The Divine Being
Understanding the Microcosm
and Revealing Your Destiny
The microcosm: In the Western tradition there is a well-known concept: the macrocosm (the cosmos) and the microcosm (us). The previous chapter unveiled the traditional structure of the macrocosm. The present part unveils the microcosm. You must learn how you are constituted in order to understand how your occult structure works, and what its purpose is.
The temple blueprint: The Theurgic tradition uses the representation of a traditional Greek temple to highlight the five principles of human beings: Body, Body of Light, Soul, Spirit, and the Divine.
From this point you will be able to understand the purpose of Theurgy and safely begin your Theurgic Great Work.
The Occult Structure of Human Beings
Everyone is interested in knowing more about the occult structure of human beings. It has been a subject of investigation for centuries and new theories continue to flourish. Most of the time, modern books that present the Western tradition use the Hebrew Qabalah as an outline for all cosmic or human structure. This is interesting and understandable. Since the structuring of this new system in France during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Qabalah was first used by Jewish people for the occult interpretation of their sacred books. Qabalah also influenced Hebrew rituals and eventually Christians became interested in this new system and used it to understand their own texts.
The Hebrew Qabalah has been progressively recycled and adapted to meet the needs of Christians and modern esotericists who are interested in the Western heritage. A collateral effect of this progressive recycling was that people began to forget the original system. These people became victims of this erosion of memory in the group mind, nearly exhibiting symptoms that rival amnesia. The original and traditional Western explanation of the occult structure of the soul was eventually forgotten completely. Fortunately, during this modern period, books were not burned and scholars continued to work. It is also fortunate that there were a few Theurgic schools, such as the Ogdoadic tradition of the Aurum Solis, that continued to teach both systems to their initiates.
When I am giving a lecture, I often use the example of tinted glasses to explain the effects of different systems. If we wear a pair of glasses tinted in a deep-blue color, all the world around us will be seen tinted with this color. It is the same if we wear a pair of Qabalistic glasses. No matter what the real nature of the world around us is, our perception of the world will be tinted by the glasses we wear. If you are like me and you have to wear glasses all day long, then you will come to understand another consequence of this interesting phenomenon. After a few weeks, we begin to forget that we are using glasses. The situation is the same here. Someone who is wearing the Qabalistic glasses will forget they have them on, and everything will become surprisingly Qabalistic. It is even more depressing to see initiates who understand they are wearing glasses, but who continue to wear them because they are incapable of questioning their own assumptions. Glasses are reassuring. We can see that when people understand nothing of the way an initiatic tradition works, they tend to reassure themselves by living in a golden age from the past. An initiatic Order with a real and enduring lineage is something different. It stays alive and is not frozen in an imaginary past. Of course we could certainly say the same for every belief system, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Freemasonry, etc. but the point is to learn how to see things as they are. For now, I do not consider the solution to be the removal of the glasses. It would be the same as trying to change our vision itself, or to remove our brain from our physical body without dying. Consequently, the best would be to use a different kind of glasses, which are appropriate to what we are doing at that moment.
Let us consider this solution. This is the best choice to avoid the most mistakes and to see things as they really are. But this is not a natural solution and it is not easy to do. If we want to be able to utilize this solution, we need to have a good intellectual background so that we can understand the different systems without adding our own projections and representations. This approach is like analyzing a sample of DNA and trying to avoid any contamination. It is very difficult to be aware of all the factors that might contribute to contamination, because it is difficult to be an expert in all the related fields. To be precise, if we want to avoid a Qabalistic contamination of our understanding, we have to know and understand Qabalah, but we must also be able to think about the problem from a critical point of view, without using Qabalah. This is a real challenge, because if we want to understand the whole Western tradition, we must understand Qabalah. The same thing is true for those who are not Christians, but who find an understanding of Christianity useful.
If we want to learn and practice the Hermetic tradition we have to learn and understand Hermetism as it is, not as our inappropriately tinted glasses might cause us to perceive it. We have to be aware of this possible contamination of our perception, of our understanding. It is the only solution if we want to see things as they really are.
Of course you could say “who cares?” or “are all these measurements really necessary?”
This book is about the Western tradition, and more precisely about the Hermetic and Theurgic traditions. As you now understand, Theurgy is the name of the ritualistic system that is used by the initiates of this lineage. The main concern for them, and for me as I write this book, is to offer you the opportunity to create a good balance in your inner and daily life. Theurgy is a specific system. The ceremonies and rituals we use to achieve advancement are organized and rooted in a specific and logical structure. Therefore, I do not recommend mixing different systems. For example, I would not recommend trying to apply a Qabalistic philosophy or theology to Hermetism. These two systems provide very different ways of using our senses to perceive the world. If you want to hike with the goal of reaching the summit of a mountain, the gear you need will be different than what is necessary for walking in the desert. Everything is not equivalent and interchangeable.
So, here is the exciting challenge that faces everyone who is interested in the Western tradition and eager to unveil the Hermetic heritage. Close your eyes, forget what was created during the Middle Ages and then repeated as an absolute truth. Imagine you are coming back to a time when monotheistic religions were just insignificant groups worshipping the God of their tribe, just as everyone else did. Now, open your eyes and you will see that there are still initiates of the Mysteries who invest in the study of philosophical teachings, and freely worship the Immortal Divinities they choose. Those who are interested in the occult dimensions join groups, can receive initiations, and practice magick and Theurgy. Wonderful systems are taught today to sincere adepts and nobody is trying to convert them into sinners.
If we want to understand the essence of Hermetism and Theurgy in order to be able to use its clear and living system, this is the way we must see things. Once we see things in this new way, the representation of the cosmos is simple. This is also why the explanation I have given you of our occult structure is quite different than the one commonly used as a tool, even though the old system is certainly true within its own context.
Naming the occult structure you will be working with is just as important as having a map when you are travelling. This is an essential tool of the work and a way to understand the teachings of the masters of the tradition, who taught from the earliest periods of civilization in the Western world.
According to the Theurgic tradition, our real essence as a human being is our soul, and our body is its necessary organ. It is commonly taught that we are the result of the union of this soul and this body. In fact, this is not really true, because if we believe as the Theurgists do that we are really a soul, then our body is not what we are. Our body is something external, which is different from us. Have you ever stopped in front of a mirror, looking at your body as if you were looking at someone else? Can you compare the differences in your body when you were very young, a teenager, and at your current age? All these bodies were “you,” but, at the same time, you can feel deeply that they are not you. They are just mutable envelopes our soul needs in order to be incarnated, and in order to be able to experience this world. Of course this immaterial and immortal soul is not united with our body alone, without any intermediaries. Its essence is so subtle that it would be impossible for the soul to really be locked within the boundaries of our physical body. If you visualize the action of boiling water poured on snow, you will be able to imagine what I am referring to. If the soul (the hot water) were to be poured into the body (the snow), the body would melt in an instant. Consequently, there are steps used by the soul to form various bodies during its incarnation, and these different bodies have different rates of vibration.
Figure 30: The occult structure of a human being in accordance with the five principles of the temenos.
The different parts of which we are composed can be symbolized in various ways. These different parts can be symbolized as the entrance to a Greek temple (called a temenos) with its two pillars and the triangular superstructure. They could also be envisioned as a pentagram crowned by the Aether, or the traditional representation of our body itself. In accordance with the structure of the elements I previously described, it is easy to remember that, in Hermetism and Theurgy, there are five parts used to describe our physical constitution. These different parts are:
1st Part: The Body (called Soma—
)
2nd Part: The Bodies of Light (called Hepithumia—
|Ochema—
)
3rd Part: The Soul (called Psuche—
)
4th Part: The Spirit or Intellect (called Nous—
)
5th Part: The Divine aspect (called Theos—
It is impossible to be alive without a physical Body (Soma—
) and our Soul cannot do anything without it. Our Body is the material part of what we are. Its structure and shape is organized according to the principles provided by the Nous. It is important to briefly remind you of the status of the Body in the Theurgic tradition. The Body is not viewed as a curse or something we have to eliminate and forget. Our Body is a kind of crystallization around our soul. You can compare it to the crystallization of salt around something when water evaporates. This physical Body is different than the essence of our being, but, at the same time, depends on it. The goal is to transcend this physical limitation.
Today the idea of a “Body of Light” is familiar to most people. Since the beginning of the popularization of Western esotericism, questions about the aura have spread everywhere. It is true that its exact nature, origin, and function are difficult to define. This Body, called the ochema, is the vehicle of the Soul, the invisible and luminous body of the Soul, which is made of Aetheric material. The Soul is the part of the inner occult structure that gives movement to the Body of Light. Once it is perfected, it could be compared to a starry vehicle. You can easily understand in this context why this Body is sometimes called an “astral body.” It allows the Soul to descend into the Body without being under the dominion of the flesh. The ochema is sometimes called the pneuma (breath).
Our Soul has previously used this vehicle to be embodied. This Body is indivisible, eternal, not subject to the influence of passions, and could be considered to be immortal. It is an intermediary between the Soul and the Body.
When you think about a luminous vehicle surrounding your physical body, something people refer to as an aura today, it is generally seen as an invisible and subtle envelope of the Body. Such is not the case here. I must make a clear distinction among three words that are often used in modern esotericism: etheric body, aura, and astral body.
The “etheric body,” to use the common name that was chosen by the Theosophical Society, is a body of energy, a vital body, which is an emanation of our physical body. As you can see, the origin of the etheric body must be found in the physical body. In Platonic theology we would call this “etheric body” the “Thumos ( 
).” 40
The “aura” is also an invisible body, which surrounds us on a more subtle level than the etheric body. It reflects our inner life, passions, desires, urges, etc. The Theurgic tradition is using the same word: “Aura ( 
).”
To understand what I just called astral body, we have to consider two aspects that are very close to one another.
The first one is the ochema itself. As I just mentioned, the ochema is not derived from the physical body. In his book Phaedrus, Plato used the image of a chariot to describe the ochema, with the driver representing the Soul.
This vehicle is very subtle. You also have to consider another aspect, which is a sort of a reflection of this luminous Body. This reflection is not a pure illusion or fantasy. It is a manifestation of the ochema, called an “eidôlon” in Platonic Theurgy. It is also bonded to the physical and emotional bodies (Soma and Thumos), and as such, is always drawn toward their terrestrial inclinations.
Perhaps you have heard about what is sometimes called astral travel? In the Ogdoadic tradition, the exteriorization of the Body of Light is considered differently, depending upon the level we are experimenting with, or working with. Things are different depending on whether we are working with the eidôlon or with the ochema. There are various goals for working with each of these as well. The eidôlon is used in the first steps of the work, because it is the most accessible. The rituals using these levels are closer to magic than Theurgy. The second body, the ochema, is used for higher purposes and is the vehicle that is used to follow the path of return, and to ascend to the divine planes. In this case, when this Body of Light moves out of our Body, the driver does not come from below, but from above. These differences have a definite effect on the practical aspects of the ritual, such as the way you would exteriorize the invisible substance, and the part of the Body you would exteriorize this invisible substance from. As you can imagine, it is crucial to train with people who know all these aspects of the occult work before attempting this kind of ritual.
According to Iamblichus, because this vehicle is made from Aether and is not a mixture of other elements, it can be considered to be immortal. When we die, this vehicle will not disappear; but it will have a destiny that is independent of our Soul.
The Soul—Psuche
To give you an explanation that is as simple as possible, I would say that the Soul (Psuche—
) is “you.” This is the spiritual and individual part of us, which is the origin of our individual creativity and awareness. All throughout our life, our body changes. Obviously we do not look the same today as we did when we were four years old. Nevertheless, we feel inside of ourselves that we are always the same person and we are certain that we are always us. Something in us maintains a cohesive identity throughout our life. It is the Soul that unifies our memories in a coherent way and organizes them into an inner self. This Soul came from above and it contains the memory of our previous lives. When we have completed our current life, our Soul will travel again to the outer world before coming back in another body. Hopefully, if we are lucky or well-trained, we will come back with a good part of our memory intact.
Our Soul is immortal. It is independent from the material world, but is also able to receive new elements, which are the result of our experiences in this world. The Soul may also be considered to be an intermediary between the upper levels of our being and our body. Consequently, a detailed analysis of the Soul could lead us to think that there are several parts of the Soul, or even different Souls in one person. Even if such a consideration is possible, we must think about and remember that the Soul has to be thought of as a whole. This is how a Theurgist must work ritually to improve the quality of the vehicle of his Soul (ochema) and will use Theurgic rituals to increase his proximity to his Soul. The Theurgist takes good care of his Soul. I am not just talking about a moral aspect, but a real Theurgic operation, which is intended to prepare the person for their departure from this life when the time comes. An initiate cannot improvise at the last minute. When our Soul leaves our Body, we must be prepared. As Plato said, “To philosophize is to learn how to die.” This is completely true and the Neoplatonic tradition perpetuates this assertion. Iamblichus carries this idea even further. For Plato, when philosophy is considered only as an intellectual exercise, it is not enough to reach this desirable goal. Theurgic rituals are needed, and they are closely associated with philosophy. Taking care of our Soul is the first step in the Ogdoadic initiation.
The Spirit—Nous
The word Spirit (Nous—νοῦς) is often used as a synonym for intelligence, awareness, and intellect. Everyone today knows the current meaning of intellect. It is for this reason that I must give you some precise information about the way this word was used in the past, and how it must be understood from the Hermetic perspective.
When we are thinking about something, we are using our intellect. Our thoughts are a result of a function of our brain called the intellect. We use our intellect in science, philosophy, and many aspects of our daily life when we want to decide between two courses of action. Plato called the mental process of making such a decision “discursive reason.” The Nous is not the part of us that does discursive reasoning. The Nous is the ability to reason itself, the intellect, but not the active process of deciding. To say this in another way, the Nous is the engine of our car (our intellect) but not the motion of this engine (discursive reason). This is the reason that the Nous is considered to be the divine intellect. An interesting text entitled Definitions from Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius offers more precise information about the essence of the Nous. In the fifth part of this document, Hermes explains that reasonable speech is the servant of the Nous. Reasonable speech comes from inner silence. This kind of speech is truly different than someone who just talks and plays with words without any contact with a real and inner understanding. We could say that the Nous is the divine inspiration that gives life to our speech and illuminates our understanding from the within.
Since I am explaining the Theurgic point of view, I must highlight something I believe you will find important and perhaps surprising. For the Hermetic tradition and for Theurgists, it is possible to make an inner distinction within the Soul. It is said that every human being has a Body (Soma) and a Soul (Psuche) but not every Soul has an intellect (Nous). There is a divine part of the Nous and another one (less divine) that belongs to the Soul. In the Corpus Hermeticum, Hermes explained that God invited everyone to be plunged into a mysterious cup in order to know why they were born. In fact, this immersion is the way to manifest the desire to undergo the mysterious “way of return” to the divine world. As the text states, only some people answer and will become, through this transmutation, the “initiates of the Nous.” The others who don’t feel this spiritual desire, this inner call, have the function of reason (Logos), but not the Nous. They are mortals while the others who are plunged in the large vase are immortals. These mortals are almost non-humans who are totally subject to their passions and desires. They are quite incapable of anything higher than what an animal can do.
As you can see, the Nous is a fundamental articulation of the spiritual life. We might say that there are two categories of people around us. Some live with a Soul that is without the Nous (meaning without this divine part of the Nous) and another group lives with a Soul that has the Nous. When I was a philosophy teacher it was really easy to see who was able to question himself, and who had no clue what it means to think about something beyond the material world. For many people there is no spark, whether we are talking about the Soul, destiny, or God. Their whole life is not an action, but a reaction. They copulate, work, have children, and die. They can think, but not in a way that allows them to develop a critical and personal mind. We should not despise these people, but as a matter of fact they really are different. Theurgists called them a “herd of men who are subject to fate.” On the other hand, you are reading this book and you are, of course, trying to understand something beyond the material realm. This is the first step toward, and the manifestation of a true initiatic desire. You can decide to take action; to be plunged in the large cup of initiation in order to begin walking the path. Once you make this decision, the second part of the Nous will be made manifest to you.
In the Corpus Hermeticum it says: “Agathodaimon said that the Soul is in your Body, the Nous in your Soul, the Word in your Nous, and God is the father of all that.” Later the same text states: “The most subtle part of the Soul is the Nous, and for the Nous this is God.”
The Divine—Theos
Before I discuss this point any further, it is necessary to keep in mind that I am explaining the structure of our inner being. In Greek “Theos” (θεός) means God, but Theos has nothing to do with the notion of a unique God. The upper part of the Nous is so high and subtle that we could come to believe, just as the initiates did, that it is the real presence of the Divine, of God inside us. This is different than the Supreme Divine Principle, which is present in everything. This is also different than the hierarchies of Gods and Goddesses we will learn about in our advanced Theurgic work. This is really a divine presence we can imagine as a light that is hidden at the top of our inner self and showing us the way. In the Platonic allegory of the cave, Plato used the image of a fire, burning at the top of a cliff in a dark cave. This is an image of our progress as we wander in the darkness of our desires—the passions that arise in our body. We felt the call and the desire was manifested in us. We stood up and began to walk, listening to the silent word (the Logos) emanating from our intellect (Nous) through our Soul (Psuche). We felt this divine presence. As we turned our eyes inward, we were guided by the luminous presence of the Divine in us (Theos), which is the reflection of the outer sun, the real manifestation of the One.
It is now time to consider the “spiritual destiny” I have mentioned several times in the previous explanations.
The Destiny of the Soul
Birth and Incarnation
You now understand the structure of cosmology as derived from the observation of the cosmos and the inner structure of human beings. It is from these codifications that the masters of this tradition developed a simple duality: matter-spirit and body-soul. Thus, we have a Body we can feel with our senses, but at the same time, we can think, remember, and imagine. All these actions are completely non-physical. If a materialist argues that everything is a result of activities of the brain, the fact is that these mental processes are still non-physical. Consequently, it is logical to conclude, as I did in the previous chapter, that we have a Body and a Soul. Even though the Body deteriorates when we die, that doesn’t mean the Soul will deteriorate. On the contrary, our Soul will be free to reach the world it belongs to.
Imagine a child playing with a balloon flying above him. This might be the representation of our Soul attached to our Body. If the child releases the string, the balloon will rise to the sky. This is a good way of understanding how the Soul rises after death. It is not necessary here to use other Qabalistic or Enochian systems to understand this. There is simply an above and a below, just as there is a visible and an invisible. I am always surprised to see how complicated the questions of attendees to a meeting can be before I explain the occult world to them in this way. After a few minutes of explanation everything becomes clear and understandable. Of course the considerations of the details of any system can be extremely complex. Nevertheless, complexity and dogmatism are never a guarantee that we have found the truth. As the philosopher Descartes explained, it is better to go from the simplest to the most complicated, but never the reverse. I understand that using complicated systems gives the teacher more power over their students. This is not the best way to teach a real initiatic system. On the contrary, simplicity is very often a good indication of a tradition that has been truly understood and lived. It is clear that you will have to learn more about all these aspects, but just as a child learns their letters before they can read a book, knowing principles and beginning ritual exercises are the necessary first steps.
To be more precise now regarding the Theurgic teachings of Body and Soul, it is useful to know that Iamblichus, following the theology of the Chaldaean Oracles, outlines three principal levels or worlds. In this Chaldaean representation of the world, these three levels are called: the Empyrean (the highest level), the Ethereal (the median level), and the Hylic (the lowest level). Iamblichus uses the words: Noetic (the intelligible, highest level), the Noeric (the intermediate world), and the Visible (the lowest level).
Our spiritual Soul descended from the celestial world to enter into matter in order to be embodied in a physical Body. As I explained in the previous chapter, all Souls are not equal, because of their actions in previous lives. Consequently, the descent itself will be different in some aspects, depending on the state of the Soul. It is important to remind you that there is not merely one explanation of this process. Here I am explaining the way of Iamblichus and the main Theurgists of his school of thought.
There are two scenarios to consider regarding the path followed by our Soul prior to its descent. The first scenario has to do with the first time our Soul began to exist. This is the point long before we had our first incarnation in the long chain of evolutions, up to where we are today. The second scenario has to do with the time previous to this present incarnation, in the period between two lives.
As you might expect, these two situations are different. You must understand that these points are complex and that they bring up several theological and philosophical consequences. (You can check the Bibliography if you want to learn more about these specific subjects.)
There are five main steps:
1. The Souls are separated from the hypercosmic Souls. 41
2. The Soul is linked to its vehicle.
3. The next step is the moment that occurs when the Soul is associated with a celestial God, and placed under its care as well as the care of the celestial hierarchy that follow this God. This specific link creates a difference between the Souls.
4. According to Plato, this is the moment when the Soul receives its destiny. At this primordial moment, a specific divinity 42 is allotted to the Soul.
Even if all Souls are initially made equal, some differences may occur due to the fact that they each have different specific divinities.
5. Lastly, the descent of the Soul into its vehicle occurs and a personal daimon is associated with the Soul. You must remember that this descent of the Soul varies, depending on whether we are considering the original descent, or the one that occurs between lives.
Let’s talk now about the original descent. This is both a theological and a philosophical problem. Thus the answer has never been simple. Indeed the answers from Plato, Plotinus, and others are a little different than those from Iamblichus. For Iamblichus (as the founder of Theurgy he remains our primary reference), the Soul is governed by natural law. There is no evil origin, no malediction, and no sin at the origin of this descent. Moreover, please notice that the term used is “descent” and not “fall.” The meanings of these two phrases are very different; consider, “going downstairs” versus “falling downstairs.” It would be even worse if I say that someone pushed you down the stairs. In the Theurgic tradition, there is no such reference. The biblical story creates a paradox in which a loving God decides to curse us by pushing us out of heaven. That is certainly a strange manifestation from a benevolent divinity. In Platonic theology, as understood by Theurgists, the Soul will “fall” during its first descent, just as we fall if we jump from a window. This is not a curse, nor a manifestation of evil, but merely a consequence of the natural law that is attributed to the divinities. Thus, the moral consequences of this kind of “falling” are totally different. The descent of the souls is a kind of completion of the universe. In some cases, pure Souls come into the visible world to manifest the presence of the Gods. They will help the visible Gods manifest in this world by performing rituals and drawing worshippers to the Gods.
When the Soul descends, it will cross through the different planetary veils. It will first encounter the veil of the fixed stars, which is the eighth veil; next it will descend through Saturn (governed by Kronos), Jupiter (governed by Zeus), and so on. Each of them will bring to the Soul “symbolic clothing” made up of influences from each sphere. Each Soul has its own characteristics. As a matter of fact, the more deeply the Soul descends, the more this envelope creates a thick barrier that can block the inner light. Consequently, the divine higher essence will be difficult to perceive and express. In order for you to visualize this part of the process, just imagine a candle as the representation of the Soul. Imagine now that we put this candle into a dark-grey glass, then inside another glass that is white, then inside another that is red, and so on. After placing so many colored barriers around the light, it would be very difficult to even see the light of the candle inside at all. This is symbolically the situation of the embodied Soul. Plato explained that our Soul could be seen as a statue that has fallen into the sea; shells and corals have progressively covered it. Indeed the density and nature of these invisible influences differ with each person. These differences are a consequence of our past lives and the way we decided to descend into the visible world.
The second case (the descent of the Soul between lives) is based on the same natural law, which is symbolized by the law of gravity. In this case, the path of descent could exhibit several important differences. First of all, the Souls are no longer pure. They have lived, experienced matter, and become changed by that experience.
As we now know what the different parts of the Soul are, we can easily understand that some parts remain pure and divine, while other parts have become contaminated by contact with matter during previous incarnations. Because of these past incarnations, the Psuche has been darkened and we have lost the memory of our origin. This loss is not a radical, complete loss, and it is different for everyone. In fact we are trying to recover our original abilities, plus the experience offered by the lives themselves.
There are three main categories of Souls:
• In the first case, we see a Soul that lived a previous life full of animalistic urges, being prone to violence, anger, etc . Its return will be uncontrolled and unwitting. These Souls follow the natural law of descent as all Souls do. Consequently they are not allowed to choose the life they will live. Because of the influence of their previous lives, they would spontaneously choose the most attractive destiny; consequently their choice is not really free. This process will continue until part of their memory is reactivated, giving birth to a desire to change this otherwise inevitable destiny.
• In the second category, the Soul descends to train and improve its character. Remember that the metempsychosis in the Western tradition is quite different than what is generally taught in the Eastern religions. 43 In the Western tradition, souls can progress and are able to retain their progress from one life to the next. The work, the learning, the experiences we have today will not be lost when we die. We will bring these improvements with us if we consciously choose to do so. Surprisingly, this does not occur automatically. We must be trained before we can do that.
Both of these categories of Souls are subject to fate. Souls are different because their specific divinities are different and all the links they have to other spiritual creatures make a unique web of influences and relationships. This process is very close to the process used to construct a natal chart. In a properly constructed natal chart, you can see the unique signature of your natal sky, which shows the precise influences acting upon you. Nevertheless, you can choose whether to follow the best parts of this influence or the worst parts of it. For example a solar influence will direct you to perform solar work, but you can use it for good or evil and you will suffer the consequences of your choices.
• In the third category, the Souls are pure and have a luminous descent in which they keep the memory of their origins and goals intact. This quality allows them to maintain a strong and pure link to the different hierarchies of spiritual beings. Therefore, the fact that they are embodied doesn’t imply a darkening of their Soul.
The Path of Return
As you read this book today, I am confident that you already have had this kind of inner experience, which has enabled you to feel the spiritual part of you. I know that this inner experience is usually difficult to understand. Philosophers are trained for a long time in order to theorize about such inner feelings, without eradicating them. You don’t need this specific intellectual training to begin. As Plato said, this inner feeling is an essential step. It is a manifestation of a pure desire to remember our real nature and our spiritual origin. It is essential to catch hold of this desire and to nurture it as we would nurture a little flame in order to start a fire. We have to be careful and use our instincts and reason in a balanced way. At each step of this spiritual journey, always remember that practice is the cornerstone.
The first question you should pose to yourself is: why it is necessary to undertake this process of ascending to the divine? That is a good question. In fact, if we are in this world to have experiences and enjoy what it can provide us with, we could say that there is no need to work all our life to elevate our soul. It could even be considered the opposite of what seems needful. This is true, but it is still the wrong way of thinking about this issue if we consider the whole panorama. Someday you and I will die. We will leave our Body. When this time comes, we will be forced to deal with various situations.
If we do not take care of our Soul, we will leave our Body in an unconscious state. Consequently, our choices will be reduced and our memory will be quite totally darkened during the process of the descent.
If we take care of our Soul now, we will elevate our level of consciousness and we will leave our Body in a more conscious state. Consequently, we will have more choices and we will keep parts of our memory from this current life in our next life.
If we take care of our Soul and practice Theurgic rituals (or their equivalent) in a traditional way (not improvised) our destiny will be totally different. As Iamblichus taught, contemplation and meditation are not enough to obtain real results here and now. Theurgic rituals are required, and these rituals must be from a traditional and moral lineage. As we perform these rituals, our Soul will be trained to do two things right now: to find a good balance in an enjoyable life, and to elevate our Soul with the help of Theurgy. Both aspects will be associated with a clear mind that is well-organized with the help of science, philosophy, and theology. Thus, when we die, we will be able to cross over to the other side in full awareness.
On the other side, we will see the Noetic world without any veils. As the philosopher Pascal said about God, working for our Soul is like a wager: if there is something after death, our work will have been essential. If there is nothing after death, we have lost nothing. This is even more true because I am talking about a Hermetic and Theurgic school. This is not a religious system in which you have to despise your body and all the pleasures of the material life. You do not have to become a hermit. You just have to achieve a balance in your life between your Body and your Soul.
It might be helpful to learn how to do that, because no divinity is going to come and rescue us. In fact, as I have previously explained, the “saviors” are the pure souls of the initiates who come back to teach and train us.
From the Theurgic perspective, there are three main steps on this path of return. As in most of the trainings you may have studied, each of these steps includes other subcategories, but it is not necessary to teach these explicitly here. They are not required to understand the whole process.
The first step is to purify our vehicle in order to remove the material elements that darken our perception of the cosmos. If we want to understand the reason for doing so, there is a simple visualization that will help us. Imagine a diver at the bottom of the sea who is wearing a diving belt. If he wants to return to the surface, the easiest way is to progressively remove the weights he is wearing. If we compare these weights to our body, the removal process is the process of purification. The Body is useful as a weight, but if we want to ascend to the divine, the best way is to be trained to learn how to momentarily abandon the Body.
The second step is the re-ascent itself and the liberation of our fate. As you can easily imagine, this is a special moment. An old and sacred mystery is hidden in this teaching. In the first part of the book, I extensively described the status of Thoth as the founder of this Hermetic tradition. It is easy to understand the relationship between this “God of the Eight” and the Ogdoadic tradition. But it is paramount to understand why the initiatic Order that has charge of this inheritance also bears the name “Aurum Solis.”
According to Plato, the world may be described using the image of a cave, wherein we are enchained in the darkness of illusion. The only reminder of the light of the outer world is the presence of a fire on a hill. This light is the representation of the real sun, which shines in the real world outside the cave.
As always, Iamblichus succeeded in associating Platonic and Chaldaean theology, which are the roots of the Western Theurgic system. The first world (the Noetic) is the realm of Good. “Aion,” the invisible sun, emanates from the first father (the Supreme Principle, the Great Architect), and rules over the Noetic Gods.
In the second and intermediate world (the Noeric), the real sun, the God Helios is considered to be the Demiurge by Iamblichus. He rules over the Noeric Gods and creates the visible sun in the visible world.
The visible sun (the third ruler) rules the visible Gods by the continuous power given to him by Helios. His visible light shines upon the visible world and gives it life.
According to the Emperor Julian, who explained Iamblichus’s theology, Helios also creates the “angels of the sun,” which are situated in the Aether. They guide the divine rays to human souls.
As we can see, the whole universe is emanated from the Supreme Good and enlightened by the benevolent rays of the God Helios. From its birth, the Soul maintains a vertical and inner contact to that which is above. The Emperor Julian followed this path by studying this system, which fit his own belief system so well. After learning this system from a disciple of Iamblichus, he summarized this solar theology in a famous text entitled, “Hymn to the King Helios.” As he wrote: “For I am a follower of King Helios. . . . But this at least I am permitted to say without sacrilege, that from my childhood an extraordinary longing for the rays of the God penetrated deep into my soul; and from my earliest years my mind was so completely swayed by the light that illumines the heavens that not only did I desire to gaze intently at the sun, but whenever I walked abroad in the night season, when the firmament was clear and cloudless, I abandoned all else without exception and gave myself up to the beauties of the heavens; nor did I understand what anyone might say to me, nor heed what I was doing myself.” 44
Aurum Solis, the “Gold of the Sun” witnesses the key role of Helios in Theurgy. “Aurum Solis” is not just a fancy name. It is a statement, a dedication to that which is uppermost, a full commitment to an honorable Theurgic tradition!
After its purification, the Soul will welcome the rays of the sun that are guided to it by the angels of the sun. These rays carry the power of attraction to the visible Gods. With the help of the energy that comes from Helios, our Soul will be filled with this light and will begin to ascend. This is the process of purification. At the same time this is a benevolent ascension, helping us rise toward our specific divinity. This is the time when our Soul is progressively liberated from its fate.
Here begins the third phase, during which we will be united with the Gods. As we can see, the sun’s rays are, and continue to be central during the whole process of ascension. They are our guides and protectors. Of course, as you remember, we are still in the cave of the material world. As such we are still surrounded by the spheres of the visible Gods we descended through during our descent. We will have to go back through them again in this ascent, with the help of Theurgic rituals.
The cosmic harmony of the universe is full of symbols that are linked together by mysterious bonds called “signatures.” Theurgy, astrology, and alchemy use these correspondences in their rituals. Thus the universe is not empty. On the contrary, it is full of Gods and of the archetypes that are associated directly with us. Consequently, we can use them in Theurgic rituals to undertake this return with perfect success. We will use the “gold of the sun” as the primary energy and perform the rituals that help us to rise from one planet to the next. As Plato said in the myth of the cave, this return cannot be accomplished by us alone. A guide, an initiator, is needed. The help of someone who really knows the path is paramount. Authentic rituals can sometimes be considered to be an initiator. They were prepared by initiates and they retain those footprints. But they have to be organized in a traditional and balanced way. They must carry a direct and full power coming from a real lineage.
We will begin this spiritual journey by working with the elements, and then being reunited with the planetary Gods. I am not talking here about a fusion with these divinities, but a strong and useful relationship. This connection allows us to progress from one sphere to the next. Eventually we will reach the level of the starry sky and be able to rise from the Ogdoad to the Ennead. In order to do that, training is necessary. We have to learn the passwords (words of power), signs, sacred words, and sounds. We have to connect with the planetary divinities in order to have balance in our current life. From this contact will emerge a deep understanding of the cosmos rooted in love, not fear. This is a very practical approach. The use of the Theurgic rituals should never be disconnected from our daily life. On the contrary, the feeling that we are starting to separate from this world would be the manifestation of a false work. These relationships with the visible Gods of the planets, and later the Noetic Gods, are not an intellectual game. They are a reality; a powerful relationship manifested by friendship and love. We should never become exclusive or intolerant, because we know of the existence of this hierarchy. This Theurgic work will totally change the way you see and live in the world. The liberation of fate is a consequence of the establishment of these relationships. If an astrologer says to you that there is a bad aspect in Mars in your natal chart, you will be able to answer: “Don’t worry; I know Mars and I have already solved that problem.” The goal we are trying to reach is to purify and elevate our Soul in order to be consciously aware when we die. We can do this now if we undertake this inner transformation.
Remember that this is not a miracle. The ritual practices have to be received from a clear source and repeated very regularly over a long period of time. These rituals act as drops of water regularly falling on a hard stone. At the end, the stone will be pierced. That requires time and persistence. Each ritual practice helps us to acquire a better understanding of the universe, of the Immortal Divinities, as well as giving us a more balanced life and reducing our anxiety.
These rituals, which enable us to achieve this ascent, are not magical formulas. The Theurgic school as taught by the Platonists and Neoplatonicians requires a moral attitude. Of course, anyone can perform magic rituals, Goetia, and other kinds of magic. Nevertheless, the Theurgic way can be used safely only with this commitment to an inner purity, fraternity, and love. The Platonic philosophy teaches that we can progress safely only if we associate a pure moral life with a philosophical (and Theurgic) work. This ascent to the Good must associate the cult of beauty in the visible world, as well as our actions, with our inner self. When we cultivate this beauty in our Body, in our surroundings, and in our rituals, we must also think beautiful thoughts. When we perform these exercises, beauty will become a reality, not something that exists only in our most secret Soul. As a result, our whole life will manifest reliability and trust.
It would be useless to attempt to understand the final consequences of this ascent. This is a liberation and a total purification of our Soul. According to the Theurgic teachings, we can eventually reach this level. Perhaps it will not be completed in this life, but it will be completed in a forthcoming one. This should not be an issue for us. As you remember, all the work you are doing now is not lost. If we can cross the boundary of death while remaining even partially aware, we will keep part, or all of our memory. This is an absolute key for the rest of the destiny of our Soul. Eventually, the Souls that have become pure will be totally liberated from fate and from the necessity to reincarnate. Even so, Plato taught about the concern of the pure Souls, for the human Souls that remain in the darkness of the cave. They use the power of the sun to descend, not for themselves, but for the good of everyone. As in Alexandria, the rays of the sun have never failed to provide the power that the human Soul needs. Helios and Hermes, who are the tutelary divinities of this tradition, are not buried in a sandy desert. They are still alive, helping the Souls that are beginning their path of purification. This is the Sacred Way of Return, and you can begin this path right now.
Exercise Six—The Theurgic Calyx
In the Theurgic Qabalistic system, the Aurum Solis uses a version of the calyx that is focused on the intensification of the Qabalistic cross, which is formed by touching various Sephirotic centers. Even if the invisible process is quite different from that used by the Golden Dawn, most of the steps of this exercise are the same as those used in this tradition.
In this formula, the process is deeply rooted in the occult structure of your being and related to Book Four of the Corpus Hermeticum called “The Cup or Monad.”
The calyx is used to align the practitioner with the forces of the cosmos, as well as to bring to awareness the counterparts of those cosmic forces that are active in you.
It establishes a balance of forces at every level of your being.
It is a powerful invocation of the different parts of your occult structure, re-enacting the descent of the highest part of your being into you. This process gives you access to the sacred powers of the triple superstructure.
You can make a daily use of this powerful process.
1. You are standing; your arms are at your sides.
2. Extend your arms in front of you, raised to approximately 70º above the horizontal plane, palms up (supine). Maintain this position, breathe deeply, and direct your aspiration to the highest, most divine level you can think of. Exhale and (after few seconds) inhale once more, simultaneously visualizing the descent of the spiritual light to the area above the top of your head.
Holding this position, vibrate: 
(Ho theós)
3. Lower your arms and cross them on your chest, right over left. Visualize the light descending into the center of your chest, underneath your crossed arms. Visualize this light creating a shining and radiant golden sphere. The word “shine” used either as an adverb or adjective (depending on the usage) is “shining.”
Holding this position, once more, vibrate: 
)
4. Holding this position, once more, vibrate: 
)
5. Visualize the rays of this inner sun shining from this sphere in your aura.
Then, vibrate: 
)
6. Visualize your physical body full of this golden light and vibrate: 
)
7. Extend your arms in front of you, raising them, palms up (supine). Your arms should be wide open and your eyes should be lifted to the heavens. Maintaining this position, now say: 
45 (
).
8. Stand, with your arms hanging naturally at your sides.
Self-Test Six
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. Why is it necessary to avoid a specific interpretation of the universe?
2. How many parts compose the occult structure of the human being in the Hermetic tradition?
3. Which symbolic representation is associated with this occult structure?
4. Which part can be identified as “you” and why?
5. How many levels are there in the Theurgic tradition?
6. According to this tradition, do you live one or many lives?
7. What is one the main purposes of the Theurgic rituals?
8. How can the Ordo Aurum Solis be clearly linked to the Theurgic tradition?
The following questions are related to your own experience. It is good to use them as personal meditations. 46
1. Have you already seen or felt your invisible bodies?
2. Did you experience an out-of-body experience, and, if yes, what were the consequences in your life?
3. Do you believe in reincarnation and for what reasons?
4. Do you fear death? Answer yes or no and explain your reasons.
40. Also spelled “Thymos.”
41. This is the first differentiation of the Soul from the cosmos and its distribution among the stars.
42. The Greek word used by Iamblichus to name this specific divinity is oikodespotes. This divine power can be understood as the “Master of the House.” Traditionally in Theurgy, this is the divinity that governs the sign of our ascendant, if this planet is well aspected.
43. There are exceptions, such as in Hinduism (at least in Shivaism) and the concept of “sanchita karma.” Some of these schools believe that this karmic part comes from past lives. There are younger and older Souls in an evolutionary view, since, at the end, all will be connected to their “One.” According to modern scholars, this theory of reincarnation was defined in the Mediterranean world and eventually spread to the Eastern cultures.
44. “Hymn to King Helios” by Julian, translated by Emily Wilmer Cave Wright in 1913.
45. Translation: “And all these things exist for all Eternity.”
46. You can share your thoughts about these questions on the forums of the Aurum Solis website.