The esoteric path of the hermetic tradition has informed the Western way from the classical mystery schools to the dawning of the Aquarian Age. It has preserved and modified the ancestral Earth mysteries and explored the inner world, balancing the way of the goddess with the way of the god. In its ranks priest, magician, Sibyl, prophet, mystic, alchemist and qabalist have used the skilful means of the perennial wisdom to transmit the gnosis of the gods. Their goal has been to achieve the Grail, to find the philosopher's stone, and to reassemble the scattered body of light, of which we are all a part. Through the practical exercises in this book, the guardianship of the Western way and the accomplishment of its work passes into your hands.