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FYI: TRIVIUM RESEARCH TIDBITS ON THE SECRET SOCIETY CALLED THE GOLDEN DAWN
Once a month, I'll focus on topics of Occultism, Secret Societies and Ceremonial Magic to give my Trivium World authenticity and depth. Do read the novel beforehand. All FYI sections contain SPOILERS.
What is Hermeticism?: Focus For winter 2021
Hermeticism
The secret society of ceremonial magicians called Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn takes its name from and occult study of Hermeticism. Understanding exactly what hermeticism is, may be a challenging endeavor. Like many beliefs or understandings, hermeticism is syncretic--meaning it evolves into a tradition over time by borrowing from other traditions that are harmonious with it. The Hermetic Tradition is named after a living incarnation of the Greek God Hermes, the god of communication. Many identify Hermes with Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom and magic. In this sense, Hermes becomes the patron saint of all intellectual activity and all sciences, including astrology, astronomy, architecture, alchemy, mathematics, medicine, writing, biology, agriculture, commerce, divination and practical magic. Hermes understood the secret nature of the universe and the spiritual physics that run it. First and foremost, however, Hermes was thought of as the great teacher of humanity. It is he to whom believers owe a knowledge of technology and spiritual gnosis.
Depicted historically as the winged messenger with his serpent-entwined caduceus, Hermes became associated with the personage of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus (Hermes the Thrice Great) serving as an avatar or living embodiment of the god Hermes (or Thoth.) Hermes became known as a great priest and magician who wrote forty-two books on esoteric wisdom. Scholars entitle these forty-two works as the Hermetica.
The foundation of Hermetic tradition goes back to the Hellenistic period when the great civilizations of Greece and Egypt combined when Alexander the Great conquered the Mediterranean world and the city of Alexandria became a beacon of knowledge. Different religions provided their specific type of spiritual wisdom, blending to create a new syncretic philosophy that included spiritual beliefs and magical practices. Although Thoth and Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus claimed responsibility for this new fusion of beliefs, it was an amalgam of Khemetic (Khem is the land controlled by Egyptian dynasties) religion, magic and philosophy with classical Greek philosophy and Greek paganism. To this mixture was added the magical teachings and angelic hierarchy of Judaism, the cosmic dualism of Persian Zoroastrianism and forms of Christianity and Gnosticism.
Hermeticism borrowed and adapted notions from many spiritual paths and cultures that collected in the ancient city of Alexandria (illustration above depicts the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria.)
The next six sections of October's article explore Hermeticism's different influences. The remaining section explores the essence of hermeticism favored by the Golden Dawn.
The Parts Creating the Whole
The Religion of the Egyptians
To the ancient Egyptians, there was no distinction between religion and magic. A worshiper petitioned a deity through a priest while a magician invoked the deity directly. The deity was referred to as neter. This word includes ideas involving the concepts of god, divinity, strength and renewal. Egypt's polytheism manifested in a vast number of divine, celestial, terrestrial, local and minor deities. These deities were considered as the various aspects, attributes and extensions of the neter. They manifested in forms that could be visualized and understood by the human mind, loved by the human heart and worshiped by religious people. The Egyptians recognized the value of several diverse explanations of natural phenomena and a pantheon of deities, myths and legends that seem confusing and contradictory to modern thinking.
The following principles are identified with the Egyptian religion:
- a belief in solar monotheism. The Creator was associated with the life-giving Sun.
- a belief in the regenerative power or nature (symbolized by the life-healing waters of the Nile and expressed by worshiping numerous fertile gods and goddesses and sacred animals.
- the recognition of a deity who is human but also divine, whose life is both in the physical world and the spiritual word beyond death. Osiris as a god/man was an accessible god with whom people strongly identified. As a mortal, he suffered, even died, and yet he was divine. Many religious and magical ceremonies took place to insure that after death, the deceased would rise again like Osiris and inherit life everlasting.
- they developed the concept of the human soul. Much of their religion is dedicated to that soul's welfare in the afterlife.
- Egyptian magic gave importance to divine names and words of power.
Classical Greek Philosophy
Classical Greek Philosophy
The Greeks were the most philosophical in the ancient world. They were noted for questioning the reality of the traditional gods while espousing theories of materialism and rationalism. They believed that all things came into being from one thing (think Big Bang Theory) but there were many theories as to what the One thing actually was. The philosopher Anaximander called the substance from which all things emerged apeiron, or the boundless.
Pythagoras was a mystic and magician who claimed that the essence of everything is number. He pointed out the significance of numbers in music and in the objective world. He also believed in the soul. He taught reincarnation and a form of past-life regression. The organization he founded was a fellowship of men and women for the moral improvement of society. For him and his followers, certain mathematical symbols had a mystical importance.
Empedocles was the first philosopher to espouse the idea of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. He said the universe was composed of two worlds: the spiritual (good) and material (evil). Likewise, human beings had two souls: the psyche or Lower Soul which is finite and the Daimon or Higher Soul which is infinite.
Anaxagoras believed a divine mind was the substance behind the physical universe. The mind created the universe through a swirling motion at the center of the cosmos.
Socrates developed his own form of rational mysticism to reverse the moral deterioration resulting from people no longer believing in the traditional gods. Individuals should be guided by an inner voice.
Socrates' student, Plato, had the most significant effect on Hermetic Tradition.
Plato taught that a world of ideas or archetypes existed before the physical world was created. Ideas of all kinds exist in the unseen supernatural world. All things in the material world are just flawed copies. Plato's philosophy created a dualism between the world of Ideas and the tainted material world. A substance called Materia linked the two worlds. Materia evolved into the four elements. In order for the two worlds to interact and form the manifest world, the demiourgos or "Creator God" patterned and created the universe. He believed the soul of the individual lives on after death and that it is judged and sent to a place called Tartarus where transgressions would be forgiven over time.
Greek Mystery Religions
Mystery religions developed because people again wanted to believe in the gods that Greek philosophy rationalized; they again wanted to feel the awe the gods instilled. Those inducted into mystery religions were initiated in a secret ceremony, attended only by a privileged few. The word Mysteria implied a secret, private rite, not intended for the general public.
There were many different Mystery religions that focused on specific gods or heros:
- the Samothracian mysteries centered on the Kabiri or "greater gods."
- the Orphic mysteries focused on the Greek hero Orpheus
- the mysteries of Isis and Osiris were enacted in Egypt
- the Alexandrians had the cult of Serapis
- the Mysteries of Cybele and Attis were imported from Asia Minor
- the Eleusinian mysteries were centered in Athens. Demeter, Persephone and Hades were the focal point
- the cult of Mithras, the Persian sun god was popular with Roman soldiers
No one knows exactly what occurred to initiates during these mysteries. No one was allowed to reveal the secret goings-on to outsiders and that oath was taken seriously. Most of them dealt with ideas of death and resurrection. Participating in reenactments of these myths served to instill a sense of spiritual rebirth and a triumph over death. These mysteries took human beings out of their mundane lives and gave them an awareness of spiritual renewal. Purification played an important role in these rites, along with processions, reenactments of the myths, animal sacrifices, offerings, fastings and a real or symbolic descent into the underworld.
The basic theme of these mysteries would play a major role in several Hermetic circles, especially in the initiation rituals of the Golden Dawn. Mystery religions tried to instill enlightenment through the three types of knowledge: Mathesis (learned knowledge), Gnosis (knowledge gained through meditation or intuitive perception) and Pathesis or knowledge that was felt. However, they focused on Pathesis by supplying the initiate the opportunity for direct personal experience of the higher teachings.
Christianity at that time was considered just another mystery religion with similar goals and one important difference: it was open to all: slaves and women included.
Stoicism and Gnosticism
Stoicism
Stoics believed that the objective of knowledge was to provide humanity with a mode of conduct distinguished by tranquility of mind and assurance of moral worth. They stressed extreme material wealth and scientific research. Reason alone was the model for human existence. The manifest universe exemplified virtue; therefore the virtues of moral worth, right conduct duty, and justice were emphasized. Virtue was thought to bring happiness, so Stoics pursued virtue. They felt that all religious myths were allegories meant to convey philosophical truth. Followers of Stoicism believed in predestination and reincarnation; they tended to be fatalistic and skeptical.
The Stoics contribution to Hermetics is their belief in cosmic sympathies. Cosmic sympathies implies that within the cosmos there exists a logical and orderly link between all things. Their skepticism instilled within the Hermetic tradition the need to test magical experiments and not merely accept all results at face value.
Gnosticism
Gnosticism combined Christian belief with the Greek mystery religions. Gnosis meant knowledge, knowledge gained through intuitive perception. Gnostics sought the knowledge of God through direct revelation. In this sense, the knowledge was secret and beyond faith and reason. It was only revealed to those who strove to transcend their mundane existences. Revelation was a continuous process it was not a rigidly established or protected dogma.
Gnostics believed that the human spirit represented the divine essence ensnared in matter. It was a spark of God trapped within an evil material world that God had nothing to do with. A lesser creature known as the Demiourgos created the world with all its flaws. Gnostics believed in a fundemental duality between man (the trapped god) and the physical world (his prison).
The Gnostics were devoted to the transcendent God rather than the flawed lesser god. The transcendent God was believed to intercede in the imperfect world by offering his followers a means by which gnosis could be gained, through the provision of a redeemer or a savior.
In some Gnostic sects, this redeemer was Sophia or the "wisdom" of God. In others, it was her brother, Christ and in others still, it was merely known as the "logos" or Word. The savior served as a role model for the soul to follow in its quest to return to the transcendent God's world of Light.
The Gnostics teach that humanity is imprisoned in matter; the physical world is an illusion and the spiritual world is the realm of truth. The Gnostics borrowed Zoroastrian dualism of Light versus Dark, the eastern belief in reincarnation, Babylonian Astrology and the reverence for secret names and words of power used by the Egyptians and the Greek mystery cults.
Neoplatonism
Of all the early influences on the Hermetic tradition, Neoplatonism had the most impact. These later followers of Plato revered Plato as a classical philosopher and a writer divinely inspired. The teachings of Plotinus (204-270 C.E.) dominated Greek philosophy until the sixth century C.E. He criticized the Gnostic movement for what he considered a debasement of Plato's teachings. These Neoplatonists did not believe in a Demiurge who created and ruled a prison of matter. Plotonius did manage to blend the classical philosophers' love of rational logical approach to the nature of the universe with mystical experience. But, he felt that God was entirely outside of human comprehension.
According to Plotinus, there is a lower divine level known as the soul (psyche) that attempts to manifest the ideas born in the intellect. Through this process the natural world comes into being. The natural world is composed of a concentrated entity known as the World Soul (pantos psyche). Therefore, the psychological composition of humanity corresponds to this greater universe: the physical body corresponds to the physical world of matter, the sould or ordinary consciousness relates to the World Soul and the higher perceptive faculties conform with the divine intellect. Plotinus believed that in most humans these higher intellectual powers are asleep and it is the duty of the individual to rouse them. One of the goals of the Neoplatonists was to unite all three segements of the individual.
The method of awakening the intellect was through constant interaction in the natural world through reincarnation--(this took several lifetimes to achieve). The individual does not remember the previous incarnation because the eternal portion of consciousness is the Higher Self, which is on the level of divine intellect. The lower self or personality is merely a reflection of the Higher. But the soul or psyche of the individual is incorruptible. At death, the terrestrial experiences of the lower self are absorbed by the Higher self before it again reflects itself forth into another incarnation.
Plotinus did not promote spiritual or magical practices because he believed that the individual attained illumination by philosophical musing. However, he did establish the concept of the existence of altered states of consciousness. He believed the ultimate aim of human existence was to return to the Godhead.
Iamblichus, another neoplatonist, did, however believe in using the magical practices of theurgy. He had a great interest in the Egyptian mysteries. His work greatly influenced the later development of ceremonial magic within the Hermetic tradition. One of his practices was to invoke a diety or spirit into a statue. Another was to invoke the deity into a person, resulting in complete identification with the deity in order to awaken the Higher Self. The goal, then, in using magic was solely to attain spiritual growth.
Ancient Hermetism
Hermetism was a clandestine affair. Ancient Hermetists most likely studied in small groups with the guidance of a teacher. Many were probably Egyptian by birth although educated in the ways and philosophies of Greece. The teachings they studied would have been similar to those contained in the books attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. The vocabulary they used to describe the heavenly realms would be identical to that used by the neoplatonists.
The teachings of Hermes Trismegistus strongly promoted ideas of piety, purity and morality. Follows of Hermes criticized common religion and morality, but as they acquired gnosis, the more they attempted to instill a sense of profound conscious awareness and spiritual depth into the beliefs of those around them.
There was no single system of Hermetic theology or doctrine, For the Hermetist, the attainment of Gnosis was not an end in itself, it was a new beginning. (Think New Dawn.)
The Hermetic concept of the transcendent God was similar to that espoused by the Neoplatonic philosophers. However, Hermeticism was more of a religious doctrine rather than a philisophical one. Neoplatonism (with the exception of Iamblichus) did not promote spiritual or magical practices. Consequently, the Hermetic God is less abstract and more personal than the god of the Neoplatonists.
Unlike the Gnostics, the Hermetists stressed the importance of receiving methodical training in the 'art of Hermes' that was followed by the mystical experience of initiation into the Hermetic mysteries. The Gnostics were more concerned with receiving the gift of gnosis as a direct result of salvation and enlightenment. The Hermetists believed God could be comprehended by the human mind through contemplation and philosophical reasoning. The Gnostics thought the human mind too inferior for such a task. Hermetists beleived that the cosmos was God's wondrous creation; they had not concept of an evil Demiurge. The human body was seen as an image of God's creative majesty.
The Essence of Hermeticism Embraced by the Golden Dawn
The essence of Hermeticism embraced by the Golden Dawn is governed by the following principles:
- It is primarily concerned wit the spiritual traditions of Western civilization. This includes ancient Egyptian, Greco-Egyptian and Roman mystery religions, neopaganism, neoplatonism, alchemy, Qabbalah, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism and mystical Christianity.
- It holds a belief in both the Macrocosm and the Microcosm--a belief in a creator and a creation--and it seeks to comprehend both.
- It is ultimately monotheistic although it conceives of the Divine Unity as emanating itself through a multitude of forms, aspects, characteristics and manifestations. The transcendent God presents itself to humanity in the forms of various gods and goddessses for our better understanding and development. All deities are then, the various faces and expressions of the ultimate Divinity. Although the cosmos appears to be diverse, at its most fundamental level, ALL IS ONE.
- It maintains that the Ultimate Divinity is both immanent and transcendent and that the universe is divine. It teaches tolerance for all spiritual paths.
- It believes that humanity is in a 'fallen state.' Humanity seeks to return to unity with the divine. The Way to Return requires aspiration and discipline.Although many ancient and sacred texts can hold valuable, profound and precious keys that provide guidance toward the way to return, no text is thought to be infallible or free of error. Teachers may provide guidance, but each aspirant must ultimately tread the way back to the divine alone.
- It teaches that as part of the discipline needed to return to the divine, human beings must learn to understand the invisible realms that lie hidden behind the manifest universe. To that end it embraces the practices of esoteric spirituality, mysticism, and the magical arts. The highest aspiration of the Hermeticist is toward union with the divine, often called the goal of the Great Work.
The above information entitled "What is Hermeticism?" is a condensed version of information found in the book, "The Essential Golden Dawn: An Introduction ot High Magic" by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero
THe Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: Focus For Nov 2020
Basic Structuring
Lucia's fellowship has had a lifelong love affair with the spiritual sentiments advocated by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Once contemplating membership in this famous secret society, Lucia models her own order on some of the Golden Dawn's principles.
William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddel Mathers founded the Golden Dawn in 1887. As all three were Masons, they based the hierarchy of the Golden Dawn on those instituted in Masonic Lodges with one great difference: the GD considered both men and women on an equal basis.
Three orders within the society existed.
The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Qabbalah. Personal development came through the study of the four elements and astrology, tarot divination and geomancy.
The Second Order, also known as the Inner Order, and the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, taught magic. Magic included scrying, astral travel and alchemy.
The Third Order consisted of the Secret Chiefs. The Secret Chiefs directed the activities of the lower two orders through spirit communication via the chiefs of the Second Order.
The hierarchical structure also borrowed from the Rosicrucians.
Within the First Order the levels were named: Neophyte 0=0, Zelator 1=10, Theoricus 2=9, Practicus 3=8, Philosophus 4=7 and Intermediate or Portal Grade.
The Second Order Levels were: Adeptus Minor 5=6, Adeptus Major 6=5 and Adeptus Exemptus 7=4. The Third Order included: Magister Templi 8=3, Magus 9=2 and Ipsissimus 10=1.
The paired numbers attached to each grade refers to positions of the Qabbalic Tree of Life.
Neophite, as 0=0 have no position on the tree.
The first number references the number of steps up from the bottom, while the second number is the number of steps down from the top.
