1.1. Adeia

The present collection of texts, which are the foundation for all the prayers, practices, protocols, and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis and which are collectively referred to as the “Stoiba”, are intended to be shared with any and all who wish to study them, implement them, reference them, or otherwise use them, whether in whole or in part, whether independently or communally. Although the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis, whether ceremonial or non-ceremonial, are written to be implemented as part of a complete system of spiritual work and living, nothing bars anyone from using any part of the Stoiba for their own independent, private, and noncommercial use whether as part of the Hermetic Synaxis or otherwise. However, for the sake of maintaining integrity and continuity in how the Stoiba and its contents are used and shared, all who use and disseminate the Stoiba are bound by the following set of terms collectively called the “Adeia” which serves as its non-public-domain copyleft license that must be understood, agreed to, and disseminated with the Stoiba.

In general and except where otherwise explicitly mentioned, anyone is free to use, read, or share the Stoiba, whether by reproduction or redistribution, whether by copy or access, so long as they abide by the Adeia with its terms, given in brief here and explained more fully below:

• Preclusivity: Whenever the Stoiba is shared, whether in whole or in part, this license must be shared with it. No other and no additional license, terms, or restrictions may be applied to the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, whether in its original form or in any derived form.

• Accessibility: The Stoiba must be made accessible for whoever seeks them or asks them for human and humane uses, so that everyone may be free to use, read, or share the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, in any medium or format, or to store them publicly or privately.

• Attribution: Explicit attribution must be given to the Hermetic Synaxis, only to the Hermetic Synaxis, and explicitly to the Hermetic Synaxis by name, whenever the Stoiba or its contents are shared, whether in whole or in part, whether in their original form or in any derived form.

• Distinction: Whenever the Stoiba is shared, whether in whole or in part, if any additional material is provided with it, the additional material must be clearly separated and explicitly distinguished from the Stoiba.

• Modification: Except for faithful translations as well as revisions following an Ekklēsias Teleutē of the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, no modifications may be made to the content or organization of the Stoiba when shared as the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part.

• Translation: Anyone may translate the Stoiba faithfully into another language, whether in whole or in part. Except for historical purposes, only the current version of the Stoiba may be used as a basis for translations. Translations, when made, must be shared alongside the Stoiba in its original language, and are subject to the Adeia just as the original is.

• Revision: Following an Ekklēsias Teleutē of the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, revisions may be made to the Stoiba, but are only permitted in accordance with the explicit directive of the Ekklēsias Teleutē. Whenever a revision is made following such an Ekklēsias Teleutē, all copies of the Stoiba must be revised or reprovisioned in accordance with it in all mediums and formats to reflect the revision. All copies of the Stoiba must indicate their status of revision, and whenever a historical version of the Stoiba is shared, they must be shared alongside the Stoiba in its current version at the time of its sharing. Historical versions of the Stoiba are subject to the most recent version of the Adeia just as the most recent version is.

• Noncommerciality: The Stoiba must not be used or shared for commercial purposes, whether in whole or in part. Physically copying and disseminating the Stoiba may not incur any charge except for that which is charged solely for the purpose of covering the necessary costs of doing so. Monetary donations may be sought on a strictly voluntary basis solely to support the dissemination of the Stoiba.

By sharing, distributing, copying, implementing, studying, or otherwise making use of the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, you agree to uphold the terms of the Adeia.

1.1.1. Preclusivity

Whenever the Stoiba is shared, whether in whole or in part, this license must be shared with it. No other and no additional license, terms, or restrictions may be applied to the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, whether in its original form or in any derived form.

The Adeia represents the complete and final license for its terms of use and distribution for the Stoiba. Whenever and however the Stoiba or any part of it is copied or shared, the Adeia must either be copied with it, shared with it, or have access to it provided, regardless of whether the whole Stoiba is copied or shared as is or whether a part of it is used in a partial or modified form in a derived work. The Adeia applies to the Stoiba as a whole, to whatever part of it is used in any copy or share, and to whatever part of it is used in any derived work. However, the Adeia does not apply to any other text or production outside of it; because of that, the Adeia must be made available whenever the Stoiba or any part of it is used, copied, or shared.

However, no matter what else is included with the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part and regardless of where and how it appears in any sharing, no other license or terms or restrictions of any sort may apply to the Stoiba, regardless of whatever other terms may apply to anything else. The Adeia applies to the Stoiba, the Adeia only applies to the Stoiba, and only the Adeia applies to the Stoiba.

1.1.2. Accessibility

The Stoiba must be made accessible for whoever seeks them or asks them for human and humane uses, so that everyone may be free to use, read, or share the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, in any medium or format, or to store them publicly or privately.

To ensure that the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis may be spread as best as they can and to allow anyone to participate in this work, it is encouraged for people to freely make and provide copies of the Stoiba or to provide access to the Stoiba. While this is best done as a whole so that no part is missing, anyone may incorporate any part of the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis as given in the Stoiba into any other work, even if in a changed form, so long as the terms of the Adeia are maintained.

Whenever and however it is possible to do so, anyone who has access to the Stoiba and anyone who participates in the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis should provide either a copy of the Stoiba or access to it to anyone who expresses a desire for the Stoiba or for more information about the Hermetic Synaxis, regardless of reason. However, merely possessing a copy of the Stoiba or having access to it does not make one a member of any group of the Hermetic Synaxis nor entitle them to any special rights.

Although anyone may seek or ask for the Stoiba, the Stoiba may only be used for humanity’s direct benefit as humans and for the bettering of the world. Just as the writing of the Stoiba did not make use of any sort of artificial generative procedure to produce it, the Stoiba may likewise not be used, whether in whole or in part, as part of any algorithmic training or in generative output production by a computer program like a large language model, nor in any wantonly destructive, malefic, or otherwise intentionally harmful way.

1.1.3. Attribution

Explicit attribution must be given to the Hermetic Synaxis, only to the Hermetic Synaxis, and explicitly to the Hermetic Synaxis by name, whenever the Stoiba or its contents are shared, whether in whole or in part, whether in their original form or in any derived form.

Although the Stoiba may be shared freely whether in whole or in part, and although the Stoiba may be used as part of derivative works, it should always come with proper attribution of what it is and where it came from, namely that the Stoiba is as much a product of the Hermetic Synaxis as it is the foundation of the Hermetic Synaxis. To that end, the name of the Hermetic Synaxis and only the Hermetic Synaxis must be given as the source of the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, whenever it is present or whenever it is used in a derived form or as the foundation for something else that was built off it or influenced by it.

Although the Stoiba was originally principally written and compiled by a single person with significant and ongoing contributions by others, because the Stoiba has since passed into the custodianship and stewardship of the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, no one individual or group may now claim to be the owner of the Stoiba except the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole.

1.1.4. Distinction

Whenever the Stoiba is shared, whether in whole or in part, if any additional material is provided with it, the additional material must be clearly separated and explicitly distinguished from the Stoiba.

Although the Stoiba may be provided, whether in whole or in part, alongside or as part of other literature, clear distinctions must be made as to what comes from the Stoiba and what does not to avoid conflating what is and is not part of the Stoiba proper. In such a combination of materials, either the Stoiba material must be explicitly highlighted as such (e.g. if in a broader work that has more than half of its content being non-Stoiba material) or the non-Stoiba material must be highlighted as such (e.g. if in a broader work that has more than half of its content being Stoiba material).

1.1.5. Modification

Except for faithful translations as well as revisions following an Ekklēsias Teleutē of the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, no modifications may be made to the content or organization of the Stoiba when shared as the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part.

Although the Stoiba may be used, whether in whole or in part, in a modified form as part of derived works, the Stoiba itself must, with the two exceptions of the terms of Translation and Revision as given below, always remain unaltered when it is shared as the Stoiba or as the texts of the Hermetic Synaxis. To publicly produce or distribute personal, aberrant, or otherwise unofficial modifications to the Stoiba as “the Stoiba”, “the Stoiba of the Hermetic Synaxis”, as “the official texts of the Hermetic Synaxis”, or the like is to misrepresent the Stoiba and thus the Hermetic Synaxis, and is never allowed.

For the purposes of the Adeia, only the content and organization of the Stoiba must remain unaltered. Specific copies of the Stoiba may use different formats or methods of compilation or presentation within reason so long as it does not fundamentally alter the content or organization of the Stoiba.

1.1.6. Translation

Anyone may translate the Stoiba faithfully into another language, whether in whole or in part. Except for historical purposes, only the current version of the Stoiba may be used as a basis for translations. Translations, when made, must be shared alongside the Stoiba in its original language, and are subject to the Adeia just as the original is.

Just as the Stoiba may be freely shared to ensure that the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis may be spread and to allow anyone to participate in its work, it is likewise encouraged for people to translate the Stoiba into languages other than its original to better allow as many people as possible to access it. Any translation done should be done faithfully, striving for both accuracy and precision in the content and intent of its original writing. Outdated versions of the Stoiba may be translated only for the sake of historical preservation and accounting; otherwise, only the current version of the Stoiba should be used for translations for the sake of implementing the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis.

Whenever a translation of the Stoiba is made, whether in whole or in part, the resulting translation is to be considered for the purposes of the Adeia the same as the original Stoiba, just presented in another medium, one of language rather than of storage or transmission. As such, the Adeia applies fully to the translation as it does to the original. In addition to this, whenever a translation is made of the Stoiba, whether in whole or in part, a copy of or access to the original must also be provided.

1.1.7. Revision

Following an Ekklēsias Teleutē of the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, revisions may be made to the Stoiba, but are only permitted in accordance with the explicit directive of the Ekklēsias Teleutē. Whenever a revision is made following such an Ekklēsias Teleutē, all copies of the Stoiba must be revised or reprovisioned in accordance with it in all mediums and formats to reflect the revision. All copies of the Stoiba must indicate their status of revision, and whenever a historical version of the Stoiba is shared, they must be shared alongside the Stoiba in its current version at the time of its sharing. Historical versions of the Stoiba are subject to the most recent version of the Adeia just as the most recent version is.

Upon publication of the Stoiba, the only process for making revisions to the Stoiba lies in the process of the Ekklēsia and Ekklēsias Teleutē, which involves a communal review, deliberation, and vote by the whole of the Hermetic Synaxis, first at the level of group representatives and later at the levels of whole groups. Only if a revision is accepted at an Ekklēsia and confirmed at its corresponding Ekklēsias Teleutē is the revision to be accepted, made to, and distributed with new versions of the Stoiba. Any revision made to the Stoiba may not use algorithmically-trained generative output production, but must be made as a fundamentally humane effort by human analysis, judgment, decision-making, and action.

When a revision is accepted by the Hermetic Synaxis in this way, then anyone who has access to the Stoiba, and especially anyone who participates in the practices and procedures of the Hermetic Synaxis, should, at the earliest possible opportunity and however it is possible to do so, update or renew all instances of the Stoiba they can to reflect such a change, whether by having a new copy of the revised Stoiba made or access updated to provide a revised Stoiba. While older versions of the Stoiba may be referenced for historical reasons, none should be used for any work of the Hermetic Synaxis going forward. To that end, whenever a copy of the Stoiba is made, it should reference the year it was released along with a description of any additions, deletions, or other changes made to better track its status. If at all possible, when a new version of the Stoiba is made, any old versions of the Stoiba should be marked as being such.

In addition to noting the year of release of the Stoiba, any given instance of the Stoiba should also note the date that specific instance was published, compiled, copied, or otherwise made to more carefully track any discrepancies or deviations that might arise in the course of such activities.

The most recent version of the Adeia applies fully to all versions of the Stoiba, whether outdated or current, regardless of whichever version of the Adeia was in effect for a given version of the Stoiba when it was the current one. While outdated versions of the Stoiba may be shared for historical reasons, whether in whole or in part, a copy of or access to the current version must also be provided.

Although the process of the Ekklēsia and Ekklēsias Teleutē allows for revision to the Stoiba, there is only one part of it that is to never be altered: the acknowledgments as an original testament to the creation of the Stoiba specifically and of the Hermetic Synaxis generally.

1.1.8. Noncommerciality

The Stoiba must not be used or shared for commercial purposes, whether in whole or in part. Physically copying and disseminating the Stoiba may not incur any charge except for that which is charged solely for the purpose of covering the necessary costs of doing so. Monetary donations may be sought on a strictly voluntary basis solely to support the dissemination of the Stoiba.

Because the Stoiba does not belong to any one person but to the Hermetic Synaxis as a whole, the Stoiba is to be shared by anyone who can share them for anyone who seeks them, but without seeking any profit or other personal advantage in doing so. To that end, the Stoiba may not be kept behind a paywall, whether in whole or in part, whether on its own or as a free addition to other work that is paywalled, such that the Stoiba cannot be otherwise accessed on its own.

It is permitted to ask for monetary donations explicitly to support one’s continued ability to share the Stoiba, such as to cover the costs of webhosting, but such donations must not be mandatory or required of others in order to share the Stoiba. Any such money raised as donations may only be obtained, kept, and used strictly to support such activities.

It is permitted to charge a nominal fee to cover the cost of printing, storing, and shipping physical copies of the Stoiba, but such a fee may only be levied at cost without any profit. Charging such a fee may only be done when no other option is to share the Stoiba is available, or in tandem with another means of sharing the Stoiba which may be done without charge, e.g. printing physical copies while also sharing the Stoiba online on a website for free.

Any excess money raised to share the Stoiba, whether as a fee or donation in accordance with the Adeia, that is not strictly needed to support the sharing of the Stoiba must be donated to a local charity without delay.