Inner Work Guide's Alchemical Gnosis Yoga of the West

The Traveler felt himself take an involuntary step backward. He was afraid; from the depths of his being, a numbing fear spread virally as it paralyzed his body and mind. What could he do against such a foe? His mightiest weapon had no effect upon it whatsoever. There had to be something he could do. He looked at the approaching Figure now only seven steps away, back to the houses in the towns, th...

The Traveler released his hold on time, and the sun fell quickly into its slumber. In the quiet of the night, the Traveler still felt uneasy. His mind bounced back and forth between those words whispered by the Centaur and those of the feminine Voice. The latter had intimated that there was yet more to do, and the former had hinted at some cryptic statement about freedom. The Traveler went to a we...

I am sure many of you are familiar with Tarot, especially as it pertains to its modern use in divination. What many do not know is that Tarot as it is used in the Hermetic Western Inner Tradition is actually a book. Each card of the major and minor trumps are the chapters of that book of. The chapters give details to those who have been given the keys to read it, precise information about the true...

With those final words of the Voice, in a flash, the Traveler was back in his physical body, fighting to remain in control of himself. He could see the sun was about to set; he could hear the creatures of the dark howling over the victory of having conquered him. It was just moments before the full curtain of night would fall. On the city's outskirts, he could see an oak grove with a deer runn...

Last week's episode touched on the fact that there are two views or levels of understanding regarding astrology and its use in Hermetic science. When the soliloquy of the Traveler's inner Lunar Intelligence centered on Paracelsus's 'Who rules the stars' and said, "And although the higher stars do give the animal inclination and assign man and other earthly bodies for the m...

As he reeled in the oblivion of the moment brought on by the tar-like ichor all over and within his body, he entered a trance-like state. He was transported to a past memory, one that had made an impression deep within him and bestowed upon him keys that he had not yet understood how to use. He could feel himself drifting up, up, up, and he was happy just for the relief of leaving his writhing bod...

One of the first things the Centaur had taught him in the cave was about alchemy. "It is," the Centaur explained, an excellent tool for those who knew how to use it, for it could act as a mirror of one's inner life. More than that, it could be used to transmute not only base metals into gold but, more importantly, transmute the profane man into a god-man, allowing him to become homo-...

In its simplest form, making a liquid herbal product using plant alchemy is similar to creating any ordinary herbal extract. The herb is macerated in an alcohol/water mixture for several days to extract the plant's healing virtues, just like any herbalist would do. Once this is done, however, the herbal material is dried and then heated until it combusts, turning first into carbon and then int...

The Traveler emerged from the cave into the light, its blinding rays birthing memories of his first emergence. This time, though, there were no spare moments to adjust his sensorium – the screams of the citizens mixed with those of the denizens of shadow, filling the air and attacking his ears.

The one thing to remember in this work is that the inner experiences feel authentic to the Traveler. Listening to the Traveler's experiences, one can be lulled into the perception of watching a TV show or movie, with no repercussions from viewing it except the diminishing ripples of awareness created by a scintillating or scary scene.

Having traversed much of the cave, the Traveler noticed the path was inclining. The torches, which hung periodically on the cave walls, created light and dark areas. Light, dark, light, dark... He found himself running leisurely, the illuminating transition creating a strobe effect that caused the Travelers’ mind to turn back to his experiences in the Centaur's cave. His time there had seemed...

As the Traveler approached the city, his mind wandered momentarily. After his failure earlier on the road, he was surprised that the Centaur did not berate him for leaving the path. With a twinkle in his eye, the Centaur said, "The dancing trio ensnares everyone." Within three paces of the city's gates, a leaf being carried an air eddy caught his attention. The leaf moved slower and...

Thoughts rise into awareness and then leave, or try to leave. Upon becoming aware of a thought, most of us immediately attach a story to it. Usually, this takes the form of a story from our past, conjuring up all sorts of feelings and emotions associated with that story. The fact is, if we allowed the thought to arise into awareness and then let it leave (which, again, is what it "wants"...

After twelve months of living in the cave's inner darkness, emergence into physical light felt like going through a second birth. The searing pain of the light when it hit his eyes and the burning when it touched his skin made him think he was mother and child in one, for indeed, he had experienced the disorienting agony of his rebirth. He had faced those shadows crawling up from his internal...

The traveler finds themself in a cave dimly lit by an open fire whose flames cast shadows on the earthen walls. Alone, cold, and scared, their internal equipoise is often disturbed as an involuntary shiver races through their body. Sitting in the semi-dark, the traveler ponders the events in their life that have brought them to this place of initiation, and their rational mind questions the sanity...

Hermetic inner work is about transmutation; it is not about excising, destroying, banishing, denying, shame, guilt, or blame. It has nothing to do with the corrupted 'killing the dragon' and the Hero's journey motif prevalent today. One does not become whole by cutting away parts of themselves. The same energy blocking you is the same energy, when understood, that will allow the emanat...

At the core of everything, there is – in Hermetic Terminology – a 'Palace' [space] that is a nexus containing both Heaven and Earth or the non-physical and physical reality that maintains and, indeed, is the cause of its emanation and perception. In Alchemical literature, this 'Palace' is also termed a Quintessence. As I understand it, the Quintessence is a fifth element, the origi...

Regarding feelings and emotions in inner work, one of my mantras is 'the friction is the conversation.' Dysfunction, dissatisfaction, and discomfort are your best friends in inner work. Let's face it: the angels of our nature do not need more tending. Hermetic inner work is about bringing illumination to the dark places and seeking understanding as to why you do those things you know a...

Spiritual awakening is about coming out of the false beliefs of who you thought you were and coming into the conscious knowledge of who you are. It essentially comes down to the question of if no books or teachers told you how to act, who would you be?

Through an act of Will, the One reflected on itself and knew itself fully in all its varied aspects. That refraction gave birth to the potentialities stored within the 'pregnant emptiness.' This recognition of self and the extension of a seeming separateness would have collapsed immediately back upon itself into Unity without the ability to circumscribe itself. The second pole of the '...

How can something be formed out of nothing? When I first began studying Hermeticism, that was my central question. There is, though, a gulf between the meaning of ‘nothing’ and ‘no-thing,’ 

This is the first episode of a new series concerning Hermetic Cosmology. Hermetic cosmology arises from observations by Hermetic Adepts carried out over generations and ages relating to Nature and how its various conditions form our physical reality. No matter which of Nature's three kingdoms (plant, animal, or mineral), the subject followed an indisputable cycle of emanation, growth, and diss...

In this episode, I describe from a high-level view what session time looks like. Session time is reserved in blocks of twelve weeks. All blocks follow roughly the same procedure, except for your initial block. In that one, your first four to six weeks, you learn protocols and exercises and accomplish entry-level tasks.

I'm calling this episode: what is Inner Work? In it, I explain by analogy how the Hermetic Science sees the human mind, how we all use the powers of our Esosphere, why you need inner work, the reasons for a guide, and more information about alchemical products.

Follow me down the serpentine trail I took to discover the Hermetic Science and my study of alchemy. Walk with me from my early childhood of sleepwalking, looking for my laboratory, to a period of Satanism to finally emerge on the other side of the umbra into the light of Alchemical Gnosis.