Everything IFS Blog

A contemplative teaching from the Corpus Hermeticum exploring the nature of the Good. Hermes teaches that only the Divine is truly Good, while all created things participate in goodness without possessing it. Through a metaphysical and IFS-informed lens, this Tractate helps readers see how inner parts confuse safety, success, or relief with goodness, and how contact with the Good arises through recognition rather than striving.

The culminating teaching of the Corpus Hermeticum, Tractate VII presents truth as a mode of seeing rather than a doctrine to grasp. Hermes describes illumination as clarity arising when inner obstructions fall away and the soul becomes transparent to the Divine Mind. Read through a metaphysical and IFS-informed lens, this Tractate reveals how unblending from inner illusions allows Self-energy, clarity, and truth to emerge naturally.

One of the most foundational teachings in the Corpus Hermeticum, Tractate X presents a map of reality itself. Hermes is shown how the Divine Mind structures existence through intelligible principles that give rise to the visible world. Read through a metaphysical and Internal Family Systems (IFS)–informed lens, this Tractate reveals how inner order mirrors cosmic order, and how clarity arises when Self and parts are understood as expressions of one living system.

Tractate IV of the Corpus Hermeticum turns inward to explore the nature, journey, and destiny of the human soul. Hermes describes the soul’s descent into embodiment, the forgetting that arises through identification with the world, and the gradual return to inner remembrance. Read through a metaphysical and Internal Family Systems (IFS)–informed lens, this Tractate reveals how clarity returns as the soul remembers itself beneath roles, defenses, and survival patterns.

Tractate V of the Corpus Hermeticum presents an intimate initiation rather than a public teaching. Through the symbolic ascent of the mountain, Hermes guides the inner disciple toward a second birth of consciousness, where false identifications fall away and inner clarity emerges. Read through a metaphysical and Internal Family Systems (IFS)–informed lens, this Tractate reveals transformation as subtraction, showing how awakening unfolds as burdened parts release and Self-ene

Tractate VII of the Corpus Hermeticum explores the nature of Mind itself, distinguishing between the reactive mortal mind and the luminous, divine Mind that underlies all awareness. Hermes teaches that true clarity arises not through effort or analysis, but through recognition of the awareness beneath thought. Read through a metaphysical and Internal Family Systems (IFS)–informed lens, this Tractate reveals how discernment emerges when reactive parts soften and Self-energy be

Tractate IV reveals the Hermetic Key not as an object or ritual, but as an inner act of recognition. Awakening begins when attention turns inward and the Divine Mind is remembered as the true seat of perception. This teaching marks the first true initiation of the Corpus Hermeticum.

A human figure standing within a soft, diffused fog while a clear, luminous presence shines quietly behind it, symbolizing ignorance as inner forgetfulness and the remembering Self that dissolves the veil, inspired by Tractate VI of the Corpus Hermeticum.

Tractate VIII is the most intimate moment in the Corpus Hermeticum, where the Divine Mind speaks directly to Hermes, not through metaphor, but through transmission. This teaching reveals that true knowledge is not learned but remembered, and that clarity arises when inner noise quiets. Read through an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, this Tractate illuminates the difference between reactive parts and the deeper Self where divine understanding naturally emerges.

Tractate IX reveals the turning point of the Hermetic path, where understanding becomes perception and wisdom becomes lived clarity. Known as The Key of the Master, this teaching shows that awakening does not come from acquiring knowledge but from refining the inner lens through which reality is seen. Hermes is taught that the true key is not doctrine or ritual, but the capacity to discern essence from illusion, Self from reactive parts, and truth from distortion. This Tracta

Tractate II expands the initial revelation of Divine Mind into a sweeping vision of reality itself. Known as The General Sermon, this teaching reveals the universe as a living, intelligent order where nothing exists in isolation and every level of existence reflects a deeper harmony. Hermes is shown that humanity stands at the center of this vast structure, capable of forgetfulness or remembrance, reactivity or alignment. This Tractate reframes life not as randomness or chaos

Tractate III, The Sacred Discourse, brings Hermetic teaching into an intimate space of transmission. On the mountain of revelation, Hermes guides Tat beyond sensory perception toward the direct recognition of unity, showing that the divine is not distant but present as the very light of awareness. This discourse reveals how awakening begins not through belief, but through remembrance and a shift in inner vision.

Tractate I opens the Corpus Hermeticum not with doctrine or instruction, but with a direct encounter between the human mind and the Divine Mind itself. Through the vision of Pymander, Hermes is shown that the universe is alive, intelligent, and continuously arising from consciousness. This Tractate establishes the core Hermetic truth that all things are Mind-made and that knowing oneself is the doorway to knowing the All.

Tractate III introduces the Crater, the sacred Cup of Mind poured out by the Divine as an invitation to awakening. This teaching describes the moment when a human being is offered a choice between living under unconscious fate or turning inward toward conscious, self-aware life. To drink from the Cup is not to escape the world, but to be reborn in perception, guided by clarity, presence, and inner truth rather than impulse and repetition.