The Magician's Companion: A Practical and
Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism (Llewellyn's Sourcebook
Series)
by Bill WhitComb
Published by Llewellyn
This book should be of great use to anyone with an interest in occult sciences and philosophies, whether a magician or not: it contains a truly massive amount of information! While not organized in the manner of a "traditional" encyclopedia, it does indeed cover that kind of a wide range of material. There's everything in this book from a discussion of general theories of magick through various "views of reality" to a listing of what stones have what symbolic asociations, just as examples. The full range of subjects is too wide to discuss here!
However, don't expect a "how-to" or introductory text, that isn't what this was intended to be. Much of the material seems to me to be written from the assumption that the reader would have at least a passing familiarity with the general subject matter, from some perspective. Still, it will be a wonderful jumping-off point even for a beginner, as it will give you something to start from in any search for more information. I highly recommend this book
