6.2. Iasis⁑

The monthly ritual of remedy and elevation is to be done once a synodic lunar month, ideally on the night leading up to the Opposition of the Moon with the Sun (i.e. the Full Moon) before any other Full Moon observances or offerings, but may be done at any point between the Gibbous Moon to the Disseminating Moon (a span of about seven days). If the Full Moon coincides with a lunar eclipse, however, it should be done at least a day before or after the eclipse, preferably after once it has completed so as to avoid the eclipse itself.

If done in a group, this ritual should only be attended by group members unless the group decides otherwise. If done independently, it is best done alone.

6.2.1. Supplies and Tools Required⁑

A nonporous bowl
- A ceramic or glass soup or cereal bowl is acceptable for a single person.
- If others are present, a larger bowl containing approximately 250–500mL (one or two cups) of water per person is recommended.
Clean, cool water
Seven dried bay laurel leaves
- The leaves should ideally be whole and fragrant, but broken or old leaves are acceptable so long as they have not been used before and if at least half the leaf remains.
Olive oil
- One may use the bottle as a whole, or a small vessel containing a small amount of it.
A candle in a holder
- Use a tall narrow candle (e.g. taper, emergency candle), not a wide candle (e.g. votives, tealights).
- The candle may be used and reused for other rituals of this nature.
A lighter or match
A clean cup
- If multiple people are present, there should be one cup per person, ideally one that they can take with them; if not, they should provide their own container to carry liquid back with them.
A bell (optional)
- To be used if the ritual is done in a group.
- Ideally something that can be struck once, like a singing bowl, gong, or chime.
A ladle (optional)
A fine mesh strainer (optional)

6.2.2. Preparation⁑

Before the ritual, follow the Kanones of hygiene (full bathing required), clothing, and abstinence (both lax and strict required). A hormos should be worn for this ritual. This ritual requires a bōmos.

Fill the bowl most but not all of the way with water, whether on the bōmos itself or away from the bōmos and brought to it. Put the candle on the bōmos in the center, with the bowl of water before it. Arrange the seven leaves neatly on the bōmos to be easily reached for, e.g. in a row before the bowl or in a half-circle around the bowl.

6.2.3. Ritual⁑

6.2.3.1. Prologue⁑

6.2.3.1.1. Lighting the Lykhnon⁑

If the Iasis is being done with a lykhnon which is to be lit for the Iasis and is to be extinguished afterwards, light it and recite (leader only):

I call upon you, o living God, radiant with illuminating fire,

o unseen parent of the Sun, o invisible begetter of light!

Give your strength to this fire,

pour forth your light-giving power into this fire,

and set to work your divine spark within this fire.

Let it enter into this flame and fill it with your spirit,

moving it by your holy breath and presence!

O sacred fire, o light that shines with the light of God!

Manifest your power for my knowledge, and let there be the light of knowing!

Manifest your power for my rebirth, and let there be the light of life!

Let the holy temple of almighty God within you open for me,

let there be breadth, depth, length, height, fullness, and brightness,

let the crown of your Sun-like radiance appear!

May God shine forth through your flame and within your light,

and may your light remain by me here in this place and now at this time!

6.2.3.1.2. Calling or Closing⁑

Depending whether the Iasis is to be done publicly or privately, either the Call to the Way or the Closing Off of the Temple is to be recited, or (if desired) the former followed by the latter.

6.2.3.1.2.1. Call to the Way⁑

Standing by the doorway to the euktērion facing outwards, recite (leader only):

O all you children of mankind, o all you born of the Earth,

o all who you have given yourselves over to drink and sleep in your ignorance of God!

Make yourselves sober, cease your drunken sickness,

end your bewitchment by unreasoning sleep!

Why have you given yourselves over to death,

when you have the power to claim immortality?

You who have wandered with Error, you who have partnered with Ignorance:

think again, think anew!

Free yourselves from the darkness, take hold of the Light,

take part in divine immortality, leave behind your corrupt destruction!

Do not surrender to the way of death by your mockery or distance,

but come, rise, and be guided on the way of life!

Close the door.

6.2.3.1.2.2. Closing Off the Temple⁑

Standing by the doorway to the euktērion facing inwards, recite (leader only):

I speak now to only those allowed,

I sing now with only those in the know,

that only those allowed remain with me,

that only those in the know join with me.

Depart, depart, all those who are profane!

No such person may have a foot in this place,

no such person may hear the sacred mysteries.

Depart, depart, all those who are profane;

I shut and bar the doors from them.

Close the door.

6.2.3.1.3. First Salutation⁑

6.2.3.1.3.1. On One’s Own⁑

Recite:

May I live in wholeness and health!

6.2.3.1.3.2. If Others are Present⁑

The leader announces:

Hail to those whom the greeting is given with blessing,

to my siblings, to holy children of God!

The leader recites:

May we live in wholeness and health!

All others present repeat the above as one.

6.2.3.1.4. Assertion and Confession⁑

Standing in front of but some distance away from the bōmos, recite:

I am one who stands in the House of Life.

I am one who sees in the Chamber of Darkness.

I am one who hears in the temples of divinity.

I am one who speaks in the halls of humanity.

I am one who loves mind, word, and knowledge.

I am one who seeks order, truth, and wisdom.

The wish of my heart is that which brought me here;

may I be counted among the disciples of the gods!

Bow, then recite:

O gods who watch over and give life to humanity,

receive me and deliver me to dwell with the eternal gods!

For I have ever revered the gods whom my parents revealed to me,

and as long as I live my life in the lot of the living,

I always honor those who begot my body and of other human beings.

I do and will not kill anyone,

I do and will not steal anything entrusted to me,

I do and will not do any other pernicious thing.

But if I have transgressed in anything during this life,

or have consumed of what was not licit,

it was not of my own account,

but because of this drive and desire

that arose from the pits of this body.

Move towards the bōmos and prepare to take your place at it.

6.2.3.1.5. Undertaking the Iasis⁑

Recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):

I now undertake this Iasis.

6.2.3.1.6. Foundation — Opening⁑

Clap, extend the arms out, and recite (leader only):

The glory of the All is God, both Divinity and Nature,

for natural Divinity is renewed by Nature,

and divine Nature is founded in Divinity.

Prostrate silently, setting intentions silently if desired, then sit or kneel at the bōmos.

6.2.3.1.7. Opening the Doors of Divinity⁑

Tip

Optional, but encouraged if done at a temporary bōmos.

Make an opening gesture with the hands above the bōmos, and recite (leader only):

Open, Heavens and Earth! Open, Day and Night!

Open, East and West! Open, South and North!

Open, winds and waters! Open, fire and stone!

The two doors of the Earth are opened!

The two doors of the Heavens are opened!

The four doors of the horizon are opened!

The four doors of the world are opened!

The gods send forth their light through the doors;

exalted be all the gods upon their great thrones!

My face looks upon the gods on their thrones,

and the gods on their thrones look upon me.

I am about to sing the hymns of divinity;

may my hymns be heard and my praise be accepted!

6.2.3.1.8. Prologue of Aid and Seven Requests⁑

Recite:

Almighty God, Lord, King, Master, Helper, hear me!

Recite, bowing at each “O God”:

O God, hear me my prayers.

O God, save me from error.

O God, cleanse me from vice.

O God, protect me from danger.

O God, rescue me from torment.

O God, keep me from irreverence.

O God, free me from ignorance.

If desired, prostrate and recite the Supplication of the Holy:

Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal, be merciful to me.

Holy God, Holy Maker, Holy Forebear, be gracious to us.

Holy God, Holy One, Holy Source, be propitious to us all.

6.2.3.1.9. Ritual Invocation of Hermēs⁑

Recite:

Hail to you, Hermēs, prophet and scribe and teacher!

O thrice-great, great among the great, greatest beyond greatness!

You who know the sacred mysteries,

you who establish their utterances,

you who distinguish truth from falsehood,

you who witness the Light and Life of God,

you who have entered into the goodness of God!

Bless my thinking, bless my speaking, bless my working, o Hermēs,

that all that I think, all that I say, and all that I do may be for Life, Light, and Goodness,

that I may have your guidance and assistance in this Iasis.

6.2.3.1.10. Invocation of the Agathos Daimōn⁑

Tip

Optional, but encouraged if alone.

Recite:

O my companion, o my genius, o my angel!

Honor our bond, honor my destiny, honor God’s will!

Manifest yourself to me as my Agathos Daimōn!

Be faithful and steadfast for me!

Be loving and passionate for me!

Be my complete contentment!

Be my total nourishment!

Grant me every success and all attainment!

Make my mind lucid and bright in all things!

O never-born crown of the powers of divinity!

O holy one, mighty one, immortal one,

do not abandon me!

O my friend, my savior, my protector,

reveal yourself kindly to me as Truth!

Join yourself to me that I may join myself to you

as One, in One!

6.2.3.1.11. Shining Prayer⁑

Recite:

O God! I greet you and call upon you, eternal and unbegotten,

you who are One,

you who alone hold together and surround the whole creation of all things,

you whom none understand,

you whom all daimones fear,

you whom the gods worship,

you whose name not even the gods can utter!

O God, you who are greater than all,

you who are the creator of all,

you who see all and are not seen,

you who hear all and are not heard!

O God, you who gave to the Sun all power and glory

and to the Moon the privilege to have fixed courses,

yet who made the Sun to rise and set and the Moon to wax and wane,

that none can compare them with your true glory!

O God, you who took nothing from your own creation,

but created all things that exist!

O God, you who took nothing from the firstborn darkness,

but apportioned all things that they might be equal!

For it is with you that both order and light arose,

and it is by you that all things were arranged.

O God, all of your creation is subject to you,

you whose true form whom none can truly see,

you who yet change into all forms!

Hear me and help me, o Lord,

joyful and willing, faultless and unflawed, who pollute no place,

King of kings, Daimōn of daimones, Aiōn of aiōnes, God of gods,

by your Glory and Holiness and Beauty and Goodness,

for I call upon you and bear witness

to the unsurpassed mystery of your name now and forever. ※

6.2.3.2. Enlightening and Preservation of the Flame⁑

Light the candle on the bōmos.

Holding the hands out over the flame, palms facing the flame, recite (leader only):

Be great, o light! Come forth, o light!

Rise up, o light! Be high, o light!

Come forth, come in, o light of God,

and scatter all darkness before me!

Lifting the candle above the bōmos, recite (leader only):

I conjure you, o holy Light in this lamp, o daimōn of holy Love,

the invisible and manifold, the one and everywhere,

to remain in this light in this lamp at this time, shining, not dying out!

Let there be breadth, depth, length, height, and brightness!

Remain by me now until I have done all I have set out to do!

Now, now, immediately, immediately, quickly, quickly!

Place the candle back on the bōmos.

6.2.3.3. Preparation of Leaves⁑

6.2.3.3.1. Beautification of Oil⁑

Holding up the oil or holding the hands out over the oil with the palms facing downward, recite (leader only, changing personal pronouns if needed):

You are fine and you gleam with your fineness.

You are fresh and you pour with your freshness.

You are fragrant and you expand with your fragrance.

You are clear and you coat with your clarity.

Fine and refined as the sea, fresh and refreshed as the earth,

fragrance and fragranced as the wind, clear and clarified as the sky!

Be for me the bringer of beauty, o oil!

Be pure, be wholesome, be holy for me, o oil!

You are pure, and in purity you bring beauty!

You are wholesome, and in wholeness you bring beauty!

You are holy, and in holiness you bring beauty!

You are for me the bringer of beauty, o oil,

and in beauty you bring all virtue and goodness!

6.2.3.3.2. Anointing the Leaves⁑

Using the fingers of one hand, dab a small amount of oil on the top side of each bay leaf. Whatever oil remains on the hands should be wiped across the hands, front and back.

6.2.3.4. Sanctification of the Water⁑

6.2.3.4.1. Purification of Water⁑

Holding the hands out over the vessel of water with the palms facing downward, recite (leader only):

O sweet water, fresh water, cool water that appeases the gods,

you are a gift to the world and to me from the gods!

The heavenly gods give the rain; the earthly gods give the seas;

the mighty kings give the rivers; the beloved dead give the springs.

As water from dew, you adorn the Earth and permit things to grow;

as water from clouds, you adorn the Heavens and permit things to flourish.

O water from the primordial water, o water from which the first light sprang,

for the sake of purity and becoming pure, be purified!

6.2.3.4.2. Kerygma of the Kratēr⁑

Lift the vessel of water up above the bōmos and recite (leader only):

Hear me, all you souls who abide in the hearts of mankind!

This is the mixing-bowl sent down by God for you all;

this is the drink that offers not destruction but salvation!

Behold how God has filled the mixing-bowl with Mind;

behold this draught poured from a most sacred Source!

God does not begrudge you to partake in the mixing-bowl of Mind!

Immerse yourselves in it, purify yourselves in it, fill yourselves in it,

if your hearts have the strength to do so,

if they believe you will rise up again to the One who sent this down,

if they recognize the purpose of your coming to be!

Immerse yourselves in the mixing-bowl, and claim that which is yours to claim!

Dilute the unmixed darkness in your hearts,

cease your drunkenness and drunken quaffing of impurity,

swallow no further the ignorance in your mouths!

Immerse yourselves in Mind, participate in Knowledge,

and fulfill yourselves by filling yourselves with that which is yours to receive!

In Mind will you become immortal,

understanding all on Earth, all in Heaven, and all that is beyond.

In Knowledge will you come to see the Good,

and hasten to the One who has sent down the mixing-bowl to you!

Be not heedless; do not mistake what I have to say!

Do not be people of mere Reason, but become like those with Mind.

Do not confuse the love of your body with the love of your true selves.

Do not be ignorant of the purpose or the means of your coming to be,

remaining like animals without a sense of awe or shame,

begrudging and envying those who have Mind,

confusing what you are with what you have.

Do not waste the time you have allotted to you,

do not allow calamity to fall upon yourselves,

but hasten to the mixing-bowl, partake, and be reborn!

Put the vessel of water back down on the bōmos.

6.2.3.5. Epitome on the Mercies⁑

Recite (aloud if alone or as leader in a group, or silently if in a group as non-leader, changing personal pronouns if needed):

O God, lead me from ignorance to knowledge;

o God, lead me from sorrow to joy;

o God, lead me from intemperance to temperance;

o God, lead me from viciousness to steadfastness;

o God, lead me from injustice to justice;

o God, lead me from greed to generosity;

o God, lead me from falsehood to truth;

o God, lead me from death to your Life;

o God, lead me from darkness to your Light;

o God, lead me from evil to the Good.

6.2.3.6. Prayer of the Release⁑

6.2.3.6.1. Opening of the Release⁑

Recite (changing personal pronouns if needed):

O God, hear me, hear the cry of one immersed in death, darkness, and evil,

for I am blind, deaf, and dumb; my senses are in ruin, my wits have abandoned me.

I have been misled; I have erred from my path;

I have given myself over to destruction and suffering.

Many are the sweet pleasures that give rise to bitter pain,

many are the dire tormentors that lie in wait for me.

Help me, o God, o Mind of the Progenitor, o Word of the Creator,

and show unto me your mercy that I might be reborn by you and in you!

Guide me to find my way back to you,

release me from the torments of my body,

grant me the powers that return me to Life, to Light, and to the Good,

that I may be reborn in you!

By your mercy, o God, I call upon the powers that chase off the torments of my body!

From all the torments of death, darkness, and evil that make me to suffer in the prison of my body,

release me, o God, and grant me by your mercy the power to free myself!

By your knowledge, joy, temperance, steadfastness, justice, generosity, and truth,

allow the Life, the Light, and the Good to be fulfilled,

that they may come to me, that I may come to them, and, by them, to you!

With the fingertips of both hands, dip them into the vessel and dab both eyes, both nostrils, both ears, and the lips with water; then dip them into the vessel again and flick water onto the face. If others are present, then for each person, with the fingertips of one hand, dip them into the vessel and flick water onto their face.

6.2.3.6.2. The Releases⁑

Upon reciting each Release, while reciting “O God…”, light a bay leaf on fire from the candle, hold it up, then drop it into the vessel, leaving it in the water.

While reciting each Release, upon saying “release me by your…”, beat the breast once with a closed fist (reminders given with an asterisk at the start of the line).

After reciting each Release, with the fingertips of one hand, dip them into the vessel and flick water upwards, dip them again and flick water downwards, then dip them again and flick them onto the forehead, into the open mouth, and onto the heart. If others are present, then for each person, with the fingertips of the same hand, dip them into the vessel and flick water onto their forehead, lips, and heart.

If done in a group, only the leader recites the Releases, although all beat their breasts at once.