Hermeticism From the Philosopher's Stone to the Illuminati ': common origin?
- 2019
In search of The Truth ...
Anyone who claims to know about Occultism and does not know - or at least have read - about Hermeticism, is most likely making an inadmissible mistake, given the importance that it has to achieve one of the main objectives of esoteric sciences: find The Truth .
In fact, the semantic relationship between these two terms - in their general meanings - suggests a common origin. Let's see:
Hidden : Incognito. Without being seen. In secret, without advertising
Hermetic : Impenetrable, closed .
However, there is an important and significant difference: the term Occultism originates from the general meaning of the term ' hidden ', while the term Hermeticism does not originate from ' hermetic '; on the contrary, the latter is born from the first. This relation of synonymy can also be applied, to some extent, between the hermetic sciences and theosophy.
Why is this difference so important for the student of the esoteric?
She suggests - of course, it also implies a deeper study - that Hermeticism is the primary root of Occultism and not a derivative of it, just as some arcane studies - may be somewhat light - suggest.
But, there is something more important on this issue than solving the eternal dilemma of the 'egg and the chicken'; knowing The Truth about Hermeticism is a necessary matter for the occult student; This includes from understanding its foundations, to why we relate it to issues such as the Illuminati and the Philosopher's Stone .
It is our intention to develop through a series of articles - and with the contribution of the readers - a set of ideas related to the Hermeticism that help to reveal how this millenary philosophy manifests itself in most occult themes - and others not so much - even though even those who expose them do not even suspect it.
Father of Hermeticism: The Big Three Times
Hermes, his name; Trismegisto, his title. The meaning of this title is Three Times Large, or at least it is accepted by the majority of scholars, followers and practitioners of the hermetic philosophy, although there are researchers who claim that it has another origin.
For those followers, Hermes Trismegisto is, for thousands of years, the Master of Teachers, the Father of Wisdom, the Great Central Sun of Occultism, the Chosen of the Gods and other epithets that seek to highlight their significance for occult knowledge. For them, he was also the creator of alchemy and father of astrology.
Researchers suggest that he was considered a deity by the Egyptians ( God Thoth ); by the Greeks ( Hermes, God of Wisdom) ; by the Romans ( God Mercury ). Others claim that he was contemporary with Abraham or that he was the same public character.
Beyond all considerations, everyone agrees - less than those who deny their existence - that the entire body of knowledge, doctrine or philosophy called Hermetism is derived from it.
What is Hermeticism?
Well a doctrine, a philosophy, Hermeticism is a body of knowledge - for others, a belief system - generated from the teachings of Hermes Trismegisto and his followers, expressed primarily in oral form, but with an important literature - although apparently incomplete - in which it is held.
Literature
Indeed, works such as Corpus Hermeticum, Emerald Table, Asclepius, The Book of the Dead, Poimandres, El Kybali n are directly or indirectly attributed to the author of Hermes Trismegisto. In such works part of the body of hermetic knowledge is reflected. In other words, the tradition mentions that this body of knowledge was expressed in exactly 42 books, most of which were lost forever.
The content of the hermetic doctrine or philosophy includes everything from the principles that govern the universe or universes - the paradox is valid - to the transformation of metals into gold (alchemy). It also feeds a topic of great debate and occult discussion: magic .
Basis of Hermeticism
Before commenting on the basis of the Hermetism itself, it is important to set forth a premise that precedes any teaching. This premise is what generates that the terms hermetic, hermetic and other derivatives, transcend the body of knowledge of this philosophy and are used as synonyms for secrecy, impenetrable, closed . The premise is:
"The lips of wisdom remain closed, except for the ear capable of understanding."
It is our opinion that the premise is self-explanatory, however, we suggest the book The Kybalion, in which the reasons for this statement are explained. In the same text also a phrase that complements the previous statement, which gives hope and motivation to those who wish to study the hermetic philosophical body:
"When the ear is able to hear, then come the lips that are to fill them with wisdom."
In relation to the bases of Hermeticism, in this article we will limit ourselves to mentioning them, leaving their development for an upcoming article, so that we can extend as much as possible in its explanation.
Hermeticism is based on two pillars that support its entire belief system or body of knowledge. On the one hand, the concept of THE ALL, which, for the common person - not so for the hermetic scholar - would be an equivalent to the concept of God; on the other hand, the principles that govern the universe (s): Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Causality, Gender.
The Kybalion revolves around these two bases. The study of it will allow us to understand much better what we will present here and will allow readers to make very significant contributions both for this and for future articles. We already invite you to review it.
Hermeticism and Culture Pop '
Western philosophers - old and others not so much - as well as scientific studies of the last 150 years, have "discovered" or at least theorized, about what the hermetic teachings have explained for thousands of years. Such is the case of the nature of matter or the unreality of the universe.
However, and very paradoxically, it is in the 'Pop Culture' where you can see more aspects of Hermeticism expressed. Films, books and even conspiracy theories - disqualifying name of some truths - show us aspects of the great Hermetic Corpus, since they are based or contain elements of the belief system contained in the secrecy.
The unfortunate thing - and even dangerous - is that many of them banalize, misrepresent or even falsify these aspects; there will be some who do it out of ignorance, maybe others out of selflessness, and there will be those who do it out of hand. On the other hand, there are also those who, through their works, give hermetic teachings a treatment that shows knowledge and respect.
Movies like The Mummy, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Avatar; Books like The Secret and conspiracy theories - for not getting another more precise name - as the theme of the Illuminati are a reflection of the above. Even, El Tarot, which, according to scholars, has a legitimate origin in Hermeticism, has become a matter of fairs and deceptions.
We will leave the debate open to the readers as to which of the productions of the 'Pop Culture' mentioned give a more attached treatment to the postulates of the hermetic doctrine and which, on the contrary, banalize them and even ridicule them. It would also be interesting to mention others.
In any case, in future publications we will delve into each of the topics discussed, as well as others that have not been, such as Freemasonry, for example, intimately linked with hermetic philosophy, but also very questioned.
AUTHOR :
JoT333, editor and translator of the great family of hermandadblanca.org
SOURCES :
· Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy. https://dle.rae.es/
· Https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes_Trismegisto
· Https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetismo
· Https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verdad
· Http://libroesoterico.com/biblioteca/HERMETISMO/Anonimo%20Libros%20Sagrados%20de%20Hermes%20Trismegisto.pdf
· Https://www.deeptrancenow.com/elkybalion.pdf
Https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-earth-37355792
