and techniques

embraced by the terms occultism or esoterism were already widely known in later

antiquity and some of them such as magic, astrology, theurgy and necromancy, had

been invented and systematized some 2000 years earlier in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The historical field of occultism might remain very imprecise but for one point which

happens to circumscribe it: the written history of occult philosophy does not start until

more or less the dawn of Christianity. (Nataf, 1996, p1)

Firstly, we should clarify and discuss what an occult collection includes. The principal

misconception surrounding the subject has arisen from years of censorship and taboo;

that the occult only concerns certain dangerous and negative influences such as

Satanism or demonology. This is not the case. Instead, whilst these issues are certainly

part of the occult, the subject encompasses many other aspects of interest and study.

There are too many topics involved to be able to present a complete list here. However,

as a way to illustrate what would come underneath the occult banner, here is a short list

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of keywords which would most likely be found on the shelves. I have used many of

these keywords in my searches on the subject.

Supernatural, Paranormal

Para-psychology and Pseudo-sciences

Alchemy

Magic (white, Enochian, natural, angel and black)

Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Druids, Earth Goddess

Spells, Amulets, Charms, Rituals

Divination methods: Palmistry, Tarot, Crystal, Oracles, Physiognomy and Runes

Satanism, Devil-worshipping, Demonology, Exorcism, Possession

Vampirism, Zombies, Monsters and Revenants

UFOs, Aliens, the Unexplained, Crop circles, Standing Stones, Loch Mess Monster

Myths, Legends and folklore

Ghost, Haunting, ESP, Psychoanalysis, Reincarnation,

Secret Societies, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism, Sects, Knights Templar

Alternative religions (Tantrism, Taoism, Sufi, Voodooism, New Age)

Occultism, Esoterism, Theosophy and more

1.2 A new demand for a new society

Contrary to some of the more fundamentalist views, the occult ,in all its forms, is a

popular subject. Todays society is more open-minded and enjoys a greater freedom of

expression than has been the case previously. Whilst societies and organisations that

involve themselves in various aspects of the occult have always been around, it is only

relatively recently that they have become accessible rather than hidden and secretive.

The Internet has been instrumental in allowing these organisations to promote

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themselves and to inform others, which gives them the ability to publish information

online without prejudice or censorship. The sheer breadth and number of these

organisations testifies to the demand in these interests; London alone has a great many

pagan groups, folklore societies, New Age associations, vampire communities, Gnostic

societies and alchemical research groups to name but a few. This does illustrate a need

for written material and yet, whilst so many publications are available either online or in

the shops, a comparatively small amount is available within libraries.

Despite this, a lot of library literature shows awareness in the increase in interest and

demand for occult-related materials. The literature of pseudoscience is vast, yet

endlessly fascinating. The demands for books and articles on extrasensory perception

(ESP), monsters, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and a host of such subject is great

and rising(Thompson, 1884,p176)

Anyone visiting a large bookstore cannot fail to notice how many shelves are devoted

to subject commonly labelled mind, body and spirit. The fashion for new age' shows

no signs of abating (Wilkins, 1999, p70)

Boom in the States in the sale of occult books, books in the new age category had

risen by 75% since 1993. (Daily Mail, 29th

October, 1998)

We can see this change reflected in the literature of today, with the last thirty years

witnessing an increase in books dealing with what the Dewey Classification Schedules

call controversial knowledge; the occult sciences, the paranormal, the esoteric as it is

variously know. (Wilkins, 1999, p70)

Lastly, as Bogey said in his article on the subject: The occult is booming and book

sales in the new age/occult category have risen at twice the rate of books as a group. As

a result this area may not be adequately represented in libraries.(Bogey, 1996, p145)

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1.3 Misconceptions and controversies

Today the term occult denotes a variety of knowledge beyond the range of everyday

experience. Whether supernatural, mystical, magical or paranormal the interest and the

demand are there. The labels may vary from one bookstore to another but the majority

will have a section dedicated to the occult. London has many bookstores that specialise

in the subject and most will agree that their clients and readers are not all lunatics with

dangerous ideas. The materials are being used by scholars and researchers as well as by

individuals with a personal interest in the variety of aspects that form the occult. One of

the librarys roles is to mirror society and its range of interests and whilst the demand

for materials is clearly there, coverage of the topic within the library is frequently poor

and somewhat narrow.

One of the most frequent remarks found in the various articles that I have read on this

subject is the lack of analysis of user needs in conjunction with the evident increase in

interest. It would be understandable if the interest simply wasnt there, but it is, and

many institutions are still uncertain of how to deal with the controversy and difficulties

associated with the occult. Many of the debates on the topic concern the legitimacy of

the subject matter and the fact that it is not yet completely accepted by the academic

world as a valid field of study. As such, the existing sources of information are of

dubious provenance. This in turn leads to difficulties in choosing which materials to

hold as part of a collection. The process of integrating or building upon an existing

collection will vary immensely, depending upon whether you are a believer, a sceptic,

simply curious or completely opposed to the subject.

This dissertation will look at some of the issues described above. The next chapter will

look at some of the classification difficulties whilst the third chapter will consider some

of the major occult collections presently available and how they deal with the issues

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surrounding the subject. Chapter four will focus on the issue of censorship and how it

has shaped the history of the occult collections. Chapter five will delve further into both

the historical background and the online revolution, before finally looking into the

library projects that are happening around the world today.

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Chapter 2. Classification of the

occult2.1 The difficulties

The growth in publication and demand for occult or pseudo-scientific literature has

raised a number of issues. One of these issues concerns the classification of these

diverse and apparently new subjects. At some stage most libraries will encounter the

subject of the occult. Relatively few will deal with it in the same way, even though the

purpose of subject arrangement is to assist the reader in locating books belonging to the

same or similar fields. Unfortunately, the occult seems to be one of the least considered

subjects when it comes to classification. This can often result in materials being divided

among other subjects such as philosophy, psychology and religion. This can make it

difficult to find occult materials. In such cases, a further difficulty can arise for the user;

that of asking for help in locating occult books. Frequently arising from historical

taboos and misconceptions, reactions may not always be negative or judgmental but it

does depend somewhat on the beliefs and opinions of the library staff concerned.

Particularly those who eschew the subject from a standpoint of little or no personal

knowledge.

An example of the diversity of where such materials can be shelved can be obtained by

looking at how bookshops handle the subject. Whilst they do not need to follow the

same classification schemes as the library, they still have to arrange the materials in a

way that helps members of the public locate the required items. Frequently, esoteric and

occult literature will be found under a wide range of subject headings: Self Help,

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Psychology, Religion, Womens Literature and even Cookery (magic and herbs!). Few

bookshops will actually use the term Occult due to the stigma attached to it. More

frequently, if a bookshop carries these publications, they will be shelved in a section

more euphemistically termed New Age, Mind, Body and Spirit or simply just

Spirituality.

An example of this practice can be seen mirrored in the public library. Even though the

Dewey name for 133 is Parapsychology and Occultism, the library will frequently

refer to this section as The Unexplained. This is the case within Southwark libraries.

As previously mentioned, depending upon which scheme is used, occult related

materials may be collated with or integrated into other main subjects such as Religion,

Philosophy, Psychology and Social Sciences. None of these are particularly wrong as

the occult covers such a large range of issues. As such, it will rarely have its own class

status. In the past the items were either catalogued with the sciences (Alchemy was seen

as a legitimate science before being ruled out as an occult science) or within

miscellaneous. I came across this early classification list in Shohams Library

classification. (Shoham, 2000, p41)

In the early eighteenth century, the Sion College Library was classified by subject:

A Bibles, Concordances

B Liturgies

C Rabbinical authors

D-E Commentaries on the Bible

X Philosophy

Y Philology

Z English, French and Italian Philology

AB Miscellaneous: Coins,Magic, Witchcraft, Demonology

IB Dictionaries in all subjects (Shoham, S, 2000, p41).

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When unsure, it is usually safe to use miscellaneous. Unfortunately for today, the

subject is a little too large to fit within miscellaneous any more.

Another difficulty encountered by libraries is the fact that many of the books will not

have previously been catalogued, which eliminates the possibility of copying or

checking another institutions records. Decisions will often have to be made by the

institution alone and guidance in this subject is not as widely available as with the more

popular subjects.

2.2 How the different classification schemes deal

with the occult.

Whilst it would be impossible for me to consider every classification scheme here, I

have chosen to look at a few that have dealt with and considered this topic.

2.2.1 Dewey Decimal Classification

When dealing with a large general collection, Dewey is frequently the scheme chosen.

Here, the different keywords of the occult subjects are reasonably well represented. To

most public library users 130 and more specifically 133 will be the first place to check

for materials. However, not all occult related items will be located under this number.

Heres a list of where in Dewey materials may be located:

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In the 000s (Computer Science, Information, General works) under:

001 Knowledge

In the 100s (Philosophy & Psychology) under:

110 Metaphysics

130 Parapsychology & occultism

140 Specific philosophical schools

150 Psychology

170 Ethics

180 Ancient, medieval & eastern philosophy

190 Modern western philosophy

In the 200s (Religion) under:

200 Religion210 Philosophy & theory of religion

280 Christian denominations & sects

290 Other religions

In the 300s under:

360 Social problems & services (with 366 for various secret societies)

390 Customs, etiquette & folklore

Table 1: DCC 130 main sections

130 Parapsychology & occultism

131 Parapsychological & occult methods 136 (unassigned)

132 (unassigned) 137 Divinatory graphology

133 Specific topics in parapsychology & occultism 138 Physiognomy

134 (unassigned) 139 Phrenology

135 Dreams& mysteries

Table 2: DCC 133 section and its subdivisions

133.1 Apparitions

133.2 Parapsychological and occult aspects of specific

things

133.3 Divinatory arts

133.4 Demonology and witchcraft

133.5 Astrology

133.6 Palmistry

133.8 Psychic Phenomenon

133.9 Spiritualism

133.42 Demonology

.422 Satanism (Devil worshipping)

.423 Evil spirit (including incubi, succubi, vampires, werewolf)

.425 The evil eye

.426 Demoniac possession

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.427 Exorcism of demons

133.43 Magic and witchcraft

133.44 Spells, curses, charms

.442 Love spells and charms

.443 Good luck spells and charms

.446 Therapeutic spells and charms

This is just one example. Some sections have even more subdivisions f. Astrology, for

example, has subdivisions for all the different signs of the zodiac, planets and other

aspects.

The other main section is Religion. Dewey is sometimes seen as being biased towards

the Christian religions and western thought as Christianity uses most of the 200 section

(200-289) whilst the other religions are crammed in under the 290s. Occult and

witchcraft can also be found across different fields within religion.

Within 203 Public worship and other practice

203.1 Religious healing

203.2 Divination

203.3 Witchcraft (work on witchcraft under 133.43 and work on modern

revival of witchcraft under 299.94)

203.4 Offering, sacrifice

203.42 Human sacrifice

Most other alternative religions are crammed in the 290s

Table 3: DCC 290 Other Religions

290 Other Religions

291 (Unassigned) 296 Judaism

292 Greek & Roman religion 297 Islam, Babism & Babai Faith

293 Germanic religion 299 Religions not provided for elsewhere

294 Religions of Indic origin 299.1-8 in Africa, north America

295 Zoroastrianism 299.9 Religions of other origins

.92 Religions of other ethnic origin

.93 Religions of eclectic and syncretistic origin

.932 Gnosticism

.933 Subud

.934 Theosophy

.935 Anthroposophy.936 Scientology

.94 Religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft

(Class here Neopaganism & Wicca)

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In our modern society it may seem strange that the Zoroastrians have their own

subdivision whilst pagans are a subdivision of a subdivision, despite Paganism now

being a recognised religion with a very large following.

To check this I tried searching different libraries catalogues using the Dewey system to

see which sections yielded the most popular results. Using the keywords occult as

well as Wicca and Magic, the most popular result was 133 as well as a few under

364 (part of social science mainly concerning books on murder relating to occult

practice or rituals). Esoteric is one of the keywords which doesnt seem to be well

represented within Dewey, the only entry is under Esoteric Associations and societies in

366.1-5, with 366.1 being the Freemasons, 366.2 being Knights of Phythias etc.

Folklore has its own section and unusually, is also within social science under 398 with

sections for ghosts, werewolves, vampires, cannibalism and death customs.

In Dewey, as in most classification schemes, the occult is also covered under the arts,

history and in literature. In 130, there are also 3 unassigned sections leaving scope for

future development. One rather unusual placement is for UFOs and Aliens, which are

kept within 001 Knowledge.

001.1 Intellectual life

001.2 Scholarship

001.3 Humanities

001.4 Research

001.9 Controversial knowledge

.94 Mysteries (reported phenomena not explained like Atlantis, Bermuda triangle)

.942 Unidentifiable flying object (UFO) including any human-alien encounters

.944 Monster and related phenomena (including yeti, loch ness monster)

.95 Deceptions and hoaxes

.96 Errors, delusions, superstitions

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Strangely in most public libraries I have used this type of book and they are usually

found under 133 mixed in with the rest of the weird literature.

2.2.2 Library of Congress Classification

In the LCC, the largest section given over to occult related subjects is under BF.

Table 4: LCC B-BJ Philosophy. Psychology

B

BC

BD

BFBH

BJ

Philosophy as general

Logic

Speculative philosophy

Psychology, parapsychology, occult SciencesAesthetics

Ethics, social usages, etiquette

Table 5:LCC the three categories in BF

(Information copied from Library of Congress Classification, 2001.)

BF 1-990 Psychology

908-940 The hand. Palmistry

BF 1001-1389 Parapsychology

1001-1-1045 Psychic research. Psychology of the conscious

1048-1108 Hallucinations. Sleep. Dreaming. Visions1111-1156 Hypnotism. Suggestion. Mesmerism. Subliminal projection1161-1171 Telepathy. Mind reading. Though transferred

1228-1389 Spiritualism. Including mediumship, spirit messages, clairvoyance

BF 1404-1999 Occult sciences

1404-1486 Ghosts. Apparitions. Haunting.

1501-1562 Demonology. Satanism. Possession.

1562.5-1584 Witchcraft

1585-1623 Magic. Hermetics. Necromancy.

1651-1729 Astrology

1745-1779 Oracles. Sibyls. Divinations.

1783-1815 Seers. Prophets. Prophecies.

1845-1891 Fortune telling

1891-1055 Miscellaneous mainly UFOs and aliens

Another section where occult related works might also be found is in the BL-BQ

sections for Religion and the BR-BX sections for Christianity.

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Table 6: LCC BL-BX

BL

BM

BP

BQ

Religions. Mythology. Rationalism

Judaism

Islam. Bahai Faith. Theosophy, etc.

Buddhism

BRBS

BTBV

BX

ChristianityThe Bible

Doctrinal TheologyPractical Theology

Christian Denominations

As an example here, paganism can be found under BL432. However, there is no entry

for Wicca even though it is the most popular of the pagan religions. The term Nature

worship is used instead. Some entries may also be found under the Christianity section

as the bible will have subentries for words such as occultism, devils and witchcraft. In

many ways, they are related.

Another section where occult works may be found is under Z. However, this is unlikely

to see much use as it pertains to bibliography. Nonetheless, bibliographies relating to

occultism, astrology, exorcism, ghosts and the like are to be found under Z6876-6880.

Whilst searching on the Yale University Library catalogue, I used the word occult as my

principal keyword to see if the majority of the books would come under the sections

mentioned above. I discovered that most items were found under BF and BP. However,

works dealing with alchemy were actually catalogued under QD (Science-Chemistry)

with only a few works located in the BH or BF section; these dealt with the more

magical aspects of alchemy. From the standpoint of tradition this does make some sense

since it was only in the nineteenth century that alchemy was no longer viewed as a

proper science. Since then, things have changed and it is no longer seen as a valid aspect

of chemistry, so it does depend to a large extent on the personal opinions of the

cataloguer as to whether the books are likely to be found in either B or Q. Additionally,

I found a number of books dealing with the occult and the Third Reich under DD

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(History Germany). This is also subject to controversy since not everyone agrees that

the search for the Holy Grail was part of Germanic history. Consequently, such titles

may be judged to be historical or occultist fantasy.

Another anomalous topic is that of UFOs and extra-terrestrials. At present, these are

lumped in with miscellaneous. However, in recent years, interest in the subject has

literally exploded. This subject frequently accounts for the largest volume of books in

the miscellaneous section within most public libraries. This section is likely to require

more detailed headings as the subject is growing rapidly.

Generally speaking though, looking at the list of subject headings for the occult field in

the LCC shows it to be very comprehensive as it appears to cover most subjects.

2.2.3 Bliss Classification (BC2)

Table 7: BC2 overview of the main classes.

A/AL Philosophy and Logic J Education

AM/AX Mathematics K Society

AY-B General Sciences, Physics L/O History

C Chemistry, Chemical engineering P Religion, Occult, Morals and Ethics

D Space and Earth Science Q Social Welfare & Criminology

E/GQ Biological Science R Politics & Public administration

E Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, etc. S LawF Botany T Economics & Management

G Zoology (inc. Agriculture and Ecology) U/V Technology, Engineering

H Physical Anthropology, Human Biology W Recreation, Arts, Music

I Psychology and Psychiatry X/Y Language & Literature

At first the class P in Bliss was mainly concerned with religion and ethics, after revision

it became a class with three distinct main classes, often interlinked

They are Religion (P), the Occult (PX) and Morals and Ethics (PY).

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Adding the occult to religion is a logical and reasonable change because of the nature of

these subjects, especially as religion really is a mixture of theology, philosophy and

social content.

Table 8: BC2, P main subdivisions

P Religions, Theology PF Religious systems

PB Systematic Theology, Theology Proper PG Religions and Mythologies

PX OccultPD Practice of religions, Religious activities,

Devotional religions PY Morals and Ethics

PX is for the Occult and naturally, I will be looking at that section in detail.

However, relevant subdivisions may also be found under religion. In this scheme,

religion is not predominantly Christian as was seen to be the case with Dewey. It covers

a wider range encompassing the well-known through to the lesser known areas and

groups.

Mysticism (PBY) also has an alternative at PW, should there be a need for it to be seen

as a main class. PW is strategically situated between Religion and the Occult, as indeed

is frequently the case with the subject of Mysticism itself. Once again Folklore is in a

completely separate section and can be found under KMV Q.

PBM provides a section for supernatural beings including dragons, monsters and ghosts.

Individuals such as shamans, magicians and witch doctors can be found under PDF

(Founders of religions).

Most older religions are housed under PG for Religions and Mythologies. This section

covers areas ranging from freethinking and primitive religions through to the likes of

druidism, witchcraft and spiritualism (which are also represented under PX). Commonly

linked with both Wicca and witchcraft, Pagans are represented under PFE.

This classification is very comprehensive; most of the facets of the occult are

represented within PX

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Table 9: BC2, PX section

PX6 Psychology, EPS, Paranormal research. PXL Artefacts (cards)

PXA Philosophy of the Occult PXM Other

PXB Practice of the Occult PXN Communications, ESP, etc. Or in PX6

PXC Events, general processes PXP Divination, mantic arts, prediction

PXD Numbers and numerology PXQ MagicPXE Substances, alchemy PXR Witchcraft and sorcery

PXF Heavenly bodies, astrology PXS Demonology and necromancy

PXG Human body (physiognomy, phrenology, palmistry) PXV Writers and writings of the Occult

PXJ Disembodied persons, spirits, spiritualism PXW Movements, societies, etc.

PXK Other spirits, supernatural beings

More detailed subdivisions available in illustrations 2 & 3.

Bliss does have a lot of details for examples within the Magic section PXQ

Table 10: BC2, PXQ for magic

PXQ BM Rituals

BV Black Mass

BW Others, A/ZPXQ Q Sympathetic magic

QR Imitative magic, mimicry

QS Contagious magic, correspondences

R Symbolic magic, expressive magic

S Instrumental magic

SQ Productive

SR White magic

SS ProtectiveST Destructive magic

T Black magic

This is just one example but it does illustrate the precision available. No other scheme

that I looked at had so many choices of rituals and types of magic available. This system

could be easily adapted for an esoteric or occult collection because of the amount of

classes already provided. Nearly all of the keywords that I have used in my definition of

the occult and in the various searches and catalogue searches are cited in the index and

have a place in this classification.

Some of the keywords that I was unable to find in this scheme are UFOs, aliens and

flying saucers. These are, however, not always attributed to the occult and are

frequently to be found within science or folklore and as such, their absence is less

surprising. Wicca and New Age, as discussed previously, are not available either.

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Fashion trends do play a part in this and, even within occult literature, terms are often

used interchangeably: Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-paganism to name but a few. In one

form or another, they are still represented in some way.

This is one of the rare schemes that has recognised the occult as being more or less a

main class. Bliss also allows different aspects of the entries to appear in different

classes. Alchemy is more likely to be represented in the occult as well as in science.

Similarly, astrology will often appear in both the occult and astronomy, whilst some of

the supernatural beings are frequently represented in both religion and folklore.

The standard citation order enables combinations with categories, from the general

through to the specific. BC2 is flexible and provides a very thorough representation of

the diversity and range of the topics within the occult field.

2.2.4 Librarie Lucien Dorbon

This classification scheme is not in use in any library at present, as far as I am aware.

Originally, it was created by the Lucien Dorbon bookstore, which specialised in occult

and esoteric literature. Consequently, even though their books were specifically for sale,

they still went through the same process of organisation to assist the public in finding

the materials that they were interested in. I have decided to discuss it here as I have

never come across anything like it before. Quite clearly, the creators of the system put a

great deal of thought into it.

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate much information about the bookstore, which no

longer seems to exist. Nonetheless, they appear to have produced a large quantity of

information in the occult and esoteric fields at the beginning of the twentieth century in

France. The Librarie Dorbon was in its time, the one place to go to obtain occult works

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and I therefore feel that it is important to discuss their unique system of classification

here.

The information was gathered using the manual they produced, a three volume

bibliographical work of all their occult and psychic science items. (Caillet, 1912)

In it they explained how their subjects are classified. The system they used was called

the Science of the Magi and dates back to antiquity. It is based upon the idea of there

being three worlds or orders.

1. The Divine (the Archetype)2. The Natural (the Macrocosm)3. The Human (the Microcosm)

1. The Divine world is mainly for immaterial ideas, doctrine, theosophy, and thoughts.

The three main divisions are:

Mysticism (miracles, apparitions, prophecies) Religions (sects, secret societies) Philosophy (exoteric, metaphysic)

2. The Natural world is more practical.

The Meta-sciences (black and white magic, witchcraft, grimoire) The Sciences (numeracy, astrology, alchemy)

3. The Human world, where man is the main subject.

Invisible man (magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion) Ethnology (history, sociology) Letters and Arts (myths, legends) Anthropology (Buddha, Jesus, Plato) Medicine (hermetic, death)

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Many tables are also available in their bibliographical works. Even after many readings,

I still found it very complex to use and to understand as it requires a large amount of

fore-knowledge of the different topics to be able to use it well. I have listed some of the

subdivisions and smaller sections here to give a feel of where some of the key subjects

would be found.

Table 11: The three orders in Dorbon system

1. The Divine Order 2. The Natural order 3. The Human Order

1.1 Mysticism 2.0 Meta-sciences

103.Cabbala

105. Spiritism

111. Apparitions

1111. Dreams

112. Oracles

113. Stigmata

201. Magic

202. Witchcraft

2021. Talisman, amulets

2022. Secrets, grimoire

203. Divination

1.2 Religion 2.1 The Sciences

1211. Oriental religions

1212. Mythology

1213. Secondary religions

12131. Druidism

1214. Sacred books

12141. Tarot

122. Christian theology

1221.Bible, inquisition

12224. Antichrist12312. Templars

12331. Rosecrucians

211. Maths

212. Physics

2122. Geography

2124. Alchemy

21241. Chemistry

3.0 Invisible man

301. Animal Magnetism

302. Personal magnetism303. Metaphysics

3.1 Ethnography

314. Sociology

3.2 Letters

3201. Periodicals

3202. Encyclopdia

3203. Theatre

3.3 Arts

3.4 Anthropology

3413. Monsters

3.5 Medicine

One can only imagine that the shop was organised in this way. Unfortunately, like so

many occult collections, it is no longer in existence and I havent discovered any other

collections using a similar system. Theoretically, I can see how it worked. In practice it

would be confusing particularly, when it came to deciding where each new item would

go.

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2.3 Special collections

2.3.1 Generalities

Another way for libraries to deal with such unusual collections is to keep them together

in their own organisational unit; something normally referred to as a special collection.

Frequently special collections will require different treatment to that of a normal one

and are more than likely to be housed entirely separately. Their physical environment is

also frequently different as special care is often needed to help guard against damage

and theft. Special collections can come from a variety of sources including demand

arising from members particular interests, as a gift from society benefactors or as a

purchase by the library if deemed to be complementary to their existing collection.

Quite often private occult collections will either be donated to a library or be sold at an

auction. During my research I came across a wide range of private collections evidenced

in the main by the existence of their catalogues. Most of them were very difficult to

trace as many have been bought by other private collectors. Of the many private

collections, most were sold at auction and as is often the case, these collections become

dispersed once the owner or founder has passed away.

However, two large private collections went on to become special collections and I

will be discussing them next.

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2.3.2 The Ferguson collection

Ferguson was a great collector and also a professor at the University of Glasgow from

1874-1915. His private collection mainly dealt with alchemy, chemistry, occult

sciences, witchcraft, Cabbalism, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry and gypsy literature. The

collection comprises over 7,500 volumes including 104 incunabulas and 317

manuscripts primarily on alchemy. All of the books in his collection were catalogued by

Ferguson himself and he also added detailed bibliographical entries and notes. Ferguson

also catalogued the extensive alchemical collection of James Young in Bibliotheca

Chemica in 1906 (this collection is now housed in the University of Strathclyde

Library). The Alchemy Research library website describes these collections as follows:

Together they provide access to 85-90% of all alchemical books. Ferguson, whose

knowledge of alchemia was reputedly unequalled, had arranged the books in

alphabetical order under the authors name.

When he died the collection was divided up and sold in two lots. One of these lots was

bought by Glasgow University with the help of a special fund whilst the rest was sold

by Sothebys. In 1943, Glasgow University published a two-volume catalogue of the

collection available in their purpose built department of special collections.

In answer to concerns that the collection was unable to expand a side project was

established in 1997 called the Alchemical Research Library. This project continues to

acquire volumes complementary to the Ferguson collection. These books will

eventually become part of the collection proper and will be kept in perpetuity. The

classification of the collection is, like many special collections, slightly different to the

librarys collection as a whole and as such is stored as a whole under one unit.

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Illustration 1: Catalogue search with the Ferguson collection as location

Surprisingly, many of the items have now been catalogued and their details are available

electronically. The Glasgow University Library has set up a wide range of different

ways of linking into the collection. Many of the keywords such as demonology,

witchcraft and occult in the online selective subject index will take you straight to the

Ferguson Special Collection page.

Additionally, the catalogue can be searched in a variety of ways and the library also has

a significant quantity of books on this subject in their normal collection. In 1985, an

exhibition called the Damned Art was organised by the library to show the books

relating to the history of witchcraft and demonology. As with many special collections,

it is hard to tell how the collection itself have been organised, although each item does

appear to have its own number.

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Illustration 2: the Ferguson Collection online page.

As a whole, the library uses the Library of Congress subject headings and, whilst the

classification numbers do not appear to follow the scheme completely, searching the

main catalogue will yield results for most aspects of the occult under the Anthropology

section K.

2.3.3 The Harry Price collection

Also known as the Harry Price (1881-1948) Library of magical literature, this special

collection is housed in the historic collections section of Senate House in the University

of London.

The collection ranges from 1533 to the twentieth century and comprises over 14,000

books, pamphlets, press cuttings, manuscripts, photographs, slides and artefacts.

This collection is unique in the U.K. and the material is based on the cultural history of

attitudes towards the occult. Harry Price was a psychical researcher and as well as

keeping the notes from all of his recorded investigations, he also collected lots of works

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on psychical phenomena, spiritualism, hypnotism, occult works by multiple authors and

in many languages. The collection used to be housed in the National Laboratory for

Psychic Research, which he created (from 1922-1927). It moved to the University of

London Library after it was bequeathed to them. This collection is unusual as it consists

not only of books but also equipment used for investigations and sances, odd objects

like gramophones records, lantern slides, admission tickets to a Houdini show, medals

and coins celebrating different artists, a rapping hand, prophetic writings, personal

correspondence, drafts of lectures, reports regarding psychical investigation, magic and

the paranormal.

As with the majority of special collections, the system of arrangement is unique to

University of London Library, The collection has no original order because readers

were allowed to consult the material before it had been arranged and described by an

archivist. The order has been imposed by an archivist, which reflects the major activities

of the creator. The fonds have been divided into 9 sub-fonds which are:

HPA Papers relating to personal matters and early interests

HPB Legal and financial papers

HPC Papers relating to psychic research

HPD Publications and other related material

HPE Papers relating to radio and film

HPF Manuscripts and printed material

HPG Photographic archive

HPH Film archive

HPI Artefacts

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal

research within a supervised environment and restrictions of the librarys Palaeography

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Room. Non catalogued material may not be seen. (Aim25, University of London home

page, online)

This collection is slightly different as one of the Price's goals was to prove the existence

of psychic and occult phenomena. He was a lifelong investigator into such fields and his

interests are reflected in the collection. Unlike the rest of the libraries I discuss in this

study, I did not come across this one until nearing the end of my research. It was only

whilst investigating the Psychical Research Library that I discovered that the actual

main collection had moved to Senate House. Even in the 1927 library catalogue, the

collection is described, as being the most complete collection every important book

on phenomena and pseudo-phenomena every language and of every age (Price 1929,

p68). Consequently, I was surprised to come across this collection at such a late stage in

my research, though this may be due to the collections apparent lack of promotion. As

Steve Connor writes in his articles about it, The Harry Price collection is one of the

great and unsung glory of the University of London Library- the collection is not nearly

as famous and visited as it ought to be. I even wonder sometimes whether the collection

the Harry Price collection is not sometimes of an embarrassment to the ULL. (Connor,

2002, online).

He also states that when the collection was made available to all a lot of books went

missing. However, the real problem, as described by Alan Weesencraft (who was in

charge of the collection) was that they used to get a lot of lunatics in. Connor describes

how he was allowed to study the collection on the chilly eighth floor, under the genial

eye of Alan Weesencraft, the keeper of the collections secrets. He was the only person

who not only knew what was in the collection, but also where is was. (Connor, 2002,

online). Connor also describes the difficulties encountered when searching for such

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materials and how useful it is to be aware of the range of keywords one subject might be

under, and to have the ability to access the collection as a whole and not on an item-by-

item basis. I have not included institutions such as the Bodleian Library or the British

Library in the following chapter for this last reason. Since this article, things have

improved. An exhibition about the collection is on show presently, offering a rare

opportunity to see some of the items together. (See Appendix 2).

The classification scheme here was designed to fit the collection and consequently does

not follow any recognised scheme, as is the case with most special collections. I could

also have included this library in the next chapter on collections but decided against it

even though they have some material on the occult (under sociology on the 6th floor).

This is because the majority of the collection is in the special collection HPL described

above.

2.4 The alternative

Predominantly, the occult comes under other larger headings. However, as the scope of

collections evolves, the issue of the occult as a subject heading on its own has

frequently been raised. One person advocating that the occult should have its own

heading is Langbridge in his chapter on the classification of philosophy, religion and the

occult.

The term occult itself is used with a wide range of meanings. Admittedly there is a

common element to them all (hidden things), but for classification purposes some

analysis is necessary. Here, as in all areas of knowledge, distinctions must be made

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between phenomena, theorical and practical disciplines. The occult has been poorly

treated in most classification schemes, partly because it is not taken seriously in the

academic world, but also because occult phenomena and occult studies have been

confused. Difficulty really comes from the multiple meanings for some of the

keywords.

We may sum up this brief survey by saying that there should be a class for occult

studies quite distinct from science or religion and that its main ingredients should be

magic, including such activities as healing by occult means, and the writings of the

esoteric tradition. The scientific investigation of uncommon faculties and phenomena,

on the other hand, belongs to the discipline of science. The most significant factor of all

occult studies is their symbolic forms of expression. This puts them in the same

category as art and religion, in contrast to the rationale disciplines of science,

philosophy and history. (Langbridge, 1976. p72-74)

Unless a specific classification is created (as seen in the Dorbon and in the next chapter

discussing the Library of Avalon and the Theosophical Library), in most schemes the

occult will be attached to another group.

Due to the growth in the volume of publications and in the interest in the subject matter

it is possible that the occult will indeed have its own section in the future. This will

depend on both cultural and academic changes. At present, no academic courses are

available specifically on the occult although the subject is not completely ignored and

many other courses do touch on it. Myths, legends and strange phenomena are

frequently researched by the scientific community with a view to either proving or

disproving them. As Wilkins discusses in his articles if the occult did eventually

achieve academic acceptance and become a curriculum based subject, a second hurdle

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presents itself; the common library problem of what should be acquired from the vast

number of items issued every year.(Wilkins, 1999, p71).

Clearly, this is looking far ahead and before these problems of acquisitions present

themselves, the subject does first need to be accepted as a serious field of study. Such

materials and their subsequent classification could then be looked into properly.

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Chapter 3. Library collection

3.1 Occult as a main subject.

3.1.1 The Library of Avalon(Glastonbury)

History

In 1988, a small group of Glastonbury residents decided to recreate, in a modern sense,

the great library which existed in medieval times at Glastonbury Abbey. They found

premises and asked for donations of books, which might interest visitors and residents.

They began with 200 books on mythology. From those small beginnings, the library has

now a stock over 8.000 books. All have been donated by the public, by publishers, and

by members. No books are bought. (Library of Avalon, 2002, online)

I visited the library on the 14th

June 2004 and the collection has now exceeded 10.000

books. Funding is via a membership scheme, an annual national literary competition,

and donations: the library is registered as an educational charity.

Collection

When the collection was started by author and historian Geoffrey Ashe, the books were

mainly on mythology and particularly on Glastonbury itself.

As describe in Rosalind Johnsons article on the library Geoffrey Ashe saw the library

as a resource for literature on mythology from Glastonbury and around the world. But

as he asked for donations to build up the collection, the scope widened. People gave

books on comparative religion, the environment, alternative technology, complementary

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therapies, astrology, divination, occult studies, science fiction and fantasy, as well as

mythology, archaeology and history. A local minister encouraged the development of

the section on Christianity, and the stock was further enriched by the donation from the

Wessex Research Group library. (Johnson,1999 p524)

As explained above, the collection is wide and varied. The majority of the books can be

borrowed with the exception of collections lent to them by societies. These loans are

kept together and labelled separately so that it is clear that they can be used as reference

materials only.

Other collections in foreign languages are also available on demand but due to the lack

of space, these are kept outside the library at this point. The library also has a special

Arthurian collection. This includes materials on archaeology, legends and people, as

well as material on Somerset and Glastonbury itself; works cover both the historical as

well as mythological aspects of the region.

Fictional works are also included as long as the book fits within the librarys theme and

spirit. The childrens section comprises books whose theme also suits the library rather

than just including books that touch on myth or fantasy, as there would simply be too

many of these.

Donations and membership

Donations are the key to the librarys survival. These come from a variety of sources

including the local community as well as from visiting authors, tourists and individuals.

Reference access is completely free of charge. However, the library also relies heavily

on subscribing members. They offer three levels of membership; a six month

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subscription is available for researchers and visitors, an annual subscription and a

lifetime membership. Plans to create a distinction between becoming a friend or a

borrowing member of the library are under discussion at the time of writing.

Classification.

The library has developed and copyrighted their own classification system. Naturally,

this is called the Library of Avalon Classification. This scheme has been extended over

a number years to accommodate the diversity of the subject matter before finally

gaining formal copyright status in 1990. Whilst it hasnt been used by another

institution as yet, the scheme could prove a valuable commodity for other, similar

collections in the future.

Originally influenced by the BLISS scheme, the system uses 2 letters (occasionally 3

for further subdivisions) and the first three letters of the authors surname. The scheme

divided into three main headings: Nature, Mind and Spirit, and Special Collections.

Table 12: Library of Avalon headings

A Reference

(Nature)B The Universe

C-F The EarthG-H Society

I-M The Individual

N Human Products(Mind and Spirit)

P Knowledge

Q Esoteric Knowledge

R Mythology

S-V Religion

(Special Collections)W Somerset and Glastonbury

X Arthurian

Y Children books

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This scheme starts with the Universe and Science and extends toward more spiritual

topics. Broadly-scoped headings such as The Individual will extend into subdivisions

such as health, healing, pathology and spirituality. Due to copyright reasons, I am

unable to illustrate the entire system. However, a fairly extensive subject index is

available onsite to help direct the reader to the right letter and the shelves are also

clearly labelled to facilitate this.

Examples of subdivisions

Under Mind and Spirit (P-V)

P Knowledge

PB is philosophy

PC is metaphilosophy

Q Esoteric Knowledge

QB Occult studies

QBB Ethic bodies- Chakkras

QBC Astral Projection

QC Reincarnation

QN Cartomancy

QNB Numerology

Catalogue

A catalogue is available on the website. Unfortunately, not all of the information here is

up to date, a situation presently under revision. Browsing the library is still the best way

to locate materials. Borrowings are recorded in a ledger using pen and ink; an

antiquated system that seems to work well for them.

Censorship.

As a visitor to a place that enjoys such diverse cultural interests, you wouldnt expect to

hear that the library has had any problems with censorship. It came as something of a

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surprise then to hear that some items have generated complaints and that requests for the

removal of certain items have been received. Clearly though, when you house subjects

that are diametrically opposed such as works on the Bible and Aleister Crowleys books

on the dark arts and Satanism in close proximity to each other, it can lead to complaints

as the follower of one objects to the presence of another. However, given that one of the

librarys guiding principles has always been to hold an open collection that

encompasses all aspects of religion, myth and magic it is naturally going to be subject to

the dogmatic principles of some of its users. In spite of this, it does hold a large and

varied collection and the majority of works that come within its remit are likely to

considered and accepted.

Future

In many aspects, the library is quite different from others. Due to the lack of Internet

access, fax machines or photocopiers it is unable to offer some of the more usual

services. On the other hand, it is quite rare to find a library staffed by people who are all

genuinely interested in the subject matter. The library is a little book paradise with an

excellent collection of esoteric works. After all, it is located in Glastonbury; a place

whose history is firmly rooted in the myths and legends of the region.

At present, the library has around 90 members and ways of attracting more are always

being considered. The library has also let its space out for use by suitable associations

such as the Earth Mysteries Group for the purpose of holding meetings and giving

lectures, and as such provides a perfect setting for such events.

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Illustration 3, 4 & 5: Library of Avalon photos

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3.1.2 The Theosophical Library(London)

The Theological Library is privately run by the Theolosophical Society for the benefit

of members of the society and for individuals interested in becoming subscribers.

The London headquarters contain one of Europes finest collections of esoteric books

available for loan and includes works on Theosophy, Astrology, Mythology,

Parapsychology, Yoga and World Religions.

History

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott and William Quan Judge founded the

Theosophical society in 1875, and it is now active in over 50 countries worldwide.

There are currently 38 lodges in the UK and many of them will have libraries of varying

size. The London lodge is also the national headquarters and holds the main library

collection. Two other extensive collections are also available in Leeds and Torquay. The

Theosophical library was opened in 1880. The society is composed of a wide range of

people, religions and interests with a common desire to study religious truths and to

share the results of their studies. This movement has been described as the most

important movement to have influenced the growth of occultism in the twentieth

century (Walker, C. p67.)

Illustration 6: Helena Blavatsky

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Collection and access

The main stock consists of a lending section of approximately 12,000 volumes, plus

periodicals and audiocassettes. A reference library is also available onsite but the access

is restricted; most of the material here is rare and contains a lot of first editions. Here,

the books are all kept within locked glass cabinets. This was originally Madam

Blavatskys personal collection.

Any member of the public can join with a 10 deposit and books can be borrowed with

a hire charge of 50p per item, more valuable books can also be borrowed but a deposit

will be required in these instances. Only one librarian maintains the library and its

collection and the opening hours are mainly restricted due to this. They are Tuesday to

Friday 2-6.30pm and on Sundays 4-8.30pm when there is an evening lecture.

The layout of the library

The library itself comprises three rooms, the first of which contains the enquiry desk,

general encyclopaedia, reference works, bound journals and oversized books. The main

room follows on from this and houses the bulk of the collection. The last room is kept

locked and contains the reference library. Some duplicates and less frequently used

materials are also kept in a storage room elsewhere.

Acquisitions and catalogue

Most of the acquisition decisions are made by the library committee, which consists of

the librarian and two executive members of the society. Most of the new acquisitions

are from the societys own publications sent from the branches across the world. The

society also has three publishing companies. Unfortunately the British one has been

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dormant for the last few years. The librarian is the main person responsible for

identifying new publications via specialist bookshops and esoteric events. Purchases are

made with the agreement of the committee whilst suitable donations do not need to be

approved.

The library only acquired a computer for the first time last year, so only fairly recent

acquisitions are available in an electronic catalogue (around 80 publications); the

remainder of the collection is only available via a card catalogue. This catalogue can be

searched by subject and author and forms the main searching tool for the collection.

Entries to this only ceased a year ago. The ability to find suitable slips and cards was

becoming increasingly difficult.

The reference collection also has its own separate slip catalogue for authors and card

catalogue for subject. The periodicals are mainly by the Theosophical societies around

the world although organisations such as the Buddhist Society, the Astrological Society

and the Society of Psychical Research are also represented.

There are no plans at present to electronically catalogue the reference collection due to

the rarity of some of the books and their insurance value. Consequently, access still has

to be discussed individually.

Most books within the esoteric and occult fields will be consider for the collection but

due to money and space restrictions, unless they are of great importance to Theosophy,

only one item per author is a general rule. Some subjects are also less likely to be added

due to historical disagreements. For example; books on Hatha Yoga, the Black Arts

(specifically the Satanic Bible by Anton La Vey) are not part of the collection. This is

due to the founders dislike of the arts that may cause bodily harm. Conversely, generic

literature on movements such as the Church of Satan is included whilst, as in the

example given above, more specific doctrines are unlikely to be accepted by the

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committee. Other types of books unlikely to be considered for the collection are those

by religious societies who maintain arms budgets. On the other hand, the latest donation

received by the society consisted mainly of works by Aleister Crowley and these are

now going to be included. The library has only had the one complaint about a book in

the collection but this was based on the fact that the author was an apprentice of

Crowleys and also a recognised paedophile. As a result, this book was immediately

withdrawn. The relatively low profile of the library suggests that the bulk of its

readership is made up of society members in the main and it is probably this factor that

leads to the extremely low level of complaints.

The purpose of the society is to study and research the different wisdoms and religions

of the world and as such, is less likely to find an issue with censorship compared to

some of the other libraries and organisations that are more within the public eye.

Classification

The classification system was created with the founding of the library in 1880.

Unfortunately, the present librarian was unable to give any further details about its

creation. The system used is unique to the library having been specifically created for it.

The subjects are divided between letters and the books are then organised in

alphabetical order by the authors name.

Table 13: Theosophical Library main headings

A Theosophy

B Psychic World

C Comparative Religion

D Philosophy- East & West

E Mysticism

F Science

G Modern Civilisations & Cultures

H Fiction

J Alternative Health

K Folklore & Mythology

L The Arts

M Yoga

N Ancient Civilisations

O Western Occultism

P Psychology

R Astrology & Divination

S Society

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Table 14: theosophical Library subdivisions examples

O Western Occultism

O1 general

O2 Hidden tradition (Chivalry, Holy Grail,Druids)

O3 Kabbalah

O4 Number, sound, colours, tarot, crystal

and sacred geometry

O5 Hermetic and Alchemical

O6 Historical and bibliographical

O7 Masonry

O8 Modern School

Some larger sections also get further subdivisions

Table 15: Theosophical Library, C section

C Comparative Religion

C1 Religion

C2 Scripture

C20 General Indian texts

C20.1 Vedas and Purana

C20.2 Tantric works

C20.3 Upanshads

C21 HinduismC22 Modern Sects

It is the responsibility of the librarian to decide where each book will go. He does not

rely on the use of other sources for assistance as the majority of the publications will not

have been catalogued previously. Cataloguing decisions are based upon the presence of

keywords in any introductory sections of the book as well as in the index. The most

frequently used keywords will generally be used as keywords in the catalogue.

One of the most surprising things about this library is the extent of the collection given

how little it is used. This is mainly due to the misconception that you need to be

member of the society or at least have an interest in the theosophist movement to use

the library which, as I discovered, isnt the case. However, there are plans for more

extensive publicity to be carried out in the future. Hopefully special libraries such as

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this will continue to survive through the support of the organisations that maintain them.

Nonetheless, it was like discovering a little esoteric heaven in London

Illustrations 7, 8 & 9: Theosophical Library photos

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3.2 Libraries on other subjects but with a very

substantial occult section

3.2.1 The Wellcome Library for the History and

Understanding of Medicine(London)

Often mistaken simply for a medical library, The Wellcome Library collection spans

works on numerous subject areas that have impacted on the human condition physically,

spiritually and psychologically. The library is full of surprises, even for those with

interests outside medical science. (Library own booklet).

Illustration 10: Magic page from the Welcome Library Booklet

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In addition to the obvious ranges of medical and scientific works, the collection covers

the subjects of religion, folklore, witchcraft, magic, astrology, alchemy and much more.

The general collection comprises 600,000 printed volumes, of which 70,000 books and

journals are available on open access shelving. The early printed book collection (up to

1851) comprises 66,000 items as well as a large archive and manuscript collection,

oriental collections, iconographic collections, a medical photographic library and other

visual and audio resources.

Three different classifications are used within the library, the clinical collection of

medical textbooks and journals uses National Library of Medicine classification. The

information service, audio, film and visual collection uses the information services

classification designed by the library itself .The history of medicine collection, where

the occult materials are located, uses a modified version of Barnard.

Table 16: Barnard versus Wellcome

Barnard WellcomeA Generalia A Science

B Natural Sciences B Medicine

C General medicine C Hospital, Medical education

D History of medicine D Anatomy

E Specific disease E Specific disease

As a result, the placement of occult subjects differs here. They can be found under PY

(P: Neurology and Psychiatry- PY: Psychical Research including spiritualism, occult

psychology, radioaesthesia and water divining). You could almost assume that they

relate to a disease, as they are placed next to dementia and kleptomania.

CZ (C: General Medicine-CZ: medical folklore

ZQF (Z: Geographical, Anthropology & Sociology-ZQ: Social & cultural anthropology-

ZQF: Folklore, mythology, magic and religion.)

Few keywords were actually available in the index.

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In the Wellcome Library, books relating to the occult would be found in the following

sections:

Table 17: The Wellcome Classification and occult related subjects

A: Science

ABA Science and religion

AHA Alchemy

AJA Astrology

AS Animal lore/ zoology

AS.CZ Dragon, unicorn

B: Medicine

BQ-BT Medicine 17-20th C.

BU Anthropology

BUA Medical folklore

BUC Traditional Medicine (including shamanism, witch doctors..)

BV Occult Medicine and Science

BV.AA

BV.ASBV.AK

BV.CA

Renaissance, Arcana, Golden Down

Freemasonry, Rosicrucian, secret societiesPhilosophy of the occult, symbolism

Secret doctrine, individual occultist: Blavatsky, Crowley

BVA Magic and medicine (in Russia, ancient worlds)

BVB BVBA Witchcraft

Cannibalism

BVC Medical Astrology

BVD

BVDA

Spells, Grimoire

These subdivisions are described using shelving marks and indices.

Barnard also makes use of numerous tables, which can be added after the letters to be

more precise and descriptive. In the library they have simplified the table usage to just 4

subdivisions.

The first letters of any classmark represent the general subject area.

1. Author. If the book is about one of the general subjects listed as above, the first 3

letters of the authors name will be added.

Example

Vampirism

BVE Demonology, Devil & Possession

BVF Cabala

BVG Amulets

BVH Crystals &Gems

BVI Evil Eye

BVK Tarot, Divination

C: Hospital, medical education, nursing

CA

CACBA Religious Orders, knight templars, hermits, knights of

Malta

CW Religion & Medicine (including faith healing, leper knights, miracles)

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2. Place. Following the table created by Barnard, place can be determined by a number

BVB.36 Witchcraft in France

3. Time. All classmarks can also be broken down by time division

BVB.AA5 Witchcraft in the 16th

century

BVB.361.118 Witchcraft in Paris in the 19th

century

4. Genres. The use of this depends upon the section involved but it is mainly for the

type of document. (.AD for conference, .AH for essay, .B for bibliography)

BV.ENC: Encyclopaedia of the occult

BVA. AK Dictionary of magic

The exact quantity of books available in these subjects is hard to determine as not all are

on open shelves and older materials are not always available in the catalogue.

To get a general idea here are some examples on the numbers of books found for

different keywords in the library catalogue (this does not include the manuscript or

archive materials which, in the case of sections such as alchemy and witchcraft, will

also be of fair size.)

Table 18: Wellcome catalogue search results

Keyword Hits Keyword Hits Keyword Hits

Occult 165 Witch 182 Witchcraft 723

Magic 1361 Alchemy 1676 Devil 320Religion 4998 Dragon 137 Vampire 14

Some people may be surprised to find such materials here. However, they have

historically been considered a valid part of academic science and, even when threatened

by Christianity, the occult sciences were frequently used to heal the sick. In the

Wellcome library, they do not see these subjects as taboo but embrace them as historical

testimony. On occasion, they have even advertised these aspects of their collection by

exhibiting some of the rare books and materials using their subject as the theme. This

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allows them to promote some of the less well-known aspects of their collection as well

as to educate and inform their visitors. As they describe onsite: (See Appendix 3)

White magic was practiced by wisewomen who knew the basics of herbal medicines

and were thereby quasi-medical practitioners to poor, rural communities.

3.2.2 The London Library(London)

This library is the countrys largest independent, private subscription library; it has been

described as a kind of temple of Serendipity in the middle of the capital (Sproston,

2004). The library contains over one million books in all European languages. The main

subject is the humanities but even though it isnt one of the main subdivisions, the

library has a very substantial occult collection.

Their classification system was devised at the beginning of the twentieth century and

due to the scope of the collection is unique. Unlike most schemes it does not group

works into one single location, instead location is determined by the physical

dimensions of the work and then by alphabetical order within each shelfmark main

section.

Table 19: London Library shelfmarks system

The shelfmarks system.

A. = Art RR. = Reading Room

H. = History S. = Science & Misc.

L.= Literature T. = Topography

R. = Religion

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Most of the occult collection is represented within the Science & Miscellaneous

classmarks. There are three sizes:

4to: Quarto

8vo: Octavo

Folio

To get a reasonable idea of what is available scanning the subject list was of great

importance to help ensure that I did not miss some of the keywords when looking on the

shelves. This is because similar topics will be shelved in different locations, depending

upon the letter of alphabet that they start with. Some of the keywords relevant to my

subject have been highlighted in the subject sub-division in Science & Miscellaneous

list (see Appendix 4 ). This system can make for some odd groupings. For example

books about the Devil are shelved between books on dentistry and dogs. Peculiarly the

materials on the shelves date back to the 1800s and can be borrowed; earlier materials

are kept locked away. It was difficult therefore, to gain an appreciation of the extent of

occult materials within the collection, a problem compounded by the necessity to check

three different size locations for each subject. I attempted to get an approximate idea

of the quantity available by combining the number of shelves with the approximate

amount of books on each. It is still a fairly sizeable collection.

Table 20: Books on shelves in London Library

4to &

Folio

8vo

Alchemy 9 40

Death & Death 16 200

Folklore 123 2500

Freemason 15 140

Hand (palmistry) 5 30

Occult sciences 17 350

Witchcraft 5 150

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This does not include astrology or materials available within the religion and reference

sections. The religion section is extensive and within its subdivisions there are a lot of

books on alternative religions such as Druidry, Gnosticism, the Rosicrucians,

Swedeborgs, Paganism, Mysticism, Spiritualism, serpent worship and more.

The library also has a significant quantity of journals on the subject such as Lucifer,

the Freemasons Magazine and Masonic Mirror as well as a complete set of the Journal

of the Society for Psychical Research which is still being added to today. From my

simple calculations, the occult side of the collection runs to about 5,000 volumes

excluding books that were currently out on loan or those pre-1800 materials that are

kept locked away.

Acquisitions in occult subjects are still being made today but only if they can be proved

to be complementary to the existing collection. The history of each volume can be

traced through the slips inside the books. From these, I was able to deduce that the

majority of books were from the mid nineteenth century or the 1920s. Many of the

volumes are rare with a great deal of first editions. At differing points, I was able to

browse a 1928 publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, a French history of Witchcraft

from 1900 and a number of first editions of Alisteir Crowleys works. Curiously, some

of the donations have been made by the Wellcome Library, an institution mentioned

elsewhere in this study.

The ambience of the place is also curiously appropriate for researches into the field. The

majority of the library is in near darkness, with light switches for each aisle and an iron

grid floor separating the levels so that it is possible to see several floors both above and

below. (See map in Appendix 5). The main folklore section is kept within the basement

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as the size of this part of the collection necessitating the use of rolling cases. This part

of the collection covers everything from British goblins to medieval fables and even

Moroccan legends written in French.

The place is quite literally a maze and is catalogued in a variety of ways. For materials

acquired prior to 1954, searches have to be conducted using a printed catalogue divided

both by author and subject. This catalogue comprises four volumes covering different

periods (1913, 1920, 1928 and 1950). A card catalogue is also available for acquisitions

made between 1954 and 1983 and there are numerous keyword for this. As a result, a

lot of terms have to be considered in addition to the ones in the subdivisions list and

may include entries such as amulets and charms, demonology, ghosts, vampires etc.

An electronic catalogue is available for acquisitions made after 1950 and from this it is

possible to gain an overview of what is available and which items have been bought in

recent years. However, it soon becomes apparent that the main value of the collection is

derived from the materials acquired prior to 1950.

The library is perfect for browsing but it is quite important to remember the different

places to check for each subject in order to avoid missing large quantities of books. The

fact that you have to check each topic individually, as well as by size, means that it is

easy to overlook some sections. Their religion and folklore section is one of the largest I

have come across and the quality of items in the collection as a whole makes this place

both unique and unusual. Clearly, the way that each side of the occult is represented

without shame or prejudice makes it one of the most comprehensive and accessible

collections in London.

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3.2.3 The Warburg Institute Library(London)

This was one of the most difficult libraries to gain access to, and also one of the most

talked about collections when discussing the issue of occult collections in the pagan

scene or whist enquiring in the specialist occult bookshops around London.

Anticipating some form of reaction, I was quite surprised by the immediate warning

received at the point of registration. Somewhat bluntly, I was advised that many of the

items that I might be interested in are not available on the open shelves and that access

to them was unlikely to be granted. Despite this unusual start, I was still able to see that

the library has an impressive collection even just on the open shelves.

The classification here is also very unusual. The building and consequently the books

are divided into four main sections: Action, Orientation, Word and Image. This unusual

arrangement embodies the aim of the Library: to study the survival and the

transformation of ancient patterns in social customs and political institutions (Action);

the gradual transition, in Western thought, from magical beliefs to religion, science and

philosophy (Orientation); the persistence of motifs and forms in Western languages and

literatures (Word) and the tenacity of symbols and images in European art and

architecture (Image). The uneven growth of the collections have forced us to move the

sections on Magic and Science to the fourth floor (Warburg Institute, 2004, online).

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Table 21: Warburg Institute classification

F: Magic & Science (Orientation)

H: Politic History

4th Floor: Action

D: Social History

B: Western Religion

G: Oriental Religions

3rd Floor:

Orientation

A: Philosophy

E: Literature2nd Floor: Word

N: Preservation & Transmission of

Literary and Scholarly Work

C: Post-Classical Art History

K: Classical Art & Archaeology

1st Floor

& Basement:

Image CR: Modern Art

On the fourth floor under the Action is the section F for Magic and Science

The general divisions of section F are as follows.

Table 22: Warburg F: Magic & Science

F Magic and Science FE History of medicine

FF Natural sciences FN Mathematics

FB Magic FM Divination

FC Magical objects FH Prophecy

FD Sorcery and secret societies FA Astrology & Astronomy

FO Zoology, botany, mineralogy, pharmacy FI Cosmology

FG Alchemy and chemistry FP Geography, cartography

Other sections of interest were folklore (DD under Social History) and some of the

topics under comparative religion (BF under Western Religion).

The F section is always referred to as science, which is interesting as most of the items

within it are more related to magic than science, also the word occult is never mentioned

or found anywhere when looking at the collection and its content.

Each subsection is divided by more precise topics and details are available at the end of

each bay. These details are essential as their shelving does not follow any alphabetical

logic.

How the classification system was developed and used was not very clear and

unfortunately, no-one seemed able or willing to clarify it for me. One explanation found

in an article by Dr Wind was that the 3 letters represent the three levels of classification,

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the first letter represent the general subdivision (F for Magic&Science), the second

letter specifies the general subject by using a systematic or historical differentiation and

the third letter specifies geographical or chronological meanings (Wind, 1935, p193).

They also separate sources and studies.

In the magic section this is not always as applicable.

Examples of subdivisions.

Table 23: Warburg FC & FM

FC: Magic

FCH 1- Sources

FCD 1- Studies

FCB 20-

FCB 785-

FCB 822-

The Evil Eye

Amulets & Magic Stones

Knots & Mazes

Magic Mirrors

FM: Divination

FMH 1-

Sources

700-1200-1875-

1890-

2000-2320-2610-2705-3010-3610-3825-4110-

FMF 1- StudiesFMO 1-

300-

500-

FME 1-

FMN 1-

FMI 1-

FMA 1-839

General

Monsters

Comets

Divination from involuntary

movement

Palmistry

Phrenology

Dream interpretation

Crystal gazingGeomancy

Fortune telling books

Dice & Board games

Chess

Card games

GeneralMonsters

Solar eclipse

Comets

Augury

Dream interpretation

Hydromancy

Fortune telling books & games

Aside from the materials on the shelves, another interesting aspect of the Warburg

library is their Yorke Collection. When searching the catalogue many of the results are

to be found under the location Yorke collection especially anything more occultist.

Curiously, there isnt any information available on the Yorke Collection and its origins

anywhere within the library; no details online, no handouts about how to access it and

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no leaflets. It is simply mentioned on the catalogue. I decided to ask if I could obtain

some information about what is in the collection or just some background information

about it but the reaction was quite unusual and left me with the feeling that I had asked

the forbidden question. Nonetheless, I was informed that it was a discre

Libraries and the Occult

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