Hermetic inner work is about transmutation; it is not about excising, destroying, banishing, denying, shame, guilt, or blame. It has nothing to do with the corrupted 'killing the dragon' and the Hero's journey motif prevalent today. One does not become whole by cutting away parts of themselves. The same energy blocking you is the same energy, when understood, that will allow the emanation of who and what you want to be.

Hermetic philosophy is sublimely expressed through an unbroken chain of oral and written arcane understanding of mythologies. For the Alchemist, all creation/matter 'is good' because it is an emanative expression of the One. Hermeticism seeks 'balance through a means other than conflict.'

Know this: acceptance does not mean acquiescence!

There is an art to this practice that produces what, to many, is a counterintuitive discernment of the world of their daily experience. By discernment, I mean rather than judging a situation as good or bad, the Hermeticist seeks to understand the spiritual implications of their everyday experiences, especially those that most persons would label as bad or unpleasant. The Hermeticist sees their shadow, their inner dysfunction, as a luminous beacon from the divine, calling them to seek understanding because only a light source can create a shadow.

Let me say from the outset that to achieve success with this training and work, you will need to be willing to devote some time to it. If you are looking for a flash-in-the-pan technique that promises life-changing transformations in ten (10) one-hour sessions, this is not the right place for you. It takes twelve to eighteen months to become proficient at this practice. But it is a lifelong journey.

I've written briefly in my initial post about Inner Work on the necessity of a Guide. I'll go into more detail in the Alchemical Gnosis section about a Guide's role, but let me briefly stress again that at some point in your journey, you will need a Guide who has gone through this process and integrated the changes it has brought about into their daily life is in a unique position in understanding the hurdles the traveler will face and has to surmount.

The Guidance can be as simple as advising patience and not chasing the experience but living the process to something much deeper as perceiving the labyrinth of behavior patterns and muddled perceptions that obfuscate the light of our souls, keeping us from living and expressing ourselves fully.

The methodology used in Hermetic inner work has been used in one form or another for millennia by various underground streams as secret teaching and only entered the diaphanous awareness of the public about 250 years ago. Not many today realize -even with the plethora of information on the Internet- that the West has a highly developed system of inner work development (The Western Inner Tradition: WIT) equal to practices found in China, Japan, and India.

For Alchemists, life is found in everything from minerals, plants, and animals, and substances obtained from these sources can help with the spiritual understanding and evolution of a Hermetic practitioner. The operations described by the Alchemist for working on the seven metals of the ancients were not just solely directed at the physical manipulation of substance but also on the inner metals or planets found within the Hermetic practitioner.

While engaged in Hermetic inner practices, you may obtain many items written about in mythologies, from swords, lance, bows, and rings. It should be remembered that receiving these items is not the totality of the quest. While such tools can and do represent inner physical and psychological qualities, and proficient use of them demonstrates mastery of the principle in question, the bottom fact is the quest can only be completed by you, not the tool. If you lack the internal fortitude necessary for completion, no tool, not even those from the Gods, will suffice.

You will find out when doing inner work that it's not about fulfilling 'the heroes journey,' but rather transmuting the energy of that persona so that you emanate at your unique frequency. To do so, though, requires a willingness to peer into what looks like the Stygian depths of self at first. It can seem frightening initially, but in time, you will discover that everything has 'inherent luminance' because, let me stress once again, only a light source can create a shadow.