As for occult books i browsed Amazon.
Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss & sequel
Same Soul, Many Bodies are on reincarnation. I have Michael Talbot's
Holographic Universe on my bookshelf, it's a modern overview of mechanics. I really haven't read up on spiritism because I got channeled info.
Wisdom of the Mystic Masters by Joseph Weed was a foundation in my "training" but is basic occult. Allen Kardec wrote several books on mediumship. One of the most well known occult books is
The Kybalion & is free on
https://sacred-texts.com/bib/index.htm website,or just type in "free book Kabalion" & get several PDF options.
One way to have an altar in plain sight is to represent the natural elements of land, sea, & sky with items borrowed from Nature like a rock, seashell & feather collection. Fire is "of the gods" & can be symbolized with red & orange colored marbles or a battery candle if that won't draw attention.
I copied this ritual from my "getting started" post.
When you have nothing at all to use for your ritual, or you just like simplicity, use gestures to express your intent. No tools or candles, no water or incense is used, but all the steps will be carried out by intention through gestures, like a mime enacts a story.
Stand where the center of the circle would be, facing north. Ground by passing the flat of your hand from crown-to-crotch, as you imagine the vertical axis along your spine descending into the Earth. Center by tracing an X on your middle as you imagine the cross roads intersection :serpentrune: . Pull your power on the breath to your gut. To cleanse yourself and your aura, do the see-hear-speak no evil hand gestures placing the hands over the eyes, ears and mouth quietly saying: "I see no evil. I hear no evil. I speak no evil. All about and within me is harmony." Breathe deeply & let that sink in.
Raise power by swinging your arms forward and back for a minute to pump up some juice. To charge the sacred space, turn a slow, deosil -> circle as you point your index & middle fingers and your mighty witch's gaze to direct your energy to the circle's boundary. Draw forth the power & push it through your hand. This energy passes right through furniture to make a sphere. You might say, "Round and round and round about. All good in & all bad out! As I turn the circle's cast, a place between and holding fast."
You now stand at the cross-roads, cleansed, centered, balanced and at peace with the three realms: celestial, mundane & under-world. You are ready to address your Deity or Nature's Presence and state your purpose.
Welcome the four directions by facing & addressing each in turn: E-"I call air for power to know"; S-"I call fire for power to go."; W-"I call water for power to flow."; N-"I call earth for power to grow."
Evoking your deities is quite personal, and the words should come from the heart. Greet and welcome them by name or title. Hand-to-heart gestures can express the feeling, with a bow from the waist to show respect. If you aren't working with a deity, then bow to Nature. Reverent silence is OK too.
You can slip right into meditation here, divination or the spell work you want to do. No spell materials are needed. You can raise, program & charge the Circle itself to carry your intention. Do this by imagining the Circle as a blue mist rising from the Earth below your feet & spiraling around you. Imagine & feed your intent into the spiraling mist. Feel it in your gut & feed that into the mist. Speak your intent into the mist as a completed, present-tense event. When you know it IS thus/so, give thanks & then release the spiraling Cone of Power (shaped like a witch's hat) to fulfill the task: "Aid friends and vanquish foes. I command you now to GO." Push! Trust the system. Rest.
In place of the thanksgiving food offering, pledge a simple service within your means (clean up after the dog, shovel snow, empty all the waste baskets and take out the trash, pull weeds, feed the birds, meditate, etc.). "I have no food or drink to hand, instead I offer what I can. I will X." You are honor-bound to keep a pledge made within Circle, so make it something you know you can complete within a week.
Finally you announce the rite is completed, thank and farewell the Deities "Our rite is at an end; and may we always part as friends. Go if you must, stay if you will, with ever peace between us still."; and dismiss the Powers in reverse order, "Powers of North, West, South, East with my thanks go in peace." You don't dismiss Ether, aka Spirit.
Standing in the center spot, ground the circle's residual energy as a gift back into the Earth. Do this by raising your arms straight above your head, then slowly lower your arms out to the sides & straight down as you visualize the circle sinking into the earth. And you're done.