| The basis for Hermetics and Hermeticism is the | | | | line that could be traced back to ancient times. |
| Greek god Hermes, also known by his Roman | | | | In the early 20th Century a small book called The |
| name Mercury. Hermes is one of the most | | | | Kybalion appeared, authored by someone (or |
| interesting and diverse of the gods. He is also one | | | | several people) only identified as "Three Initiates." |
| of the trickiest and hardest to pin down. That's | | | | This book summarizes some mystical principles of |
| why I call him the liminal god. Since Hermes is, | | | | Hermeticism, such as the most famous maxim of |
| among many other things, the god of the | | | | all, As Above, So Below. In this book we can also |
| crossroads -one of his symbols is a rock defining | | | | see an early version of doctrines such as The |
| boundaries- liminal is an apt word to describe him. | | | | Law of Attraction. |
| Hermes is a messenger, a trickster, protector of | | | | Now, with the New Age movement, Hermeticism |
| travelers, a thief, a guide for souls after death | | | | has found a new audience, though today people |
| and an orator. Many of these roles are related to | | | | are more likely to combine it with the teachings |
| the theme of boundaries. Connecting the living and | | | | of other traditions. In a way, this is fitting, as |
| the dead is an obvious example of this, as well as | | | | Hermeticism itself was born out of eclecticism. |
| his association with travel and delivering messages | | | | If this (admittedly simplistic) summary of |
| for the other gods. He is also an expert at | | | | Hermeticism sounds a bit casual and perhaps |
| persuasion and oration, and his words are not | | | | skeptical, this is not entirely unintentional. I believe |
| necessarily true in the literal sense. In this regard | | | | that there is great wisdom in the Hermetic |
| he could be conceived as the god of lawyers. Or, | | | | Tradition, but that to gain the most from it |
| to go back to the Platonic dialogues, where | | | | requires a highly skeptical attitude towards all |
| Socrates differentiates between true philosophy | | | | teachers, groups and dogmas. In this regard, we |
| and sophistry, Hermes would seem to epitomize | | | | might see Hermeticism as the Taoism of the |
| the latter. | | | | West. Anyone who has read the Tao Teh Ching |
| What do we make of a god like Hermes, who | | | | probably recalls the first stanza, "The Tao that |
| seems to be morally ambiguous at best? Are | | | | can be spoken is not the eternal Tao." |
| tales about him meant to be mere entertainment | | | | The wisdom of Hermeticism requires that you |
| -the ancient equivalent perhaps of contemporary | | | | delve more deeply into the ambiguous nature of |
| soap operas, where some of the most interesting | | | | Hermes himself. You have to be able to come to |
| characters are borderline villains- or is there also a | | | | terms with a world where truth and falsehood are |
| deeper meaning? | | | | often hopelessly mixed up. One of the "gurus" of |
| To answer this question, we can explore some of | | | | the Hermetic Tradition, Aleister Crowley, certainly |
| the teachings of the Hermetic Tradition. The very | | | | embodied this idea. With his controversial life and |
| words "Hermetic Tradition" are almost as tricky | | | | deliberately paradoxical teachings, you cannot take |
| and nebulous as Hermes himself. Many mystery | | | | anything he says at face value. Yet you can't |
| schools, cults and modern day occult systems | | | | dismiss it as nonsense either. One of his books, in |
| have sprung up over the ages claiming to be heirs | | | | fact, was called The Book of Lies. |
| to the "authentic" hermetic teachings. Some of | | | | To borrow once again from the Chinese wisdom |
| these claim that their knowledge derives from the | | | | of Taoism, consider the Yin-Yang symbol. It is |
| *real* Hermes, that is Hermes Trismegistus. This | | | | usually portrayed as a circle broken into halves, |
| teacher is usually placed somewhere in distant | | | | one black, one white, symbolizing the duality of |
| antiquity, usually in Egypt (though sometimes | | | | Yin and Yang (or male and female, positive and |
| Atlantis). He is sometimes referred to as the | | | | negative, etc.). Yet the symbol has another |
| teacher of Moses. He is also equated with the | | | | quality; there is usually a black dot in the white |
| Egyptian god Thoth. | | | | half and a white dot in the black half. This is telling |
| In the early Christian era, some writings appeared | | | | us that a thing always contains an element of its |
| that put down some Hermetic teachings. In later | | | | opposite. If you read The Kybalion, you will see |
| years, these documents were often said to be | | | | that this is perfectly consistent with Hermetic |
| much older than they actually were. These | | | | Teachings. |
| writings, which are often referred to as Corpus | | | | There are tricksters in many traditions. The Norse |
| Hermeticum reflected the syncretistic atmosphere | | | | god Loki and the Native American Coyote are |
| of late antiquity in places like Alexandria. They | | | | two well known examples. These characters play |
| were influenced by diverse sources, such as | | | | important roles in the myths in which they reside. |
| Christianity, NeoPlatonism, paganism and | | | | They seem to suggest that life itself is not |
| Gnosticism. | | | | always what it seems, and that the belief in |
| Over the years, Hermeticism has resurged, most | | | | purity, such as pure truth or pure falsehood is |
| notably in the Renaissance, when alchemy, the | | | | itself a myth. Hermes, or Mercury, is often |
| tarot and other esoteric teachings became | | | | associated with both The Fool and The Magician |
| popular. Then again, in the 19th Century, England, | | | | (both tricksters in their own ways) of the tarot. |
| and to a lesser extent America, saw another | | | | So if you study the Hermetic Tradition, you need |
| wave of occult teachings surface with | | | | to be both skeptical and open-minded. Much of |
| movements such as Rosicrucianism and | | | | what you read may not be true at all. For |
| Theosophy. Groups such as The Hermetic Order | | | | example, there is no evidence that a man named |
| of the Golden Dawn popularized (at least to some | | | | Hermes Trismegistus ever lived. Yet his teachings |
| extent; these were never mass movements) the | | | | may contain great wisdom all the same! |
| belief that the Hermetic doctrine was an unbroken | | | | |