Welcome to Gaia! ::

First step:

Forget everything you've ever seen on TV, movies, and played in video games.

The only use color has in magick (when labeling) is that mankind has a sort of organizational fetish. EVERYTHING has to be labeled lol.

You don't technically "need" any ingredients, things like candles, incense, and stuff are all fine and good for concentration help but you really aren't required to have them.

Books...I'd recommend anything by Aleister Crowley (but I'm mildly biased).

Read everything you can get your hands on and then test it for yourself. If it works then you'll know that for yourself. Then you can start the process all over again until content.

Edit-This is likely to be beyond anyone new, and alot may take a while to be digested, if at all, but don't be afraid to ask questions.

In book stores, if you can find a "New Age" section thats pretty good, they're usually close to were bibles are kept...I totally agree. Though, I feel the need to say, question it anyways, and always. 'If you ask a hundred people who study the occult the same question, you're likely to get a hundred different answers.'

I have some websites I can give you, and maybe a link or two for downloadable (to the computer) books. So far almost all downloadable books I've found need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Take a look at the list, then go over it a second time and look at each link breifly, skim it, then go on the the next one and do whatever you want when you're done.

http://spiralnature.com/ <--Its kind of an overview/explainations site.
http://www.psipog.net/ Site that talks about and has exercises for energy manipulation
http://www.chaosmatrix.org/ Based around chaote practioners (bad semantics on my part)
http://templeofmagick.freeforums.org/ Forum site
http://www.occultforums.com/ Awesome forum site

Haven't been through all the sites enough to feel I can give a proper statement on them, but its more material, peruse at your leisure.
http://www.spellsandmagic.com/ Random magic site
http://www.irreality.net/ Chaosesk stuff, not much about magic at first glance
http://barbelith.com/forum/6 Sub-forum of a forum place
http://www.theenigmaleague.net/world/index.php?PHPSESSID=af1ec3a723954b84dd4e3ba1e42d6db1;www Forum site, recently hacked
http://www.occultcorpus.com/ Forum site
http://www.magicatastrophe.com/ Forum site
http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/communitylinks.html <--Mostly about vampire lifestyle people, does cover energy manipulation and some other things...LOTS of links in that site to other vampire sites. May include things that are not for squeemish people.
http://mysilentecho.com/dreamtongue1.htm Empathy stuff
http://www.technoccult.com/ Technology related things unrelated to occult stuff take up the majority of the site. Infact, I have yet to find an occult thing even in the occult subsections.
http://www.lastwizards.com/ Very little practice material, interesting information though. Symbol guide
http://theocculture.com/ Interesting site, Library subsection is the most useful to me so far
http://www.evocationmagic.com/forum/ Forum site
Clouds Without Water A book by Aleister Crowley, doesn't seem very interesting, or overtly occult
http://www.apodion.com/ The bottom of that page has three links, they explain it pretty well, Satanism theme.
Dragon Magic stuff Click+scroll to highlight and read, doesn't seem very useful to me
http://www.flamesfirepit.org/ Wiccan-shamanism site, nothing new for me, already been down that path, I recommend it
http://www.hermetic.com/ Stuff about people and subjects, mostly studies and interpretations, many many links, its a huge site. Click on a few without reading the content and you will see how big the site can be
http://www.iot.org.uk/ Stuff about the IOT order, has a downloadable book and forusm, I think, not much content for non-members
Konx Om Pax Essays in Light Something by Aleister Crowley, also doesn't seem to have much over occult information
Man Visible and Invisible Links to other books and things on the left
http://dewarlorx.com/psychokinesis.htm Stuff on Psychokinesis', I don't have much faith in it
http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/Wingmakers/ Interesting site, I don't care for it though
http://www.crystalinks.com/ Interesting site
http://www.mprilc.frih.net/ The MPRILC website, woo!
http://www.scns.com/earthen/other/seanachaidh/sean.html Beginners magic section is good, not much 'new' information
http://greenmanarts.com/ Has a fair bit of content
http://www.halexandria.org/ Obsessed with the Annunaki (the name for the sumerian gods that they think were aliens who really created human kind), interesting, but not much stuff that can be used for practice of occult stuff--warning, do not look at the 'why (insert consumable) is bad for you' if you like (american) dairy. I'm Canadain and I was put of dairy even though ours has a higher standard....
http://time-travelers.org/ Covers alot of things religion, philosophy, energy exercises...just, click it and skim
http://s.gaiaonline.com/images/alchemyst/Chapters_1to3.pdf Ficticious book on Alchemy, downloadable?
http://www.wisdomsdoor.com/welcome.htm Another interesting site, lots of content
Liber MMM Short downloadable book, interesting
http://www.ytown.com/oak/topsites.shtml <--That link has atleast a hundred other occult sites linked to it
http://time-travelers.org/witchcraftlinks.htm Random occult links

Books online
http://theocculture.com/index.php?page=library Downloadable-ish, lots of material
http://www.evocationmagic.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22 More books available, some are repeated

Aura stuff, some is good, some is...weird
How to See and Read the Aura
Stuff for fixing the aura

*goes back to edit that* I was waiting for someone with a stronger knowledge on the subject of alchemy to put in their thoughts on that book, I've yet to develope a large enough base of knowledge to discern material as well as I'd like. Thanks.

I can read it, but it does open up Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 in the explorer window I'm using. If you have Adobe, which is likely, then I'm stumped.

The firefox thing is understandable. The long winded thing is a trait I'm victim to on occasion, I think its an half-unintentional method some people employ to try to make sure theres no room for misunderstanding.

Other then that, I hope the other links to books weren't a b***h.