Hermes The Alchemist by Otto Edmond Hermes
Hello friends!
Just got an email from a friend who said that they were thinking about me and had missed my pseudo-spiritual emails of late—you know like the India/Africa stuff. So what the heck… I’m thinking of YOU. So without the luxury of a plane ticket, disposable income, a palm tree, malaria or dysentery, here’s a view from my crackled rose colored window today.
(I know that this email will be an easy delete for many of you. That’s fine—I know which of you will find this fascinating and which will be thinking—“Has Craig been eating spoiled rye bread again?” But don’t miss out on your chance for a Free Philosophy lesson with Hermes’ Phriday Aphternoon Happy Hour Karma and Dogma Wash.)
So it’s funny when you look in to the meaning of a name. I, being a Gemini, which is Mercury, which is Hermes, has always fascinated me. Had an intuitive Swedish astrologer/psychic tell me in 1981 that I would have a blood infection but would live to be old (’81!-pre-HIV awareness), that I would work for an influential man from Europe (Branson), that I would live extended periods of my life in exotic locales, and that I would have a deep quest for meaning and esoteric knowledge—and that my name and astrological chart was no chance occurrence—that I would live up to my name Hermes. Now either I have a hefty dose of Dionne-Warwick-Psychic-Friends energy flowing my way, or I have done an exceptional job of self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m too cynical to believe that.
So that made me look in to this character Hermes and what is referred to as Hermeticism. Spooky thing is it is exactly what my own view has evolved to be after my stopping by the All Religions Peep Show.
Who Hermes?
Hermes Trismegistus, the "scribe of the gods," dwelt in old Egypt in the days when the present race of men was in its infancy. Contemporary with Abraham, and, if the legends be true, an instructor of that venerable sage. All the fundamental and basic teachings embedded in the esoteric teachings of every race may be traced back to Hermes. Even the most ancient teachings of India undoubtedly have their roots in the original Hermetic Teachings.
“From the land of the Ganges many advanced occultists wandered to the land of Egypt, and sat at the feet of the Master. From other lands also came the learned ones, all of whom regarded Hermes, and his influence was so great that in spite of the many wanderings from the path on the part of the centuries of teachers in these different lands, there may still be found a certain basic resemblance and correspondence which underlies the many and often quite divergent theories entertained and taught by the occultists of these different lands today. The student of Comparative Religions will be able to perceive the influence of the Hermetic Teachings in every religion worthy of the name, now known to man, whether it be a dead religion or one in full vigor in our own times. There is always certain correspondence in spite of the contradictory features, and the Hermetic Teachings act as the Great Reconciler.”
- http://kybalion.home.att.net/kybalion.html#top
What is Hermetic Philosophy?
It is the basis of all modern occult and metaphysical thought. It is also very much the undercurrent of all religions. I’ve always felt that religions all say the same thing – each has just sullied the pure message with its own unique cultural bias. In looking at Hermes Seven Principles of Philosophy, they refer to concepts the Buddha described (principle of vibration); Vedic karma (principle of cause & effect); Taoism yin/yang (principles of gender and polarity); Judeo-Christian Man-in-God’s-image basis (principle of correspondence); quantum physics (principles of vibration and rhythm); Gnostic and esoteric beliefs that God is found through knowledge (principle of mentalism); and all religions’ basic tenet of the Golden Rule.
Wow. Heady stuff. Isn’t fun to get unsolicited information about stuff you might not even care about? Maybe it will make you think. Maybe not. But here you have it.
The philosophies are small bites and deceptively deep. It’s like Chicken Tapas for The Soul. Chew it. Taste it. Digest it. And remember, no swimming for 45 minutes after esoteric philosophy. Don’t want you getting a brain cramp.
Enjoy.
Craig
The Seven Hermetic Principles of which the entire Hermetic Philosphy is based, are as follows:
1. THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM: "The All is Mind; The Universe is mental."
2. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE: "As above, so below; as below, so above."
3. THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION: "Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."
4. THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY: "Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike is the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."
5. THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTM: "Everything flows out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall, the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates."
6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT: "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation but nothing escapes the Law."
7. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER: "Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes"
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craig hermes
"The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." -Eden Phillpotts
