A Modern Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery

Appendix: Table Talk and Memorabilia of Mary Anne Atwood, Part 3

Introduction: Mary Anne Atwood’s reflections illuminate the Hermetic art’s regenerative power, guiding the soul to divine unity through will and light. This section explores the alchemical transformation of consciousness, unveiling the path to universal wisdom.

The Regeneration of Consciousness

Atwood describes the Hermetic art as a process of regenerating the soul’s “third life” (mineral) through the celestial, aligning it with divine wisdom, as Eirenaeus’ metaphor of the “bottomless Mercury” suggests. The adept, by purifying the will, dissolves the “Great Salt Sea” of selfish desires, allowing the “Solar Tincture” of divine light to shine, as St. Martin’s teachings echo. This transformation, akin to Christ’s redemptive work, elevates consciousness to the “Paradisaical life,” free from sensory chains.

The process, requiring contrition and love, reverses the soul’s linear path into a circular eternity, as Boehme’s Signature Rerum illustrates: “The soul perceives the Divine through its essence.”

The Alchemy of Divine Will

The Hermetic art, as Atwood notes, is a “magnetism of Light,” where the Universal Will dissolves false forms, like the “Walls of Troy,” to reveal the divine essence. The adept, through disciplined inquiry, navigates three microcosmic centers—head (animal), heart (vegetable), lumbar (mineral)—to align with the divine, as the Chaldaic Oracles suggest: “The reins of fire stretch to the unfashioned soul.” This process, avoiding self-willed haste, ensures purity, as Norton warns: “Haste is the Devil’s part.”

Mesmerism, as a preliminary step, dissolves the sensuous medium, opening the soul to divine light, but requires a pure will to avoid corruption, resonating with your life force energy interests (September 7, 2025).

The Universal Truth of Creation

Atwood emphasizes that true knowledge is an “experimental contact” with the divine, where the soul, purified of “false sulphurs,” becomes a vessel for the Universal Spirit. The Golden Treatise and Boehme’s ontology describe this as a return to the “Nothing” that is everything, where will and love unite to manifest divine creation. The adept, like Oken, sees nature’s virtues through divine wisdom, transcending modern metaphysics to achieve a holistic truth, as OAK’s meditations aspire to (October 2, 2025).

Closing: This appendix unveils the Hermetic art’s regenerative principles, transforming consciousness into divine light. The journey into further reflections deepens in our next post, unveiling more secrets of this sacred art.