Lesson 1 – Introduction to the Hermetic Arts

Welcome student of the light. Your journey to the fulfillment you have been seeking begins here at the fool. From here each new Tarot card will unlock and build your inner temple. Each one it’s own initiation. You are walking a path that few will find but many desire. For those that do it is a beautiful, radiant path of inner transformation. That being said failure will be the result if you are seeking power for powers sake. If you wish to succeed in Magick you need to come with a heart that is pure.

As you work through all 22 lessons, I ask that you spend a fair amount of time on each one. You do not need to rush. This is not a race. There are no winners or losers. This is your journey and yours alone.

Before we delve into the heart of this lesson, we first need to introduce what will become a regular practice for the aspiring magician. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of The Pentagram. This ritual helps to cleanse the space you are working in.

It also helps to keep you grounded while you are performing your operations in Magick. Watch the video below to see how it is performed. Begin practicing before moving on with the rest of the lesson. The LBRP Ritual begins around 4:22.

Now that you have LBRP down, let’s continue with the rest of this lesson. Shall we?

22 is the Magic Number

The Hebrew Language is a powerful language. These aren’t just static symbols arranged to form words. According to ancient mystical texts such as the Sefer Yetzirah, it was through the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet and 10 numbers (Sefirot) on which God built the universe. This formed the 32 paths of the Tree of Life. Pictured below. You can think of the Tree of Life as a mystical map of the souls ascent.

The practice of using Hebrew letters or divine names composed of them for meditation to achieve results which appear “magical” is called Kabbalah or Qabalah in the Western Esoteric Tradition.

This is an ancient practice that has been used for thousands of years by sages and mystics alike. Meditation on them is quite powerful and often leads to the development and refinement of the astral body. The Magician must first build their astral body before expecting to safely exert any influence over the astral realms.

The Tarot, pictorial keys to the 22 Hebrew Letters

One of the best kept secrets about Tarot until modern times when it was made popular by French Occultist Eliphas Levi, is that the 22 Majors of Tarot are visual representations of the 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. Each Tarot major is connected with a Hebrew letter. In this way the Tarot functions not just as a tool for simple divination but as symbolic initiatory keys for the souls ascent.

By meditating on each of the 22 Tarot Majors and its corresponding Hebrew letter, the magician ascends the Tree of Life, builds their astral body (also called the “body of light”) and experiences a complete spiritual transformation. This method is called “Pathworking”. It is the core practice of many groups based in the hermetic tradition, and will be the core practice throughout this course as well.

Required Materials for this course

The materials needed for following along are listed below. Keep in mind you are getting an immersive training in western occultism. We do not ask for membership fees or dues of any kind, only that you take this study with the upmost care and respect.

Books

• Sefer Yetzirah – The book of creation
• Zohar Pritzker Edition – Volume 1
• Transcendental Magic: Doctrine and Ritual

Accessories

• Rider Waite Tarot Deck
• Brush Sharpie Markers for drawing the Hebrew Letters
• 22 Pieces of Paper to draw the letters on, can be notepad paper, printer paper, etc.
• Journal for recording results and tracking progress
• White Candle (Universal color, works for all Magick)

Meditation on Aleph / The Fool Tarot

Now having covered all of the preliminaries you are now ready to begin. Designate a quiet area where you can be alone for 10-15 minutes. Dedicate a space for an altar. Place the fool tarot card and it’s corresponding Hebrew letter Aleph there. Your altar may look a bit different than mine but it should look something like this. Follow along with the steps below.

1. Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of The Pentagram (Covered at the start of the lesson)
2. Light your candle and be seated
3. Grab the fool tarot and meditate on it. Hold it with your hand, sit still and allow the imagery to speak to your subconscious. Do this for about 3-5 minutes
4. Place the Fool card down, and grab the letter Aleph. While holding it in front of you, begin to vibrate the letter. This will become your mantra during meditation. Begin Vibrating Ahhhhhhh-Lephhhhh
5. Repeat this mantra several times over. You may or may not see a glowing light around the letter. If your astral senses are already more awake you may be more perceptive to this light. If you don’t see it yet, don’t fret it just means you have a bit more work to do before your astral senses open up. They will in time.
6. After you have spent a little bit of time meditating on Aleph, go ahead and journal down anything of note that you felt, or experienced during your meditation session.

Homework Assignment

• Continue pathworking once per week for a minimum of 4-6 weeks before moving on to the next lesson.
• Remember to record the results of each session in your journal during this time as well.
• Make sure you pair Sefer Yetzirah study with your pathworking meditation sessions.
• Practice LBRP daily at least once a day. Regardless of whether you do pathworking that day or not.
• Once you have completed this lesson, read Chapter 1 in Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi. Go no further in this book until instructed to do so.

Upon successful completion of this lesson, you have now traversed path 11 on the Tree of Life. Connecting Keter to Chokmah. There are 32 paths, 21 still remain for you to unlock. Fear not, you hold the keys of higher consciousness within. Until next time, safe travels.