The Hermetic Tablet is a bi-annual journal of Western Ritual Magick edited by Nick Farrell of the Magical Order of Aurora Aurea. Is has an excellent font, decorated first letters for each article, bibliography at the end of each article, and it is easy to read. Its price is a disadvantage, but with a self-publication, there is not much you can do. The cover and the binding of the pages are sturdy and clear. Authors offer their articles for free and profits go to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Legal Fund. This issue is the last, due to lack of interest from today's occult readers. Some of the articles of the last issue will interest Hekate's devotees. Let's see this issue's contents.

The Elusive Grade of Adeptus Major, by Tony Fuller

This is a fascinating article for Golden Dawn practitioners and researchers. Mr Fuller examines the facts from chronological order through papers and letters.

Moina Bergson-Mathers was the first member that was initiated into the Adeptus Major (AM) grade of the Second Order R.R. et A.C. on September 1889 before its collapse and she married Samuel a year afterwards.

The Adeptus Major is the grade after Adeptus Minor and the second grade of three in the Second Order. The Adeptus Minor grade was subdivided according to the schema of the First Order. The subdivisions stopped at Theoricus Adeptus Minor. So Mina must have had achieved the Th.A.M. (Theoricus Adeptus Minor) to proceed to A.M. grade. There were no written Adeptus Major documents for Mina as the material and the guidance was cloudy. At the time official material stopped at the Th.A.M. but Mathers had not finished writing all the material yet.

However, in Howe's list, there is a ritual for the Adeptus Major, which remained unknown until its discovery in 1990 but this could be the rite for three officers needed to initiate members to the Adeptus Major, but noone knows for sure. 

When the schism prevailed, Waite's order did not have anything specific for the Adeptus Major grade and in Felkin's Order, there was no ritual progress in the higher grades. The whole thing had stopped with Mathers in the Th.A.M. grade. Felkin had reached the Z.A.M.

An unknown document appears to be sent and written by a Secret Chief, granting blessings to the Stella Matutina and providing material for the Z.A.M. members. This was handy for Felkin who at the time claiming to have been astrally initiated in Egypt at 1907 -maybe to the Adeptus Major grade. Felkin wrote to the Secret Chiefs asking for the rituals to higher grades, as the ritual for the Adeptus Major had been given to Mathers by the Secret Chiefs.

Felkin partly abandoned the subgrades of the Adeptus Minor. Under Felkin, a member who had completed Z.A.M. was advanced to Th.A.M. and to Adeptus Major after five years.

D.r. R.W. Felkin Recollections, by Christine Zalewski

Recollections is an article of Felkin for the members of the Stella Matutina in New Zealand. Felkin wrote them in 1921, five years before his death and they were published in the "Joyous Quest newsletter" between1987-1990 in this article about his life so, I can't write any summary for you. The article is all about his mundane activities, work and his travels.

Hellenic Words in the Golden Dawn Grades, by Eirini Tsotsou

This is an article written by our Eirini Tsotsou, who wanted to research the Hellenic origin of the grade names and write about it. We talked about it before she decided to publish it. For a Hellene, it is evident that the names are Hellenic, but it is one thing to know and another to prove with etymology and document with sources. In our language is the mother of all languages and each word has a specific meaning and a history within. It transfers science, observation, history, customs, pulse. The whole article is fascinating for the Golden Dawn practitioners and revealing.

Eirini explains her methodology at the beginning of the article and devotes a paragraph for each lexicon she uses. Then she explains the officer's names: Hierophant comes from the Hellenic, Hierophantes, who was connected with the Eleusinian Mysteries. The impressive thing in her work on Hierophantes is that she uses the monosyllable verb pho, to explain the meaning. The ancient Hellenic language had a lexicon for the monosyllable verbs and this explained the two-syllable verbs and the nouns from them. The second officer name is Hiereus, the priest. The third officer is Hegemon, the leader. Keryx follower, Dadouchos, the torchbearer, Stolistes, the decorator, Phylax, the guardian. She explains their connection and function in the Eleusinian mysteries.

Then she moves to the grades. Neophytos means newly produced or grown. Zelotes is a strong follower. Theoricos is the theoretical or the one who sees God with his mind. Practicos is the practical, the man who acts or does things. Philosophos needs no explanation. Magister is the teacher or guide and is connected with Magos, the witch or magician. Lastly, Ipsissimos may come from ipselos that means the highest.

The Godforms of the Seven Cosmic Principles, by Jayne Gibson

This is an article on Egyptian magick. I am not particularly eager to read about the ancient Egyptians, this article is well written and I enjoyed it. It fills in the blank spots. Magic is a sacred science that provides a solution to awaken our divine gifts to unify with God or become Gods. Gibson says that there are seven cosmic principles we can achieve that through magick. Each action will bring us closer to the divine as long as we live totally with this cause. The seven cosmic principles are emanations of the One God and are divided into three major principles and four subprinciples. Those are:

• Ma'at, the balancing force of order and definition in creation that brings harmony in our world
• Heka, the magick and creative power that exists and connects the worlds
• Maa, the sight and the ability to see or understanding or correctly observing this world and the unseen world
• Sedjem, the ability to hear this world and the unseen world
• Hu, the use of voice to direct our energy, thus will
• Sia, the ability of perception, thus knowledge
• Sa, the force of life

Polarity Magic, by Ina Custers-van Bergen

This kind of magic uses the attraction between sexes. Miss van Bergen writes about Hieros Gamos (Hellenic terminology meaning sacred wedding) between the king Uruk and the priestess of Inanna. Then she mentions a critique from Herodotos who mock the Babylonian anonymous sex for money, that took place at the temple of Aphrodite. She said that Christianity extinguished "sacred prostitution"... She continues mentioning other examples.

Polarity magic can be used in a temple without needing sex, but for calling divine energies to a priest and a priestess ground them and use the power of eros to unite them for ritual purposes. Each part embodies an archetype or works as an archetype. This brings the power of giving life within a circle or a temple.

The Cosmic Soul in Plato, by Constantinos Nterziotis

A year ago I had expressed to Sorita d'Este, founder of the Covenant of Hekate, that many members have a false idea of what is the Cosmic Soul. She announced a Cosmic Soul month so that everyone could search this subject, write articles and create artwork with this subject in mind. Eirini and I started to write two lengthy articles. "The Cosmic Soul in Plato" and "the Cosmic Soul in Plotinus". We added many excerpts from other philosophers to the group, to aid members understanding the subject and reading the right books. My article wasn't published in the COH website and some weeks later Eirini and I were ostracised from the group over my behaviour. We had two great articles but we couldn't post them online, because each would around eight parts. So, I send it to be published to the Hermetic Tablet. Eirini left hers unpublished. Maybe, I would persuade her to publish it here.

This article is a summary of the original article I wrote. It is well documented, almost exclusively from Platon. If I used other philosophers I had in mind, it would be eight times bigger. It explains the historical circumstances in Athens, the life of Platon, the theory of the two worlds and it presents the Platonic theory of the Cosmic Soul. Firstly, there is proof of the Cosmic Soul's existence. Then follows the answer to why the Cosmic Soul is only good. How it moves and is connected with movement. How the Cosmic Soul gives the universe life, Her substance, how She knows the things of both worlds. Lastly, I close the article writing Plato's view on personal daimon.

I strongly suggest to anyone who is interested in that subject and to any devotee of Hekate to read this article and then read Eirini's article "Neoplatonic View on the Divine" from the Hermetic Tablet of Summer Solstice 2017

Bells and Trumpets of Solomon, by Adam Pearson

The article is a study on bells and trumpets on the Solomonic tradition written by a magician who uses those instruments in his practice. Adam Pearson had contacted me after reading my article, which he found clear and fascinating, and I have to admit that he has done an exceptional job in his article too. Besides the referencing in ancient sources, he uses modern and respected magicians like Aaron Leitch, Stephen Skinner, Joseph Peterson and others.

He starts by examining the trumpet in the Old Testament, as a magical instrument of the Hebrews. The second book of Clavicula Salomonis, instructs how to construct a trumpet of air to invoke spirits in the circle. Godnames and sigils were inscribed in the instrument but there was no instruction for the time of cutting, the material, the technique etc. Pearson fills the gap with comments from Hygromanteia, Agrippa and Peterson to make it work. The trumpet is used to prepare the spirits and call them in the circle. It is used in the centre with the magician facing each of the four cardinal positions. 

In the Psalms we also see the use of cymbals for praising God and in Hygromanteia we see the use of the bell, which produces a similar sounding effect. The bell is used exactly like the trumpet. This is logical because it is the source of Solomonic magick, and Pearson makes the right corrections. Barbarous names of power are inscribed in the bell, but no sigils. Agrippa makes a reference to the bell as an instrument of reverencing the Gods. It is used for consecration and protection of the magickian and the spirit that is evoked.

Finally, Pearson shows the magickal instrument (trumpet with bell) he created and how he inscribed it, from where and how he consecrated it. He used methods from all three traditions: Hygromanteia, Agrippa, Solomonic.

Boethius as the Godfather of the Rosicrucian Movement, by Eugene Kuzmin

At the beginning of the 17th century, a spread of Rosicrucian papers was noticed, which caused discussions in broad circles of intellectuals. The roots of this movement remain unknown and obscure. The writer is presenting the famous and bestselling book of the Middle Ages and later in Renaissance: De Philosophiae Consolatione, of philosopher Boethius (6th century a.C.) Seventeenth-century German Neoplatonists studied it and so it influenced the Rosicrucian movement. From the Middle Ages till the end of the Renaissance, many people read and commented on this book, which means that there was a tradition around Boethius, with many commentaries and publications of the same book.

The book's protagonist uses knowledge and piety to attain high levels of wisdom to elevate himself to reach God. The rest of the article offers a summary of the seven days, the chapters of Boethiu's book and its similarities with the story of Christian Rosencreutz, proving the influence of Boethius on Rosicrucianism.

Hermeticism, A Fractured Transmission, by Naomi Ozaniec

Miss Ozaniec writes about the well-known problem of fractured Hermeticism from antiquity to our days. This is caused by having only a small number of ancient texts, which survived, which were attributed to Hermes and priest Asclepius. As a result, we are not sure if they existed or if they were godforms, thoughtforms, Gods or real people or something else. The Corpus Hermeticum influenced the western mystical tradition after its translation from Marsilio Ficino of the Italian Platonic school in the mid 15th century a.C. This was caused by the collapse of Constantinople from Ottomans and the Francs. Byzantine sages had to leave the city and brought their books with them. This caused the flowing of Italian Renaissance starting in Florence. Later, with the discovery of the typography with moving elements, things were easier to publish and buy books. The Corpus Hermetica is not as old as many people believe. The texts were written in the Hellenistic Period and were an oversimplification of Platonism. 

There is a point in the article that makes no sense to me: "The divine has been commodified (I don't understand the word) and the familiar statement: I am working with (deity name) is a profound expression of hubris, arrogance and ignorance." I am working with Hekate and don't consider myself as arrogant, ignorant or bebelos/vevelos (=profane). I have no idea what the writer wanted to say, but I strongly disagree with her view. And she continues "... In contrast, Hermes Trismegistus speaks of the pious temperament, 'but when the mind has entered a pious soul, it leads that soul to the light of knowledge'". Yes, that's quite true, but with mind she means the Mind-Nous or the logical part of the soul? If she means the Mind-Nous, then why the first statement is false? I am working with Hekate, who is closer to the Mind like any God or Goddess. Besides that, the article is a good introduction to Hermeticism as an ancient tradition of Hellas.

Sefer Ha-Yashar: The Book of the Just, by Joao Pedro Feliciano

The Book of the Just is a Jewish magical text of the Babylonian Talmudic tradition. It contains the names of winds, earth, moon, angels and other natural forces but provides no magical uses of those. The practitioner should carry out a 21-day process of ritual baths and pray to be successful and "stay away from women, unclean food, be blameless and pure". The book promises powerful results when the sacred name is pronounced.

The Homer Letter Oracle, by Nick Farrell

This is a well written and well-structured article on a system of dice divination created by Mr Farrell. It is based on the ancient Hellenic system of dice divination and he mentions astragalomanteia, divination with feet knucklebones of sheep or goats. Farrell starts with an excerpt of dice divination from Pausanias. He attributes to each dice number, a letter and mainly a verse from Homer. The two epic poems of this great author were used as a tool of education in ancient Hellas and they were used in divination systems. 

A situation is influenced by three factors: Gods, elements, humours (phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric, melancholic). Each dice number has the following attributions which help with the interpretation:

• letter
• gematric meaning
• a verse from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
• planet
• God/Goddess
• suggested meaning

An algorithm of how to use the method with two spreads and practical examples are provided. It is an alternative system for those who don't want to use bone divination, cartomancy, crystallomancy etc. yet they want to practice divination with something that has its roots in the past. For devotees of Hekate, the first letter, Alpha and dice number 5 are linked with our Goddess and with the Moon.

Why I am Worried About the Old Magick Revival, by Aaron Leitch

This is probably the first article someone wants to read when he receives the book. Leitch is well known for his work in Western magick, as well as other authors of the Hermetic Tablet. So, he shares with us his initial worries and concerns when he started studying occultism. Those were the disbelief in magick and the (freaking) psychological theories. In his youth, he wished that people would recognise magick and enables him to make a living from it. Well, those sound interesting but he adds his concerns if this wish came true. 

First of all, in places where magick is legal, like south America and Africa, it is used by the government to control its people and thus reduce free will. When there are too many magicians in one city, they will become total asses to support their store. Occult orders can be swiftly corrupted and if something bad happens, people will accuse, torture and kill the witch for whatever reason they think right. 

On the other hand, in a materialistic world, in Europe and America, those things don't happen, because it is legal to practise magick, since the law considers magick as ineffective, so no one will prosecute a witch. While a witch may be seen as a weird person who does their own crazy hobby they are treated as mostly harmless. When this is true, but it doesn't bring people to witchcraft and ceremonial magick. As the occult has returned to our societies, through various writers, it is up to us to choose our path. Leitch writes: "I still want to see Westerners learn more and more about the Old Magick, and to connect themselves back to Nature as it should be. Yet, I'm thrilled that my government believes my standing around in my house in funny clothes and chanting 'meaningless' words does not affect anything other than my own psyche."

Poena Cullei, The Purifying Death, by Angelo Albano

An interesting article with historical information and a ritual that follows, specifically interesting for devotees of Hekate. Poena Cullei is a torturing death for the child that killed its father and the Romans created it. The guilty person was considered profane and his body could not pollute the atmosphere, the earth, the air, the water and the fire. So, what happened to him? They beat him, put him in a leather sack with a monkey, a rooster, a snake and a dog. The monkey should be connected somehow with Hermes, as the rooster too. The snake and the dog were animals of Hekate. They were alive. The sack was thrown to the water. The smart thing is that the person had no connection with the elements and he was surrendered to Hermes and Hekate, the Deities that will take his soul to the Underworld. It is unknown if there was a ritual before tossing him to the water.

Albano has created an interesting and simple ritual with normal objects to get rid of a person, a habit or a problem out of our lives. 

The Book of Gates, by Ian Rees

An article on Egyptian theology and practice

Would the Real Elus Coens Please Stand Up, by Mathieu G. Ravignat

Pasqually's Freemasonry, theurgy, cosmogony etc.

Links

All the issues from lulu.com

The current issue in Goodreads