2.5. Living a Hermetic Lifestyle⁑
The work of the Hermetic Synaxis is not merely a set of practices and prayers, but a way of life and living spiritually. Although ceremonial work is important through the making of prayers and offerings and rituals which help develop us spiritually in our practices, it is the day-to-day living that not only puts such development to test but which give us ample cases in which to implement the ethical and moral ideas behind the practices themselves. Ceremonial work must be backed up by mundane work and vice versa for a complete and holistic approach to spiritual development, and it is to this end that practitioners of the Hermetic Synaxis are encouraged to live their lives in ways that uphold particular ideas and ideals of conduct as a means of cultivating virtue. It is precisely this that allows one to flourish on the Way of Hermēs, providing not just a means for development but also a means of expression and fruition of studying the Hermetic texts and performing the ceremonies of the Hermetic Synaxis.
2.5.1. Protropai: Encouragements of the Way⁑
To support such cultivation of virtue, especially with respect to the Arkhai and Askēmata discussed below, it is encouraged that one maintain a good manner of conduct throughout their day-to-day life. In a group or retreat setting, there are specific rules that one is beholden to so as to keep themselves in good order, but all those who engage in the work of the Hermetic Synaxis, whether members of groups or independent practitioners, are expected to uphold the Protropai “Encouragements” as a fundamental set of guide towards one’s conduct:
To maintain your honesty and integrity.
To be respectful towards others.
To support others as they need from you as you need from them.
To keep the trust, faith, and secrecy of others.
To communicate clearly with others.
To focus on your work as it is set before you.
To attend to the Work diligently and regularly.
2.5.2. Arkhai: Principles of the Hermetic Synaxis⁑
Although the Protropai are concrete guidelines as to how one should act in the world, they alone do not offer much in the way of guidance or where one should go with respect to a Hermetic way of life. To that end, those in the Hermetic Synaxis who come together to progress upon and support each other on the Way of Hermēs should consider the Arkhai, a set of seven principles, as the bedrock upon which the Hermetic Synaxis itself is founded that orients all of one’s work to the Way of Hermēs:
To show devotion to divinity and cherish heaven.
To join reverence and knowledge together.
To learn the works of the Divine and workings of Nature.
To discover and apply the skillful arts of everything that is good.
To do works of charity and justice for one’s society and the world.
To end ignorance, abandon error, and cease evil.
To go forth to the Life, Light, and Goodness of God.
2.5.3. Askēmata: 42 Rules of Training⁑
In ancient Egyptian belief, as evidenced by funerary texts like the Book of the Dead or the Book of Coming Forth by Day, the process of migrating from the world of the living to the world of the dead is an intricate and delicate one, including a judgment of the soul whereby one’s eternal fate is to be decided. Leading to this judgment, the deceased recites the 42 Negative Confessions or the 42 Declarations of Purity, statements that one has not engaged in a particular sin. Although different funerary texts describe different sets of sins to be denied, many of the sins were common throughout such variant texts; the fundamental process here was described time and again, and is held to be a central part of the process of transition from life to the afterlife. In effect, these Egyptian funerary texts describe an ideal morality to be upheld and lived by for all the children of Egypt, and can be used as a basis for modern moral living today.
Given the importance of Egypt and Egyptian belief as one of the cornerstones of the Way of Hermēs, holding to a similar notion of moral and ethical living can provide those who seek to follow a Hermetic lifestyle a useful foundation of their own right living. To that end, the Hermetic Synaxis prescribes the following training rules to avoid the hamartiai “sins” or “errors” that lead one away from the Way; to live according to these training rules grounded in moral standards based on Hermetic and Egyptian texts will help those who follow the Way toward living a good life conducive to their own spiritual development and progress.
The number 42 can be seen as 7 × 6. Given the importance of the number seven in its association with the planetary forces of fate that work upon the body and the soul, the various sins of Egyptian morality can be divided according to each of the planets based on the affinity between sin and the timōria “torments” of the planetary energies that bear down upon us. Thus, this list of training rules broken up into planetary associations can provide a practical guide of things to beware in our own conduct so as to not fall prey to their torments. Where necessary, a prohibition for a given hamartia is furnished with examples of behavior engaging in such sin, provided where possible to give further instruction into moral living, although a given prohibition is not limited to only the examples explicitly mentioned.
Thus, those who engage in the work of the Hermetic Synaxis are encouraged to consider and abide by the 42 Askēmata, “training rules” to assist them in living a spiritual life conducive to the goals of the Way of Hermēs. The Askēmata consist of seven sets of six training rules; for each training rule below, examples and specific situations are given as illustrative but non-exhaustive examples of such rules in practice.
2.5.3.1. Training Rules of Avoiding Ignorance, the Torment of the Moon⁑
To not cause pain through misbehavior or lack of attention.
To not procrastinate, delay, or otherwise neglect one’s affairs.
To not remain lazy, listless, or neglectful of others.
To not remain heedless or apathetic toward those in need.
To not neglect the well-being and proper ownership of property.
To not harm or despoil another’s cultivated land.
To not abandon one’s property or material responsibilities.
To not let public works fall derelict and dilapidated.
To not make ungainly distinctions for oneself.
To not pollute oneself with hubris.
To not have one’s name submitted to the authorities.
To not seek after self-acclamation.
To not affiliate oneself with those of poor, low, or no reputation for the sake of ungainly ends.
To not act upon envy.
To not destroy food.
To not afflict another with suffering and grief intentionally through wanton destruction.
To not wantonly destroy resources and sustenance.
To not take more food for oneself than what one needs.
To not indulge wastefully.
To not steal food, sustenance, or other necessary resources.
To not hoard food, sustenance, or other necessary resources.
To not deprive the needy.
To not deprive others of food, sustenance, or necessary resources.
To not deprive children, orphans, the homeless, or the poor from that which they need to survive.
To not pursue self-advantage at the expense of others.
2.5.3.2. Training Rules of Avoiding Sorrow, the Torment of Mercury⁑
To not pry into matters.
To not forcefully obtain or steal information from one who is unwilling to give it.
To not eavesdrop.
To not spy.
To not grieve uselessly or needlessly.
To not be overly sullen without reasonable cause.
To not feel needless remorse or guilt.
To not loathe oneself, whether mentally, spiritually, emotionally, or physically.
To not commit suicide.
To not envy or covet others.
To not upset the order of human society.
To not abuse one’s parents or children.
To not needlessly oppose or afflict one’s family, friends, colleagues, or community.
To not break oaths, vows, or promises made to other people.
To not commit violence by words or thoughts.
To not insult another.
To not utter curses against someone.
To not speak factually in a way that knowingly causes harm to another for the sake of causing harm.
To not speak with evil intent.
To not act crooked.
To not tamper with scales or other measuring instruments.
To not cheat another of their goods, either with or without lying.
To not betray the trust of another by revealing their secrets.
To not betray the trust of another by taking advantage of them without their knowing.
To not dispute.
To not attack another for one’s own ends through the misuse or abuse of words or law without care.
To not disregard the helpful or beneficial opinions and judgments of others.
2.5.3.3. Training Rules of Avoiding Intemperance, the Torment of Venus⁑
To not babble.
To not needlessly multiply words.
To not mislead or distract through superfluousness in speech.
To not confuse others through multiplicity and duplicity in speech.
To not make needlessly complicated something that is simple.
To not slight others through words.
To not disparage a junior to their senior.
To not cause someone to lose friends through rumor and hearsay.
To not belittle another or to make someone become despised through words.
To not debase others.
To not corrupt another in a non-sexual way.
To not get another intoxicated for the purpose of their downfall.
To not cause another to embarrass themselves.
To not disturb the peace.
To not stir up strife.
To not cause conflict with others while remaining uninvolved and having no reason to get involved.
To not annoy or injure others through careless or reckless behavior for one’s own satisfaction.
To not debauch others.
To not corrupt another in a sexual way.
To not get another to commit adultery.
To not get another to subject themselves to sexual misuse or abuse.
To not commit adultery.
To not engage in romantic or sexual relationships outside the licit and agreed-upon bounds of one’s own.
2.5.3.4. Training Rules of Avoiding Arrogance, the Torment of the Sun⁑
To not damage the image or property of the gods.
To not desecrate a temple, shrine, or other sacred space dedicated to the gods or their practices.
To not misuse or abuse the holy things of the gods.
To not assail or trespass into a place where the gods reside.
To not usurp divine order.
To not break oaths, vows, or promises made to the gods or made in their names.
To not reveal what has been seen under mystery in privacy.
To not needlessly prevent the generation of life.
To not act impurely in or enter into a place of purity while in a state of impurity.
To not confuse holy things with mundane things.
To not make obscure matters and means of reverence.
To not defile the sanctity of the world.
To not wade into the holy waters of springs, rivers, and other bodies of water considered sacred.
To not trespass within the sacred precincts of the gods without due license and conduct.
To not despoil, violate, or corrupt nature.
To not conjure against a righteous leader.
To not curse or blaspheme a ruler or leader acting with divine sanction within both mundane and cosmic law.
To not engage in conspiracy against proper and righteous authority.
To not undermine or sabotage the established will of the people which provides for governance.
To not kill or trap the sacred animals of the gods.
To not revile the gods.
To not curse the gods.
To not treat the gods with contempt.
To not make a false offering to the gods.
To not intentionally do what the gods revile.
To not block the processions of the gods.
To not prevent others from worshiping the gods properly.
2.5.3.5. Training Rules of Avoiding Injustice, the Torment of Mars⁑
To not act or judge with undue haste.
To not flee from something that ought not be fled from.
To not engage with something that ought not be engaged with.
To not intend ill or injury towards another with prejudice.
To not terrorize.
To not commit physical violence upon another.
To not threaten abuse to others.
To not cause calamities to befall others.
To not act out of passion instead of or without reason.
To not rape.
To not destroy or harm others, objects, or the world merely for one’s own satisfaction.
To not speak arrogantly, in anger, or recklessly.
To not boast.
To not raise one’s voice unjustly.
To not unfairly drown out the speech of others.
To not act out of anger recklessly or without just cause.
To not murder.
To not intentionally and purposefully kill another who does not deserve it.
To not kill someone outside the bounds of propriety of law, whether mundane or cosmic.
To not give an order that someone should be murdered or slain.
2.5.3.6. Training Rules of Avoiding Greed, the Torment of Jupiter⁑
To not pillage.
To not rapaciously plunder the goods of anyone.
To not insatiably ravage the abundance of the natural world.
To not make use of the resources or property of another without their consent.
To not commit wrongdoing.
To not commit evil against others for one’s own gain.
To not act fraudulently or maliciously against others.
To not steal the property of others.
To not steal the property or offerings of the gods, the dead, or the spirits.
To not rob.
To not commit theft with violence, force, or threats.
To not seek dishonest wealth.
To not use malefica against another for one’s own gain.
To not cheat at gambling.
To not use technicalities to avoid paying one’s fair share.
To not use technicalities to get another to pay more than one’s fair share.
2.5.3.7. Training Rules of Avoiding Deceit, the Torment of Saturn⁑
To not ignore the truth.
To not willingly remain ignorant of the truth.
To not lie to oneself.
To not willingly believe a lie told to oneself.
To not mislead.
To not exaggerate or diminish.
To not not tell the truth to others so as to mislead them for one’s own ends.
To not omit information with the intent to mislead.
To not prevent the truth from being known by another.
To not lie.
To not utter untrue statements.
To not bear false witness.
To not slander.
To not libel.
To not blaspheme.
To not lie about divinity.
To not vilify the gods to others.
To not cause others to distrust the gods.
To not hoodwink.
To not lead others into wrongdoing.
To not trick others into behaving against their best interests.
To not perjure.
To not lie about lying.
To not intentionally swear a false oath.
To not falsely swear or affirm that one has spoken the truth when they have not.
To not not tell the whole truth in a court of law, whether mundane or cosmic.