If you’ve been following along here at www.nicoleexplainsitall.blog, you know we’ve been going deep into the Corpus Hermeticum lately. We’ve talked about the history, the “All is Mind,” and the general vibe of this ancient Egyptian-Greek wisdom.
But today, I want to get specific. I want to talk about the exit strategy.
As a preppy goth witch living in Pasadena, I spend a lot of time thinking about aesthetics—what we wear, how we present ourselves. But Hermeticism teaches us that the ultimate goal is actually to get naked. Spiritually naked, that is.
The Soul’s Journey Down (and Back Up)
In the first book of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Poimandres, there is a fascinating description of how the soul enters the body. As we descend from the Divine Source into matter, we pass through the seven planetary spheres. At each stop, the planets hand us a “garment”—a specific trait or passion necessary for survival in the material world, but which can become a vice if we let it rule us.
It’s like putting on a heavy coat at every floor of a department store. By the time you get to the lobby (Earth), you are weighed down by all these layers.
The goal of the Hermetic path—the goal of Gnosis—is to climb back up the ladder. And to do that, you have to give the coats back.
The Cheat Sheet to Ascension
I realized that visualizing this “stripping” process can be a bit abstract, so I created a chart to break it down. This is essentially a roadmap for the soul.
While the text describes this happening after death, I look at this as the ultimate guide to Shadow Work right now. These are the seven things keeping us from our highest potential.
Here is the breakdown of what we have to surrender at each Cosmic Zone:
The 7 Zones of the Hermetic Ascent
| Zone | Associated Planet | The Vice to be Shed (The “Garment”) | Nicole’s Take / Modern Translation |
| First Zone | ☾ The Moon | Growth and Waning | This is our emotional volatility. It’s the mood swings and the biological instability. We have to let go of fluctuating like the tides. |
| Second Zone | ☿ Mercury | Machinations of Evil | Using your smarts for the wrong reasons. This is cunning, trickery, and intellectual dishonesty. |
| Third Zone | ♀ Venus | Lust & Deceit | Not love, but obsession. The illusion that another person (or object) can complete you. It’s desire without spirit. |
| Fourth Zone | ☉ The Sun | Dominance & Arrogance | Main Character Syndrome gone wrong. The need to be seen as the boss, the ruler, the one in charge just for the ego boost. |
| Fifth Zone | ♂ Mars | Unholy Audacity | Recklessness. Being bold without wisdom. It’s that hot-headed anger that burns bridges. |
| Sixth Zone | ♃ Jupiter | Greed (Evil Resources) | The accumulation of wealth or power just for the sake of hoarding it. It’s using resources to control others. |
| Seventh Zone | ♄ Saturn | Ensnaring Falsehood | The lies we tell to trap people. Saturn restricts, and here it represents the rigid constriction of truth. |
| The Eighth | ★ The Ogdoad | (None) | The destination. Here, you are stripped of the 7 vices. You are just You—pure, divine energy singing with the choir of the cosmos. |
Why This Matters Now
You don’t have to wait until the end of your life to start working on this list. In fact, Hermeticism asks us to start now.
Look at the Fourth Zone (The Sun). Are you dominating conversations because you need to feel powerful? Look at the Second Zone (Mercury). Are you using your tech skills or your wit to manipulate a situation?
When we identify these traits in ourselves, we aren’t just “being better people”—we are lightening the load of the soul. We are practicing the art of returning to the One.
Let me know in the comments which “Zone” you find the hardest to clear. Personally, living in LA, that Fourth Zone (Arrogance/Dominance) is something I see people struggling with every day!
Stay magical!
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