What Is Hermeticism?

Hermeticism is an ancient spiritual, philosophical, and magical tradition. It is a path of spiritual growth. Hermeticism takes its name from the God Hermês Trismegistos (Greek, "Thrice-Greatest Hermes"), a Græco-Egyptian form of the great Egyptian God of Wisdom and Magic, Thôth. What the Hermetic Fellowship defines as Hermeticism has also been called the Western Esoteric Tradition, and embraces the Perennial Philosophy or the Ageless Wisdom. Generally, the following can be said to be characteristic of the positive form of Hermeticism advocated by the Hermetic Fellowship.

Hermeticism:

·       Considers humanity to be on a spiritual journey to return to a state of unity with the Divine; this is the Great Work of humankind.

·       Holds that if we would attain to the Divine, we must aspire to the Divine; spiritual growth cannot be achieved without human effort

·       Is eclectic and draws material from sources spanning the entire Western Esoteric Tradition

·       Is polytheistic, yet ultimately monotheisitic (i.e., posits a multiplicity of Manifestations of the Divine Which emanate from an ultimate Divine Unity)

·       Holds that the Divine is both immanent and transcendent

·       Holds that the Universe is Divine and basically good

·       Teaches that when we seek the Divine, we may best begin with the Mysteries of Nature

·       Encourages spiritual curiosity