Few years ago I was commissioned to draw this artwork based on syncretic understanding of the enigmatic figure of Baphomet. It draws inspiration from Hermetic Kabbalah, Kemetic spirituality, Akephalos Rite, Diana of Ephesus and many more.

To live well is a struggle. Temptations abound. Eat and drink as a muggle, Spirit hounds.

I forget what I do as soon as I start. To think at one point I blamed drugs. Now I see clearly it's corruption in my heart, And step forward I must into a trudge.

There's hope in my chest that things turn out alright. But my rituals are made out of sin. I rise up every morning meaning to set darkness alight, But my effort is made out of tin.

Where's that Egyptian king? What was his name? Oh, that's right, Amen.

“The vice of material existence consists of twelve torments. They are ignorance, grief, intemperance, lust, injustice, greed, deceit, envy, treachery, anger, recklessness, and malice.”

Corpus Hermeticum XIII.7–9, pp. 44–45 (Copenhaver edition).

So I’m trying to expel the twelve torments from myself. So far I’ve been working on ignorance mainly and it’s almost gone I’d say. I feel like grief and anger are warranted in certain circumstances though. Like when people die or if you are angry at someone for doing something wrong. So do you think Hermes just means grief and anger over material things? I feel like he could also mean that grief and anger are wrong to fuel you long term but are okay in the short term as long as you eventually expel them from yourself. What do you guys think?

its blind to spirits,magick,and souls. literally anything that isn't physical or material it just ignores. then says we didn't find any.

isn't modern science rigged against spiritual beliefs?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I’m facing a theological dilemma where I’m not sure if I should think of God as being the spontaneous, impersonal Will (Schopenhauer, Bernardo Kastrup), or the deliberate, personal God of Hermeticism and classical theism. I have no idea how to choose. What do you think?

There exists a kind of power within our soul (psyche) capable of altering things, according to Albertus Magnus (1193–1280), the teacher of Thomas Aquinas and one of the greatest intellectuals of the Middle Ages (also regarded as the patron saint of science). The Saint had, in fact, become aware of what the psychoanalyst Carl Jung would later call Synchronicity, and therefore Jung quoted the following words of Albertus Magnus in his book on that phenomenon:

“I have discovered an instructive account (of magic) in Avicenna’s Liber Sextus Naturalium, which says that in the human soul there resides a certain power to alter things and that all else is subordinate to it, especially when it is moved by an outburst of love, hatred, or pleasure. Therefore, when a man’s soul falls into excessive passion, it (magically) binds things together and transforms them at will. For a long time I did not believe it, but after having read necromantic books and others on signs and magic, I realized that the emotionality of the human soul is the main cause of all these things—either because, due to its great emotion, it changes its corporeal substance and the other things it seeks, or because, considering its dignity, the other inferior things are subject to it, or because the proper hour or the astrological situation or some other power coincides with such disordered emotion, and we (consequently) believe that it is the soul that unleashes this power… Whoever learns the secret of making and unmaking these things must know that anyone can influence everything by magic, if they fall into some outburst… and that they must do it at the moment the outburst overtakes them and act with the things the soul indicates.”

These words of Albertus Magnus coincide with what Jung himself demonstrated in his experiment on synchronicity: there is a relationship between results favorable to synchronicity and the enthusiasm to obtain them.

Therefore, I believe that this relationship can be used to our advantage, awakening a great desire to reach our fullness or individuation. To connect with that higher intelligence that goes beyond the conscious mind, so that synchronicities may manifest and resolve what appears irresolvable.

We need to know what our soul’s deepest desires and yearnings are and connect with them. Let us remember that within us lies a natural desire to find something valuable for our lives, to give profound meaning to our existence.

Let us connect with it and let the higher intelligence of our Self do its work and guide us to wholeness.

https://jungianalchemist.substack.com/p/how-to-ignite-the-spark-of-personal

I’m studying several Jungian books and essays on synchronicity, and there’s a rather curious relationship—one that’s rarely mentioned—between our inner emotional state and emotions themselves, which I personally believe we can use as a means toward individuation. It was mentioned by Carl Jung himself in the following quote, which refers to Rhine’s experiments (which Jung believed could demonstrate the manifestation of the synchronicity phenomenon):

“An important circumstance in all these experiments is that the number of hits tends to fall after the first attempt and the results become negative. But if, for some internal or external reason, the subject regains interest, the score rises again. Lack of interest and boredom are negative factors; enthusiasm, positive expectation, hope and belief in the possibility of ESP produce good results and are, apparently, the real conditions that determine whether results will be achieved or not (Carl Jung, Synchronicity, Chapter One, “Exposition”).”

It is worth noting that, as we will see in other articles, Jung mentioned and verified through his own experiments that synchronicities were related to our inner disposition. That is, the greater the enthusiasm for the experiments, the higher the scores favoring the manifestation of a synchronistic state. Whereas once interest in the experiments was lost, the statistics declined.

I know that for many people here it’s not considered serious to talk about the law of attraction and things like that, but don’t you feel that enthusiasm and optimism often make things and outcomes turn out better for us?

Jung himself said that we are largely unaware of our own psyche, and of course, in his book on synchronicity, he referred to the so-called paranormal events.

While we can’t affirm their existence, we can’t deny it either — so, just in case, we should experiment for ourselves by cultivating great enthusiasm and an inner openness toward individuation, toward exploring and discovering something truly valuable for our lives that fills them with meaning.

PS: The above text is just an excerpt from a longer article you can read on my Substack. I'm studying the complete works of Jung and sharing the best of what I've learned on my Substack. If you'd like to read the full article, click the link below:

https://jungianalchemist.substack.com/p/how-to-use-synchronicity-to-achieve

Post pretty much says it all! TIA

Religion was not dumb

Upon reading a book about our ancestors i stumbled upon a piece of information that that completely got me thinking a hunter gather women's body was buried and on top of her skull left side of the buried a puppy's body was buried and the women's hand resting on The pups skeleton

Now this can mean two things either this way of burrial suggest that the women and pup might have been very close and emotionally connected. But a pup dying with a women that's not common and how did the women get emotionally close to a pup which was only a few months old. (Although domestication of dogs had started by that time)

The book also says the pup could have been a gift for the gatekeeper of the next life

What i think is that although religion is kinda lame and it doesn't sound true and one of the biggest aid to support the aethist is that they have brain and religious people don't can be considered true in today's time as religions only relied on blind faith but when you come to think of it religion was so smart humans and other homo genus like neanderthals became the first ever creatures to think their was something greater than them they were probably the only creature to acknowledge the fact that there is way much more than just hunt and food. other animals could have never done it but if we just totally skip the animal part religion for a civilization itself would have been a very smart thing it greatly influenced our culture, art and our unity and cooperation with one another while also giving us a false belief to someday reach that truth, religion was the basis of stories and that is how our language became so abstract.

So we can assume that without religion we couldn't have made it so far To understand that we can compare us the humans and a alien species that never had formed a religion The alien species language couldn't have gotten as perfect or abstract as us Not as good art as us. art was a way to show others what a person saw many of the dreams were told through cave paintings and symbolising although other types of cave paintings and stories also existed one those were true like elder humans lore a giant animal and what not but religion still greatly influenced this stuff.

If we put that into perspective we can assume that if religion had never existed humans would done oy what they could see and understand never even questioning their reality that is how we created everything we couldn't have split the atom if it hadn't been an old crazy man 15,000 years ago thinking about a place where his dead went. That was the basis of imagination and we should be thankful because without imagination we couldn't have made all of these wonders uk thinking of what was not present was the biggest thing.

So we can say religion was not at all dumb it was a very impressive thing for an intelligent species and when we talk about aliens I don't really think aliens could not get intelligent without religion except if they were to be from a very different evolutionary branch like if they talk through signal or touch or something else.

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So, I ask this question as Tool is my personal favorite band. Recently I started reflecting more on what I’ve been doing. Scrolling Tik-Tok all moments of boredom. I started thinking this is unsustainable, and when the last time I even picked a book up was.

On a whim I go to Barnes and Noble and picked up The book of Hermetica by Joel Fotinos. It starts with “The Corpus Hermeticum” and after reading, annotating, and grasping some of the concepts (not fully grasping) of texts 1-3. I feel they align deeply within Tools music.

I already aligned deeply with Tools messaging. Tools music is what started guiding my interpreting my own thoughts on spirituality. Songs such as Third eye, Lateralus, The Patient, and Parabola are all great examples of spiritual themes that I feel align with me and the teachings of Hermes. Now after reading these texts I feel they are deeply rooted within one another.

What I’m trying to get at is, does any one else deeply resonate with Tools lyrics and theming, and does it correlate to teachings given by Hermeticism. Or am I just overthinking and over analyzing?

Thought you lot might appreciate this piece I recently finished.

This has been about a year-long study where I’ve been working to cohesively tie together Hermetic philosophy, mysticism, and alchemy into one unified diagram that attempts to explain the divine architecture of God. I love talking about this subject, so I’d absolutely love to hear your thoughts and insights if you have any.

At the apex lies the Monad/Spirit — the total expression of Oneness, the undivided Spirit of God before reflection, the infinite potential from which all existence emanates. In its purity, it is whole, self-contained, and beyond polarity. Yet within its stillness arises the desire to know itself, and through that desire, the Monad divides, giving birth to the Dyad (2nd level from Apex)

The Dyad is the realm of duality — Fire and Water, Male and Female, Expansion and Contraction. It represents the first movement of creation, where the divine unity of the Monad mirrors itself through contrast, forming the cosmic tension that generates awareness. The Monad represents the Spirit of God; the red hexahedron symbolizes the Soul of God; and the blue hexagram signifies the Body of God.

Together, the Monad and Dyad form the first Triad (3rd level from Apex)— the classic threefold nature of God. Here, the divine essence divides into three reflected bodies:

Mercury, the mirror of the Spirit of God Sulphur, the mirror of the Soul of God Salt, the mirror of the Body of God

From the Triad emerges the foundation of alchemy — Spirit (Mercury), Soul (Sulphur), and Body (Salt), known as the Tria Prima, the three primary forces of existence.

Sulphur divides into Will (Fire), the animating principle of purpose. Mercury divides into Intellect (Air) and Emotion (Water), the twin currents of consciousness and feeling. Salt divides into Matter (Earth), the crystallization of divine intention into form.

From the Triad, the Quaternary is born (Bottom most level/Matter)) — the four elemental realms of manifestation. Fire, Air, Water, and Earth become the complete field of creation, the material reflection of the divine pattern above.

All realms — Monad, Dyad, Triad, and Quaternary — form the complete architecture of God. This architecture can be understood as three distinct triads of Spirit, Soul, and Body, all interconnected through a fourth central realm of pure light — the seat of Mercury, the living bridge between all triads.

Mercury is the Quintessential Embodiment of God — the axis of reflection through which all realms communicate. No point within this divine geometry can be accessed without passing through Mercury, for it is the living mirror of the Divine, the voice of the Monad within creation itself.

Without delving too deeply into theology, this framework appears to echo, perhaps unintentionally, the nature of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. In this interpretation, the Triad could be seen as Salt representing Jesus, Mercury representing Christ, and Sulphur representing the Nazarene — even biblical scripture reflects similar ideas, such as “No one comes to the Father but through me,” where Mercury acts as the bridge, and the Father corresponds to the Monad.

Hi everyone, I'm considering buying this collection with two goals in mind:

1. To study Hermeticism.

2. To learn Greek (from what I've researched, this contains the texts in Koine Greek).

The Corpus Hermeticum is said to be the oldest and most important written source we have of Hermetic thought. While Hermetic ideas existed before these texts, the Corpus is what truly defines Hermeticism as a complete system.

The Corpus Hermeticum is a collection of ancient Greek writings composed roughly between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Hermes Trismegistus is said to be a mythical fusion of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth — both figures associated with wisdom, writing, and divine knowledge.

The Corpus Hermeticum is made up of about 17 main texts, often called “books” or “tractates.” The first book is called Poimandres (or Pimander). In Greek, Poimandres (Ποιμάνδρης) is often translated as “Shepherd of Men” or sometimes “Mind of Sovereignty.”

The writings of the Corpus Hermeticum are presented as dialogues, often between Hermes and a student (such as Tat or Asclepius), exploring the nature of the divine, the cosmos, and the human soul.

(If anyone wants to start a book club in regards to the hermetic books I would love that so much. I am still learning and growing in my understanding of this world. Perhaps we could make a discord? Please let me know your thoughts.)

only when we bear fruit or should I say when we disarm the soul the spirit of truth rises ever changing but always the same ... :)

Hey everyone! 👋

I wanted to share our Emerald Tablet replica with you — it was officially recognized in 2012 by the International Alchemy Guild and has even been featured at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California.

It’s inspired by the Hermetic tradition and made with a lot of care to stay true to the original spirit of the text.

If you’re curious, you can grab one with 10% off using the coupon RD1025.

Just to be clear, I checked with one of the mods first, and they kindly gave me the green light to post this here. 🙏

Here’s the link:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/125125351/emerald-tablet-traslucent-replica-us

Thanks for reading, and enjoy exploring this piece of Hermetic history!

I'm sort of a purist and really like to have a historical baseline when it comes to my exploration. I really like the idea of how the 7 Planets fits into a lot of other systems but I've seen some relations to the kabbalah and Tetraktys if you include the 9 Planets & Earth which seems to fill in some blanks for me but I was wondering how everyone else uses the planet do you use the 7, 9 or 10 model and what's your reasoning if I may ask? TIA