Tag Archives: hermetic

Chokmah and Binah (masculine and feminine)

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male-femaleI have written about this before, but, hey, this is what makes the world go round – polarity. Sometimes, opposites attract. Other times…

So, the really nice thing about Chokmah is that that he is direct and uncomplicated. You always know what Chokmah thinks and what he wants; he doesn’t make you guess. The difficulty of Chokmah, when he gets to the extreme end of his polarity, is that he becomes the tyrant. “Do it my way; you are here to serve me.”

The really nice thing about Binah is that she can see at least two perspectives on every question. She is flexible, and wants you to be as happy with the solution as she is. When she gets difficult is when she can’t make up her mind, or, even worse, when she uses her understanding to covertly manipulate you to her desired outcome.

So, I want to have the best of both male and female, i.e., freely voicing my opinion, while considering the opinions of others. I have always called that androgynous, and Hermetics calls it balance.

From the Hermetic perspective of history, we have cycled back and forth between feminine and masculine dominance, and are just coming to the close of a cycle of patriarchy. I am hoping that humanity can break out of this cycle, and into a state of balance, where the masculine and feminine are equally treasured.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
AUGUSTA

Hermetic Power Centers Meditation

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humanBody7Of what practical use is my recent post on the Hermetic approach to power centers (chakras)? Have a look at this post on the Rainbow Meditation, the chakra balancing exercise that Cougina teaches.

Using this Hermetic concept to contact Higher Self, one would first practice the Rainbow Meditation often, to balance the colorful refracted light which constitutes the emotional body. The immediate benefit is the lessening of emotional discomfort and stress.

When the emotional body has become relatively stable, one begins to shrink the emotional body, in order to bring one’s spirit body closer to self.

We are not saying that this is the only way. We are just saying that this is a way that is known to work, for contacting Higher Self.

Blessed be,
Augusta

Hermetic Power Centers (Chakras) and the Tree of Life

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humanBody7

It is my experience that information about the power centers, commonly called chakras, comes to us Westerners primarily through Eastern theosophies. Therefore, I would like to present the fundamentals of the Hermetic viewpoint to those who are not familiar with it. This image depicts the relationship of the Hermetic power centers (chakras) to the human body and the tree of life of its astrosome. Sorry if this is dry, but it is meant to be basic.

The first power center, red, extends from below the body to just above the knees, and corresponds to the sephira Malkuth on the tree of life. It’s nature is physical reality.

The second power center, orange, extends from just above the knees to just below the hipbones, and corresponds to the sephira Yesod on the tree of life. It’s nature is Desire.

The third power center, yellow, extends from just below the hipbones to just above the solar plexus, and corresponds to the sephirot Hod and Netzach on the tree of life. It’s nature is power.

The fourth power center, green, extends from just above the solar plexus to the armpits, the, and corresponds to the sephira Tiphareth on the tree of life. It’s nature is balance.

The fifth power center, blue, extends from the armpits to just below the eyes, and corresponds to the sephira Chesed (or Gedulah) and Geburah (or Pechad) on the tree of life. It’s nature is expression.

The sixth power center, purple, extends from just below the eyes to the top of the head, and corresponds to the sephira Binah and Chokmah on the tree of life. It’s nature is intelligence.

The seventh power center, indigo (dark purple, almost black), extends from top of the head upward, and corresponds to the sephirot Kether on the tree of life. It’s nature is Higher Self.

One difference between the Eastern and the Hermetic systems is the location of the first chakra, being at the sacrum in the Eastern system, and being in the region from just above the knees to below the physical body in the Hermetic system.

Another difference is the dual nature of the third, fifth, and sixth power centers. While each system postulates seven levels, Hermetics superimposes the Cabalist tree of life on the seven levels.

The teaching is “older than dirt,” but two written sources are 1) Dion Fortune, Circuit of Force, written in the first half of the 20th century (free download available), and Caroline Myss, Anatomy of the Spirit, 1997.

Blessed be,
Augusta

AUM: Aleph, Yod, Mem

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BoddhisaatvaAlchemistAboveBelowHermetics considers itself to be a universalist, unitarian theosophy. Not only does every human reach a point in their individual evolution where he-she develops his own unique concept of God, every major religion serves the evolution of mankind. Therefore, while some tenets of any religion are
specific to its locale, (e.g., don’t eat pork – prevent trichinosis), the deepest concepts are universal (e.g., do no harm).

I have been enjoying Julianne Victoria’s blog, Through the Peacock’s Eyes. Her post about mantras reminded me of the ubiquity of AUM.

In Hermetic Cabala, we would take the Masoretic (later Hebrew) hieroglyphs in the word AUM, and use the left to right ordering in which the word is spoken, giving us Aleph, Yod, Mem. (In our earliest alphabetic history, there were no vowels. Any vowel may be traditionally interpreted as Yod.) Thus, Aleph, consciousness, seeks awareness of the divine androgyne, the masculine and feminine aspects of the godhead.

Alternatively, reading right to left, Mem, the feminine godhead, inspires Yod, the masculine godhead, and the consciousness of our everyday reality is created.

A traditional Western word of contemplation, used for the same purpose as in the East, union with the divine, is I AM. Again, Yod, Aleph, and Mem. Coincidence?

Blessed be,
Augusta

Boddhisattva photo courtesy of Dreamstime.com. Alchemist image is widely distributed around the net.

Hermetic Analysis of The Lord’s Prayer

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path_of_lords_prayerI am somewhat remiss in posting this exposition of the Lord’s Prayer, as it relates to the Cabalist Tree of Life, before I have completed posting my description of the tree. However, this is what we are discussing over on Covina Hermiticia, and so it is very much on my mind.

This is an analysis of the prayer as it may be used by one seeking communion with higher SELF for oneself, and may be easily extended to all of humanity. For Westerners, particularly those who were strongly exposed to dogmatic Christianity (e.g., accept that Jesus Christ died for your sins, or you will burn in Hell!), re-conceptualizing traditional Christian icons such as this one into non-dogmatic requests for union with SELF/God are useful.

This analysis is based on Lesson 34 in the book, The Tarot, by Mouni Sadhu.

I am referring to the Godhead as “Father,” according to traditional Christian usage. Goddess, Father/Mother God, etc., may be substituted as you prefer.

Blessed be,
Augusta

1. Our Father, who art in heaven,
BEYOND OUR ASTROSOME
We are seeking union with something that is as yet beyond our human understanding, incomprehensible to us. The Ain Soph of Cabala, located beyond Kether.

2. Hallowed be Thy name.
ABOVE OUR HEADS
We affirm devotion to that portion of the Name, which manifests as our personal Kether, our Higher SELF, our link to the Father.

3. Thy kingdom come.
HEART/SOLAR PLEXUS
We seek to bring consciousness of the Higher SELF , our link to the Father, into Tiphareth, the heart center, the appropriate center of our human identity.

4. As Thy will is done in heaven,
LEFT EYE
We recognize that the will of the Father is least distorted in our Binah, which descends directly from Kether, our Higher SELF.

5. Let thy will be done on earth.
LEFT SHOULDER, ARM, HAND
We seek that communion with SELF which will allow us to consciously know the will of the Father, and the strength to follow it in our actions, through our Geburah.

6. Give us this day our daily bread,
LEFT HIP
As we affirm this day our choice of the right-hand path, let us recognize that this may be the day that we achieve communion with the Father.

7. …silent transition through Tiphareth…
HEART/SOLAR PLEXUS

8. And forgive us our debts,
RIGHT EYE
We affirm that we receive the forgiveness of the Father for our denials of SELF in our Chokmah intelligence.

9. As we forgive our debtors.
RIGHT SHOULDER , ARM, HAND
We seek to extend the same forgiveness to our neighbors for their denials of SELF that our Father extends to us.

10. And lead us not into temptation,
RIGHT HIP
Let us not be deceived by our victories into recklessness, and then succumbing to temptation.

11. But deliver us from evil.
PUBIC AREA
And let us not be attracted to and deceived by negative thoughtforms that do not belong to us.

12. For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
FEET AND BELOW
a. Traditional Christian interpretation (the cross): We offer to You, Father, our Malkuth (the kingdom), our Geburah (the power), and our Gedulah (the glory), forever and ever.
b. Traditional Hermetic interpretation (the middle pillar): We offer to You, Father, our Malkuth (the kingdom), our Tiphareth (the power), and our Kether (the glory), forever and ever.

Wiccan or Hermetic?

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149 Days to 12/21/12

The Hermetic philosophy precedes the Judaic Kabbalah, so one might say that we precede any Judeo-Christian philosophy. Naturally, this would include Buddhism, because Gautama lived ~600 BCE. For those who are interested, Mohammed lived ~600 AD. We like to think that we co-manifested with the base Eastern theosophies (Hindu and the Tao). We are ONE. And we’re coming after you.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA

Hermetic/Wiccan Altar Supplies

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AS YOU CAN SEE WE ARE SERIOUSLY DOWNSIZING OUR ALTAR FOR THE BICYCLE TRIP// Note: Everything that we were selling yesterday has now been claimed.

Smokin’ incense burner!

New incense stick – good nose cleaner

Giving one of the three crystal bells a last lick.

Introducing Tinkerbell

The beloved chalices – 12″

5″ hand-carved bloodwood and redheart chalices

9″ candles replaced by 4 inchers: still heavy!

WE HAVE 3 CRYSTAL BELLS // A NICE INCENSE BURNER, POWDER HOLDER, POWDERED RED SANDALWOOD INCENSE being replaced with the small bell and stick incense (no holder) // also 2 full sets of quality 2″ by 9″ candles and a partially used set // as well as our chalices and tray which are hand carved olive wood from the Israel/Palestine area.

High, medium, and low pitch bells

Red sandalwood incense, holder, and burner

Olivewood tray and male/female chalices

9″x2″ slow burning with deep bright colors, unscented

WE CANNOT TAKE WITH US // ANY OF THE OLDER ITEMS FROM OUR ALTAR ARE YOURS FOR THE COST OF SHIPPING AND PERHAPS A SMALL DONATION.

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA