Episode 2: Introduction to Hermetic Thought, part 2

In this episode, the Philosophers of the Living Fire present an introduction to hermeticism via the book The Kybalion, with special attention to the Law of Correspondence.

For anyone who has even been interested in, but mystified by The Kybalion or Hermeticism, we hope to shed light over the coming months on many of these mysteries.

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MAGUS INCOGNITO: One of the most profound spiritual and hermetic texts of the twentieth century came from Valentin Tomberg, whose magnum opus is considered to be “Meditations on Tarot, A Journey Into Christian Hermeticism”. In his first Meditation, he invites us to contemplate the first Arcanum, known as the Magician, or Juggler. It is this arcanum that is the Master Key to the remaining 21 Arcanum. The Arcanum reflects an aspiration towards a state of unity between the conscious and unconscious mind, between the divine and personal will. The very goal of Carl Gustav Jung's transcendent function, a state of mind necessary to proceed into the depths of the night, or as Tomberg says, “a zone of silence”, necessary to enter into the mysteries of the Book of Thoth, or simply, Tarot.

Taking note of the image as it is depicted in the Rider-Waite deck we find the four instruments of the magician, the wand, chalice, pentacle, and sword, which are symbols of the tetragrammaton, the four cabbalistic universes associated with the sacred name, the four elements, and expanding this concept further, the four Jungian functions. Above his head is the symbol of infinity, which is also suggested in the Tarot of Marseilles, by the hat placed upon the Magi’s head. This suggests the connection to infinity, and to the Principle of Rhythm. The other name the arcanum is known by, the Juggler is a key to understanding the arcanum’s relationship to the experience of concentration and accordance with the rhythms of various planes of existence. The card, in its most essential details, depicts a state of consciousness which the mystical Hebrew traditions call “Kavanah”. It is, in a word, mysticism, and it is this mystical state of consciousness which becomes Gnosis in the following card, the passive High Priestess, and dynamic catharsis in the third arcanum, which is sacred magic. This state of consciousness is that which is needed for all fruitful contemplative, alchemical and magical work. It is the state of consciousness which is truly attuned to both the above and below, and because of the magician’s state of harmony with the rhythmic movement of higher planes of activity, he is able to bring the laws and principles of higher planes of existence into activity in lower planes of existence producing alchemical change, or simply a Miracle. As it is rendered by the Master of Masters, “The Father is working, and I am also working.”

It is interesting to note the Alef, has the value of one, the monad. The letter itself is composed of 2 Yuds connected by a Vahv and these letters when analyzed for their numerical values are 10 plus 10 plus 6, equalling the number 26. Which is the same value, through gematria, as the great name Jahweh. Alef then is the point of unity in seed form, containing all potential, which unfolds, or reveals itself, in a plurality of diverse expressions, in this context the four Olamot or Cabbalistic universes. The author of the aforementioned book makes some profound statements in regard to the problem of achieving this individualized state, which means to say, undivided, and working with the Law of Correspondence. When he says, quote, “All practical esotericism is founded on the following rule: it is necessary to be one in oneself (concentration without effort) and one with the spiritual world (to have a zone of silence in the soul) in order for a revelatory or actual spiritual experience to be able to take place. In other words, if one wants to practice some form of authentic esotericism —be it mysticism, gnosis, or magic—it is necessary to be the Magician, i.e. concentrated without effort, operating with ease as if one were playing, and acting with perfect calm. This, then, is the practical teaching of the first Arcanum of the Tarot. It is the first counsel, commandment or warning, concerning all spiritual practice; it is the aleph of the “alphabet” of practical rules of esotericism. And just as all numbers are only aspects (multiples) of unity, so are all other practical rules communicated by the other Arcana of the Tarot only aspects and modalities of this basic rule.

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