This thread is for the discussion of texts related to Hermetism, Neoplatonism (in its mystic manifestations), Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Cabala, Angel Magic, Alchemy, Paracelsianism, Boehmeian Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, Illuminism, Swedenborgianism, Mesmerism, as well as the more recent branches of the esoteric tree (Golden Dawn, Traditionalism, Blavatskian Theosophy, e.t.c.).
Recommend books, ask for recommendations, post nice excerpts, ask burning questions, e.t.c.
Other urls found in this thread:
en.wikipedia.org
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Currently it's all about Phil's Exegesis for me. So this paragraph might serve as an interesting starting point:
> ...the Creator is a joiner; not of organizations but of sections assembled separately in different places and then somehow brought together; the places are our category “space,” then, when brought together, “time.” If the Other is not bound by the categories of perception time and space, then he is here now, was here, will be, and since not phenomenalistically, then he is not outside but within us. Like Plotinus’ concept of concentric rings of emanation, we encounter our Others in gradually increasing intensity and clarity; they become clearer to us continually. It is as if the will which drives animals and bugs, in the form of blind instinct, begins one day in us to actually speak. This is the Logos [Tao]... [4:103].
Also, here's another (good) one from Simone Weil's book: On the Abolition of all Political Parties, she writes:
> When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is the truth?,’ Jesus did not reply. He had already answered when he said, ‘I came to bear witness to the truth.’ There is only one answer. Truth is all the thoughts that surge in the mind of a thinking creature whose unique, total, exclusive desire is for the truth. Mendacity, error (the two words are synonymous), are the thoughts of those who do not desire truth, or those who desire truth plus something else. For instance, they desire truth, but they also desire conformity with such or such received ideas.
Yet how can we desire truth if we have no prior knowledge of it? This is the mystery of all
mysteries. Words that express a perfection which no mind can conceive of – God, truth, justice – silently evoked with desire, but without any preconception, have the power to lift up the soul and flood it with light. It is when we desire truth with an empty soul and without attempting to guess its content that we receive the light. Therein resides the entire mechanism of attention.
I would certainly recommend both authors.
go to x
I'm looking to have serious conversations about this literature rather than roleplay about monsters in the woods. Feel free to hide the thread.
this is not a good chart, its presented as a guide to the corpus hermeticum but its clearly a guide to Golden Dawn teachings. calling qabalah a basic hermetic practice is ludicrous and listing gnosticism as a root is simply inaccurate.
>this is not a good chart, its presented as a guide to the corpus hermeticum but its clearly a guide to Golden Dawn teachings. calling qabalah a basic hermetic practice is ludicrous and listing gnosticism as a root is simply inaccurate.
en.wikipedia.org
Hermeticism is Gnosticism but with his positive aspects, what are you on about?
"Hermetic Qabalah" is not a practice particularly related to the Corpus Hermeticum. It is something that comes from Golden Dawn (a secret society that began in the 1880s) that is based in a handful of Renaissance works. There is nothing about Kabbalah in any of the works historically attributed to Hermes or his disciples.
>Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when Giovanni Pico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic worldview combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah.[21]
>Some authors see the origins of Qabalah not in Semitic/Jewish mysticism or ancient Egyptian Gnosticism, but in a western tradition originating in classical Greece with Indo-European cultural roots, later adopted by Jewish mystics.[20]
You know nothing about Kabbalah, stop posting.
>>Jewish Kabbalah was absorbed into the Hermetic tradition at least as early as the 15th century when Giovanni Pico della Mirandola promoted a syncretic worldview combining Platonism, Neoplatonism, Aristotelianism, Hermeticism and Kabbalah.[21]
you are not contradicting me. things that renaissance syncretists wrote about in connection with hermetism are not "basic hermetic practices" -- the texts you are citing weren't even seen as particularly important until the Golden Dawn used them to develop the practice of Hermetic Qabalah in the 1880s. Pico della Mirandola is the founder of "Christian Kabbalah" which is a different thing to "Hermetic Qabalah" (which is something that did not exist until the 1880s)
if you can cite a single text written before the year 1880 that promotes kabbalah as a hermetic practice then you win the argument but i promise you that you wont be able to
>This thread is for the discussion of texts related to Hermetism
You are big retard don't you? Not only did you say that Gnosticism is not related to Hermeticism but you are also pretending Kabbalah is not in relation to Hermeticism.
As above, so below. 14th Century Tarot.
based. this is a christian board, and discussions pertaining to sorcery are punished by fire.
+ Syncretism of Cabala, Alchemy, Astrology and other esoteric Hermetic disciplines in Stephan Michelspacher's Cabala, Spiegel der Kunst und Natur: in Alchymia (1615)
this, but I was also drawing attention to OP saying this is also a neoplatonist thread... when tbhwy neoplatonism has more to do with Christianity than most of the kabbalah quackery itt so far.
>Gnosticism is not related to Hermeticism
it isnt but i cant be bothered to explain it properly right now
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Kabbalah originates from a text called the zohar which was published in the 13th century and is mainly commentary on the torah. The corpus hermeticum is from the 2nd century ad.
Nobody connected the two until the renaissance and nobody saw kabbalah as "hermetic practice" until the 1880s. I am not denying that people interested in syncretism made note of parallel ideas in kabbalistic literature and hermetic scripture, but nobody ever made the argument that practicing kabbalah falls under the umbrella of 'hermeticism' until the 1880s.
Are you OP? Never ever make occult threads ever again, bye, not wasting my time with morons.
great argument. im sure whatever bullshit you read in "wee woo woowie secret hermes sun god of reality avatar of secret qibalah" is The Absolute Truth of the Matter as opposed to the academic consesus based on historical evidence
Well, that's a start, but it's missing the rest of the deck. Try this.
are you the same guy who posted those diagrams a few days ago in the numogram thread?
this
That's me. If nothing else, you need Kabbalah to understand Yeats.
>putting Gnostics (insulters of God) next to Neoplatonists (lovers of God)
>or even in the same category
they are both quite interwoven with Christianity and a lot of later works of esotericism come from people detecting the neoplatonic and gnostic traces (and not always distinguishing between the two) that are latent in christian scripture
not to mention theology
You've found the holy grail, right Yea Forums? Let's discuss everything about the grail and the literature around it: poetry, fiction, psychology, occultism, theology and so on... We talk about the literature around the grail.
Does anyone have recs for more books like this? I have really been digging how practical it is.
Kind of vaguely related, but I have this theory that once pagan philosophers and "occultists"/theurgists saw that Christianity was going to take over and there was nothing they could do about it they found refuge by "converting" to Judaism, and that's why there is so much Pythagorean/Neoplatonic/quasi-pagan shit in Jewish Kabbalah. Basically crypto-pagans kept pagan antiquity alive through Judaism. That would also explain why genetically Jews are basically identical with Italians with some semitic admixture added in. Any books that explore this theory, whether arguing for or against it?
Anyone who's read the Ancient Neoplatonism, and then reads the Zohar, knows Kabbalah (like Sufism) is just Semitified Platonism/Neopythagoreanism.
The question is how much is due to borrowing versus how much is due to crypto-pagans infiltrating Judaism in order to avoid Christian persecution. Despite the kvetching of modern Jews, Jews were actually a protected group within Christendom so it would have been a good idea for a pagan to switch teams.
Does anyone know any good esoteric sufist literature?
Not as practical but you might like Vladmir Solovyov
Evola
Lucifer's Court
Jung
Campbell
Thoughts on Dan Brown?
Everyone knows the sefer yetzirah is truly ancient, non-Greek, and truly the source of kabbalah
Any magician here can throw fire balls?
Jokes aside, what have you already achieved with your practices?
Yeah, the GD really liked Jewish stuff.
>figured out how to meditate
>learned various and assorted arts and crafts skills
>became skilled at lucid dreaming
>met a qt alt spiritual gf
>have less existential angst and more drive and dedication
>grasp history and philosophy better than most
Thanks. I have his book on love, but I haven't read it yet. I'll read it next.
the real question is whether the similarities between a lot of quite culturally disparate esoteric movements are due to transmission or due to the fact that the capacity for religious inspiration is an actual universal principle
good charts but copenhaver's hermetica is a much better text than the way of hermes
Good evening people, in this book the autor talk about choosing a good book about any Qaballah and to study and work the number in it, does anyone would know where to start by any chance ?
Thanks
You're welcome, it's dense but very good. I would recommend looking up and reading every Quran and Hadith verse he cites in every chapter to aid comprehension of what he's talking about
Fortune
Regardie
Kaplan
thoughts on this book? feel like im not faithful enough for it to have value in my life
thanks
It's a powerful book. If it does not speak to you, so be it, but do not get too caught up in orthodoxy versus heresy and so on...
I've only read the first three "letters" (chapters) so far, so I may not be the best person to ask. So far though, I've been getting some unusually practical wisdom out of it. I'd recommend the book based on the first chapter alone. The author is especially humble, which has been a great help to me because I personally can't help but look at modern Christian praxis with anything other than disgust. I think much of my negative emotion regarding the ostensibly material focus of Christianity has been helped by meditating and working through the book. The Arcana that he writes on have helped me reintegrate myself in my parent's Faith with a new vitality and interest. If you're not interested in Christianity or Hermeticism, there still may be something for you.
