2.5 Citing Digital and Online Sources

Digital and online sources should be cited clearly enough that readers can identify and locate the material consulted. A citation should normally include the author or editor if known, the title of the page or document, the title of the website, archive, database, or digital collection, the date of publication or revision if available, the URL, and the date accessed when needed.

Do not cite an online source by URL alone. A URL may help the reader find the source, but it does not identify what the source is, who produced it, or whether it is reliable. Give the same kind of descriptive information that would be provided for a printed source whenever possible.

PDFs and scans should be cited according to what they are. If a PDF is a journal article, cite it as a journal article. If a scan is a book, cite it as a book and add the archive or database information only when useful. If the source is a digital edition prepared for a website or archive, cite the digital edition and include the editor or archive information when available.

Book consulted as a scan:

Right:

1. Aleister Crowley, The Book of Lies, Which Is Also Falsely Called Breaks (London: Wieland and Co., 1913), 25, scanned at Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/bookoflies0000unse_o9x3.

Wrong:

1. https://archive.org/details/bookoflies0000unse_o9x3

Journal article consulted online:

Right:

1. Manon Hedenborg White, “Proximal Authority: The Changing Role of Leah Hirsig in Aleister Crowley’s Thelema, 1919–1930,” Aries 21, no. 1 (2021): 70, DOI or URL.

Wrong:

1. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700593-02101008

Online essay or webpage:

Right:

1. Marco Visconti, “Few and Secret,” Magick Without Tears with Marco Visconti, April 11, 2026, https://marcovisconti.substack.com/p/few-and-secret.

Wrong:

1. https://marcovisconti.substack.com/p/few-and-secret

Use access dates for online sources that are undated, unstable, frequently revised, or not tied to a formal publication date. Access dates are usually unnecessary for sources with a DOI, stable archive record, or clearly fixed publication information.

Students should be especially careful with online Thelemic materials. Many useful texts circulate in digital form, but not all online copies identify their edition, editor, source, or date. When possible, prefer stable archives, scans of identifiable editions, published digital editions, or websites with clear authorship and editorial responsibility.