Official Magic and Esotericism Thread

[Ave]

I've been interested in Magic and the Esoteric, but I don't know where to start. The topic is really...broad.

For the record I am into the Left Hand Path of the occult. I think that is important to lay down. First things first.

The LHP isn't about being evil and not necessarily Satanism. There are many definitions floating around out there, but generally they place an emphasis on the fact the LHP values individuality over the group/society, and defies generally accepted concepts of good and evil. Challenging accepted concepts of good and evil doesn't necessarily mean using Satan as a symbol; but it can, in places where Christianity is predominant. Hence the association of the LHP with Satanism and also Luciferianism (the two aeren't the same thing).

Personally, I believe that in our society, in 2018, the moral discourse is no longer held by Christianity or conventional religions but by social justice warriors. I don't want to bring politics into this but you have to admit things like feminism hold the moral discourse, at least where I live. It is greater blasphemy to declare you are pro-life than to make fun of Jesus...hence why alot of people who want to be adverserial nowadays declare themselves Christians to piss of the SJWs. Since these things are changing fast due to the advent of the internet, not everyone picks up on it.

But I also think that one's beliefs need to be more than a reaction/response to something external. It needs to be something deeper. I don't really know what my beliefs are for the moment, I don't really believe things without some kind of proof, so I don't think in terms of beliefs and non-belief. Edit (03/12/2018): Btw I'm pretty far from a Christian, the whole point of this was to say that declaring yourself Christian as a way to piss of sjws is the wrong way to deal with the problem of political correctness. Keep your independance of mind.

I have been interested in the Temple of Set and their concept of Aeonic Words...to get a good idea of what those are, check out the writting of Don Webb (former High Priest of the ToS).

A good place to start is Webb's essay Xeper: the Eternal Word of Set: https://xeper.org/pub/pub_dw_xeper.html

Edit: Another thing I got from the ToS's philosophy is the notion that the individual is separate from the cosmos. Typically, most spiritual traditions emphasize a "re-connection" (the word "religio" where we derive religion, means re-connection) to nature, the cosmos, God, the universe, the collective unconscious, whatever it may be. I view the LHP as firmly opposed to any kind of re-connection to anything. Where Laveyan Satanism underlines man's carnal or biological nature, Setianism views man as a Being capable of gaining immortality apart from external factors like biology or the universe. I don't know myself, though, if such is attainable - but what is there to lose trying?

There is much more I could say, but I think I'll stop there for now. That's already alot, I think. And it was kind of incohernet and jumbled, but like I said the topic is so broad, I felt like laying down my own thoughts on the subject.