THE WAY OF HERMES — Part 23 The Return to the Father — How Souls Reunite with the Source

📌 BLOG POST #23

THE WAY OF HERMES — Part 23

The Return to the Father — How Souls Reunite with the Source

Tractate III — Illuminated Commentary (Section X)

Poimandres teaches Hermes
that every soul’s journey:

• begins in Light

• descends into experience

• and returns to Light consciously

This is the Great Ascent —
the reunion of the divine child
with its eternal Source.

The Divine Mind calls every soul home:

“Return to the Light from which you came.”

Not by death
but by awakening.

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🧠 KEY INSIGHT

The goal is not escape —
but conscious reunion with God.

The enlightened soul doesn’t flee the world.
It transcends the world while living in it.

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🌌 Visual Map of the Soul’s Ascent

Here is a simplified Hermetic diagram
showing the soul’s upward journey:

               ✨ SOURCE ✨
           (The Father Light)
                 ▲
                 │ Union in Gnosis
      8️⃣ Eighth Sphere - Light of Mind
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Ego Illusions
      7️⃣ Sun - Radiant Selfhood
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Conflict & Anger
      6️⃣ Mars - Power in Balance
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Excess Desire
      5️⃣ Venus - Harmony & Attraction
                 ▲
                 │ Release of False Thoughts
      4️⃣ Mercury - Clear Mind
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Fear & Instinct
      3️⃣ Moon - Emotional Purification
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Judgment
      2️⃣ Jupiter - Wisdom & Justice
                 ▲
                 │ Release of Limitation
      1️⃣ Saturn - Mastery of Fear
                 ▲
              🌍 Earth

The return is a step-by-step purification
of everything the soul picked up
on its way down.

What was gained in ignorance
must be released in Light.

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🌟 What Does “Return” Look Like?

Not leaving the world
but living from a higher state within it.

Signs of ascent:

• Fear disappears

• Compassion expands

• Mind clears

• Purpose sharpens

• Light becomes stable

• Peace becomes constant

You become at home
in both worlds at once.

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🔥 Modern Spiritual Application

Ask daily:

“What can I release today
that does not belong to my Light?”

This one question
accelerates ascension.

Reunion is not earned —
it is remembered.

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✨ Activation Practice

Hand on heart.
Eyes gently closed.

Say:

“I return to the Light that has always been mine.”

You will feel the path open
because it was never closed.

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❓ Reflective Question

Where do you already feel
yourself rising again
after a long descent?

Celebrate that —
it is the Light guiding your return.

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✍️ About the Author

Reverend Michael Cook, D.Div, is the Architect of Light and founder of the Cook Universal Ministry — a spiritually independent Hermetic-Gnostic tradition dedicated to awakening the Divine Human within all who seek the inner Light.

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🔖 Tags

Ascension, Hermetic Gnosis, Return to Source, Enlightenment, Divine Union, Spiritual Journey