As Above, So Below: Decoding the Hermetica’s Secret Wisdom

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In this deep dive, we explore the Hermetica — the ancient wisdom texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the "Thrice-Great" sage at the crossroads of Egypt, Greece, and the divine. Far more than mystical curiosities, these dialogues reveal a profound vision of the cosmos, the soul, and the path to gnosis: the direct knowledge of God. We examine the core teachings — the unity of all things, the divine spark within, the ascent of the soul, and the silent Mind behind creation known as Pymander. From the principle "As above, so below" to the radical idea that humans are divine by nature yet fallen into forgetfulness, this is a philosophy of awakening, not belief. I break down the historical context of the texts (likely composed between the 1st–3rd centuries CE), their Neoplatonic echoes, their influence on alchemy, Renaissance thought, and esoteric traditions, and why they still resonate today. Whether you're drawn to mysticism, philosophy, or the hidden currents of Western thought, the Hermetica offers a mirror to the soul — and a call to remember what you are.

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**SHOW NOTES**

1. Hermes Trismegistus — the "Thrice-Great" — is a radiant confluence of myth, wisdom, and cross-cultural alchemy, born where the Egyptian god Thoth, lord of writing, magic, and the moon, merged with the Greek Hermes, messenger of the gods and guide of souls. In the cosmopolitan ferment of Hellenistic Egypt — likely Alexandria, between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE — scribes and philosophers began attributing a body of mystical, philosophical, and technical writings to this fused divine sage.

2. In Christian theology, concupiscence refers to the inclination toward sin that remains in human nature after the Fall — not sin itself, but the disordered desire, the inner pull toward pleasure, pride, and separation from God. It is the wound of the soul, where reason no longer rules easily over passion. While the Hermetica does not use this exact term, it speaks of a strikingly similar condition: the human soul, divine by nature, becomes entrapped in the "evil" of matter, forgetfulness, and the tyranny of the senses.

3. Logos is not word — but the first whisper of God into the silence of the unmanifest. In the beginning, before light, before time, there was the Logos: the living Mind of the One, the divine Reason through which all things were spoken into being. To the Greeks, it was the rational order of the cosmos; to the Stoics, the fiery breath that animates all nature; to the Hermetica, it is Pymander — the "Shepherd of Men," the Light that descends to awaken the soul from its slumber in matter. The Logos is both within and between — the bridge from the invisible to the visible, from God to the world, from the heart to the stars.

4. Neoplatonism was a philosophical school that emerged in late antiquity, traditionally founded by Plotinus in the 3rd century CE under the influence of Platonic thought, Stoicism, and Middle Platonism. Centered on the idea of a single, transcendent principle — the One — from which all reality emanates, Neoplatonism structured the cosmos hierarchically: the One gives rise to Nous (Divine Intellect), then to Psyche (World Soul), and finally to the material world.

5. The essence-energy distinction is a key concept in Eastern Orthodox theology, particularly developed by Gregory Palamas in the 14th century. It holds that while God’s essence (His inner being) is utterly transcendent and unknowable, His energies — the ways He acts and reveals Himself (such as grace, light, or power) — are real, uncreated, and participable by humans. This allows for genuine communion with God without compromising His unknowability.

6. While reincarnation — the transmigration of the soul into new bodies across lifetimes — is not a doctrine of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism or normative Christianity, various forms of cyclical rebirth or soul restoration did appear in ancient Jewish thought, particularly during the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE), alongside parallel ideas in other religious traditions.

7. Nominalism and conceptualism are medieval philosophical positions addressing the problem of universals — whether general concepts like "humanity," "goodness," or "redness" have real existence. Nominalism, most strongly associated with William of Ockham, holds that universals are only names (nomina) — linguistic labels we apply to individual things that resemble one another, but which have no independent reality.