Ars Hermetici Durus

The Order of Hermes

The Code of Hermes

I swear everlasting loyalty to the order and its members. The Order’s friends and enemies are my friends and enemies, and I shall not spurn a friend nor succor and enemy.

I shall not through action or inaction endanger the Order, nor consort with devils or undead, nor anger the fae.

I shall not deprive any Order mage of magickal power, nor through action or inaction attempt to bring harm to an Order mage, except in justly declared and open certamen.

I shall not spy by any means or manner upon another Order mage’s private works, nor read an Order mage’s mind, nor invade or observe an Order mage’s Sanctum, save to guard against a clear, direct, forceful and imminent threat to the safety of the Order.

If called before a Tribunal, I shall abide by its verdicts. If called to sit upon a Tribunal, I shall vote wisely, respect the votes of others, and support the Tribunal’s verdicts.

Upon reaching Fifth Degree or higher, I shall train apprentices and instruct them in this Code. I bear the entire responsibility for my apprentice, and shall duly admonish, restrain, discipline or arrest an apprentice who endangers the Order, and shall yield same apprentice to the Order’s lawfully appointed agent or Tribunal.

I solemnly swear to uphold this sacred Code of Hermes, and venture any risk or sacrifice to protect it. Should I breach it, may all the mages of the Order rise as one united and hunt me down and destroy me forevermore.

On Infernalism

Being a complex and ancient practice Infernalism, that which is consorting with devils and demons willingly for favours, defined in a Feudal (that is as to be in obligation to a demonic or infernal master), Worshipful (to hold devolution to of either fear or love) or that of as a Possessive (that is to be the instrument of the infernal utterly) context is known as undesirable and utterly against the True Will of a Wonder-Worker. One should not Beholden to the Powers of Corruption for it is Contrary to the Divine Order of the cosmos, of Ma'at, the betrayal of ones Purpose for the Purposes of the Pit.

Hermes

Hermes is Three. Hermes the God, son of Zeus. Messenger, guardian of gateways, thief, supreme magician, restless, clever, determined, he is a personification of the human intellect. Hermes the god is a psychopomp who guides the souls of the dead. He is Life, the Fire of it, he is Mercury. Called Thoth, Odin, or Raven Hermes is many and none. Hermes Trismegistus. A mystic of ancient times who inspired or wrote the Corpus Hermeticum which tears down the illusion between the mortal world and that of the divine. The inventor of geometry, astronomy and arithmetic Hermes Trismegistus is the forerunner of the Great Work. Now remains Hermes the Archetype, the personification of an ideal of power. He is the thunderbolt of the tree of life, the bearer of knowledge and imagination across space with speed unparalleled as nothing hinders the the Archetype of Wisdom. He thus spans the world of antiquity, of modernity and the realm of possibility itself.

Paradigm

The Four Elements of Magick; The Form, the Mind, the Spirit, The Flesh and then above them all the Fifth Element; Quintessence itself. All things considered this Paradigm is a mystic one - although the forms it might take does include the deception or form of technology if required. A computer developed on the basis of Enochian as its programming language is just as acceptable as a skull of a long-dead servant carrying the memories of a thousand records indexed by its former personality; one it more desirable and one is acceptable.

The Great Work

Goetia, the Charm of the Seer

Know how to cut them
Know how to read them
Know how to stain them
Know how to prove them
Know how to evoke them
Know how to sacrifice them
Know how to send them
Know how to slay them
--- From the Havamal

Here, Now, the Hedge Wizard lays down the Foundation, or Modus, and the Pillars, or Forma, of Anima, Corona, Primus, and Vires and takes up the first step on the path of Wonder by upholding the Spheres of Knowledge. Magick, now, is her path even if the forms of Magic remain about her while the Charms of the Spheres are what guides Her along this path of revelation. It is here that she gives up her name and dons a new mantle; a undergarment of white to refine the soul in closed with the serpent that devours itself, the Sword of airy intellect, the Wand of spirit and ambition that burns in her grasp, the Pentacle of labor, possessions and the body solid as the earth, the Cup of the waters of life that refreshes her during her ordeals and at last the robe of scarlet, of passion. All are the tools and symbols of she who takes the journey. What she is, and what she strives to become.

Theurgy, the Art of the Magician

In my way to the knowledge
I chose the road of sacrifice
I will be fey of secret things
I’ll see the other paradise
I’m head-down
--Dark Moor, the Hanged Man.

Here, now, the Seer becomes a Magician by assuming the Burdens and Will of that which are Far Greater then Her; She achieves Union at the risk of losing Herself to the Traditional Ideal of a Godform or Archetype. When she Masters it, for to be a Magician one walks the path of Mastery, she Invokes the Power of the Gods. To gain Power through the very Idea, Eidos, of Power the Magician walks upon a silver road. Here she finds that the Power she Compels does not come from the Gods, but from within. The Magician knows now that the Charms and Gods are only a Reflection of what she has always had within the Avatar or merely her True Will. Now, she walks ahead with Fire in her breast and Life in her fingertips.

Forms
Hermes. Hermes, Thrice-Great, the magic-giver and the thief. Let his laughter fill your Soul and reflect upon thy flesh as you walk between darkness and light.

Thaumaturgy, the Worker of Wonders

Here, now, the Magician receives her Name. No longer does she walk in concert with Divine Archetypes to summon fourth their power that dwells within. Nor does she draws the runes into the earth or makes the lines and stars to bring harmony or discord with heaven for she has left behind the Charms of the Seer. Now she sees what is Above and what is Below and knows that they are One - but she does not abandon what has come Before knowing that they hold only the power she desires them to have over her. One does not refine oneself from the dross into gold without knowing whence she came from; she knows them utterly and realizes that her tribulations and works until this moment were merely the beginning steps of a much greater journey.

Behind lay the Sword, the Pentacle, the Wand, and the Cup no longer needed but unforgettable as how can she forget that which she carried in her struggles, that which sustained her, and that which forged her from a dull and dark material to a bright form of gold and silver? They remain for her use; but they do not define her but she gives to them the meaning she desires. She is the Great Magician - the Wonder Worker and knows that Wonders are hers to make.

The Root Arts

What once served as Pillars not serve as arts; as tools on the path of the Seer, the Magician and the Thaumaturge whose value lay in what is reflected Within that makes changes Above to effect Below; as Above as Below.

Ars Goetia
By using the Symbols such as the Hendecagram, Hexagram, Pentagram, and many others the Seer works her Charms upon the World and through diligence in Performing the pentagrammatic Arts she finds Success.

Alchemy
To transmutes the elements is the ultimate goal of the Seer. To turn base materials to silver and gold; to learn the formulae and the correspondences that move the World and move the Seer. Brew the Elixir of Life that channels the Refining Fire, O Seer.

Sacred Geometry
By using Sacred Geometry that reflects the Celestial Order the Seer makes Changes into the World. By the strict Knowledge of and Arrangement of Lines, Angles, and other Figures that reflect the Divine Order the Seer brings fourth changes.

Musica Enochian
In the Great Work one struggles to attain ones purpose through mastery of the godforms and through the pentagrammatic arts amoung other things. In Enochian, the Angelic language with which One might speak changes, meanings layer upon meanings hiding the Truth at its core. Number = Enochian Rune = Letter is correct and is just as True as the fact that each Enochian rune also exists in sympathy and correspondence with a certain Cords(Musica Enochia Durus uses the modified Pythagorean nine cord system). By understanding and Mastery of the Cord the Magus might, if she Desire it, sound Changes into the World Above, as Below.

The Spheres of Knowledge

Creo, I Create.
Intellego, I Perceive.
Muto, I Transform.
Perdo, I Destroy.
Rego, I Control.

Ars Mentis the Dream of Life

"From the weakness of our sense we are not able to judge the truth. What appears is a vision of the unseen." --Anaxagoras

The Watcher. The Mens is the Word which of the Idea, or Eidos which is the Form, that encompasses the Mind as we know it; it is the reflection of the First Thousand as broken down into Ourselves and represent a mirror of the Mystery of the Avatar. Because of the universality of The Good and the First Thought by knowing the Mens one knows others. She who has the mastery of the Mens has mastery over others and oneself achieving what can be called Noesis. Before, and after this, the Magus seeks the light of the Mind.

Instruments of The Magician
"Solomon was far wiser then any of your fell lore, demon." As the Magos spoke before the Demon of the East she affirmed that My Will Be Done! the Commandment of the Order holds sway over All. The Magus therefore enforces her Will upon the Mens, the Form of the mind, in order exact a result of her making and desire both Above and Below. Inside the Fabled Sword lays the True Name of the Magus carved in Enochian Rune of Silver and Brass interlaced between the Fourteen Keys. Through Goetia the Magus wields the Fabled Sword in order to achieve the charms of magick. Often a Pentagram shall act as the Key to the Work or the Sephirot shall be used in lieu of the pentagram to draw upon the meaning and mysteries within the Tree of Life.

Methods

Because, as Anaxagoras said, the Magus cannot on her own perceive the truth of reality without virtue she evokes the Sephirot of Netzach, or Victory, as she exerts her Will.

Placing the Blade at the Center of a pentegram adorned with Enochian runes and the greater and lesser keys the Magus Commands.

Thrust the Blade towards the target and call out the Key corresponding to "sleep" or any Word.

Capability

The Digital Web/Astral Projection

All minds come from the first thought. The Digital Web is just a place where they come closer together, unbound by the material world. Those who might consider it a alternative or superior reality misunderstand the essential value of it. To enter this place the Magus just passes through the right doors. She's going to unlatch her mind from her body and no longer bound by the flesh and so simply enter the door that's in plain sight... if you know how to look for it.

Dreamscapes of the Mind

Every living thing Dreams. Some dreams are greater or less then others; it has been asked if we are merely part of the Dreams of the Umbrood. Through the Dream one has access to the mind while weak and open to influence by those with the correct magickal understanding or the charms of the Umbrood.

The Parapet of the Mind

By Mastering and controlling the Dreamscape of the Mind the Magus that wishes to influence the Mind of a hostile or unwilling target must ensure that the defences and resistance of the target are bypassed, weakened, or simply overcome lead the attempt results in failure. Using their Dreamscapes the Magus can condition them to obey for certain reasons or upon certain actions or command. Memory manipulation is often employed in this subtle attack - while one can simply overpower the target's resistance if they are aware of the assault the difficulty of such a effort is increased while if one is "programed" through the medium of a Dreamscape the difficulty is much less and the methods available much greater. The Magus simply creates a Dreamscape to use as the basis of her control; either by bringing the target into a new one or modifying the existing one.

Ars Animae Creations Heartbeat

This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.

Zechariah 13:9 (New International Version)

The Magician strives to reach Noesis. The place of Pure Thought above Reason. As one brings the impure and stains within the spirit to light one seizes them and in the flames of The Refining Fire burns away the straw and hay to leave only the gold and silver. The flesh is no more a barrier to the Magus then Mastery over the Mens.

Instruments of The Magician
Through Theurgia the Magus brings a Godform, or rather the Eidos or Archetype, or (or of) a Spirit, god, or Angel into Union and Sympathy with herself by either, or together, the Invocation of the Archon directly or by algining herself in aspects to it to complete her Work. There is no trade and no pacts; the Magus shall Command and her victory will by the victory over the Archon as is the test of the Magus. One that cannot overcome the Archon, a Ruler, shall not complete the Work. After the Work is done and the Magus is Complete she realizes that the Archons are within as they reflect the Avatar just as the Avatar reflects the Art. The Magus shall use the Pentagram of Enoch to Channel the Refining Fire to purfiy the flesh within herself. She shall command Azrael, the Angel of Death, and with its Word command the one before her to death. She shall draw upon the numbers of Three and Eleven and the Boundless Sea (the Water of Life).

Ars Essentiae the Storm Art

The Gateway. The Holy Mystery of Ars Hermetici the pursuit of which has been the driving spirit for so many. It is said that she who understands Ars Essentiae might gauge their position in the path to Ascension.

Instruments of The Magician
A Glided Iron Key as the tool from which the Four Elements of the Physical world might be manipulated and commanded. The Number Eight or the Eight Keys hold significance and thus the Magus shall use them in conjunction with the Commanding of the Living Light of Sol. The Archangel Gabriel, the Primordial Archtype of Fire, might yet be invoked for the Magus to Work her Will.

Ars Vis the Fifth Essence

Called the South from wence the Waters of Life and Magick spring. Therefore the Spiritual South is the source, masked and hidden, of all things in Life and Magick. The Pyramids of the Great Pharaoh, the Pure Nile, the Boundless Sea of Life and Magick. By knowing how the Waters flow one can direct and channel Ideas into forms; from Above into Below.

Instruments of The Magician
The Pyramid of Hermes Thrice-Great; a Tree of Life or the Waters of Life. Pure liquids, specially prepared, are used by the Magus to bath objects and works in the very Waters of Magick that make up everything. Certain geometric designs focus and harness the Vis into Works.

Rotes

Aquam, Water.
Auram, Air.
Corpus, Body.
Herbam, Plant.
Ignem, Fire.
Imaginem, Image.
Mentem, Mind.
Terram, Earth.
Vis, Power.

Ars Essentiae

Apotropaic Charms

Arresting the Flight of Projectiles (Forces 2)

The Magus calls upon Odin, as it is recorded in the Havamal that the god proclaimed "If I see hurled arrows hard at my horde; though rapid their flight I arrest them in air.", in the crafting of a Ward to slow the march of projectiles aimed at the Magus or those under the protection of the ward.

Successes scored on the Rote subtracts from enemy successes to hit the Magus.

Altering the Flight of Projectiles (Forces 2)

The Magus crafts a Ward that redirects the motion of a Projectile back towards its origin to strike the sender. As there is no distance between objects direction does not matter.

Reflects projectiles back to sender.

Ars Manium

Banishing Ritual (Spirit ?)

The Magus draws a pentegram. Three points are adorned with the names of the Guardian archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Uriel). The remaining points are adorned with the commands of the Magus and the intent of the Magus.

Ars Mentis

Break Upon My Will (Mind 3)

Taking the Sword Form of Truth and bringing the blade past the flesh and bone of the target directly to its mind, and soul, Cara forces it to accept her will and diverge its hoard of knowledge.

Telepathic attack to gain access to the memories and knowledge of the target.

The Subtle Magus (Mind 2)

Ars Mentis. Cara fits in; she's not only supposed to be here but has been here for a longtime.

Can't Hit Me (Mind 2)

Cara uses Ars Mentis and Ars Essentiae to make it harder for enemies to target her. Mentis to make them not mentally register her correctly, and Essentiae to support that by fiddling with light.

Mental compulsion for hostiles to target somebody else rather then Cara.

Guise of One's Friend (Mind )

Appeal to be who the target expects you to be.

Cutting to the Truth (Mind 1, Life 1)

Drawing a pentagram on a flat surface with chalk, one also must inscribe carefully planned arrangement of Enochian runes to focus the Refining Fire in conjunction with Ars Mentis, through the focus of Noethung, to search for the Mentis imprints of the feral hunger of the massassa and any unnatural life patterns; or rather the lack of a normal pattern associated with a mind. One then uses Nothung, by inserting it in the center of the pentagram with a vigorous thrust, to "cut" through false receptions and ego to the truth.

Mind 1 to sense mind, Life 1 to identify the life pattern attached to the mind. Minds without a Life pattern are massassa or something else.

Lies Behind Doors (Mind 1)

By segmenting the Mind into two parts the Mage giveth the first part the task of speech and the knowledge to be spoke into being; the second part is given the truth of what is being articulated and hidden. Therefore when one speaks false, the body and spirit do not register it for they know not that it is false.

Ars Animae

Azrael's Dictation (Life 3)

The Magi commands the obedience of Azrael, the Angel of Death, and stretches out a finger towards her opponents and with the Word upon her lips causes them to die.

Bone Plate (Life 3)

Bone mesh-plate grows from the flesh. Have to get get naked first. Armor soak.

"I'm Too Old For This Shit"

Mind/Life. They feel/have a ominous pain in the chest, tear something while running, and get scared. Perhaps saying "I'm too old for this shit", while certainly thinking it due to mind 2.

Melodramatic Death Scene

Life 3 Attack. Mind 2 to send the impression of extreme pain to act in combination of the actual pattern ripping.

Ars Obtenebration

Shadow Play (Forces )

Shroud of Night (Forces )

Arms of the Abyss (Forces )

Black Metamorphosis (Forces , Life )

Tenebrous Form (Forces , Life )

Glossarium Hermeticum

Ars. "Art".

Apotropaic. "To Ward Off."

Dweomer. Divered from a Old Norse term for secret knowledge of magic.

Gematria. A system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase. Words and phrases with identical numerical values have relations with each other which can be manipulated.

Grog. A sleeper servant.

Odic force. The "vital" life force allied to electrictiy, magnetism, and heat. Discovered by von Reichenbach.

Heka. Magick. Used by House Shae.

Homunculus. A scale model of the human form.

Hendecagram. A eleven vertice star.

Hexagram. A Six-Pointed Star. The Star of Saturn. Represents the four Elements (water, fire, air, and earth).

Massassa. Vampire. Probably a Tremere vampire.

Pentagram. A Five-Pointed Star.

Appendix

The Tree of Life
Born from the Lightning the Sephiroth chime eternal, each an aspect of the One, and joins the Three Worlds together into One.

Kether, the Crown.

Chokmah, Divine Wisdom.

Binah, Understanding. Saturn.

Chesed, Mercy. Jupiter.

Geburah, Severity. Mars.

Tiphareth, Eternal Beauty. The Sun.

Netzach, Victory. Venus.

Hod, God's Splender. Mercury. Glory.

Yesod, the Foundation of all worlds. The Moon.

Malkuth, the Kingdom and mortal consciousness. The Earth.

The Celestial Spheres

Sun - Gold

Moon - Silver

Mercury - Quicksilver/Mercury

Venus - Copper

Mars - Iron

Jupiter - Tin

Saturn - Lead

The Weaving of Magick

Correspondence: Purple

Entropy: Indigo

Forces: Orange

Life: Red

Matter: Brown

Mind: Blue

Prime: White

Spirit: Gold

Time: Green