Hermetics: A Brief History

 

 

"The road goes ever on and on" to quote J.R.R. Tolkien. One of the first mysteries I discovered along my crooked path was the Hermetic Principles. I find them important to this day and figure this to be a good starting place for my blog. A lot of mythology has grown up around the Hermetic teachings. The first book I read on the Principles gave little to no background leaving me wondering where these ideas had originated. Being inquisitive, I need to know these things before accepting them blindly. In the following, I will try to lay out a little of the history I've been able to discover.

 

Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus is often cited as the source of the Hermetic Principles. Like many of the world's legendary religious figures it is likely he never physically existed. Legends claim this figure was either the Egyptian god of knowledge, magic, and writing, Thoth, or an ancient sage who received a vision from him. The name translates as "Thrice-greatest Hermes." Trismegistus was a common term for Thoth. Egyptian philosophers, being educated in Greek philosophy, combined this with the Greek god Hermes, or his Roman equivalent, Mercury (Mercurius).

 

While we may never know who this figure truly was (or if he existed at all), the writings credited to him emerged from many different teachers in Alexandria, Egypt, when it was under Roman rule. At the time philosophers sought to dismiss the old interpretations and seek god through their own means. The Hermetic concept of god is a pagan one, a multi-layered divinity within nature. As such, Hermeticism is considered a second-generation pagan religion based on classical Greek and Egyptian polytheism. Hermes Trismegistus is credited with being the source of a collection of texts which together make up the Corpus Hermeticum, the foundation of teachings known as Hermeticism. To put this in perspective, the Corpus Hermeticum is not unlike the ancient scriptures of the Torah, Bible, and Koran, and is of a similar age. The various writers of the Corpus Hermeticum chose to credit Hermes Trismegistus as the author instead of using their names which was a common practice at the time.

 

Like many elements in history, Hermetic Philosophy came about because of a conquest. In 332 BCE (before the common era) Alexander the Great invaded Egypt. Alexander then built his name-sake city, Alexandria, bringing Greek culture and religion to the area. The Greek and Egyptian philosophies combined and flourished within a center of learning, the great library, where intellectuals from all over the world would collaborate and debate. This continued to evolve after the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE for the first three centuries of the common era (CE).

 

The Romans were initially tolerant of the Hermeticists but the spread of Christianity eventually led to clashes with the pagans. This resulted in violence and the partial burning of the Alexandrian library. In 325 CE, the Roman Empire officially Christianized, and the rest of the Library of Alexandria was burned to the ground. Many books attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were destroyed in the blaze. At this time heresy against the Christian doctrine meant a death sentence, convert or die. Many of the Hermetic philosophers chose to migrate east into Persia (modern-day Iran and Iraq) where they guardedly continued their studies. There is speculation some of the early Hermeticists traveled to Europe before the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 CE but any scientific pursuits there came to an abrupt halt during the Middle (Dark) Ages. The Hermetic teachings went underground and became shrouded in mystery. The Hermetic Principles were only relayed to those who had undergone initiations, taught verbally and in secret.

 

During the 15th Century, some of the lost Hermetic texts resurfaced in Italy and were translated into Latin thanks to the Medici family. They were widely available and became very popular. At the time, though, the origins were misunderstood, and the texts were attributed to Moses and thought to be of Hebrew origin. As you have already read, that is completely wrong, but there was an upside - with the Moses connection the texts became more socially acceptable to Christian scholars, including Sir Isaac Newton.

 

Originally, I was confused by the haphazardness of what I had learned about the Principle's origin. In Hermetics, though, I discovered an answer. One of the primary teachings is that we are all incarnations of the Divine Mind and therefore have a divine nature. We only need to remember our divinity and apply reason, so that we may grow in wisdom and evolve in our personal power. If this is so, then everyone who contemplated, challenged, wrote down, or debated the Principles made a divine contribution to their being and this continues today.

 

The Divine Cosmos wants to be understood. I learned Hermetics form a cornerstone for our collective magickal culture. Labels and religious variations don't matter. We can continue to make contributions regardless of which gender, tools, or rituals we prefer. What matters is how we apply this knowledge to our spiritual and magickal practice for the betterment of the world and ourselves today.