The Sacred Books
Recognizing a True Sacred Book
and Understanding Its Role
The revelations: From the beginning of humanity, Gods and Goddesses have spoken with people who were trained to receive their messages. This was the birth of what is known today as “sacred books.”
Sacred books are not equivalent: Paganism, including Theurgy, has teachings that offer the student fundamental information about the philosophical and ritual processes. However, you must learn why all sacred books are not equivalent, and why some of them are even dangerous. To do that, you must first learn how to recognize the validity of divine revelations.
This chapter will also provide you with an original translation of the first book of the Corpus Hermeticum.
The Divine Revelation
Most of the spiritual groups and traditions use sacred texts as a reference. This was also the case in antiquity, and in the tradition I am describing here. Long before the first manifestation of the monotheistic religions, which are currently called “religions of the book” (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), Thoth, and other such divinities, gave their teachings to mankind. Thoth asked initiates to write this knowledge down and to conceal it from the eyes of the uninitiated.27 In the Hermetic text called “The Ogdoad and the Ennead,” discovered at Nag Hammadi, Thoth says that this revelation was protected in such a way that it will remain indestructible, so that it is always accessible for future initiates: “O my child, write this book for the Temple of Diospolis (Hermopolis—the Temple of Thoth). . . . You must engrave it in hieroglyphs and remember the name of the Ogdoad, which reveals the Ennead. For that, you will use turquoise steles and you will put them into the sanctuary under the protection of the ‘eight wardens’ and the ‘nine of the sun’ ”. 28
You may ask yourself how the revelation of this God is manifested. It is well-known that in the monotheistic religions, God reveals his word and laws through prophets, who act as their intermediaries. Some men are chosen by God, who uses various criteria, but the process itself is the same for all religions. God manifests itself to the prophet inwardly or outwardly, or may even use both internal and external revelations in combination. Words, sentences, and texts are given and the prophet just writes these down like a scribe. There is no analysis of this process in the Bible, because the foundation of this tradition is not reason, but faith. God reveals himself when he wishes and his word is definitive.
In the Theurgic tradition, some explanations about this process are provided in various texts such as On the Mysteries by Iamblichus. This master explains that there two main forms of divination: public and private. He explains that the divination he is talking about is performed by the prophet or oracle “who stands on the characters,” and the method used is the “adduction of the light,” meaning the act of receiving the divine inspiration through the descent of spiritual light. This is represented by the descent of the divine light, the sun, which during the Theurgic ritual enlightens the “Ethereal and luminous vehicle which is linked to the soul” (On the Mysteries, 3:14). Once this step of connection with the light has been achieved, the Gods use our ability to imagine by imprinting in our imagination the images, ideas, and messages they want to give us. As Iamblichus explains, this phenomenon can occur in two ways: 1) the Gods use the channel of light and enter into us; 2) the Gods manifest themselves from the outside and inscribe the information upon our soul. This is the moment when our spirit is able to receive messages from the God or Goddess. Iamblichus clearly explains that this is not our human imagination creating these messages on its own, but that we receive the impulse from the Gods. Of course it is necessary that the augurer or the Theurgist has received the proper training in order to practice this kind of divination without adding any personal elements, repressed desires, or phantasms. I will say more about this when I describe the criteria which allow us to recognize a real sacred text.
According to Iamblichus, in Theurgy, all the techniques of divination are actually just one technique: “illumination by the Light,” no matter the place or the tools used for this illumination. This is how the first sacred books of the Hermetic and Theurgic traditions were received. Thoth gave his message and asked that it be engraved with the most sacred magical characters. Unfortunately, nobody found these steles of stone, yet the tradition was perpetuated. We still have several fragments from the first book that are used in the Theurgic tradition: the Chaldaean Oracles and most of the Corpus Hermeticum.
The authors or sources of foundational texts are often difficult to find. In the case of the Theurgic tradition we are lucky to have some information we can use to better understand the historic sources.
First, two famous figures revealed a doctrine that was supposed to have come from the Chaldeans or Theurgists; these adepts were referred to as the Julians: Julian the Chaldaean and his son Julian the Theurgist. Together, they unveiled a sacred book called the Chaldaean Oracles. According to the scholar Polymnia Athanassiadi it was in Apamea, Syria, that this famous book was written. This was also the place where Iamblichus taught.
With the help of his father, Julian the Theurgist was supposed to receive a book using prophetic divination. His work was entitled Logia di èpon. This book was the exact transcription of the message received from the God(s), without any commentary. When the book was fully received, it was considered “closed” as an accomplished revelation.
This book presents and elaborates a spiritual doctrine and a ritual process that enables the initiate to re-ascend to the divine. Unfortunately, it was largely destroyed and the remaining parts are only quotations that may be found in several other books. There were several attempts to reconstruct the book from these fragments, but they were only marginally successful. I should also highlight two things about these oracles: first, the text is not easy to read; secondly, the text is foundational. Therefore, I suggest you read it from time to time. It is undeniable that Neoplatonicians were familiar with this text. It quickly came to be considered a sacred text by everyone who was dedicated to learning Theurgic rituals.
The Chaldean Oracles is the real heart of Theurgy and it is the main reason why chiefs of the new monotheistic religion have done their best to destroy the book. Fortunately, Iamblichus, the second founder of Theurgy after the Julians, created a clear and definitive “Theurgic Philosophy,” which is a union of Neoplatonism, Hermetism, and Theurgy itself. I will speak precisely about that in Part 6 of this book.
The Hermetists that came later provided commentary on the Chaldean Oracles, but the text itself has never been modified. It is terribly sad that this work was lost or destroyed. Today, even if we have only fragments of the original, their study is considered to be fundamental for the magical tradition I am describing in this book.
Later, between the seventh and eleventh centuries, a set of texts were assembled that are considered to be sacred by the Neoplatonicians and Hermetists. It is called the Corpus Hermeticum, or the Hermetica, and it was composed in Egypt. This book is comprised of several treatises. As the French scholar Françoise Bonardel wrote: “The Nous-God, called Poimandres, revealed this divine wisdom to Hermes Trismegistus; it was given to chosen disciples and constitutes the foundational teaching of what became the Hermetic tradition.” Other books were added such as: “Asclepius” (also entitled the “perfect discourse”) and various “fragments from Stobaeus.” (Stobaeus was a compiler of various Greek texts.) Magical papyri, Greek alchemical texts, and other short Hermetic texts that were found in Egypt have been added to this corpus by the Aurum Solis. Historically, they were not part of the original corpus, but it is clear, according to the scholars who studied and wrote about them, that they are from the same source. The Hermetica is markedly different from the Chaldaean Oracles, because these Hermetic texts present both direct revelations from God and philosophical discourses. Even if this set of texts seems closer to the “Platonic dialogues” than the Chaldaean Oracles, it is undoubtedly a fundamental corpus on which the tradition was built and developed. The Hermetica was considered to be, and was used as a sacred book. Today the Ecclesia Ogdoadica uses it in the same way. It might be possible to add other short texts, which were preserved by Arabian alchemists and philosophers and revealed during the Middle Ages. This is also the case for the texts entitled The Seven Chapters Attributed to Hermes and the famous “Emerald Tablet,” presented by Albert the Great (1193–1280).
To conclude this subject, it is important to say a few words about the divine nature of the sacred books. I explained before that in some cases, the reception of information given during the divine revelation could be mixed with human errors and psychological proclivities. Based on this concern, it is legitimate to look for objective standards that enable us to discriminate what is divine and what is human in the revelation. As I said, God and the Gods in the Theurgic tradition are all good and righteous. They manifest their presence through what we call Beauty and Truth. Every injunction that expresses violence, cruelty, or murder is radically opposed to the divine essence. Any text encouraging such behaviors cannot be considered to be sacred by Hermetists. It is for this reason that the Hermetic and Theurgic sacred texts have never encouraged violent actions, even in symbolic terms.
This is not the case in the Bible. Several of the texts that were supposedly revealed by God are far from meeting the Hermetic definition of sacredness. As an example, I have provided an excerpt from Exodus: “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said: ‘Whoever is on the Lord’s side, let him come unto me.’ And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them: ‘Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: “Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.”’ And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people on that day about three thousand men.
“And Moses said: ‘Consecrate yourselves this day to the Lord, for every man hath been against his son and against his brother; that He may also bestow upon you a blessing this day’” (Bible, Exodus 32:26–29).
No matter what your beliefs are, it is easy to understand that such recommendations cannot blindly be accepted if you are a Neoplatonician. Even more than that, it is simply more logical to remain very cautious with regard to such injunctions.
The Texts
Corpus Hermeticum—The Creation
The Corpus Hermeticum contains a very interesting creation story. You are certain to appreciate the style of these sacred texts. The following text is the original transcription used in the Aurum Solis and the Ecclesia Ogdoadica.
Book one: Hermes Trismegistus—Poimandres
One day, as I was gazing into the depth of my mind and reflecting upon the nature of beings, I felt a torpor overcoming or pressing down on my body. It was as if I was sinking into a deep sleep after being tired by a heavy meal, or by exhaustion. Most strangely, my spirit progressively rose from my body, soaring above me in the gentle Aether. At this moment, I saw a gigantic being of incredible size. It came to me, swallowing the immensity of space.
Its voice echoed in my mind as it said: “What are you seeking? What do you want to know?”
I replied, without hesitation: “But you, who are you?”
“I am Poimandres,” he said, “the Nous, the absolute Sovereign of all. I am with you at all times, and I know what you are looking for, although you are unable to name it.”
“Oh, I seek to know the beings of the world, and the nature of God. My Soul’s deepest desire is to understand the Universe!”
“Your desire is rightful. Keep it to yourself and I shall teach you the mysteries of all things.”
Uttering these words, he then changed his appearance. His being became an intense and lively Light bathing me in rapture and joy, yet unknown to me I could not perceive the limits of this all-encompassing Light. Each and every instant in his presence further opened my heart. Loving without any reserve, my Soul was wholeheartedly united to the Light I perceived and felt in blissful harmony.
It was at this moment that I perceived a sinuous movement far below. A tenebrous and terrifying undulation crept where I had been standing earlier. It moved forward, in ominous silence, approaching as a dark snake coiled in spirals. Obscurity then slowly faded as the air grew heavy with humidity. Clouds of steam rose toward me as gigantic winding arms, whistling with the rhythms of their upward movements. The world, which had been silent, came alive. Inarticulate cries seemed to gush out from the fire filling the air.
The Light then grew in intensity, and a vibrant Breath spurted out of it. I felt my eardrums vibrate as this inaudible sound rushed below and mixed itself with the strange nature in formation. As it touched the humid obscurity, a magnificent and shining fire rushed upward to where I was standing. The resounding flames rose up, whirling, carried by the winds and the circling air. This intense and marvelous dance was a true celestial enchantment. Below, water and earth were intimately mixed, one to the other. In unison, their respective movements could not be distinguished.
Then rang anew the voice of Poimandres: “Do you understand that which you now see?”
“No,” I said.
“The Light you contemplate is mine; it is the Light of the Nous; I who existed well before obscurity was manifested, before humidity revealed itself through it. As for the Breath, this luminous word resounding in the silence, it is he who rushes out of my heart; the son of God.”
“I do not understand this language . . . ”
“Bring closer to your own self what I have just revealed to you. The Verb, or Logos, is sound and Light, and the faculty of seeing and hearing. God the Father is your Nous. These two natures should never be separated. Your life depends on their union.”
“Thank you, O Poimandres.”
I felt his attention focusing on me, an intense force rose in the air around me. He then said: “Fix your gaze at the centre of the Light. May the understanding to which you aspire grow in you.”
This tension grew in intensity and my whole being trembled. It seemed as if this part of me, which he had named Nous, harmonized itself with the center of the Light I was contemplating. I then saw a Light made of multiple Powers, extending so as to form a limitless world. This powerful fire in extension was maintained by an even greater Power which kept it, giving it structure and stability.
Lost in the contemplation of these Luminous Powers, I heard his resounding voice again: “You saw the archetypal form, the first principle, which existed before the beginning of that which is without end.”
“But,” I inquired, “where do the elements of nature come from?”
“The Will of God, which, contemplating the Beauty of this archetypal and ideal world, shaped every soul according to its own nature.
“Now, listen to the story of what happened at this very moment:
“The Nous God, which is both male and female, life and light, used the Word to give birth to the second Nous Demiurge. This new Nous, the God of Fire, Breath, shaped seven Governors (seven planets) into existence, organizing them into circular paths around the material world. From the Power of these Governors, destiny was born.
“At this precise moment, the Word of God freed itself from the Elements of the pure nature it had just formed and organized, and united itself to the second Nous Demiurge, because both were of the same essence. The Elements that were of an inferior nature, left on their own recognizance by the Logos, became physical matter.
“While the Elements were becoming matter, the Nous Demiurge united with the Word that was enveloping the seven circles of power and imparted unto them a divine circular movement, which has no beginning and no end. When these rotations began to impart rhythm to the cosmos, the Nous extracted the Elements from the animals that were unable to reason, because the Word was no longer inside them. He formed flying animals from the Air, from water he formed all the animals that live under the water. Earth and water were separated and for the first time, terrestrial animals, reptiles, wild and domestic animals appeared.
“Then the Nous, the power of life, the light of the world, gave birth to a Man like himself. This Man was so beautiful that the Nous fell in love with his image; he fell in love with his created image, and therefore, he gave it everything he had.
“When the Man looked at what the Demiurge had organized in the Nous father, he wanted to make a creation of his own, after obtaining the Father’s agreement. Therefore, he entered into the sphere of the Demiurge, in order to use his power. Seeing this new creation for the first time, the Governors fell in love with him, and each of them gave to this new creation a specific part of their own power. Knowing their essence of the Governors, because he now had part of each of their natures, the created being wanted to go through each of these circles in order to know the power of him which has authority over the Fire. It was at this point that he had power over all mortal beings and all the animals that were unable to reason, looked down through the cosmos, broke their shells, and revealed the marvelous appearance of God to the entire natural world. Nature had already seen the Man’s reflection in the water, but when she saw this endless beauty, the power of the Governors united to the shape of the Father God, she suddenly realized the power of her love for him. The Man also saw his reflection in the water. Instantaneously, he fell in love with her and wanted to join her in order to stay with her. As soon as he desired this, it immediately happened. He penetrated the shape without thought, and Nature received her beloved into herself. Nature embraced him and they united themselves with a burning love.
“It is for this reason that Man is the only living being on earth who has a dual nature; he is at one and the same time mortal, having a mortal body, and immortal, because he has an immortal spiritual aspect. In fact, even though he is immortal and has power over everything around him, he suffers the same plight as all mortal beings, because he is subject to the workings of destiny. Even if his being originates from above the seven divine spheres, as his power indicates, he has become a slave to destiny. He received this duality from his Father. Just as his Father, he is, at the same time, both male and female; but he is different than his Father because there is a part of him that is subject to the natural world.”
After these last words had been pronounced, I said: “O my Nous, I love this conversation.”
Poimandres said with a low voice:
“What I have to say is a mystery that has been hidden until this moment. When Nature united herself in love to the created Man, she produced an extraordinary miracle. He whom she embraced was composed of the nature of the seven Governors (the planets), mixed with the Elements Fire and Air. As a result of their union, she gave birth to seven different men; each kind of man has a special relationship with one of the seven celestial Governors. Everyone, both male and female, stood up and looked up at the heavens.”
I interrupted his speech, saying: “O Poimandres, I burn to hear you. Don’t speak about other things; continue to explain what you began to unveil!”
“Be silent! I have not even finished explaining the first point.”
“I will remain silent,” I answered him—fearing that he might stop offering the revelations he was giving to me.
He resumed his story: “That is how the first seven human beings were generated. Earth is the feminine Element, Water is the genitor, and Fire brought maturity to the mixture. Air, which is also called ‘the Aether,’ is the vehicle of the vital breath, which was mixed with Nature. It was at this moment that the body was formed into the shape of the Man. The immaterial part (life and light) respectively gave birth to the soul and the intellect. Thus were all the beings of the sensible world created, until all the various species had appeared.
“Hear now what you desire to know. When the first part of this creation had been accomplished and we were at the beginning of a new cycle, God’s will cut the link which united all things. All the animals, and all the humans, were instantly separated into two parts: male and female.
“After this, the sacred word of God resounded: ‘You who were created, grow and become a multitude. May the one who has the greatest intellect know that he is immortal and that death is the result of desire. May he step forward and be cognizant of all beings.’
“At the moment when he stopped speaking, providence created a union between the beings who were under the influence of fate and the structure of the spheres, after which all beings grew in number, each one according to its species. Thus, everyone took the first steps on the path. Some were united with their soul, their beloved, which was among those progressing towards the ultimate Good, while others remained attached to their physical body, full of desire, staid in darkness, suffering the torment of the death in their flesh.”
I asked again of Poimandres: “What could this terrible error have been, that was committed by those who refused immortality and remained in ignorance?”
“It seems to me that you have not really thought about what you just heard! Didn’t I ask to you to be attentive?”
“I am doing the best I can to be attentive; I will do my best to remember what you have unveiled for me and I give thanks to you for all things.”
“So if you have been listening attentively, please explain to me why those who are already dead, deserve to die again.”
“The source of the individual body is the darkness from which the humid Nature came. It is from this nature that our envelope was created in the sensible world. It is here that death finds its origin.”
“This is correct, but then how can you explain God’s word, which says that: ‘He who recognizes his inner essence, progresses toward God?’”
“The Light and the Life of which the father is composed gave birth to that which constitutes our essence: the soul and the intellect.”
“This is as you say, and it is certainly from God the Father that humans are born. So if you learn how to know yourself as a being made of life and light, then you will come back to life,” said Poimandres.
Full of bafflement and confusion, I said: “O my Nous, tell me how I can become alive! God said, ‘May the one who has the intellect know himself,’ yet it seems to me that all humans have the intellect.”
“Don’t think like that! I, the Nous, I am with those who are holy, good, pure, merciful, and pious. For those pious ones, I help them know everything. When they raise their souls to the Father with the help of love, benedictions, and the required hymns, they create an essential link to me. They begin to understand the influence of the senses on their bodies prior to their death. I, the Nous, will not allow their physical body to disturb them, because, as the Warden of the Gates, I will close the entrance to all negative thoughts that arise from their imaginations.
“As for the senseless, evil, vicious, envious, avaricious, murderous, and impious, I am not on the side of those wicked ones. Therefore, I yield my place to a vengeful demon. It is he who pierces humans with his goad of fire, torturing them through their senses, giving them the punishment they deserve. These are the humans who are always full of desire, always driven by unsatisfied appetites. Nothing succeeds in satisfying them; therefore their torture increases, while the flame devours and burns them.”
“Thank you for explaining that to me. Please explain to me how the soul ascends.”
Poimandres answered: “First the material body dissolves, deteriorates, and then the physical body progressively disappears. The self is abandoned to its personal daimon.29 The corporeal senses return to their origins and are again part of the astral energies. Meanwhile, that part of the human that is full of wants and desires returns to nature. The deceased person progressively ascends through each celestial sphere. As he passes through the first sphere, he abandons his capacity to grow and decline. At the second sphere, he sheds all malice, at the third he gets rid of the illusion of desire, at the fourth he sheds the pretentious need to command others, at the fifth he gets rid of his impious audacity and pretentious temerity, at the sixth he gets rid of those illicit appetites, which give him wealth, and at the seventh the lie that traps him in death is eradicated.
“Purified from everything that was placed into him during his descent through each sphere; retaining only his own power, he enters into the eighth circle, the circle of the Ogdoadic essence. Numerous beings are there, shining, luminous, and always singing hymns to the Father. He comes among us and they are delighted by his presence. He unites his voice to them and begins to feel this divine ecstasy. Just as those who surround him, his song rises as an offering of his whole being to the Divine. Above the eighth circle, a soft and Ethereal voice reveals the presence of the celestial powers. All ascend toward the Father, surrendering to these Powers, becoming similar to them, in order ultimately to enter into God. Hear what I have to say: the goal of the wise being is blessed, because he intends to become God.”
A silence follows his last words. I do not dare to move, speak, or even think.
Poimandres speaks loudly to me. “What are you waiting for? Why are you still with me? As you have now inherited what you desired to know, go and become the guide of those who are praiseworthy! With your help, and the help of God, humans will be saved.”
As his voice begins to fade into the innermost parts of my being, Poimandres rejoins the Powers who surround him and he disappears from my consciousness. I addressed thanksgivings and benedictions to the Father. Now, invested with this power, having been taught about the essence of the Whole, and the supreme vision, I left these divine beings. I began to proclaim to humans the beauty of respect, love, and knowledge, saying, “O people, sons of the earth, you who are abandoned to drunkenness, sleep, and the ignorance of God, be sober and temperate, cease to be drunk, for you are cursed by the sleep of your reason.”
As soon as they heard my words, they joined me. Speaking to them, I said: “Sons of the earth, why are you still dying, when you have the power to become immortal? Change your behavior, abandoning the erroneous path you are currently on and relinquishing the ignorance you have associated yourself with. Liberate yourself from the tenebrous light and take part in immortality, eradicating the dissolution of your flesh forever.”
Some of those who were on the path of death made fun of me and moved away. The others kneeled and asked for me to teach them. I raised them and became the guide of humankind, teaching them science and the ways which allow them to become immortal. I placed wise words in them and they were drenched with ambrosial water. When the night fell and the light of the sun began to disappear, I told them to thank God. After the hymns were sung, everyone went to sleep.
For myself, I engraved these moments that I had been wishing for, for such a long time, on my heart. I closed my eyes and an extreme joy filled my whole being. My soul was slowly reaching the serenity I was searching for. From my closed eyes went forth a true vision, while from the silence the unchanging good began to resonate.
I had just received from the Word, Poimandres, the full authority and I was full of the divine breath of the Truth. With all my soul and all my powers, I offered to the Father God this hymn:
Holy is God, Father of all things,
Holy is God, for by his Will, everything is accomplished by his powers,
Holy is God, who wants us to know him and who belongs to those who know him,
Holy art Thou, you are the Word who brought everything that exists into existence,
Holy art Thou, for all Nature represents you,
Holy art Thou, whom Nature hath not formed,
Holy art Thou, for you are more powerful than any power,
Holy art Thou, you who are greater than everything,
Holy art Thou, you who are above all praise. Receive the pure sacrifice of these words offered by a pure soul. You the inexpressible, the unspeakable, you that only the silence can describe, my heart is open to you. Protect me from falling, which might separate me from the knowledge which my essence deserves. Grant me these requests and fill me with power. Only then can I enlighten all those who are in ignorance, those who are my brethren, your sons. Yes, I believe and I witness that I am going toward the life and the light. Blessed be our Father, and may the power you have given me help me to assist you in this work of sanctification.
The “Emerald Tablet” of Hermes
Here is the text of the famous “Emerald Tablet,” attributed to Hermes the Thrice-Greatest. The first source of this text can be found in an Arabic book entitled the Kitab Sirr al-Asrar, which is supposed to be a letter from Aristotle to Alexander the Great.
Several websites will provide you with numerous translations of this text. Here is the translation by Newton:
This true without lying, certain most true.
That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of only one thing.
And as all things have arisen from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
The sun is its father, the moon its mother,
the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, sweetly with great industry.
It ascends from the earth to the heaven, again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.
By this means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.
So was the world created.
From this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this.
Hence I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.
Exercise Four—The Oracle
This simple exercise associates two different aspects of the Theurgic and Pagan traditions: connection with a divinity and divination. This is useful to develop your inner abilities, and of course to obtain spiritual insights on whatever situation you want to work on. Usually this ritual is performed by a woman, but a man can use it with great beneficence.
Arrange your temple as you did in the first exercise of this book when you worked with the God Thoth. The bomos must be located in the western part of your room.
On the top of the bomos, place the representation of Apollo 30 (center), a cup of spring water (to the left), and few laurel branches (to the right).
Stand up directly in front of the bomos, facing west, and extend your hands over the cup of water, palms down, saying:
May this water, which issues from Okeanos, purify me.
Moisten the tips of your fingers in the cup and use them to purify your face. Wipe your face with a white towel.
Place a chair at the eastern side of the bomos, facing east. This chair should be approximately four feet from the bomos.
Light the incense and place the censor on the floor approximately at two feet in front of the chair (east of it).
Come back to the bomos; pick up the laurel branches, raising them toward the representation of Apollo and say:
O divine Apollo, deign to consecrate these laurel branches that their action will assist me in receiving your messages.
Place the laurels in contact with the representation of Apollo for a few seconds, and sit down on the chair facing east.
Raise the laurel branches into the smoke of the incense and pronounce the following invocation:
O Apollo, you who reside in the secret heaven of the fourth sphere, grant me your blessing and your aid in my enterprise.
Remain in silence for few seconds, then continue saying:
O Apollo, sovereign of the long days, omniscient arbitrator of planetary powers, you who give the wisdom of prophecy, the ecstasy of music, the rapture of poetry, and the suddenness of the mystical search belong to you!
You are the one who discerns the truth from the shadows of illusion and fate!
In the bosom of the dawn and in the incomparable splendor of the star of day, you offer the sacred image of your magical being, so may your power arouse glory in us and raise us toward the accomplishment of our quest!
Glory to you!
Close your eyes, and, while extending the laurel branches, say:
May the vibration of the sun be manifested in this place and may Apollo descend progressively into me.
Today, I . . . say your name . . . invoke you, divine Apollo. I would like to know . . . explain your question clearly . . .
Add incense if necessary. Close your eyes again and begin to shake the laurel branches, visualizing Apollo coming from the west (the direction of the bomos) and entering into you.
Continue to shake the laurel branches throughout this entire process, repeating the divine name:
Apollo.
Let the presence of Apollo be manifested in you, as you listen to His message.
When this is done, mentally thank Apollo for His presence and shake the laurel branches more rapidly for one or two minutes until you feel that the divine presence has returned to its representation.
Stand up. Place the censer and the branches on the bomos and declaim the following while facing west:
Hear our voices, O blessed Apollo, you the Powerful, the Brilliant.
Dispensator of riches, you who came from the black soil of Egypt, I invoke you as of old with the cry of “Ié.”
You, Titan who bears the bow and the golden lyre, Holy art thou!
You who slew Python, light-bearer, Holy art thou!
Brilliant young man full of glory, you whose head is crowned with golden hair, Holy art thou!
You who conducts the Muses and the Choirs, Holy art thou!
You who shoots your arrows above the infinite spaces, Holy art thou!
You, the Oracle whom one questions and prays to at Delphi as at Didyma, Holy art thou!
You, Lord of Delos, who sees all things and bears the intelligence of the mortals that we are, Holy art thou!
Pure are your omens and luminous your responses!
You who contemplates from high in the infinite ether the earth and all this that you find, hear with a benevolent heart my words that ascend toward you.
The beginning and the end of all things belong to you and there is not a place, infinite or near, dark as well as luminous, that is not found under your regard.
The harmonizing notes of your golden lyre equilibrate the cosmos and the destiny of men. Each sound, each ray of light, brings the manifestation of your divine harmony. The seasons succeed one another and the meadows in springtime are covered with flowers whilst resounding with your melody.
O Resplendent God of light and of power, I address you as of old did those who prayed to you.
Apollo, Lord Resplendent, you whose voice reaches me, carried by the wind, you whose seal-mark is the entire cosmos, manifest yourself to me in this instant, so that all the initiates here assembled may pray to you.
Divine APOLLO, may you return to your kingdom in peace, with my profound gratitude!
You may then extinguish the flame upon the bomos, return everything to a state of order, and write your notes about the ritual.
Self-Test Four
These questions are intended to help you challenge your knowledge about the subjects you have been studying. You can use them before you read the materials or after. Try to answer the questions before checking the answers in the appendix.
1. What are the “religions of the book”?
2. Are there any books that are considered to be sacred in the Theurgic tradition? If so, what are they?
3. Who is the author of the Chaldaean Oracles?
4. Are the sacred books of the Theurgic tradition still available?
5. What criterion do we use to determine whether or not a book is sacred?
6. In the first book of the Corpus Hermeticum, does the Nous-God have a specific gender?
7. What does this first book of the Corpus Hermeticum teach us regarding our human nature?
8. What famous sentence is often quoted from the “Emerald Tablet” of Hermes?
The following questions are related to your own experience. It is good to use them as personal meditations. 31
1. What book do you consider to be sacred and why?
2. What things do you dislike seeing in a sacred book?
3. What constitutes a divine revelation in your opinion?
4. Did you ever receive an inner message that has been significant in your life?
27. This also occurred when the Christian Bible first appeared. The text was only accessible to priests and was restricted to them. Thus, believers were just authorized to use a compilation made of excerpts that were carefully chosen by the priests. It was centuries later that the Bible became available for everyone to read.
28. Due to its esoteric nature, the text doesn’t clearly explain the meaning of these names. Nevertheless it is clear they are related to the group of divinities described in the myth of the creation previously discussed in this book.
29. There is a distinction between daimon and demon. To learn more, go to the Glossary.
30. You can use the Major Arcanum of Apollo from the Aurum Solis Tarot if you have it. This Tarot is explained in my previous book the Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis. You can find more information about it on the Aurum Solis website.
31. You can share your thoughts about these questions on the Aurum Solis website.