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

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Spring 2009 Hermeticism: Rise and Fall of an Esoteric System: Part II 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 applica- tions. 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 af- firmed 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 per- formed 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.
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