What are you reading lately? | Forum
A very nice little Satanic altar book with Prayers, hymns and devotional chants to our Lord and Master Satan! It also contains a chapter how to set up an altar!
His post, which immediately preceded mine, was one word: "Pathetic."
I highly recommend this novel, if you don't mind heroes who are relentlessly noble, and you're able to look past the glorification of Christian religion. The writing is top notch.
I'm now reading Hemingway, and am excited. The last time I read him, I was in high school. I'm sure I'll get more out of him now.
Mod
I am currently reading Joyce Carol Oates' "Lovely, Dark, Deep." A short story collection as well. I have read lots of JCO and she never ceases to amaze me. Her stories bring the darkest part of the human soul out. At the end of every single story I've ever read by her, I feel more alive and ready to embrace an aspect of my nature that I was unaware of before or perhaps unready for. (That is totally cliche and corny sounding but true (I'm a dork like that)). Her use of symbolism, allusion, and irony in such an eloquent manner simply amazes me.
I highly recommend ANYTHING by Joyce Carol Oates to any reader who wants a thought-provoking experience about taboo subjects. She is one of my favorite contemporary authors. And I swear, she must be a satanist. ;)
Also Hemingway is simply a tremendous writer. Reading him inspires me to elevate my game.
ModI just started Mere Christianity last night by C.S. Lewis. I've had his complete collection for about 5 years now and only just now making my way over to that stack.
When I was young and forced to attend the cult-like baptist church, I remember the preacher speaking out against C.S. Lewis, about how he was secular and had a pseudo outlook on Christianity. (I remember being tickled inside that I had convinced my mom to buy my the Narnia collection before she heard that sermon.)
But all these years later, I wanted to finally read his serious works so I can see for myself, why he was so controversial. I'm only on Book 2 Chapter 3 in Mere Christianity.
So far, it seems very philosophical and nondenominational. Maybe that's why he was controversial - the preacher felt Christianity needed to be presented as fact, not a nondenominational philosophy, who knows.
I have read one thing that resonated thus far. He says god created evil to give a reason for good and "good" is only an opinion that describes natural human moral. He says that when someone goes against nature's morals, their conscious speaks up about the wrong doing. OR when one consciously chooses good over bad, satisfaction is felt. No one chooses to be bad because of getting satisfaction out of repercussions, but people choose to be good to be satisfied with rewards. Bad acts are committed to serve the self only, and all "bad" acts harm another because it is against nature's morals.
Taking the god factor out completely (which so far seems he could have done and still not missed his point), there is a lot of truth to that. But I tend to think that the reason for "good" is "bad," likewise, the reason for "bad" is "good." It is not a one - way street. Bad wouldn't exist or be a thing if good did not also exist. And in the end, some may think evil as "good" and vice versa.
I have made a decision to just stick with 3 books over the next 12 months. I have to stop doing this whole “pick it up – read a bit – and then put it down and then pick up something else” thing. I need to stick to a long period of continuous study. The links to Amazon below are for Amazon Australia, but I’m sure you can find these books on other Amazon sites, if you are interested at all. Anyway, here are the 3 books.
‘Esotericism and the Academy’ by Wouter Hanegraaff, published by Cambridge University Press.
Hanegraaff is a respected scholar in the field of the Western esoteric tradition. He holds a chair in Hermetic Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He is one of a handful of scholars in recent decades who have made the Western esoteric tradition a serious object of academic study. This book I have referenced here is possibly his best.
The University of Amsterdam is one of the few universities around the world, which offers advanced degrees in the Western esoteric tradition.
‘Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment’ by Brian Copenhaver, published by Cambridge University Press.
Copenhaver is a Professor Emeritus of philosophy and history at UCLA. His area of expertise is the Western esoteric tradition. The book referenced here is frankly amazing from the reviews I have read. My continuing focus is the philosophy of magic, the esoteric, and the mystical. I think this book is going to be real good.
Copenhaver has also provided the reader with the best English translation of the main part of the so called “philosophical Hermetica” for anyone interested. It is here: https://www.amazon.com.au/Hermetica-Hermeticum-Asclepius-Translation-Introduction/dp/0521425433/ref=pd_sim_4/355-3483937-0345936?pd_rd_w=qjwmZ&pf_rd_p=8ca4ebd1-636f-47b5-a499-1aa3166a03e5&pf_rd_r=P8KCW84ZSVXHJARVFDRZ&pd_rd_r=ed2bae9f-7d93-429a-9cf8-50a6eb4bf08e&pd_rd_wg=uneew&pd_rd_i=0521425433&psc=1
‘The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment’ edited by Brian Copenhaver, published by Penguin.
This is just a small standard Penguin paperback, but it has become indispensable to me. It is a vast anthology, of portions of writings, from all the so called big names of magic, from antiquity to the Enlightenment. The subject is primarily magic, but it roves over a large area, including alchemy and astrology and the relationship between those areas and Western magic during the period in question.
Two articles, both of which mention Hemingway:
Flash Fiction - The Zorro Circle of Storytelling
