The Temple of High Magic: Hermetic Initiations in the Western Mystery Tradition

A practical guide to pathworking and other esoteric techniques from the ancient mystery schools predating Christianity

• Explains the dynamics of both group ritual and solo practice

• Shows that temples of high magic are not mere physical structures but inner edifices created by sustained meditative practice

• Explains why this practice is sometimes called the Yoga of the West

Before the advent of Christianity, early civilizations had, at the heart of their spiritual traditions, mystery schools that offered a corpus of training methods in what is now called magic. The persecution of heresies that followed the establishment of Christianity as Rome’s state religion, a persecution that reached its high point during the Middle Ages, forced the degradation and disappearance of this training system. While the knowledge of these mystery traditions--jealously guarded by secret societies--has begun to emerge, the actual techniques and practices of spiritual magic have remained hidden.

The Temple of High Magic provides the practical knowledge of these techniques for modern spiritual seekers who wish to incorporate the proven esoteric techniques of the magi into their lives. This book explains the dynamics of group ritual and solo practice as well as the critical role played by the kabbalistic tree of life--the key to inner knowledge. Ina Cüsters-van Bergen shows that temples of high magic are not mere physical structures but are the inner edifices willed into being by a sustained meditative practice and pathworking, using key symbols from ancient Hebraic and Egyptian traditions. Sometimes called the Yoga of the West, this spiritual magic is a system of esoteric development that seeks to create full union between the magician and the divine.

by Ina Cüsters-van Bergen