On the "Hermetic Diagnosis"

When I went public, I figured the Hermetic Diagnosis service would be one of my least-requested services. Turns out I was wrong. I was backlogged for a while there, and I'm finally catching up. Only one more to go, and I need a break. So I figured I'd blog a bit, since that too is something I've fallen behind on lately.

So when I do the thing, it starts with a tarot reading. I've always been in the "an ounce of intuition is worth a pound of book study" when it comes to interpreting tarot readings, but I try to keep it balanced. My tarot of choice is the Thoth deck by Uncle Al.

The arguments against using it that I'm aware of center around his Tzadi rearrangement. A while ago, I was lucky enough to interact with a cabal of KBLists who threw out everything they'd learned about KBL from the Golden Dawn and immersed themselves in the study of the Sefer Yetzirah. Based on their contemplation and meditation on the source materials, each person came up with their own "Tree of Life." They ditched the planetary associations and the Lightning Path and the Abyss, and Da'ath, and set it up the way it was "revealed" (see, KBL means revelation) to them by the letters and spheres and angels themselves. This group was the most powerful group of KBLists I've had the fortune of meeting in my online interactions, and they demonstrated authoritatively using both scholarship and practical results that the Kircher Tree, while useful, is still only an interpretation of the Ertz Chaim, not THE Ertz Chaim itself.

So I'm comfortable with Crowley's rearrangement. I don't necessarily understand why he did it, but I'm not married to the Kircher Tree of Life anyway, so it doesn't matter so much. And I don't use the Tree of Life as an interpretive framework, either. I know the Tarot predated Kircher, and it predated the assignment of the Aleph-Bet letters to the paths connecting the Tree of Life by Eliphas Levi, so... Tarot. KBL. Images. Crowley. Whatever, they speak to me and I get good results.

You know I'm mostly a conjure magician, right? I see divination as the manipulation of an interpretive medium by the spirits conjured. A looooong time ago, I learned that "HRU" was the angel of the tarot. More recently, I learned that HRU was a Mathers or Waite interpretation of Heru, an Egyptian deity with whom I have no conscious relationship. I never really worked much with HRU. I think I might have one time said some kind of  incantation to him before reading the cards for a friend in a coffee shop, but that's about it. When I do a tarot reading, I work with my Supernatural Assistant. I conjure him up by name and ask him the questions and let him move the cards around to tell me the story of what I need to know.

In my practice, the tarot is simply a divination tool, while the entity providing the information is my Assistant. I've tried pendulums with letters around a circle, and that didn't work so well for me. I've tried runes, but they don't resonate as well with me either. Ogham was interesting, but the letters slipped out of my mind faster than jello meting on a hot sidewalk in July. My favorite kind of divination involves clouds, but that's not always convenient. Leaves on trees are good for me too, at least with Aspens and Oaks. Maples and Elms don't work so well, and Holly trees are right out for some reason.

After that, I go to my Crystal Ball, and with the aid of Gabriel, open a channel to the Astral realm. I pull up a vision of the person's individual sphere, and explore what I find. I ask for help interpreting some scenes, but again, it usually tells me a story. I can see where crossed conditions are manifesting in their lives, and see what kind of spiritual work they've been up to. The imagery is always presented in a way that I can understand, but will also be meaningful to the client. It's very interesting, some of the things I've seen.

One common thing that pops up in most people's sphere is a sense of being lost, without direction. At least three quarters of my clients feel that way. It makes sense, Hermetically speaking. People are looking for meaning, because we were created to accomplish something in life. Plotinus explains in the Enneads that the purpose of the contemplation of our Source is to reclaim our divine heritage, to remember where we came from and why we're here.

However, I come across folks once in a while who have already figured out who they are, and why they're here, and they've taken steps to begin their Work. Their spheres are brilliant to observe, and on occasions, dangerous to meddle with. I went into one person's sphere, and found myself in a forest much like the one I go to on the way to my own astral temple. I took a step in, and two arrows shot out of the thick branches landing in front of my feet. I had been granted access, the message was, but I was still under close observation. Fucking around with anything was forbidden, and would be addressed. Harshly. I don't, by the way, fuck with anything in people's spheres while I'm there. It's rude. Anything I find that's fucked up I just tell people about and let them tell me what they want done about it, if anything. I'll offer advice, but I won't do anything until I'm asked or granted permission.

Then I conjure each of the Planetary Governors and ask where the client is in relation to their spheres. I've found consistently that one or two spheres are prominent in a person's life. Those who have been performing initiatory work in their lives have specific images and detailed instructions I am to pass on. Those who have not been formally initiated into the spheres get general messages. On more than one occasion, I've been told by the Archangels that a person "belongs" to them, and that the person needs to come to them and speak directly. Some shit's none of my business, in other words.

People, my friends, are some freaking awesome entities. All of my clients have been spiritually vibrant, and regardless of their degree of initiation or experience, their potentials have all been totally unlimited within their spheres of expertise. I've seen them the way the Archangels see them. I've seen them through the eyes of God, metaphorically. People, no matter what they may appear to be in society or by profession are just beautiful.

You know how much I hate people though? If you've read for years, you've seen a lot of misanthropic posts. I hate interacting with people's shit. Especially when their shit rubs up against my own. But these readings I've been giving show me how people are from Above, and it's helped me see past the shit. I still have bad days with bad people, but I can appreciate them more. I have compassion.

Seeing how beautiful a person is when seen from Above, and then seeing the stark contrast in their daily life, I feel for them. I understand, in between the potential and the manifestation, shit happens, shit gets clogged, filtered, projected through cracked or dirty lenses, and what we experience in the meat-realm isn't always going to be beautiful. But with magic, the lenses can be repaired, the clogs broken up and passed, and the beauty of a person can shine through.

So, to all my clients who have ordered these things, thanks ever so much for the opportunity to see you for who you are. Thanks for showing me that people are beautiful, and that there's something more to life. Thanks for letting me understand viscerally that when I feel alone and lost, I am not alone or lost. Thanks for showing me compassion.

And... Sorry for the delays.