Hermetic
beliefs
Hermeticism encompasses both panentheism
and Monistic-polytheism
within its belief system, which teaches that there is
The All, or
one "Cause", of which we, and the entire universe,
are all a part. Also it subscribes to the notion that other
beings such as gods and
angels,
ascended
masters and elementals
exist in the Universe.
Classical
elements
-
The four classical elements of earth,
water,
air,
and fire
are used often in alchemy, and are alluded to several times
in the Corpus Hermeticum.
As above, so below
The Magician displaying the Hermetic concept of
as above, so below.
These words circulate throughout occult and magical circles,
and they come from Hermetic texts. The concept was first laid
out in The Emerald
Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, in the words "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"
[19].
In accordance with the various levels of reality: physical,
mental, and spiritual, this relates that what happens on any
level happens on every other. This is however more often used
in the sense of the microcosm
and the macrocosm. The microcosm is oneself, and the
macrocosm is the universe. The macrocosm is as the
microcosm, and vice versa; within each lies the other, and
through understanding one (usually the microcosm) you can
understand the other[41
].
Reincarnation
There are mentions in Hermeticism about reincarnation.
As Hermes states:
- "O son, how many bodies we have to pass through, how
many bands of demons, through how many series of
repetitions and cycles of the stars, before we hasten to
the One alone?"
[42].
Some
[who?]
say this refers to the various rebirths in one's spiritual
nature, rather than the physical body.
Morality, good, and
evil
Hermes explains in Book 9 of the Corpus Hermeticum
that Nous
brings forth both good and evil, depending on if he receives
input from God or from the demons. God
brings good, while the demons bring evil. Among those things
brought by demons are:
- "adultery, murder, violence to one's father, sacrilege,
ungodliness, strangling, suicide from a cliff and all such
other demonic actions"
[43].
This provides a clearcut view that Hermeticism does indeed
include a sense of morality. However, the word good is used
very strictly, to be restricted to use to the Supreme
Good, God[44
]. It is only God (in the sense of
the Supreme Good, not The All) who is completely free of
evil to be considered good. Men are exempt of having the
chance of being good, for they have a body, consumed in the
physical nature, ignorant of the Supreme
Good[45
].
Among those things which are considered extremely sinful, is
the focus on the material life, said to be the only thing that
offends God:
- "As processions passing in the road cannot achieve
anything themselves yet still obstruct others, so these men
merely process through the universe, led by the pleasures
of the body"
[46].
It is troublesome to oneself to have no "children". This is
a symbolic description, not to mean physical, biological
children, but rather creations. Immediately before this claim,
it is explained that God is "the Father" because it has
authored all things, it creates. Whether father or mother, one
must create, do something positive in their life, as the
Supreme Good is a "generative power". The curse for not having
"children" is to be imprisoned to a body, neither male (active)
nor female (thoughtful), leaving that person with a type of
sterility, that of being unable to accomplish
anything[47
].
Cosmogony
The tale is given in the first book of the Corpus
Hermeticum by God's
Nous to
Hermes
Trismegistus after much meditation. It begins as the ALL
creates the elements after seeing the Cosmos and
creating one just like it (our Cosmos) from its own
constituent elements and souls. From there, the ALL, being
both male (Divine
Father) and female
(Universal Mother), holding the Word (the logos), gave birth
to a second Nous, creator of the world. This second Nous
created seven powers, or deities, (often seen as Mercury,
Venus,
Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, the
Sun and the
Moon) to travel
in circles and govern destiny.
The Word then leaps forth from the materializing elements,
which made them unintelligent. Nous then made the governors
spin, and from their matter sprang forth creatures without
speech. Earth then was separated from Water and the animals
(other than Man) were brought forth from the Earth.
The Supreme Nous then created Man, androgynous,
in his own image and handed over his creation. Man carefully
observed the creation of his brother, the lesser Nous, and
received his and his Father's authority over it all. Man
then rose up above the spheres' paths to better view the
creation, and then showed the form of the ALL to Nature.
Nature fell in love with it, and Man, seeing a similar form
to his own reflecting in the water fell in love with Nature
and wished to dwell in it. Immediately Man became one with
Nature and became a slave to its limitations such as
gender and
sleep. Man thus became speechless (for it lost the Word) and
became double, being mortal in body but immortal in
spirit,
having authority of all but subject to destiny.
The tale does not specifically contradict the theory of
evolution,
other than for Man, but most Hermeticists fully accept
evolutionary theory as a solid grounding for the creation of
everything from base matter to Man[48
].
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