When I first began my Work, I relied on old Whare Ra copies of the rituals to study the Temple “Tablets” or diagrams. These old rituals were produced on a jelly copy process that left the images slightly blurred, sometimes obscuring important details in the diagrams.
These were copies of the diagrams shown to Candidates during their grade initiations, where they were accompanied by a short explanatory address from the Officers. The versions I had were often on A4 paper — adequate for study, but too small for ceremonial use. To make them workable in ritual, I had to redraw each one: larger, clearer, and suited to the space of the Temple.
This was long before online resources, when the only material available was what the Order itself provided. Much of the task required extrapolation, careful comparison, and joining the dots. When taken together, there are more than a hundred diagrams shown during the ceremonies. Viewed as a whole, they display a striking diversity:
- A wide range of subjects drawn from the broad Hermetic stream — astrology, alchemy, tarot, kameas, and more.
- Variations in artistic style, from simple schematic outlines to highly ornate designs.
- Different levels of complexity — some densely numerical, others coded, others direct and plain.
- Symmetrical mandala-like forms drawn using protractors, compasses and rulers, set beside more irregular patterns in free hand.
From an artistic perspective, this offers something for everyone — and this diversity is not accidental.
When guiding a Candidate, the Officer should watch closely where the Candidate’s attention rests. If their interest drifts after the explanation of a diagram, it is time to move on. But if they remain engaged, space should be given for the image to do its “magic”. What one Candidate overlooks may, for another, become the very symbol that lodges deep within the Soul.
These diagrams are fish hooks. They are designed to catch the attentive mind of the Candidate and direct it, as symbolised by the Wand of the Kerux. In doing so, they become scaffolding for the Soul: points of connection, sparks of recognition, the beginnings of real insight through intuition from within.
This is not achieved by reading about diagrams, or relying on the interpretations of others. That path may be intellectually comfortable, but it is not transformative. If intellectual study were enough, universities would already be teaching magic.
The Soul is nourished by genuine Work. Growth comes from the effort of working things out for oneself — and only then do the insights of the Soul reveal themselves in those quiet, unexpected moments of recognition.
Such insights are then sealed not by further talk and explanation, but by Silence.
Hermetically.
Kasmillos
