Mysteries of the Golden Chain
Knowing Your Roots Is Essential
Theurgy is a Pagan tradition: Nothing can exist without roots. Knowing the origin and the history of a family helps us to understand its specific attributes. To understand Theurgy (sometimes called High Magick), you must know that this is a Pagan tradition that appeared at the beginning of the Western spiritual tradition.
The chain of the initiates: From the time of the Egyptian Empire to our current time you can follow this chain of initiates down through centuries. Dogmatic and political religions tried to kill these masters and destroy their work. Initiates of the magick of the Gods and Goddesses succeeded in keeping this inheritance alive.
History is a keystone: All traditions are not strictly equivalent and history is the key to understanding why this is so.
Mesopotamia—The Mother of Civilization
The roots of Western esotericism are to be found in Mesopotamia, which is the birthplace of Western civilization. This is the place where very ancient cities were conceived and built (ca 5300 Before Common Era). This is the place where writing first appeared and also the place where the first structured religions, spiritual beliefs, and systems of magick were developed. Astrology (the most ancient manifestation of astronomy) was invented and used both for organizing calendars and for magical-religious purposes. Later, and progressively, this knowledge spread all over the world, beginning in the Far East, in the countries known today as Egypt, Greece, and the Mediterranean world. It is possible to frankly state that the ancient traditions, which have their roots in Mesopotamia, are the origins of the most ancient and authentic sources of knowledge.
Even if Egypt had developed its knowledge of astronomy from the time of its earliest history (5000–3000 BCE), we can see a real connection between the Old Kingdom of Egypt and the Akkadian Empire (3rd Millennium). This was the time when Egyptian architects created the first pyramids. Some of the same esoteric principles that unify religion and astronomy can be found in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was in the Neo-Assyrian Empire (700 BCE) that some aspects of astronomy and religion were united in what is known as astrology. Later, during the Ptolemaic Period (305–30 BCE), Egypt became the place of an extraordinary fusion between their own knowledge and the knowledge of the two other most-advanced civilizations in the world: Babylonia and Greece. It is quite obvious that these contacts, which existed from the beginning of their civilization, were not limited to astrology but involved many sorts of superstitions, different kinds of magic, and more advanced spiritual practices.
The God Thoth and the Goddess Isis were the founders of this specific lineage of magicians. Their light shone for thousands of years upon the entire Western world. The “Sacred Mysteries” and the “Cult of Isis” became better known than the Theurgic and Hermetic traditions that were derived from the teachings of Thoth, which remained more discreet and veiled. It is obvious that this part of the heritage constituted the roots of the tradition of magick, or, more precisely what is called “Theurgy.” I will have the opportunity later in the book to speak more extensively about Hermetism, but it is good to know that this word has become a designation of a tradition that came from the practical and theoretical teachings of Thoth (who became Hermes for the Greeks). Knowing the most significant historical and symbolic markers, it is possible to see the manifestation of this tradition all throughout history and with research to uncover the most essential and immortal parts of this doctrine.
The description of how this divinity revealed itself in Egypt is not a fairy tale. It is a description of the world that the ancient Egyptians believed in. This is the place where the Theurgic tradition appeared for the first time.
Egypt—Birth of the Theurgic Tradition
First it is important to explain that the radical difference that exists today between what is considered to be real (the visible and measurable world) and what we believe to be unreal or fantasy (the invisible world) didn’t exist in the ancient world. The ancient people instinctively knew how to overlay different levels of perception without rejecting one in favor of the other. In other words, when a pre-Christian scientist explained that the earth was a sphere and was able to measure it very accurately, he was performing a great rational work. At the same time he was able to go into a temple and worship Thoth or Isis, listening to the reading of these sacred myths with an intelligent understanding of the symbolic and moral message in it. If we consider it from our inner being, we will realize that myths tell stories about an absolute reality and they convey a powerful message. Yet, at the same time, this divine story was not understood by the priest or scientist of that time as a real description of a material phenomenon. This is also true for magick and ritual ceremonies, because this art involves other energies that are invisible.
However, the way that the leaders of what is known today as “revealed religions” explain their origins has changed. Today in the major religions, many believe that if they chose to admit their creation story had a mythological character, such an admission would decrease the power, efficacy, or veracity of their religion. In spite of their stance, stating the story of their origins is real and historic is becoming less and less believable today, because of the scientific progress we have achieved.
What can be surprising is to understand that myths and physical reality can both be true at the same time, because they do not describe the same thing. The traditional attitude of a Hermetist was, and still is, that these founding stories are powerful symbolic narratives capable of adding rich depth and meaning to our existence. Such affirmations do not justify the use of any kind of text in a religious context. Some texts can be dangerous because of what they explain or teach. As you will see in the part about the “sacred books,” this is the reason you cannot honestly say that any text is sacred. If we are willing to put our rational mind on hold for a while, being eager to know the origin of these mysteries, we can make even more progress. This is the mental attitude we must adopt, though perhaps this is more true for an examination of the beliefs of Egypt than those of Greece. For modern humans, affirmations are “true” because they can be outwardly or inwardly verified by experience. When we read a myth, we are crossing a threshold into a sacred place. For a while, our reality must change. Like a child, we will accept as real this “true” story, which took place on the “black earth” of Egyptian soil. This story tells of the birth of the world and constitutes the first step of the Hermetic and Theurgic tradition. It is essential to state that, even if you believe some of the elements employed here are similar to those provided in biblical mythology, they predate the Hebrew sacred texts.
There was a time when the Gods had not yet manifested themselves. Only chaos filled the universe, like a vast primordial ocean. (Several different symbolic representations could have been chosen to represent this time, but many civilizations have used the image of a large ocean.)
Within this ocean were powerful primeval deities. They were composed of four pairs of personified deities. Each pair represented the male and female.
These deities were: Nun and Naunet, who were the personification of the primeval seas and the world in the space before creation; Kuk and Kauket were the personification of the infinite darkness that reigned in the primeval space before the birth of the sun; Hu and Hauhet personified the infinite; and Amun and Amaunet personified that which is hidden.
Figure 2: These four pairs of deities, male and female, were the personification of the powerful primeval deities; the first manifestation of the Sacred Ogdoad.
Each deity had a human body. The Gods had frog heads, and the Goddesses had snake heads. The number four is not unintentional. Egyptians knew the cardinal points. The Heliopolitan myth describes the four children of the Goddess Nut. During the process of embalming, the viscera were protected by the four “sons of Horus,” who were protected by four Goddesses. In the “Coffin Texts,”3 it is written that the God Shu created eight unlimited beings to help him hold Nut’s body. The number four is the symbol of balance, which can be symbolized by a square.
As you can see in this myth, the number four is in fact a number that can be organized into pairs. This tradition left us with several symbols that represent this primordial activation. One of these symbols is the intertwined double square. Here the number eight is manifested from the number four in order to symbolize the activation or manifestation of something that had no shape until that moment.
This Ogdoad 4 precedes the manifestation of the Ennead 5 (worshipped in Heliopolis) and, as you will see below, it was the Ogdoad that was the origin of the sun.
The divine Ogdoad began to organize, to equilibrate, and to bring order out of chaos.
An intense concentration of energy manifested at the center of the primeval ocean, which was the result of the activation emerging from the Ogdoad.
This fantastic, dynamic push shook the primitive matter and caused the first hill to emerge. A lake formed on the island that had been created.
Then an ibis (or a goose according to some versions) appeared, gliding above this blazing island of light. It alighted at the top of the hill and laid an egg. This was the first manifestation of the union between the celestial divine principles and the primeval Ogdoadic principles, which had just made the manifested world emerge.
The egg cracked and Ra, the Sun God, appeared in a blaze of light. He rose up into the sky to irradiate the world with his beneficent rays. The blaze of this first rising sun illuminated the whole of the cosmos.
Next, the members of the Ogdoad manifested themselves in their visible shape and these eight deities approached the lake. They worked a magical rite together, making a lotus flower gush up out from the water. The flower opened up in a dazzling light and gave birth to a feminine being. This Goddess rose up to the heavens and united with Ra. From their union Thoth was born. He was the first divine offspring and founder of the Hermetic tradition. For this reason the Ogdoad has sometimes been called the “souls of Thoth.”
The Ogdoad put the earth in order, and the earth knew a golden age. Three of these divine couples retired from the visible world, remaining the guardians of equilibrium. Amon and Amaunet left Hermopolis for Thebes.
In this first sacred monticule, which became the center of the world, a city was built that ancient Egyptians called Khemenou, or the “city of the Eight” or “the Eight Towns.” It was afterward known by the Greek word “Hermopolis.” Since then, Thoth has also been called the “Lord of Khemenou.” It is also there that fragments of the original sacred cosmic egg were conserved, in the most sacred part of the temple. Few pilgrims in antiquity had the immense privilege of getting a glimpse of these fragments, and being permitted to bathe in their intense aura. Tradition tells us that a few of these fragments were set in a stone, and this created the matrix of the magical chain.
The Temple of Hermopolis became the place where all magical rites were performed, retaining the presence of the eight divinities of the Ogdoad under the presidency of Thoth, to whom the city was dedicated. The Ogdoadic tradition tells us that the first primeval Ogdoad was later associated with eight major divinities who became the tutelary powers, wardens of the Theurgic tradition. This presence was maintained for many centuries on the actual physical locus where the original creation was first manifested. An assembly of priests and Theurgists was created there, under the protection of Thoth.
The main information about the Ogdoad comes from a large book written by the German Egyptologist Kurt Sethe called Amun und die acht Urgôtter von Hermopolis, published in 1929.
Several centuries after the temples in Hermopolis were built, they were damaged during the second Persian invasion in 343 BCE. In the twentieth century, a tomb was discovered in a city called Touna el-Gebel (a necropolis situated in the middle of the desert, near El-Ashmounein, which is the current name of Hermopolis), and this discovery offered us the extraordinary opportunity of reading the story of Petosiris, one of the Grand Priests of Thoth in Hermopolis. He was also called the “Priest of the Ogdoad.” He lived in a period following the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great (332 BCE).6 The engravings on the walls tell how he reenacted the rituals of the temple, how he decided to organize the priests, and how he ensured the perpetuation of the tradition. He consecrated the first stone of a limestone temple dedicated to the God Ra, God of the Sun, “the son of the island of flames.”
Petosiris built a wall around the temple and named the place: “the birthplace of all Gods.” This temple was the place where the relics of the cosmic egg were preserved, and from which the Sun God had emerged.
Thoth became the central God “surrounded” by the sacred Ogdoad. Usually his written name is composed by drawing a hieroglyphic symbol of an ibis perched at the top of a pole. Sometimes we can find his name written with the drawing of a baboon or composed just with phonetic symbols.
It is not surprising to see his written name using the animals that were associated with him. Surprisingly, to those who are not familiar with these ancient writings, the phonetic symbols that comprise his name do not constitute his name as Thoth, but DHwtj (Djehuti).7 The name Thoth was used by the Greeks, because it was the way the modern Egyptians pronounced his name. It is also possible that the name in use today (Thoth) has always been just the exoteric version of a more magical and invocatory pronunciation.
Figure 5: The symbolic presence of Thoth in his baboon shape as it is in the Mojave Desert, southwest USA.
Modern Egyptologists proposed several etymologies that help us to understand the meaning of his name. “Djehu” could be the name of a city in Egypt and Djehuti the name of the God of this city. His name could also express the meaning of “messenger” or “chosen one.”
It is difficult in modern times to know whether these different names or pronunciations came from symbolic attributions associated with the divinity, or from a simple phonetic evolution. I could argue that, since everything is related to the divine, this evolution did not occur by chance and it corresponds to a different level of the divine reality of this God. In an attempt to keep this simple, in this book I will continue to use the usual name of Thoth instead of Djehuti (or Tehuti).
It is important to say a few words about the way the Egyptians depicted this God. Traditionally, Thoth is shown with three possible shapes: a baboon, an ibis, or a human with an ibis head. He is often portrayed as carrying the palette of a scribe. In the ancient texts, such as the Pyramid Texts, Thoth is the one who guided the King through the river of the skies. This is one of the representations of this God as the “guide of the dead.” This function of Thoth has been more and more associated with him, and he is currently equated with Anubis under the Greek form of Hermanubis. From the most ancient times, Thoth was considered to be a lunar God. The hooked shape of his beak and the two-tone feathers (black and white) are the main symbolic explanation of this association.
The tradition says that the symbol of the baboon was chosen because the baboon shouts when the sun rises in the morning. As the moon obtains its light from the sun, Thoth obtains a large part of his power from his role as the secretary and counselor of his father, Ra. The importance of the moon phases in Egyptian life and the annual festivals in the temples can easily explain why Thoth was considered to be the founder of the cosmic order, as well as all the religious and civil institutions. He was the one who chaired rituals in the temples, and presided over sacred ceremonies as well as the writing of sacred texts and magic formulas, which were used during these celebrations. In this way, he became the master of all the magic arts. Thoth was considered to be the original source of the occult powers that are present in the different aspects of the divine rituals. Esoteric wisdom was attributed to him and some of the names used to describe him included “the Mysterious” and “the Unknown.”
Other aspects of Thoth have been developed in the history of the Western esoteric tradition, including those functions associated with magick and justice.
The first of these, magick, is a consequence of Thoth’s role as the God who revealed writing to humanity: Thoth is the God of writing and scribes. This function may not seem significant if we think about writing as it is today, but we must remember that Egypt used a form of hieroglyphic writing. From the earliest times, this kind of sacred writing was conceived as a specific kind of magical invocation. I don’t want to develop this concept too extensively at this point, but it is important to explain that hieroglyphs are not an arbitrary representation of something visible, nor of an idea. Each visual symbol is directly connected to its spiritual or divine counterpart. This invisible part is an archetype. In a way, hieroglyphs are talismans that manifest the invisible power in our world. This writing manifests the invisible in the visible and allows a manifestation to come from the divine plane. In modern linguistics, this kind of writing is called “performative writing.” It is considered as “performative” because it is a kind of writing that is not limited to a description, but in some way really is an active process that results in manifestation.
Now you can understand why this writing is considered to be magical. This is the reason scribes chose Thoth as their God. They were not priests, but they knew the correct words to write, and, as such, they were able to understand the rules of magick. The complexity of this knowledge and their expertise was used on the invisible planes and on the visible plane for administrative purposes.
Scribes were known as “disciples of Thoth.” They constituted a privileged class of society. Several sculptures or paintings associated a scribe with the representation of a baboon or an ibis. A herald is also one of the functions of a scribe. It is his duty to announce what the King, or the God, decides. The Greek God Hermes inherited this function of being a messenger.
Thoth is the God who knows everything. He was the inventor of mathematics, astronomy, and the sciences. His potential seems limitless. He created spells and taught Isis all magical formulas. With this knowledge, Isis was able to raise her husband Osiris from the dead. Thoth also taught her the specific magical words that enabled her to cure and protect her son Horus. Several magical books that probably contained all the knowledge of the world were granted to her.
The idea of justice is also related to Thoth. We can see this connection in many representations of the Book of the Dead when he is accompanied by the Goddess Maat. She is the one who manifests cosmic order and justice. Thoth is sometimes called the “Supreme Judge” and “the One who judges.” Consequently, he is the one who establishes peace among the Gods.
Thoth will develop his function as a judge in the afterlife as the Judge of the Dead and the psychopomp. In mythology, it is he who declares that Isis has received the power of language or of the “Word.” He is the one who wrote down the result when Anubis weighed the souls of the departed. He is depicted with different shapes in these episodes, often being portrayed as a scribe with an ibis head, or a baboon seated at the top of a scale.
As the one who knows the secret formulas of rebirth, Thoth helps the initiate as he completes the passage between life and death, and vice versa. In some texts he is known as the one who is “small on the second day of the month and tall on the fifteenth.” He is the one who can remember the cycles of the cosmos and consequently the lunar phases. He is the one who treats the “eye of the moon.” With the help of Shu, God of the sky, he protects Osiris.
All these descriptions of the divine founder of the Hermetic tradition give a good explanation of Thoth’s character and functions. As I just said, the Greek God Hermes is the symbolic successor of Thoth. We can see him as Thoth’s cousin and maybe this is the reason why we can see that there is very little connection between their iconography.
It is important to emphasize three principal steps in this historical evolution, which are:
• The Original Thoth (Egyptian)—The Original Hermes (Greek)
• The Hermanubis
• Hermes as a Magus
At first glance, you might suppose that the ancient representation of Thoth has been lost or absorbed into other systems over time. This figure may have been totally absorbed initially by the Greek iconography of Hermes, then by the character of the Magus. You will soon discover that this is inaccurate. The tradition of the divine magick I am talking about maintained the essential symbol of the Ogdoad as a living presence. This is why the Theurgic and Hermetic traditions have been called the “Ogdoadic tradition” by initiates.
Archaeologists and historians know very little about the knowledge, rituals, and ceremonies performed by the Grand Priests of Thoth. It is important to emphasize once again that the divine magick, which is also called Theurgy by Iamblichus, is totally different than popular magic. Their rituals and the goals were different. For people, the magic they used and knew comprised a set of formulas that were used to obtain what they needed in their daily life. For the Priests of Thoth, the divine magick was a way to keep the divinities alive and present in the temple. It was a way to communicate with them and to receive knowledge and power from them. (I will speak more about this later in this book.)
This tradition was passed from master to initiate, in complete secrecy. None of the explanations about the sacred texts or the rituals were unveiled. Several witnesses confirmed the existence of these secret teachings. The link, which was formed when the tradition was passed from master to initiate, was called “diadoche” by the Greeks, meaning “succession.” We can find the same idea in the “Golden Chain of the Initiates.” The direct teachings involved the communication of the sacred texts, which was known as “the sacred discourses.” The traditional communication of these texts, and the fact that they were taught in secret, increased the relationship of trust among the initiates of this circle. This is the way in which the tradition was perpetuated and developed in Egypt over the centuries.
Such famous lineage of masters and initiates became the living manifestation of the initiatic Mysteries. They are the real and visible founders of this tradition.
Figure 9: Pythagoras was the first famous figure to travel to Egypt to learn the secrets of this ancient religious and magical tradition. (House of the Temple, AASR-SJ, USA)
As you will very quickly discover as you read this book, many of the Greeks eager to be initiated into this secret wisdom went to Egypt. It was during the Ptolemaic 8 period that a real cultural exchange between the two cultures eventually developed. This bridge was perceptible on several levels, but here I have chosen the levels that are most closely connected to our subjects, which are: philosophy, religion, initiation, and Theurgy. Later in the book, I will explain more clearly about what “philosophy” is when seen from the point of view of a Hermetist. Meanwhile, it is essential to realize that what has been defined as “Hermetism” is not an isolated elaboration. It is a special attitude of the mind that allows a true initiate to build into himself a real balance between various aspects that most people generally cannot reconcile. Philosophy was developed as a quest for wisdom and something we might call “rational thinking.” Religion is understood to be a unique series of rituals that welcome the divinities and build a strong relationship with them so that we can ascend to their realm. Initiation was established in order to really activate different centers of power within the initiate, and to open their perception of the invisible worlds.
Of course, different parts of this wisdom were already known here and there. Geographically, Alexandria was the unique place in which these aspects coexisted in peace for a long time, protected by the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Moreover, some initiates were, simultaneously, erudites, scholars, and physicians who succeeded in building a strong and clear knowledge of the physical world while keeping their inner vision of the divine levels open and active. Reason and intelligence were associated for the good of science and humanity.
At the same time, this tradition was always very cautious regarding the eagerness of more dogmatic religions to convert them, and to impose those religions’ unique point of view on them. The Hermetic approach is rooted in having an open mind, which allows criticism and challenges to its beliefs. In this way, philosophy and science can make progress. The Hermetic and Theurgic teachings do not demand a unique and absolute view of the universe. It is for this reason that the development of Christianity and its will to impose its vision on others was so catastrophic for the entire society. Don’t forget that most of the time honest people from both religions, both traditional and monotheistic, were not violent. It was the desire to gain power over the people that led these religious activists to violently impose their views.
The peaceful views of the initiates gave long life to a tradition that has been characterized differently at different periods in history. I have written extensively about this topic in my book The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis,9 especially about the “schools of the Mysteries” and the specifics of Hermetism.
I will now explain more precisely how this tradition was perpetuated. As this is not an historical essay, I will simply highlight what is suitable for our purpose, leaving open the opportunity to write more precisely about some of these periods at a later date.
The Transmission of the Theurgic Heritage
We can plainly see how old the Egyptian civilization is and how the sacred place called Hermopolis appeared. It was there that the Hermetic tradition had its foundation and roots. It is essential to remember that Egypt was a country with many myths and sacred places. Each of them was founded as a result of a specific mythology, and they were managed by a specific clerical organization. Of course, they were not all in contradiction. As with other mythologies, there was an exchange of the elements of various myths. The divinities were actors in many different myths, even if, in general, each myth put the focus on one specific divinity. Such was the case in Heliopolis for the God Atum, in Memphis for the God Ptah, in Thebes for the God Amun, and, as I mentioned above, it was also true in Hermopolis for the God Thoth.
It is not necessary to look for a coherent picture that is able to unify these different myths, because there is no such thing. Generally, if we consider the myths separately, a kind of coherence may be found, but this is not the case if we try to find a general and unique vision for all the myths. Egypt was not monotheistic and never has been, from the time of its origin. Each sacred place was the center of temples and clergy of the local divinity. As usual, some of these priests and priestesses were more focused on the magical and ritual planes and others on the political level. There is not something we can identify as an “initiation” per se 10 in the period of time up to the Ptolemaic period, even if it is easy to see that some of the rituals and teachings were restricted to specific priests. This was the basis of what would eventually be established and structured as an initiatic tradition.
It is necessary to highlight a point that is both true and very important no matter what period of history we are discussing: not everyone is curious. Some, like you who have chosen to read my book, are more attracted to and concerned with metaphysical, spiritual, and esoteric subjects. In this little group you are a part of, there is another, even smaller group that is eager to take another step forward, to find a school, a master, and a spiritual family. You might also consider that there is another group of people who are willing to travel, sometimes even in dangerous circumstances, to faraway places in order to find this hidden light. In the past, a very few students from Greece, Italy, and Syria did just that. They constituted a web of philosophers, adepts, and initiates who maintain a close link with us. It is possible to trace the primary lines of the tradition in order to understand how this tradition, and ultimately this lineage, were constituted.
The first famous figure to travel to Egypt in order to learn the secrets of this ancient religious and magical tradition was Pythagoras, in the fifth century. He spent a long time in Egypt and obviously received the teachings and training that were available in the temples of this country. He travelled to several countries, probably even to India, in order to understand the world and the Gods. Ultimately, he founded a school in the south of Italy, which was open to both genders and organized in two essential parts: the exoteric and the esoteric. Each student was required to progress from the outer aspect to the inner aspect. This organization survived his death and Plato received these teachings and initiation from Philolaos, who was the chief of this school.
Just as Pythagoras had done, Plato travelled to Egypt in order to receive the teachings from priests who were part of the clergy of Heliopolis (near modern Cairo). It appears that his mentor was the priest Sechnuphis. Plato then founded the first Academy in Athens. Today scholars agree on the fact that this Academy maintained the organization of the Pythagorean School by the publication of books and with oral and private teachings. It is startling to realize that this Academy was active from the fifth century BCE until the sixth century CE (with an interruption of two centuries). We are talking here about a tradition that has remained active for over ten centuries! Even if the different heads of the Platonic Academy developed personal philosophical views, all of them were working on the basis and the interpretation of the books from the Master Plato, in addition to the teachings that came from Pythagoras. It is obvious that other teachings and practices from Chaldea, Egypt, etc., were well-known and openly discussed. Even if we cannot find many teachings about ritual practices in the Academy, undoubtedly the traditional rituals devoted to the divinities were performed regularly. We find some indications of that kind of activity here and there in the literature. Do not forget that the teachings were founded on a specific kind of discourse, which Pythagoras called “philosophy”—the “Love of Wisdom.”
Figure 10: Plato, the founder of the famous school the “Academy,” which endured for over ten centuries. (House of the Temple, AASR-SJ, USA)
We find several sacred myths in the writings of Plato, including very interesting hymns, like those at the end of Phaedrus: “Beloved Pan, and all ye other Gods of this place, grant me inner beauty; and may the external be in harmony with the internal; May I always reckon the wise to be wealthy, and may I have only such a quantity of gold as a temperate man can bear and carry.”
This school was working, teaching, and worshipping the muses and the Gods all throughout the centuries. As I said, the school was still active during the second century CE. It was at this time that three different books appeared in Egypt, which were used to found the famous tradition discussed here. (I will explain more about the two first books in the chapter about the “sacred books.”) The three books are:
1. The Chaldaean Oracles.
2. The Corpus Hermeticum, also referred to as the Hermetica.
3. According to Iamblichus, the third text, which is lost to us today, was a book written by a prophet (priest) named Bitys. He translated this text from hieroglyphics found in the Temple of Sais in Egypt. Iamblichus said this text was about the ascent of the soul by the use of Theurgic rituals. Authors, such as Zosimos of Panopolis, also mentioned this book in their writings.
Earlier I mentioned that there were people in that period who were eager to make progress in attaining knowledge of these religious Mysteries. Even if the details of their doctrine were occasionally different, they were brothers and sisters in the spirit of Plato and Pythagoras. It is possible to see that they knew each other and that their doctrines were a constant subject of discussion and development. There is no doubt that their spiritual practices were part of a traditional religion, in addition to what secrets they received in the Egyptian Temple.
When the Hermetica was composed, it was a corpus that was always associated with specific philosophical studies. The Hermetica echoed the voice of Thoth-Hermes, which was put into a book for the benefit of their initiates. For their part, the Chaldaean Oracles described a series of precise and more specific practical rituals that they called “Theurgy.” It is essential to understand that this association among the Pythagorean, Hermetic, and Neoplatonic traditions created a strong identity, which can be clearly identified in the “history of ideas.” Even if a large number of books have been lost, a few survived. These books offer us evidence of the existence of this spiritual family. The situation of a modern student is far easier, but presents several challenges and frustrations. As I just stated, a large number of books were destroyed and parts of this heritage are missing. Fortunately, inner rituals and essential teachings were preserved. If you want to learn magick today, there are a large number of books available, including all the epochs of the history. Most of the time, they were written in the period of time between the Middle Ages and the nineteenth century. They are deeply influenced by the Hebrew and Christian Qabalah. The challenge is to understand that we have to be guided in our study and rituals in the same way we were taught at school. Sometimes we have to learn foreign languages and philosophy, other times we must do gymnastics.
When I received my teachings in this tradition, it became obvious that a line through the past exists. The doctrine and teachings were always in direct relation to the rituals. The goal was clear. It is the same for every student who has the real desire to progress and to master the Theurgic tradition. When I read daily reports of the studies and ritual exercises that are sent in to me by Aurum Solis students from different cultures (American, Brazilian, African, Russian, Asian, etc.), I realize that our teachings provide a reliable structure to the spiritual path. No matter the student’s origin, the results of studying these lessons and reading these sacred texts really changed their lives. This deep experience is only possible by the use of a coherent tradition. It is impossible to achieve such results by using tools that come everywhere and are sometimes in opposition. When we perform Theurgic rituals we use very precise laws and energies. Of course you can read anything you want, but it is better and safer to do it when you have found your own axis. This is a kind of discipline that is really effective.
It is important not to confuse the Hermetic tradition with the Ancient Mysteries. There were several very special places in the ancient world. These places were associated with certain divinities, and specific ceremonies were designed to enable a candidate to really undergo an inner experience during these sacred ceremonial plays. An esoteric message was generally revealed, which was associated with secret signs and specific items that were given to the new initiate. At the same time the initiate was offered the opportunity to really feel and experience specific states of consciousness, sometimes including the experience of death and the afterlife. There were numerous “Mysteries,” but I might mention the Mysteries of Orpheus, Dionysus, Isis, Eleusis, Samothrace, etc. The elaboration of the concept of initiation is clearly related to these ceremonies of the Mysteries.
At this time it was the custom for both the masters and students of the Hermetic tradition to be initiated into several Mysteries. For example, we see evidence of this in the writings of Apuleius (125–180 CE), who wrote: “I was initiated in Greece into a large number of cults. Symbols and souvenirs were given to me by the priests and I keep them carefully with me. . . . You initiates of the God Liber, you know what you keep hidden in your home and worship in silence, away from the profane. Is there someone who would be surprised that someone initiated into several divine Mysteries keeps at home special signs or items wrapped in linen, the purest fabric which can be used to veil sacred items?”
It is very difficult to know whether or not they were specifically “Hermetic” initiations. In fact, it is important for us to know that the reading of the three books I just mentioned was considered to be an invocation and an initiation. We believe that these adept philosophers were able to provide their students with a deep interpretation of the revelations they received from the Mysteries. These specific Mysteries were not a construction of the Hermetists. They remain external to this Pythagorean/Neoplatonician lineage.
There now appears in the history of Hermetism someone who will play an exceptional role: Iamblichus of Chalcis 11 (245–325 CE). He was taught by Porphyry of Tyre (233–305 CE) who was the scholarch (chief) of the Platonic Academy of Athens. Porphyry travelled a lot and was one of the masters of Iamblichus. It is very likely that Porphyry passed on his philosophical heritage and initiations (from Plato and Pythagoras) to Iamblichus. Iamblichus additionally learned all the Platonic texts, enacted several ancient Mysteries, and ultimately received what became a real revelation, the full revelation of the Chaldaean Oracles.
Iamblichus became one of the most famous figures who defined Theurgy. Of course as I explained, magick existed prior to this period, but Iamblichus created a powerful and comprehensive system. It was really at this moment that this spiritual family found its axis and homeland. Iamblichus taught in Apamea, Syria throughout the entire first quarter of the fourth century. Of the numerous books written by Iamblichus, only a few of them survived. The most famous is De Mysteriis (On the Mysteries). As most of the books that were related to Theurgy have disappeared, this book must be considered to be the heart of this tradition.
The voice of Iamblichus can still be heard today, just as if we were still in his Syrian school at Apamea. I cannot talk about him and his school without remembering the “Theurgic pilgrimage” I did in Syria several years ago. Walking in the ruins of Apamea at sunrise is an amazing experience. The ancient city covers a large area. A long avenue surrounded by high columns cuts through the ruins. Here, we do not feel as if we are at the center of a noisy modern city such as Athens. We are in a silent place where we can feel the ghosts of the inhabitants who lived here. The pavement of this long avenue is still intact, and so are the sidewalks. I remember looking at the separation between the blocks that constitute the sidewalk and finding numerous pieces of broken Roman glasses. Our eyes and our fingers are really touching artifacts of the daily life that could have been used by Iamblichus. Walking along this axis brings us to the place where he taught his lessons about Neoplatonism and Theurgy. Even today, we can see this square classroom surrounded with a few stone rows. The place is not too large, but is large enough to accommodate a group of students. When we sit in a place like that, the communion is intense and unforgettable. If you are working in this tradition, as I am, the impact is even more powerful. While we live we carry this light with us forever. This school is not a place of martyr and does not exalt anger. This is a place of luminous life and we can feel that when we stand here and salute the rising sun.
All throughout his long life, Iamblichus would teach this tradition and train many disciples. His school was perpetuated after his death under the direction of four successors. This is not the place that Iamblichus was eventually buried. His burial place is further to the east of the country, in a place called Palmyra. It was, of course, another stop on my pilgrimage in Syria.
Palmyra is an oasis in the heart of the Syrian Desert, where a rich and complex civilization developed. Even the writing was different there. Outside the ruins of the large ancient city, to the south, we find the different tombs of the previous inhabitants. They buried their dead both underground and in towers. The tomb of Iamblichus’s family is a high tomb of several stories, which is clearly identified by several archaeological markers. It is a moving moment to stand in the desert in front of the entrance to his tomb, looking at the statues above the threshold. There is the scene of a banquet, which is obviously related to the ritual celebrations of the Neoplatonicians. The wall plate below the statues gives some indications about the owner of this tomb. Here is an original translation of the text by a member of the Aurum Solis. It says: “Iamblichus of Mokeimos, son of Kaiakkaleios, son of Malichos built this eternal memorial gift, for himself and for his sons and for his grandsons, in the month of Xandikos of the year 314.” 12
I remember entering into his tomb, climbing up the stairs, and reading a few excerpts of his book Mysteries of Egypt as I raised the burning incense I brought to honor his memory. At a moment such as this, we can forge a link to, or increase the mystical link with someone. It was difficult to leave a place like that, and it was with regret and gratitude that I left that place under the burning sun, carrying these moments eternally in my heart. I can still hear his clear voice every time I open those of his books that have not been destroyed.
Figure 15: The Emperor Julian, who worked vigorously to restore the greatness and values of Paganism. (The statue is in the Museum of Cluny, Paris, France)
During the period when Iamblichus was teaching, Christianity was rising rapidly, imposing its absolute and intolerant view. Unfortunately, and as is very often true in the history of humanity, it was not the moderate participants who shaped this new religion. It is obvious that the previous little Jewish sect was far from what Paul created. Even the teachings of the first apostles were very far in intent from the religious repression that was imposed by the first bishops all over the Mediterranean world. As always, uneducated people followed the doctrines that were the easiest to understand. No matter what the truth was, no matter what the facts were, followers acted as a herd to impose the law of the minority fundamentalists.
The sacred teachings were destroyed and the philosophers and initiates were hunted to death in some cases. This violence was everywhere. In Alexandria, the school was vandalized and the teachers were persecuted. The famous mathematician and Neoplatonician Hypatia was murdered with an absolute heinousness; her dismembered body was dragged all over the city by Christians. They destroyed the divine and sacred statues. They appropriated the temples or destroyed them. They forbade anyone in the city to even look at the destroyed statues.
A transformation was initiated in February 360 CE in Paris,13 when Julianus (Julian) was declared Emperor of Rome. Julianus was the son of the Consul Julius Constantius (consul in 335) and half brother of Emperor Constantine I. He was raised as a Christian in Byzantium. After the execution of his family, he was banished. It was during this time that he learned philosophy and received the teaching of the second successor of Iamblichus, Aidesius, who was the founder of a school in Bergama. It was there that the Emperor Julian made his contact with Neoplatonism. Between 352 and 354 CE, he was initiated into the Theurgic practices and the philosophy of Iamblichus.
From his youth he had experienced the reality of the divinities. His Pagan roots were still alive, so he was initiated into the different Mysteries of this lineage and others such as Mithraism. After being acclaimed as the new Emperor he began an active effort to restore the greatness and values of Rome. In December 361 he promulgated an edict to return the temples to their traditional clergy. He imposed a law of tolerance and equality for every cult and divinity. He hired several philosophers to write books in order to explain the beauty and the higher good of this religion, and the tradition as it had been received from their ancestors. On June 26, 363 CE, he was killed during a battle against Persia. Rumors claimed that he died at the hands of Christians in his own army, but these rumors were never verified. What could have been an extraordinary opportunity for the whole world died at the tip of a spear on a battlefield!
For three centuries, persecutions would rage like a storm onto the last traditional believers. Naturally, this hatred was amplified against the Pagan clergy, and was at its most extreme against the intellectual elite, especially the philosophers who were initiated into the sacred doctrine and the secret Theurgic rituals.
The Emperor Justinian closed the philosophical school of Athens in 529 CE. The initiates were obliged to flee and find asylum in Persia for several years. After coming back to their homeland they held their meetings in secrecy in the ruins of the Temple of Demeter.
At first glance we might come to the conclusion that the sacred traditions and Theurgic lineage were eradicated and all the initiates were dead. However, we must remember what this tradition was founded on: a powerful teaching called Theurgy, and an intense understanding of the need for secrecy. Because they were the objects of persecutions, it reinforced the necessity for secrecy. When the Neoplatonicians came back from exile, they reopened the Academy. It remained open until almost the end of the sixth century. It is interesting to remember that until this time (600 CE) it was quite easy to find the masters and to secretly receive the Hermetic initiation I am talking about. Even during this very dangerous time, in a climate of tremendous persecution against their traditional philosophy and religion, the initiates were working to keep this sacred light alive. From the time of Pythagoras, secret signs were used to identify a brother or sister initiate of the same tradition. They had special items to prove their adherence.
Philae, the last temple in Egypt, was closed by the Emperor Justinian in the middle of the sixth century CE (551 CE) so that the beginning of the seventh century was the first time when the visible Pagan structure completely disappeared. One thousand years later, in the fifteenth century, Hermetism reappeared prior to what was called the “Renaissance.” This reappearance would mean that the visible traditional structures appeared to be invisible for over nine centuries—only slightly less than the duration of the Platonic school in Athens.
It was the disappearance of science, medicine, etc., that was the worst disaster in the history of humanity. We lost centuries of progress. Meanwhile, initiates preserved their spiritual inheritance for the future generations we are currently living in now. It is essential to understand how we can be sure that this is the truth. Even if we have no access to information about what was happening during this dark period of persecution, it is possible to clearly identify a consistent lineage by recognizing several signs and manifestations that were always a part of this tradition. The signs help us to identify the presence of the tradition, even when the initiates had to hide in order to keep the lineage alive. Of course there is no exhaustive list of signs and manifestations, but we can start by looking at the Pythagorean and Neoplatonic philosophy as the first element. Theurgic and magick ritual practices are the second element. Loyalty to the pre-Christian religious beliefs is the third element. Don’t forget that in a period of crisis, as it was from the sixth century until the end of the Inquisition, many initiates from this tradition had to hide their real beliefs, disguised as Christian scholars or theologians.
Keeping these elements in mind, it is possible to say that the Hermetic and Theurgic tradition was maintained in Byzantium, Greece, and Italy. First of all, I would like to highlight the names of Leon the Mathematician, and philosophers Michael Psellos and Michael Italikos. All of these men respectfully learned the Chaldaean Oracles and wrote extensively about these texts. Italikos was even named the “second Plato.” It is indubitably the case that magick and even Theurgy were used by many scholars. (See the bibliography for more on this subject.) Of course, for now, it is not possible to show the ritual texts that were used by these great men, but there is absolutely no problem discussing the life and work of Georgius Gemistus Pletho.
In my book The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis, I wrote extensively about Pletho and his role as a master of the Hermetic tradition. If you read that book, you will be able to understand how the fundamentals of the Neoplatonic tradition and several hidden keys were given to the Italian Hermetic circles. Here I must emphasize the real existence of a secret brotherhood of initiates led by Pletho. Because many of the documents between the ninth century and the fourteenth century are lost or not yet translated, finding reliable information is really difficult. This lack of information can be circumvented, because there is more information about the organization and the goal of this secret society in the fourteenth century, fifteenth century, and thereafter. According to the French translators of Pletho’s book Laws, C. Alexandre and François Massai, it is obvious that Pletho organized (or inherited) a secret society in Mistra (a city in the south of Greece). The letters and documents that survived help us understand the process and the goal of this brotherhood. It is clear that politically, Pletho was a nationalist who was eager to restore the greatness of his country—Greece. Even with this consideration, his actions and his goals were essentially focused on the spiritual and religious level. It was for this reason that he initiated famous religious people from Italy and not just from Greece. A real initiate does not care about borders and origins of birth, and so it was for him. The goals of this society were, as they were for the Emperor Julian, to rejuvenate the pre-Christian traditions, to re-establish the cult of the Immortal Divinities, to teach the works of Plato and the Neoplatonicians, and ultimately to marginalize Christianity.
As I explained previously, the desire to defend such goals was very dangerous in a time when the Inquisition was active. It was for this reason that some parts of the Order remained visible and other parts remained in secrecy. As in the Platonic Academy, the outer circle was the only place that deeper oral teachings were offered. Some students, not all, were then accepted into the inner circle, probably through initiations. Next, the rituals were revealed and the new brothers were able to receive the full teaching and the inner manual. This religious manual, Laws, is a presentation of all the elements needed to understand and practice Paganism as the early Neoplatonicians did. Philosophy, theology, creed, calendar, prayers, hymns, gestures, etc., were clearly explained. This book was publicly known after Pletho’s death and the Patriarch Gennadius II was horrified by the text. As a good political Christian, he burned most of the text. Fortunately, in order to show that he was right to do so, he kept the contents and some parts of the text. For us, this provides a confirmation of the goals of that brotherhood. This material is still in use in the Ecclesia Ogdoadica (public religious branch of the Aurum Solis).
It was also necessary to be very prudent before revealing one’s membership in the Order to anyone. In 1450, one of Pletho’s students, Juvenal, was condemned for his Pagan religious beliefs and for being a member of the brotherhood. He had his tongue and right hand cut off before being thrown into the sea and drowned. Scholarios, the Patriarch of Constantinople, was a philosopher and theologian who denounced Juvenal and asked that he be condemned to death. He wrote: “His masters [he was talking about Pletho and the masters of the brotherhood] protected Hellenism with their words and writings, trying to resurrect the genealogies of Gods, clean the traditional texts [sic], develop a true liturgy, and many other things that had decayed and died. They do not dare to publicly attack orally or in their writings without any moderation the words of Christ, his dogmas, his works, and the ceremonies of our holy religion. Juvenal did just that.” As Scholarios wrote: “The Pagan faith enlightens their souls to the point they can accept martyrdom.” And Juvenal was not the only one to be persecuted. Yet this religious group was comprised of true siblings, in which all the initiates were loyal and active protectors of every member of the group. Scholarios explained that this secret group had members everywhere in the Italian-Greek world. Cardinal Bessarion, who was a member of the group, played an essential role in the protection of the other members. Several texts prove that he was a member of the inner circle.
In The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis I explained in detail why Pletho went to Italy and how his teachings initiated the rebirth of Hermetism. A new Academy in Florence was later placed under the direction of Marsilio Ficino. This Academy, including the group in Mistra, was created with an inner circle that performed sacred and Theurgic rituals, and an outer circle that was in charge of translations. The Hermetica, as well as the works from Plato, Iamblichus, and other Neoplatonicians, were translated and used there. The heritage was kept alive and used in an organized movement between the first visit of Pletho in 1438 and the visit of another initiate (Argyropoulos) in 1457.
Answering a letter I sent to the former Grand Master Melita Denning about the Florentine Academy and its relation to the initiatic process in Aurum Solis, she wrote (this letter is part of the Aurum Solis’s archives): “Your experience [in the Aurum Solis] may have been of any circle of the Florentine type, and it certainly would be true of Careggi, to which such eminent visitors as Reuchlin or Erasmus probably never knew that their hosts were anything more than a particularly distinguished society for philosophic discussion.
“You are entirely correct in perceiving the presence of two distinct currents in our tradition. There is the Neoplatonician and the Pythagorean current, and the North African and Semitic, which we term Ogdoadic because it is distinguished by the high significance of the number eight. In the course of history these two currents have become considerably intermingled, so that we take the name Ogdoadic to denote our whole tradition, but in our history the meeting of the two initiatory currents can be traced, demonstrably, to Marsilio Ficino himself.”
Ficino, protégé of Cosimo de Medici, was a devoted pupil and without a doubt the initiate of Chalcondylas and his associates, the fruit of his great studies under their guidance being his monumental Theologia Platonica. But then another influence entered into his life and work: that of the “Fideli d’Amore.”
It is of tradition—and it is stated as a known fact in a book on Dante written by an eminent French Freemason and published in a numbered edition in the 1960s—that Dante was introduced into the Fideli d’Amore by his friend Guido Cavalcanti, another Florentine poet.
The history of the Fideli is curious. The Florentine family of Cavalcanti seems to have been particularly active among them. Coming from Dante’s friend Guido Cavalcanti, we find in the fifteenth century Giovanni Cavalcanti, friend of Ficino and, undoubtedly, Ficino’s sponsor into the Fideli d’Amore. Having completed his Theologia Platonica, he delayed its publication to make certain revisions; he also at that time wrote his commentary on Plato’s book The Banquet. That book is dedicated to Giovanni Cavalcanti, and the words of the dedication, to one who knows of the connection of the Cavalcanti with the Fideli, is conclusive. It declares plainly Ficino’s initiation into the Fideli d’Amore as a result of his introduction thereto by Cavalcanti.
It is good to know that the new Academy at Florence was not the only Academy that was managed by initiates eager to continue the divine work of the masters. In fact, we have focused intensively on Florence because the rebirth originated in Florence with the work of the Florentine Platonists, but other Academies in Florence, Naples, and Rome were even closer to the Pagan project than the first Academy. Fewer writings were discovered, but it is well-known that Pope Paul II condemned the “humanistic” members of the Academia of Rome with the charge that they were working to revive Paganism and prepare a revolution. Regarding their goals, it is clear that they were an extension of the same group.
After this period, it is clear that the tradition continued to exist. I should mention the group called the “Fratelli Obscuri,” which was active in Italy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. What we know about this occult group shows that they were working with keys and materials that came from the Hermetic tradition. In a book called The Life of Thomas Bodley, which was actually written by Sir Thomas Bodley himself toward the end of his life, he mentions that he left England in 1576 to travel to France, Germany, and Italy to increase his knowledge and he was travelling for four years. So it is clear that he visited Italy and was initiated sometime between 1576 and 1580. It is very likely that Forli, Italy was the city where Thomas Bodley joined a “Society which, under the Veil of Mystery and the modest title of the Fratelli Obscuri, concealed the laudable object of propagating the Sciences and the love of Virtue. The Fratelli Obscuri had been established in imitation of an older Society, which had existed since before the fall of the Grecian Empire in the towns of Constantinople and Thessalonica. It was divided into three Grades . . . and had a system of writing which was known only to them. It also had a distinctive calendar.” It is interesting to notice that this secret society adopted the plant moly (now known as Peganum harmala) as their emblem. Moly is a Magic plant that Homer mentioned in his book ten of The Odyssey. When Bodley came back to England, he opened a branch of this society with the authorization of the head of the Italian Order. When Antonio Pizzalleti came to London, he installed the new Society under the name of the “Tavern of the Muses.” In The Life of Thomas Bodley, it says, “A few years later William Sedley and Thomas Smith established two new Taverns, one at Oxford and the other at Cambridge.” Another tavern was opened at York and many more were also opened at the time John Selden was head of the Fratelli Obscuri in England.
I have already explained how the Inquisition was always directed against this Hermetic tradition. In Italy they were accused of heresy and many of them finished their lives in the prisons of the Inquisition. In England in 1669, King Charles II prohibited the secret societies. Consequently, the Fratelli Obscuri in England transformed their society into the Tobaccological Society and adopted the allegory of the tobacco plant instead the moly. As the Quatuor Coronati report14 states, “The last head of these illustrious personages 15 died in the year 1753, and from that date all traces of the Tobaccological Society seem to have vanished until, some fifty years later it is met with as a practically new Society under the French name of the Priseurs.”
There are many similarities between the Hermetic circles in Italy in the 1600s and the Pythagorean secret societies that were active in England and France. The Tobaccologist (named Priseurs or Nicotiates in France) were known as the “Children of Wisdom.” Neoplatonicians were called “Friends of Wisdom” and philosophers. A special calendar was used by Pletho in his society. The Priseurs, such as the Fratelli Obscuri, also used a special calendar of twelve months, each comprised of thirty days. The names of the months originated in Egypt and Greece: Amonis, Apidis, Herculeo-Apollineum, Hermanubis, Momphta, Isidis, Omphta, Typhonis, Arueris, Sothiacum, Canobicum, and Ichthonicum.
To each month they added five days called “Days of Sais.” They divided the month into five weeks of seven days each, associating each day with a traditional divinity, as Pletho did: Selene = Monday, Ares = Tuesday, Hermes = Wednesday, Zeus = Thursday, Aphrodite = Friday, Chronos = Saturday, and Helios = Sunday. They spoke clearly about their associations with members of the Pythagorean tradition.
Figure 17: A ritual chandelier used by the “Brothers of the Luminous Ring,” and the correspondences of the Lights. (Excerpt from the Ritual Book.)
We might also mention several groups in France that were sometimes associated with Freemasonry, and which seem related to this tradition. Perhaps the most significant is the “Academy of the Sublime Masters of the Luminous Ring” (Académie des Sublimes Maîtres de l’Anneau Lumineux). The Hermetic elements in this occult society are numerous. A copy of the full constitutions and rituals from 1788 are currently held in the archives of the Ordo Aurum Solis. In the historical sections that discuss this Academy, we will find some surprising references. According to the founders of this society: “The name of ‘Brothers of the Luminous Ring’ is very old. It dates from the time of the Emperor Julian. Julian was one of the Christians of this time. He was condemned as an Apostate, because he didn’t share their rage and their subhuman understanding of the Divine. . . . Christians oppressed him with defamations before and after his death, but they never totally tarnished his reputation, because even they said that Julian practiced all the virtues and gave them numerous blessings. It is he who gave the name of ‘Brothers of the Luminous Ring’ to our society, which have always kept from that day to this.”
It is not surprising to find that the symbol of the sun is central to this society, associated with the seven planets and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Sacred names are associated with ancient Egypt and Greece.
You must also know that the groups just mentioned seemed to be focused on philosophy and the continuation of the Pythagorean and Neoplatonic tradition. They continued to use rituals, but they used them more symbolically than magically. We can compare that with Freemasonry, as it is today.
The other part of our heritage was very focused on Theurgic rituals. It retained this aspect, but remained very involved with the heritage from Iamblichus and Pletho. This line continued to be fully loyal to the Immortal Divinities and the Masters of the Golden Chain. The philosophy and rituals, as defined by Iamblichus, remained the central axis of all their work and mission. Perhaps the most obvious figure in this period was the Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella, who practiced the Theurgic rituals to continue the tradition of Pletho and Ficino. It is important to know that, as a consequence of his beliefs, writings, and rituals, Campanella spent more than thirty years in prison, went to France, and remained there until his death. He died in 1639. It is impossible here to trace the lives of every historical figure of this time who travelled to Italy, France, and England. I wrote a book in French about the Christian Qabalah, and it is obvious that most of the famous figures of this time interested in the ancient traditions that originated in Egypt, Greece, and the Neoplatonic Academy learned this Hebrew Occult Science (Qabalah). They used these principles as tools. Some of them never confused a tool (such as the Hebrew or Christian Qabalah) with the religious and spiritual axis of their lineage. We can see this is true by the constant use of the Neoplatonic principles, the absence of Christian dogmatic restriction, and the individual rituals they practiced.
Even if the precise details of this time are not clearly known, it is clear that two currents survived as distinctly different secret groups.
According to the oral tradition of the Aurum Solis, an “Order of the Helmet” was established in England during the reign of Elizabeth I. This Order combined the Fideli d’Amore and Careggi successions. Francis Bacon, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, and many other notables were among its initiates. Deeply involved with the beginnings of this Order was the “Italiante” movement of the early years of Elizabeth’s reign. She herself had, during her sister’s reign, been tutored by a Platonist scholar and had avidly studied the works of Castiglione, an intimate of the Medici. Under Elizabeth’s personal patronage were Giacomo Aconcio, an initiate of the Ogdoadic Guild Mysteries, and Bernardino Ochino, a Sienese. Ochino, before traveling (by way of Geneva) to England, had narrowly escaped the trials of the Inquisition in Rome through the timely warning of another initiate, Cardinal Contarini.
The “Order of the Helmet” in its full development surrounded the Mysteries in England with a surge of new, intense feelings about the identity and power that characterized that age, and which survived well into the seventeenth century in its initiates.
A collation of Ogdoadic teachings and practices was begun as early as 1689, and the tradition was continued under the guise of antiquarianism from the early years of the eighteenth century. Certainly by 1689 the “Order of the Helmet” had ceased to function.
Figure 18: In the eighteenth century a “Societas Rotae Fulgentis,” or “Society of the Burning Wheel,” appeared as part of the Aurum Solis tradition.
As the history of the Order Aurum Solis indicates, a “Societas Rotae Fulgentis” (SRF) or “Society of the Blazing Wheel” appeared in the eighteenth century, bringing together the last adepts of the “Order of the Helmet.”
Apart from initiation, SRF members were much concerned with their particular duty as they saw it to be: the preservation of the tradition as a whole, in as complete a condition as they were able to achieve for it.
This Society inherited important techniques based on those energies that are linked with the cycles of nature. It is absolutely true that the Baptistery of Florence synthesizes a certain number of symbolic elements that ultimately became part of the tradition of Aurum Solis. For example, their pavement reveals an interesting drawing that an Eastern person might describe as a mandala. On this figure it is possible to see a large wheel containing many concentric circles, with various colors, like a rose-colored stained-glass window. In the center there is a sun with twelve rays. Around this sun we read one of the key sentences of the Order: En giro torte sol ciclos et rotor igne (The Spiritual sun compels the Aeons to revolve around the periphery of a wheel, which it impels to turn with the force of fire!). Around the sun there are twelve drawings in the first concentric circle and in a second, outer concentric circle, we find the twelve signs of the zodiac. For the time being, we will not enter into an analysis of this Christian symbolism, but we may notice that the central place of the sun was a heresy at the time that this mosaic was assembled.
As you remember, the Academia Platonica directed by Marsilio Ficino reserved an honored place for the traditional forms of astrological Theurgy. The adepts of their time worked on the inner being with the techniques of planetary re-harmonization, utilizing such traditional elements as: correspondences, gestures, sounds, hymns, music, colors, etc.
This work on the inner being is the fundamental contribution of those techniques by which we may achieve harmonization with the universe; such techniques are at the heart of the Hermetic/Ogdoadic tradition. One of the fundamental contributions of the “Society of the Blazing Wheel” was the transmission and the deepening of this heritage of the Academia Platonica, both philosophic and Theurgic. The text of Plato’s book The Banquet was explained by those initiates, including Marsilio Ficino himself; it remained an important basis of the work, reflection, and practice for the “Societas Rotae Fulgentis.”
Yet, let us now be even more precise regarding the techniques transmitted by the SRF. The message that the Baptistery of Florence delivers to us is not only a part of our Outer Order. It is also a part of the Inner Order. As the history of thought (philosophy) reveals to us, the initiates of antiquity held many exchanges of information with the East. The theories of the “Bodies of Light” or “psychic bodies” were well-known at the same time, in both the Mediterranean world and in the East. Even the name of the Society of the Blazing Wheel, reveals that we do not speak only about the external representation of the universe, but also about the centers that animate our psychic being, those centers that the Eastern traditions called the chakras.
The SRF used techniques of animation, energization, and balance of the subtle parts of our energetic body. That was accomplished primarily through techniques of visualization, gesture, and breathing. If we were in an Eastern tradition we would be able to speak about visualization, meditation, Hatha yoga, and pranayama (or the yoga of breathing). You will be able to discover some explanations about these Eastern forms of meditation in some of the books of the Grand Masters of the Aurum Solis. Whether you are initiated into this Order or not, you will notice that (for example) the breathing techniques are elements that constitute a fundamental part of its rituals, and this is true from the beginning of the formation, and progressively throughout the student’s advancement through the degrees. For example, we find a true teaching of Western pranayama in our own system. We are forced to admit that these aspects and teachings are seldom found in other Western initiatic orders.
The same thing may be said for the use of gesture in our rituals. For example, the sequences of positions that characterize the planets can easily be made to resemble certain parts of Hatha yoga, especially the famous “Sun Salutation.” The meditations we use that are based on sounds and hymns are very close to mantras. All these elements were the center of the work and the transmission of the “Societas Rotae Fulgentis” and this transmission gives a characteristic power to the rituals of the Ordo Aurum Solis. All these techniques are still standard parts of regular training within the Aurum Solis.
Around the year 1860, the SRF was transferred from the West of England to London (specifically to the home of the Martin family, located at 1, St. Paul’s Churchyard). From this time it began to explore in depth the practical aspects of its heritage, and was formally constituted as Aurum Solis in 1897. In my book Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons, I spoke in detail about the Rose-Cross lineage. Even if this tradition has several currents and influences (including the Hermetic, Christian, and magical aspects, etc.) the Aurum Solis has always remained independent from this line. It was the place where Theurgy, Neoplatonic faith, and teachings were preserved and taught.
Today, the surviving material of SRF remains within the keeping of the Grand Master’s lineage of the Ordo Aurum Solis.
Hopefully, it is now easier to understand the importance of a lineage whose principle function is to do the necessary work by utilizing the magical principles of the Ogdoadic tradition. Three main principles define the validity and the effectiveness of this spiritual family, which is also called a “Theurgic lineage.”
The first principle of the Ogdoadic tradition is that there is a direct link between each Grand Master and all the Grand Masters who preceded him or her. That link is part of the unbroken lineage that extends back to the time of the earliest Grand Master. It is through this link that each new Grand Master of the tradition is charged with his office. In a Theurgic Order such as this one, the office of the Grand Master is not the result of an election or the personal will of an assembly. The presiding Grand Master chooses his successor and transmits forever the occult office of the Order to him during a specific initiation. (It must be noted that, today, as in the first Pythagorean school, both men and women can be initiated and can become officers.) This is accomplished by connecting the new Grand Master to the unbroken Golden Chain of the past Grand Masters. This linking process makes the chosen Grand Master able to assume the full power of his office. The special rites of the Grand Master give him the ability to maintain the egregores16 of the tradition in a living, active, and dynamic state.
The second principle that establishes this legitimacy is the power to transmit the initiation, and the ability to connect the initiate to the egregore of the Order and the spirit of the masters of the Golden Chain. Those who are familiar with this kind of work recognize that an initiation must be coincident with an awakening of the consciousness of the initiate. This connection with the egregore facilitates that process and protects the aspirant in his work. This capacity, of being able to link an initiate to an egregore that protects and aids in the evolution of their consciousness, is a direct result of the active initiatic chain of the Order. The act of initiation causes these changes to occur in the aspirant. These changes make that person part of the unbroken chain, so that he or she is able to perform rites using a directly transmitted material basis. Initiation manifests these changes in the aspirant and links the aspirant to the Golden Chain.
The third principle, rooted in the Hermetic initiation, is that of the transmission of the “sacred objects” or, more exactly, the transmission of “consecrated objects.” The tessera,17 as a specific example of such a material basis, was made public by the Aurum Solis. A presentation of one of the models was offered in the public writings of Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips (husband and wife writing team who penned many books for Llewellyn). These tesserae constitute a direct occult link to the heart of the Order. As such the tessera forges another link for each new member to that unbroken occult chain, which ensures the constant aid and protection of the egregore to each member. This process and these teachings have their origin in the heritage that came from Iamblichus, Proclus, Apuleius, and Marsilio Ficino.
Exercise One—Harmonization with Thoth
This exercise can be performed in your own ritual room or in any quiet place. You will find information about how to set up your ritual space in the “Ritual of the Seven Gates” in Part 7. In the Ogdoadic tradition the altar is called a “bomos.” Traditionally, the bomos is a wooden cube of 10.22" x 10.22" x 20.44". If you like you can paint this cube black or leave it in its natural state. For this exercise, you can use a white altar cloth made of linen or cotton.
Face east with the bomos directly in front of you. After a moment of silence, light a candle of natural wax (such as beeswax).
Raise this light three times prior to turning in each direction (east, south, west, and north). This action cleanses the place of working and increases the presence of the spiritual Light.
Walk to the west of the bomos and return the candle to its place on the top of the altar in the west.
Light the incense.18 Walk to the eastern side of the room, and face east. Raise the censer four times to the east. Walk to the southern side of the room, visualizing a beautiful wall of vibrant golden light. Raise the censer to the south four times. Continue in the same way for the other directions until you return to the east. Walk to the western side of the bomos and return the censer to its place on top of the altar, in the west.
Sit down facing the altar (facing east) and meditate silently for a few minutes.
Visualize in front of you, to the east, a naos19 in Egyptian style. The naos is in sculpted wood, covered with golden leaves. The two doors of the naos are open, and a statue of Thoth is just outside. Thoth has a human body and an ibis head. His hands are on top of his thighs, palms down.
In front of him are offerings, flowers, perfumes, and burning candles.
Contemplate Thoth, silently and respectfully.
Stand up; raise both hands in the direction of Thoth and say:
Let Thoth now be invoked!
Hail to you, Moon, Thoth!
You, who makes a place for the Gods!
You, who knows the secrets and inscribes them in the sacred characters!
You, who knows how to recognize the truth of discourse!
You, who is the judge of each of us!
You, the God of penetrating gaze, who stands on the million year bark!
You, the messenger of mankind, who knows each man by his spoken word!
You, who returns every evil action against its author!
You, who satisfies Ra!
You, who advise the unique Lord and ensures that He knows everything that happens!
You, who calls the skies at sunrise and does not forget the reports of past events!
You, who protects the sun bark during the night and accompanies the bark of the day, standing with your arms extended at the prow of the ship!
You, who seizes the ropes, when the bark of day and the bark of night are at the fete of the crossing of the sky!
We respectfully salute you!
The Ennead in the bark of night adores you, O Thoth,
saying:
“Hail to you, son and glory of Ra, you that Gods acclaim!
Be honored, O Thoth!”
Stand, with your arms hanging naturally at your sides and remain silent for a little while.
Kneel in silence, so that you are seated on your feet. Place your hands on top of your thighs, palms up.
After few seconds of silence, say:
Thoth, noble Ibis, I call upon you!
O God who loves Knoum;
O writer of the Ennead;
Great God, who resides in the sacred city of Hermopolis, manifest yourself at this instant!
Hear my call!
Let your manifestation be powerful and let it make me great!
I ask that, by my pure desire, the chain of the Theurgic tradition be manifested at this instant!
O Thoth, I want to be a servant of your house.
May I speak of your valiant actions and tell with the multitude:
“Great are you, Thoth, and great are your actions!”
Remain silent for few minutes, while visualizing a shining golden light coming from Thoth, and illuminating all the levels of your being.
Stand up, raise both hands toward Thoth, and say:
May your power protect me during my Theurgic rites and in my daily life!
May I always render myself worthy of your protection!
So mote it be!
You may then extinguish the flame upon the bomos, return everything to a state of order, and write some notes about the ritual.
Note: The Magick Journal
Another basic tool that you should use regularly is your Magick Journal. Obtain a notebook to be used solely for this purpose; after each ritual, record your experiences, dreams, emotions, impressions, and so on. Any experiences that you believe are related to the rituals you are assigned to perform should be recorded there, along with your thoughts regarding the texts of this book.
Self-Test One
These questions are intended to help you to challenge your knowledge about the subjects you have been studying. You can use them before you read the materials or after. Try to answer the questions before checking the answers in the Appendix.
1. Who were the founders of the Western magical tradition?
2. Does a myth describe true events?
3. What is the Egyptian Ogdoad?
4. Who is Djehuti?
5. Are Thoth and Hermes the same figure?
6. What is the “Golden Chain of the Initiates”?
7. Which country was the birthplace of the tradition of High Magick (Theurgy)?
8. What ancient Masonic rituals are associated to the history of the Theurgic tradition?
The following questions are related to your own experience. It is good to use them as personal meditations.20
1. Can you provide some examples in your life of positive effects that stem from your knowledge of your familial lineage?
2. Find an Egyptian God and an Egyptian Goddess that attract you and meditate several times on their representations and their symbols.
3. Find a Greek (or Roman) God and Goddess that attract you and meditate several times on their representations and their symbols.
3. The “Coffin Texts” are a collection of magical texts written into the coffins of the dead during the Middle Kingdom (2000 BCE).
4. Group of eight divinities. (For more, see the glossary.)
5. Group of nine divinities. (For more, see the glossary.)
6. Most modern scholars believe that Petosiris was High Priest of Thoth during the second period of Persian rule in Egypt (which was before Alexander). Nevertheless, it has also been mentioned that he probably continued as High Priest in the years after Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt.
7. The famous, modern magician Aleister Crowley was aware of this, so he used the spelling “Tehuti.” Modern magicians, following Crowley’s path, generally continue
to use the same spelling. The linguistic characteristics of the ancient Egyptian language allow these differences, consequently there are difficulties knowing exactly how words in ancient Egyptian should be pronounced.
8. (305–30 BCE)
9 . Jean-Louis de Biasi, The Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis (Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2011).
10. I am talking here about “initiations” as they were developed in the Hellenistic schools of Mysteries.
11. Iamblichus of Chalcis, also known as Iamblichus Chalcidensis or Iamblichus of Apamea.
12. Macedonian calendar month.
13. Archaeologists don’t know the exact place where Julian was acclaimed by these troops, but it is likely to be close to a place called today Musée Cluny in Paris. A large statue of the Emperor still remains in these ancient Roman baths. You can see this statue in Figure 15.
14. The Quaturo Coronati was founded in 1884 in England and is the first Masonic Lodge of research. This Lodge still exists and publishes regular reports.
15. Sir Hans Sloane was in fact the last head of whom we have a record. That doesn’t mean there was not a head after him.
16. An egregore is an important notion and is extensively explained in the Glossary.
17. A tessera is a specific engraved stone consecrated during a ritual ceremony and given to the initiate with precise instructions about its goals and purposes. This very rare and ancient principle is still used in the Aurum Solis and is the manifestation of its Theurgic origin.
18. Specific incenses can be found on the Aurum Solis website. You can also use Dragon’s Blood in this instance.
19. The naos is a wooden engraved box often covered with gold leaves. This box contains the statue of the divinity. We also can find naos in stones.
20. You can share your thoughts about these questions on the forums of the Aurum Solis website.