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Introduction

When dealing with Hermetic magic, whether you draw your power through the seventh plane from the group mind, draw your power from the Immortals or draw your power up from within yourself, you must be a person that commands respect and respects yourself.

Hermetic Principles

The Kybalion defines the Hermetic principles, upon which Hermetic philosophy is based, as:

Hermetic Magic defines the Hermetic principles as:

Delphi Maxims

The above principles are better for defining a cosmology that they are for defining a way of life. Many Hellenics use the ethical maxims inscribed on the temple of Apollon at Delphi for their ethical guidance. Different Hellenics interpret these maxims differently and only a few follow all of them. However, these maxims are not simply for those who follow Apollon, as I attempt to illustrate with the quotes below. Once again, what is important is to choose the rules you need to follow to respect yourself and then strictly follow them.

Nothing too much
Moral qualities are so constituted as to be destroyed by excess or by deficiency. Aristotle
The spirit that soareth too high for mortals shall see few days. Euripides
Excess has ruined many foolish men. Theognis
Nothing to excess. Solon
Excess breeds insolence, whenever great prosperity comes to men who are not of sound mind. Solon
Walk quietly along the middle of the road as I do, giving to neither side what belongs to the other. Theognis
Observe due measure; and proportion is the best in all things. Hesiod
To me, this is the most important principle of all. A person can base their whole ethical system on this single statement and, if there is any confusion in the meaning, they can refer to Aristotle's Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics and Nicomachean Ethics for a detailed explanation. To put it simply, you should try everything that is not excessive by its very nature but you shouldn't do anything to the point where it becomes excessive. There are some things (such as murder) that are always excessive and, in others, the mean that should be the goal is not always in the exact center between the two extremes.

Know Yourself
All things are less than the Gods. Stone is broken even by mortal hands. Simonides
Know Yourself. Solon
The purpose of this rule is to know you are not a god (or goddess). This means you'll never be as beautiful as Aphrodite or be able to drink as much as Dionysus and you shouldn't try to be. Trying to be like a god or goddess is called hubris and is insulting to them. A lesser portion of this rule is that since we are not gods, we shouldn't judge their actions by our moral standards and we shouldn't "do as they do".

Aid Friends
It is always one kindness that begets another. Sophocles
Grant that in these circumstances I be sweet to my friends and bitter to my enemies. Solon
When I die may I leave my friends with sorrow and lamentation. Solon
Give to the one who gives but do not give to the one who does not give. Hesiod
In the modern world, there are so many people, we can't relate to them all. We divide people into smaller and smaller groups until the groups are of a size that we can relate to. Many cultures, including the ancient Greek, define people as being friends, enemies or strangers. Friends are defined as those you help in their time of need and, in return, they help you in your time of need. Without this give and take in roughly equal proportions, there is no friendship. The support group should be as large as possible as long as each person personally knows all of the others (larger groups can provide help with each person needing to give a smaller amount).

Shun Unjust Acts
I long to have money, but I am unwilling to possess it unjustly, for retribution assuredly comes afterwards. Solon
Prefer to live righteously with a few possessions than to become rich by the unjust acquisition of money. Theognis
Many authors explain this in several different ways. First, you are judged by what you do, rather than what you say, so you should always do what you know is right. Second, you are judged by the type of people you frequently associate with. You cannot be considered an honorable person if you continue to associate with base people. Third, by helping base people, you are helping them to continue to do unjust acts and you are just as responsible as they are. These statements trouble some people and they ask, "what about social work?" I cannot give an answer that will satisfy everyone. Each person must decide for themselves. This is one of the decisions you must make before incorporating this maxim into your ethical system.

Acknowledge Sacred Things
Mortals who dare belittle things divine, ah, but the Gods in subtle ambush wait. Euripides
Never yourself utter an arrogant word against the Gods. Sophocles.
You should always be respectful about things the Immortals hold dear. You should even be respectful of sacred items of other religions. If everyone held this maxim, most of the wars throughout history, would have never occurred.

Hold on to Learning
The Gods love those who think sensibly and detest offenders. Sophocles
He whose mind does not control his heart always finds himself in trouble and in great perplexity. Theognis
A man has nothing better in him than sense and nothing more painful than the lack of it. Theognis
Always try to learn new things and think for yourself. Learning is the only way to reliably improve oneself, financially, socially, or otherwise. Just because some charismatic leader tells you something is true doesn't make it so. Most things that just don't make sense or do not fit with human nature are generally untrue.

Avoid Enemies
Is not laughing at one's enemies the most delightful kind of laughter. Sophocles
The gifts of enemies are no gifts and bring no profit. Sophocles
Flatter your enemy well, but whenever you get the upper hand, pay him back, and don't give any pretext. Theognis
Never make a base man your close comrade, but always avoid him like a bad harbor. Theognis.
Some advocate staying away from your enemies so that you avoid conflict and so you give them fewer opportunities to do harm. (This is certainly true when your enemies are stronger than you.) Others say that you should work against the purposes of your enemies so they won't be able to do harm to your friends. At the very least, you should never aid your enemies.

Cultivate Kinsmen
Man is by nature a social being. Aristotle
A trustworthy man is worth his weight in gold and silver in times of harsh civil strife. Theognis
There is nothing among mankind better than a father and mother who care about holy justice. Theognis
Never forsake the friend you have and seek another, persuaded by what base men say to you. Theognis
In this, I interpret "kinsmen" as friends and relatives, in other words, your support group. You should always strive to make new friends because, the larger the support group, the less support is needed from each individual. This also means you should share as many interests of your friends as possible.

Worship the Divine
First, whenever you come to your house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal Gods. Hesiod
Self restraint and reverence for the Gods are best. Euripides
May I have divine favor and be dear to the immortal gods. I crave no other merit. Theognis
No man is prosperous or poor or of low or high estate without divine aid. Theognis
Pray to the Gods; power rests in the Gods. Nothing good or bad happens to men without the Gods. Theognis
Respect and fear the Gods for this restrains a man from impious deed or word. Theognis
I find the thought of being the sole source and sole responsibility for everything that happens my life, to be a frightening concept. It is much more comforting to believe there are Immortals controlling the things in life I can't control and, at least some of them, are looking after my best interest. In this case, if I need divine assistance, it is unreasonable to expect an Immortal to help when I haven't established a relationship with that Immortal. So people should worship as often as possible and to as many of the Immortals as possible.

Conclusions

Am I saying that to do effective Hermetic magic, you must follow the above rules? No, I'm saying that you must define your beliefs (or develop your seventh level etheric body) and you must live by those beliefs. However, if you transgress, all is not lost. You can purify the built up miasma through purification and initiation rituals, which I'll cover in a later post.

WORKS CITED