Hermetic self-initiation rite

Hermetic Self Initiation Ritual

Originally published in Orphic Platonism

Required materials

-Water (with salt or natron in it)

-Bread & wine

-Censer (incense: frankincense)

-White candle or oil lamp (not red)

-Flask of holy oil

-White robe or alb

Preliminary instructions

– Let the aspirant remain pure and chaste for 8 days, beginning on a Sunday, and for the first 7 days at sunrise recite the adoration to God from Corpus Hermeticum 1 facing east (see end of this document)

-The initiation is to be performed on the 8th day, Sunday at sunrise.

-The aspirant shall fast for 1 day prior to the initiation, beginning the previous day at sunrise

– Prior to initiation he/she must have read: Corpus Hermeticum, the Asclepius, and the Discourses of Isis to Horus

-The ritual setup is as follows: central altar with candle, cup of wine, paten of bread, oil flask.

Ritual

Clothed in a black robe, having meditated for a while, purify and consecrate the temple with incense and water.

Stand before the altar in the west facing east.

In the name of the immortal Aion, first, sublime Life, the Ineffable unbegotten one, the God of Gods, the Monad and root of all things, let the sacred spirit arise in me; for although born in a world of darkness, I am the unique offspring of the God in heaven, at once mortal and immortal, matter and Spirit, darkness and light.

Wash both hands in water and say:

Let this lustral water purge all impurities from my being, as lead is turned to gold, that I may be fit for immortal birth through these sacred mysteries.

Place both hands upon your head, slowly bringing them down both sides of your body, down to the feet and say:

Let my body and mind be purged of matter and all that is unclean; I am a pure vessel for the incorruptible light, unsoiled by the evils of the world.

Say

I have purged my lower nature; I have fit myself to partake in these sacred rites through holy lustrations; the Spirit liveth in me, so let the immortal Gods bear witness to my presence.

Light the candle\lamp on the altar, and recite this sacred hymn to the Gods (from Proclus):

Hail, ye Gods holding the helm of holy wisdom, who, having kindled an upward-leading fire, draw to the immortals human souls, who leave the dark hole behind, purified by the secret initiations of hymns. Hearken, great saviours, and grant me from very divine books pure light, scattering the mist, so that I know well an immortal God from a man; that a daimon, doing cruel things, may not hold me forever submerged in the streams of forgetfulness, while I am far away from the blessed ones, that a chilling Penalty may not bind my soul with the fetters of life, which, fallen into the waves of cold becoming, does not want to wander all too long. But, Gods, leaders towards bright-shining wisdom, hearken and reveal to me, while hurrying to the upward leading track, the secret rites and initiations of the holy words. Be ye present in this sacred mystery, aid me to be born again in thought.

Circumambulate the altar 7 times clockwise; then return to the west. Recite the Hymn of Rebirth, kneeling:

Let every Nature in the universe attend the hearing of the hymn. Open, O earth; let every lock that bars the torrent open unto me; trees, be not shaken. I am about to sing a hymn unto the Lord of creation, to the Universe and to the One. Be opened, you heavens, and stand still, ye winds. Let the Immortal Circle of God receive mine utterance. For I am about to sing a hymn to the one who created all things; who fixed the earth in place; who hung heaven above; who ordered the sweet water away from the ocean and toward land, the habitable and the uninhabitable, as the means of mankind’s nourishment and creation; who ordered fire to shine on Gods and humans for their every use. Let us together praise Him, exalted high above the heavens, creator of all nature. He is the mind’s eye. May He accept praise from my powers. O all ye Powers that are in me, praise the One and the Universe. Sing together with my Will, all you Powers that are in me. O Holy Knowledge, being enlightened by thee, I magnify the intellectual Light, and rejoice in the Joy of the Mind. Join me, all ye powers, and sing the hymn. Thou also, continence, sing me the hymn. My Justice, through me hymn the just. My Charity, through me hymn the Universe. Truth, hymn the truth. Good, hymn the good. Life and light, praise passeth from Thee and unto Thee. I give thanks unto Thee, O Father, energy of the powers. I give thanks unto Thee, O God, the power of mine energies; through me thy Word sings praise unto Thee; through me, O Universe, accept a speech offering, by my word. This is what the powers within me shout; they hymn the All; they accomplish Thy will; Thy counsel floweth forth from Thee, and unto Thee the universe returns. Accept a speech offering from all things. O Life, save all that is in us; light, enlighten it; God, spiritualize it. For Thou, O mind, art a shepherd to Thy word, O spirit-bearer. O craftsman. Thou art God! Thy Man crieth these things unto Thee through Fire, through Air, through Earth, through Water, through the Spirit, through Thy Creatures. From Thine Aion I have won praise, and in Thy counsel I have found the rest I seek; I have seen, as Thou didst wish it.

  

Meditate for a few moments, and then vest yourself in the white robe. Recite the Hidden Stele, kneeling, hands raised heavenward:

Hail, entire system of the ærial spirit, PHŌGALŌA. Hail, spirit who extendeth from heaven to earth, ERDĒNEU, and from earth which is in the middle chamber of the universe unto the borders of the abyss, MEREMŌGGA. Hail, spirit who entereth into me, convulseth me, and leaveth me kindly according to the will of God, IŌĒ ZANŌPHIE. Hail, beginning and end of the immovable nature, DŌRUGLAOPHŌN. Hail, revolution of untiring service by heavenly bodies, RŌGUEU ANAMI PELĒGEŌN ADARA EIŌPH. Hail, radiance of the universe subordinate to the solar ray, IEO UEO IAS AI EOU OEI. Hail, orb of the night-illuminating, unequally shining Moon, AIŌ RĒMA RŌDOUŌPIA. Hail, all spirits of the ærial images RŌMIDOUĒ AGANASOU ŌTHAUA. Hail to those to whom the greeting is given with blessing, to brothers and sisters, to holy men and holy women. O great, greatest, round, incomprehensible figure of the Universe, heavenly ENRŌKHESUĒL; in heaven, PELĒTHEU; of æther, IŌGARAA; in the æther, THŌPULEO DARDU; watery, IŌĒDES; earthy, PERĒPHIA; fiery, APHTHALUA; windlike, IŌIE ĒŌ AUA; luminous, ALAPIE; dark-looking, IEPSERIA; shining with heavenly light, ADAMALŌR; moist, fiery, and cold spirit. I glorify Thee, God of Gods, the one who brought order to the universe, AREŌ PIEUA; the one who gathered together the abyss at the invisible foundation of its position, PERŌ MUSĒL Ō PENTŌNAX; the one who separated heaven and earth and covered the heaven with eternal, golden wings, RŌDĒRU OUŌA; the one who fixed the earth on eternal foundations, ALĒIOŌA; the one who hung up the æther high above the earth, AIE ŌĒ IOUA; the one who scattered the air with self-moving breezes, ŌIE OUŌ; the one who put the water roundabout, ŌRĒPĒLUA; the one who raiseth up hurricanes, ORISTHAUA; the one who thundereth, THEPHIKHUŌNĒL; the one who hurleth lightnings, OURĒNES; the one who raineth, OSIŌRNI PHEUGALGA; the one who shaketh, PERATŌNĒL; the one who produceth living creatures, ARĒSIGULŌA; the God of the Aions; Thou art great, Lord, God, ruler of the All, ARKHIZŌ NUON THĒNAR METHŌR PARU PHĒZŌR THAPSAMUDŌ MARŌMI KHĒLŌPSA.

Take the bread, raise it heavenward, say:

Bless, O Father, this bread and let he who partaketh thereof be nourished in Spirit. Let this sacred food become an undying crop, the seed of the true Good, and let him in whom it is planted never again hunger for Thy Gnosis.

Eat the bread. Then take the cup of wine, raise it, & say:

Bless O Father this wine, symbol of the ambrosial water, source of life, first fountain that sprang forth, great outburst of the radiance of all-abundant Life. Let he who drinketh thereof never thirst again for Thee.

Drink the wine. Then take the oil, anoint your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands, & say:

God of Gods, let this oil serve as an imperishable seal to bind me to Thine immortal essence, that mine organs of sense may never again be enslaved by the daimons of matter, but may they ever be the instruments of Thy spirit.

Having communed for a while, recite the Thanksgiving Prayer while kneeling:

We thank Thee, supreme and highest God, with soul and heart lifted up to Thee, undisturbed name by whose grace alone we have attained the light of Thy knowledge; holy name honoured with the name ‘God’ and praised with the name ‘Father’, the one name whereby our ancestral faith blesseth God alone. We thank Thee who deign to grant unto all a father’s fidelity, reverence and love, along with any power that is sweeter, by giving us the gift of mind, reason and understanding: mind, that we may know Thee; reason, by which we may call upon Thee; understanding, whereby we may rejoice in knowing Thee.

And we who are saved by Thy power do indeed exult for Thou hast revealed Thyself unto us in all Thy being. We rejoice that Thou hast deigned to make us Gods for eternity even while we are yet in the body, that Thou hast made us divine through Thy knowledge. For this is man’s sole means of giving thanks: by knowledge of Thy majesty.

We have known Thee, the intellectual light perceived only by reason.

We have known Thee, true life of life; the womb pregnant with all that is to come.

We have known Thee, O Thou eternal permanence of the begetting Father, conceiving all that is to be in its perfect fullness.

Thus we have worshiped Thy goodness. We ask of Thee only to grant that we may persevere in the love of Thy knowledge, in such wise that we may never fall away from this way of life.

Let the candle\lamp burn out. Here ends the rite.

Further notes

This rite may be used on a regular basis as a way to commune with God. In this case, outside the context of initiation, the practitioner may omit the 8 day purification, the morning adorations, and the 1 day fast. The adoration to be performed during the previous 7 days:

Holy is God, the Father of all things;

Holy is God, whose will is accomplished by His own powers;

Holy is God, who desireth to be known and is known by his own people;

Holy art Thou, who by the word hast constituted all things that are;

Holy art Thou, from whom all nature was born as image;

Holy art Thou, whom nature hath not formed;

Holy art Thou, who art stronger than every power;

Holy art Thou, who surpassest all excellency;

Holy art Thou, mightier than praises.

Thou whom we address in silence, the unspeakable, the unutterable, accept pure speech offerings from a heart and soul that reach up unto Thee. I beseech Thee that I may never err from the Knowledge that befits our essence; give me power; and with this gift I shall enlighten those who are in ignorance, brethren of my kind, but Thy sons. Thus I believe and I bear witness; I advance into life and light. Blessed art Thou, O Father, Thy man desireth to be sanctified with Thee, as Thou hast given him all authority.