Magick and Hermeticism have been misunderstood for centuries because they are not religions in the sense that word is used today. Anyone who approaches these systems expecting answers based on faith alone, or an easy path of attainment is in for a great disappointment. Magick has always been a complement to piety from the Egyptian and Pythagorean Religions to the original Rosicrucian Societies; today Hermeticism is no different.

Discussion of True Magick without Divinity is impossible, and devotion to a faith of one's choice has always been a freedom of the Hermetic Initiate be it Pagan, Buddhist, Jewish or Christian. This is permitted, as The Hermetic Mysteries are revelations of The Divine Light: unnamed, unbound, infinite and incomprehensible to any single religion or practice- much like in Sufiism. This allows a Hermetic Fraternity to exist above the petty squabbles of dogma and any system of belief of philosophy,as they should. It has never been the intention of The Rose Cross to create anything like a Hermetic Vatican, but instead to find the Truth concealed in the forms of each Faith. Even Golden Dawn Neophytes take Oaths to this end.

This is because every Adept knows that their Faith is a mere bridge to The One Divinity through the Passion of the Beloved, and their Patron Deity merely a preferred symbol of the goal of Perfection. That is merely a single facet of The Great Work, which contains an ongoing balance of all four aspects of The Path: Mysticism, Magick, Thaumaturgy and Theurgy. Though different at every Grade, this balance like Elemental Balance is an essential aspect of each Adept's attainment.

Theurgy

Theurgy is Magick used in accord with either Cosmic or Divine Will; this includes Rites of Communion and Mass, Baptisms, Dedications and most forms of Blessing and Consecration. This is occasionally referred to as "High Magick" to differentiate it from Thaumaturgy and is more difficult, and more dangerous if used out of selfish or imbalanced motivation. Hermetic Tradition teaches that this is the Greatest and most valuable Magick, because the primary rite of Theurgy is The Bornless One Ritual, to achieve Conversation and Communion with The Holy Guardian Angel.

Theurgy is Creation and Transformation throughout the planes of The Tree of Life. In a Mass or Communion Rite, the Sacrament is altered from its base matter into a vessel of The Divine, before being consumed and altering the recipient. Similar rites called Invocations require the Adept to assume the characteristics of particular deities or benevolent spirits and bring that Higher Power through them in a fashion akin to New Age Channeling. The Supreme Rite of Theurgy for an Adept is to achieve contact with their Holy Guardian Angel through some form of The Bornless One Ritual.

Theurgy with its religious tone and symbolism is educational but also must be balanced with its opposite force unless one seeks to be a Priest rather than an Adept. "High Magick" is limited by the desires of The Divine Will invoked and that alters the results and effects from beyond the personal benefit. This is why some dislike this portion of Magick.

Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy is Magick used for personal improvement, gain or development; most spells from books fall into this category, as does Astral Projection, Talismongery, and evocation of most Spirits. Neo-Pagans often label this half of magickal work as "Low Magick" and though the distinction is important, the practical utility of these techniques is invaluable.These are the rituals and spells that most often determine the course and content of one's life as they attract and transform the Cosmos and personality of the conjurer.

Thaumaturgy is often based on the Theory of Correspondences, or that similar objects and energies attract each other. Thus the importance in all spells upon the incense, colour of candles, astrological and planetary alignments and currents: each affects the energy of the ritual and thus what it manifests for the caster. Some rituals, such as Seasonal Rites or Lunar Esbats are only performed during those specific periods to attune the conjurer to these very rhythms of the Cosmos.

Hermeticism values both aspects of Magick and utilizes them as different tools for distinct goals within The Great Work. Thaumaturgy is quick and often effective as a solution for immediate or personal issues, like getting a job or a date. It is more volatile than Theurgy so with each use the caster needs to accept all of the results from every spell and ritual, however dramatic or painful for those involved. This is both the risk and benefit of "low magick" for its user.

HGA

The Holy Guardian Angel is Aleister Crowley's term for everyone's own Inner Divinity or Higher Self. Hermeticism has always believed not just in the mere existence of this thing, but also in the ability of a disciplined Adept to achieve Conversation and Communion with it. The importance of this ritual has already been stressed here, but the necessity of it has not.

The Higher Self, alternately called the Autogenius, is our Perfect Self, completely Divine and Benevolent and still a function of our human personalities. Most people hear this as a Voice of Conscience, or sudden intuitive leaps, and to an artist it is the Occult basis of The Muse. We have all had those lucky or insightful moments when the truth and our action were obvious, but later we rationalize away that deep awareness of ourselves. Never losing that recognition of truth and our place within the Cosmos is why one seeks to accomplish Conversation and Communion.

Through Conversation and Communion with The Holy Guardian Angel the Adept lives constantly in touch with those insights and inner guidance. All of the Order of Michael's Grail study and rituals prior to that are to fully prepare the Adept for this most important task before ascending to Mastery. This is the goal of all Hermetic Orders, each in their own manner, and the single greatest difference between this path and Religion or Neo-Paganism. Misunderstanding this simple fact has led to much tension with our Modern Occult Communities.

The Light Within

The Inner Light, is the Personal Portion of the Cosmic Divine, the Qabalistic Keter, The Holy Guardian Angel of Aliester Crowley, The Beloved of the Sufis, The Mercury of the Alchemists are all the same thing- that Highest and Innermost Spirit Guide or Perfect Self. But Hermeticism, until Crowley, did not treat this as separate from one's private faith, in fact the Gold Dawn worked with both Egyptian and Christian Imagery to overcome the prejudices within both groups. This is frequently misrepresented, as a cult of the self, or a new age ideal of "we are all gods", and though that gets the gist of the Inner Light, it lacks the nectar of The Beloved.

Hermeticism has always believed not just in the mere existence of this thing, but also in the ability of a disciplined Adept to achieve Conversation and Communion with it, is in itself The Great Work, but there is that which follows as well. After Conversation and Communion with The Holy Guardian Angel the Adept lives constantly in touch with those insights and inner guidance, instead of the occasional flashes of insight, or dream guidance of the unitiaited. All of the Order of Michael's Grail study and rituals prior to that are to fully prepare the Adept for this most important task before ascending to Mastery. This is the goal of all Hermetic Orders, each in their own manner, and the single greatest difference between this path and Religion or Neo-Paganism. Misunderstanding this simple fact has led to much tension with our Modern Occult Communities, as much as debating the Truth of another's Initiators.

The Abyss of Form

Conversation with The Inner Light, is not Union, despite what some try to say, that is not what Crowley or the Rosicrucian Tradition Teaches but that it is the mid-point of the Great Work, not the end. This is due to that fact that Mathers and his Order denied the existence of Grades beyond 7=4, and claimed that they were only available to discarnates, rather than admit they had not received those Initiations. This has caused a great deal of problems within the Golden Dawn Community, because it means the path ends before the Greatest Work Begins.

To say the Abyss is Just Fear, is like saying The Inner Light is Ones' Better Self, both are true but widely deceptive ways of discussing the Apex and Nadir of the Path. It is also not well understood that both these Workings and Grades, take years of training to prepare for, and years each to accomplish, not days. But such things have always been said by those who lack Initiation, and yet it changes not the Grades or the Sepheroph.

The other common delusion of the Uninitiated is that Masters only act with Benevolence, and Kindness. Masters are Themselves without Ego or Attachment, but in Warrior Traditions like Zen, Kenshin or Sword-saints are perfect but not in a Way easily understood by Other Traditions, as shown in Jet Li's film Hero. It is also important to understand that Masters are Compassionate for Humanity more than individuals, and not all compassion is kind. Some of it is bitter medicine, like how we must stop Humanity from Eco-suicide.

The Great Work

The four aspects balanced together is one view of The Great Work: Magick with Mysticism and Theurgy with Thaumaturgy. Continually evolution and ascent through the Sepheroth and their corresponding Grades, is another if more pragmatic definition of The Work. These are again two traditional models that allude to a higher truth, and clear definition of The Great Work: the ongoing evolution and Perfection of a soul through Magick and Mysticism. This is the guideline for The Adept, and the challenge of The Master.

The Great Work is not an ideal that can never be reached by mortals, any more than is Mastery, but the ongoing transformation and balanced perfection of the individual. It is personal as it deals with the purification of one's dross and inner demons, but magickal as it moves the alterations from the outer Magick inward, and the Inner changes to the self and the Cosmos. Each Grade and Mystery deals with these tensions upon the path anew, as a step in the ladder of light, or chain in the Cosmic evolution, all again metaphors for the Great Work.

Magick's true goal is not the acquisition of supernatural powers, wealth or sycophants any more than Mysticism's ultimate goal is accepting the universe as it is. Both are conditions of imbalance within The Adept, and symptoms of greater flaws in their development. All of the Powers of The Occult are ideally harmonized within The Great Work: Magickal and Mystic, The Elemental, The Sepherothic, Cosmic and Divine Will, Natural and Evolutionary- then its is Perfection!