Great Work Great Work The term Great Work (magnum opus) is a term used in Hermeticism and in certain occult traditions and religions such as Thelema. The Great Work signifies the spiritual path towards self-transcendence in its entirety. This is the process of bringing unconscious complexes into the conscious awareness, in order to integrate them back into oneself. Accomplishing the Great Work, symbolized as the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, represents the culmination of the spiritual path, the attainment of enlightenment, or the rescue of the human soul from the unconscious forces which bind it. Eliphas Levi (1810–1875), one of the first
Great Work of conscious devotion to the Great Work is very important. By purposefully, consciously turning inward and choosing to pursue self-realization, the seeker seals themself in their very own "vas hermeticum", their very own alchemical vessel. This attitude of deliberate turning within is necessary for the Great Work. By consciously devoting oneself to the Great Work, and therefore sealing oneself within one's own "vas hermeticum", the inner heat of psychic struggle which is generated from this aids in the dissolution of ego boundaries and the integration of what is unconscious. Within the system of the A∴A∴ magical Order the Great Work