Hermetic Synaxis Network
About This Website#
Hermeticism and the Hermetic Synaxis#
Hermeticism, also sometimes called Hermetism or the Way of Hermēs, is a form of esoteric spirituality based on the teachings and writings attributed to Hermēs Trismegistos and his students from the Roman period of classical Egypt, emerging from the synthesis and syncretism between Egyptian religiosity and Hellenistic philosophy.
The Hermetic Synaxis refers to two things:
An approach for engaging in the mysticism and magic of Hermeticism, combining devotional and theurgical practices to spiritually develop and elevate oneself according to the Hermetic texts.
The overarching community of practitioners, both those who operate on their own as well as those who operate in groups, who participate in this approach.
The Stoiba is the principal text that specifies the prayers, practices, protocols, and other processes of the Hermetic Synaxis. The Stoiba provides instruction and guidance to the practitioners and communities of the Hermetic Synaxis both as individuals and in groups, and is intended to be shared widely to encourage all humanity to leave corruption behind, take their share in immortality, and go forth to Life and Light.
The Hermetic Synaxis Network#
The Hermetic Synaxis Network is the first and primary resource for information about the practices and community of the Hermetic Synaxis. In late 2026, the principal author of the Stoiba, Sam Block (polyphanes), the author of the blog The Digital Ambler, launched the Hermetic Synaxis Network to share information about the Hermetic Synaxis and to host the Stoiba for free public dissemination and release. Both the Stoiba specifically and the Hermetic Synaxis generally are the result of years’ worth of study, research, refinement, and practice, both on his own as well as with others, to develop a way for all people to “do Hermeticism” and to encourage them to do just that, not just on their own but also in groups dedicated to that purpose.
Besides hosting the Stoiba, the Hermetic Synaxis Network also hosts an online forum for people interested in or engaged with the work of the Hermetic Synaxis to discuss and connect with each other so as to better facilitate the founding and growth of groups and the communication between them. Everyone is welcome to engage in the work of the Hermetic Synaxis on their own if they wish, but a real strength of the Hermetic Synaxis lies in forming and working in groups for everyone’s mutual benefit, development, and support. Because there is no surviving lineage of Hermetic teachers from classical times, turning to a group of one’s peers is the next best thing for guidance and assistance with the Work; on top of that, both the work of spirituality as well as the work of living in the world is made easier and more endurable when working with others by holding ourselves accountable to others as others hold themselves accountable for us, resulting in more profound experiences as well as ensuring systems of support and trust in our lives. Since the Hermetic Synaxis as a system is so new to the broader world, giving interested people a means to communicate among themselves is crucial for such a system to flourish as intended, especially given the intentionally decentralized nature of groups in the Hermetic Synaxis.
The Hermetic Synaxis Network is kindly hosted by Erik Arneson. The main website is generated through the Sphinx documentation generator using the Shibuya theme, the sphinx-design extension, the sphinxcontrib-jquery extension, and icon resources from Lucide; the Stoiba website is also generated with Sphinx using the Furo theme; the forums are generated with the XXXXXXX Internet forum software. Only tools, formats, and resources that are permissive, copyleft, open source, or public domain under their respective licenses are proudly used for this website and its resources.