IIH

IIH is the acronym commonly used for the book 'Initiation into Hermetics', the english translation of the first of three books by Franz Bardon. The original title in German is 'The way to true adepthood', whereas the initially intended title was 'The gate to true initiation'.

IIH is the most modern self-initiation training manual written for any person in contemporary western culture, without the need for a guru or master. The IIH system is an effective, proven and safe path to modern initiation that has been successfully followed by a large community of people, and quite a few have written about their experiences with commentaries. As a result, lots of additional flanker materials on IIH exists in the form of companion guides, interviews with experienced practitioners, and so on. See 'References and further reading' below or Franz Bardon and initiation#References and further reading.

Bardon's initiation system consists of ten incremental steps of concurrent development of the different bodily principles of Man. The goal is self transformation, starting with meditation and concentration and character ennobling (steps 1 to 3), developing all the way to enable mental and astral travel (see Out of Body experiences (OBE)) and finally, with step 10, the experience of God-consciousness (see God experience).

Whereas the first (three) steps overlap with Rudolf Steiner's exercises as provided in Knowledge of the Higher Worlds (KHW) and Outline of Esoteric Science (OES), Initiation into Hermetics takes things much further and can be regarded as an initiation manual 'on steroids'. Exercises are described in their essence in the most concise and maybe dry but ruthlessly pragmatic way, leaving it fully to the individual to make them one's own and discover much more by diligently practicing the exercises. There is no dependency on intellect, belief or religion, thereby making this system universal and useable worldwide.

This page provides an overview of the ten steps in 'Initiation into Hermetics', linking these to Rudolf Steiner's explanations and lecture references that provide a spiritual scientific perspective on these exercises, see also the page Initiation exercises that link to literature and lectures by Rudolf Steiner.

For free digital copies, see the downloads in the 'Further reading' section below.

Aspects

• book title:
  • The original title in German was and still is 'Der Weg zum wahren Adepten' which translates as 'The way to the true adept'. Originally the title that Bardon had conceived for this book was 'Die Pforte zur wahren Einweihung', but this title had already been taken. Note that: 'Die Pforte der Einweihung' is the title of the first mystery drama by Rudolf Steiner.
• regarding the meaning of the term hermetics, see: Seven hermetic principles#Markides quoting Daskalos
• original and different German and English versions:
  • the original German version was published in 1956 by Verlag Hermann Bauer. There are three known English editions of IIH: the first was published in 1962 by Osiris Verlag (translator: Alfred Radspieler), the second by Dieter Rüggeberg in 1971, and the third by Merkur Publishing in 2001 (translators: Gerhard Hanswille and Franca Gallo). More info here.

Theory

The elements and tattvas are introduced: fire, water, air, earth, and the akasha or ether as a fifth.

Every element has two polarities, namely active and passive or plus and minus. The plus is always constructive, creative and procreative, whereas the minus is decomposing and destructive. Hence when we speak of an element, we must always speak of two fundamental attributes.

The fire principle is in possession of expansion .. we will call it the electrical fluid. Later we will discover the reason for the analyse between the electrical fluid and material electricity.

The fundamental attributes of water are coldness and contraction; the active pole is constructive, life-giving, nourishing and preserving, whereas the negaive pole is decomposing, fermenting, divisive and dispersing. Since this element's fundamental attribute is contraction, the magnetic fluid came forth from this element.

The two elements fire and water are the fundamental elements with which everything was created, consequently we have to reckon everywhere with these two main elements, and furthermore with the electric and magnetic fluids as opposite polarities.

The elements and/or principles of air and earth are described as 'not actually representing a true element', furthermore:

.. out of the reciprocal action of the three aforementiuoned elements the Earth element came into being as the last element, which, through its specific attribute of solidification, contains the other three elements. This attributed of solidification has given these three elements their concrete form, at the same time limitiung their activity and, as a result, space, measure, weight and time have come into being. The reciprocal action of these elements became tetrapolar, therefore the Earth principle can be considered a tetrapolar magnet. The fluid in the polarity of the Earth element is electromagnetic.

The elements arose out of the akasha or etheric principle.

the original cause of all things and everything created, the causal sphere which is spaceless and timeless .. it is the fifth energy, the primordial energy which created everything and keeps everything in equilibrium. It is the source of all pure thoughts and ideas, the causal world in which everything created maintains itself, beginning with the highest spheres downwards to the lowest

Discussion

Bardon puts forth a number of terms, deliberately not describing with theoretical concepts and details, but with high-level metaphoric terms. He wants us to imagine then, and then develop a connection with what they are through experience, as the exercises of the steps in IIH progress.

However we can try to map these to the spiritual scientific framework put forth by Rudolf Steiner, starting with:

• the Spectrum of elements and ethers (Schema FMC00.084 and others on that topic page)
• Planes or worlds of consciousness (FMC00.079)

In that we can now re-read and project or translate Bardon's description - see also Schema FMC00.300 below:

• the etheric or akasha maps to all non-physical layers, the astral but especially lower and higher spirit world where we find the higher ethers and etheric formative forces arising from the elementary kingdoms
• the creation of our material or mineral physical reality (earth element or principle) arises from the combined workings of the various etheric formative forces, the etheric formative forces steering the elementals of nature. This maps to what is described as the 'golden chain', see Schema FMC00.141 and Schema FMC00.141 on Overview Golden Chain.
• the electric and magnetic fluids, and the electromagnetic combination giving rise to our material or mineral physical reality (earth element or principle), is what is described in the above framework on The two etheric streams in Schema FMC00.051.
• observe that Steiner links (see eg Schema FMC00.084)
  • electricity to the light ether (as the 'sub-physical astral world' and the province of Lucifer), and
  • magnetics to the chemical ether (as the 'sub-physical lower spirit world' and the province of Ahriman)'

Step 1

Spirit (mental) - vacancy of mind

• mental or thought discipline/control/mastery
  • observing thoughts
  • one-pointedness of thought
  • emptiness or vacancy of mind (also abbreviated as VoM)

Astral (soul) - introspection and soul mirrors

• introspection or self-analysis
• preparation of the positive and negative soul mirrors (in regards to the elements)

Physical

• adapting to a normal and sensible lifestyle as a matter of habit.
• morning exercises.
• conscious breathing
• conscious eating
• the magic of water

see topics on Initiation exercises

• Conscious breathing
• Conscious eating

Step 2

Spirit (mental) - concentration

• single-sense concentration

see: Initiation exercises#Concentration

Astral (soul) - character transformation

• astral equilibrium regarding the elements: transformation or ennobling of the character (auto-suggestion, using the subconscious)

see: Initiation exercises#Elemental balance - transformation of soul mirrors

Physical Body - pore breathing

• conscious pore breathing
• conscious body posture
• body control in every day life

Notes

The step 1 and 2 exercises of conscious eating and conscious (pore) breathing can be looked at physiologically by considering FMC00.015A and FMC00.463 on Human breath. For conscious eating, the physical food is charged with what Man's soul faculties superimpose on the incoming ethers or fine breathing.

Step 3

Spirit - concentration

• multi-sense concentration
• external projection of images
• wrap-around projection of images

Astral (soul)

• element breathing: inhaling the elements into the whole body

Physical

• lung and pore breathing (accumulation of vital energy)
  • of the vital energy in the whole body
  • in the individual parts and organs of the body
• Impregnation of a room with the vital energy or an idea

Step 4

Spirit - transfer of consciousness

• transfer of consciousness
  • into inanimate objects and plants
  • into animate animals
  • into other human beings

Astral (soul)

• elemental accumulation: in the entire body; in the individual parts and organs of the body

• establishing harmony of the elements in regions of the body

Physical

• rituals and their practical application: gestures, body postures, finger positions

Step 5

Spirit - depth point

• space magic (i.e., "depth point" concentration)

see also: Initiation exercises#Depth point concentration

Astral (soul)

• element projection outwardly:
  • through the whole body
  • through the hands and fingers
  • without first passing through your body

Physical

• preparation for passive communication with the invisible
  • release (exteriorization) of one's own hand
  • preparation of the fingers with the help of the pendulum, pencil planchette, etc.

• practice of passive communication
  • with one's own guardian spirit or angel, also called Holy Guardian Angel (HGA)
  • with departed human beings and other beings

Step 6

Spirit

• meditation on your own spirit
• becoming conscious of the senses in the spirit

Astral (soul)

• preparation to master the Akasha principle (the ethers)
• conscious calling forth of states of trance by means of the Akasha
• mastering the Elements from the Akasha principle through an individual ritual

Physical

• conscious creation of spiritual entities: elementals, larvae, schemata, phantoms

Step 7

Spirit

• analysis of the spirit in regards to the practice

Astral (soul)

• the development of the astral senses (clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience) with the aid of the elements and fluid condensers.

see also: Stages of clairvoyance

Physical

• creation of elementaries (by four different methods)
• magical animation of pictures

Step 8

Spirit - mental travel OBE

• Preparation for mental travel
• Practice of mental travel (see also OBE)
  • In a room
  • for short distances
  • visiting acquaintances, relatives, etc.

Astral (soul)

• the great now and higher self-analysis
• the electric and magnetic fluids
  • Control of the electric fluid: the inductive and deductive methods
  • Control of the magnetic fluid: the inductive and deductive methods

See also: The two etheric streams

Physical - fluid condensers

• magical influence through the elements: fire (combustion/burning), air (evaporation), water (mixture), earth (putrefaction)
• fluid condenser
  • simple (single-fluid) condensers
  • compound (multi-fluid) condensers
  • for magic mirrors
  • preparation of magic mirror with the help of a fluid condenser

Step 9

Spirit - clairvoyance with magic mirror

• the practice of clairvoyance through magic mirrors
  • viewing through time and space
  • having an effect from afar through the magic mirror
  • various projection activities through the magic mirror
    • loading
    • as a gateway to all desired planes
    • as a communications Link between living and departed human beings
    • as an aid to contacting spiritual beings
    • as ameans of influencing oneself or others
    • as an instrument of emanation for impregnation of rooms and treatment of the ailing
    • as a transmitter and receiver
    • as an instrument of defense against harmful and undesirable influences
    • as a mechanism of projection of all energies, powers, forces, beings and pictures
    • as a television set
    • as an aid to study the past, the present and the future

Astral - astral travel OBE

• astral wandering or OBE: conscious separation of the astral from the physical body
• impregnation of astral body with the four divine attributes

Physical

• treatment of the sick through the electromagnetic fluid
• magical loading talismans, amulets and precious stones.
• volting: realization of a wish through the electromagnetic spheres in the Akasha

Step 10

Spirit

• the ascent of the spirit to higher planes

Astral - God-experience or Unification

• conscious communion with your personal god, see also God-experience
• communication with deities, etc.

Physical

The physical training ended with Step 9. Step 10 describes various methods of acquiring magical capabilities

• Suggestion
• Telepathy
• Hypnosis
• Mass hypnosis
• Thought or mind reading
• Psychometry
• Influencing the memory
• Working in the Akasha
• Room impregnation from a distance
• Messages through the air
• Exteriorization of only part of the astra-mental body to accomplish certain tasks
• Magical invisibility
  • see Cleansed phantom and resurrection body
• Advanced practices with the four elements
• Levitation phenomena
• Natural phenomena
• Power over life and death

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.300 illustrates the tetrapolar magnet and the electric and magnetic fluids (left). Right: cover from Key to True Kabbalah (KTK).

Schema FMC00.300B shows the diagram by Rudolf Steiner (see Four elements) as compared with Rawn Clark's version of the 'tetrapolar magnet' and the two 'electric and magnetic fluids' in IIH (as taken from A Bardon Companion). The diagram from 1923-12-27-GA233 (see Schema FMC00.300A was rotated and mirrored to get the same layout, and colours were added). See also and compare with The two etheric streams

Schema FMC00.133 shows, on the left, the structure of Man's bodily principles with the threefold soul or Human 'I'. On the right, from a very different angle, a schema by Rawn Clark mapping the ten steps in Bardon's IIH initiation book to the Gra Tree version of the 'Tree of Life'.

Comments on this drawing;

• the 'archetypal realm' represents the higher Spirit World (or formless arupa devachan), whereas
• the 'mental realm' below is the lower Spirit World (rupa devachan).
• Regarding the pillars of form, self and force at the left. This links to the Three dimensions of evolution, see also Schema FMC00.171 on Force substance presentation (or zooming out broader also meta schema FMC00.303 on Creation by the three Logoi). Also compare with the three pillars in the Jewish Kabbalah 'Tree of Life': Equilibrium between Justice and Mercy, see J and B pillars on Golden legend.

• Note the term Greater Self also maps to the concepts explained by Rudolf Steiner under Unification and Group souls of humanity, see also the description in FMC00.298 of the next CoL on Earth rounds perspective.

This 'concatenation' of the representations shows the pivotal consciousness soul as the central point requires to 'work' Man's higher triad of spirit self, life spirit and spirit man. See also Schema FMC00.128 on the Human 'I' page. More on Schema FMC00.133 under the Discussion section below.

Schema FMC00.148 gives an overview on the availability of IIH (and the other related books to Franz Bardon's teachings) in various languages.

More information on the various language versions also on this page on moryason.com

Schema FMC00.148A provides an overview of the various versions in German and English from six different publishers.

For English, the Rüggeberg Radspieler translation is preferred by most practitioners over the Merkur version. The 1987 fifth edition is available in PDF version in the public domain, and downloadable in the Reference section below on this page. However it is good to have a paper book version to accompany the practice. Note a new English edition is said to be expected from czechhermetics.

Schema FMC00.148B is an illustration showing various cover copies of the modern guide for self-initiation by Franz Bardon in German and English versions - see also Schema FMC00.148A.

Schema FMC00.487 shows a snapshot of a sample of 500 IIH practitioners' responses to an online questionnaire.

Whereas each individual is different (in terms of Individuality, elemental balance, spiritual maturity and karma), this table does provide a statistical sample illustrating the self-assessment feedback system in the IIH steps with consistency and repeatability in how groups of people are able to reach a certain stage of development in terms of spiritual faculties.

With auto-feedback is meant that in Bardon's system, the candidate uses an honest self-assessment on specific target criteria set for the exercises, as a qualifier before moving to the next step. Therefore the steps can be seen to represent 'bands' in the progress of spiritual development.

Lecture coverage and references

Dieter Ruggeberg

From an interview on hermeticmeditation.wordpress.com

Q: What inspired you to first promote Franz Bardon’s magical system?

A: In the beginning of the 60ths I came across the teachings of Rudolf Steiner where he pointed out that each human being has so much karmic debt on his shoulders that it is scarcely possible to remove it in one incarnation. These words impressed me very much and I thought by myself that it would not be enough to do the exercises of the Bardon book “Initiation into Hermetics” but moreover I had to reduce my karmic debt as much as possible at the same time. At that time, the English edition of “The Practice of Magical Evocation” was prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Pravica in Graz/Austria and I got my first chance to contribute to the Bardon books.

Around 1969 I was offered to take over the management of the published and unpublished works of Franz Bardon. According to the story in “Frabato” this duty was bound to the highest responsibility imaginable and laid on my shoulders as a very heavy weight. Therefore I was in good hope that an initiate would come soon to take the burden over, since I was an undeveloped person with no knowledge in book production at all. But since there was nobody else I agreed and started in 1970 with publishing the 2nd edition of “The Practice of Magical Evocation”. The initiate did not come and therefore I am today still in the same position as in 1970 but very thankful for the great chance I got to contribute to the spiritual development of mankind.

Q: What most disappoints or saddens you about your career promoting the works of Bardon.

A: After 32 years working for the Bardon books and the spreading of about 150 000 books around the world, there are not even ten students of Hermetics on this globe who support the Bardon work (printings, translations etc.) constantly with at least one dollar a year.

Q: What has most pleased you about your career promoting Bardon’s works?

A: The fact that I succeeded to publish the Bardon books in several languages and spread them all over the world so far, that probably no persecution can ever destroy all of them any more in the future.

Amazon reviews

below are some excerpts from twenty user reviews on Amazon

• "You cannot find more practical detailed exercises and information anywhere. Bardon, was a master ... If you follow his instructions, you will achieve amazing results. This is not your newspaper horoscope, or the power of positive thinking, this is the real deal"
• "When the student is ready the Master will arrive."This is 'the' book. Straight teachings of the secrets that were hidden or coded in the past."
• "Words utterly fail to effectively convey the importance of a book like this, but I will make an attempt anyway. Above all, this book is a sort of workbook which we were all so familiar with in elementary school. This book is a spiritual science book. It is divided into 10 steps, each step containing meditational exercises which, when mastered, lead directly to the next step of more challenging exercises, and so on and so on all the way up the step 10. As the student builds up his spiritual abilities with each step, he/she will become more and more like the great spiritual scientific Masters of all time, such as Christ, Buddha, Krishna, complete with the same miraculous powers and abilities of these past Masters."
• "This book is loaded from cover to cover with practical mind-training exercises - from developing the power of one's imagination, to training different senses and perfecting the ability to use them individually or in conjunction with each other; to working with the elements; transfering one's consciousness; generating and projecting energy; and much more. By the time you're done going thoroughly through all the exercises in this book and practicing them until you master them - your ability to use the power of your mind will increase beyond your wildest dreams - and you will have many interesting experiences along the way."
• "This volume is a workbook. The exercises it recommends are very specific and very concrete, and there are clear and measurable criteria for their correct completion. A simple reading of the text (without practicing the exercises) would almost necessarily be wholly unsatisfactory and even frustrating. Large numbers of startling inferences can be made from reading the text. However, only through practice can the inferences be verified or denied. Undoubtedly, many of the exercises recommended here are very difficult to achieve. The great attraction of the book is that it outlines an obviously rigorous system of practice that may lead the practitioner to a greatly enlarged, enhanced, and integrated life."
• "The exercises are not all unique to this work but the presentation, balance, and formulation of what to do and how to do are uncanny. .. This book is for extremely serious mature people who wish to develop the awareness and ability to interact with duality beyond normal sight and sound. It is for those that are ready to get some answers by the sweat of their efforts. All results that have the potential to lead to greatness will take time. Be patient and diligent if you decide to embark on this journey."
• "Anyone who reads this book will get an immediate sense that your search for truth is over. There is something about the book that strikes into your very soul, perhaps it is the sensation of looking at pure wisdom. Although the book is easy to read, it is quite another matter to be able to stick to the course. It really does require super-human will-power to complete the course. Very few people who read this book will be able to go the distance. Maybe one in a hundred thousand will accomplish this feat."
• "this [is] the only book they will ever need to achieve mastery of the microcosm and macrocosm. It is not for armchair theorists though... It is for one who is willing to do the work."
• "nowhere have I found the level of earnestness, accuracy, objectivity and efficiency that pervade through the pages of Bardon's teachings. The training he provides the apprentice with is undoubtedly the best available. ... Bardon does not compell students to use specific beliefs or rituals. His system is founded on individual liberty of conscience, on love and consideration for others, and on personal discipline. Devoted students of his method will achieve great things."
• "There is nothing else so thorough, detailed and scientifically arranged as this. It consists of 10 large groups of exercises. Once these are mastered, the practitioner is fully able to go on to any and all of the most advanced high magical practices. The techniques, carefully outlined in this book, are universally applicable...I cannot recommend any book more highly."
• "by providing practical steps for the development of one magic's powers on a physical, mental and psychic level, one develops into a new human being. "
• "Everyone is concentrating on how difficult this book is, but the moment you start you are changing, it's working already.. a bit of faith? it is not hard and not easy, but requires persistence."
• "Bardon's approach is bone dry, he leaves it to the student to add the flesh and "soul" to it. "
• "The thing I really liked about this book was that Bardon doesn't beat around the bush. He gets right to the point every time and his approach is very logical. His training methods may seem impractical or highly difficult but thats the way it is folks! If you have the willpower to commit then this book will show you what to do."
• "It will not be easy, and may take a lifetime to complete just a portion, but even in the early stages you will see a difference in yourself as your powers of concentration grow. "
• "the exercises are very clear, clean and crisp, and efficient and practical"
• "this book isn't for the casual dabbler or the wannabe wizard. This is a serious, PhD- level book for the Seeker on the Path who, like me, has passed through the many stages and levels of insight on their way to Mastery. It is beautiful in its dense Germanic imperative simplicity, and just getting through a chapter and getting it into your psychic marrow may take weeks or months. But the results will be well worth it, as the 'Ah-Ha!' light within your soul gradually brightens, and your world will never be the same again. .. This isn't for the timid, or the doubtful, or the casual dabbler. It won't blow up in your face like Crowley's stuff does, but it definitely will blow your mind if you are not ready to accept the responsibility that the exercises and techniques in this book will impart to you. I'd say that if you're under the age of 35, maybe you should wait to get this, because you should have some living under your belt to truly comprehend its impact on your life. "
• "This book is not for everybody .. This course can take a lifetime to amster if not many lifetimes for many people... it will also take many, many years to master the whole course. But be warned: it's only for the most disciplined, most determined students."
• "If I were to start my entire magic education over again I would buy this book and only this book. When you buy this book Franz Bardon is teaching you and you personally. His style is unmatched. His knowledge of hermetics are without rival. His caring and love of his fellow man is very very deep and great. All of this is reflected in the writing and publishing of this book. IIH is the greatest and most enriching book I have ever read in my life. Period."
• "For years I have searched for spiritual enlightenment and have spent thousands of hours and thousands of dollars and have received nothing in return but confusion. But my search ended joyfully as I discovered the Bardon books on hermetics. Nothing but nothing comes close to the wealth of information contained on only one page. The information is clear, understandable and totally logical."

Discussion

Elemental balance

In IIH steps 1 and 2, we are asked to work on elemental balance, by self-assessment of our character and self-transformation using the four elements. Later, the same principle is used at a higher mental level of the soul.

For further reading of notes from Bardon's students circle, see:

• Franz Bardon Questions and Answers
• The Universal Master Key

For a complementary spiritual scientific view and the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, first read the Discussion in the Theory section above, regarding the electric and magnetic fluids in IIH, considering the two etheric streams.

Now compare this with what Rudolf Steiner describes as Luciferic and Ahrimanic influences. Man's soul is a battlefield of different opposing spiritual beings and influences, and the Christ provides the balanced pathway between the two opposing influences.

• The Luciferic can be linked to warmth and air (or warmth and light ethers),
• the Ahrimanic to the elements of water and earth (or chemical and life ethers).

We can say that:

• the Luciferic work on our astral body and I, our air and warmth bodies or organisms, in willing and feeling.
• the Ahrimanic influence our etheric (fluid) and physical (mineral) bodies, and our thinking, and have the greatest influence in Man during his sleeping state.

Schema FMC00.133

This schema was added because of the interesting correlation between the outer left diagram and the two diagrams on the right.

Rawn Clark has followed Bardon's three books and has been instrumental in supporting other people doing so, a.o. with forum Q&As and the Bardon Companion guide(s). However he is not a scholar or into Rudolf Steiner's teachings or anthroposophy, and as an initiate developed his own terminology and works based on own experience.

Nevertheless, the schema shows that Clark's terminology, developed from experience and study of the Jewish Tree of Life, can be seen to correspond to the characteristics described extensively by Rudolf Steiner. The merit of the schema therefore is that an independent path of discovery has come to consistent results, thereby validating the overall framework and bringing together theory, or explanation (Steiner) and practice (Bardon).

The schema is worthwhile to contemplate, coming from both angles and with all the background from those two teachings, as of course each drawing wants to make a point but has its limitations.

See also Sephiroth

Rawn Clarke's Bardon Questionnaire

See: Schema FMC00.487

In the 14 months between 15 August 2002 and 15 October 2003, Rawn Clarke received 500 responses on his the Bardon Questionnaire. 

He wrote on his website (SWCC).

The online community of Bardon practioners now have a valuable statistical resource. If you're wondering how long it took folks to complete a specific Step, how many folks have read which books or have which interests, or the age ranges, genders or countries of online Bardonists, you now have a place to look for that information. 

Related pages

• Initiation
• Initiation exercises
• Franz Bardon and initiation
• Man's transformation and spiritualization

References and further reading

Initiation into Hermetics

• English version: digital PDF download
  • Version 1 and Version 2

Related books

see: Franz Bardon and initiation#References and further reading

Websites

Practitioners community sites exist, a.o. but not limited to:

• Falcon Books Publishing - see e.g. the interviews with practitioners.
• studentsoffranzbardon
• czechhermetics