Group Review: Λεύκωσις: The Rough Stone and the Living Statue

I'll share my notes and understading here.

So for me, we start with learning that we have many factors that influence our lives, but the master arranges everything to fit his evolution of self.

To start, the birth of a human is the process of stones coming together and through proper cleaning and purification, we become the marble. To chisel is hardly ever gentle. This is a distinction after the "smoothing over" of purification. To really purify ourselves beforehand is of utmost importance. And so I quote from the page:

"The sculpting of the self is, first, a work of removal."

Moving on to another quote:

"A virtue practised once is a statue untied."

To be absolute here, virtue is practiced and maintained lifelong. The chisel never chips, it strikes onto the stone half-hearted, without making a difference. As long as you actively continue to work on yourself, you are truly to connecting to Zeus and the Gods here.

Perceptions, mentalities, psychological reasonings influenced by society, mass religion and culture can have one, to an extent, chisel the statue unknowingly for better or for worse. The current era unfortunately is set up for worse. But it does make one wonder where the world could be with Zevism as a powerful positive influence on the world, and the natural sculpting most humans would fall into.

Moving on, don't be afraid of difficult things, as any advancements made to overcome them is power and order created within you. How many times has High Priest Zevios Metathronos used the comparison of going to the gym to become stronger. It's so simple and universal to see any test of life as just another weight to carry and train with, a new exercise to perform, and a new PR (personal record) to reach. Either way, you compete against yourself, and your opportunity to be the victorious one is always there and present.

So the more you do, the more you become, and the more confidence you have to perform even more. Do something "slightly more" than you usually do each day, and maintain it. When it no longer feels uncomfortable or as a heavy load, do "slightly more" again and repeat this cycle. This is self training, and prepares the body and soul for any future life difficulties.

Don't pressure yourself to be in a rush for perfection. All you need to do is start. Start slow if you have to, but never stop for too long. Maintain a steady build, as consistently as you can.

But maybe the most important revelation for me. Sculp yourself, and through your character proven by actions, the God in you begins to shine. The Gods are revealed, through you. This really places me in a state of wonder and awe.

When it comes to losses and failures being conduits for growth, I'll share a short example of having gone through loss. The losses in my love life led me to have the character that attracted my current wife to me. I was cheated on in my younger years by women I thought were the love of my life. I've had "crushes" laugh in my face because of "embarrassing acts" I did to even slightly elicit an attraction from them. I remember I had a first date where I was asked to smoke weed with her (mind you, I was already free from doing any of this) but because I didn't want her to potentially be uncomfortable, I smoked.

Of course, this led to a very awkward interaction and all chances with her were blown. Skipping a few months ahead I had another first date with a girl I had a feeling wasn't the smoker type, but because she thought I smoked, (I used to give out this vibe apparently), she asked if I wanted to smoke. I really liked her, so with a little bit of backbone and especially not to completely ruin my chances I told her, "I don't think we're going to need to do that."

This led to one of the greatest days & nights of my life, and we're happily together to this day. 11 years later. I'm reminded now to state we need to believe in ourselves, just as much as we believe in the Gods, and act on this.

Moving on to the meditative practices shared in the Temple, the act of protecting yourself, in order to properly continue working on yourself, is already an act of sculpting on its own. To those who clean and protect their auras everyday, it's interesting to notice how much one changes because of this consistent practice.

"be gracious, Hephaestus, and grant excellence and prosperity."

So noticing this prayer is written more than once on this page to tune in the mind and acknowledge the blessings of the great work. I can also connect another quote from the Philosophical Page titled "Noble Speech," and start the prayer with: "Great is Zeus... and be gracious ect,.." I started this short prayer today upon waking.

So now, be objective in this process and see the work as an act of love for yourself while removing what is unhealthy. Here, I can also connect a quote from Astarte's ethics from Love and Hate: "Love yourself to grow, but hate the aspects of yourself that you must improve upon, so you can love yourself all the more!"

Take inspiration from others, but trust in yourself, to become an improved version of yourself. This applies to the confidence I mentioned above, because confidence and trust can go hand in hand. And of course, there's a fine balance between work and rest. Do your best to find that balance and if you fail, you start again. Now with more knowledge and experience.

To finish off here, the protective power of your Guardian Daimon really starts to manifest through you. This is the transformation at the summit and from there, more power is given to the powerful as more wisdom is given to the wise.

Thank you NG Lucius Invictus for starting this discussion.

I may not be so advanced, I am still in the alchemical chaos. Yet there is one lesson that has been consistently hammered into me: repetition.

Sometimes, we think we have finally understood a lesson, only for another trial to appear on our path. For so long, I found myself stuck on the virtue of Freedom and the Fall. But with time, I began to understand what was being asked of me, especially when I reflected on the words concerning freedom:

“One is free to listen, or not to listen. To apply knowledge, or not to apply it.”

I began reflecting on the countless times our High Priest has urged us to act, to put knowledge into practice rather than merely understand it intellectually.

But there is something that follows the Fall: resistance, pain, trials, and errors. There is destruction, the weight of confronting our past actions, and the difficult process of making peace with what we have done. At the same time, we are trying to cultivate positive habits, develop the virtues we need, and become the people we aspire to be.

Yet even in this pursuit, we sometimes discover that we have not created enough space within ourselves for the very qualities we are trying to cultivate. Old patterns remain. Resistance resurfaces. We stumble, reflect, learn, and begin again. And so the cycle continues.

It was only when I began to turn inward, to reflect and observe myself more consciously, that I started noticing something I had previously overlooked: even in the midst of all this chaos, there is a shape taking form.

Perhaps the repetition is not merely a lesson being hammered into me, but an invitation to embody what I have learned. Perhaps understanding is only the beginning, while application, through trial and error, is where the real work unfolds.

I may not yet be where I desire to be, and I may still have much to unlearn, rebuild, and reconcile within myself. But I am beginning to recognize that transformation does not always announce itself through immediate clarity or visible progress.

Sometimes, it reveals itself through the very struggles we once believed were holding us back.

And so, I will continue to observe, to reflect, to apply, and to correct myself where necessary.

The chaos may still be unfolding, but the work must continue.

The metaphor of the stone is important across all the themes analyzed.

The perfect stone doesn't exist in nature, therefore it is useless to search for it. Every stone is imperfect, but thanks to out work, it can be perfectioned. That applies to our Souls. We can Meditate to elevate ourselves towards perfection. Perhaps, this is one reason of why Alchemy is sometimes called the Great Work.

Not a recipe with steps, but a constant work done everyday.

To all Zevists: we are going to do this frequently for posts in the Temple of Zeus. You are also welcome to join in!

The Rules and Goals:

One member will select a text to review, we will read it (on our own time but as a group overall). That person will make a new post about it, and others will also comment with our own insights.

This will help expand your own awareness and understanding of these topics, increase ability to write your thoughts and insights, and ensure we all make it through the updates in the ToZ.

Writing and reviewing helps to formulate our thoughts, and helps us remember and recall what we've read. Learning, not just skimming. Your overall comprehension skills will expand by participating in this project.

Whoever makes the most insightful reply, will have the honor of selecting the next text for us to review, but we will also try to ensure each participating member has a chance to select and write the first review.

It can be in the Advanced Philosophy section, Personalities, about one of our Gods, our Holidays, Ethics, Magick, and article in the Library... anything in the ToZ.

We will try to finish each page and make a reply, even just a short sentence or paragraph, within one week from the first post being published. Each thread will be made into an Announcement.

Happy studying!

Only constant and painstaking work on oneself can bring visible results.

It is very important for every Zevist to cultivate a strong work ethic.

Indeed, consistent and intentional self-work is the only authentic path toward genuine, long-term transformation. Cultivating a disciplined and rigorous work ethic is not merely a suggestion, but an essential foundation for every Zevist as we collectively strive to refine our souls, strengthen our connection to the divine, and manifest the living reality of the Temple.

Just as a structure is only as strong as its foundation, our spiritual progress depends entirely on the deliberate, day-to-day effort we invest in our own growth and the service we provide to our community.

Good post NG!

About purification, I usually combine it with study from ToZ, like the Ethics, or similar topics, sometimes I feel like I'm guided towards certain things, like documentaries on nature to realize some things, or I recieve other kinds of signs.

Study is an everyday activity for a Zevist, this is also an aspect of devotion.

Studying Ethics for example, accelerates purification, as it improves your mind and consciousness.

About the statue instead, I think about what a statue is. Think of the statue of Lord Zeus. It is a symbol of the maximal masculine force incarnated, an example, something that make us think, something that helps us understand the nature of that aspect of God.

So if I have my own statue, what can this show to others (since I don't need it for me to show me something)? The example of a virtuos man that tried his best to be the closest to the Gods, that worked in order to manifest their Will (Maat Decrees).

An example for humanity and other Zevists, when completed.

Also, on a separate note, look at Odysseus from the Book Odysse and Iliad. He has a lot of characteristics of Goddess Athena, and this Goddess also guided Him in many many cases, including the plan for His return to Ithaca.

So a statue of Odysseus, will also show His journey and His Guardian Goddess' presence through Him. (If Goddess Athena is His Guardian)

A statue therefore is what remains, what is visibile to others. But the core, the Heart, that also keep track of your Karma (actions), goes to the Judgement Procedure (The A. Egyptian lore here).

The statue is also shapen by your actions (karma). So from a starting point, you end up with something Great and Honorable, or with something incomplete if you dont do the efforts.

I absolutely loved reading this

I can remember when the Gods fall silent, that they have placed the opponent in-front of me, and often not only had I not begun to wrestle, I was busy asking for further opponents .

here are some notes and reflections I made upon reading this wonderful passage as well as some of your thoughts NG

Plotinus (1.6.9) urges us to “Go back into yourself and look. And if you don't yet see yourself beautiful, then, as the maker of a statue that is to become beautiful cuts away here, smooths there, makes this part light and that part clean, until he has brought out a beautiful face on the statue…”

There is an essence of self acceptance that I get from this quote ,

This asks us to reflect and be aware of ourselves and our state, not with the intent to self punish, or loath in our faults, but to see them as opportunities for growth.

If we don’t like what we see, that’s the sign that we need to start to chisel and smooth away.

This act of bringing beauty out of ourselves is in itself a demonstration of self love and acceptance as we work on the solution and the lesson instead of just fixating on the issues that lie within .

“One thing that a lot of Zevists do (from experience) is purify their soul and expect to be made virtuous without any additional effort. However, what actually happens is a tug-of-war between what your soul is becoming and what you haven’t changed to reflect your increasing standard of purity.”

I see this a lot in myself, in recent years I would do some purification , or a specific God ritual, and I would notice certain things improving or fixing on their own.

Certain thought patterns, unhealthy fixations or desires , hang ups etc, and while that did provide temporary growth, healing , or change of attitude , without proper action to back those things up, their effects would often fade.

The purification would clean my house, but I continued to keep littering inside it,

And to repeat the purification cycles without practicing what they were trying to teach me is not respecting the process.

Conversely , during times where I actually stepped away from this process of purification for one reason or another,  but at the same time I made some difficult choices, commitments, change of habits, or coming to terms with big changes not only in how act I externally, but what I choose to feed into mentally and energetically, it finally gave the roots of all that purification work a place to grow

I stopped littering inside the house, so the cleaning actually was more effective and had lasting purpose .

“a gentle partner makes a weak wrestler. Epictetus asks his students to read every hardship as a partner chosen by a God who wants them to win.

He also told them to count the cost before they began. "You want to win at Olympia? So do I, by the Gods, for it's a fine thing. But consider what comes before and what follows." “

I find this at the forefront of what I’m currently navigating in my life.

Many of us ask the Gods for big opportunities.

We would like to one day achieve high financial standing, High rank among the temple or an extremely advanced soul, yet when we are at the bottom of this mountain we fail to possibly understand what these things really consist of and the responsibility and cost associated with it.

We have big shoes we want to fill, and yet we often desire to get there without difficulty or pain.

We must learn to embrace the challenge, and become accustomed to grappling with the resistance that comes with the goals we set out, embracing with love for we know these are the tools that will shape us.

Overall I’m left with these thoughts,

Through the Gods, this Temple, and my own reflection and place in the path, I’m Given big ideas , grandiose plans, both long and short term, and incredible insight into how I am and how to get where I wish to be. But intentions and plans will never replace action and consistency . This is not just where the foundation is built, it’s where we learn to have staying power . Some of my largest personal strides recently , were not associated with a rise in power, but instead a re examining of my relationship with certain ethics, honest reflection and assessment of how I emulate these in my daily life and my personality , and really considering what parts of myself am I hesitant to let go of that are relentlessly holding me back. Many of these things I was aware of in some way and foolishly thought I could leave on the back burner and continue to evolve. Some of the hardest changes became easy once true acceptance was reached .

I found immense value in reading this with you all, and I know I will find myself returning for further reflection 🙏🏼