Hermeticists

A Hermeticist does not adhere to doctrine

Nor memorise and quote scripture and verse

To know who he must be and how he must live.

A Hermeticist does not participate in rituals

That left behind their source and, therefore, their meaning

Long, long ago in the mists of antiquity.

A Hermeticist does not ever follow in the footsteps of another,

For no two paths of Hermeticists are the same.

Hermeticists cannot be herded along the path of another’s dictate

Like sheep that form a flock,

For a Hermeticist is a shepherd, not a sheep –

One who walks a unique path

Laid out for him by the blueprint of his own destiny

As it is written on his heart.

A Hermeticist has no need of religious laws and commandments

To dictate and determine the way of his tread,

For he follows the light within

That illuminates each step along his way.

A Hermeticist knows that ‘blind faith’ is a contradiction in terms –

A paradox with no possibility of resolution.

A Hermeticist does not worship in a church at the same time every week,

For the Hermeticist is his temple

And his very existence one seamless act of worship.

A Hermeticist has no need of priestly vestments and garments,

For these are the accoutrements of those who would be identified with a system;

Those whose authority comes from that system;

And whose power has its source in that system;

And whose beliefs are dictated by that system.

The source of a Hermeticist’s power and authority exists within him,

And never, never would he surrender his power and authority

By placing either in the hands of anyone or anything external to him.

A Hermeticist’s beliefs are not set as in stone

But are ever-changing,

Moulded and shaped like smooth rocks lying in the path of a gentle stream.

A Hermeticist’s mind is like soft, furrowed, freshly ploughed soil

Within which the seeds of truth and knowledge,

Constantly sown, germinate, sprout and grow.

And a bumper crop does a Hermeticist’s mind yield.

A Hermeticist knows the limitations of words written and spoken

So the tools or the means of his communication are symbols,

His language one of myth, allegory and metaphor.

A Hermeticist is not bound by man-made laws.

He is above the law and dwells beyond it,

For he needs not the protection accorded others by the laws of men;

He needs not the protection from himself.

A Hermeticist contemplates the mystery of all things

And knows he holds within wisdom beyond imagining

That guides his contemplations

Permeates his conscious thoughts

And rules his perceptions.

Thus would a Hermeticist never think of dulling his consciousness,

Of switching off his thoughts,

Or stilling his magnificent mind,

For he knows there is too much of value contained therein.

A Hermeticist knows that time is man-made;

That man-made time is jarring;

That man’s year and nature’s year do not coincide;

That the second hand on a watch

Forms a discordant rhythm that has humanity marching

Like soldiers stepping in time to the beat of a drum.

A Hermeticist is not aware of time

So how can he then set his life by it?

But he is very aware of the cycles of nature,

And of the position and influence of the heavenly bodies

And the constellations of the wheel of the Zodiac,

For he knows full well how they link with

And, therefore, govern each man’s Destiny;

How they influence, affect and shape

Each man’s basic nature.

Nor may any dead thing pass through the mouth of a Hermeticist

Either the food he consumes or the words he speaks,

For a Hermeticist is truly living,

Passionately and joyously free.