The Prisca Theologia
Two overdue Corrections, restoring Hermetica as the Perennial Philosophy.
No serious exploration of Hermetics can proceed without serious and guided contact with The Corpus Hermeticum.
We begin our discussion with the addressing of two main corrections which are overdue.
In the year 1460 a monk under the patronage of Cosimo de Medici, brought a greek manuscript to Florence. The monk, Leonardo of Pistoia, was one of many agents that had been commissioned by de Medici to scour the monasteries of Europe to recover ancient and forgotten writings. The premise was that ancient texts had been deemed lost during the period of civil and academic decline we call the Dark Ages, and to further the aim of making Florence a centre of learning, de Medici sought to recover the ancient works and reintroduce them to the world.
What was delivered by Leonardo of Pistoia was a codex constituting fourteen treatises attributed to ancient Egyptian sage Hermes Tresmegistus. The works caused an immediate and sensational stir, to the effect that the eminent scholar Marsilio Ficino was ordered to suspend immediately his translation of the works of Plato in favour of this more significant work, which became know as the Corpus Hermeticum (The Corpus).
The work was labelled and regarded at the ‘Prisca Theologia’, a term which refers to a belief, or idea, of a single, true theology or wisdom that threads through all religions and and has been given to man in antiquity.
The treatise had been written in ancient greek, which was the Lingua Franca of the ancient world. That is to say, Greek was the language of scholarship, commerce, and diplomacy in many Hellenistic regions. Works in philosophy, science, and literature if not composed in Greek were translated and studied in Greek, a fact which ensured the languages central position in intellectual circles.
The prominence of Greek as a lingua franca was especially evident after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. His conquests spread Greek culture and influence throughout the known world, from Greece proper through Egypt, Persia, and even parts of India. This period, known as the Hellenistic Era, witnessed the widespread use of Greek as a common language among various peoples.
It was the context of this reality where we encounter the first error which we are going to correct here.
The manuscript which introduced Hermetics to the Western world, had been preserved in Greek and based on informed investigation seemed to have been produced between the first and third centuries CE (AD) in Alexandria in Egypt.
Challenging Casaubon.
In 1614 a Swiss Calvanist from Geneva, Casaubon claimed to prove to the academic world that the works they had discovered were not as old as they appeared to be. It is important to understand the wider context of Casaubon, his interests and the climate his studies and assertions took place in. Casaubon was professionally active during a time of significant religious upheaval and debate in Europe where his scholarship often intertwined with the theological disputes of his day.
Calvanism was considered an unusually austere and highly disciplinarian form of Protestantism. Here follows a brief overview of three of Calvinism’s core and distinctive beliefs:
Predestination: One of the most well-known doctrines associated with Calvinism is the doctrine of predestination. Calvinists believe that before the foundation of the world, God predestined some people to be saved and others to be damned.
Sola Scriptura: Like other Protestant Reformers, Calvin emphasized the doctrine of "sola scriptura" – the belief that the Bible is the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice, over and above church traditions or ecclesiastical hierarchies.
Total Depravity: Calvinists believe in the doctrine of total depravity, which posits that as a result of the Fall of Man, every part of a person (mind, will, emotions) is corrupted by sin and incapable of choosing God or doing good without divine grace.
It should be noted that these three, particularly the second doctrine of Sola Scriptura was wholly incompatible with the premise of The Corpus as respresenting the Prisca Theologia.
Casaubon was a staunch Protestant and was deeply involved in the debates between Protestant and Catholic theologians, even though his work primarily focused on classical antiquity.
Casaubon played a significant role in the debate about the age and authenticity of the Hermetic writings, which were believed by many Renaissance scholars to predate Moses and represent ancient Egyptian wisdom. By closely examining the texts and their references, Casaubon ‘convincingly’ argued that they were of more recent, Hellenistic origin. He thereby undermined the idea of the Hermetic texts as sources of primordial wisdom, and thereby deftly and conveniently removing another challenge to the Calvinist doctrines from the table in the process.
Casaubon’s opinion was naturally contested but much to the Church’s delight was widely accepted and led to the waning of general fascination of the texts.
Casaubon’s crimes against true learning stack atop an already weighty list of egregious sins committed by religion, particularly Christianity, harming the spiritual interests of our entire species. A far more plausible truth is simply that all major works were translated into Greek for study and posterity. Alexandria was a centre of learning in Egypt that bore the name of its founder Alexander the Great, and became a seat of Helenic culture as part of the wider Hellenic empire.
That the works which had been recovered were deemed to have been produced in Alexandria as late as 300 CE does not preclude the possibility, or the likelihood, that it was simply a re-production of an earlier work. All major spiritual, religious and philosophical treatises have received, and continue to receive this same treatment. To apply Casaubon’s logic is to walk into a hotel in America and pick up a Gideon’s Bible, and conclude that the language and grammar places the authorship by American Christian scholars in the mid to late 20th Century CE.
To apply Casaubon’s logic is to walk into a hotel in America and pick up a Gideon’s Bible, and conclude that the language and grammar places the authorship by American Christian scholars in the mid to late 20th Century CE.
Furthermore, Casaubon’s assertions were speculative, not conclusive, in so far as any ‘certainty’ was convenient to his and the church’s interests, rather than iron clad.
This comprises the first correction, which serves to re-open the way in our belief systems and predictive models, whereby The Corpus can once again take the place, something it in truth never lost, of being considered in the light of the Prisca Theologia.
The Second Correction.
The Second correction seems to swing the other way and can be regarded as potentially undermining the veracity of Hermetics. This would be yet another mistake. As with the first correction, the detail matters.
If you ask ChatGPT or Google what Hermeticism is, you will be told something of the following:
Hermeticism, also called Hermetism, is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice-Greatest Hermes"). These writings have greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance and the Reformation.
The study and proliferation of ideas from The Corpus is something that has been going on for centuries with no regulation or consensus. It is for this very reason that I refer to Hermetics rather than ‘Hermeticism’ or ‘Hermetism’, to deliberately distinguish the ‘core and essential’ from the morass of diluted hokum we encounter under the same name. Hermeticism enjoyed or suffered an unfettered proliferation during and after the Reneissance. The proceeds of those activities gave us syncretic infusions with Christianity, and confusion around fields such as magic, alchemy, astrology and all manner of occultism and esoteric material. To be clear Hermetics is absolutely fundamental to the actual principles of Magic, Alchemy and Astrology, being that it can be no other way. Similarly the overlaps with Gnostism and Kabbalah are notable and inevitable, but similarly also the cause of further distortion and confusion.
Kabbalah and Gnosticism suffer from their own distortions given that the concepts are abstract and obscure and the language is heavily codified, they lend themself to hacky practice, articulation and dissemination. I will be expounding further on both Kabbalah and Gnosticism in later articles. It will suffice for now, to inform the reader that the overwhelming majority of content and interpretations of Hermetics, Kabbalah and Gnosticism are at best confused or misinterpreted. At worst they are utter bullshit and it is not unfair to say that most available literature, by definition is the equivalent of ‘fan-literature’.
It should be noted that while the concepts outlined in the Hermetic Principles can be found throughout the Hermetic texts, the explicit list of ‘seven principles’ as presented in this article is a more modern presentation, notably from the book The Kybalion, published in 1908 by three ‘anonymous’ individuals under the pseudonym "The Three Initiates."
As it happens the three anonymous intiates are believed to be one or all of the following:
William Walker Atkinson: The most widely accepted theory is that the primary author of the book is William Walker Atkinson, an influential figure in the early 20th century New Thought movement. There is substantial evidence suggesting that Atkinson was involved in the book's writing and publication.
Paul Foster Case: Some believe that Paul Foster Case, founder of the Builders of the Adytum and a known occultist of the time, was one of the initiates, though this claim is debated.
Michael Whitty: Another proposed member of the Three Initiates is Michael Whitty, an associate of Atkinson's.
It should also be mentioned that despite its more modern organization into seven distinct principles, the core ideas have deeply ancient roots and have been influential in various esoteric, mystical, and philosophical traditions in the West.
The reader is invited to consider the presence of these ideas as a confirmation rather than a detraction from the notion of a Prisca Theologia.
At it’s heart Hermetics is a Science of the Mind, a high ‘Priesthood’ as it were of Reason. The very notion of Reason and Science opens the door to the modality of working hypotheses. The definition of a working hypothesis is the willingness to try an idea on for size, but really committing to the look. With ideas, to really give them a chance to unlocking better understanding and enhanced perspective, it is completely rational and prudent to treat the temporarily adopted idea it as if it were completely true. In the absence of knowing, this is a very skilful game, which requires only the kind of courage which is born out of genuine curiosity.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The reiteration and alignment with Hermetica is absolutely essential and key to our evolution as a species. Whether by accident or deliberate intention, we cannot follow the signal without aligning with the signal, we cannot belong to Life without integrating the wisdom of Life. Hermetics is the wisdom of the Perennial. To enjoy the gifts of perennial Life, we have to amend ourselves to the project of alignment and unfolding. This is The Way.
This is a labour of duty and leadership, and an answer to the holding of the deep question: “What would I want / What does Love look like in this moment?”
I am doing my part, you can do yours by taking this material to heart, and by supporting this work with a subscription. All proceeds are invested to further the Cause of the future human and Hermetics via Project Shaduf and Eyes Wide Open Life.
Thanking You,
Yours in Service
Rocco Jarman