Illumination: What’s Next After Ascension, on the Path of the Hermit?

It's wonderfully inspiring that I was just discussing this subject, with one of my advanced students. The sheer breath of fresh air that this person brought me, in their interest of my wisdom- led me into the depths of my heart song. I could teach about God, Heaven, and Spirit all day!

In our conversation, to see an honest but enthusiastic true seeker, reveal their thoughts on studies, life and the path of illumination brought forth a lot of my own desire to keep teaching. It isn't easy when it seems like not many others are invested as much these days. Yet, it stirred so much of my divine light and I realized… I earnestly yearn to communicate heaven’s knowledge. And so, even if there are only a few still willing to listen, I’ll speak it.

God is my life. No, not since some trend of pushed Christianity during one time or another, and no, not because of some New Age Movement. It's not because of a political view, or any trendy thing. My Love for God, is because God is real. No book, or man can define him. Since the age of 3, I started my journey as a student of the Lord, and I've wanted to share all that he and the angels have shared with me throughout my life, with as many people as I can.

Sure, I could be likened to a literal hermit. I walked my path with God alone, learning through his voice and visions, the angels, but my place in the tree of life is at the crown. The halo. Heaven taught me through the reality and spiritual quality of illumination both. The pure light. Many get stuck in the actual path of the hermit though. I was speaking on that in my last post. But what comes next?

In the esoteric journey mapped by the Tree of Life, the Path of the Hermit (Hokhmah) is a sacred but often misunderstood stage. It calls the seeker into deep introspection, solitude, and the mirror of self-reflection. Here, you confront the ego, examine how the world has shaped you, and begin the inner alchemy that leads to ascension.

Many experience profound awakening during this phase. Higher self connection deepens, intuition sharpens, and the veils of illusion begin to thin. Yet this is precisely where so many souls become stuck.

From the teachings I’ve shared across my platforms and in past conversations, the reasons for stagnation are clear. Seekers turn inward so completely that the journey shifts from divine interconnectedness and the true bond with God to something narrower: “How does the world affect me? How do I see life?” The focus narrows to ego work alone, and instead of ascending beyond the reflection, they remain fixated on the surface of the pool.

Some slip back into trends or external validations. Others choose solitary travel, convinced isolation is the highest path. Pride can creep in. “I have the answers now.” While others freeze in unworthiness, believing they are not yet “good enough” to move forward. These are the same barriers we’ve explored before: vibrational mismatches, unresolved ego density, and the illusion that spiritual growth is only personal rather than a bridge to the Creator. Environmental energies, unhealed wounds, or even the comfort of the “hermit cave” keep the soul looping instead of rising.

The path does not end in the Hermit’s lantern-lit solitude, nor does ascension through this gate (Hokhmah) lead straight to the Crown as some might assume. What comes next is a profound integration. The sacred merging of Binah, Hokhmah, Din, and Hesed.

This integration, presented here from the outer temple view, reveals itself as the living architecture of the divine blueprint. In the outer court of the temple, the visible structure where the pillars stand, you first encounter the balanced forces that hold creation together. Hokhmah (the flash of divine wisdom, the primal spark of the masculine pillar) and Binah (the womb of understanding, the receptive depth of the feminine pillar) form the supernal gateway.

Below them, Hesed (the expansive flow of mercy and loving-kindness) and Din (the contracting power of judgment and strength, also known as Gevurah) create the ethical pillars that frame the temple entrance. These are not abstract concepts or distant sephiroth to “reach” later. From the outer temple perspective, they are the immediate architecture you step into once the Hermit’s reflection (Hokhmah) has been truly transcended.

My course teaches this same process from inside the temple, where the union becomes an embodied, living reality rather than an observed structure. In the deeper layers of my Tantra course (where this teaching lives in its full potency), we explore how these four forces are not separate stages but interdependent energies that must be woven together within the self. Hokhmah’s lightning insight meets Binah’s nurturing form. Hesed’s boundless compassion tempers and is tempered by Din’s precise boundary. From the outer temple view you stand between the pillars of Boaz and Jachin, no longer observing them but becoming the equilibrium they represent. You integrate the expansive and the contracting, the giving and the receiving, the knowing and the understanding. Until the temple is no longer “outside” you. It lives as your living psyche, your embodied divine structure.

This step is vital because the entire spiritual journey is about return to wholeness. The Hermit phase (Hokhmah) refines the soul through tests, lessons, and growth, but staying there turns sacred solitude into a trap. Life and mindset can become that “surface mirror” I often warn about, beautiful for a time, yet limiting if it never leads upward. True ascension requires transcending the personal reflection to embody the balanced temple within: no longer just knowing the higher self, but living as the harmonious union of these divine forces in every breath, every choice, every connection. It is the shift from awakening to full illumination, where Christ consciousness (or the balanced divine state of unconditional love and unity we’ve discussed in earlier lessons on enlightenment) becomes your natural expression.

Why does this matter so deeply on the journey? Because the soul’s purpose was never meant to remain in the cave or even in isolated glory. The Tree of Life shows us a living map of ascent and descent. Energy flows both ways. You integrate Binah, Hokhmah, Din, and Hesed from the outer temple view so you can bring that balanced glory inward and upward, anchoring heaven on earth. You become a clear channel, free from the densities that once held you, able to move through the world as the living temple itself. Past conversations on connecting with the higher self, clearing blockages, and moving through stages of enlightenment all point here: the work you do now prevents the very stuckness we’ve seen so often. Daily practices, energetic clearings, and disciplined inner work are not optional. They are the bridge that carries you from the lantern of the Hermit (Hokhmah) into the radiant, integrated temple of your true divine design.

So if you feel the pull of the Hermit’s reflection calling you back, remember: the path doesn’t end in shallow waters or even in solitary ascent. Don’t get stuck when there is the glory of integration waiting in the outer temple and beyond. Step between the pillars. Balance the forces. Become the living balance. Your best life and the divine life you were always meant to live is waiting. Claim it.

With love and illumination,

Alura Cein

Please explore more at “The Hidden Codex-Bible Untold” and “Tantra”courses at my school MetaMystics www.illuminationofmetatron.com