Radiant Star
11-24-2006, 05:34 PM
Hermeticism
Hermeticism is part of the Western Esoteric (or Mystery) Tradition. This tradition is made up of many threads of philosophical, spiritual and ritualistic elements, but is based primarily upon the Corpus Hermeticum – believed to have been inspired by Hermes Trismegistus or "thrice-great Hermes". This name comes from the mythical coupling of the Graecian god Hermes and the Egyptian god of wisdom and magick, Thoth.
The Corpus Hermeticum and other associated documents such as the Asclepius and The Emerald Tablet are the foundational Hellenistic writings of the Hermetic tradition. There was substantial documentation attributed to Hermes, much of it lost to the modern world, but it is the collection we now call the Corpus Hermeticum which found its way to Italy in the mid 15th century. It was translated there by Marsilio Ficino from the Greek and this enabled its entry into the West.
Raison d’etre
It is the Great Work towards the eventual attainment of union with the Divine that underpins the practices and philosophies of Hermeticism. The belief in the Hermetic concept of "as above, so below" which comes from The Emerald Tablet: “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing.” The principle is that everything that happens on physical, mental and spiritual levels in oneself, also happens in the universe, the microcosm of self is reflected in the macrocosm as much as the macrocosm is reflected in the microcosm. This work towards divine understanding or gnosis makes use of astrology, kabbalah, meditation, music, pathworking, ritual, symbolism and theurgy depending on personal preference or the tenets of their society.
Orders, societies, groups and people
Just a little research into the following list of groups and a selection of the more widely known associates of them will give an idea of how much the Corpus Hermeticum and associated writings have influenced Western esotericism:
Classical period(3500 BC – 500 AD)
Gnostics
Neo-Platonists
Middle Ages (500 – 1500 AD)
Alchemists such as Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus
Judaic Kabbalists
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
Modern Era (1500 – late 1900s)
Alchemists: Nicholas Flamel, the physician Isaac Newton and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Argenteum Astrum: Aleister Crowley
Freemasons & Rosicrucians: William Robert Woodman; William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
Gnostics
Grail traditions
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Max Theon
Hermetic Kabbalists
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: Mathers, Westcott and Woodman (full names as above) and Israel Regardie
Illuninatists
Neo-pagans
New Age Movement
Rosicrucians: Isaac Newton
Satanists
Stella Matutina
The OTO
Theosophists: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Wiccans
Other well-known Hermeticists include: John Dee, Robert Fludd, Giordano Bruno, Count of St Germain, Eliphas Levi, Arthur Edward Waite, Franz Bardon and Manly Palmer Hall.
Hermeticism is part of the Western Esoteric (or Mystery) Tradition. This tradition is made up of many threads of philosophical, spiritual and ritualistic elements, but is based primarily upon the Corpus Hermeticum – believed to have been inspired by Hermes Trismegistus or "thrice-great Hermes". This name comes from the mythical coupling of the Graecian god Hermes and the Egyptian god of wisdom and magick, Thoth.
The Corpus Hermeticum and other associated documents such as the Asclepius and The Emerald Tablet are the foundational Hellenistic writings of the Hermetic tradition. There was substantial documentation attributed to Hermes, much of it lost to the modern world, but it is the collection we now call the Corpus Hermeticum which found its way to Italy in the mid 15th century. It was translated there by Marsilio Ficino from the Greek and this enabled its entry into the West.
Raison d’etre
It is the Great Work towards the eventual attainment of union with the Divine that underpins the practices and philosophies of Hermeticism. The belief in the Hermetic concept of "as above, so below" which comes from The Emerald Tablet: “That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing.” The principle is that everything that happens on physical, mental and spiritual levels in oneself, also happens in the universe, the microcosm of self is reflected in the macrocosm as much as the macrocosm is reflected in the microcosm. This work towards divine understanding or gnosis makes use of astrology, kabbalah, meditation, music, pathworking, ritual, symbolism and theurgy depending on personal preference or the tenets of their society.
Orders, societies, groups and people
Just a little research into the following list of groups and a selection of the more widely known associates of them will give an idea of how much the Corpus Hermeticum and associated writings have influenced Western esotericism:
Classical period(3500 BC – 500 AD)
Gnostics
Neo-Platonists
Middle Ages (500 – 1500 AD)
Alchemists such as Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus
Judaic Kabbalists
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
Modern Era (1500 – late 1900s)
Alchemists: Nicholas Flamel, the physician Isaac Newton and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Argenteum Astrum: Aleister Crowley
Freemasons & Rosicrucians: William Robert Woodman; William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers
Gnostics
Grail traditions
Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor: Max Theon
Hermetic Kabbalists
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: Mathers, Westcott and Woodman (full names as above) and Israel Regardie
Illuninatists
Neo-pagans
New Age Movement
Rosicrucians: Isaac Newton
Satanists
Stella Matutina
The OTO
Theosophists: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Wiccans
Other well-known Hermeticists include: John Dee, Robert Fludd, Giordano Bruno, Count of St Germain, Eliphas Levi, Arthur Edward Waite, Franz Bardon and Manly Palmer Hall.