THE hermetic tradition is, strictly speaking, concerned with knowledge that is not metaphysical but only cosmological, in the double sense of “macrocosmic” and “MICROCOSMIC.” This statement must not be taken in any sense as a depreciation of the traditional sciences that come under the heading of Herme-tism or of those that correspond to them in other doctrinal forms of East and West; but if everything is to be put in its rightful place, then it must be admitted that these sciences, like all specialized knowledge, are merely secondary and derivative with regard to the principles. In fact they are no more than a particular application of the principles at a lower level of reality. To maintain the contrary would mean giving precedence to “Royal Art” over “Sacerdotal Art.” (NA: With regard to the expression “Royal Art,” which Freemasonry still uses, we may note here the curious resemblance between the names Hermes and Hiram; this does not mean, needless to say, that these two names have the same linguistic origin, but their constitution is nonetheless identical, and the combination HRM from which both are essentially formed suggests other comparisons also.) Essays: Hermes
It cannot be contested that it is from Hermes that Hermetism takes its name. The Greek Hermes has in fact characteristics that correspond exactly to the sciences in question and that are strikingly expressed, for example, by his chief attribute, the Caduceus. No doubt there will be a further opportunity to examine its symbolism more fully; suffice it to say for the moment that this symbolism is essentially and directly related to what might be called “human alchemy” and is concerned with the possibilities of the subtle state, even if these are to be taken merely as the preparatory means to a higher realization, as are, in Hinduism, the equivalent hatha-yoga practices. This can moreover be transferred to the cosmic order, since everything in man has its correspondence in the outer world, and vice versa. (NA: As is said in RASA’il ikhwan as-safa, “The world is a great man and man is a little world” (al-alam insan kabir wa ‘l-insan alam saghir). It is moreover in virtue of this correspondence that a certain realization in the “MICROCOSMIC” order can cause, accidentally as regards the being who has achieved it, an outward realization relating to the “macrocosmic” order without any special effort having been exerted in that direction, as has been known to happen, for example, in certain cases of metallic transmutations.) Here again, and by reason of this very correspondence, the domain in question is the “intermediary world,” where are brought into play forces whose dual nature is very clearly figured by the two serpents of the Caduceus. It may be remembered also, in this connection, that Hermes is represented as the messenger of the gods and as their interpreter (hermeneutcs), that is, precisely, an intermediary between the celestial and terrestrial worlds, and that he has in addition the function of “guide of the souls of the dead” which, in a lower order, is clearly related also to the domain of the subtle possibilities. (NA: The functions of divine messenger and “guide of souls” could, astro-logically, be related respectively to a diurnal and a nocturnal aspect; they may also be said to correspond to the descending and ascending currents symbolized by the two serpents of the Caduceus.) It might be objected that insofar as concerns Hermetism, Hermes takes the place of the Egyptian Thoth with whom he has been identified, and that Thoth represents wisdom, which is related to the priesthood as guardian and transmitter of the tradition. That is true, but since this identification cannot have been made without some reason, it must be admitted that it concerns more especially a certain aspect of Thoth which corresponds to a certain part of the tradition, the part that comprises those branches of knowledge that are related to the “intermediary world”; and the remains that the ancient Egyptian civilization has left behind do in fact show that the sciences of this order were much more developed there and had taken on an importance far more considerable than anywhere else. There is moreover another comparison, we might even say another equivalence, which shows clearly that this objection would have no real bearing: In India the planet Mercury (or Hermes) is called Budha, a name of which the root letters mean wisdom; here again, it is enough to specify the domain in which this wisdom (in its essence the inspiring principle of all knowledge) is to find its more particular application when it is related to this specialized function. (NA: Budha is not to be confused with Buddha, the title of Shakya-Muni, although both appellations have clearly the same radical meaning, and although certain attributes of the planetary Budha were eventually transferred to the historic Buddha, who is represented as having been “illuminated” by the irradiation of this planet, whose essence he was said to have absorbed into himself. It may be noted in this connection that the mother of the Buddha is called Maya-Devi and that, for the Greeks and Romans, Maia was also the mother of Hermes or Mercury.) Essays: Hermes