While people mistakenly believe the new-age pseudoscientific mishmash which is the Kybalion is hermetic, few have looked at Corpus Hermetica to work out what the real Hermetic Principles are. There are far more than seven but here are 11 which I produced, without too much effort (there are many more).
1. God is One Thing which is unknowable and having built creation within itself. If anything is a division, then it is only an illusion. It contains within itself everything. If in doubt remember that everything is One Thing. This has a huge impact on those looking for dualities such as Good and Evil for if such dualities are real, they are illusions within God. So if we can’t know God really, then what is the point? Well remember the if in doubt line about – you are part of the One Thing too. The idea is to know yourself.
2. The universe is created and influenced through words, symbols and numbers. The Hermetica is strongly influenced by Thoth-Hermes and therefore words. This concept becomes important when we look at the uses of magical words and why Hermetic magicians have been obsessed with word and number-based systems such as Cabbalah and Geomatria. These symbols and numbers link and connect the universe.
3. There is a power in regularly performing rituals which symbolically mirror the universe (Connected to point two).
4. The universe uses triads of positive and negative systems to create a third or a harmony which unites these apparent opposites. To resolve the issue of having a One Thing and without falling in the problems of duality, Hermetic resorts to the idea of triads where one thing has three aspects – two apparent forces and one that unites them. Notice that these forces do not have to be opposites.
5. The Macrocosm and Microcosm influence each other (as above so below). The planetary spheres are a Microcosm of the Divine Sphere and Nature is a microcosm for the planetary macrocosm.
6. Creation is formed by emanation from simple or chaotic (closer to divine) to complex ordered. The divine intelligence becomes more influenced by natural cycles and rhythms and becomes lost within them.
7. Rebirth Thus a human who wishes to understand God (or themselves) must start to remember their divine nature. They must move above the natural cycles which keep them lost in matter and focus on their divine nature. They will discover that both their negative sides are what keeps them tied to matter while their positive sides liberate them and create a create a third which unites the two.
8. Gods and Daemons: The Universe is administered at different levels by different divine intelligences Angels, Gods and Daemons. Daemons do the heavy lifting within creation. Because they are intelligent, it is possible for a human who resonates on the same level to work with them.
9. There is a secret knowledge which is known to spirits which is revealed through working with these divine beings. This secret knowledge is less about splitting the atom and more about embodying reality.
10. Imagination is a divine tool which humans possess which enables them to travel through all realms to the throne of the One Thing.
11. The way of the Hermetica is not everyone’s destiny. The One Thing needs to express itself through matter and will establish personalities for which the path of return is their job. They are not better than those who stay in matter, just have a different job. There is no need to convert anyone.
Comments are closed