Hermeticism: Rise and Fall of an Esoteric System: Part II

Spring 2009

John F. Nash

Abstract day of Venus and the hour of Saturn.” 2 The suitably inscribed trident talisman is shown in his is the second part of an article examin- Figure 1. Like Agrippa, Paracelsus also in- T ing the appearance, early in the Common vented an alphabet (which he called Era, of texts believed to contain revelation the “Alphabet of the Magi”) for engraving an- from the god Thoth/Hermes/Mercury and gelic names on talismans. teachings of the ancient Egyptian priesthood. It explores the evolution of Hermeticism, which Paracelsus regarded magic as an indispensable has continued to influence the western esoteric ingredient in healing work. Comparing his own tradition and remains an important pillar of methods to those of the clergy, he asked: modern esotericism. Part II begins with an ex- “What Divine that is ignorant of magic…can heal the sick, or administer any other help to amination of the applications of Hermeticism 3 during the Renaissance and concludes with a him by his faith alone?” He was scathing in discussion of its continued relevance in mod- his criticism of the medical establishment, ern times. which he regarded as incompetent. As a result, Paracelsus was continually persecuted by fel- Applications of Hermeticism low physicians; nevertheless his work had last- ing influence. He is mentioned by name in the arsilio Ficino, Cornelius Agrippa, Fama Fraternitatis , the first of the Rosicrucian M Robert Fludd, and Giordano Bruno Manifestos. 4 And among his later admirers was approached Hermeticism as a broad, all- the German esotericist Jakob Böhme (1575– encompassing field. But a number of Renais- 1624). sance scholars focused on specific applications. One of them was the Austrian nobleman The Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639) applied Hermeticism to political “Paracelsus” (1493–1541), whose full name theory. Like many other Dominican friars who was Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bom- 5 bastus Von Hohenheim. 1 A close contempo- dabbled in Hermeticism, he fell afoul of both rary of Agrippa, Paracelsus applied Hermeti- ecclesiastical and civil authorities. He spent 27 cism to medicine. His parallel interest in al- years in prison for his role in a failed rebellion chemy will be discussed later. Paracelsus pre- against Spanish oppression in southern Italy. scribed mineral and herbal remedies, laying However, while incarcerated, he wrote a num- important groundwork for modern pharmacol- ogy; but he also devoted much time and energy to what we would call alternative therapies. He About the Author created astrological talismans for curing a va- riety of physical and psychological maladies. John F. Nash, Ph.D., is a long-time esoteric student, In The Archidoxes , Paracelsus devoted a whole author, and teacher. Two of his books, Quest for the Soul and The Soul and Its Destiny , were reviewed chapter to remedies for impotence, one of in the Winter 2005 issue of the Esoteric Quarterly . whose causes he believed was witchcraft. To His latest book, Christianity: The One, the Many , ward of such attacks, the patient should “take a was reviewed in the Fall 2008 issue. Further infor- piece of horseshoe found in the highway, of mation can be found in the advertisements in this which let there be made a trident-fork on the issue and at http://www.uriel.com/.

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly , 2009 33 The Esoteric Quarterly ber of important books. His most famous work, King Louis XIV, eventually assumed the title City of the Sun , was a utopian vision inspired “Sun-King.” to some degree both by Plato’s Republic and Alchemy attracted the attention of many peo- by the magic city of Adocentyn in the Pica- ple during the Middle Ages, including Albertus trix .6 Campanella’s city was designed on Her- Magnus and his student, Thomas Aquinas, metic lines. A large, domed temple, atop a cen- who is believed to have written an alchemical tral hill, dominated a circular city consisting of text shortly before his death. 9 But alchemy was seven concentric, tiered rows of buildings. The neglected during the Florentine revival in favor temple clearly corresponded to the Sun and the of magic and astrology. It finally came into its concentric tiers to the planets. Seven lanterns, own in the 17th century with the work of representing the planets, hung in the temple; Paracelsus, mathematician John Dee, Robert and elaborate planetary symbols adorned the Fludd, and many oth- walls of the buildings. ers. Two alchemical Christian images were Hermeticism envisioned a un i- texts were published not neglected, and verse in which gods, planets, along with the Rosicru- representations of cian Manifestos in Christ and the 12 the zodiac, and the myriad 1614–1616: Considera- apostles were given lives on Earth form an organic, tion of the More Secret prominent positions sentient whole. Activity in one Philosophy by Philip à on the city’s outer Gabella , a paraphrase wall. 7 The city was part of the universe can affect of a work by Dee, and ruled on magical all other parts. Celestial bod- the much longer al- principles by the sun- chemical allegory, “The priest, an autocratic ies—and the exalted intelligen- Chymical Wedding of leader who derived ces that animate them— Christian Rosenkreuz” his power from the influence human activity; but, by German Protestant great magus, Christ— theologian Johann or perhaps from Her- in return, humankind can in- Valentin Andreae mes Trismegistus. fluence the celestial powers 10 (1586–1642). Following the idealis- and its own destiny through tic theme, the popula- By the 17th century, tion was virtuous and magic…In itself ethically neu- Kabbalistic concepts lived an idyllic life of tral, magic could be used for were being incorpo- peace and harmony. either destructive or construc- rated into alchemy, as Education and medi- they had been into cal care were pro- tive ends. Hermeticism a century vided by magi-priests earlier. Furthermore, who reported to the sun-priest. the goals of alchemy had broadened. The transmutation of metals remained of interest, Over time, Campanella’s utopian vision ex- but it was viewed primarily as a demonstration panded from a city to the whole world. He en- of the spiritualization of matter and the per- visioned a benevolent, imperial theocracy sonal transformation of the alchemist. Trans- backed by Spanish military might and headed mutation represented the descent and ascent by the pope, who would function as a latter- through the concentric spheres that surrounded day Egyptian pharaoh. He tried unsuccessfully the Earth—or the Sun, when the Copernican to interest Pope Urban VIII, who was other- model finally took hold. A further goal of al- wise sympathetic to Hermeticism, in his plan. chemy was to discover the elixir of life. Undaunted, he moved to France, where a modified version—based on French instead of Like other Renaissance Hermeticists, Paracel- Spanish military might—appealed to the pow- sus viewed his alchemical studies and his relig- erful Cardinal Richelieu. 8 Richelieu’s prodigy, ion as parts of a seamless continuum. He affirmed that “the foundation of these and other

34 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly , 2009 Spring 2009 arts be laid in the holy Scriptures, upon the the presidency of the Royal Society, was doctrine and faith of Christ.” 11 After providing schooled in Paracelsian alchemy. 18 detailed instructions on the process of transmu- For leading scientists to be interested in al- tation, he ended with this prayer: chemy might seem paradoxical today, but we Whosoever shall find out this secret, and at- must remember that Renaissance science—or tain to this gift of God, let him praise the “natural philosophy” as it was still called— most high God, the Father, Son, and Holy coexisted and competed with modern reduc- Ghost; the Grace of God let him only im- tionist science during the early years of the plore that he may use the fame of his glory, Royal Society. Indeed, the Society was widely and the profit of his neighbor. This the regarded as the manifestation of the Rosicru- merciful God grant to be done, through Je- cian “Invisible College.” 19 Within a few dec- sus Christ his only Son our Lord. Amen. 12 ades the Royal Society became a bastion of empirical science and resisted pressure to pub- Paracelsus insisted that alchemical transmuta- lish Isaac Newton’s papers on alchemy. tions, like talismanic magic, had to be performed when the Sun, Moon, and planets were Decline and Revival of in favorable alignment; 13 otherwise the process could be ineffective or dangerous. Hermeticism A number of individuals combined careers in he decline of Hermeticism had multiple mathematics and science with a profound in- T causes. Pre-Reformation ecclesiastical terest in Hermeticism. One was John Dee attitudes were always mixed. Giovanni Pico (1527–1608), a respected mathematician who was interrogated by the Inquisition but eventu- wrote the preface to an English translation of ally received papal support for his work. Euclid’s Elements and contributed to the the- Tommaso Campanella received a fair hearing ory of navigation. His mathematics also em- in Rome, but his proposals for a papal utopian braced concepts of number studied by esoteri- autocracy were rejected. Giordano Bruno was cists from Pythagoras onward. 14 Dee served as executed, and Cornelius Agrippa narrowly es- astrological adviser to Queen Elizabeth I 15 and caped a similar fate. gained international fame as an alchemist. He The Scientific Revolution obviously chal- devoted the latter part of his life, assisted by lenged the worldview on which Hermeticism the unscrupulous Edward Kelley, to communi- was based. However, as we have seen, Bruno cating with angels. There too, Dee’s “studies in embraced the Copernican model of the solar number, so successful and factual in what he system; and Renaissance natural philosophy would think of as the lower spheres…could be and the new empirical science competed for extended with even more powerful results into 16 influence in the late 17th century. The Enlight- the supercelestial world.” Eventually public enment, which built upon the Scientific Revo- opinion turned against him, and he died in lution, was a more serious threat, seeking to poverty. depict Hermeticism—along with traditional Isaac Newton (1643–1727) held the prestigious Christianity—as superstition. Since that time, Lucasian chair in mathematics at Cambridge magicians have been ridiculed by the scientific and wrote the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia community as much as they have been con- Mathematica , one of the most influential books demned by the church. in the history of science. He also translated the By then, Renaissance Hermeticism had already Emerald Tablet into English and dabbled in suffered a major setback of a different kind. alchemy, even setting up an alchemical labora- 17 The Swiss classical scholar and philologist, tory on the grounds of Trinity College. Elias Isaac Casaubon (1559–1614), used emerging Ashmole (1617–1692), noted antiquarian and methods of textual criticism 20 to demonstrate charter fellow of the Royal Society in London, that the classical Hermetic texts were not was an astrologer and alchemist. Robert Boyle, nearly so old as previously believed. The vo- “father” of modern chemistry, who was offered cabulary was relatively modern, and the texts

Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly , 2009 35 The Esoteric Quarterly referred to events in the early Christian era. chemy peaked at about the same time. As late The implication from Casaubon’s findings was as the 1650s, Athanasius Kirchner—a member, that whoever wrote the texts did not predate no less, of the Society of Jesus, which was Moses and Plato but postdated Christ! The founded to spearhead the Counter- “prophecies,” which so fascinated the church Reformation—published his Oedipus Aegyp- fathers were not prophecies at all; they were tiacus containing numerous references to the written by people familiar with emerging Hermetic literature. 23 Kirchner surmised that Christian doctrine. Academic historians now Egyptian hieroglyphics, which Hermes (the believe that the texts were written in the first inventor of language) must have designed, three centuries CE. We also know now that the were sacred talismans. 24 Kirchner was never title “Trismegistus” was itself comparatively persecuted by the Roman church, but he was modern. 21 nearly killed by an advancing army of Protes- tants for whom Jesuits The realization that Reductionist science challenged were anathema. the Pseudo-Hermes was not the “Gen- notions of universal, organic in- Individual Protestants tile Prophet” of terconnectedness. And Enlight- took an interest in Her- Old-Testament meticism, ignoring times destroyed any enment rationalism branded the negative attitudes to expectation that the Hermetic teachings as medieval magic on the part of Hermetic teachings superstition. Hermeticism was ecclesiastical authori- might have some- ties. For example, Ja- thing valuable to forced onto the defensive, but it kob Böhme was a Lu- contribute to Chris- never died out. The teachings theran; and the Rosi- tianity. It gave or- were preserved in Rosicrucian crucian Manifestos thodox elements of were published in the the Counter- and Masonic organizations. Calvinist Rhine Palati- Reformation am- They also influenced the arts, as nate. Perhaps the very munition to stifle exemplified by the plays of demystification of what influence Protestant beliefs and Hermeticism still Shakespeare, the music of Mo- practices spurred com- had in upper eche- zart, the writings of Goethe, and pensatory interest in lons of the Roman Hermeticism among church. In a delib- the poetry and art of William those with a hunger for erate snub to Ren- Blake. mystery. 25 aissance Neoplaton- The longer-term impact of the deteriorating ism, and Hermeticism to which it had given environment of the 17th century was to drive legitimacy, the Council of Trent reaffirmed the Hermetic studies underground. Whereas Her- Aristotelianism of Thomas Aquinas as the of- meticism had long been a topic of open dis- ficial philosophy of the Catholic Church. The course, it retreated more and more behind the Protestant reformers were no more sympa- closed doors of private salons or occult socie- thetic. They strongly condemned sacramental ties. Some of them eventually evolved into magic—“hocus pocus” summed up popular Masonic or Rosicrucian lodges. attitudes to Eucharistic transubstantiation 22 — and their condemnations overflowed into other The first reference to Freemasonry, in anything kinds of magic. like its present form, can be found in the min- utes of a 1598 meeting in Edinburgh, Scot- Despite these unfavorable developments, many land. 26 Elias Ashmole, whose role in the Royal people were unfazed in their interest in Her- Society has already been mentioned, was in- meticism. Robert Fludd and Tommaso Cam- ducted into a Masonic lodge in Warrington, panella were most productive in the early dec- England, in 1646. 27 Within 100 years, multiple ades of the 17th century, and the study of al- branches of Freemasonry operated throughout

Europe and North America and even in Russia. ten in Alexandria, which, by the first century What level of organized Rosicrucian activity CE, had become a general melting pot of Ro- existed in the 17th century is less clear. The man, Greek, and Middle Eastern thought. Manifestos (which called for the reform of A major Hermetic revival began in 19th- Christianity and major advances in science, century France. Alphonse Louis Constant education, and medicine) were published in (1810–1875) adopted the title of magus and 1616–1617, shortly after Casaubon’s findings wrote a number of books and articles on cere- were published. They attracted widespread monial magic under the pseudonym Éliphas attention, inspiring Robert Fludd, Elias Ash- Lévi. His books disclosed information that had mole, Thomas Vaughan (who translated the the previously been discussed only in secret socie- Fama Fraternitatis into English), and numer- ties. Lévi acknowledged that the classical texts ous others. But there is no evidence that a co- were probably creations of the Alexandrian hesive “fraternity” ever existed, and regional school, 32 but he affirmed an authentic Her- groups seem to have been small and short- metic tradition and seemed to believe that the lived. 28 Large-scale Rosicrucian organizations Emerald Tablet was actually the work of Her- date from the mid-19th century. mes. One of Lévi’s lifelong ambitions was to Continued Relevance see a rapprochement between magic and Chris- tianity, as had been attempted during the Ren- iehard believers still hold onto a shred of aissance. hope that there was a real Hermes Tris- D Another Frenchman, the Marquis Saint-Yves megistus and that the Hermetic texts are au- d’Alveydre (1842–1909), made an interesting thentic. One of many 20th-century Hermetic contribution with his creation of the “archeom- works describes Hermes as “father of Occult eter.” 33 The device, which may have been in- Wisdom; the founder of Astrology; the discov- spired by a passage in the early Kabbalistic erer of Alchemy.” 29 In the influential text, the Sefer Yetzirah ,34 consisted of a disc work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages , Manly inscribed by correspondences between num- Palmer Hall (1901–1990) speaks of Hermes as bers, letters, colors, musical notes, signs of the being a real god-man. 30 zodiac, and planets (Figure 2). D’Alveydre Regardless of when the Hermetic texts were claimed that it provided the key to understand- written, they may contain traces of ancient ing all ancient science and religion. Reportedly Egyptian, Chaldean and Persian religion. 31 It is he obtained a patent for the device in 1903. not out of the question that an oral tradition The Hermetic Society of the Golden Dawn was preserved teachings from earlier times and that established in London in 1888. Structured the authors compiled and commented upon along Masonic lines, with graded initiations, those teachings. Furthermore, the teachings its stated mission was to preserve “the body of may well express elements of a perennial phi- knowledge known as Hermeticism.” A larger losophy and/or were inspired by Intelligences mission was to promote the philosophical, beyond the human level. spiritual, and psychic evolution of humanity. 35 In any event, the Hermetic texts’ intrinsic va- Drama and rituals were performed resembling lidity has to be evaluated separately from their ancient mystery rites,36 and a broad range of authenticity; and the teachings have obvious esoteric topics were studied, including magic, merit. The philosophical mindset of the Her- astrology, and the Kabbalah. Although mem- metic teachings was a combination of Platon- bers of the Golden Dawn drew upon relevant ism, Stoicism, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism; Hebrew texts, 37 their Kabbalistic teachings this last emerged in the third century with the were strongly influenced by Hermeticism. The work of Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Por- Society’s work was protected by initiatory phyry, and Iamblichus. The teachings them- oaths, but publications by individual members selves were representative of the esoteric cul- soon brought the teachings to a wide reader- tures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and other parts ship. The Golden Dawn’s influence on modern of the region. Most likely the texts were writ- western esotericism was immense. 38

Modern Rosicrucian organizations include in the Hebrew alphabet. 43 Soon thereafter, Hermetic teachings in their study curricula. Tarot cards began to be used for divination, Alchemy also continues to command interest. meditation, and esoteric study. A century later, Despite John Dee’s contention that alchemy the Tarot became the subject of intense study would become almost impossible after his by Éliphas Lévi and other French occultists. time, on account of humanity’s increasing Lévi claimed that: “barbarism,” several individuals are reputed to A prisoner devoid of books, had he only have achieved the transmutation of metals. 39 a Tarot of which he knew how to make Alchemy has also interested Jungian psycholo- use, could in a few years acquire a uni- gists who see in its imagery archetypes from versal science, and converse with an un- the collective unconscious. 40 Emphasis on the equalled doctrine and inexhaustible elo- symbolism of alchemy is now so strong that quence. 44 the transformative aspects—transformation of the alchemist as well as the tinctures in their At about the same time, the Tarot entered the retorts—are often overlooked. repertory of the Society of the Golden Dawn; and, in due course, it spread to other western Hermeticism and the Tarot esoteric bodies. n important expression of Hermeticism, The Tarot reveals obvious Hermetic influence A which remains popular today, is the and seems to have a direct link with Renais- Tarot. The word “Tarot” is French, but it is sance Hermeticism. Tarot cards are talismans, derived from the plural Italian word tarocci albeit now serving purposes other than magic. (possibly “trumps” or “triumphs”), believed to Whether a separate link can be established refer to a card game. with Egyptian Hermetism is less clear. Never- theless, Golden Dawn initiate Aleister Crowley While there is some evidence that the Tarot referred to the Tarot as the “Book of Thoth.” 45 was known in early medieval Europe and the And the artwork in the popular Waite-Smith Middle East, the oldest extant Tarot deck dates deck 46 has an Egyptian flavor that calls to mind from about 1460. The hand-painted deck was the mythical setting of classical Hermetic commissioned by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti teachings. of Milan and his successor Francesco Sforza. 41 The 74 unnamed, but recognizable, cards were Concluding Remarks divided into two sections resembling the Major and Minor Arcana familiar today. 42 From the ermeticism has had an enormous influ- same period, a set of 50 woodcuts is attributed H ence on the western esoteric tradition. to Andreas Mantegna, painter and printmaker Even though the classical Hermetic texts in Padua. Some of Mantegna’s “cards” have turned out to be more recent than originally captions like “The Emperor” and “Justice,” believed and cannot be traced to the god-man which appear in the modern Tarot; but they Hermes, their powerful message has resonated also include “Poetry,” “Jupiter,” and “Chief with seekers for nearly two millennia. Regard- Agent.” Mantegna and the unknown creator of less of their origins, the Hermetic teachings the Visconti-Sforza deck were contemporaries speak for themselves. of Giovanni Pico and doubtless knew of his Classical Hermetism and the later Hermeticism and Marsilio Ficino’s interest in Hermeticism. envisioned a universe in which gods, planets, The artwork of the Visconti-Sforza deck (Fig- the zodiac, and the myriad lives on Earth form ure 3) is of a high order and recalls the classi- an organic, sentient whole. Activity in one part cal themes of Ficino’s talismans. of the universe can affect all other parts. Celes- The French Freemason Antoine Court de Gé- tial bodies—and the exalted intelligences that belin (c.1719–1784) recognized ancient sym- animate them—influence human activity; but, bols in the Tarot and concluded that they were in return, humankind can influence the celes- of Egyptian origin. He also suggested that the tial powers and its own destiny through magic. Major Arcana could be correlated with letters Hermetic magic was a broad field that in-

38 Copyright © The Esoteric Quarterly , 2009 Spring 2009 volved the use of minerals, herbs, perfumes, cian. To be sure, we are dismayed by some color, talismanic images, spoken or chanted aspects of Renaissance magic—as much as we invocations, and many other artifacts. In itself are repelled by the crude sorcery, prevalent in ethically neutral, magic could be used for ei- prehistory and continuing today, that Hermetic ther destructive or constructive ends. Human- ideals never touched. However, we have op- ity had divine potential, and to become a ma- portunities to develop new attitudes to magic; gus was within the reach of anyone willing to and, in that regard, much depends on perspec- invest the necessary time and resources and to tive. What, from below, might seem like a fu- attain the required moral perfection. tile attempt to defy inviolable laws of nature is seen from above as the use of higher mind— Hermeticism, and the Kabbalah with which it Nous , Mens , or Manas —to manipulate subtle overlapped in western esotericism, were em- energy within a framework of more compre- braced by leading Christians. Scholars, magi- hensive laws. We are reminded that the initia- cians, priests, and even some popes saw no tory path demands mastery of magic as an in- conflict with their faith; in fact, they envi- strument of service and the means to build a sioned ways in which Hermeticism could en- new world order for the Aquarian Age. rich Christianity or serve as a basis for needed reform. Christ and many of the saints were viewed as powerful magi, and Hermetic practi- tioners saw themselves as legitimate succes- 1 The name “Paracelsus” meant “comparable to sors. More orthodox Christians felt threatened Celsus,” the latter being the famous Roman to the point that they felt compelled to oppose physician whose work dominated western Hermeticism by any means at their disposal, medicine until the 16th century. including the torture and execution of those 2 Paracelsus, “Celestial Medicines,” The Archi- involved. doxis , treatise II, chap. 1, trans. R. Turner (Paris: Ibis Press, 1656/1975), 114. Quote tran- Reductionist science challenged notions of scribed into modern American English. universal, organic interconnectedness. And 3 Paracelsus, “Of Occult Philosophy,” The Archi- Enlightenment rationalism branded the Her- doxis , treatise II, chap. 1, 81-82. Quote tran- metic teachings as medieval superstition. Her- scribed into modern American English. meticism was forced onto the defensive, but it 4 Fama Fraternitatis , 1614. See the discussion in never died out. The teachings were preserved Frances Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment (London: Routledge, 1972), 61, 301. in Rosicrucian and Masonic organizations. 5 They also influenced the arts, as exemplified Considering the number of Dominicans who by the plays of Shakespeare, 47 the music of engaged in Hermeticism, it is ironical that the Order played so prominent a role in the Inquisi- Mozart, 48 the writings of Goethe, 49 and the po- 50 tion that persecuted them. etry and art of William Blake. Hermeticism 6 Frances A. Yates, Giordano Bruno and the finally enjoyed a major revival in the late 19th Hermetic Tradition (New York: Vintage Books, century, and it survives today as a major com- 1964), 370. In the Hermetic view, Plato’s uto- ponent of modern esotericism. Numerous pian dream was perfectly understandable since books on magic, alchemy, and mundane and he had derived his wisdom from Hermes. esoteric astrology continue to be published for 7 Ibid . 8 readers at every level of understanding. Ibid ., 376, 384-392. 9 Thomas Aquinas (attributed to), Aurora Con- In this post-modern age, when trust in rational- surgens , ed. Marie-Louise von Franz (Toronto: ism and scientific reductionism is eroding, Inner City Books, 2000). people are attracted to a worldview that honors 10 The primary manifestos were the Fama Frater- belief in a live, sentient, integrated cosmos. nitatis and the Confessio Fraternitatis . The Travel through the “spheres,” planes, or how- mythical Christian Rosencreutz, mentioned in ever else we choose to represent levels of real- the Chymical Wedding , was viewed as a magus ity, remains a goal of every mystic. Corre- in the Hermetic tradition. 11 Paracelsus, Prologue to “Of Occult Philoso- spondingly, the invocation of power from phy,” treatise II, chap. 1, 30. Quote transcribed higher spheres is the goal of every white magi- into modern American English.

12 Paracelsus, “Secrets of Alchymy,” treatise II, organizations was severely limited during the chap. 8, 28. Quote transcribed into modern Thirty Years War and the witch-hunts that fol- American English. lowed. By the end of the 17th century, “Rosi- 13 Paracelsus, “An Election of Time to be Ob- crucian” had acquired a pejorative sense. served in the Transmutation of Metals,” The Ar- 29 The Kybalion (Chicago: Yogi Publication Soci- chidoxis , treatise II, chap. 1, 159-160. ety, 1908/1912), 17. Authorship of The Ky- 14 Dee’s preface to Euclid began with an invoca- balion was attributed to “three initiates.” tion to “Divine Plato.” See Frances A. Yates, 30 Manly Palmer Hall, The Secret Teachings of All The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, (New York: Routledge, 1979), 94. Plato had Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Sym- been the primary expositor of Pythagoras’ the- bolical Philosophy (Los Angeles: Philosophical ory of number. Research Society, 1928). The book was pub- 15 Dee may have served as the model for the ma- lished when the author was only 27 years old. gus Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest . 31 Salaman et al., The Way of Hermes , 84. 16 Yates, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabe- 32 The History of Magic , trans. A. E. Waite (San than Ag e, 96. Francisco: Weiser, 1913), 79-80. 17 Skeptical colleagues dismissed his interest as a 33 The archeometer is mentioned in correspon- symptom of encroaching dementia. dence between d’Alveydre and Papus (Gérard 18 Boyle declined the presidency of the Royal So- Encausse). See the latter’s The Qabalah (San ciety because of reluctance to swear an oath. Francisco: Weiser, 1892/1977), 28-35. Figure 2 19 Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment , 248. is reproduced from The Rosicrucian Manifestos promised that the http://kingsgarden.org/English/Organizations/O Invisible College would teach “without books M.GB/Alveydre/Archeometre.html (accessed or marks all the languages of the world…and December 24, 2008). draw man from error.” 34 Sefer Yetzirah (short version), 2:2-6, trans. A. 20 The methods he used came to be called “higher Kaplan (San Francisco: Weiser, 1997), 262-263. criticism” and were applied to scripture, outrag- 35 Israel Regardie, The Golden Dawn (Woodbury, ing religious conservatives. MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1940/1971). 21 The name appeared on an inscription on the 36 Mary K. Greer, Women of the Golden Dawn second-century BCE Ibis shrine at Sakkara, (Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1995). See Egypt. See Clement Salaman, Dorine van Ovin, also W. Wynn Westcott, “Historic Lecture” and William D. Wharton, The Way of Hermes (London: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn). (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2000), 80. 37 On the other hand, a major source was Kabbala 22 The term was a contemptuous parody of the Denudata (“Kabbalah Unveiled”) by the 17th- words of consecration: Hoc est enim corpus century Christian Kabbalist, Knorr von Rosen- meum. roth. 23 The three-volume work was published in Rome 38 The original Society of the Golden Dawn did in 1652–1654. not last long into the 20th century, but deriva- 24 That notion seems less fantastic when we recall tive organizations still operate on both sides of that the medieval Kabbalists believed that the the Atlantic, including the Builders of the Ady- Hebrew alphabet was of sacred origin. tum. 25 Tobias Churton, The Magus of Freemasonry 39 They include the Count of Sainte-Germain (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2004), 136. (1710–1784?), Jean Julien Fulcanelli (1877– 26 Charles W. Leadbeater, Glimpses of Masonic 1932), and R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz (1887– History (Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing 1961). For a discussion on famous alchemists House, 1926), 243. throughout history see Kenneth R. Johnson, The 27 Churton, The Magus of Freemasonry , 92-117. Fulcanelli Phenomenon (London: Neville Churton depicts the Craft, in the 17th century, Spearman, 1980), 25. Also: Jacques Sadoul, Al- as being in transition from operative (guild) ma- chemists and Gold (London: Neville Spearman, sonry to modern speculative Freemasonry. 1970), 59-187. 28 For a discussion of the Rosicrucian movement, 40 See, for example, Carl G. Jung, Psychology and see Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment . The Alchemy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Brotherhood of the Rose Cross was so secret Press, 1953); Mysterium Coniunctionis (Prince- there are doubts that it ever existed except in ton University Press, 1977); Alchemical Studies concept. The growth of imitative Rosicrucian (Princeton University Press, 1983). Also,

Marie-Louise Von Franz, Alchemy: An Intro- signed by Arthur Waite and Pamela Coleman duction to the Symbolism and the Psychology Smith, both members of the Golden Dawn. (Toronto: Inner City Books, 1981). 47 Yates, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabe- 41 A reproduction is available from Lo Scarabeo, than Ag e, 148-192. Torino, Italy. 48 Jacques Henry, Mozart the Freemason (Roches- 42 The Visconti-Sforza deck must have contained ter, VT: Inner Traditions, 1991). Mozart’s The at least 76 cards because two of the missing Magic Flute , published in 1791, is replete with ones left obvious gaps in the minor arcana. occult symbolism. Missing from the major arcana are The Devil 49 Matthew M. Ryder, “Goethe, Lessing and and The Tower. Schiller: German Dramatists, Freemasons, Poets 43 Antoine Court de Gébelin, The Primitive World, and Romanticists,” http://www.freemasons- Analyzed and Compared to the Modern World , freemasonry.com/ (accessed September 15, vol. viii (Paris, 1781). 2008). 44 Éliphas Lévi, The Mysteries of Magic (London: 50 Désirée Hirst, Hidden Riches: Traditional Sym- Kegan, 1897), 285. bolism from the Renaissance to Blake (London: 45 Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth: Egyptian Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1964). Tarot (San Francisco: Weiser 1944/1969). 46 The deck is often referred to as the “Rider Deck,” after its publisher. The deck was de-

Figure 1. Talismanic Image for Combating Assaults on Potency (after Paracelsus)

Figure 2. Saint-Yves d'Alveydre’s Archeometer

Figure 3. Two Cards from the Visconti-Sforza Tarot Deck (with modern names)

The Hermit The Star