Primary texts of the esoteric traditions — with free download links where available.
All texts marked [FREE] are available as free downloads at the linked source. Sacred-texts.com is the most comprehensive free library of esoteric and religious texts in the world — entirely free, no registration required.
Western Esoteric Texts
| Text | Tradition | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corpus Hermeticum | Hermeticism | c. 100-300 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina) | Hermeticism/Alchemy | c. 8th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Kybalion | Hermeticism | 1908 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Gospel of Thomas | Gnosticism | 1st-2nd century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Pistis Sophia | Gnosticism | 3rd-4th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Apocryphon of John | Gnosticism (Sethian) | 2nd century CE | gnosis.org [FREE] |
| Nag Hammadi Library (complete) | Gnosticism | 2nd-4th century CE | gnosis.org [FREE] |
| The Zohar (selections) | Kabbalah | c. 1280 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Formation) | Kabbalah | c. 2nd-6th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Enneads by Plotinus | Neoplatonism | c. 270 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Paracelsus — Selected Works | Alchemy | 16th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz | Rosicrucianism | 1616 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Fama Fraternitatis | Rosicrucianism | 1614 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Morals and Dogma — Albert Pike | Freemasonry | 1871 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Secret Doctrine — H.P. Blavatsky | Theosophy | 1888 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Isis Unveiled — H.P. Blavatsky | Theosophy | 1877 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Key to Theosophy — Blavatsky | Theosophy | 1889 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Voice of the Silence — Blavatsky | Theosophy | 1889 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Book of the Law (Liber AL) — Crowley | Thelema | 1904 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Book of Lies — Crowley | Thelema/Golden Dawn | 1913 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings — Crowley | Golden Dawn/Thelema | 1909 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Three Books of Occult Philosophy — Agrippa | Western Occultism | 1531 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Golden Dawn — Israel Regardie | Golden Dawn | 1937 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
Eastern Mystical Texts
| Text | Tradition | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masnavi-ye Ma'navi — Rumi | Sufism | 13th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Kitab al-Tawasin — Al-Hallaj | Sufism | 10th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Ihya Ulum al-Din — Al-Ghazali | Sufism/Islamic Mysticism | 11th century CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Fusus al-Hikam — Ibn Arabi | Sufism | 13th century CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| The Bhagavad Gita | Hinduism/Vedanta | c. 200 BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Upanishads (principal 13) | Hinduism/Vedanta | c. 800-200 BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Shiva Sutras | Kashmir Shaivism | c. 9th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Vijnanabhairava Tantra | Tantra/Kashmir Shaivism | c. 7th century CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Dhammapada | Buddhism | c. 3rd century BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) | Vajrayana Buddhism/Bön | 8th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Heart Sutra | Mahayana Buddhism | 1st-2nd century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Diamond Sutra | Mahayana Buddhism | c. 4th century CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Tao Te Ching — Laozi | Taoism | c. 400 BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Zhuangzi | Taoism | c. 4th century BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Analects — Confucius | Confucianism | c. 5th century BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Guru Granth Sahib (English translation) | Sikhism | 1604 CE (final 1708) | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Avesta (Gathas of Zarathustra) | Zoroastrianism | c. 1500-600 BCE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
African Spiritual Texts
| Text / Source | Tradition | Access |
|---|---|---|
| The Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani) | Kemet | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Pyramid Texts | Kemet | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| On Isis and Osiris — Plutarch | Kemet (Greek account) | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Popol Vuh (Maya creation narrative) | Maya Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Ifá: An Exposition — Wande Abimbola | Yoruba Ifá | Academic library / purchase — no free download available |
| Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World — Abimbola | Yoruba Ifá | Purchase — Aim Books |
| Kongo: Power and Majesty — catalogue | Kongo religion | Metropolitan Museum of Art publication |
| Things Fall Apart — Chinua Achebe | Ọdinala (Igbo) | Purchase — primary literary source on Igbo traditional life |
| Arrow of God — Chinua Achebe | Ọdinala (Igbo) | Purchase — deepest literary treatment of Igbo religion |
| Victor Uchendu — The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria | Ọdinala (Igbo) | Academic library |
Ancient Religious Texts
| Text | Tradition | Download |
|---|---|---|
| The Epic of Gilgamesh | Mesopotamian | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Enuma Elish (Babylonian Creation Epic) | Mesopotamian | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Descent of Inanna | Sumerian | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Hesiod — Theogony (Greek Gods) | Greek Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Homeric Hymns | Greek Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Prose Edda — Snorri Sturluson | Norse Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Poetic Edda | Norse Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Popol Vuh | Maya Religion | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
Abrahamic Sacred Texts
| Text | Tradition | Download |
|---|---|---|
| The Torah / Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) | Judaism | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Talmud (Babylonian, selections) | Judaism | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Zohar (selections) | Kabbalah/Judaism | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Bible (King James Version) | Christianity | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| New Testament (multiple translations) | Christianity | biblegateway.com [FREE] |
| The Quran (Yusuf Ali translation) | Islam | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Quran (multiple translations + audio) | Islam | quran.com [FREE] |
| Sahih Bukhari (Hadith) | Islam | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Book of Mormon | Mormonism | churchofjesuschrist.org [FREE] |
| The Kitab-i-Aqdas — Baha'u'llah | Baháʼí Faith | bahai.org [FREE] |
| The Hidden Words — Baha'u'llah | Baháʼí Faith | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Spirits' Book — Allan Kardec | Spiritism | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
Primary Free Libraries
- sacred-texts.com — the most comprehensive free library of religious and esoteric texts on the internet. No registration. No cost. Thousands of texts.
- Internet Sacred Text Archive — the most comprehensive free library of sacred and esoteric texts online; all traditions, no registration
- Internet Archive — millions of free books; search any author or title; download in PDF, ePub, Kindle
- Global Grey Ebooks — beautifully formatted free PDF and ePub of classic spiritual and philosophical texts
- HolyBooks.com — free PDF downloads of sacred texts from all world religions and traditions
- Project Gutenberg — free public domain books including many classic esoteric and mystical works
- Wisdom Library — Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain texts with scholarly annotation
- Hermetics.org — Western esoteric and Hermetic texts
- Gnosis.org — Nag Hammadi library, Gnostic texts, and Western esoteric tradition
- Lucis Trust — all 24 Alice Bailey books free online
- Rudolf Steiner Archive — complete Rudolf Steiner works online
- Ruhani Satsang USA — all Kirpal Singh books free
- Sefaria — Jewish texts including Kabbalah, Talmud, Torah in Hebrew and English
- BuddhaNet — Buddhist texts, sutras, and teachings
- archive.org (Internet Archive) — millions of free books including rare esoteric and religious texts.
- gnosis.org — the Gnostic Society Library; Gnostic texts, Neoplatonic texts, Hermetic texts.
- sefaria.org — complete Jewish library: Torah, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah, in Hebrew and English.
- quran.com — Quran with multiple translations and audio recitation.
- accesstoinsight.org — Theravada Buddhist texts (Pali Canon) in English.
- buddhanet.net — Buddhist texts, audio, and education across all traditions.
Sant Mat — Path of the Masters
Sant Mat is the esoteric tradition of the divine Sound Current (Shabd/Naam) transmitted through a living master. Most Sant Mat texts are freely available by tradition — Kirpal Singh declared all his works copyright-free.
| Text | Author | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Songs of Kabir | Kabir (trans. Tagore) | c. 1500 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Bijak of Kabir | Kabir | c. 1500 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Japji Sahib | Guru Nanak | 1539 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Sar Bachan (Poetry and Prose) | Swami Ji Maharaj | 1878 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Spiritual Letters | Jaimal Singh | 1896-1903 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Spiritual Gems | Sawan Singh | 1948 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Philosophy of the Masters (5 vols) | Sawan Singh | 1963 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Path of the Masters | Julian Johnson | 1939 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| With a Great Master in India | Julian Johnson | 1934 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Naam or Word | Kirpal Singh | 1942 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Crown of Life | Kirpal Singh | 1961 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| Spiritual Elixir | Kirpal Singh | 1967 CE | ruhanisatsangusa.org [FREE] |
| All Kirpal Singh books | Kirpal Singh | 1942-1974 CE | ruhanisatsangusa.org [FREE — all books] |
New Thought / Mental Science
The New Thought and Mental Science tradition teaches that mind is the primary substance of the universe and that aligning individual mind with Universal Mind produces healing, abundance, and peace.
| Text | Author | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh Lectures on Mental Science | Thomas Troward | 1904 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| Dore Lectures on Mental Science | Thomas Troward | 1909 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| The Hidden Power | Thomas Troward | 1921 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| The Creative Process in the Individual | Thomas Troward | 1910 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| In Tune with the Infinite | Ralph Waldo Trine | 1897 CE | archive.org [FREE] | Global Grey [FREE] |
| Science of Mind | Ernest Holmes | 1926 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| The Power of Your Subconscious Mind | Joseph Murphy | 1963 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| As a Man Thinketh | James Allen | 1903 CE | sacred-texts.com [FREE] |
| The Master Key System | Charles Haanel | 1912 CE | archive.org [FREE] |
| All Alice Bailey books (24 vols) | Alice Bailey | 1919-1960 CE | lucistrust.org [FREE — all 24 books] |