If you're still interested I can share some of the things I've done with hermetics.
What I'll share here is just a little bit of what I'm into, but you might find it interesting.
To begin with I've been using hermetics as a mantra for meditations. This was a take-off from a numeric countdown used by Christopher Penczak in his guided mediations CDs. He counts down from 12 to 1 for the God (the Logos), and then he counts down from 13 to 1 for the Goddess (the Intuit).
I didn't care for the numeric countdowns so I exchanged them for the symbols of the Zodiac. I count down from Capricorn to Sagittarius. I created the following graphic to learn the symbols and help me visualize them.
This graphic goes pretty fast. But it was just a learning tool. When I actually do this in mediation I actually imagine drawing them with a calligraphy pen in my mind's eye. This is particularly easy for me to do since I actually practice drawing them with an actual calligraphy pen. I use these symbols a lot anyway. So it's easy for me to visualize drawing them in my mind when I meditate.
To reach the Goddess or intuitive state of meditation I continue on with the symbols of the planets, which also represent various spiritual forces of nature. Many of them represent different things and so I may use them differently during different mediations.
I imagine drawing these symbols in my mind's eye. But I also visualize the heavenly worlds that they represent. So this mantra can become quite involved and sometimes I will visit specific realms in more detail depending on the purpose of the mediation.
I begin with the sun and work outward.
Sun
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Moon
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Neptune
Uranus
Pluto
I also work with a form of the Celtic Qabalah or Tree of Life, also known as the Bilé (bee-lay)
I've created my own version of the tree although it retains many traditional elements and structure. The are several reasons why I've created my own Bilé. First and foremost is that when I went to look for an 'official' image I quickly discovered that no such thing exists. There are probably as many images of the Tree of Life as there are people with opinions.
A second reason I created my own image is because my mentors (mostly authors of books) have pretty much consensually agreed that hermetic symbols are actually most powerful when they are in fact individualized. There do seem to be others who demand that specific traditional symbols be used in their pristine ancient forms. However, I choose to go with the more personalized approach. I feel that intuition rules and this is my intuition.
I don't have time to explain the tree in depth. But I'll try to explain a little bit just to give you an idea of what it represents. It's quite powerful.
The tree consists of three main vertical pillars. They are marked at the bottom.
1. The pillar of Logos - this represent logical thought as well as the masculine
2. The pillar of Ethos - this represents the spiritual center and moral values (your own)
3. The pillar of Pathos - this represent intuitive thought as well as the feminine
I list the circles briefly starting from the bottom up and moving in a descending order by their numbers.
10. Represents manifestation - Earth, Air, Fire and Water as wall as the compass directions.
9. Represents the Moon Goddess, and the tides of emotion
8. Represent logic, communication, Mercury and symbols (hermetics itself)
7. Represents emotion, love, ecstasy, Venus
6. Represents your heart & soul, your central harmony, the sun, balance, the God, or Horned One.
5. Represents purity, Mars, (many people associate this with war, purging, fire)
(I personally associate #5 with Virgo)
4. Represents compassion, Jupiter, (many people see this as mercy, I see it as love)
(I personally associate #4 with Gemini)
3. Represents understanding, (mostly in a logical or rational sense), and Saturn.
(I personally associate this with the physical manifestation of the universe, spacetime)
2. Represents wisdom, (intuitive understanding), and Neptune
(I personally associate this with the goddess and gods as well as the zodiac itself)
1. Represents Being (Pure Unadulterated Awareness or Universal Mind), and Uranus
The pathways connecting all these facets of human being, are meditative pathways. They form triplets which I won't go into here. Each path represents a facet of the journey of being which may be traveled in many ways and in all directions. Each path has a meaning, again I won't go into them here, other than to say that I chose to use the cards of Tarot to associate with these paths. This is a common practice, particular for Celtic Qabalah. Although, I have even changed some of the popular Tarot names. For example I call the Hierophant simply "guru". But the meaning is very similar.
I also called "judgment" - "enlightenment" and "Justice" I call "Creativity".
There are reasons for my madness.
I'm a very positive person and I like to put everything in the most positive terms possible.
Anyway, this might give you some idea what I'm doing with hermetics and my own version of esoterica and theosophy.
I'm doing a lot of other stuff too, but this is currently my foundational tree.
Edited by
Abracadabra
on Fri 07/10/09 11:30 PM