F - Learning to Read

(F is for anything related to Project Faust/Deep Satanism, a sporadic journal of my self education.)

Project Faust as outlined in Essays in Satanism by Magister James D. Sass is a comprehensive program of learning which exists in order to provide a deeper look into the broad scope of what Satanism entails through the continuous study of relevant source materials touching on a far reaching range of subjects, and in its very brief outline, a few hundred works of great importance, starting with the Epic of Gilgamesh and moving onward through a history of classic literature.

It is something I have largely been interested in, but being on such a grand scale, it was not an aspiration that survived the myriad of other goals I was accomplishing upon the time I discovered it. Over the past couple of years, my interests have changed significantly, and after something of a long hiatus, I eventually got back into reading - lots of reading, covering plenty of different topics of interest.

Part of the reason I became interested in Deep Satanism was the birth of my daughter. While many Satanists lament the mediocrity of the public system, I actually see merits there - though education may not necessarily be one of them, ironically. Being put through the hell of the public system is what forged my personality, toughened my softened exterior, and really allowed me to see the full scope of human stupidity and build a long lasting perspective on the human condition which has helped to dictate how I handle the human race as a whole on a daily basis. This is experience that I don't feel I could have ever had in the confines of home schooling, which for me, would have been a perfect disaster; many children flourish this way but become social invalids, and like it or not, that is a major part of success in later life. I can certainly talk to people, even though I enjoy doing it about as much as a slug enjoys a bath in salt water.

I suppose I could double categorize this particular entry since it is as much about parenting as it is about Project Faust itself, but I want to keep a future log of my own progress as I further explore the possibilities of cultivating knowledge using the methods presented in Magister Sass' book. To clarify, I have no intention of EVER "indoctrinating" ANY religion to my children, Satanism or otherwise. But in becoming knowledgeable about a wide variety of relevant topics, I feel I will be better equipped to nurture my daughters own personal education in addition to whatever she happens to learn as she goes through school. If the opportunity becomes apparent, and she is ahead of the class, I would certainly choose alternate schooling, something which would be more readily equipped to help her explore her own potential. But the public system, if anything, acts as the perfect filter separating the gifted from the mundane, so I feel it is likely a good place to start.

Currently, I am reading a few books on varying topics, but when it comes to Project Faust specifically, I am starting from the first book on the list, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Before I do that I am boning up on my knowledge of Satanism, doing another plow through the core materials before attacking them more thoroughly, because quite honest, there are a few books of Doctor Lavey's which I have not read for various reasons. As well as that, I am quite literally learning to read again, the process of Active Reading specifically. I consider this to really be my starting point when it comes to a more thorough understanding of Satanism. I obviously have a rudimentary understanding from reading The Satanic Bible, The Devils Notebook, The Satanic Scriptures, and yes, the aforementioned Essays in Satanism, but I cannot profess to having the entire picture, as it were. Apart from my official affiliation with the Church of Satan, which was done rather hastily in retrospect even though I have yet to find a single thing I disagree with, I do have much to learn yet.

Much to learn about Satanism, much to learn about the world around me. It scares me to think I am twenty six and am only now becoming seriously invested in my personal education. But since it is something that has consumed a massive amount of time these past couple of months, time I feel was actually WORTH spending, I am confident I will yield some positive future results, either way.

A quarter of the way to "the end", and I feel like my life is really just beginning.