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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.tarot,alt.divination,alt.pagan.magick,alt.magick,alt.consciousness.mysticism From: nagasivaSubject: Tarot Correspondence, Hermetic Art, and Mystic Aims Date: Sun, 04 Jan 2004 07:23:48 GMT 50031214 vii om # I was aware of `THE SEPHER YETZIRAH PATTERN' but have never made # sense of it beyond drawing loops around planets and their signs. what sense are you trying to make of it? from what I can tell, Hebrew letters are categorizable into 3 piles. Elemental and Zodiacal attributions are also categorizable into 3. the SY has 3 Elements, 7 Planets, and 12 Zodiacal signs attributed to the '3 Mother Letters', '7 Double Letters', and the 12 Singles. study some books on Kabbalah or general Hebrew language for more, as I can't say I understand it more thoroughly than this barring tidbits and snippets which are unrelated to particular and biased arcane doctines, my attentions usually lying elsewhere. # I run into problems with the colours of the key scale when I do this, # (in my book Mercury is a very bright cyan colour*), and I also run # into problems with the non-placement of earth in the planetary # sequence. Earth being absent always struck me as a major oversight also, unless we're thinking astrologically, at which point it is traditional to omit Earth because it is the Center from which the astronomical (/astrological) configuration is being seen. if one is looking outward to see something, the inward element, however important it may be to us, is not relevant. # Some astrologists these days don't even bother with the # tradition wheel around the planet which seems like an # anachronism. Why bother? ... it used to be done with squares. :> # To me - that's what the Hermetic Art is about. Working # out - `how is this new thing relevant to these old symbols we know # of'? And `since the one is the one - where does this new thing fit # in'? your description sounds to me like a re-invention of the Wheel, and I don't mean that as any sort of criticism. typically the Student accepts the structure of times' past unless she is a Herald of a New Aeon, at which times all the rites are Black and must be cast aside until seen as valuable. the Hermetic Art is a vague phrase. it may relate to magic, or alchemy, or merely to graphics, symbols and writings. as a reference to magic, Hermetic Art is a focussed application of magic toward specific mystical ends, usually transcendental and associated with Neoplatonic, or at least emanationist, cosmologies. there is a distinct focus on communications with gods or spirits, and those in particular who are *responsible or in some way integral to the origination of language, communication, and magic* (e.g. Hermes, Mercury, Thoth, and Hermes Trismegistus (about whom see below). as a reference to alchemy, the Hermetic Art appears to me a speculative and internal discipline applying formulae toward restitution or transmutation of base materials to exhaltation, their essential character being mystically transformative. the graphics, symbols and writings of Hermetism, its art, are surrounded with faulty indicators and false temporal datings. here's something I was reading about that recently which addresses all of these aspects: _1.1 Hermes Trismegistus_ Hellenistic culture conflated the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes. Both were gods of invention, logic, language, arbitration and, to some extent, magic and the afterlife. Thoth-Hermes received the title 'trismegistus' (three times great) from the Egyptian practice of addressing the gods as 'great', 'twice great' and 'thrice great'. In Latin literature, the Roman Mercury often replaced Hermes. We accordingly read of Mercurius Termaximus. His composite identity prompted various reputations. He could be a god, but was more often a god's mortal descendant, living in some primordial era. Hermes's doctrine was not truly primeval. It arose under the Ptolemies, probably around 100 B.C., but preserved older traditions. It combined Egyptian magic and Middle Platonism, which had already borrowed from Stoicism and Neopythagoreanism. The first Hermetists were Egyptians, presumably of Greek descent. When recording their philosophy, they used Greek, well suited to their platonising. However, they were silent about Plato. All credit devolves on Hermes Trismegistus and the Egyptians. _1.2 Hellenistic astrology_ ... Astrology contributes to the Hermetic principle of correspondences. ...the zodiac and human anatomy were thought to correspond. The Hermetist drew parallels between two levels of organic unity, as he perceived them: the macrocosm (the total universe) and the microcosm (the individual human). This parallel could be elaborated into correspondences between specific conditions in the great cosmos and specific parts of the body or speicfic states of mind. The magician's thinking here largely depends on metaphors, analogies, unconscious associations and conventional myths. In Roman mythology, Mars is the personificiation of war; and his planet is red, suggesting his fiery temperament and the fire and blood of the battlefield. The metallic correspondence for Mars is iron, which is useful for making weapons and which can turn red with heat and with rust. The magician supposed that rituals involving 'martial' materials could induce bloodshed among his enemies. Each of the other planets likewise had its own correspondences and magical effects -- saturnine, jovial, venereal mercurial -- according to the presiding deity. ... ...some astrologers regarded the stars as intelligences that could be placated and persuaded. Hermetism, drawing on mystical Platonism, is strongly disposed toward theories of a multitude of spiritual beings intermediate between man and God.... ... _1.3 The *Corpus Hermeticum*_ The Hermetic *Corpus* consists of more than a dozen theosophical treatises, written by anonymous authors whose doctrine is not entirely uniform. Egyptian religion has been assimilated to Greek philosophy, and the texts may well borrow some ideas from the Jews and Persians. The anthology represents an extensive literature which is largely lost. The extant texts date from the Roman Empire. The first treatise in the collection presumably is meant to be a report by Hermes Trismegistus after his encounter with God's Mind, called Poimandres. Most editors, until recently, have given the title *Poimandres* (*Poemander, Pimander, Pymander*) not to the initial treatise alone, but to the entire collection. The enigmatic 'Poimandres' may derive from a Greek word meaning 'Shepherd' or a Coptic word meaning 'Thought of Re' or 'Mind of Re' (Re or Ra being the ancient Egyptian god of the sun). Thoth himself was hailed as 'representative of Re', 'son of Re', 'second Re', etc. Quite possibly, therefore, Poimandres and Hermes are each manifest- ations of Thoth who have inadvertantly been brought together in a mystical reverie. This certainly occurs in those Hermetic dialogues that cause Hermes to address his son Tat (Thoth in yet another guise).... [elaborating the content of said documents:] We humans are unique creatures, for we descend not from animals or elements, but from the ideal Man, God's own son. Those who are cognisant of their divine origins will shun bodily and material pleasures in preference for the worship of God. They will be informed directly by the Divine Mind. Hedonists will only receive the Avenging Demon. At death, the physical body returns to the elements of matter. The soul ascends through the orbits of the planets, and each of them absorbs a specific sin or vice. Completely purified, the soul's mind returns to its source. Besides this creation myth, the *Corpus Hermeticum* preserves a variety of subjects fundamental to Hermetism: Nature is virtually a living organism with all parts interdependent; the universe owes its unity to the Mind of God; He created the material world in imitation of an ideal world in His intellect; His spirit pervades the material realm; His will is exercised through a hierarchy of beings, ranging from angels down through humans to spirits within minerals. The human mind descends from the Divine Mind and can return to it, not only after death, but during devotional exercises. The *Corpus Hermeticum*, presumably in the form now known, was first cited by the Byzantine Platonist Michael Psellus (fl. 1060). It was edited not by magicians but, probably, by Christian monks or philosophers with no interest in magic. They valued the *Corpus* because of its allusions to a 'son of God', taken to mean Christ. Inasmuch as the *Hermetica* were supposed to be far older than the Gospels, some Christians, such as Lactantius, revered Hermes Trismegistus as a prophet, a pagan who nonetheless foresaw the Christian Saviour. Others, such as St. Augustine, rejected Hermetic theosophy as a demonic cult. _1.4 Philosophical *Hermetica* in the West_ The *Poimandres* was widely translated and studied. It was first rendered in Italian by Tommaso Benci (Florence, 1548), in French by Gabriel du Preau (Paris, 1650), in German by a certain Alethophilus (Hamburg, 1706). Here we still find the occultist's faith in a historical Hermes. This defies the landmark study by Casaubon, the eminent classicist. Isaac Casaubon (1559-1614), despite his popularity in France, moved to England, where he enjoyed Anglican patronage. King James I enlisted Casaubon's aid in criticising Cardinal Cesare Baronius's *Annales ecclesiastici* (*Ecclesiastical Annals*, Rome, 1588-1607). Casaubon tried to correct the *Corpus Hermeticum*. He used Renaissance methods of textual criticism to prove that the Hermetic books did not date from before Plato, but only after 100 A.D. Casaubon supposed that the Poimandres cycle was the invention of an early Christian or 'semi-Christian'. Casaubon's arguments were published in 1614, shortly after his death. Although scholars today no longer concede any Christian influence on the *Corpus Hermeticum*, they still concurr with Casaubon's dating of it. Hermetists never revised or abaondoned the myth of Hermes Trismegistus; they recoiled from the facts and, in general, drove ever more swiftly toward irrationalism. _1.5 Egyptian alchemy_ ... ...the materialistic interpretation of the art [of alchemy] is surely too limited. Alchemy is the 'Hermetic Art', and an understanding of Hermetic theosophy will greatly clarify the alchemist's use of symbolism, his mystical aims and the sources of his imagery. Mystical symbolism, rather than being a code, is a means of expressing intuitions that probably exceed the capacity of discursive prose. The traditional secrecy was said to be necessary because true revelations could be entrusted only to initiates, selected for their sound minds and characters. For the Hermetist, the whole of nature was an array of signs by which God revealed His will. Chemical reactions offered a specific focus for meditation. In effect, alchemists used the general concept of occult correspondences and thereby interpreted the operation of matter as reflecting psychological, spiritual and divine processes. Several levels could be linked through symbols, which typically convey layered meanings. Furthermore, Hermetists believed implicitly in the unity of the cosmos. If, as they declared, 'All is One', a single pattern or image can be the paradigm for apparently different things. Gold, for instance, is the ultimate in refinement for metals, and its lustre corresponded to the light of reason, the rays of the Sun, the Mind of God. The unity of the cosmos was regarded as an *organic* unity. It was informed and animated by the Creator's Spirit. Chemicals seemed to share in the stages of life: birth, maturity, copulation, testing, death, resurrection, immortality. They were subject to environmental changes, astrological influences, possibly even the power of prayer. They were spirits conjoined to bodies. A spirit in its earthly existence -- whether as a metal or a mortal -- was thought to be hampered, unable to function as intended by the Creator. The alchemist hoped to identify spiritual essences and to liberate them; hence his obsession with purification, both of his materials and of himself. He was God's agent, working in a physical world that was alien to spirits. Hermetic alchemists yearned to perceive and reveal the divine realm. They probably adapted the imagery used by other mystics and by the Egyptian priesthood. Hermetic theosophy consists of Egyptian theology cast in the mould of Greek philosophy. The same is true of Hermetic alchemy. It assimilated the mystic theme of the martyred god who returned to life. Thus, in the laboratory, matter suffered disintegration and rejoiced in transfiguration. Western alchemy also borrowed Neopythagorean number symbolism: the stages of transformation were numbered at three (black, white, red), the elements at four (earth, water, air, fire), the substances at seven (lead, tin, iron, copper, mercury, silver, gold). Alternatively, we read of three or four basic substances, four or seven stages.... _1.6 Alchemy and the *Emerald Tablet*, from East to West_ ... In the late Renaissance, intellectuals tended to abandon the antique idea that inorganic matter could be the residence of spirits. Alchemists more frequently referred to the old idea of astral influences: rays from planets were supposed to nourish particular ores in the earth. The alchemist, using planetary correspondences, tried to accelerate the maturation of metals in the laboratory.... ---------------------------------------------- "A Wicked Pack of Cards: the Origins of the Occult Tarot", Decker/Depaulis/Dummett, St. Martin's Press, 1996; pp. 2-11. ============================================== mentioned within it are 'the Hermetic Art' (alchemy here) and some of the practical applications of correspondences (as means of re-unifying the cosmos for magical and/or mystical aims). these may be some of the applications that the kinds of symbolic constructions we're touching on might be used to achieve. focus *away* from these methods enables magicians to place emphasis on the tools and their aims rather than on any specific methods which could come under heavy scrutiny. this omits a complete set of technological devices from view. # I also see no need for these cyphers any longer. you would if you came by your information from an occult order and laid any amount of value on your word, deed, and trust. # In this day and age we should not follow a [code] of # secrecy if we are not to be persecuted for it.... fear-based concealment is only one motivation, as was touched on above by D/D/D. another is power-containment. this is another explanation provided by witches and sorcerers for the occultation of their activities and formulae. the usual allegory given is of an infant playing with a loaded handgun. others include the potential commodification or retained purity of the doctrines and technology being concealed. # ...how these numbers justify themselves as fitting to the # concepts of the cards - the plan[e]ts and zodiac (new and # old school astrology) - and also to physics and chemistry.... the *concepts* of the cards? surely with some of the *numerology* of the cards the ancient Planets ('Chaldean') of astrology fit pretty well (ok, it's a little awkward): 7 x 11 = 77; (+1 Fool) = Card Number (78; trad Tarot) 2 x 11 = 22 (21+Fool) = Trump Number (trad Tarot) this ties in with what some occultists find a compelling 'occult' or 'magical' number (11). my impression is that the happy coincidences are more valuably weeded out and some actual resolution betwixt real bodies and theories ought be discovered. for this reason I find immense value in identifying the 'Planets' as rather *10* in number and their *square* a more fitting 'Tarot' (pentadinally-based): 10 x 10 = 100; (+1 Blank) = Card Number (101; Plebeian) 5 x 5 = 25; (+1 Blank) = Trump Number (26; Plebeian) each has their resonances, benefits and detriments. # I wonder if we could be guilty of constructing concepts # without end application - complex - maybe even beautiful # in thier complexity - but without real substance that will # aid us in Majick or Thelema. some naturally-arising items eventually serve valuable aims. the notion of rational planning and design has value within wholly-conceived purpose and motivations. intuitive drives, however, may over-run and, eventually, surpass and supercede that which derives from a blocky rationalist approach. I'd compare these two with the different approaches taken by players of the game of modern Chess. masters may begin with a rationalist attempt to apprehend every significant pattern in play, but eventually they appear to develop what appears to the observer as a transrational approach to play, becoming vaguely aware of their recognizing important patterns now submerged to their unconscious and relegated to rote response, their conscious mind almost 'along for the ride'. note that typically the first of these with which people become acquainted is the rationalist or hard-core, line-by- line memorization of forms imperative to the traditional endeavour being learned. compare the martial artist whose initial reluctance to learning basic maneuvers soon gives way as she sees the advantage when the basics are combined in larger routines, then set into the backdrop like so many subroutines to be called up without rational interference. ceremonial magicians whose interests extend also into the practice of martial arts report the similarity of this beginning and transrational actuation of basic forms, at times even comparing what they eventually themselves practice as a kind of neo-shamanic, or free-form type of ceremonialism (cf. Jan Fries or other modern eclectics who sometimes make traditional inroads as in Chaos Magick). my reason for mentioning this is that my *own* experience has directly included such reinvention and without my overt knowledge of toward what I would eventually apply it. only in the last year or so do I begin to understand how it is that what I'm doing is contributing towards an overarching Work, Operation -- one which I did not previously perceive. correspondence-lattices are applied toward magical aims. explanations about how these are used sometimes vary, but one common notion is the immersion of the magician in the energy or symbolism of any particular energy, spirit, intelligence, or whatever one would like to call it, that governs the quality or trait which one is trying to master, or at least to use. these are unified in a directed communication and contact, the encounter usually recorded by the magician for later study and personal reflection. inasmuch as the structures we're looking at appear to derive from orders practicing group ceremonial rites intending specific initiatic changes in participants, the question of application becomes a serious one. without some body of initiates to congregate and actualize the various Hermetic intelligences with whom one is supposed to be interacting, is it possible to this as a solitary? getting back to your post.... you mention "Majick or Thelema" with regard to construction without apparent end application. barring peculiar meaning of the first term, I've already covered that. the imperative aspect of these correspondences would be their resonance with the actual or real world, of whatever that consists, and whether the conceptual or attributional lattice has some practical application to that which one seeks to influence. with regard to Thelema, such correspondences might be used for the liberation or empowerment of personal will, of its intended coincidence with some universal correlate, and the integrity with personal aspects (e.g. mind, body, spirit), enabling movement in the proper direction of success. whether planning and rational analysis with respect to some overarching plan is necessary is a difficult issue to tackle, not only because many magicians haven't studied the fundamentals sufficiently to apprehend the language (this can be a very difficult task given the paucity of mastery combined with the sporadic and unreliable skill at writing), but also because religious and magical traditions tend to ossify their knowledge into dogmatic adherence as methods of passing on knowledge and instruction. as we've seen in the history of Hermetism (above), this can have results that corrupt rational truths (falsifying history and remaining wedded to romantic and unsubstantiated claims). whether history as such, science as such, or rationalism are imperative to successful mystical results are related to your overall inquiry in this post. do the contents of knowledge-sets determine, by virtue of their resonance with the real, the power of the magician? or is familiarity and comprehensability sufficient to form a 'magical link' between microcosm and macrocosm and allow those disciplined of will and symbolic-manipulation, the magically-skilled wizards, to achieve whatever it is that is desired? to quote you: # I wonder:) But I will persevere. :> nagasiva
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