This was an interesting read, back in the early 2000s when I picked it up. It's like many other books of western esoterica and similar subjects, in that it draws on old ideas of magic and pseudo-science, but builds on it and tries to systematize it, while taking itself pretty seriously. It does a better job of systematizing than most such books, though, which I found intriguing. I've found some inspiration for ideas (in fictional contexts) in this book, and having read it makes me more able to understand the thought processes (and deficiencies) of certain types of conspiracy theory lunatics on the internet.

If you want to understand more about the "secret workings" of the world, I recommend reading materials associated with the now-contemporary (as of the twenty-teens) rationalism movement, negative feedback loops in the way commercial machine learning systems are contributing to the radicalization of society, and somewhat heterodox but very informative books about real-world technological decentralization subjects such as Homebrew Industrial Revolution and Against Intellectual Property.

If you want to understand more about mystical worldviews and get some academically-leaning education in ideas that might help inspire fantastical fiction or just provide a very nerdy form of pure entertainment, though, this book is a good read. ( )