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Hermeticism

Hermeticism

Hermeticism is the philosophic idea that matter exists in a hierarchy, that organisms and objects are able to be altered or ascended or ennobled up that hierarchy (Copenhaver 2015, 157).  Its influence can be seen in the works of Boyle, Paracelsus, Newton, Geber as well as alchemist and astrologers during the late Middle Ages and forms the philosophical basis for alchemy. It draws its origin from the Hermetica Corpus,a dialog between Hermes Trimegistus and his pupil Asclepius, which in part discusses the ideas that humans are the cousins of the gods and gives evidence of mankind’s power and strength. It also gives describes statue magic, which includes the belief that statues of gods actually becoming a living god as a result of offerings and rituals performed in their honor (Copenhaver 2015, 194).  Here, the idea of transformation under certain conditions as well as the ability to ascend the hierarchy of matter becoming more god-like, ascending the hierarchy, can be seen.  This belief was later criticized by Aquinas in his Summa Against the Heathensas idolatry. 
Hermeticism includes the pursuits to transmute inferior metals to gold (Boyle 2015, 567), the attempts to discover the Philosopher stone, which has the possibility to facilitate communication with angels and beings above humans in the hierarchy (Copenhaver 2015, 568). Boyle goes on to purpose that the overall aims of alchemy, which has its roots in hermeticism, is not simply to create gold from lead, but rather opens up the possibility to converse with angels. While he critiques the ideas of transformation of substances as well as the connection between corporeal substances, such as the dust of the Philosopher stone, and incorporeal entities such as angels, he leaves open the possibility that conversing with angels may be a cure for atheism. He also notes the danger of conversing with angels since it is possible for fallen angels, even the devil himself to masquerade as angels of light. He also identifies the flawed logic that if one does not believe the ascendance of spirits, similar to the statue magic of the Asclepius, that the conversing with spirits would simply be idolatry. If one does not identify the divinity even within Christianity of speaking to an idol of Jesus, and the ascendance of that idol to have the power of Jesus himself, it would simply be worship of a piece of wood or stone. Thus, as noted by Boyle, Christianity inherently contains threads of hermeticism at its core practices.  Hermeticism is used in the Kyranidesas herald physical things as magical object, listing and recommending the most effective combinations (Copenhaver 2015, 159). The Hermetic work of the Kyranidesalso displays aspects of sympathies within Hermeticism, such that if a stone bears the image of a God on it, it will have some power of derived from that god (Copenhaver 2015, 194). 

Keywords: Prime matter, teleology, alchemy, Philosopher stone, sympathy

References:
Copenhaver, B. (2015). The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment. Penguin Classics.
Boyle R. (2015). “Intercourse with Good Spirits: Boyle, Dialog on the Converse with Angels, 11.15. The Book of Magic: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment.Quoted by Brian Copenhaver. Penguin Classics, 567-569.

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