Hermetic Initiation

Initiation into Hermetic Magic

Although never explicitly stated, a process for Initiation into Hermetic Magic must have existed. Founders could have been taught the Parma Magica without affecting any pre-existing magical Arts, but in order to attain Hermetic Magic, either for themselves or for their followers whose Gifts had already been Opened to diverse traditions of magic, some method must have existed for magi to Initiate Hermetic magic.

The mechanics for Initiation already exist; it is simply necessary to determine what Initiation Scripts might exist, or have existed. Fortunately, the process can be fairly straightforward. For any magical tradition with at least five Arts or Abilities that would be considered to derive from Major Virtues, the process is relatively simple. A magus initiating Hermetic magic must sacrifice his former tradition of magic, represented by sacrificing the equivalent of five Major Virtues. These five Major Ordeals serve as the core of the Initiation Scripts for Hermetic Magic.

For a magical tradition with lesser Arts or Abilities, or for a magus who does not wish to sacrifice five major parts of his magic, some additional considerations are necessary, typically by accepting one or more Major Hermetic Flaws.

The governing "Lore" to Initiate Hermetic magic is Hermetic Theory. Each of the Initiation Scripts below assumes a Pre + Hermetic Theory total of 6+ on the part of the mystagogue. As magi Bonisagi typically possess a thorough grasp of Hermetic Theory, they traditionally serve as mystagogues, although magi of the lineage of Pralix have also served as mystagogues, especially for various traditions within Domus Ex Miscellanea.

For the purpose of Initiation, Hermetic Techniques are equated to Major Virtues, while Hermetic Forms are equated to Minor Virtues. In both cases, the Arts are assumed to be "known to the mystagogue," although in cases where the mystagogue possesses a Deficiency, Troupes may wish to decide how that affects the initiate.

The overall pattern is for the Initiate to sacrifice one major part of his old magic to learn a Hermetic Technique, and then to use the same sacrifice to learn two Hermetic Forms. Thus, fifteen initiations in total, requiring five separate sacrifices. Initiations after the first do not require seasons of instruction, because the previous Major Ordeal substitutes for that component. Thus, following a season of instruction by the mystagogue, all fifteen Initiations may be performed at the same time. Note that more seasons of instruction (or text study) in Hermetic Theory may be desirable, but are not required for the purpose of Initiation.

In theory, a magus with higher Pre + Hermetic Theory could alter an Initiation Script to forego some component, but this would be a risky approach, and is only known to have been done twice in the history of Ordo Hermei. In both cases, the results were seriously Flawed, and knowledgeable magi now prefer to simply use the Scripts as written. Only in cases where a particular non-Hermetic tradition lacks the equivalent of five Major Virtues to sacrifice would a substitute Ordeal be required. For a mystagogue with sufficient mastery of Hermetic Theory, a script might be modified to remove a Major Ordeal and substitute a Minor Ordeal.

Although most believe that Bonisagus authored these scripts, some Bonisagi assert that in fact Trianoma must have authored these scripts.

Initiation into the Art of Creo
Major Virtue Known to the Mystagogue: Target 21

Major Ordeal: Sacrifice magic equivalent to a Major Virtue (-9)
Mystagogue Time: mystagogue spends a season teaching Hermetic Theory to the initiate (-3)
Travel to Fanum Fundatorum for a major solar event (solstice or equinox) (-3)

Initiation into the Art of Animal
Minor Virtue Known to the Mystagogue: Target 15