Many consider astrology to be more about a philosophical approach to life and less about predicting possible future events. In this case, there should be a philosophical background around and before the knowledge that leads to the predictions regarding the outcome, but ... what is the cause of that outcome?
Anyone who systematically studies astrology, and especially its esoteric and philosophical dimension, will often come across the name Hermes Trismegistus. He may think that this is the god Hermes, one of the twelve gods of Olympus. But it is far from certain that we are talking about this Hermes - at least not only in the qualities we already know. Hermes' role was much more elevated than generally described.
A study of the history of astrology will take us to ancient Egypt, the land of magic through mysticism, the cradle of occult wisdom. (Relevant information on the history of astrology and its connection with Egypt can be found in the book "Echoes of the Gods, The Greek Myths of the 12 Signs and the Historical Journey of Astrology").
In ancient Egypt, the magician was a teacher. A very wise man who should know the essence of things. He also knew medicine, mathematics and astrology. In those years, knowledge and teachings were not selfishly or selfishly hidden, but all the ancient peoples (Egyptians, Greeks, Persians, Chinese, Syrians, etc.) shared, spread and perfected them, thus participating in this great festival of superior knowledge that all their teachers and students had organized so well.
But let's start at the beginning, because there is a lot of information about this name. One view - the prevailing one - is that the god of the ancient Egyptians, Thoth or Thot or Teouch, like the Greek god Hermes, was worshipped as a psychopompos, that is, the one who accompanied the souls of people when they died, in the underworld, in Hades. He was considered the "scribe of the gods" (like the Greek god Hermes). He was the creator and protector of astrology and alchemy. The ancient Greeks identified this Egyptian god with their own Hermes, the god of Olympus, because of similar qualities and/or responsibilities. .....
This Hermes, known as "Trismegistus Hermes", was also responsible for the knowledge and dissemination to the people of many arts and sciences, such as astronomy, medicine, language, gymnastics, sculpture, mathematics, etc. Many ancient Greek writings of the Ptolemaic era are attributed to him, which are considered to be translations of their Egyptian counterparts.
According to the view recorded in the Cymbeline (the manual of Hermetic philosophy), Hermes the Trismegistus was a great Master, the Master of Masters, was the beginning of the occult and was the one who created and established the laws of the universe. It is believed that he incarnated and was found on Earth, specifically in Egypt, at least 5,000 years ago and even more so that the details of his life are lost in time. He is said to have lived for three hundred years. During his incarnation he left many writings which unfortunately have not survived as they were destroyed in the great fire of the Library of Alexandria. The books and texts that contained all this knowledge about the spiritual evolution of man and the practices followed by the initiates have been lost for the most part although some believe they are still preserved somewhere in the Vatican libraries. However, three of his writings have survived to this day and are considered authentic. These are: a) The Cymbeline, b) The Corpus Hermeticum, c) The Emerald Tablet.
Thaddeus Zelinsky (1859-1944), the famous Russian-Polish classical philologist and honorary professor of various universities and academies of Europe, has a different view on the origin of Trismegistus Hermes, a view that concerns exclusively the Greek area. In his book, he speaks of the birth of Hermes in Arcadia (and specifically in mountainous Arcadia) on Mount Kyllini, from the union of Zeus and the goddess Earth, or Maia, as the Arcadians called her. Some rivers of Arcadia (in the eastern part) end in this mountain range, which the ancients called sinkholes, believing that they created underground roads to the underworld. The most important of them was called Styga, with the belief that it was the river on which souls floated to reach their eternal abode. Many times these rivers created lakes, and one of them was Stymphalia, which was considered the entrance to Hades. It was the home of the Stymphalid chickens that kidnapped souls. Because of this proximity, it was thought that Hermes, who was the Psychopomp, as mentioned above, originated there. The same philologist, after his own studies of the Homeric epics Iliad and Odyssey, but also on the basis of several mythological references, maintains that the earthly substance of the Arcadian Hermes was Odysseus, who was also his favorite, in essence he was himself, the incarnation of Hermes the Trismegistus. The Arcadians also considered Odysseus to be an Arcadian by descent and the founder of the city of Feneos, adjacent to Mount Kyllini and Stymphalia.
Since then innumerable teachings have sprung up and been written, but all the fundamental doctrines of esotericism come from Mercury. Even from India, many initiates and hierophants made their way to Egypt to be taught by the Master's own lips.
Around the name and teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, an entire philosophy developed, known as Hermetic Philosophy or Hermeticism. This philosophical system is the oldest, most organized and analytical attempt to understand the inner world of man. And it is considered the key to open the doors of all occult knowledge, since it is the beginning of it. Hermetic philosophy is based on seven principles, the Seven Principles of Truth.
"There are seven principles of truth. The one who knows and understands them possesses the magical key that opens all the gates of the temple before he even touches them". (Cymbeline).
The ancients believed that Hermes transmitted to mankind the seven laws of the universe, thus helping them to gain wisdom and knowledge, and that anyone who was able to understand and experience them had found the "magic key" that would open the "gates of the temple", the gates of knowledge and esotericism.
These principles are as follows (from Cymbeline):
- The Principle of Consciousness. "Everything is spirit. The universe is spirit."
- The Principle of Correspondence or Analogy. "That which is above is like that which is below. That which is below is like that which is above."
- The Principle of Vibration. "Nothing rests, everything moves, everything vibrates."
- The Principle of Polarity. "Everything is double. Everything has two ends. Like and unlike have the same meaning. Opposite poles have the same nature but different degrees. The extremes are touched. All truths are half-truths. All paradoxes are reconcilable."
- The Principle of Rhythm. "Everything flows in and out. Everything has its duration. Everything evolves and then degenerates. The oscillation of the pendulum is manifested in everything. Its oscillation time to the right is equal to its oscillation time to the left. The rhythm is constant.
- The Principle of Cause and Effect. "Every cause has its effect. Every effect has its cause. Everything happens by law. Chance is but a name given to the unrecognized law. There are many levels of causality, but nothing escapes the law."
- The Principle of Gender. "In all things there is a gender. Everything has the principles of masculine and feminine. The gender manifests on all levels."
These Seven Laws of the Universe are the keys to interpreting any symbol or allegory. They are the seven different aspects of truth. They are also related to the seven carriers of a person's consciousness. Fundamental maxims of Hermeticism in ancient Greek, as I know them (and I will try to translate them for you), are:
a) "μη κακόν είναι" - avoid doing harm
b) "αιτία ελομένου, Θεός αναίτιος" - God is not responsible for the actions of people who have freedom of choice
The knowledge advocated by Hermetic philosophy helps us to separate what we know from what we think we know. This knowledge relates to the core of our being, to our inner and spiritual evolution.
The disciples of Hermes had as a principle to keep the secrets of the teachings well guarded and to consciously spread them only to those who were ready to listen and learn. This constant policy of the Hermeticists of every age was based on the fact that the initiates knew that in every generation there were very few people who were ready to assimilate this knowledge or even to know it. They knew very well that people were not ready to understand certain things, so they were not ready to accept them. From this tactic of the hermetic philosophers comes the expression "hermetic", i.e. so closed that nothing is missed, as we say "eyes hermetically closed", "mouth hermetically closed".
The risk of persecution by religious groups was also an inhibiting factor in the spread of this knowledge. What they desperately wanted to avoid was being labeled "martyrs" by creating armies of loyal followers and fanatics around them. It was and is the aim of the Hermeticists not to turn this philosophy into a religion, not to be considered a dogma or a heresy, and not to mix it in any way with theology. The word that characterizes the Hermetic way of thinking is "investigate", not "believe".
For all the above reasons, the Hermetic teaching was rarely written down. It was transmitted orally from teacher to student, from lips to ears:
"The lips of Wisdom are closed to all but the ears of Logic"
(Cymbeline).
Sometimes, when the teaching was written down, it was in the terms of alchemy and astrology, so that only the initiated could read it. This measure was especially necessary in the Middle Ages, when persecutions and executions were highly... glorified! Unfortunately, only a few texts on Hermetic philosophy have survived from this period.
For many years, the texts of the Hermetic Teachings were considered to be Greco-Roman creations, but in the last decades and after the completion of the decipherment of the "Pyramid Texts", which date back to the middle of the third millennium, it has been shown that the origin of the Hermetic Teachings is Egypt. Until the discovery and decipherment of these hieroglyphs, the texts referring to the Hermetic teachings were not even considered authentic, although there are testimonies that Pythagoras and Plato, during their visit to Egypt, read the Hermes Stelae themselves with the help of Egyptian priests.
Pythagoras and Plato based their teaching on Hermetic philosophy, they continued (we could say) this teaching, and even the Pythagorean teaching was done with the method of allusions as well as Hermetic. The so-called Neoplatonic philosophers were also considered as continuators. In the West, Hermes Trismegistus became known in later years during the Renaissance through translations into Latin by Marciglio Ficino (1433-1499), a Neoplatonic philosopher. Throughout history, various philosophers and non-philosophers have addressed and reiterated Hermes' theory, but several times they have strayed and deviated from the path he taught, with the result that many of his theories have degenerated and varied.
Considering that none of his thousands of books have survived, with the exception of 2-3, unfortunately for all of us, the only key to the esotericism of ancient wisdom is for man to experience the original truths for himself.
Bibliography - sources:
- "Cymbaleio", The Hermetic Science, Three Mysteries, New Acropolis Publications
- "The Mysteries of Hermeticism", A.S. Raleigh, Iamblichos Publications
- "Hermes the Trismegistus and his Arcadian origins", Thaddeus Zielinski, Hecate Publications.