Who Is Hermes Trismegistus?
By: The Duelist You know as l bear l
Nobody knows. His life is a mystery. He is much like Plato in that manner, you can debate the actuality of his existence all you want but that is irrelevant. Texts have been found with their names, let us hear what they have to say.
His words are said to have taught Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, Apollonius of Tyana and Plotinus. He is respected as an ancient sage of the Egyptian esoteric tradition. Though, his texts did not appear to the masses until the Renaissance spreads its fingertips of rosy light.
He may also be called Hermes The Thrice Greatest. Marsilio Ficino says because he was the greatest philosopher-magician, the greatest Egyptian priest, and the greatest king or legislator. Christian Hermeticists claim this figure earned this title because he spoke of the doctrine of the Trinity, which we will discuss in a bit. We can’t ignore that his name is Hermes, so let us look at the attributes of this god and apply them to this figure. Hermes is the messenger of the gods-the word of the gods-the Logos, he is the god of writing, of magick, of quickness/speed, and the god of secrets. He is known as the first to make use of magical images and the inventor of hieroglyphs. He is of mobility, tolerance, discourse and inspiration. He is a psychopomp, guiding souls to and through the after life. His Roman equivalent is Mercury, also the planet and metal is of his nature. Antoine Faivre says he runs between various currents, linking the separate, skimming over oppositions while stealing their substance. The Egyptian equivalent is Thoth, and Hermes Trismegistus is of all these things. Richard Smoley says he is not exactly a god though. He was an ubermensch. A being from above (the Hermes-Mercury-Thoth archetype from the hyperworld?) that came down in flesh as a benefactor of our race, his manifested purpose was to guide humankind along the path of righteousness. From his word we have the birth of Hermeticism which is the concern of transmutation and change; a tradition of alchemy, known as being the practice of changing one substance into another and transforming dull, gross substances into substantial ones, turning shit into gold, making something out of nothing, the combination of opposites to birth a new glorious child. It teaches the fact that man possesses a divine intellect. The universe is a text, is a written word (Mercurial), to be deciphered. Man can attain union with the divine. The universe, in all its vastness, is inscribed upon the human soul and is to be decoded.
The Emerald Tablet
The birth of this text is cloudy. Sources say it can be found in texts that date all the way back from 650 AD all the way up to the 15th century. Some believe it is much more ancient than that. This text is also known as Smaragdine Table, Tabula Smaragdina, or The Secret of Hermes. The words purport my definition of Hemerticism above. This text was respected among by European alchemists and laid down a foundation and instructions and goals for their art.
- 1. [It is] true, without a lie, certain and most true,
2. That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is above is as that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one thing.
3. And as all things were from the one, by means of the meditation of the one, thus all things were born from the one, by means of adaptation.
4. Its father is the Sun, its mother is the Moon, the Wind carried it in its belly, its nurse is the earth.
5. The father of the whole world [or "of all of the initiates"?] is here.
6. Its power is whole if it has been turned into earth.
7. You will separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the dense, sweetly, with great skill.
8. It ascends from earth into heaven and again it descends to the earth, and receives the power of higher and of lower things.
9. Thus you will have the Glory of the whole world.
10. Therefore will all obscurity flee from you.
11. Of all strength this is true strength, because it will conquer all that is subtle, and penetrate all that is solid.
12. Thus was the world created.
13. From this were wonderful adaptations, of which this is the means. Therefore am I named Thrice-Great Hermes, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. It is finished, what I have said about the working of the Sun.
These words contain a kind of dogma that run through out all of the history of western esoteric tradition, from alchemy to Thelema. Hermes Trismegistus gave us the word of God, the word to help humanity climb back up, seek its divinity and grasp it firmly.
I would quickly like to include a quote from Arthur Versluis’ Magic and Mysticism, on another text attributed to The Thrice Greatest One, which holds just as much significance through out all of magickal history as The Emerald Tablet.
- “In Asclepius I and II, the doctrines of Trismegistus concern the nature of the cosmos and of humanity, of the various beings possessing soul, of the daemons and the elements, of the nature of evil and of the eternity of God. So far as the cosmos as a whole is concerned, Trismegistus insists that it is good, not fundamentally flawed (27a). Further, in Asclepius III, he turns his attention to the nature of God, who cannot be named and who is bisexual in nature, just as are all beings (21). The cosmos is in God’s image, and therefore both are good.” (As above, so below).
Relevance (To me)
In Qabalah (which admired the former texts as well), the Soul, the Sun, the Son, Tiphareth, Beauty, according to the Tree of Life, is attained through reconciliation between the father and the mother, between the two pillars, between opposites. It is attained when both male and female tendencies within the person become reconciled, balanced, and then they dissolve into one another becoming one. The Soul is a direct conduit of Kether, the God-head, receiving all of its glory, sprinkling it down into the sub-conscious, Yesod, and finally down to Earth, Malkuth, or our physical manifestation. This is what Hermes Trismegistus means in the Emerald Tablet by “As above, so below.” Also by “Its father is the Sun, its mother is the Moon, the Wind carried it in its belly, its nurse is the earth.” Also, when he mentions that God is bisexual and so are all beings he is talking about how both male and female sexes contain both male and female tendencies or patterns of behavior, and it is the uniting of these opposites, the intercourse between these two polarities, which (re)births a new being, a new perspective on life, and a new way of action.
My practice in English Qabalah has shed some light upon the figure known as Hermes Trismegistus, which I will demonstrate as my finale. I feel I don’t have room here to elaborate much on the structure of this number system, but my reference at the bottom shall explain it to you, in detail, if you are interested. Essentially this is a form of Gemetria, where each letter in an alphabet has a numerical equivalent, so words, when the letters contained are added together give the word a numerical value, and words that have the same numerical value are said to correspond, relate, have common characteristics, and shed light upon one another – if not immediately then upon further meditation the correspondences shall be revealed. With Phrases you add all of the words contained together.
Lets begin with the word Hermes, just to give you a taste. This name’s sum value is 408. Other words with this same numerical value are Logos, Shakti, House, Aspire, Praise, Poetic, Heretic, and Yesod. Now, can this be coincidence? Logos, the word of god, phallic/masculine/solar in all its sense, already attributed to Hermes since antiquity finds a numerical correspondence in this relatively new system of English Qabalah! How splendid! Hermes being the god of the poets must have the same value as the word poetic! Now we have Yesod, the sephiroth on the Tree of Life attributed to the subconscious, the moon – isn’t this what Hermes Trismegistus speaks of when he tells us to find our spark of the divine, our soul? You must dive down deep into the depths of your psyche, into your moon, your underworld and confront it in order to see the dawn, to taste your sun, and then smash them together, combining the sun and moon in order to restore harmony to your former uncomfortably polarized state.
The word Trismegistus has a value of 1074. The others include Blood of the Red Lion, Temple of the Sun, Hidden and Glorious, Son of Perdition, Lift up thyself, Crown of Creation, Spiritual Sun, The Lightning Flash and That which remains.
The phrase Thrice Greatest has a number of 948. Others include Holy Chosen One, Majesty of Godhead! Warrior of Nu, Strong in War, Floor of the Palace, Wine of the Sabbath, Solve Et Coagula, and Philosophus.
This is too good! Floor of the Palace?! No wonder why there is a beautiful floor mosaic in the Cathedral of Siena of Hermes Trismegistus! Solve et Coagula! Latin for Separate then Combine or Dissolve and Coagulate! A Hermetical/alchemical mantra since its birth!
The Double Wanded One, one containing spiritual harmony, definitely attributed to anyone worthy of the title Trismegistus, for it means that they contain the trinity completed within them, both wands balanced held firm, held high! The numerical value is 864, its equivalents are Ra-Hoor-Khuit, Ankh-af-na-knosu, Prophet of All, Chosen One Of All, Mark of the Beast and Great Magical Agent.
Now the full name, Hermes Trismegistus, whose number is 1482, has only one corresponding phrase from my incomplete list of words, and it is: Let Blood flow to my Name!
UPDATE: due to further calculations we find the phrase: two thousand twelve has the number of 1482! lol! Is it the year of Hermes Trismegistus? The year of his return? Will 2012 allow balance and harmony to reign down upon human consciousness and change our understanding hitherto? is not equilibrium right before our very eyes? Is it not veiled before us? Shall the veil be lifted? To all, many, or just a few, maybe only one?
MAJOR ATU XIV - ART (Alchemy)
Mercury as ruler of Virgin and House 6 – balance and harmony in motion
Zodiac: Sagittarius
Tree of life: From Yesod to Tiphareth
Element: Fire
Number: 14 as two times the 7, adjustment of destiny
Art represents the art of alchemy, the ability to solve and combine, to turn something plain into something precious.
Art is the symbol for the right mixture, the perfect balance, standing for harmony, beauty and peace. But the trump can also show that sides that were previously ignored should be lived out and that contrasts should be put together to enrich the inner spectrum with new perspectives.
From a personal view the ‘solve et coagula’ can mean that there is a need to leave a fixed position, to retire, watch and then go back again to combine on a new basis.
Drive: ’Solve et coagula’ – dissolve and combine
Light: Balance and harmony, fulfillness, creation, peace
Shadow: Getting into extremes, splitting up and tearing apart
BIBLIO:
http://www.corax.com/tarot/cards/index.html?art
Hidden Truths: Magic, Alchemy, and the Occult – Heremticism – Antione Faivre
Hermes And Alchemy – The Winged God And The Golden Word – Richard Smoley
The Emerald Tablet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Tablet
English Qabalah – http://thelemicgoldendawn.net/englishqabalah.htm