The Adeptus Exemptus Grade (7°=4°): Governance of Wisdom and the Expansion of Mercy

The Adeptus Exemptus Grade (7°=4°) initiates the Adept into the Sephirah Chesed, the Sphere of Mercy, Order, and Spiritual Authority. Where Adeptus Major purified the use of force through severity and restraint, Adeptus Exemptus teaches governance through wisdom, balance, and benevolence. This grade marks the transition from personal mastery to responsible stewardship of power in service of higher order.

The primary purpose of the Adeptus Exemptus Grade is integration of authority with compassion. The Adept learns to oversee systems, forces, and inner dynamics without attachment, rigidity, or tyranny. Chesed is expansive and stabilizing; it preserves structure without stagnation and directs power without cruelty.

Required Reading and Archetypal Understanding

The Adeptus Exemptus reading curriculum explores archetypal intelligence, the nature of the Self, disciplined contemplation, and accelerated learning. Required texts include:

• Ars Notoria: The Grimoire of Rapid Learning by Stephen Skinner and Daniel Clark
• The Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious by Carl Jung
• Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self by Carl Jung
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

These works collectively deepen the Adept’s understanding of universal patterns, ethical leadership, and inner sovereignty. Jung’s writings illuminate the structure of the psyche at archetypal levels, while Stoic philosophy reinforces disciplined governance of thought and action. Ars Notoria introduces accelerated cognitive refinement aligned with divine order.

Psychological Integration and External Accountability

A unique and essential requirement of the Adeptus Exemptus Grade is ongoing work with a licensed therapist. This requirement reflects the understanding that higher spiritual authority demands psychological transparency and integration. The Adept must confront unconscious projections, unresolved complexes, and shadow material with honesty and responsibility.

This practice safeguards against inflation, delusion, and misuse of power; risks inherent at advanced levels of initiation.

Specialized Study and Material Preparation

The Adept is instructed to purchase tools and equipment necessary to pursue the subject of focused study chosen during the Adeptus Major Grade. This may involve scholarly, technical, artistic, or practical disciplines. The goal is to manifest wisdom through sustained engagement with a real-world system of knowledge, reinforcing Chesed’s role as organizer and stabilizer.

Ritual Practice and Planetary Authority

Ritual responsibility deepens significantly at this level. The Adept is required to perform:

• The Watchtower Ritual daily
• The Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram, used to create a talisman for each planetary force

These workings train the Adept to consciously engage planetary intelligences and to anchor cosmic principles into structured forms. Talismanic work at this level demands precision, ethical clarity, and restraint, as it directly interfaces with formative forces of consciousness.

All ritual work is meticulously recorded in the daily journal.

Tarot, Meditation, and Reflective Governance

The Celtic Cross Tarot spread continues as a daily practice, now used to assess long-term trajectories, systemic balance, and karmic patterns rather than immediate concerns.

Daily meditation remains mandatory, focusing on spacious awareness, equanimity, and non-reactivity. The Adept learns to govern inner states as a steward rather than a combatant.

The daily journal remains a vital instrument for reflection, accountability, and integration, recording insights, challenges, therapeutic work, and ritual effects.

Physical Discipline and Stability

The established exercise regimen must be continued, reinforcing Chesed’s principle that sustained strength arises from balance, consistency, and care rather than strain.

Sephirothic and Path Study

As an initiate of Chesed, the Adeptus Exemptus undertakes focused study of the Sephirah Chesed and the paths connected to it, particularly those linking to Geburah and Tiphareth. This study reveals how mercy stabilizes severity and how governance emerges from wisdom rather than control.

Duration and Aim of the Adeptus Exemptus Grade

The Adeptus Exemptus Grade must be practiced for a minimum of six months. This duration allows the Adept to fully integrate authority, compassion, and responsibility across psychological, ritual, and practical domains.

The ultimate aim of this grade is wise stewardship. By its completion, the Adept should demonstrate balanced leadership, psychological integration, disciplined magical authority, and the capacity to govern systems without personal attachment.

Only when mercy has been fully integrated with power may the Adept advance toward the supernal grades of Magister Templi (8°=3°) and beyond.