Abandoning The Order Of Nine Angles

Introduction

I: O9A, Desertam Indefensamque

II: A New Beginning

III: Paradox Of The O9A Authority Of Individual Judgment

IV: The Sevenfold Seeking And Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way

V: Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And Hermeticism

VI: A Review of Myatt's The Divine Pymander

 °°°°°°°

Introduction

Chapter I, Desertam Indefensamque, recounts the discussions in 2021 within the Oxfordshire-based
Sapphic group the TWS Nexion and externally with some other Occultists, the gist of which was the
anarchist/nihilist Order of Nine Angles principle of the 'authority of individual judgement' - described in
chapter III, Paradox Of The O9A Authority Of Individual Judgment - and what had resulted from that
principle post-2017: such as the Black Propaganda of a fake American O9A nexion run by an FBI agent
provocateur. {1}

The discussions led to the abandonment of the O9A by most of the discussants who were of the view that
the principle of the 'authority of individual judgement' was on balance detrimental to the quest for Lapis
Philosophicus. A brief memorandum, intended for general publication concerning the 'hebdomadary' and
a proposed new hermetic Way, was circulated for comments and is included here as Chapter II, A New
Beginning. 

The new esoteric tradition was termed The Hebdomian Way and is described in detail in chapter IV, The
Sevenfold Seeking And Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way.

Among the aspects of Longusian Occultism {2} that the developers of the new esoteric tradition
considered to be, based on their experience and learning, unnecessary for or no longer relevant in a
hermetic pursuit of Lapis Philosophicus were:

(i) the japes, deceptions, and the trickery presenced by Anton Long's Labyrinthos Mythologicus;
(ii) Occult rituals and ceremonies in general, and all types of sorcery;
(iii) Insight Roles;
(iv) the causal abstractions and dialectic involved in supporting or using for whatever reason
political forms such as National Socialism;
(v) Satanism, however defined or presenced;
(vi) the complexity of Anton Long's labyrinthine esoteric philosophy; (vii) the goal of seeking to
presence a New Aeon and to change what-is - such as society or societies - by any means
including but not limited to means which are or which can classified as political, religious,
ideological, social, mythological or Occult.

As noted in chapter IV, The Sevenfold Seeking And Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way, it is: "a modern
hermetic ἐπιστήμη, épistémé: a means to change the φύσις, physis - the character/nature/perception - of
an individual by practical means involving a seeking or quest."
They thus returned to the fundamentals of Hermetic philosophy as described in the tractates of the
ancient Corpus Hermeticum, with chapters V and VI - Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And The Corpus
Hermeticism and A Review of Myatt's The Divine Pymander - providing an overview of that Corpus.

Hence this work presents the new esoteric tradition in detail as well as the background to its development
involving as that did ceasing to publicly defend or explain Longusian Occultism because it had been
abandoned in favour of The Hebdomian Way.

Kerri Scott
August 2022 ev
v.1.07

°°°

{1} The despicable Black Propaganda of that fake American O9A nexion (tempel ov blood) included
support for terrorism, misogyny, rape, and paedophilia. Some of the propaganda was published and
distributed by Sutter's Martinet Press and included the book Iron Gates.

For his work the FBI paid Sutter $78,133.20 plus an expense advance of $4,378.60, between February 7,
2018 and early 2020: Case 2:20-cr-00032-JCC Document 194 Filed 08/13/21, https://www.scribd.com
/document/606088463/Trial-Of-Kaleb-Cole-Motion-To-Suppress

Black Propaganda is material which does not appear to be propaganda, whose real origins are concealed,
which is misleading or designed to discredit and which gives the impression it has been
produced/circulated by a particular person or persons or by a particular group/organization or by a State-
entity. Black propaganda was used by Allied governments during the First and Second World Wars as well
as during the 'Cold War', and also between the 1950s and 1970s by the FBI as part of a Counter
Intelligence Program to discredit domestic American groups and individuals including the Ku Klux Klan, qv.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120910071729/http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/cointel.htm

{2} The term 'Longusian Occultism/tradition' - Longusian from the Latin for "long" - refers to (i) the
esoteric philosophy and praxises of the pseudonymous Anton Long promulgated between 1976 and 2012,
and (ii) post-2012 developments and variations of that esoteric philosophy by its adherents, and which
tradition is manifest under the appellations 'Order of Nine Angles', ONA, and O9A.

Image credit:

Page from the 1577 (ce) book

Iamblichvs De mysteriis Ægyptiorvm, Chaldæorum, Assyriorum: Proclvs in Platonicum Alcibiadem de anima, atque dæmone,
Idem De sacrificio & magia: Porphyrivs De diuinis atq, dæmonib: Psellvs De dæmonibus:
Mercvrii Trismegisti Pimander, Eiusdem Asclepius.

The book contains the Latin text of the Corpus Hermeticum by Marsilius Ficinus.
 The Esoteric Philosophy And Seven Fold Way Of Anton Long - A Debate

Desertam Indefensamque? There was an extended private debate in 2021 among some Adepts of the
esoteric tradition developed by the pseudonymous Anton Long, a tradition known among those Adepts by
the appellation Order of Nine Angles 1, as to whether or not and in public that tradition should be
abandoned and undefended by them given their own pathei-mathos and the torrent of accusations
levelled since 2018 against what others have described as a group or organization named "the order of
nine angles" or "O9A".

These accusations were publicly propagated by antifascist groups and individuals, by some politicians,
and by some journalists, and repeaed in many mass circulation newspapers including The Guardian, and
resulted in requests by such groups and such politicians that the British government proscribe the "O9A"
because they believe it to be a group or organization which incites terrorism, which has members
convicted of terrorism offences, and which was also alleged to incite such dishonourable things as rape,
paedophilia, and misogyny.

These Adepts of that esoteric tradition, who are primarily based in the United Kingdom, were of the
opinion that such accusations were the result of a disinformation campaign by an American agent
provocateur paid by the FBI 2 and which disinformation was believed by antifascist groups and individuals,
by some politicians, and by some journalists who often embellished such disinformation.

The debate among the Adepts did not concern such requests for a group called the Order of Nine Angles
to be proscribed, since those Adepts were of the opinion: (i) that the O9A was a philosophy, not a group
with members and which philosophy or esoteric tradition was manifest, presenced, in a practical way by
the individualistic quest for Lapis Philosophicus - for wisdom 3 - and described by Anton Long's Seven Fold
Way, and (ii) that the esoteric tradition with its Seven Fold Way could only be realistically taught, and
learnt, in private as had occurred since the 1980s. This generational, individual, mostly covert
transmission meant that attempts to declare the O9A illegal, a terrorist group, and ban its literature were
irrelevant, as would be making membership a criminal offence.

Instead, the debate concerned three related matters.

1. One of the foundations of the esoteric philosophy devised by Anton Long was and is its anarchical - or
as some would write and say its nihilistic - principle of the authority of individual judgment 4 which in
practice means that anyone is free to interpret that philosophy and implement it in their own individual
way and thus devise their own praxis or praxises to implement or presence it. Deriving from that
foundational principle is the fact that there is not, never has been, and cannot be any leader and thus no
one who can make any rules or state what is the correct, authorized, interpretation or implementation,
not even Anton Long himself. The principle also means one other thing: that there is not and cannot be
some Adept, some cabal or some "inner circle of Adepts" who can make rules or state what is the correct,
authorized, interpretation or implementation.

Hence there is no "official" - correct - interpretation of Anton Long's philosophy and no "official" - correct,
authorized - implementation or praxis of that philosophy. No official, authorized nexions, cells, temples, or
chapters. 5 No official, authorized statements or press releases; no official, authorized book(s), treatise(s),
or texts; and in this internet age, no official, authorized, websites, blogs, zines, social media accounts, or
whatever.
While there have been, in the past two years or so, many published texts, essays and even books by
various Adepts to explain that the disinformation concocted by an FBI-paid agent provocateur, as well as
the accusations and claims made regarding Anton Long's philosophy, are false, malicious, and
unsupported by Anton Long's writings, 6 these explanations - because of the principle of the authority of
individual judgment - have no ultimate authority and therefore can be judged by both supporters and
opponents of Anton Long's philosophy as just a particular interpretation of that philosophy.

The consensus was that an insider, an adept, interpretation of that philosophy is:

(i) that the appellation Order of Nine Angles refers to an esoteric tradition, a philosophy, which
has over decades become a sub-culture which individuals can identify with, and does not refer to
a group or organization which has or which recruits members;

(ii) that since it is a philosophy it has no leader or leaders;

(iii) that implicit in that philosophy and in the writings of Anton Long are certain ethical
boundaries; 7

(iv) that the actions and beliefs and attitudes of some of those who according to antifascists and
others may have been influenced by Anton Long's philosophy are dishonourable and
incompatible with that philosophy.

2. That while over the past forty years the anarchic-nihilistic principle of the authority of individual
judgment has contributed to the transmission of Anton Long's esoteric philosophy mainly in the lands of
the West but also in some non-Western lands, and led to the creation of nexions, cells, temples, and
chapters around the world describing themselves as "O9A", it has also contributed to diverse
interpretations of Anton Long's philosophy and to diverse practical implementations of that philosophy,
with some nexions producing their own literature about their interpretation and practical implementation
of that philosophy.

This has led to the situation that now exists in regard to (a) what-is and what-is-not "O9A" philosophy and
praxis, (b) who is and who is not "O9A", and (c) to various interpretations and mis-interpretations of or
disinformation about the "O9A" influencing certain individuals to do deeds which the Adept interpretation
of Anton Long's philosophy describes as dishonourable and incompatible with that philosophy.

3. The matter of the collective pathei-mathos, the learning from experience, which, for those Adepts,
resulted from their individual quests for Lapis Philosophicus by means of Anton Long's Seven Fold Way.
When compared, it was obvious, as Anton Long himself predicted, 8 that it changed their perception of
many aspects of Anton Long's philosophy including the practices of the Seven Fold Way with all but one of
the Adepts regarding many of those aspects as unnecessary for or incompatible with or no longer
relevant in respect of an individual esoteric quest for Lapis Philosophicus.

Among such aspects discovered by pathei-mathos to be unnecessary, incompatible, or no longer relevant

were:

(i) the games, deceptions, and the trickery presenced by Anton Long's Labyrinthos Mythologicus;

(ii) Occult rituals and ceremonies in general, and all types of sorcery;

(iii) Insight Roles;

(iv) the causal abstractions and dialectic involved in supporting or using for whatever reason
political forms such as National Socialism;

(v) Satanism, however defined or presenced;

(vi) the complexity of Anton Long's labyrinthine esoteric philosophy; (vii) the goal of seeking to
presence a New Aeon and to change what-is - such as society or societies - by any means
including but not limited to means which are or which can classified as political, religious,
ideological, social, mythological or Occult.

The consensus was that a modern individual quest, the ἄνοδος, for Lapis Philosophicus is an interior one
concerned with the individual learning through a non-political, non-religious, way by various and mostly
practical experiences some of which involve an isolation from the world, physical and intellectual
challenges, and a period or periods of contemplation of Nature by a living in a rural environment for a
certain period or periods.
        The conclusion reached as a result of the debate, with one dissenter, was that in respect of Anton
Long's labyrinthine esoteric philosophy and his Seven Fold Way, and with the foundational principle of the
authority of individual judgement meaning that their agreed interpretation has no authority whatsoever:
Desertam Indefensamque, and thus that they should present overtly, or covertly and individually, a new
ἄνοδος for Lapis Philosophicus derived from their own or their collective pathei-mathos devoid of what
was enumerated above as unnecessary, incompatible, or no longer relevant for such a modern and
mystical quest.

KS & The Seven Oxonians

30 November 2021 ev
v. 1.07

°°°

1) For the purpose of this text an Adept is considered to be someone who has successfully undertaken the
Grade Ritual of Internal Adept according to Anton Long's Seven Fold Way. Regarding that Way, refer to
The Seven Fold Way Of The Order Of Nine Angles: A Modern Practical Guide in The Seofonfeald Paeth,
https://archive.org/download/o9a-trilogy-print/o9a-trilogy-print.pdf

2) Regarding how much the FBI agent provocateur was paid: Case 2:20-cr-00032-JCC Document 194 Filed
08/13/21, https://www.scribd.com/document/606088463/Trial-Of-Kaleb-Cole-Motion-To-Suppress

3) As described in chapter V: Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And Hermeticism,

<begin quote>

Lapis Philosophicus refers to that which is sought by means of an individual hermetic (esoteric,
alchemical) quest: which is Wisdom, whereby Wisdom is meant a balanced, rational, personal judgement
and a particular knowledge of a paganus kind concerning livings beings, human nature, Nature, the
Cosmic Order (κόσμος) and our connexion to such manifestations of the μονάς.

As a term Lapis Philosophicus means the "jewel of the alchemist", since the term Philosophicus means an
alchemist and not, as is commonly said, a philosopher, just as lapis (qv. λίθος τῶν σοφῶν) when used in
Latin alchemical texts means "jewel" and not "stone".

For Hermetic tradition relates that λίθος as a jewel, or precious stone, was attested by Herodotus, who in
The Histories, Book II, 44, wrote, in reference to "the sacred Temple of Heracles", ἣ δὲ σμαράγδου λίθου
λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος.

It was possibly used in the same way by Aristotle who wrote, in reference to the Nine Archons,

ἀναγράψαντες δὲ τοὺς νόμους εἰς τοὺς κύρβεις ἔστησαν ἐν τῇ στοᾷ τῇ βασιλείῳ καὶ ὤμοσαν
χρήσεσθαι πάντες. οἱ δ ̓ ἐννέα ἄρχοντες ὀμνύντες πρὸς τῷ λίθῳ κατεφάτιζον ἀναθήσειν
ἀνδριάντα χρυσοῦν, ἐάν τινα παραβῶσι τῶν νόμων: ὅθεν ἔτι καὶ νῦν οὕτως ὀμνύουσι. Athenian
Constitution, 7.1

Also, as noted in English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language by S. C. Woodhouse,

published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1910, the term λίθος describes a jewel, as in Plato:

ὧν καὶ τὰ ἐνθάδε λιθίδια εἶναι ταῦτα τὰ ἀγαπώμενα μόρια, σάρδιά τε καὶ ἰάσπιδας καὶ
σμαράγδους καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα: ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐδὲν ὅτι οὐ τοιοῦτον εἶναι καὶ ἔτι τούτων καλλίω.
Phaedo 110 δ-ε

<end quote>

4) Refer to chapter III, Paradox Of The O9A Authority Of Individual Judgment

5) Such causal manifestation of the ethos of Anton Long's philosophy - such as forming or joining a nexion
or cell - are one of tasks of the External Adept.

6) Editorial Addendum. In 2023 the debate was usefully summarized in the following way:

"Is an esoteric philosophy which appears to have no morality, no ethical boundaries, and no one
in authority to declaim what is not acceptable, in some way culpable for despicable,
dishonourable, deeds which some self-declared adherents do or propagate in its name?

This is the dilemma we faced before deciding to develop or own Hebdomian Way after some
 years of following an example of that type of authority-less philosophy for while we understood it
did have ethical boundaries, which we endeavoured to explain in a fourteen page tract published
in October 2021, they were so well hidden by a 'Labyrinthos Mythologicus' that only one or two
individuals per decade discovered them.

The glib answer in regard to such culpability, used by some stalwarts of that esoteric philosophy,
is that no, it is not responsible and cannot be held responsible citing as proof its anarchic nature.
To us, this seemed disingenuous and against those ethical boundaries which only a few in over
four decades had discovered.

Can something anarchic in nature open to various interpretations and misinterpretations - and
thus to the whims of individuals - serve as a means to wisdom? We did not believe so and thus
developed our own esotericism." O9A: A Moral Dilemma?

7) Anton Long wrote:

"For the ONA, what matters is the individual developing, from their own years-long (mostly
decades-long) practical experience, a personal weltanschauung: that is, discovering their own
individual answers to certain questions concerning themselves, life, existence, the Occult, and
the nature of Reality." Anton Long, The Discovery and Knowing of Satan, https://web.archive.org
/web/20111129112554/http://antonlong.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/the-discovery-and-knowing-
of-satan/

"I claim no authority, and my creations, profuse as they are, will in the end be accepted or
rejected on the basis of whether they work. Satan forbid they should ever become 'dogma' or a
matter of 'faith'. I also expect to see them become transformed, by their own metamorphosis
and that due to other individuals: changed, extended and probably ultimately transcended, may
be even forgotten. They – like the individual I am at the moment – are only a stage, toward
something else." Satanic Letters of Stephen Brown, letter to Michael Aquino, dated 20th October
1990 ev, https://archive.org/download/satanicletters-1/satanicletters-1.pdf

"Each individual develops their own unique perspective and insight as a consequence of striving
to achieve Adeptship – a perspective and insight which derives mainly from practical experience,
both magickal and personal." Letter to Michael Aquino, dated 7th September 1990 ev,
https://archive.org/download/satanicletters-1/satanicletters-1.pdf
 A New Beginning: The Hebdomian Way

The Hebdomadary

The term Hebdomadary in the context of the Hebdomian Way refers to the individual who is undertaking
an esoteric journey or quest (ἄνοδος) for Lapis Philosophicus by means of following the path that is the
Hebdomian Way. The Way consists of seven stages which ancient hermetic tradition symbolized by the
seven classical planets beginning with Lune, the Moon, and ending with Saturni, Saturn:

The illustration above is from a copy of the Latin text known as the Picatrix and which Latin texts date
from c.1300 - c.1459 ev, with a manuscript in the British Library known as Sloane MS 3679 providing a
useful summary of the text, a table of contents, and a listing of the seven planets.

The Latin Picatrix derives from a Spanish translation of an earlier Arabic text known as Ghayat al-hakim
(c.1050 ev) where the seven planets are symbolized thus:

The seven stages were symbolized in various ways in later texts, such as in the book Azoth Sive Aureliae
Occultae Philosophorum published in 1613 ev which included the following illustration using planetary
symbols still in use:

The above illustration also includes (in the lower triangle) the sigils of the three fundamental alchemical
substances, Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury, whose combinations provide Azoth, the living water of life,
illustrated in colour in the Rosarium Philosophorum, {1} an 18th century manuscript containing an
English translation of De Alchimia Opuscula Complura Veterum Philosophorum published in 1550 ev. {2}
The Hermetic Quest And Pathei-Mathos

The hermetic quest was described in terms of a journey, the progression, from the first, lower, sphere to
the seventh, higher, sphere in the Ποιμάνδρης (Poemander/Pymander/Poemandres) tractate of the
Corpus Hermeticum, written in Hellenistic Greek, and which dates from between c. 100 and 230 ev.

καὶ οὕτως ὁρμᾷ λοιπὸν ἄνω διὰ τῆς ἁρμονίας, καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ ζώνῃ
δίδωσι τὴν αὐξητικὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ τὴν μειωτικήν, καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ
τὴν μηχανὴν τῶν κακῶν, δόλον ἀνενέργητον, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τὴν
ἐπιθυμητικὴν ἀπάτην ἀνενέργητον, καὶ τῇ τετάρτῃ τὴν ἀρχοντικὴν
προφανίαν ἀπλεονέκτητον, καὶ τῇ πέμπτῃ τὸ θράσος τὸ ἀνόσιον καὶ
τῆς τόλμης τὴν προπέτειαν, καὶ τῇ ἕκτῃ τὰς ἀφορμὰς τὰς κακὰς τοῦ
πλούτου ἀνενεργήτους, καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ζώνῃ τὸ ἐνεδρεῦον ψεῦδος.

"Thus does the mortal hasten through the harmonious structure, offering up, in the first realm,
that vigour which grows and which fades, and - in the second one - those dishonourable
machinations, no longer functioning. In the third, that eagerness which deceives, no longer
functioning; in the fourth, the arrogance of command, no longer insatiable; in the fifth, profane
insolence and reckless haste; in the sixth, the bad inclinations occasioned by riches, no longer
functioning; and in the seventh realm, the lies that lie in wait." {3}

In the Hebdomian Way the seven spheres are as anciently named and in the sequence Moon, Mercury,
Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, with each sphere associated with a pathei-mathos, πάθει μάθος, where
by pathei-mathos in the context of the Hebdomian Way is meant a personal learning from or a personal
discovery due to a particular and practical experience.

What is learned is germane to the individual, but the fundamental aim of each learning experience, each
task, is to develop the faculties, both physical and perceiverational, of the individual with the
perceiverational faculties including insight, rational understanding, and empathy. Thus, the task, the
learning experience, of the stage associated with the sphere of the Sun involves the perceiveration of
one's own physis (φύσις) - our character, persona, psyche, being, nature - and the perceiveration of the
physis of Nature and of the κόσμος (cosmic order) beyond, and thus of the connexion between one's own
physis to (α) Nature, to the living beings, (emanations) of Nature on our planet including other human
beings, and to (ω) the Kosmos beyond, and which Kosmos includes (i) other star-systems in our Galaxy
and the planets around some of those stars and the possible living beings (life-forms) on some of those
planets, and (ii) the billions of other Galaxies with their star-systems and planets and possible life-forms.

This personal learning by means of a graded journey of seven stages each of which stages involve a
suggested practical task is all that is involved in the Hebdomian Way. There is thus no initiation, ritualized
or otherwise; no ceremonies or rituals Occult or otherwise, and no named Grades such as the one which
some Occult praxises term 'Adept'.

The quest, or progression along the Way, is simply the natural change, the evolution, which can occur in
the physis of the individual by means of undertaking the suggested tasks in the suggested order.

Philosophical And Hermetic Foundations Of The Hebdomian Way

The Hebdomian Way is based on two philosophical principles. The first, deriving from hermeticism and
alchemy, is that there is an inner - an esoteric, batin {4} - nature to Being and to we human beings which
is not perceptible to our physical senses and which cannot be discovered by the experimental method of
science.

The second principle, also hermetic and alchemical, is that this inner nature can be apprehended, or
represented, by a particular symbolism or by various symbolisms and also by the relationships between
symbols, because of the Aristotelian principle that existence/reality is a reasoned order (κόσμος) capable
of being rationally understood, with human beings in their natural state of physis (φύσις) - or fitrah - an
eikon (εἰκὼν) of that ordered structure.

Hence Marsilii Ficini in his De Vita Coelitus Comparanda writing in 1489 ev that:

"Quomodo per inferiora superioribus exposita deducantur superiora, et per mundanas materias
mundana potissimum dona."

"How, when what is lower is touched by what is higher, the higher is cosmically presenced
therein and thus gifted because cosmically aligned." {5}

Which is a re-expression of the hermetic principle quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius (what is
above is as what is below) from a Latin version (Liber Hermetis de alchimia) of a commentary on the
Arabic alchemical text al-Lawh al-Zumurrud, The Emerald Table. {6}

As Ficini goes on to explain – Est igitur non solum corporeus, sed vitae insuper et intelligentiae particeps.
Quamobrem praeter corpus hoc mundi sensibus familiariter manifestum latet in eo spiritus corpus
quoddam excedens caduci sensus capacitatem – the world/kosmos (mundus) and by extension we
ourselves as part of the kosmos are not only material (corporeal) but also imbued with the vitae (Life;
Being; ψυχή) and the intelligentiae (apprehension) of that which is above; and that beyond obvious outer
appearances there is a hidden, an inner, animating (spiritus) aspect which our 'lower', more mundane,
senses are unaware of.

Hermeticism And Alchemy

Alchemy, al-χημία (from χῡμεία) is the flowing, the changing; and the secret, or esoteric, alchemy was
often understood not as a transformation, a changing, of inert, lifeless, substances (metallic, chemical or
otherwise) but as the transformation, the changing, of the alchemist: as a type of symbiosis between the
alchemist and the substances (ὕλη) or materia being used such as the living ones associated with a
particular septenary sphere or several or all of the spheres, and which living materia in Arabic texts
included the Ruhaniyyat - celestial beings - associated with the seven spheres and the human-made
imago - "a semblance"- by which an individual can re-present them and which representations include
sigils.

This alchemical symbiotic transformation was arguably first described in the Ποιμάνδρης tractate: as the
quest, ἄνοδος, through the seven spheres and thus as the desire to both know/discover the physis of
beings, νοῆσαι τὴν τού των φύσιν, and to acquire knowledge of, to know, the theos, γνῶναι τὸν θεόν,
where the theos is later described as ἀρρενόθηλυς, both male-and-female. In the same tractate it is
written that there are seven celestial διοικητάς:

"Theos, the perceiveration, male-and-female, being Life and phaos, whose logos brought forth
another perceiveration, an artisan, who - theos of Fire and pnuema - fashioned seven viziers to
surround the perceptible cosmic order in spheres and whose administration is described as fate."
Poemandres, v. 9, translated Myatt, Corpus Hermeticum, op.cit

Thus, the Hebdomadary could be considered as a modern alchemist in the hermetic tradition.

°°°
{1} MS Ferguson 210, University of Glasgow Library.

{2} A copy of De Alchimia Opuscula Complura Veterum Philosophorum is available at

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=SQ9Non4XspUC [Accessed November 2021]

{3} Poemandres, v. 25, translated by D. Myatt , Corpus Hermeticum, Eight Tractates, 2017,
https://davidmyatt.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/eight-tractates-v2-print.pdf. It should be noted that Myatt
reads (with several of the MSs) ὑπερηφανίαν not προφανίαν.

Myatt's commentary on the Poemandres tractate explains much about Hellenic hermeticism and which
hermeticism arguably influenced the much later Arabic Ghayat al-hakim.

{4} The term batin and the following term fitrah are taken from Islamic philosophy.

{5} The translation is by Myatt, from his commentary on section 2 of tractate IV in Corpus Hermeticum:
Eight Tractates, op.cit.

{6} The title refers to a precious jewel - emerald - and recalls the meaning of Lapis in the alchemical term
Lapis Philosophicus. Incidently, Zumurrud is a female character in two of the stories from the
Persian/Arabic tales known in the West as The Thousand And One Nights. She is from Samarkand with her
full name being "emerald from Samarkand".
 The Paradox Of The O9A Authority Of Individual Judgment

It is my opinion that the 'principle of the authority of individual judgment' is something of a paradox - qv. ὅτι εἰκότως
ἄρα ὤκνουν τε καὶ ἐδεδοίκη οὕτω παράδοξον λόγον λέγειν τε καὶ ἐπιχειρεῖν διασκοπεῖν, Plato, Republic, 472α. But
discuss it we now must given what it has led to: individuals and groups associating themselves with the Order of Nine
Angles - the esoteric philosophy presenced by Anton Long - being associated by non-O9A folk with those who have
preached in favour of and in some cases undertaken what I and a few other O9A folk consider to be dishonourable,
cowardly, deeds inconsistent with the ethos, the aesthetic, of O9A esoteric philosophy. An inconsistently described in
my text The Boundaries Of O9A Philosophy. {1}

If it is accepted as I have argued in that text that the writings of Anton Long - 1976-2012 - are the primary sources of
Order of Nine Angles (O9A) esoteric philosophy then those writings clearly indicate Anton Long himself and his writings
are not authoritative but only a beginning, for he claimed no authority and expected his creations such as the O9A to
evolve:

"I claim no authority, and my creations, profuse as they are, will in the end be accepted or rejected on the
basis of whether they work [...] I also expect to see them become transformed, by their own metamorphosis
and that due to other individuals: changed, extended and probably ultimately transcended, may be even
forgotten. They – like the individual I am at the moment – are only a stage, toward something else." {2}

In stark practical terms this, and similar statements by Anton Long, means that anyone can interpret O9A esoteric
philosophy in whatever way they want and establish their own nexion which propagates that interpretation with there
being no "authorized" version of O9A philosophy and no person or nexion claiming to "officially" represent the O9A.

As described in the text Aristocracy, Anarchy, or Nihilism? The Continuing Internal O9A Debate,

"One of the many interesting things about the Order of Nine Angles is the diversity of opinion and
interpretation among those who associate themselves with the O9A or who follow or who are inspired by the
esoteric philosophy of Anton Long. Such a diversity of opinion and interpretation of matters O9A is natural
and necessary [for] the O9A, from its beginnings, has – via its praxises and its principle of individual
judgement – encouraged every O9A person, nexion, group, or cell, to develop their own interpretation of
everything O9A." {3}

It also means that my interpretation of there being ethical boundaries embedded in the writings of Anton Long {1} is
only my interpretation and possesses no authority and can therefore be rejected or accepted by individuals according
to their own judgment, pathei-mathos, and/or esoteric intuition.

    This question of interpretation, of exegesis, is relevant to many philosophies and religions whose followers or
adherents often have to rely on translations of texts. Thus, students of Western philosophy often study the works of
Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Heidegger in translation just as most adherents of the religion of Christianity rely on
translations of the Old and New Testaments, which reliance can lead to differing interpretations of meaning and as in
the case of Christianity to schisms, to varying claims of authority, and even to accusations of heresy. {4}

Understood thus, the lack of authority and lack of orthodoxy in O9A philosophy is an advantage and has contributed to
an increase in the number of people who associate themselves with it, follow its esotericism and the praxis that is the
Seven Fold Way, or are influenced by O9A philosophy and praxis in some manner. It also has the advantage that
governments cannot proscribe - ban - the O9A since, being a philosophy, it does not have a "leader" or a hierarchy or
any official nexions or even any members but has morphed from being an esoteric philosophy into being a diverse
Occult sub-culture.

Yet as recent, post-2018, events have revealed {5} it is also something of a disadvantage since those adherents with
their particular interpretation  - such as the TWS Nexion - are and have been mistakenly or deliberately associated by
opponents of O9A philosophy with an often diametric interpretation such as that manufactured by the American
Tempel ov Blood whose founder was later exposed as an FBI agent provocateur and paid US$78,133.20 (plus expenses
of $4,378.60) by the FBI between February 7, 2018 and early 2020. {6}

The paradox, inherent in O9A philosophy, is thus whether those so maligned, by whomsoever for whatever reason, by
such a different (mis)interpretation - in the case of the TWS Nexion, with a maliciously manufactured
(mis)interpretation - should still align themselves with O9A philosophy, or whether they as a natural consequence of
their esoterically acquired pathei-mathos and as Anton Long foresaw {7} develop their own esoteric philosophy and
praxis, as the TWS Nexion has done with their Hebdomian Way. {8}

The answer, again in my opinion, is that it is for each individual or nexion to resolve/solve the paradox for themselves
using their own judgment, pathei-mathos, and/or esoteric intuition.

Rachael Stirling
Seven Oxonians
January 2022 ev

{1} The Boundaries Of O9A Philosophy, https://theo9away.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/o9a-boundaries-philosophy-

v9.pdf

{2} Satanic Letters of Stephen Brown, letter to Michael Aquino, dated 20th October 1990 ev, https://archive.org
/download/satanicletters-1/satanicletters-1.pdf

{3} https://web.archive.org/web/20170928031528/https://omega9alpha.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/o9a-anarchy-
v1.pdf

The text is quoted in The O9A And AWD – A Summary. https://web.archive.org/web/20200702103602/https:

//wyrdsister.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/the-o9a-and-atomwaffen-a-summary/

{4} Myatt in his On Minutiae And The Art Of Revision - https://davidmyatt.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/on-minutiae-and-

the-art-of-revision/ - gives an example in the case of Christianity regarding the difference between the interpretation of
θεὸς and ὁ θεὸς which led to the fourth century (ev) Arian heresy named after the Alexandrian priest Arius.

{5} I refer of course to the FBI disinformation campaign and its consequences one of which was the adoption of a
particular anti-O9A narrative by antifascists, by some politicians, and by sundry journalists and academics. The
disinformation campaign is outlined in The Urban Myth Of The Occult Phantom Menace,
https://theo9away.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/urban-myth-o9a-v7.pdf

{6} https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21046907/kaleb-cole-august-13-2021-motion-to-suppress.pdf

{7} "Each individual develops their own unique perspective and insight as a consequence of striving to achieve
Adeptship – a perspective and insight which derives mainly from practical experience, both magickal and personal."
Letter to Michael Aquino, dated 7th September 1990 ev, https://archive.org/download/satanicletters-
1/satanicletters-1.pdf

{8} https://sevenoxonians.wordpress.com/
 The Sevenfold Seeking And Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way

°°°

I. The Sevenfold Seeking.

II. Noesis And The Star Game.
III. The Noetic Star Game.
   The Moves.
   Initial Placement.
   The Objective.
IV. The Seven Stages.
   The Overcoming.
   The Tasks.
Footnotes.

Seven Oxonians
March 2022 ev
v. 1.03

Image Credit:
The Horae (ὧραι)
Attic red-figure vase, c. 500-450 BCE
Antikensammlung, Berlin

°°°

I. The Sevenfold Seeking

The Hebdomian Way is a modern hermetic ἐπιστήμη, épistémé: a means to change the φύσις, physis - the
character/nature/perception - of an individual by practical means involving a seeking or quest; which seeking derives
from ancient hermeticism and which practical means, as the term hebdomian implies, involves seven stages with the
goal being the discovery of wisdom understood in hermetic terms as a balanced, rational, personal judgement and a
particular knowledge of a paganus kind concerning livings beings, human nature, Nature, the Cosmic Order (κόσμος)
and our connexion to such emanations of what has been variously termed Being, The-Unity, The One-The Only (τὸ ἓν),
and The Monas (μονάς).

This sevenfold seeking (ἄνοδος) for wisdom - to "learn what is real, to apprehend the physis of beings, and to have
knowledge of the theos", Μαθεῖν θέλω τὰ ὄντα καὶ νοῆσαι τὴν τούτων φύσιν καὶ γνῶναι τὸν θεόν - has been described
and written about, in the cultures of European lands, for around two thousand years beginning with the text of the
Ποιμάνδρης (Poemandres) tractate of the Corpus Hermeticum written between c.100 and c.230 ev from which the
foregoing quotation is taken, with ὁ θεός, the theos, variously understood over the centuries: from the pagan the
divinity, the chief /divinity/god such as Zeus in ancient Greek mythoi; to the μονὰς and the τὸ ἓν (Monas and The One-
The Only) of Hermeticism, of the Gnostics, and of some alchemists of Renaissance Europe; to the monotheistic
God/Allah of Christian and Muslim theologists and other alchemists; to more modern non-theological interpretations as
Being, the source of beings. {1}

The sevenfold manner of this seeking, this anados through the seven spheres of the 'harmonious, ordered, structure',
{2} is described in the Poemandres tractate in the following terms:

καὶ οὕτως ὁρμᾷ λοιπὸν ἄνω διὰ τῆς ἁρμονίας, καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ ζώνῃ δίδωσι τὴν αὐξητικὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ τὴν
μειωτικήν, καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ τὴν μηχανὴν τῶν κακῶν, δόλον ἀνενέργητον, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τὴν ἐπιθυμητικὴν
ἀπάτην ἀνενέργητον, καὶ τῇ τετάρτῃ τὴν ἀρχοντικὴν προφανίαν ἀπλεονέκτητον, καὶ τῇ πέμπτῃ τὸ θράσος
τὸ ἀνόσιον καὶ τῆς τόλμης τὴν προπέτειαν, καὶ τῇ ἕκτῃ τὰς ἀφορμὰς τὰς κακὰς τοῦ πλούτου ἀνενεργήτους,
καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ζώνῃ τὸ ἐνεδρεῦον ψεῦδος.

"Thus does the mortal hasten through the harmonious structure, offering up, in the first realm, that vigour
which grows and which fades, and - in the second one - those dishonourable machinations, no longer
functioning. In the third, that eagerness which deceives, no longer functioning; in the fourth, the arrogance of
command, no longer insatiable; in the fifth, profane insolence and reckless haste; in the sixth, the bad
inclinations occasioned by riches, no longer functioning; and in the seventh realm, the lies that lie in wait." 
Poemandres, v. 25, translated by D. Myatt {3}

Ερμόυ του Τρισμεγ́ ιστου Ποιμ́ ανδρης Ασκληπιόυ ́Οροι προς  ́Αμμονα Βασιλ́εα
1554 ev. pp.8-9

In modern terms, the human traits described as being 'offered up' (δίδωμι) during the sevenfold seeking are:

° 1. That vigour - enthusiasm - which grows and which fades.

° 2. Those dishonourable machinations.
° 3. That eagerness which deceives.
° 4. The arrogance of authority over others.
° 5. Profane insolence and reckless haste.
° 6. The bad inclinations occasioned by a comfortable life-style.
° 7. The lies that lie in wait.

What is noticeable is that in the Poemandres text the stages, the seven spheres of the harmonious structure, are not
assigned names (denotata) or designated by 'grades' or associated with the seven classical planets Moon, Mercury,
Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Such associations were later developments as was this sevenfold seeking for wisdom
being described as the quest for Lapis Philosophicus understood as the attainment by an individual of wisdom. {4}

Such an association with those named planets inevitably, given the nature of gnosticism, hermeticism, and alchemy,
led over the centuries - as Evola noted {5} - to diverse arrangements for their order.

One such arrangement was:

 Azoth Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum, 1613 ev. p. 57

Another, depicted as a living tree and on the title page, was:

Azoth Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum, 1613 ev. 

One of the oldest illustrated arrangements, so far discovered, is that given in the Arabic text Ghayat al-hakim dating
from c.1050 ev where the named spheres are in the order (if read from right to left) Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-
Mercury-Moon:
Furthermore, Cicero in Book VI of his De Re Publica - a section commonly known as Somnium Scipionis - written at least
a century before the text of the Poemandres tractate and over a thousand years before Ghayat al-hakim, mentions the
seven spheres in the following order: Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon. Which is a descending order from
the supreme deity to the embedded constant stars to the seven spheres below them. {6}

Which descending arrangement is reversed in many Renaissance texts including the following which helpfully numbers
them from 1-7:

Azoth Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum, 1613 ev. p. 66

In his 1564 (ev) work Monas Hieroglyphica John Dee provides another sequence:
 Monas Hieroglyphica, 1564 ev

A later work (1682 ev) provides two sequences both with the Sun at the centre:

Jakob Böhme, De Signatura Rerum, 1682 ev .p.252

Such association of the seven spheres of the ἄνοδος with the seven classical planets also led to often varying tables of
correspondences giving what were assumed or believed to be the attributes or the qualities or the nature of each
sphere, with for example the sphere of Saturn attributed in one work to the metal Lead, the alchemical stage of
Putrefaction, and the constellation Capricorn:
 Theatrum chemicum, praecipuos selectorum auctorum tractatus
de chemiae et lapidis philosophici antiquitate, Volumen secundum. 1659 ev. p.10

°°°

II. Noesis And The Star Game

One esoteric and important feature of The Hebdomian Way is that the seven stages although in a particular sequence
are named only initially and purely for convenience and have no correspondences or any attributes associated with
them - mythological, alchemical, astronomical, philosophical, psychological, Occult, or otherwise - save for those
personal qualities associated with a particular stage or sphere in the Poemandres tractate. That is, The Hebdomian
Way returns to the primary hermetic source since the essence of that Way is changing the individual through pathei-
mathos - πάθει μάθος, the personal learning or discovery resulting from practical experiences and challenges - with
everything external or internal to this considered as unnecessary, unhelpful, and distractive.

The sequence of The Hebdomian Way is the Ciceronian and ancient one of Moon-Mercury-Venus-Sun-Mars-Jupiter-
Saturn although as was often done in medieval and Renaissance times in Europe this particular order could be and
often was inverted, as Evola mentions:

Evola, op.cit., p.172

In the practical and uncomplicated Hebdomian Way such a reversal has no significance, for what is significant is the
pathei-mathos which could 'offer up' the trait of a particular stage howsoever that stage is named or not-named.

Which is why the noetic version of The Star Game (see section III) can be used as an experiencing and understanding
of the Hebdomad and the sevenfold seeking, sans denotata, thus betaking the individual beyond the unnecessary need
for both a dialectic of opposites and the exegesis of the written word, an exegesis evident for example in the various
and varying translations/interpretations of the tractates of the Corpus Hermeticum. Which personal and noetic
experiencing and understanding of the Hebdomad and the sevenfold seeking forms a necessary part of the pathei-
mathos of the first stage of the Hebdomian Way, with noesis understood as a silent, contemplative, way of knowing
and 'thinking' as intimated in the enigmatic tractate XIII of the Corpus Hermeticum:

i) σοφία νοερὰ ἐν σιγῇ

noetic sapientia is in silence. (v.2)

ii) νοερῶς ἔγνως σεαυτὸν

Through noesis you have obtained knowledge about yourself. (v.22)

Of which translation Myatt writes {7} in his commentary:

2. noetic sapientia. For a variety of reasons, I have used the term noetic sapientia to denote σοφία νοερὰ.

i) The metaphysical terms νοῦς νοερός, νοῦς οὐσιώδης, and νοῦς ζωτικός occur in Proclus, qv. Procli
Diadochi In Platonis Timaeum Commentari, Volume 5, Book 4, 245-247; Procli in Platonis Parmenidem
Commentaria, II 733 and IV 887. Interestingly, Proclus associates νοερός with the three 'septenary planets'
Mercury, Venus, and the Sun.

Here, σοφία νοερὰ may well suggest a particular hermetic principle which requires contextual interpretation.

ii) As noted in my commentary on Poemandres 29 - where I used the Latin sapientia in respect of σοφία - in
some contexts the English word 'wisdom' does not fully reflect the meaning (and the various shades) of
σοφία, especially in a metaphysical (or esoteric) context given what the English term 'wisdom' now, in
common usage and otherwise, often denotes. As in the Poemandres tractate sapientia (for σοφία) requires
contextual - a philosophical - interpretation, as Sophia (for σοφία) does in tractate XI where it is there
suggestive, as with Aion, Kronos, and Kosmos, of a personified metaphysical principle.

iii) In respect of νοερός, the English word 'intellectual' has too many irrelevant modern connotations, with
phrases such as 'intellectual wisdom' and 'the wisdom that understands' - for σοφία νοερὰ - unhelpful
regarding suggesting a relevant philosophical meaning. Hence the use of the term 'noetic' which suggests a
particular type of apprehension - a perceiveration - whereby certain knowledge and a particular
understanding can be ascertained.

Thus, noetic sapientia implies that the knowledge and understanding that is noetically acquired transcends -
or at least is different from - that acquired both (a) through observation of and deductions concerning
phenomena and (b) through the use of <denotata> whereby beings are given 'names' and assigned to
abstractive categories with such naming and such categories assumed to provide knowledge and
understanding of the physis of those beings. [In respect of physis, qv. the comment on φύσεως μιᾶς in
section 12.]

In addition, given what follows - ἐν σιγῇ, 'in silence' - such knowledge and understanding does not require
nor depend upon words whether they be spoken or written or thought. Hence, the 'source' of mortals is in,
can be known and understood through, the silence of noetic sapientia.

°°°

III. The Noetic Star Game

The noetic Star Game is the use of The Star Game as either (i) a type of silent contemplative meditation by one person
who plays one side - the 'white pieces' - against the other side - the 'black pieces' - with an objective determined
beforehand, or (ii) against a partner, as in chess, again with an objective determined beforehand.

In both instances the game can be useful in developing an insight into the hebdomad and such matters as the flow and
transformation - unfolding, and loss - of beings (symbolised by the pieces) through causality and otherwise; and how
symbols as in mathematics and symbolic logic can enable diverse and sometimes new connections to be perceived,
sans denotata.

The Star Game itself is a three-dimensional seven-board game developed by David Myatt in 1975 with the seven
boards, each board of nine white and nine black squares, placed in a spiral one above the other, representing the
hermetic hebdomad, and named after the stars Naos, Deneb, Rigel, Mira, Antares, Arcturus, and Sirius.
The pieces are designated by symbols and which symbols can be of two types: purely symbolic using a combination of
Greek letters or alchemical using alchemical sigils. Each side - or player - as in chess has a set of either white pieces or
black pieces, with each player having 27 pieces consisting of three sets of nine combinations. In terms of Greek letters
the nine pieces for each player are:

α(α) α(β) α(γ) β(α) β(β) β(γ) γ(α) γ(β) γ(γ)

Each piece is thus marked with the appropriate symbol - for example α(α) - with each piece allowed to move across a
board, or up or down from board to board, according to its type. Only a γ(γ) type of piece can capture other opposing
pieces, and a captured piece is removed from the boards and plays no further part in the game. The basic rule of play
is that after a piece has been moved – whether across a board or from one board to a higher or lower board – it is
transformed into another piece according to a set sequence and then can be moved according to its new designation.
Another rule is that pieces can only stay on the Mira board for three moves: once placed on Mira, the player has three
moves before it must be moved to another board. Thus, if a α(α) piece is on Mira it cannot escape since it can only
move across the board in which case the piece is forfeited and removed from the game.

The set sequence, for symbolic Greek pieces, is:

Thus, a α(α) piece when it is moved becomes a α(β) piece; α(β) becomes α(γ) and so on. When a γ(γ) piece is moved it
reverts to being a α(α) piece.

In terms of alchemical sigils, the pieces are:

Alchemical Mercury, Alchemical Salt, Alchemical Sulphur

and the sequence is:

It is for each individual to decide which type of symbolism to use, with the alchemical one and the boards of The Star
Game illustrated in the following image:
 Image 1
The Star Game

The image shows how the pieces are often constructed: as cubes (of wood or other material) with the sides painted
with symbols in sequence. Thus, on the six faces of one cube its faces/sides would be marked α(α) α(β) α(γ) β(α) β(β)
β(γ). In use, the symbol on the top of the cube – for example α(α) – is the 'active' symbol, and designates the type of
piece. When this α(α) piece is moved, it becomes α(β) with the cube turned so that the α(β) symbol is at the top. On its
next move, this α(β) piece would be transformed into α(γ) and the cube turned again so that the α(γ) symbol was at
the top. This method of marking pieces also means that each player has to make extra (spare) pieces.

At the start of the game, each player has six particular pieces on Sirius, three pieces on Arcturus, six pieces on
Antares, three on Rigel, six on Deneb, three on Naos, and none on Mira. As in other board games, the players take
turns to make their moves.

The Moves

After a piece has been moved and changed to the one next in sequence it moves according to the type of piece it has
become. Thus, α(γ) becomes β(α) and moves according to the rules for a β piece.

° The α pieces - α(α) α(β) α(γ) - can move only across the board they are on to any vacant square.
° The β pieces - β(α) β(β) β(γ) - can move across the board they are already on to any vacant square, and up, or down,
one level - for example, from Arcturus up to Antares, or down to Sirius.

° The γ pieces can move to any (vacant) square on any board and a γ(γ) piece can capture any opposing piece on any
square on any board, with the captured piece removed from the board and playing no further part. Once moved the
γ(γ) becomes α(α) and as an α piece can only move across the board it has landed on.

The player or players decide before the start whether or not to allow a rule variation that increases the difficulty of the
game: that pieces on Naos cannot be captured by a γ(γ) piece.

Initial Placement

The initial placings are as follows:

° Six pieces are placed on Sirius - two sets of alpha pieces - for white, and six for black as in Figure 1.

Sirius

°°°
° Arcturus has three pieces for white and three for black, as in Figure 2:
 Arcturus

°°°

° Antares has six pieces for white and six for black - two sets of beta pieces, placed exactly as the pieces on the Sirius
board.

° Mira has no pieces on it at the start.

° Rigel has the three remaining pieces (for each player) of the beta sets, placed as the alpha pieces on Arcturus.

° Deneb has six pieces of white and six of black from the gamma set, placed as the alpha set on Sirius.

° Naos has the three remaining pieces of the gamma set, placed the same as the alpha sets of Arcturus.

The Objective

The objective is flexible and decided by the player or players before the game. The standard objective is to place three
particular pieces on certain squares on Mira, with the type of these pieces and their placing on that board decided
beforehand. One such placement is,
where the sub-script λ indicates the winning position for the player of the white pieces, with the three other pieces the
winning position for the player of the black pieces. The first to so place such pieces, wins the game.

The player or players can also decide beforehand to waive the rule that allows pieces to only stay on the Mira board for
three moves.

°°°

IV. The Seven Stages

The Overcoming

° 1. That vigour - enthusiasm - which grows and which fades.

° 2. Those dishonourable machinations.
° 3. That eagerness which deceives.
° 4. The arrogance of authority over others.
° 5. Profane insolence and reckless haste.
° 6. The bad inclinations occasioned by a comfortable life-style.
° 7. The lies that lie in wait.

Thus, and as an example, the second stage is the 'offering up' - the overcoming - of "dishonourable machinations" with
the pathei-mathos involved a series of physical challenges, detailed below, which for many would be quite challenging
with those who, before beginning their seeking have achieved such challenges setting themselves greater challenges
and achieving them, such as instead of the suggested, for a man, training for and running a Marathon in four and a
half hours, running one in four hours or much less.

How does or how can the overcoming by the Hebdomadary - the seeker - of such physical challenges distance a person
from dishonourable machinations? Because practical experience over decades by a variety of persons has revealed
that the training can and should take months, is physically and mentally demanding and time-consuming, and
distances one metaphorically and often physically from a world where "dishonourable machinations" may be and
possibly have been personally advantageous to the seeker and probably known to have been used by others either
against the seeker or otherwise.
The Tasks

1.

Obtain copies of and read tractates I, III, IV, and XIII of The Corpus Hermeticum. The book containing the tractates
should have a scholarly commentary and if a translation is required at least two different versions should be obtained,
read and compared. {8} Afterwards, write an essay concerning your understanding of Hellenic Hermeticism. If an
individual unversed in the classics has a desire to do so they can learn Hellenistic Greek and undertake their own
translations. In understanding hermeticism the individual may find the study and use of the noetic Star Game helpful.

2.

For men, (a) walking thirty-two miles, in rural terrain, in less than seven hours while carrying a rucksack weighing at
least 30 pounds; (b) running 26 miles and 385 yards (a Marathon) in four and a half hours; (c) cycling two hundred or
more miles in twelve hours.

For women, (a) walking twenty-seven miles in under seven hours while carrying a rucksack weighing at least 15
pounds; (b) running 26 miles and 385 yards (a Marathon) in five hours; (c) cycling one hundred and seventy miles in
twelve hours.

Those who, before beginning their quest have already reached such standards should set themselves greater physical
challenges and achieve them.

3.

With an existing partner, or after finding a suitable partner willing to undertake the task with you, find a hill or
mountain in an isolated area - or a desert area miles from any human habitation - which affords an unobstructed night-
time view of the stars and wild-camp there for at least three days and nights.

4.

A living alone in an wilderness area, near water suitable for drinking, for a three month period taking with you all that
is required in a rucksack which you carry on your own back. You can either (i) build your own shelter from local
materials and find your own food by hunting, fishing, and gathering, or (ii) take a tent and sleeping bag and on a
monthly basis purchase and take back to your site such food supplies as may be needed from a locality situated at a
suitable walking distance, with around 10 miles being suggested.

During the task you should maintain your isolation and have no means of communication with the outside world, use
only candles (in a lantern) for illumination, have no means of measuring the passing of time (such as a watch) and no
means of reproducing music or any other form of entertainment.

The Hebdomadary should keep a handwritten journal to record their musings.

5. 

Write a full length novel of whatever genre, two of whose characters should be based on or inspired by either
contemporary or historical persons you find interesting or inspiring or have an empathy for or a dislike of. The novel
can also be based on your own life and/or experience and involve a locality and/or persons you know.

You should undertake the necessary contemporary or historical research in terms of plausible characters, scenarios,
dialogue and locations, and if necessary read several published contemporary or historical novels to ascertain for
yourself how various novelists structure their story, describe characters and events, and employ dialogue.

6.

The task begins at a full moon in Autumn and lasts seven days and nights and is to stay alone for that period in an
isolated underground cavern where or near to where drinkable water flows, taking all that is required for the duration
of the rite, including water if there is no drinkable water available, and food consisting of bread and cheese and, if you
so desire, a supply of wine or beer. If a such an underground cavern cannot be found, then a suitable alternative is an
isolated dark cave with, if necessary, its entrance suitably screened to avoid an ingress of light.

The only light is from candles (housed in a lantern) and no means of communication with the outside world, no
timepiece, mechanical or otherwise, and no modern means of reproducing music nor any other means of personal
entertainment should be brought.

The Hebdomadary should arrange for a trusted person or their partner or a family member to end their isolation after
seven days.
7.

The task involves the Hebdomadary - alone or with their partner - walking, in isolated terrain, a distance of at least 210
miles in 21 days carrying appropriate equipment for camping and supplies of food and water to last several days with
their route enabling them to find suitable sources of drinking water when necessary. Supplies of food, if dehydrated or
freeze-dried, should last as long as practicable, and then when necessary and possible food can be bought en route.
The journey is to end at or near a site which the Hebdomadary finds they have an empathy with or if accompanied by
their partner that they both have an empathy with. The Hebdomadary and/or their partner should keep a handwritten
diary of their journey.

°°°

Footnotes

{1} Being itself has been variously understood, through for example traditional metaphysics, through the ontology of
Martin Heidegger, and as the numinous/The Numen in Myatt's philosophy of pathei-mathos.

{2} As noted in our essay Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And The Corpus Hermeticum,

An axiom of Greco-Roman (Hellenic) hermeticism is that the κόσμος is a reasoned order and has an ordered
structure which human beings, by virtue of possessing the faculty of reason, are - in their natural state of
physis (φύσις) or fitrah - an eikon (εἰκὼν) of since as stated in a Latin version (Liber Hermetis de alchimia) of
a commentary on the Arabic alchemical text al-Lawh al-Zumurrud, The Emerald Table, quod est inferius est
sicut quod est superius, 'what is above is as what is below'.

Which is why tractate II of the Corpus Hermeticum states that there is a "cosmic order on Earth: A cosmos of
the divine body sent down as human beings," τὴν γῆν κοσμῆσαι κόσμον δὲ θείου σώματος κατέπεμψε τὸν
ἄνθρωπον.

Hence also why the twenty-sixth chapter of the book De Vita Coelitus Comparanda by Marsilii Ficini
(published in 1489 ev) has as its heading: Quomodo per inferiora superioribus exposita deducantur
superiora, et per mundanas materias mundana potissimum dona, 'How, when what is lower is touched by
what is higher, the higher is cosmically presenced therein and thus gifted because cosmically aligned.'

Source: https://archive.org/download/evola-7fw-v3/evola-7fw-v3.pdf

{3} Corpus Hermeticum: Eight Tractates, 2017. ISBN 978-1976452369

{4} As described in Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And The Corpus Hermeticum (op.cit) and elsewhere:

As a term Lapis Philosophicus means the "jewel of the alchemist", since the term Philosophicus means an
alchemist and not, as is commonly said, a philosopher, just as lapis (qv. λίθος τῶν σοφῶν) when used in
Latin alchemical texts means "jewel" and not "stone".

For Hermetic tradition relates that λίθος as a jewel, or precious stone, was attested by Herodotus, who in The
Histories, Book II, 44, wrote, in reference to "the sacred Temple of Heracles", ἣ δὲ σμαράγδου λίθου
λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος.

It was possibly used in the same way by Aristotle who wrote, in reference to the Nine Archons,

ἀναγράψαντες δὲ τοὺς νόμους εἰς τοὺς κύρβεις ἔστησαν ἐν τῇ στοᾷ τῇ βασιλείῳ καὶ ὤμοσαν
χρήσεσθαι πάντες. οἱ δ ̓ ἐννέα ἄρχοντες ὀμνύντες πρὸς τῷ λίθῳ κατεφάτιζον ἀναθήσειν
ἀνδριάντα χρυσοῦν, ἐάν τινα παραβῶσι τῶν νόμων: ὅθεν ἔτι καὶ νῦν οὕτως ὀμνύουσι. Athenian
Constitution, 7.1

Also, as noted in English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language by S. C. Woodhouse,

published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1910, the term λίθος describes a jewel, as in Plato:

ὧν καὶ τὰ ἐνθάδε λιθίδια εἶναι ταῦτα τὰ ἀγαπώμενα μόρια, σάρδιά τε καὶ ἰάσπιδας καὶ σμαράγδους καὶ
πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα: ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐδὲν ὅτι οὐ τοιοῦτον εἶναι καὶ ἔτι τούτων καλλίω. Phaedo 110 δ-ε

{5} La Tradizione Ermetica, Second Edition, Edizioni Mediterranee, 1996. ISBN 978-8827211595. p.172

English translation of Italian edition: The Hermetic Tradition - Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art. 1995.
ISBN 978-0892814510.

{6} Ex quibus summum globum possidet illa, quam in terris Saturniam nominant. Deinde est hominum generi
prosperus et salutaris ille fulgor, qui dicitur Iovis; tum rutilus horribilisque terris, quem Martium dicitis; deinde subter
mediam fere regionem Sol obtinet, dux et princeps et moderator luminum reliquorum, mens mundi et temperatio,
tanta magnitudine, ut cuncta sua luce lustret et compleat. Hunc ut comites consequuntur Veneris alter, alter Mercurii
cursus, in infimoque orbe Luna radiis solis accensa convertitur. Infra autem iam nihil est nisi mortale et caducum
praeter animos munere deorum hominum generi datos; supra Lunam sunt aeterna omnia.

{7} Commentary on tractate XIII. Corpus Hermeticum: Eight Tractates, op.cit. In the cited quotation we have, with his
permission, replaced Myatt's term 'denotatum' with the plural 'denotata' - enclosed within angular brackets - to avoid
confusion, since Myatt idiosyncratically uses the singular 'denotatum' as an Anglicized term for both singular and plural
instances.

{8} Recommended translations with commentaries: (i) Copenhaver, Hermetica, 1995, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0521425438  (ii) Myatt, Corpus Hermeticum, Eight Tractates, 2017, ISBN 978-1976452369

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons

Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) License
and can be copied, distributed, and published,
according to the terms of that license.
 Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And Hermeticism

Introduction

For decades, those associated with the esoteric tradition of the septenary system (ἑβδομάς) which forms
an integral part of the Occult philosophy of the Longusian tradition {1} have maintained not only that
their septenary system has ancient roots and is far older than the medieval Hebrew Kabbalah used by
most other modern Western Occultists, but also that it is in essence a hermetic philosophy. As is our non-
Longusian Hebdomian Way. {2}

An axiom of Greco-Roman (Hellenic) hermeticism is that the κόσμος is a reasoned order and has an
ordered structure which human beings, by virtue of possessing the faculty of reason, are - in their natural
state of physis (φύσις) or fitrah - an eikon (εἰκὼν) of since as stated in a Latin version (Liber Hermetis de
alchimia) of a commentary on the Arabic alchemical text al-Lawh al-Zumurrud, The Emerald Table, quod
est inferius est sicut quod est superius, 'what is above is as what is below'. {3}

Which is why tractate II of the Corpus Hermeticum states that there is a "cosmic order on Earth: A cosmos
of the divine body sent down as human beings," τὴν γῆν κοσμῆσαι κόσμον δὲ θείου σώματος κατέπεμψε
τὸν ἄνθρωπον.

Hence also why the twenty-sixth chapter of the book De Vita Coelitus Comparanda by Marsilii Ficini
(published in 1489 ev) has as its heading: Quomodo per inferiora superioribus exposita deducantur
superiora, et per mundanas materias mundana potissimum dona, 'How, when what is lower is touched by
what is higher, the higher is cosmically presenced therein and thus gifted because cosmically aligned.'

Both the Longusian Seven Fold Way (7FW) and the Hebdomian Way are modern hermetic quests for Lapis
Philosophicus {4} in which Myatt's The Star Game is a purely noetic and esoteric representation and
experiencing of the Hebdomad and the hermetic quest, sans denotata and thus takes the individual
beyond the need for both a dialectic of opposites and the exegesis of the written word. {5}
 The Septenary Star Game {5}

Such links to ancient hermeticism - known for decades to Adepts of the Longusian tradition - are
particularly obvious when the insights and understanding of Julius Evola as manifest in his La tradizione
ermetica (The Hermetic Tradition) {6} are considered in the context of those two modern hermetic
quests, The Star Game, and Myatt's translation of and commentary on tractates of the Corpus
Hermeticum. {7}

This essay is designed to hopefully inspire a few others to undertake their own research into hermeticism,
Evola's Hermetic Tradition, and both the Longusian tradition and the non-Longusian Hebdomian Way
devoid as this Hebdomian Way is of the Labyrinthos Mythologicus, the politics, the metaphysical
complexities and the Occultism of the Longusian tradition, thus making that Way in our view a more
accessible and practical manifestation of ancient hermeticism and the individual quest (ἄνοδος) for Lapis
Philosophicus.

Seven Oxonians
New Moon in ♈
March 2022 ev
 I: Evola And The Septenary

§ Evola wrote:

"In addition to the three fundamental colors - black, white, and red - others are also found within
the literature. Essentially there are seven in all, which brings us back to the planetary
correspondences mentioned before (chapter 14), But as for their place in the Work more than
one interpretation is possible." [p. 191 of English translation]

p.171 of Italian edition

Comment:

In our Hebdomian Way, the three colours relate to the three fundamental alchemical elements, mercury,
salt, sulphur which are the three basic symbols of The Star Game {5} whose nine combinations over the
seven boards are a symbolic and esoteric representation of Septenary System and the Hebdomad, sans
both denotata and the dialectic of opposites, personal, psychic, and worldly which the individual quest
(ἄνοδος) for Lapis Philosophicus was designed to transcend.

Both the Hebdomad and the Longusian 7FW are a particular arrangement/interpretation of the seven
spheres named as they are after the seven classical planets, an arrangement given in an alchemical text
published in 1613 as:

Azoth Sive Aureliae Occultae Philosophorum, 1613

Showing the three basic alchemical substances
(Sulphur, Salt, Mercury)
One arrangement given by Evola is:

page 173 of Italian edition

page 180 of translation

Which is reminiscent of the spiral illustrated by John Dee in his 1564 (ev) work Monas Hieroglyphica,
where the order of the planets is different:

illis multis veluti Helicis Revolutionibus

Regarding the differing arrangements, Evola wrote:

At the beginning of the previous chapter we mentioned that there are different interpretations of
the seven. These differences also have to do with part of the disagreement over the order of the
planets as given in various texts [...]

Pernety provides this order: Lead (Saturn, black), Tin (Jupiter, gray), Silver (Moon, white), Copper
(Venus, reddish-yellow), Iron (Mars, rust), Purple, and Gold
(Sun, red). Here it is clear that the planets and the metals correspond to the phases of the
diminishing of the darkness (from black to gray to silver) and of progressive ignification (orange,
rust, red)
 [...]

page 171 of Italian edition

His reference (245) is to Antoine Joseph Pernety and is Fables. 1:73 which is Les Fables égyptiennes et
grecques dévoilées et réduites au même principe, avec une explication des hiéroglyphes et de la guerre
de Troye published in 1758 ev.

     However, the oldest illustrated arrangement so far discovered is given in the Arabic text Ghayat al-
hakim dating from c.1050 ev where the named spheres are in the order Moon-Mercury-Venus-Sun-Mars-
Jupiter-Saturn,

This older order is used both in the Longusian tradition and our Hebdomian Way, with Evola writing that it
is mentioned by Stephanus Alexandreus (Στέφανος Αλεξανδρεύς) and is a Greco-Roman (Hellenic)
tradition:

"In the ancient Hellenistic tradition transmitted by Stephanos, the order varies again."

page 172 of Italian edition

 page 198 of translation

Evola's reference - #6 in the English translation, 247 in the Italian edition - is to Berthelot's introduction to
Collection Des Anciens Alchimistes Grecques (1887) {8} which takes us to texts by Stephanus such as
those published in Julius L. Ideler: Physici et medici Graeci minores, 2 volumes, 1841-2 from which this is
an illustration:

Physici et medici Graeci minores, II, p.199

II: Corpus Hermeticum

§ Evola wrote:
 The Emerald Tablet's "Telesma, Father of all things" is complemented by the redoubtable
revelation of the Corpus Hermeticum: "Thou art all in all, composed of all powers." 13, 2

page 51 of Italian edition

However, Myatt {7} translates that Hermetic 'revelation' from tractate XIII, v.2 as follows:

"Those begotten of theos are other than theos: young but entirely whole, mixion of all abilities."

τὸ πᾶν ἐν παντί ἐκ πασῶν δυνάμεων συνεστώς

In his commentary Myatt writes:

entirely whole. τὸ πᾶν ἐν παντί. A literal translation - "the all in all" - does not in its blandness
(and the fact that "all in all" is a colloquialism) convey the meaning of the Greek, which
considering what follows is suggestive of "entirely whole."

mixion of all abilities. ἐκ πασῶν δυνάμεων συνεστώς. Mixion - a variant spelling of mixtion,
meaning melded, compounded, combined, composed of - is most suitable for συνεστώς given
the metaphysical matters discussed.

In regard to δύναμις as referring here to abilities, qv. Myatt's comment on ἀνακαθαιρό μενος ταῖς τοῦ
θεοῦ δυνάμεσιν in v.8 of this tractate which he translates as "having refinement through the Cræfts of
theos" writing in his commentary:

Cræft - the older spelling, meaning, and pronunciation of craft - is, when so spelled, appropriate
in reference to the use of δύναμις in this tractate, implying as it does, in an exoteric context,
what the terms strength/power/force denote, while implying in an esoteric context (as often in
this tractate) a particular Arte, the application of particular abilities, skills, and knowledge,
especially abilities, skills, and knowledge learned in the traditional manner from a master or from
a mistress of the Arte or Arts in question. In this esoteric sense, theos is the Master Craftsman,
with Palingenesis being a Cræft, an Arte, that can be taught and learned. A Cræft is thus - for an
individual - an ability, a capability, while it can also be, in respect of others, influential.

Thus, in this and other tractates the context can suggest alternatives such as 'influence' - qv. v. 9
in respect of the Alastoras, and tractate III:3 - or 'capability', qv. XI:3 and XII:20.

The word cræft also has the advantage of implying the plural, such as in the expression "the
Cræft of theos."

This hermetic distinction between esoteric and exoteric meaning runs through Myatt's translations of the
Corpus Hermeticum and distinguishes them from all other translations, including those used by Evola. 
{9}

Hermeticism: A New Insight

The distinction between Myatt's translations and others is particularly apparent in tractate XIII, perhaps
the most hermetic and enigmatic tractate, with Myatt's extensive commentary providing a new insight
into the text and, together with his commentaries on other tractates, new and important insights into
hermeticism in general. A few examples from tractate XIII will suffice to reveal how his understanding of
hermeticism differs from that of others.

§ Myatt translates the beginning of tractate XIII as:

[1] When, father, you in the Exoterica conversed about divinity your language was enigmatic and
obscure. There was, from you, no disclosure; instead, you said no one can be rescued before the
Palingenesis. Now, following our discussion as we were passing over the mountain I became your
supplicant, inquiring into learning the discourse on Palingenesis since that, out of all of them, is
the only one unknown to me, with you saying it would be imparted to me when I became
separated from the world.

Thus I prepared myself, distancing my ethos from the treachery in the world. Therefore - by
explaining it either aloud or in secret - rectify my insufficiencies since you said you would impart
Palingenesis to me.

Trismegistus, I am unknowing of what source a mortal is begotten and from what sown.

[2] My son, noetic sapientia is in silence, with the sowing the genuinely noble.

Father, that is completely impenetrable. So, of whom dispersed?

Of, my son, the desire of theos.

Father, of what kind then the begotten? For I do not share in such a quidditas and such a
perceiveration. 

Those begotten of theos are other than theos: young but entirely whole, mixion of all abilities.

Father, you speak enigmatically to me, not in the language of a teacher to a pupil.

My son, this emanation is not taught; rather, it is presenced by and when the theos desires.

[3] Father, while you speak of what is impractical and forced, I on my part seek what is
straightforward. Was I produced as a foreign son of the paternal emanation? Do not repine me,
father: I am a rightful son. Relate - plainly - the way of palingenesis.

My son, what is there to say? All that can be told is this: I saw an unshaped vista, brought-into-
being through the generosity of theos, of me setting forth to a deathless body, and now I am not
that before because engendered by perceiveration.

This matter is not taught: not through that shaped part through which is seeing. Thus and for me
there is no concern for the initial mixturous form. It is not as if I am biochrome and have tactility
and definity: I am a stranger to them. You, my son, now observe me with your eyes and directly
see my physicality and perceptible form. And yet, my son, I am now not understandable with
those eyes.

[4] Father, you have stung the heart, causing no minor distraction, for I cannot now perceive
myself.

Would that you, my son, would - while not asleep - go beyond yourself as those who sleepfully
dream.

Inform me also of this: who is the essentiator of the Palingenesis?

Through the desire of theos: The Mortal One, child of theos.

1 1 Ἐν τοῖς Γενικοῖς͵ ὦ πάτερ͵ αἰνιγματωδῶς καὶ οὐ τηλαυγῶς ἔφρασας περὶ θειότητος

διαλεγόμενος· οὐκ ἀπεκάλυψας͵ φάμενος μηδένα δύνασθαι σωθῆναι πρὸ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας·
ἐμοῦ τε σοῦ ἱκέτου γενομένου͵ ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ὄρους καταβάσεως͵ μετὰ τὸ σὲ ἐμοὶ διαλεχθῆναι͵
πυθομένου τὸν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας λόγον μαθεῖν͵ ὅτι τοῦ τον παρὰ πάντα μόνον ἀγνοῶ͵ καὶ ἔφης͵
ὅταν μέλλῃς κόσμου ἀπαλλοτριοῦσθαι͵ παραδιδόναι μοι. τοιμος ἐγενόμην καὶ ἀπηνδρείωσα τὸ
ἐν ἐμοὶ φρόνημα ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ἀπάτης· σὺ δέ μου καὶ τὰ ὑστερήματα ἀναπλήρωσον οἷς
ἔφης μοι παλιγγενεσίας <γένεσιν> παραδοῦναι προθέ μενος ἐκ φωνῆς ἢ κρυβήν· ἀγνοῶ͵ ὦ
Τρισμέγιστε͵ ἐξ οἵας μήτρας ἄνθρωπος ἐγεννήθη͵ σπορᾶς δὲ ποίας.

2  Ὦ τέκνον͵ σοφία νοερὰ ἐν σιγῇ καὶ ἡ σπορὰ τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἀγαθόν. Τίνος σπείραντος͵ ὦ πάτερ;
τὸ γὰρ σύνολον ἀπορῶ. Τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ θεοῦ͵ ὦ τέκνον. Καὶ ποταπὸς ὁ γεννώμενος͵ ὦ
 πάτερ; ἄμοιρος γὰρ τῆς ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐσίας [καὶ τῆς νοητῆς].  Ἄλλος ἔσται ὁ γεννώμε νος θεοῦ θεὸς
παῖς͵ τὸ πᾶν ἐν παντί͵ ἐκ πασῶν δυνάμεων συνεστώς. Αἴνιγμά μοι λέγεις͵ ὦ πάτερ͵ καὶ οὐχ ὡς
πατὴρ υἱῷ διαλέγῃ. Τοῦτο τὸ γένος͵ ὦ τέκνον͵ οὐ διδάσκεται͵ ἀλλ΄ ὅταν θέλῃ͵ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ
ἀναμιμνήσκεται.

3  Ἀδύνατά μοι λέγεις͵ ὦ πάτερ͵ καὶ βεβιασμένα· ὅθεν πρὸς ταῦτα ὀρθῶς ἀντειπεῖν θέλω·
ἀλλότριος υἱὸς πέφυκα τοῦ πατρικοῦ γένους· μὴ φθόνει μοι͵ πάτερ· γνήσιος υἱός εἰμι· διάφρασόν
μοι τῆς παλιγγενεσίας τὸν τρόπον. Τί εἴπω͵ ὦ τέκνον; οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν͵ πλὴν τοῦτο· ὁρῶν  τι  ἐν
ἐμοὶ ἄπλαστον θέαν γεγενημένην ἐξ ἐλέου θεοῦ͵ καὶ ἐμαυτὸν ἐξελήλυθα εἰς ἀθάνατον σῶμα͵ καί
εἰμι νῦν οὐχ ὁ πρίν͵ ἀλλ΄ ἐγεννήθην ἐν νῷ· τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο οὐ διδάσκεται͵ οὐδὲ τῷ πλαστῷ
τούτῳ στοιχείῳ͵ δι΄ οὗ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν· διὸ καὶ ἠμέληταί μοι τὸ πρῶτον σύν θετον εἶδος· οὐκέτι
κέχρῳσμαι καὶ ἁφὴν ἔχω καὶ μέτρον͵ ἀλλότριος δὲ τούτων εἰμί. νῦν ὁρᾷς με͵ ὦ τέκνον͵ ὀφθαλ
μοῖς͵ ὅ τι δέ εἰμι οὐ κατανοεῖς ἀτενίζων σώματι καὶ ὁράσει. οὐκ ὀφθαλμοῖς τούτοις θεωροῦμαι
νῦν͵ ὦ τέκ νον.

4  Εἰς μανίαν με οὐκ ὀλίγην καὶ οἴστρησιν φρενῶν ἐνέσεισας͵ ὦ πάτερ· ἐμαυτὸν γὰρ νῦν οὐχ
ὁρῶ. Εἴθε͵ ὦ τέκνον͵ καὶ σὺ σεαυτὸν διεξελήλυθας͵ ὡς οἱ ἐν ὕπνῳ ὀνει ροπολούμενοι χωρὶς
ὕπνου. Λέγε μοι καὶ τοῦτο· τίς ἐστι γενεσιουργὸς τῆς παλιγγενεσίας; Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ ἄνθρωπος
εἷς͵ θελήματι θεοῦ.

In regard to his use of the term Exoterica in v.1, Myatt writes in his commentary:

in the Exoterica. Ἐν τοῖς γενικοῖς. Since the term γενικῶν λόγων occurs in tractate X it is
reasonable to assume that γενικός here refers to the same thing although the meaning of the
term is moot given that no details are provided in this tractate nor in tractate X, nor in Stobaeus
(Excerpts, III, 1 and VI, 1) where the terms also occurs. While most translators have assumed
that it refers to 'generic' things or 'generalities' and thus (by adding λόγοι) have opted for an
expression such as 'General Discourses', and given that a transliteration - such as genikois or
genikoi - is awkward, I have in respect of the γενικοὶ opted for exoterica (from the Latin via the
Greek τὰ ἐξωτερικά) with the meaning of "exoteric treatises designed for or suitable to the
generality of disciples or students," with the plausible suggestion thus being that there are
exoteric Hermetic treatises and esoteric Hermetic treatises, with Reitzenstein describing these
other treatises as διεξοδικοί λόγοι (R.A. Reitzenstein. Poimandres. Teubner, Leipzig. 1904. p.118)
a distinction he also mentioned in his later work Die Hellenistischen Mysterien Religionen.

In regard to his translation of the last line of v.3, Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ ἄνθρωπος εἷς͵ θελήματι θεοῦ as
"Through the desire of theos: The Mortal One, child of theos" Myatt writes in his commentary:

The Mortal One, child of theos. Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ ἄνθρωπος εἷς͵ θελήματι θεοῦ.  In respect of
ἄνθρωπος εἷς, literally, Essentialist Mortal. That is, the primatial, or 'archetypal', human being. In
respect of Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ cf. v. 2: τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ θεοῦ...ὁ γεννώμε νος θεοῦ θεὸς παῖς,
with παῖς not restricted to 'son' but implying the child - and hence the children, the youthful - of
the theos, with the conventional translation here of 'son of god' imposing a particular meaning
on the text and thus inviting as it may unwarranted comparisons with aspects of Christian
theology.

§  In regard to his translation of v.4 he goes into even more detail:

Father, you have stung the heart, plunging me into no minor distraction, for I cannot now
perceive myself. Εἰς μανίαν με οὐκ ὀλίγην καὶ οἴστρησιν φρενῶν ἐνέσεισας͵ ὦ πάτερ· ἐμαυτὸν
γὰρ νῦν οὐχ ὁρῶ.

My translation is quite different from previous ones - such as Copenhaver's "you have driven me
quite mad, father, and you have deranged my heart. Now I do not see myself" - for the following
reasons.

i) Does μανία, in the context of this particular tractate, equate to what the English terms 'mania'
and 'madness' now denote, as for example - in the case of mania - in 'obsessive need or
enthusiasm', 'mood disorder', and - in the case of madness - 'mental illness', psychosis, lack of
restraint, uncontrollable fury, uncontrollable mental turmoil, or even in the colloquial sense of
'cool' or quirkily interesting?

It is my considered opinion that it does not, but rather denotes what is suggested by Acts
 26:24-25 especially given the use there of μαίνομαι,

Ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀπολογουμένου ὁ Φῆστος μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ φησίν Μαίνῃ, Παῦλε· τὰ

πολλά σε γράμματα εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει. ὁ δὲ Παῦλος Οὐ μαίνομαι, φησίν, κράτιστε
Φῆστε, ἀλλὰ ἀληθείας καὶ σωφροσύνης ῥήματα ἀποφθέγγομαι.

Speaking up for himself, Festus, in a very loud voice, said: "Paul, you are distracted.
Your extensive learning has brought you to distraction." But Paul replied: "Noble Festus,
I am not beside myself for the words I have spoken are restrained and truthful."

ii) In respect of οἴστρησιν I am rather reminded of the usage of οἴστρημα in Oedipus Tyrannus,
1318,

οἴμοι μάλ᾽ αὖθις: οἷον εἰσέδυ μ᾽ ἅμα κέντρων τε τῶνδ᾽ οἴστρημα καὶ μνήμη κακῶν

as do the stings of those goads, and the recalling of those troubles, pierce me

where the transitive senses of goad include "to cause annoyance or discomfort; to spur someone
on, or 'to sting' or to prod someone to provoke them into responding."

Thus, with φρήν taken as a metaphor for the heart, one has the contextually apposite stung the
heart, rather than completely out of context phrases such as "mind frenzy" or "mad".

iii) ἐμαυτὸν γὰρ νῦν οὐχ ὁρῶ. Not a literal 'cannot see' but rather 'cannot comprehend who or
what I - as a being - am," as a consequence of what Hermes has just said about his own being.
Hence, I cannot now perceive myself.

go beyond. In respect of διεξελήλυθας, not here implying to "pass through", or "come out" (of
yourself) but "go - or pass - beyond" (yourself) as those sleepfully dreaming often in their dreams
travel far beyond where they are sleeping.

essentiator. The entity, person, or divinity, who essentiates; that is, who is the genesis of, who is
the essence of, and who gives being to - who 'authors' and who fashions - the Palingenesis.
Which 16th century English word expresses the meaning here of the Greek term γενεσιουργός.
Cf. δημιουργός - 'artisan' - in Poemandres 24.

The Mortal One, child of theos. Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ ἄνθρωπος εἷς͵ θελήματι θεοῦ.  In respect of
ἄνθρωπος εἷς, literally, Essentialist Mortal. That is, the primatial, or 'archetypal', human being. In
respect of Ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ παῖς͵ cf. v. 2: τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ θεοῦ...ὁ γεννώμε νος θεοῦ θεὸς παῖς,
with παῖς not restricted to 'son' but implying the child - and hence the children, the youthful - of
the theos, with the conventional translation here of 'son of god' imposing a particular meaning
on the text and thus inviting as it may unwarranted comparisons with aspects of Christian
theology.

Conclusion

It is clear from Evola's La tradizione ermetica and especially Myatt's translation of and learned
commentary on tractates of the Corpus Hermeticum that ancient hermeticism has been somewhat
misunderstood in modern times especially by Occultists who not only have ignored the Hellenic
hebdomad - and the Septenary system of both Longusian esotericism and our Hebdomian Way - in favour
of the distorted and much later Kabbalistic ten-fold Otz Chim, but who also have accepted a Christianized
version of hermeticism.

Appendix

A Guide To The Hebdomian Way

The Hebdomian Way is a modern hermetic ἐπιστήμη (épistémé) - that is, a praxis with an associated
esotericism - which embodies the hermetic quest by an individual for Lapis Philosophicus understood as
the attainment of wisdom. {4}

The term Hebdomian is from the Greek ἑβδομάς (and thus the Latin hebdomad) which word occurs in the
Greek text of the Corpus Hermeticum, especially the Ποιμάνδρης (Poemander/Pymander) tractate.

The hermetic quest was described in terms of a journey, the progression, of seven stages: from the first,
lower, sphere to the seventh, higher, sphere in the Ποιμάνδρης (Poemander/Pymander/Poemandres)
tractate of the Corpus Hermeticum, written in Hellenistic Greek, and which dates from between c. 100
and 230 ev.

καὶ οὕτως ὁρμᾷ λοιπὸν ἄνω διὰ τῆς ἁρμονίας, καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ ζώνῃ δίδωσι τὴν αὐξητικὴν
ἐνέργειαν καὶ τὴν μειωτικήν, καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ τὴν μηχανὴν τῶν κακῶν, δόλον ἀνενέργητον, καὶ
τῇ τρίτῃ τὴν ἐπιθυμητικὴν ἀπάτην ἀνενέργητον, καὶ τῇ τετάρτῃ τὴν ἀρχοντικὴν προφανίαν
ἀπλεονέκτητον, καὶ τῇ πέμπτῃ τὸ θράσος τὸ ἀνόσιον καὶ τῆς τόλμης τὴν προπέτειαν, καὶ τῇ
ἕκτῃ τὰς ἀφορμὰς τὰς κακὰς τοῦ πλούτου ἀνενεργήτους, καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ζώνῃ τὸ ἐνεδρεῦον
ψεῦδος.

"Thus does the mortal hasten through the harmonious structure, offering up, in the first realm,
that vigour which grows and which fades, and - in the second one - those dishonourable
machinations, no longer functioning. In the third, that eagerness which deceives, no longer
functioning; in the fourth, the arrogance of command, no longer insatiable; in the fifth, profane
insolence and reckless haste; in the sixth, the bad inclinations occasioned by riches, no longer
functioning; and in the seventh realm, the lies that lie in wait."  Poemandres, v. 25, translated by
D. Myatt {7}

In the Hebdomian Way the seven stages are seven spheres anciently named and in the sequence Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, with each sphere associated with a pathei-mathos, πάθει
μάθος, where by pathei-mathos in the context of the Hebdomian Way is meant a personal learning from
or a personal discovery due to a particular and practical experience.

Thus the quest for Lapis Philosophicus involves seven practical learning experiences one of which,
associated with the sphere of the Moon, can involve the study and use of Myatt's Star Game {5} since
the Star Game is a purely noetic and esoteric representation and experiencing of the Hebdomad and the
hermetic quest, sans denotata and thus takes the individual beyond the need for both a dialectic of
opposites and the exegesis of the written word as for example manifest in the tractates of the Corpus
Hermeticum and their varying interpretations/translations.

The seven practical tasks relate to the human traits described in v.25 of the Poemandres tractate, which
traits in modern terms are:

° that vigour - enthusiasm - which grows and which fades

° those dishonourable machinations
° that eagerness which deceives
° the arrogance of authority over others
° profane insolence and reckless haste
° the bad inclinations occasioned by a comfortable life-style

The Seven Tasks

The tasks which follow have been found by experience to be effective in overcoming the above human
traits through pathei-mathos. Most of the tasks involve some physical effort, with several also involving
distancing one's self from the modern world and living in a more simple, and outdoor, way. The person
undertaking these tasks is often referred to by the title Hebdomadary.

1. Moon Sphere.

Obtain copies of and read tractates I, III, IV, and XIII of The Corpus Hermeticum. The book containing the
tractates should have a scholarly commentary and if a translation is required at least two different
versions should be obtained, read and compared. {10} Afterwards, write an essay concerning your
understanding of Hellenic Hermeticism. If an individual unversed in the classics has a desire to do so they
can learn Hellenstic Greek and undertake their own translations. In understanding hermeticism the
individual may find the study and use of the noetic Star Game helpful.

2. Mercury Sphere.

For men, (a) walking thirty-two miles, in rural terrain, in less than seven hours while carrying a rucksack
weighing at least 30 pounds; (b) running 26 miles and 385 yards (a Marathon) in four and a half hours; (c)
cycling two hundred or more miles in twelve hours.

For women, (a) walking twenty-seven miles in under seven hours while carrying a rucksack weighing at
least 15 pounds; (b) running 26 miles and 385 yards (a Marathon) in five hours; (c) cycling one hundred
and seventy miles in twelve hours.

Those who, before beginning their quest have already reached such standards should set themselves
greater physical challenges and achieve them.

3. Venus Sphere.

With an existing partner, or after finding a suitable partner willing to undertake the task with you, find a
hill or mountain in an isolated area - or a desert area miles from any human habitation - which affords an
unobstructed night-time view of the stars and wild-camp there for at least three days and nights.

4. Sun Sphere.

A living alone in an wilderness area, near water suitable for drinking, for a three month period taking with
you all that is required in a rucksack which you carry on your own back. You can either (i) build your own
shelter from local materials and find your own food by hunting, fishing, and gathering, or (ii) take a tent
and sleeping bag and on a monthly basis purchase and take back to your site such food supplies as may
be needed from a locality situated at a suitable walking distance, with around 10 miles being suggested.

During the task you should maintain your isolation and have no means of communication with the outside
world, use only candles (in a lantern) for illumination, have no means of measuring the passing of time
(such as a watch) and no means of reproducing music or any other form of entertainment.

The Hebdomadary should keep a handwritten journal to record their musings.

5.  Mars Sphere.

Write a full length novel of whatever genre, two of whose characters should be based on or inspired by
either contemporary or historical persons you find interesting or inspiring or have an empathy for or a
dislike of. The novel can also be based on your own life and/or experience and involve a locality and/or
persons you know.

You should undertake the necessary contemporary or historical research in terms of plausible characters,
scenarios, dialogue and locations, and if necessary read several published contemporary or historical
novels to ascertain for yourself how various novelists structure their story, describe characters and
events, and employ dialogue.

6. Jupiter Sphere.

The task begins at a full moon in Autumn and lasts seven days and nights and is to stay alone for that
period in an isolated underground cavern where or near to where drinkable water flows, taking all that is
required for the duration of the rite, including water if there is no drinkable water available, and food
consisting of bread and cheese and, if you so desire, a supply of wine or beer. If a such an underground
cavern cannot be found, then a suitable alternative is an isolated dark cave with, if necessary, its
entrance suitably screened to avoid an ingress of light.

The only light is from candles (housed in a lantern) and no means of communication with the outside
world, no timepiece, mechanical or otherwise, and no modern means of reproducing music nor any other
means of personal entertainment should be brought.

The Hebdomadary should arrange for a trusted person or their partner or a family member to end their
isolation after seven days.

7. Saturn Sphere.

The task involves the Hebdomadary - alone or with their partner - walking, in isolated terrain, a distance
of at least 210 miles in 21 days carrying appropriate equipment for camping and supplies of food and
water to last several days with their route enabling them to find suitable sources of drinking water when
necessary. Supplies of food, if dehydrated or freeze-dried, should last as long as practicable, and then
when necessary and possible food can be bought en route. The journey is to end at or near a site which
the Hebdomadary finds they have an empathy with or if accompanied by their partner that they both
have an empathy with. The Hebdomadary and/or their partner should keep a handwritten diary of their
journey.

Footnotes

{1} The term 'Longusian tradition' -  Longusian from the Latin for "long" - refers to (i) the esoteric
philosophy and praxises of the pseudonymous Anton Long promulgated between 1976 and 2011, and (ii)
developments and variations of that esoteric philosophy by its adherents, and which tradition is manifest
under the appellations 'Order of Nine Angles', ONA, and O9A. For an overview of that esotericism, refer to
https://archive.org/download/o9a-boundaries-philosophy-v5_202111/o9a-boundaries-philosophy-v5.pdf

{2} A guide to the non-Longusion Hebdomian Way is provided in the Appendix, parts of which text are
taken from: (i) The Hebdomian Way, https://archive.org/download/hebdomian-way-rs/hebdomian-way-
rs.pdf and (ii) The Historical Hebdomad, https://sevenoxonians.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/the-historical-
hebdomad-v1.pdf

{3} The Arabic title refers to a precious jewel - emerald - and recalls the meaning of Lapis in the
alchemical term Lapis Philosophicus, qv. footnote {4}. Furthermore, Zumurrud is a female character in
two of the stories from the Persian/Arabic tales known in the West as The Thousand And One Nights. She
is from Samarkand with her full name being "emerald from Samarkand", ‫زﻣﺮد ﺳﻤﺮﻗﻨﺪی‬
{4} Lapis Philosophicus refers to that which is sought by means of an individual hermetic (esoteric,
alchemical) quest: which is Wisdom, whereby Wisdom is meant a balanced, rational, personal judgement
and a particular knowledge of a paganus kind concerning livings beings, human nature, Nature, the
Cosmic Order (κόσμος) and our connexion to such manifestations of the μονάς.

As a term Lapis Philosophicus means the "jewel of the alchemist", since the term Philosophicus means an
alchemist and not, as is commonly said, a philosopher, just as lapis (qv. λίθος τῶν σοφῶν) when used in
Latin alchemical texts means "jewel" and not "stone".

For Hermetic tradition relates that λίθος as a jewel, or precious stone, was attested by Herodotus, who in
The Histories, Book II, 44, wrote, in reference to "the sacred Temple of Heracles", ἣ δὲ σμαράγδου λίθου
λάμποντος τὰς νύκτας μέγαθος.

It was possibly used in the same way by Aristotle who wrote, in reference to the Nine Archons,

ἀναγράψαντες δὲ τοὺς νόμους εἰς τοὺς κύρβεις ἔστησαν ἐν τῇ στοᾷ τῇ βασιλείῳ καὶ ὤμοσαν
χρήσεσθαι πάντες. οἱ δ ̓ ἐννέα ἄρχοντες ὀμνύντες πρὸς τῷ λίθῳ κατεφάτιζον ἀναθήσειν
ἀνδριάντα χρυσοῦν, ἐάν τινα παραβῶσι τῶν νόμων: ὅθεν ἔτι καὶ νῦν οὕτως ὀμνύουσι. Athenian
Constitution, 7.1

Also, as noted in English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language by S. C. Woodhouse,

published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1910, the term λίθος describes a jewel, as in Plato:

ὧν καὶ τὰ ἐνθάδε λιθίδια εἶναι ταῦτα τὰ ἀγαπώμενα μόρια, σάρδιά τε καὶ ἰάσπιδας καὶ
σμαράγδους καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα: ἐκεῖ δὲ οὐδὲν ὅτι οὐ τοιοῦτον εἶναι καὶ ἔτι τούτων καλλίω.
Phaedo 110 δ-ε

{5} The Star Game is described in The Star Game And The Hebdomad, https://archive.org/download
/hebdomad-star-game-v1/hebdomad-star-game-v3.pdf

{6} La tradizione ermetica, Second Edition, Edizioni Mediterranee, 1996. ISBN 978-8827211595.
Reprinted 2006.

English translation of Italian edition: The Hermetic Tradition - Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art.
1995. ISBN 978-0892814510.

{7} Corpus Hermeticum: Eight Tractates, 2017. ISBN 978-1976452369

{8} Both volumes are available in facsimile: (i) http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k840802.pdf and (ii)
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k821758.pdf

{9} A comparison of Myatt's with other translations of the Hermetica is given in A Review of Myatt's The
Divine Pymander, https://sevenoxonians.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/review-myatt-pymander.pdf

{10} Recommended translations with commentaries: (i) Copenhaver, Hermetica, 1995, Cambridge
University Press, ISBN 978-0521425438  (ii) Myatt, Corpus Hermeticum, Eight Tractates, 2017, ISBN
978-1976452369

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons

Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) License
and can be copied, distributed, and published,
according to the terms of that license.
 A Review of Myatt's The Divine Pymander

In 2013) David Myatt published his complete translation of and commentary on the Pymander section of the Corpus
Hermeticum – 'The Divine Pymander' {1}.

The Divine Pymander is one of the standard Hermetic and Gnostic texts, outlining as it does Hermetic philosophy,
and, in Mead's 1906 translation, has been used by the Theosophical Society and occult groups such as The Hermetic
Order of The Golden Dawn, who weaved part of it into an occult ritual. The text was also used, again in translation,
by the British occultist Aleister Crowley, as part of a conjuration involving 'the holy guardian angel'.

Myatt's translation differs in almost every respect from the other translations available, the most scholarly of which is
probably that of Copenhaver published in 1992 {2}. One of the obvious differences is Myatt's use, in his translation,
of particular transliterations, especially his use of 'theos' instead of 'god', logos instead of 'Word', and 'physis' instead
of 'nature', the later of which is an important principle in Myatt's own and somewhat gnostic philosophy of pathei-
mathos. Another difference is his translation of certain Greek terms, translations which he himself in his Introduction
describes as idiosyncratic, although I would go so far as to say they are iconoclastic. For instance, he translates
'agios' not as the conventional 'holy' but as 'numinous', explaining his reasons in a long note in his commentary,
writing that,

"Correctly understood, numinous is the unity beyond our perception of its two apparent aspects; aspects
expressed by the Greek usage of ἅγιος which could be understood in a good (light) way as 'sacred',
revered, of astonishing beauty; and in a bad (dark) way as redolent of the gods/wyrd/the fates/morai in
these sense of the retributive or (more often) their balancing power/powers and thus giving rise to mortal
'awe' since such a restoration of the natural balance often involved or required the death (and sometimes
the 'sacrifice') of mortals. It is the numinous – in its apparent duality, and as a manifestation of a restoration
of the natural, divine, balance – which is evident in much of Greek tragedy, from the Agamemnon of
Aeschylus (and the Orestia in general) to the Antigone and the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles."

Other differences include Myatt's use of obscure English words, such as artisements – all of which he explains in his
commentary – and his coining of unusual and striking terms to translate an important Greek expression, such as
'quidditas of semblance' for what is usually translated (both by Mead and Copenhaver) as 'archetype of form', with
Myatt writing in his commentary that,

"The transliteration 'archetype' here is, unfortunately, unsuitable, given what the term archetype now
suggests and implies (vide Jungian psychology, for example) beyond what the Greek of the text means.
Appropriate words or terms such as 'primal-pattern' or 'protoform' are awkward, clumsy. Hence quidditas
(11th/12th century Latin), from whence came 'quiddity', a term originally from medieval scholasticism
which was then used to mean the natural (primal) nature or form of some-thing, and thus hints at the
original sense of ἀρχέτυπον."

A Greek Not Christian Text

All these differences give a decidedly different tone to the work. So much so that Myatt's translation comes across as
a decidedly Greek, almost pagan, work about metaphysics in contrast to the other available translations which make
it appear to be if not some sort of early Christian text then a text heavily influenced by and expressing Christian
ideas. Part of this is down to what many will undoubtedly see as Myatt's controversial choice of English words, a
choice which he often explains in his commentary as avoiding imposing "after nearly two thousand years of scriptural
exegesis and preaching, various religious preconceptions on the text".

Two sets of quotations from four different translations should illustrate this. The first set is from the very end of the
text.

The 17th century Everard translation:

Holy is God the Father of All Things.

Holy is God Whose Will is Performed and Accomplished by His Own Powers.
Holy is God, that Determineth to be Known, and is Known of His Own, or Those that are His.
Holy art Thou, that by Thy Word hast established all Things.

The 1906 Mead translation:

Holy are you, O God, the universals' Father.

Holy are you, O God, whose Will perfects itself by means of its own Powers.
Holy are you, O God, who willeth to be known and art known by your  own.
Holy are you,who did you by Word make to consist the things that are.

The 1992 Copenhaver translation:

Holy is god, the father of all.

Holy is god, whose counsel is done by his own powers.
Holy is god, whom wishes to be known and is known by his own people.
Holy are you, who by the word have constituted all things that are.

The 2013 Myatt translation:

Agios o Theos, father of all beings.

Agios o Theos, whose purpose is accomplished by his own arts.
Agios o Theos, whose disposition is to be recognized and who is recognized by his own.
Agios es, you who by logos form all being.

It should be explained that Myatt in his commentary writes,

"I have given, as an intimation, a transliteration of the first part, as these are doxologies, similar to the
Kyrie eleison [Κύριε ἐλέησον], and much (if not all) of their numinous/sacred/mystical/esoteric quality and
meaning are lost when they are translated into plain – or into archaic, KJV type – English. Although they are
best read/recited in the original Greek, the Latin preserves much of the numinosity of these and other such
doxologies [....] ἅγιος ὁ approximates to 'Numinous is' [theos]."

Myatt then proceeds to give the Latin translation of the Greek.

The second set of quotations are from the middle of the text.

The 17th century Everard translation:

"Hear now the rest of that speech, thou so much desirest to hear. When that Period was fulfilled, the bond
of all things was loosed and untied by the Will of God; for all living Creatures being Hermaphroditical, or
Male and Female, were loosed and untied together with Man; and so the Males were apart by themselves
and the Females likewise. And straightway God said to the Holy Word,. Increase in Increasing, and Multiply
in Multitude all you my Creatures and Workmanships. And let Him that is endued with Mind, know Himself
to be Immortal; and that the cause of Death is the Love of the Body"

The 1906 Mead translation:

"Now listen to the rest of the discourse which you dost long to hear. The period being ended, the bond that
bound them all was loosened by God's Will. For all the animals being male-female, at the same time with
Man were loosed apart; some became partly male, some in like fashion [partly] female. And straightway
God spake by His Holy Word: Increase ye in increasing, and multiply in multitude, ye creatures and
creations all; and man that hath Mind in him, let him learn to know that he himself is deathless, and that
the cause of death is love."

The 1992 Copenhaver translation:

"Hear the rest, the word you yearn to hear. When the cycle was completed, the bond among all things was
sundered by the counsel of god. All livings things, which had been androgyne, were sundered into two parts
– humans along with them – and part of them became male, part likewise female. But god immediately
spoke a holy speech: 'Increase in increasing and multiply in multitude, all you creatures and craftworks,
and let him (who) is mindful recognize that he is immortal, that desire is the cause of death."

The 2013 Myatt translation:

"Now listen to the rest of the explanation you asked to hear. When the cycle was fulfilled, the connexions
between all things were, by the deliberations of theos, unfastened. Living beings – all male-and-female then
– were, including humans, rent asunder thus bringing into being portions that were masculous with the
others muliebral. Directly, then, theos spoke a numinous logos: propagate by propagation and spawn by
spawning, all you creations and artisements, and let the perceiver have the knowledge of being deathless
 and of Eros as responsible for death."

The Septenary System

While Myatt's commentary is often dense and sometimes obscure, it is notable for two reasons.

First, its scholarly nature, for his quotations, in the commentary and in Greek or Latin and with his own translations,
range from the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, to Sophocles, to Xenophon, to Cicero and the New Testament, and include
what to most people will be obscure works from the 'fathers of the Christian church', including Maximus the
Confessor, Irenaeus, and Cyril of Alexandria. Occasional gems are to be found, such as Myatt's translation from the
Greek of a passage from the Discourses of Epictetus:

"Neither a tyrannos nor some Lord shall negate my intent; nor some crowd although I be just one; nor
someone stronger although I be weaker, since such unhindrance is a gift, to everyone, from theos."

Second, and of interest to many, the commentary explains much about not only 'the septenary system' – the
hebdomad – which forms an important part of the hermetic Pymander text, but also about the 'anados', the journey
through the spheres to the final goal of immortality. There are esoteric gems aplenty here, and it is worth ploughing
through the commentary just to find these. For example, in a comment on part 26 of the Pymander text, Myatt writes,

" [It is] easy to understand why some considered there were, or represented their understanding/insight by,
'nine' (seven plus two) fundamental cosmic emanations, or by nine realms or spheres [qv. the quote from
Cicero in section 17] – the seven of the hebdomad, plus the one of the 'ogdoadic physis' mentioned here,
plus the one (also mentioned here) of what is beyond even this 'ogdoadic physis'. However, as this text
describes, there are seven realms or spheres – a seven-fold path to immortality, accessible to living mortals
– and then two types of existence (not spheres) beyond these, accessible only after the mortals has
journeyed along that path and then, having 'offered up' certain things along the way (their mortal ethos),
'handed over their body to its death'. Ontologically, therefore, the seven might somewhat simplistically be
described as partaking of what is 'causal' (of what is mortal) and the two types of existence beyond the
seven as partaking of – as being – 'acausal' (of what is immortal). Thus, Pœmandres goes on to say, the
former mortal – now immortal – moves on (from this first type of 'acausal existence') to become these forces
(beyond the ogdoadic physis) to thus finally 'unite with theos': αὐτοὶ εἰς δυνάμεις ἑαυ τοὺς παραδιδόασι καὶ
δυνάμεις γενόμενοι ἐν θεῷ γίνονται."

An Iconoclastic Work

Although already known as "a British iconoclast" {3} for his strange and past involvements and peregrinations, as
well as known for his idiosyncratic translations of Sappho and Heraclitus, David Myatt's translation of and
commentary on 'The Divine Pymander' will undoubtedly confirm that iconoclasm and that idiosyncrasy.

His translation is most decidedly iconoclastic, bringing as it does a new insight into the text, and breathing as it does
new life into its hermeticism, thus making it far more accessible to, and understandable, by students of gnosticism,
hermeticism, and the occult; and although – given Myatt's (not always deserved) reputation, and his past
involvements and peregrinations – it will undoubtedly be ignored by the academic establishment, its appeal will be to
such students and to others interested in the arcane. It also serves to compliment Myatt's own philosophy of pathei-
mathos, elucidating as it does some of the more obscure points of Myatt's ontological speculations.

R. Parker
2013
Revised 2014

{1} Myatt's translation and commentary, in pdf format, is available from: https://davidmyatt.wordpress.com/2013/07
/29/mercvrii-trismegisti-pymander/

{2} Copenhaver, B. Hermetica. Cambridge University Press, 1992. There is a major issue with Copenhaver's book in
that in his notes he gives not the actual Greek text (using the Greek character set) but transliterations (using the
Latin character set) which is annoying for those who can read Greek. Myatt in his notes and commentary, and to his
credit, eschews this 'populist', dumbing-down, approach, and – in accord with hundreds of years of scholarship –
provides the Greek text.

{3} Jon B. Perdue: The War of All the People: The Nexus of Latin American Radicalism and Middle Eastern Terrorism.
Potomac Books, 2012. p.70

Original (2013) Source:

https://web.archive.org/web/20161227084735/https://regardingdavidmyatt.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/a-review-of-myatts-the-divine-
pymander/

Image credit:

Page from the 1577 (ev) book Iamblichvs De mysteriis Ægyptiorvm, Chaldæorum, Assyriorum: Proclvs in Platonicum Alcibiadem de anima,
atque dæmone, Idem De sacrificio & magia: Porphyrivs De diuinis atq, dæmonib: Psellvs De dæmonibus: Mercvrii Trismegisti Pimander,
Eiusdem Asclepius. The book contains the Latin text of the Corpus Hermeticum by Marsilius Ficinus.