The Soul's Journey

by Jason Augustus Newcomb

A few people have mentioned to me that the New Hermetics seems to be a set of mental acrobatics that, while potentially effective for achieving a purpose, does not fully answer or address the needs of the soul. I am called to address this briefly. By “soul” we generally mean that which engages in the interior journey into the sometimes dark regions of dreams, visions, emotional reveries and encounters with personal myth. These soul journeys provide us with our real sense of meaning in life, whether we engage in them consciously or not.

But in actuality, when you really apply the tools of the New Hermetics, this is exactly what you find yourself doing. From the very first act, that of setting goals, you are beginning an interior journey to a greater understanding of yourself from within. You are questioning your real needs, and setting up a palette of choices for yourself. As you begin to take actions (or not) toward these goals, you discover more about yourself, as you find out whether these are really things that you wish to accomplish, or whether they are merely things you thought you “should” want when you were writing things out. You are seeing your interior self clearly reflected in the world of action.

As you continue in the Initiate level, you begin to look at your character, the way that you interact with yourself and the world around you, in connection with the four ancient elements. This opens new gateways into the soul, allowing you to see the unbalanced ways in which you currently approach reality. As you begin to balance these character traits out, you discover even more about your soul, as you begin to creatively integrate new resources into yourself. As you move through your inner temple, you are asked to visualize yourself about to engage in your unbalanced traits and then a more positive vision of yourself with balanced traits. The ways in which these experiences manifest to you, in quality, coherence, power and amplitude teach you volumes about your soul, if you pay attention to these experiences.

Each of the tools of the New Hermetics offers you an opportunity to deeply explore your inner world, if you engage the tool as a “soul window.” Just your self-talk as you proceed offers yet another window. If you are feeling self-doubt, worry or distraction as you engage these tools, this speaks to the state of your soul. If you are experiencing joy, wonder, and excitement, this equally reflects the current condition of your soul. Neither of these is superior or inferior to the other, they are just windows into the current state of your internal make-up. As you discover more things about yourself, you can then use the proactive tools to balance out any unhelpful tendencies and offer yourself more choices into the future.

As you work in the Zealot level, you will begin to explore the emotional instrument of your body, through several breathing exercises and meditations on the energetic system of your body. You will discover how you process your feelings, and where you are holding onto, magnifying or debilitating yourself with negative feelings. This is yet another window into the soul.

In the Practitioner and Philosopher levels you will begin to actively engage with archetypal beings, through the Tarot Imagery, God-forms, and also Past-Life Journeying. These tools can be powerful encounters both with reflections from your own soul and trans-personal experiences with intelligence that is beyond human. Either way, these encounters teach us rich lessons that relate directly to the progress of the soul. You will examine your beliefs and values, gaining new insights into who you are, and who you are becoming.

The New Hermetics is not the soul’s journey. You are engaged in the journey of your soul in every moment of your life, whether conscious or not. The New Hermetics is a set of simple and powerful tools for engaging more consciously with all aspects of your soul to make the journey easier, more efficient and to place yourself more presently in contact with your true inner self. If you engage these tools in this way, you will swiftly find yourself actualizing the true potential and purpose of your soul.