What is Hermetic Philosophy?

Hermetic philosophy is a magical occult teaching, a current that existed in the era of late antiquity and Hellenism, studying texts that enclosed the secret knowledge attributed to the mythical person - sage Hermes Trismegistus, personifying the ancient Egyptian god of knowledge and wisdom of Thoth, which the Greeks called Hermes. It is by his name that the teaching is called.

general information

Hermetic philosophy became the doctrine of European alchemists in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. This teaching was of a hidden esoteric nature and combined elements of Chaldean astrology, popular ancient Greek philosophy, ancient Egyptian alchemy and Persian magic.

According to tradition, hermetism is (in philosophy) the doctrine of the higher laws of nature, based both on the principle of causality and on the principle of analogy.

Adherents of this trend believe that an understanding of any causal relationship by virtue of the principle of analogy can also be supplemented by a magical effect on the reality of the personal desires of the adept of the hidden teachings.

Hence the hermetic means "secret", in the usual sense, sealed - it is tightly closed.

History

In the Middle Ages, Hermetic philosophy, or the philosophy of the occult, was developed through the Eastern Christian and Jewish mystics of the Muslims, and after the Crusades it appeared in the form of alchemy in Catholic Europe. Hermetic tracts definitely echoed the works of the early fathers of the church, but there was also a tendency to disengage Christianity and hermeticism. In this direction, the first step was taken in 325, when a church decision was taken at the Council of Nicaea that the doctrine of reincarnation was incompatible with the Bible.

The second important event is the declaration of astrology as a devilish occupation in 1227. Thus, the hermetic philosophy, briefly described by us, formally turned out to be banned by the Catholic Church. Then come the centuries of oblivion.

Hermeticism of the Renaissance

The doctrine revived in 1460 in the West, when the monk Leonardo, sent by Cosimo de 'Medici to seek the ancient manuscripts lost in the European monasteries, brought to Pistoia copies of hermetic treatises written in Greek, taken from Constantinople. These treatises later, in 1461, were translated by Marsilio Ficino into the Latin language and contributed to a new outbreak of interest in Hermeticism.

The Hermetic philosophy of the Renaissance was supplemented by the studies of the Swiss philologist Isaac de Casobon, who in 1614, after analyzing hermetic texts from the point of content, language and textual connection with other texts, concluded that the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were not works of an ancient Egyptian priest, but were in fact Were created already during the Christian era.

In 1945, near the Nag Hammadi were found the writings of a hermetic sense in the Coptic language. They were designed as a dedication speech between Asclepius of the Hermetic Corps and Hermes and a text describing the occult school of hermeticism.

Hermeticism is a religion

Not all proponents of the current had to do with religion, a certain part of them considered only a philosophical system.

In the Hermetic religion, the highest deity (Principle) is called God (All, One). Also, many adherents of the doctrine placed their faith and mystical ideas of other religions in one line: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and the main line of paganism, because they held the opinion that all great religions had a single heart, similar mystical truths. They believed that every world religion contains an understanding of the esoteric principles of hermeticism.

Philosophical and religious texts

Although the authorship of many hermetic works is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the proponents of the doctrine believe that he wrote only forty-two works, but many of them were lost in the destruction of the Alexandria library.

Today, three main texts are widely known, in which Hermeticism is covered. This "Emerald Tablet", "Hermetic Corps" and "Kibalion." Let's talk about each book in more detail.

«Hermetic case»

This work is most widely known and is fundamental in understanding hermetism. It consists of 16 books that represent Hermes' dialogues. The first book highlights the discussion between Hermes and Pamander. A distinctive feature is that Hermes acts as a pupil of Poemander, although in all other treatises he, on the contrary, is the teacher of his opponents.

The Emerald Tablet

This is a short work, which is the primary source of the famous occult axiom, which proclaims that the one below is similar to the one above. In addition, the Emerald Tablet hints at triple reliability and the triple law, for knowledge of which Hermes was known and named Trismegistus. According to history, the book was found in Hebron, in the tomb of Hermes, Alexander the Great.

Kibalion

This work, explaining what Hermeticism is, was published by three anonymous authors in 1912. They called themselves "the three initiates." In "Kibalion" seven main principles of hermeticism are listed and commented on, namely:

1. The principle of mentalism: The universe is the mental image of God.
2. The principle of analogy (conformity): an analogy between the higher and lower worlds, the microcosm and the macrocosm is affirmed. The one below is similar to the one at the top.
3. The principle of vibration: all existing are only different vibrations (modifications) of the One Primordial.
4. The principle of rhythm: everything is in a two-sided unceasing movement: it descends and goes up, passes from one extreme to the other.
5. The principle of polarity: everything has its opposite, in fact, the opposite - it's the edges of something one, and they can always be reconciled in one paradox.
6. The principle of sex: all things combine two principles, and any creativity is the result of the interaction of two principles.
7. The principle of cause and effect: everything has a cause and effect, the case is a law that is not recognized.

The beliefs of the Hermeticists

Hermetic philosophy within its belief system unites monotheism, pantheism and polytheism and teaches what is the First Cause, of which we are parts and in general everything in the Universe. In addition, this teaching is signed under the beliefs about the existence of demons, gods, great teachers and elementals (inhabitants of primary elements).

Hermeticism is a teaching stemming from the seven principles that we have already expressed above, and the beliefs of its representatives are based on them.

Dario Salas

The Chilean thinker Dario Salas Sommer is one of the modern theoreticians of hermeticism, but he puts a different meaning to this concept, which differs from the generally accepted one. The expression "hermetic philosophy" is used by Dario Salas to describe everything that exists only in nature, but at the same time, hermetism is hidden in the ordinary state of consciousness for a person, and only the person who has managed to raise his level of consciousness can comprehend it.

This writer, researcher and philosopher was born in 1935 in Santiago de Chile. His father was a university professor, and his grandfather was an outstanding figure in the education system, the author of the educational reform in Chile.

Dario Salas came up with a method by which to reach a high level of consciousness, and called it "practical hermetic philosophy." He made a great contribution to the improvement of social and human relationships, the moral development of man and, thus, the formation of a more harmonious world.

At home, Dario Salas founded the Institute of Hermetic Philosophy, and President Salvador Allende was granted the status of a non-profit organization. Subsequently, branches were opened in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Spain. Salas is also the founder of the Institute of Hermetic Science in the United States of America. He also opened in the capital of Venezuela - Caracas - the Simon Bolivar Foundation, whose goal is the cultural and spiritual unification of countries and peoples of Latin America.

Hermetic philosophy is covered by Dario Salas in many books published in different languages: Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, English, Italian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, German, Arabic, Georgian, Korean and Chinese.