COMPANIONSOFTHESTONE

CorrespondenceCourseinTheElementsof
TraditionalWesternEsotericism
Lesson1

WelcometotheCompanionsoftheStonestudycourse.Asan
associatememberofourorder,youhavetherighttoworkwith
thiscourseasafreebenefitofyourmembership,aswellasthe
responsibilitytolearnthematerialpresentedandincorporate
itintoyourownlife.
Inthisfirstlessonwewilldealwithmanythingsthatonone
levelaremattersofpracticalroutine,butwhichalsowilllay
thegroundworkforeverythingyouwilldowhileworkingonthe
course.
Likethetraditionfromwhichitderives,thiscourseis
intendedtobeexperienced,notmerelystudiedinan
intellectualway.Alargepartofthematerialwe'llbe
coveringwillinvolvedoingpracticalexercises.Todothese,
andtogetasmuchaspossiblefromthem,you'llneedtoprovide
yourselfwithcertainthings.
Firstamongtheseisasuitableplacetopractice.Manyofthe
oldbooksinthistraditionassumethatthestudentcangoto
greatextremesinthisconnection;fortunately,thisisn't
necessary,asdisusedcastlesanddeserthermitagesareinshort
supplynowadays.Aprivateroom,nottoobrightlylit,where
youcanbeundisturbedforhalfanhouratatime,isquite
sufficient.Itshouldhaveenoughopenfloorspacetoallowyou
towalkinacirclewithoutbumpingintofurniture.
You'llalsoneedachairwithastraightbackafoldingchair
issuitableforthis.Someotherthingscanbeobtainedfrom
theschoolsuppliessectionofthelocaldrugstore:athree
ringbinderfortheselessons;aruler;apairofcompasses(the
sortusedingeometryclasses,withapencilclippedtoone
side,willdo);asetofcoloredpencils(themorecolorsthe
better)andablankbookorjournalforyourmagicalrecord.
Twootherthings,however,maytakeavisittoaspecialist
bookstore.ThefirstisacopyofTheMysticalQabalah,byDion
Fortune.TheQabalahisthecoresymbolicsystemoftheWestern
esoterictraditionasithascomedowntous,andFortune's
book,despitecertainflaws,isthebestmodernintroductionto

it.Readingsfromthisbookwillbeassignedinfuturelessons.
SomepeoplefeelthatTheMysticalQabalahisoutdated,because
theyfindcertainideasantiquatedorfoolish.Themajortexts
ofWesternesotericism,however,havebeenwrittenoveraperiod
ofabouttwentyfivecenturies,whileFortune'sbookwaswritten
justabitoverhalfacenturyago.Learningtoseebehindthe
veilofatextthatisalmostcontemporarycanbegoodpractice
forlearningtoseebeyondtheoutwardformsoftextsthatare
mucholder,andwrittenfrompointsofviewthatarefarmore
unfamiliar.
TheseconditemisanappropriateTarotdeck.Youwillneedto
makesureyouhaveaTarotdeckthatissuitabletothecourse.
Foranyesotericworkyou'redoingoutsideofthiscourse,
you'refreetouseanydeckyouprefer,butforthepurposesof
thecorrespondencecourseweaskyoutouseoneofthe
following:thedeckdesignedbyA.E.Waite(oftenknownasthe
Rider,orRiderWaite,orWaiteSmithdeck);theUniversalWaite
deck,aversionoftheaboverecoloredbyMaryHansonRoberts;
theMagickalTarot;TheThothTarot;theGarethKnightTarot;
theServantsoftheLightTarot;theGoldenDawnTarot;orthe
GoldenDawnRitualTarot.Theworkintheselessonswill
requireyoutouseaTarotdeckwiththesymbolismappropriate
tothetraditionweteach,andthedeckslistedherecontainthe
propersymbolismintheproperform.
Ifyoualreadyownoneofthedeckslistedabove,andare
comfortableworkingwithit,you'reset.Ifnot,themost
importantthingtodoistofindandusewhicheveroneofthese
decksyoufeelthemostcomfortablewith.Gotoanoccult
bookstorethatofferssampledecksforthecustomertolookat
andhandle.Examinetheappropriatedecksonebyoneandselect
thedeckthatyouwouldprefertoworkwith.Ifyoudislikeall
ofthem,choosetheoneyoudisliketheleast.Ifatall
possible,youshouldusethesamedeckthroughoutthecourse,so
keepthisinmindwhenyoumakeyourchoice.
Onceyouhaveyourcards,you'llneedtostoretheminsome
placewheretheywillstayclean,dry,andundisturbed.Ifyou
wanttowraptheminacloth,orkeeptheminabagorbox,feel
free,butabureaudrawerfullofsoftclothingwilldojustas
well.It'salsobestnottoallowanotherpersontohandleyour
cards,andyoushouldneverlendthemtoanyone.
Thenextstepistofamiliarizeyourselfwiththecards.Even
ifyou'veusedyourdeckforyears,dothefollowingexercise
andtrytolookatyourcardswithneweyes.Eachday,set
asidefivetotenminutestospendworkingwithyourdeck.Look
ateachcardinturn,goingthroughthedeckasyouwouldleaf
throughaphotoalbum.Takeamomenttoabsorbtheimageon

eachcard,andthengoontothenext.Recordthepracticein
yourjournal,includinganythingyoumayhavenoticedor
learned.Don'tgoontododivinationsyet;thatwillcome
later.Simplylookthroughyourcardseachday.
DrawingtheTreeofLife
IfyouhavehadanypreviouscontactwiththeWesternesoteric
tradition,youwillprobablyhaveencounteredthediagramknown
astheTreeofLife.ThetenSephiroth(thewordisHebrew,the
traditionallanguageofQabalah,andmeans"numerations"or,
morefiguratively,"spheres")andthetwentytwopathsofthis
diagramformamaporsystemofcoordinatesfortheuniverseand
thehumansoulalikethatis,inthetraditionalterms,of
themacrocosm(greatworld)andmicrocosm(littleworld).
Thosewhohavehadlittlecontactwithesotericthoughtmayfind
thisideaunfamiliaratfirst.Perhapsoneoftheeasiestways
tobegintograspthisideaofmacrocosmandmicrocosmisto
treattheTreeasamapofthestructureofconsciousness,since
inonesensewecansaythatconsciousness,orthe"sphereof
sensation,"islikeamagicmirrorthatreflectstheworld.But
thereisalsothedeepersenseinwhichthisistruebecause
consciousnessisthestuffofbothmicrocosmandmacrocosm.
Thosewhohavestudiedthesubjectinthepastmayrecognize
thisdiagramoftheTreeofLifeasoneofthekeyborrowings
fromtheJewishesotericandmysticaltraditioncalledQabalah.
Althoughthisdiagram,andmuchloreassociatedwithit,was
adaptedoutsidetheJewishworldduringtheRenaissance,itwas
nottakenoverbecauseitwasnewanddifferent,butbecauseit
wasnewandfamiliar:manyoftheconcepts,images,and
structureswerealreadywellknowntononJewishesotericists;
infact,verysimilarmapsofthestructureofexistencecould
alreadybefoundineasternAsiabythetimethattheyfirst
becamewellknowninEurope.
NowadaystheTreeofLifeisusedbyagreatmanydifferent
schoolsandsystemsofmagic;few,however,areawareofthe
geometricplanthatunderliesthediagram,andwhichderives
fromancienttraditionsofsacredgeometryandmathematics
centraltoWesternesotericism.Thefollowingexercisewill
helpyoutobeginexploringthisaspectofthetradition.Todo
it,you'llneedpaper,arulerandcompasses,andapencil.
1.Drawverticalstraightlineonthepaper(indiagram1,
thisisthelineADGJK).
2.Withthecompassessetatanyconvenientwidth,placingthe

sharppointnearthetopendoftheline(A)tolocatethe
center,drawasemicircle(BDC).
3.Keepingthecompassesatthesamewidth,movethecenterto
thepointwherethesemicirclecrossestheverticalline(D).
anddrawafullcirclearoundthispoint(circleABEGFC).
4.Nowrepeatthisoperationtwicemore,tracingeachnew
circlearoundthepointwherethebeforeitcrossesthecentral
line(GandJ).TheresultshouldlookasshowninDiagram1.
5.Finally,setthecompassestoasmallerwidth,andtracea
smallcirclearoundeachpointmarkedwithaletterexceptpoint
D.ThesecirclesarethespheresorSephiroth(numerations)of
theTreeofLife.
Ifyouwish,youcangoontoerasethelargercircles,andthen
connecttheSephirothwithPaths,asshowninDiagram2.For
thislesson,however,thisisn'tnecessary.Thefocushereis
thegeometricalrelationshipbetweentheSephirothandthe
processbywhichtheyaregenerated.
Theserelationshipsandthisprocesshaveanextensive
symbolism,andawealthofmeaning.Forthislesson,however,
simplyworkondrawingtheTreeinthiswayanumberoftimes
(atleastfive)withouttryingtoworkupanyconceptualor
verbalinterpretation.
Exercises
OneofthethingsthatsetstheHermetictraditionmostsharply
apartfromthemainstreamWesternreligions,especiallyintheir
popularforms,isitsinsistenceonpracticalwork.Inmost
faiths,itisenoughmerelytoacceptsomesetofpropositions
aboutthesupernatural,andperhapsfollowsomerulesabouthow
tobehave.Thisrathersimpleapproachtotheworldbeyondthe
realmofthesensesprobablyhasmuchtodowiththepopularity
ofthesefaiths,butitisnot,ultimately,satisfactory.
Learningtoexperienceandworkwiththehiddensideofreality
isaskill,muchaslearningtodealwiththeworldofmeaning
behindmarksonpaperisaskill.Fewpeoplewhowantedto
learntorideabicyclewouldbesatisfiedwithasetof
instructionsthatinsistedthatallabicyclistneededtodois
toleadagoodlifeandbelieveintheexistenceoftwowheeled
vehicles.Yetaverysimilarapproachistakenbymanypeople
toissuesthatareamongthemostimportantthatanyhumanbeing
canencounter.
Ethicalquestionsdohaveanimportantplaceinthiswork,and

inlessonstocomewewillcoverthemainelementsofthe
Hermeticapproachtoethics.Thisdoesnotinvolvelearning
listsofthingstodoandthingsnottodo,however.Here,as
elsewhere,theHermeticapproachtakesasitsbasispersonal
experienceandunderstanding.Ourgoal,whendealingwith
ethicalissues,willbetochallengeyoutofindoutwhatright
andwrongmeantoyouandthentoputyourdiscoveriestothe
testinyourownlife.
AccordingtotheHermetictradition,faithandarulekeeping
moralityarenotenough.Withoutpersonalexperienceofthe
hiddensideofexistence,infact,theycanbeallbut
meaningless.Becauseofthis,Hermeticteachings(andthis
course,whichisanintroductiontothem)tendtofocusmainly
onwaysofattainingandassessingsuchexperience.
Forthisreason,wewishtobeginrightawaywithpractical
work.Bydoingthiswork,youwillprepareyourselftodeal
moreeffectivelywiththetheoreticalaspectsoftheteaching
thatwillbepresentedinthelessonsthatfollow.

OpeningandClosing
Oneverysimplebutveryimportantpractice,theomissionof
whichhascausedquiteabitoftrouble,istheuseofopening
andclosinggestures.IntheCompanionsoftheStone,weusea
simplesetofgesturesthatcanbeperformedeasilyundermost
circumstanceswithoutdrawingundueattention.
Theopeninggesturebeginswiththehandsplacedtogether,palm
topalmataboutchestlevel,heldatanangleofabout45
degrees.Next,thehandsareopened,asthoughtheywerea
book;thepalmsfaceyou.Third,thehandsareseparatedand
turnedslightlysothatthepalmsarefacingeachother,ata
distanceofaboutteninches.Yourgazeshouldmovepastyour
handsintothespacebetweenandbeyondthem,andyoushouldat
thispointformulatetheintentionthatyourinnerfacultiesare
opening.
Theclosinggesturehasthesamesteps,butinthereverse
order.Thehands,heldapartbutpalmtopalm,arerotated
untilbothpalmsfaceyou.Theyarethenbroughttogether,edge
toedge,palmsstillfacingyou,asthoughyouweresupporting
anopenbookonyourhands.Finally,theyaresnappedtogether,
asthoughyouweresnappingabookshut,withthefirmintention
ofclosingdownyourinnerfaculties.Thislastmovementhasa
percussivequality;ifyoucanactuallygetyourhandstoclap,
somuchthebetter.Theopeningshouldbeperformedatthe
beginningofanexercise;theclosingattheend.
Relaxation
Systematicrelaxationisnowadayswidelytaught,anditisquite
likelythatyouhavealreadyencounteredit.Itisavery
usefulskilltohave,whetherornotonehasanyesoteric
interests.Furthermore,aswithmanyskills,somemasteryis
betterthannoneatall.Themostimportantthingistoget
started.
Onemethodinvolveslyingdownonaflat,hard(oratleast
firm)surface,andtryingtobecomeaslimpaspossible.Then,
beginningwithoneendorextremityofthebody(yourscalp,
say,orthefingersofonehand),tightenonesmallsegmentof
yourmusculatureforamoment,untilyouaresurethatitisin
facttight.Thenreleasethetension.Repeatthis
systematicallyfromthatpointthroughalltheothers,untilyou
havedonethiswithyourwholebody.Thengobackandfindthe
locationswheretensionhasreemerged,andgothroughthewhole
processagain.Thisisalmostneversomethingonelearnstodo
completelyonthefirsttry;donotworryaboutachieving
completerelaxationatfirst.Justgivethisafewminutes.

Whenitisclearthatyouhavebecomemorerelaxed,thengoon
tothesittingorstandingexercise.
Another,verydifferent,approachinvolvessittingina
cofortable,paddedchair,oronasofa,andtakingthreesharp
breathsoneafteranotherand,onthelastbreath,allowing
oneselftofallbackwards.Whilethefirstmethodcan
eventuallybringaboutaverycompleterelaxation,itcanbe
timeconsuming,especiallyifonehasneverdoneanythingofthe
sort.Thesecondmethodismoreroughandready,butproducesa
verysatisfactorygeneralrelaxation.
Peoplediffer.Youmaywishtotrybothmethods,oryoumay
alreadyhaveamethodthatworksforyou.Feelfreeto
experiment,butdonotforgetthegoal,whichistoachievea
greaterdegreeofrelaxation,andgreaterawarenessofthestate
ofone'sbody.
Attention
Althoughesotericsystemsarenotoriousfortheircomplexity,
alltheirelaborateapparatusisinanimportantsense
unnecessary,orbesidethepointideally,atleast.Itisin
thespacebetweentheidealandtheactualthatthesystems
flourish;itisthegeneral(thoughnotuniversal)human
inabilitytodothingsthesimpleanddirectwaythatmakesthem
necessary.
Thefollowingexerciseisaconcreteexampleofthatidea.From
oneperspective,itisoneofthebasicfivefingerexercisesof
theesotericist.Fromanotherperspective(somewouldsayan
impossiblyoptimisticone!),itistheonlythingoneneedsto
knowordo.Allothermeans,exercises,teachingsanddevices
areforthosewhocannotdothisexerciseasitshouldbedone.
Fromacertainpointofview,again,thisexerciseisthekeyto
thedevelopmentofthemagicalwill.Thatdescription,though,
canbeeitherhelpfulorconfusingdependingonhowonethinks
of"will".Esotericallyunderstood,willisnotexactlya
matterofeffortfulstriving;noristhecultivationofwilla
matterofbuildingupsomedistended,flaming,throbbingmental
facultythatimposesitselfonallandsundrylikesomebig,
overfamiliardog.Developedwilliseffortless,simple,almost
unconscious,andeffectivewithoutneedingalotoffuss.The
samethingistrueofconcentration.Effectiveconcentrationis
notamatterofgrippingonethingtightly,butofsimply
lettingeverythingelsego,asthoughyouscoopedupahandful
ofsandandrocksfromthebottomofastream,andletthewater
carryawayeverythingbuttheonepebbleyouwanted.
Thisexerciseshouldbedoneifpossibleatthesametimeevery

day,oratthesametimeinyourdailycycleforexample,
justafterwaking,orjustbeforedinner.Atthebeginningof
yourworkonthislesson,youshouldnotdoitformorethan
fiveminutes;bytheend,youshouldbedoingitforatleast
ten,butcertainlynotmorethantwenty,minutesatatime.
Theexerciseitself,aswehavesaid,issimple:Stand,orsit,
withoutmoving,fortheperiodoftheexercise.Alternate
standingandsitting:thatis,ononedaystandforthe
allottedtime;onthenextdaysit;onthenextdaystand,and
soon.
Beforebeginningtheexercise,practicerelaxation,eitheras
yourmainrelaxationpracticefortheday,orasabrief"warm
up".Whenyouaredoingtheexercise,donottrytodonothing,
orthinknothing,orfeelnothingbutatthesametimedonot
letyourselffollowanythoughtsorfeelingsthatleadyouaway
frombeingawarethatyouaresittingorstanding(asthecase
maybe).Instead,simplyattendtothesensationsofbeingin
yourphysicalbody.
Agoodpositionforsittingitis,infact,theusual
positionforseatedmeditationinthistraditionistositin
astraightbackedchairthatallowsyoutohaveyourfeetflat
onthefloor,andyourthighsparalleltothefloor,sothat
yourbackisstraightandyourhandscanrestonyourthighs.
Similarly,mostpeoplewillfinditbesttostandwiththeir
feetparallelandasfarapartastheirhipsorshoulders.You
mayfinditusefultoexperimentwithdifferentvariationson
thesepositions,andtopayattentiontothechangesthatsuch
variationsbringabout.Theexperimentation,though,doesnot
countaspartoftheexercisetimeunlessyoudonotmovefor
thewholeallottedtimeyouaretryingoutthatparticular
position.
Atthispoint,donotworryaboutwhetheryouarerelaxedor
tense.Ifyoufinduncomfortableorintrusivetensions,youmay
relaxthemifyoucandosowithoutchangingposition.Don't,
however,trytomaintainarigidimmobilityifnothingelse,
simplybreathingwillmakeyourbodymove,andyouwillnotice
perhapsothermovementsaswell.
Tryalwaystobringyourattentionbacktoyourbody,without
focusingonanyparticularpartofit.Feelitasaunified
whole,bothintactile(touch)andkinesthetic(theinner
awarenessofmusclesandposition)terms.Certainsensations
mayintrude:youmayfindyourselffeelingdiscomfort,or
restlessness,oritching,forexample.Donottrytoflinch
awayfromthesesensations,butattendtothemcalmlyand
easily,puttingtheminthecontextofallyourothersensations.

Recordthetimesandresultsofthisexerciseinyourjournal.
DailyReview
Everynight,beforeyoufallasleep,thinkbackovertheevents
ofthedayinreverse,asthoughyouwerewatchingafilm
runningbackwards.Startwiththeeventsthattookplacejust
beforebeginningthereview,gototheeventsbeforethose,and
soon,backtowhatyoudidonwakingupthatmorning.Atthis
stage,donottrytojudgeorassessthethingsyouremember.
Justobservethem.Areasonableamountofdetailis
appropriate,buttheexerciseshouldnottakemorethanfifteen
minutesorso.Ifyoushouldfallasleepwhiledoingthe
exercise,thisisnotafailure;yourmindwillhavecontinued
togobackovertheday'sactivitieswhileyouslept.
Inyourmagicalrecord,notetheapproximatetimeatwhichyou
beganthisexercise,aswellashowmuchofthedayyoureviewed
beforefallingasleep.
TheMagicalRecord
Throughoutthiscourse,you'llbekeepingamagicalrecord.
Thisisajournalofyouresoterictraining,inwhichallofthe
practicesandreadingsyoudoarenoteddown.Eachentryshould
includethedate,time,circumstancesandresultsofyourwork,
aswellasanyfeelingsorreactionsyoumayhavefromdoingit.
Yourmagicalrecordwillbecomeanimportantresourceforyour
training;makeahabitofwritingupeachpieceofworkassoon
aspossibleafterdoingit.
Thespecificformatisuptoyou,butusingastandardformat
makesitmucheasiertokeepsucharecord.Hereisanexample.
12June1993
6:30AM:Practicedopeningandclosing.Vagueeffect,nothing
definite.
7:15AM:WentthroughTarotdeckafterbreakfast.
8:00PM:Didtherelaxationandattentionexercises.Relaxation
wentfairlywell.Intheattentionexercise,whichIdid
standing,Iwobbledallovertheplaceandactuallylostmy
balanceatonepoint.
10:45PM:Beganreview.Gotasfaraslunch,Ithink,thenfell
asleep.
Torecapitulate,then,theactivitiesforthislessonareas

follows:
First,tobuythenecessarysupplies.
Second,tobecomefamiliarwiththeprocessofdrawingtheTree
ofLife.
Third,tobeginexaminingtheTarotdeck.
Fourth,toperformtherelaxationandattentionexercisesdaily.
Fifth,toperformthedailyreviewongoingtobed.
Sixth,tokeepanaccountofyourworkinyourmagical
record.

Diagram1

Diagram2

Test
Eachofthelessonsinthiscoursewillincludeatest,which
shouldbesentinwhenyoucompletethelesson'swork.This
testwillnotbe"graded"intheusualsense;rather,itis
intendedtohelpustrackyourprogressthroughthecourse,and
toprovideuswithinformationthatwecanusetohelprespond
toyourparticularneeds.Alongwiththetest,weencourageyou
towriteusconcerninganyquestionsordifficultiesyoumay
havewithregardtothecoursework.
Sincethesetestsaretheonlymeanswehavetogaugeyour
progressinthiswork,youshouldbeawarethatifwedonot
receiveyourresponsestothetests,nofurtherlessonswillbe
mailed.
Yourresponsestothisandallothertestsshouldbetypedor
writtenlegiblyononesideofoneormoresheetsofwhite81/2
x11paper.Pleasewriteyournameandaddressontheupper
righthandcornerofthefirstpage.
TestforLesson1
A.Copyout,fromyourmagicalrecord,youraccountsoftwo
practicesessionsoftheattentionexercise.
B.Writedownanyfactorsyoumayhavenoticedwhichhelpor
hinderthevariouspracticesinthislesson.
C.ConstructaTreeofLifediagramusingthemethodgivenin
thislesson.
PleasemailinyourresponsetoP.O.Box95536,Seattle,WA
98145,andwriteAttn:TutorialCommitteeontheenvelope.