Hermes/Thoth Trismegistus
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
One
last very crucial figure that the pagan adept or wizard would be based upon
is Hermes-Thoth Trismegistus, whose thought helped create Gnostic paganism
and Christianity. Hermes Trismegistus was the one responsible for the axiom
of magic, "as above, so below" denoting the balance of magical
reality and the hierarchy of the natural world. Iambilichus averred that
Hermes was the author of twenty thousand books; Manetho increased the number
to more than thirty-six thousand. It is evident, however, that a solitary
individual, even though he was overshadowed by divine perogative, could
scarcely have accomplished such a monumental labor.
Among the arts and sciences, which it is affirmed Hermes revealed to mankind,
were medicine, chemistry, law, art, astrology, music, rhetoric, magic, philosophy,
geography, geometry, anatomy, and oratory. Orpheus is the only other man
to be similarly acclaimed by the Greeks. In his Biographia Antiqua Francis
Barret tells us of Hermes, "...if God ever appeared in man, he appeared
in him, as is evident both from his books and his Pymander (teaching
text); in which works he has communicated the sum of the Abyss and the divine
knowledge to all posterity; by which he has demonstrated himself to have
been not only an inspired divine, but also a deep philosopher, obtaining
his wisdom from God and heavenly things, and not from man." His transcendent
learning caused Hermes to be identified with many early sages and prophets.
In his Ancient Mythology, Bryant writes: "I have mentioned
that Cadmus was the same as the Egyptian Thoth; and it is manifest from
his being Hermes, and from the invention of letters being attributed to
him."
Some scholars identify Hermes with the Hebrew Enoch, called the Second Messenger
of God. Hermes was accepted into the Greek and Latin pantheons as Mercury.
He was revered through the form of the planet Mercury because this celestial
body is nearest to the sun. Hermes, of all creatures, was nearest to God
and became known as the Messenger of the Gods. In the Egyptian drawings
of him, Thoth carries a waxen writing tablet and serves as the recorder
during the weighing of the souls of the dead in the Judgment Hall of Osiris,
a ritual of great importance. Hermes is of supreme importance to Masonic
scholars, because he was the author of the mystery rituals the Masons later
used; nearly all Masonic symbols are Hermetic in character. Pythagoras studied
mathematics with the Egyptians and from them gained his knowledge of the
symbolic geometric solids. Hermes is also revered for his reformation of
the calendar system. He increased the year from 360 days to 365 days, thus
establishing a precedent that still prevails.
Concerning the subject of Hermetic books, James Brown has written in History
Of Chemistry (1920) "A series of early Egyptian books is attributed
to Hermes Trismegistus, who is identified with the god Hermes and the Egyptian
Thoth. The Egyptians regarded him as the god of wisdom, letters, and the
recording of time. It is in consequence of the great respect entertained
by old alchemists that chemical writings were called “hermetic”
and that the phrase “hermetically sealed” is still in use to
designate the closing of a glass vessel by fusion, after the manner of chemical
manipulation. We find the same root in the hermetic medicines of Paracelsus,
and the hermetic freemasonry of the middle ages."
Among the fragmentary writings believed to have come from the stylus of
Hermes are two famous works. The first is the Emerald Tablet and
the second is the Divine Pymander, or as it is more commonly known,
the Shepherd Of Men. One outstanding point in connection with Hermes
is that he was one of the few philosopher-priests of pagandom upon whom
the early Church fathers didn't attack. In his Stromata, Clement
of Alexandria, one of the few chroniclers of pagan lore whose writings have
been preserved to this age, gives practically all the information we have
concerning the first 42 Books of Hermes and the importance with which these
books were regarded by both the temporal and spiritual powers of Egypt.
One of the greatest tragedies of the philosophic world was the loss of nearly
all 42 books of Hermes-Thoth. These books were destroyed in the burning
of the library of Alexandria. The Roman horde realized that until these
books and sciences were destroyed they could never rule over the Egyptians.
While Hermes was still alive he entrusted to his chosen successors the sacred
Book Of Thoth. Thoth was called “Lord of the Divine Books”
and “Scribe of the Company of Gods.” The Book Of Thoth contained
the secret processes by which the regeneration of humanity was to be accomplished
and also served as a key to his other writings. Nothing definite is known
concerning the contents of the Book Of Thoth other than it is written
in hieroglyphics that imparted powers upon the reader. When certain areas
of the brain are stimulated by the processes of the Mysteries, the consciousness
of man is extended and he is permitted to behold the immortals and is allowed
to enter the presence of the superior gods. The Book of Thoth has always
been known as the “Key to Immortality.” According to legend,
the Book of Thoth was kept in a golden box in the inner sanctuary of the
temple; the only key being held by the high priest, the Master of the Mysteries,
the highest initiate into the Hermetic Arcanum. He alone knew what was written
in the secret book.
The Book of Thoth is still existent today for those who know how
to find it, although its whereabouts are secret and for some time the book
was thought to be forever lost. Aleister Crowley and other occultists correctly
theorized that the Book Of Thoth was the original Tarot, using
statues of the deities as Atu keys, rather than cards with initiatory pictures.
It has since been asserted that The Book Of Thoth is the mysterious
Tarot of the Bohemians. (The Tarot's 78 leaves have been in possession of
the Gypsies since the time when they were driven from their ancient temple,
Serapeum. According to the secret histories, the Gypsies were originally
priests of Egypt.) There are now in the world several secret schools privileged
to initiate candidates into the Mysteries, but in nearly every instance
they must give homage to Hermes. In the Book Of Thoth, the One
Way is revealed to humanity and for ages, the wise of every nation and faith
have reached immortality by the One Way established by Hermes-Thoth.