• Examines the foundational texts and principles of Hermeticism and alchemy, showing how they offer a foundation for a psycho-spiritual creative practice

• Takes the reader on a Hermetic journey through each of the seven traditional planets, offering meditative discourses that speak directly to the intuitive soul

• Provides examples from traditional alchemical art and the author’s own intricate esoteric paintings

Drawing on ancient Egyptian and Greek cosmogonies and essential Hermetic texts, such as the Corpus Hermeticum, the Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina), and the Nag Hammadi codices, Marlene Seven Bremner offers a detailed understanding of Hermetic philosophy and the art of alchemy as a foundation for a psycho-spiritual creative practice. Offering examples from traditional alchemical art and her own intricate esoteric paintings, Bremner examines the foundational principles of Hermeticism and alchemy and shows how these traditions are a direct means for accessing higher consciousness and true self-knowledge, or gnosis, as well as a way to extract the essence of one’s own creative gifts.

The author takes the reader on a Hermetic journey through each of the seven traditional planets--Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon--exploring their mythological, philosophical, alchemical, qabbalistic, magical, astrological, and energetic natures and offering meditative discourses that reach past the rational mind to speak directly to the intuitive soul. She relates the seven planets to the esoteric anatomy of the human body, specifically the seven chakras, and shows how the planets can offer understanding and experience of archetypal energies and patterns in the body, in one’s life, and in the creative process.

A profound synthesis of magical and occult teachings as well as an initiation into the alchemical opus, this book reveals how to integrate and apply Hermetic and alchemical principles to awaken inner knowing, liberate the imagination, and live a mystical, creative, and truly inspired life.

Marlene Seven Bremner is a self-taught oil painter, writer, and teacher who has spent more than 20 years exploring esoteric and spiritual traditions, including Hermeticism, alchemy, surrealism, symbolism, tarot, psychology, magic, astrology, shamanism, and mythology. She developed her career as an artist in the Pacific Northwest and now spends her time painting and writing in the New Mexico desert.

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION
The Hermetic Path of Self-Initiation

PART I
Hermeticism
1 Hermetic Texts
2 Thoth and the Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Tradition
3 The Hermetic Bole: Hellenistic and Roman Periods
4 The Three Branches of Hermeticism

PART II
Hermetic Cosmogony and Alchemy
5 Heaven and Earth
6 The Tetrad and the Trinity
7 The Harmony of Fate and the Twelve Torments
8 Ogdoad: The Creative Sphere

PART III
The Wanderer’s Journey:Myth, Alchemy, and Esoteric Anatomy
9 Wandering with the Archetypes
10 Saturn: Into the Darkness
11 Jupiter: The Sovereign Storm
12 Mars: The Flames of Transformation
13 The Sun: The Essence of Eternity
14 Venus: The Joy of Creation
15 Mercury: A Voice from the Æther
16 The Moon: Reflections of the Unknowable

CONCLUSION
Final Ruminations on the Old, Old Path

Notes

Bibliography

Index