The Folly Of Assumption Options

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

I'm new to this forum, and as I acclimate further, I've noticed a lot of younger (15-20) folks on here - I suppose this comes with the territory. I find myself cringing at their posts, which are, unfortunately, often peppered with assumptions, or at least questionable scholarship. For instance, last night I replied to a post in LHP about whether "Satan/Lucifer" was "good" or "evil". The poster (if he reads this, it isn't meant as a personal attack) wrote further...

from a christian view such as everyone who i know how could you go about telling them that devil is not bad i have been reading The Satanic Bible and its very interesting LaVey is a brilliant man.

Frankly, this bothered me. A lot. It bothered me because it spoke to a deep misunderstanding of spirituality. It bothered me because living a magickal life isn't about proving anything to anyone any more than being Christian is (ideally) - it is a personal journey. And, finally, it bothered me because the poster seems to be failing to perform his due diligence on, and to question, LaVey - just as Bible scholars fail to question the persons that wrote the Bible. Any merit aside, it is not unlikely that LaVey was a charlatan who lied about his reasons for developing the Church of Satan, just as Gardner, Sanders, etc.

I am by no means a heavily experienced ceremonial magician, but I certainly understand the importance of scholastic diligence and the folly of assumption in esoteric studies. Failure in these areas is arguably common amongst students and practitioners of the occult. I suppose the reason this irks me more greatly when it comes to young folk is that, in my experience, they tend to recklessly seek darkness and readily assume a narrow, exoteric understanding of their pursuits as if it were the most profound exegesis possible.

I suspect that this gravitational effect is not the result of a "true inner darkness" (if there is such a thing), but rather a shallow desire to "be dark" (having been a young man grasping for an identity, I understand the desperation with which we attain to adjectives as ornaments to a budding personality). Otherwise, it strikes me that they would seek a deeper understanding of the spiritual beings they're supporting; for example, it seems more than a little ridiculous for someone to become a Satanist based strictly on a Judeo-Christian interpretation of an antithetical diabolical figure.

Thoughts?

Also, for others who attempt to avoid the folly of assumption, and pursue the study of magick, and its requisite and auxiliary fields, with great diligence - would you be so kind as to recommend books and authors that satisfy an acceptable scholastic baseline? I'm already quite familiar with the works of Crowley, but I'm very curious about other systems and modern magickal authorities.

Love is the law, love under will.

...haha. Please do not find me a bit crude for suggesting this, but understanding the physical aspects of the world will also help. This is how sages of times long past were able to wield such wisdom. In the words of a mentor of mine:

"Chop wood, carry buckets, reach enlightenment...chop wood, carry buckets!"

I digress. Reading books on the properties of the universe as we know it would give a wonderful new perspective on the world for which magic could work as a venue. As Vagrant Dreamer said in a recent post of mine, things in this world have their magical analogues, and vice-versa. Also, to supplement this, one should know firsthand where the postulations about magic we have today come from. In addition, one should also pay attention to where the ideas and philosophies that have shaped the ethical principles of magical practice have come from. So, here's a beginner's list:

Brief History of Time - Steven Hawking
The Universe in a Nutshell - Steven Hawking
Pale Blue Dot - Carl Sagan
The Analects - Confucious
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
Metaphysics - Aristotle
Elements - Euclid
The Mystery of Numbers - Marc-Alain Ouaknin

The whole idea is to educate oneself before you practice!!

I made that mistake long ago, and regretted it! Now, I absorb virtually every book I can lay my hands on, all the while meditating on what I learned in my garage with a cigarette and a tall glass of drink.

If anything, I will openly advocate the scholar's path to magical practice. Learn, Learn, Learn! The reason I advocate this approach is because, verily, to learn is to live. When we stop living, we stop learning, and vice-versa.

CAVEAT: If you're not laughing during any of it, you're not doing either correctly!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Marvel with glee at what you find!