Great Work () is a term used in Hermeticism and occult traditions descended from it, such as Thelema. 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. 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.
Ceremonial magic
Eliphas Levi
Eliphas Levi (1810–1875), one of the first modern ceremonial magicians and inspiration for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, discussed the Great Work at length, giving it a spiritual meaning by analogy to the alchemical of 'perfecting' lead into gold and mortality into immortality:
He further defined it as such:
Thelema
Within Thelema, the Great Work is generally defined as those spiritual practices leading to the mystical union of the Self and the All through the accomplishment of True Will. Its founder, author and occultist Aleister Crowley, re-iterated the idea of the unification of opposites, saying in his book Magick Without Tears:
Although the Great Work can describe specifically the moment of union between the self and the divine, it can also deal with the spiritual process in its entirety. Crowley also speaks on the Great Work as the conscious process of spiritual growth. The aspect of conscious devotion to the Great Work is very important.