A Review of The Apophis Club and Orry Whitehand’s “How to Astral Travel”

The Apophis Club and Orry Whitehand’s How to Astral Travel is a great introductory work to astral work. While The Apophis Club is a left-hand path organization, this work is focused entirely on the basics of astral projection without any further reference to the organization itself. It’s a simple, straightforward guide to astral travel which is as effective as it is concise.

This book weighs in at just under 50 pages of content, but it packs a punch. While cliché, I wish I had this book when I first started learning about astral projection. This is the most concise explanation of how it works, and the most practical guide to doing it I’ve read.

Let’s look at the layout and structure of the work, what it does well, and who it’s for. I’ll also try to allay any fears you may have if you’re less than wanting to dabble in the “left-hand path”. This is one of the few reviews I’ll write which doesn’t have any real negatives or cons about the content. We could split hairs, but this is just an exemplar of an occult text for the scope it sets out to explain.

Layout and Structure

The whole book is just over 50 pages, but only about 43 of those have content about the topic at hand (due to copyright, table of contents, etc.). This book is more of a short manual or long pamphlet about astral projection, but not at the expense of clarity or making sense. The book starts with the theory and progresses to some example journeys.

How to Astral Travel starts with an explanation of what astral travel is (including how it differs from most preconceptions of the subject). It then delves into preliminary considerations, then the three types of astral work. Finally, we get exercises to use to get started (astral stretches so to speak), and example journeys to guide the process in the beginning.

The layout, structure, and organization is very analytic and practical. Some works, especially more esoteric ones, tend to try and introduce theory as they go or try to jump around, but that can just lead to confusion. This is a “boring” manual that walks you through iteratively. It introduces what you’re doing, what to be aware of, then delves into how to do it, and it does it all exceptionally.

Pros

The manual is laid out analytically and straightforward. You aren’t going to be a master of the subject at hand, but you will know what you need to in order to get started, and you will have the tools to actually do it if you read this work. It doesn’t fixate on the various interpretations or occult idealizations of the process like many works. You’re getting a crash course in what astral travel is, then more details in how to actually work with it.

While The Apophis Club is a more left-hand path oriented organization, this book manages to remain as neutral as possible. It will touch on and hint to other occult systems, but it avoids committing one way or another. It uses them as a reference rather than an interpretation. The manual leaves you to make sense of what you’ve done rather than telling you one way or another.

This doesn’t mean it just throws you into the occult however. It explains the risks from multiple reference points (from the more literal soul leaving the body to it being an internal journey). It’s up to you to make the decision of what the risks are, but it presents the theories from almost any angle with a bias towards the more rational.

I didn’t really buy the book for the theory, but I wanted something more practical for the actual work. Astral projection has basically never worked for me in any form. This manual definitely helped shore up the main obstacles I had in a way other works couldn’t. The exercises are effective and give you a road map to try to get acclimated to the process.

Who It’s For

If you’re interested in astral work, this is a great first step. If nothing else has worked so far, this work can help you break through. This book is accessible to pretty much any practitioner of any system since it’s written without a (heavy) bias. The knowledge is distilled independently of any system.

This book has helped me break through my own limitations and dig deeper. Like most systems, you’re going to want to practice some kind of meditation to make it more effective. Almost all occult work builds off of meditation in some form. You need the ability to visualize and to stay aware while basically tempting sleep.

If you want something more detailed about the astral realms or more centered on your own belief system, you may want to get another work, but I would suggest it in addition to this work. This is one of the most efficient systems for astral travel I’ve ever dealt with and it’s cheap. It’s a great addition to any occult bookshelf.

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