Origins Of The Hebdomian Way

Preface

This collection of essays explains the origins of and provides details regarding the hermetic Hebdomian
Way, developed as it was by a few Initiates who after much debate decided to abandon the Longusian
Occult tradition - the Occult philosophy developed by the pseudonymous Anton Long between 1976 and
2012 - they had been following for a number of years and instead develop a modern hermetic way based
on the individual quest for Lapis Philosophicus.

The debate is recounted in chapter I, Questioning Tradition, with chapter II, Paradox Of Authority In The
Longusian Tradition, outlining why that tradition evolved to be detrimental to the individual quest for
Lapis Philosophicus. Chapter III, A New Beginning, summarizes why a new way was developed and the
origin of the term hebdomian, with the new hermetic way described in detail in chapter IV, The Noesis Of
The Hebdomian Way.

Among the aspects of Longusian Occultism that the developers of the new esoteric tradition, on the basis
of their experience and learning, considered were unnecessary for or not relevant to 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.

In summary, the new 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.

I. Questioning Tradition

In 2021 there was a private debate among some Adepts 1 of the Occult tradition developed by the
pseudonymous Anton Long 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 propagated by antifascist groups and individuals, by some politicians, and by
some journalists, and have resulted in requests by such groups and such politicians that the British and
American 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 is 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, are 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 in a propagandistic manner embellished such
disinformation and who either did not bother to do their own research using primary sources such as the
writings of Anton Long, or having done some minimal research ignored what was written in favour of their
own prejudicial assumptions about that esoteric tradition, one of which was that the appellation Order of
Nine Angles referred to a group or organization with members.

The debate among the Adepts did not concern such requests for a group called by such propagandists 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

Oxonia
30 November 2021 ev
v. 1.03

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) Refer to O9A: Fallacies And Establishment Propaganda, https://web.archive.org/web/20221112052846

/https://theo9away.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/fallacies-wikipedia-o9a-v3.pdf

Regarding how much the the FBI agent provocateur was paid: (i) https://nypost.com/2021/08/26/fbi-
funded-neo-nazi-book-publisher-court-docs-reveal/ (ii) https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/fbi-
paid-over-100000-to-neo-nazi-for-insider-info-report-677938

3) As described in The Hebdomian Way, https://sevenoxonians.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/hebdomian-

way-rs.pdf

{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 The Authority Of Individual Judgement: Interpretation And Meaning in The Seofonfeald Paeth,
https://archive.org/download/o9a-trilogy-print/o9a-trilogy-print.pdf

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) Refer to The Writings Of Anton Long in The Order of Nine Angles (O9A) Side Of The Story,
https://archive.org/download/o9a-side-of-story/o9a-side-of-story.pdf

7) Regarding boundaries and ethics in Anton Long's philosophy refer to Boundaries Of Order Of Nine
Angles Philosophy, https://gawathan.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/o9a-boundaries-philosophy-v9.pdf

8)

"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

II. Paradox Of Authority In The Longusian Tradition

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 2017 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, their pathei-mathos, and/or their esoteric intuition.

Rachael Stirling
Seven Oxonians
January 2022 ev
v. 1.05

{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 O9A: Fallacies And Establishment Propaganda,
https://web.archive.org/web/20221112052846/https://theo9away.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/fallacies-
wikipedia-o9a-v3.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/
 III. A New Beginning

The Hebdomian Way is a way of our own devising, representing our esoteric Weltanschauung based on
our individual quests for Lapis Philosophicus {1} and which quests began some years ago with us
following the Order of Nine Angles Seven Fold Way (7FW) and the esoteric philosophy devised by Anton
Long from (i) ancient Hermetic and Alchemical traditions and (ii) the empathic pagan Britannic tradition of
the Rounwytha which he inherited. {2}

In effect, our quests along the Seven Fold Way were an apprenticeship, since completed, with the
Hebdomian Way the result of what we have discovered for ourselves by pathei-mathos, what we have
developed, and what we have left behind or found to be, for us, unnecessary or unhelpful in our individual
quests for Lapis Philosophicus. Among what we divined to be unnecessary, or unhelpful for us, was all
forms of sorcery, all Occult rituals, "Satanism" however defined, all antinomian gestures or deeds, and all
practical involvement with the external world with aim of seeking to change that world be it by politics or
by a dialectic involving opposing "the Magian" or by any other means, Occult or otherwise.

According to Anton Long,

"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." {3}

In a letter to Michael Aquino, dated 20th October 1990 ev, he expected his own works to "become
transformed, by their own metamorphosis and that due to other individuals: changed, extended and
probably ultimately transcended [...] Each individual developes their own unique perspective and insight
as a consequence of striving to achieve Adeptship." {4}

As Mr Parker of Shropshire wrote in 2017 in regard to the Seven Fold Way:

"the 7FW is not an Occult 'Right Hand Path' nor an Occult 'Left Hand Path' nor even 'satanist', but
rather a means for the individual to develop their own unique weltanschauung and one which
enables them to transcend such labels and categories." {5}

Thus, our Way is a Hermetic ἐπιστήμη, a new beginning beyond the O9A, evolving the O9A technique the
Seven Fold Way, while being different from the O9A in all other respects since the Hebdomian Way is a
purely esoteric, mystic, individual way and philosophy, that does not involve sorcery or magick or Occult
rites of any kind, and which eschews all politics and political ideologies, all religions ancient and modern,
all former and current interpretations of Occultism, Satanism and the Western Right and Left Hand Paths,
and all notions of changing the world and societies by any and all means be they political, religious,
ideological, or involving what Anton Long termed Insight Roles and Aeonic magick.

As an esoteric philosophy concerned only with individual development and the individual interior quest
for, and the individual discovery of, Lapis Philosophicus, there is no group, no Order, no organization, no
leader or leadership and thus there are no groups, no nexions, no members, no recruitment, no
proselytizing, no dialectical methodology, no Labyrinthos Mythologicus, and no codes of personal or
communal behaviour to be adhered to.

The term Hebdomian has been derived by us 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, and also in the Greek text of Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride in connection
with (i) an ancient Egyptian interpretation of Pythagorean mathematics, (ii) the Greek Goddess Athena,
and (iii) the myth of Isis and Osiris.

Given the term ἑβδομάς is also connected to Anton Long's hermetic Seven Fold Way it seemed to us an
appropriate term to describe our new, modern, but anciently derived esoteric way.

Plutarch - De Iside et Osiride 10 (354f) - wrote:

δοκῶ δ' ἔγωγε καὶ τὸ τὴν μονάδα τοὺς ἄνδρας ὀνομάζειν Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ τὴν δυάδα Ἄρτεμιν,
Ἀθηνᾶν δὲ τὴν ἑβδομάδα, Ποσειδῶνα δὲ τὸν πρῶτον κύβον ἐοικέναι τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ἱερῶν
ἱδρυμένοις καὶ δρωμένοις νὴ Δία καὶ γραφομένοις.

The Hebdomian Way is described in chapter IV: The Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way.
The Seven Oxonians
November 1, 2021 ev
v. 1.03

°°°

{1} 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

{2} The esoteric philosophy of Anton Long is outlined in The Boundaries Of O9A Philosophy, e-text, TWS
Nexion, October 2021 ev

{3} Anton Long. The Discovery and Knowing of Satan. e-text, 2011

{4} The Satanic Letters Of Stephen Brown, Volume I, Thormynd Press, 1992.

{5} R. Parker, The Seven Fold Way Of The Order Of Nine Angles: A Modern Practical Guide, e-text, second
edition, 2017 ev

IV. The Noesis Of The Hebdomian Way

° The Sevenfold Seeking.

° Noesis And The Star Game.

° The Noetic Star Game.

 The Moves.
 Initial Placement.
 The Objective.

° The Seven Stages.

The Overcoming.
The Tasks.

° Footnotes.

° Further Reading.
 °°°

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
(Paris, 1554. 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 of the same book, 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

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 our 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 detailed 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.

°°°

 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.

°°°

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.

°°°

Seven Oxonians
March 2022 ev
v. 1.07

°°°°°°°

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. Gratis Open Access pdf version:
https://davidmyatt.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/eight-tractates-v2-print.pdf

{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. p.172. English translation of
Italian edition: The Hermetic Tradition - Symbols and Teachings of the Royal Art. 1995.

{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, (ii) Myatt, Corpus Hermeticum, Eight Tractates, 2017,
https://davidmyatt.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/eight-tractates-v2-print.pdf

°°°

Further Reading

° Julius Evola, The Seven Fold Way, And The Corpus Hermeticum,
https://sevenoxonians.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/evola-7fw-v7.pdf

° Myatt’s Pymander And The Hebdomad, https://sevenoxonians.files.wordpress.com/2021/11/review-

myatt-pymander.pdf

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