How to read an occultism book?

[Adamon]

Hello, I'm retaking my studies regarding the left-hand path, and I would like to know your advice on reading a book related to occultism. In this case, I will start with The Church of Satan by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, since it is a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time. Additionally, I’m using this as part of my English learning routine because I'm learning the language, and I also think it will help me improve my use of punctuation. So, give me your recommendations for reading an occultism book or any book.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

If you are a fan of the Temple of Set, which I gathered from your posts that you are, I would read Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path, Mysteries of the Temple of Set, and MindStar.

 

[Xenophon]

Hello, I'm retaking my studies regarding the left-hand path, and I would like to know your advice on reading a book related to occultism. In this case, I will start with The Church of Satan by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, since it is a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time. Additionally, I’m using this as part of my English learning routine because I'm learning the language, and I also think it will help me improve my use of punctuation. So, give me your recommendations for reading an occultism book or any book.

Read it once to get an idea where the writer is going. (You might even try re-reading the last chapter immediately after the introductory chapter.) Then read it again taking notes. (On a smartphone, I do screenshots of pages of interest.) You might try writing a one page (350 word, max.) precis after you're done: what's the main point and your reaction?

Since you're learning English you say, keep a running list of the writer's "terms of art." Be aware, too, that any writer worth his salt likes to bend dictionary definitions to suit his agenda.

 

[Wintruz]

Hello, I'm retaking my studies regarding the left-hand path, and I would like to know your advice on reading a book related to occultism. In this case, I will start with The Church of Satan by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, since it is a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time. Additionally, I’m using this as part of my English learning routine because I'm learning the language, and I also think it will help me improve my use of punctuation. So, give me your recommendations for reading an occultism book or any book.

This is actually a good place to start in many ways.

Anton LaVey advocated some important concepts (he didn't invent them but he did communicate them as a real magician would) and Aquino reveals those concepts without LaVey's myth making. Aquino's writing style is clear and academic without being musty. There's no "I know something you don't know" or being mysterious for the sake of it. Aquino lays things out in a clear way so that they can be interrogated.

Afterwards, try Aquino's Temple of Set series, though the ideas get a bit more complicated there.

 

[Xenophon]

This is actually a good place to start in many ways.

Anton LaVey advocated some important concepts (he didn't invent them but he did communicate them as a real magician would) and Aquino reveals those concepts without LaVey's myth making. Aquino's writing style is clear and academic without being musty. There's no "I know something you don't know" or being mysterious for the sake of it. Aquino lays things out in a clear way so that they can be interrogated.

Afterwards, try Aquino's Temple of Set series, though the ideas get a bit more complicated there.

I'll second that on Aquino. For OP's benefit: Aquino was a PhD (UC-Santa Barbara, political science, I think.) He was also a career Army officer in Special Forces who worked mostly in military intell. The point being, he was not some guy pounding a keyboard in Mom's basement. Personally, I find his more academic writings a better point of access, but that's a matter of one's one tastes and leanings. The book OP mentions gets one off on a sound footing.