Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Discussion on literature other than by the Star of Azazel.
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Beshiira
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Post by Beshiira »

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:28. And when they heard, they came with one accord. Whereon I say:

Ye earth-born folk, why have ye given yourselves up to Death, while yet ye have the power of sharing Deathlessness? Repent, O ye, who walk with Error arm in arm and make of Ignorance the sharer of your board; get ye out from the light of Darkness, and take your part in Deathlessness, forsake Destruction!

Now that I read this, it reminded me strongly of the setting of the Sermon on the Mount. People hear something marvellous, something new to them, and gather around to learn more. In the very end of Matt. 7 it's said that ”the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”. In the Sermon on the Mount there is the same strong division to Spirit and Matter as in the Poimandres text. Not that those two wouldn't be one and the same in the end, but in practice our fundamental focus on one or the other defines whether we are esotericists or profane people. In a sense that division is quite harsh and ”merciless” even.

”Get ye out from the light of Darkness, and take your part in Deathlessness, forsake Destruction!” In a way, it really is this simple. In practice it takes a lifetime's work and more, but at the same time, in the right state of clarity, it really can be seen this simple. One option is vanity, easy rewards and throwing away one's potential during this lifetime; the other option is growing, learning and striving with a much greater and wholesome ”reward” in love and light, eventually. That is what religions etc. tend to teach anyway.

”Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21)
"Ja kun minun kirkkauteni kulkee ohitse, asetan minä sinut kallion rotkoon ja peitän sinut kädelläni, kunnes olen kulkenut ohi.
Kun minä sitten siirrän pois käteni, näet sinä minun selkäpuoleni; mutta minun kasvojani ei voi kenkään katsoa."
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Smaragd
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Post by Smaragd »

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:[28] When they heard, they gathered round with one accord.
I'm going towards an interpretation where the student, now perhaps worthy of the name Hermes Trismegistus, is a human being but his voice comes as part of the occult body to which his own occult teacher is directly connected as well as the gods by large. This voice sounds not only through the occult teaching whispered directly from the lips of the teacher to the ear of the student, but it secretly sends waves to those who have come to a place in their striving where in all silence, one's conscience manages to reach the consciousness. And "when they heard", they may rise up to a greatness by their own merit and gather in the occult circles to serve the Master.

Now that I read Beshiira's take and paralling the verse to the Sermon on the Mount, where the teaching was also as if direct from the spirit rather than dogma or learned theology, the same meaning can be found from there where the voice speaks directly to the soul. Almost like there's not a priest there but the authority comes from within. This was indeed Jesus' aim in founding the new covenant: to release the secrets for all to find. The Blake quote in my signature points to the same direction: "Would to God that all the Lords people were Prophets"
Hermes Trismegistus wrote:And I said, "Why have you surrendered yourselves to death, earthborn men, since you have the right to share in immortality? You who have journeyed with error, who have partnered with ignorance,
This, again, can be interpreted as the voice of one's conscience starting to crumble down the petrified shell around oneself, which shields and limits the human child, but will not allow the adult to grow in to the fiery divinity that is the divine human ideal.
Hermes Trismegistus wrote:
think again: escape the shadowy light; leave corruption behind and take a share in immortality."
The expression "shadowy light" obviously points to how the light and everything we see can be likened to the shadow, casted by this light and marking the otherness which the exoteric light does not reach. Thus everything we see with our outer eyes are exoterical expressions of the spiritual light, the latter of which brings us the understanding of Truth.

The expression is excellent especially for us Satanists, because we are easily lured in to this idea of turning things upside down and seeking refuge from the shadows, away from the disgusting outer light. But "shadowy light" points to the rightfully pejorative meaning both ligth and shadow have. The disgust towards the light of the outer sun is rightful hate towards the existence disconnected from the inner world of meaning - spirit. The seeking of refuge from the shadow is easily turned similarly in to meaningless aesthetics where the shadow does not transcend the material existence in to seeing its other side, but rather reinforces the negative meanings of the mythology, the shadow whispers of, by making it a negative building block of one's identity. Thus identity becomes a new shield from the spirit rather than integrated powers as marks of triumph on one's individual path i.e. "dharma".

But there's a chance for Saturnian compassion for the likes of me who are deeply bothered by these types of things in the world: it is the compassion of Saturn that will allow people to shield themselves from the too intense countenance of God. And by shielding oneself by the images of one's own shadows, it is just an inch away to turn in to the depth axis, rather than obsessing over the horizontal vastness of expressions the shadow has expressed itself throughout the human history. Yet reaching over this inch may take lifetimes, as identities are oftentimes seen so precious that only physical death will free us from its most pathological forms. And even then there are the real reasons left on the karmic shell we come back to in reincarnation, that are no more our identity but the beings of shadow we were meant to confront within ourselves.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Beshiira
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

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Hermes Trismegistus wrote:29. And some of them with jests upon their lips departed [from me], abandoning themselves unto the Way of Death; others entreated to be taught, casting themselves before my feet.

But I made them arise, and I became a leader of the Race towards home, teaching the words (logoi), how and in what way they shall be saved. I sowed in them the words (logoi) of wisdom; of Deathless Water were they given to drink.

And when even was come and all sun's beams began to set, I bade them all give thanks to God. And when they had brought to an end the giving of their thanks, each man returned to his own resting place.

The ”Sermon on the Mount feel” I had already continues with this verse.

But the ”Left Hand Path turn” happens hear: ”But I made them arise, and I became a leader of the Race towards home.” This is in the Finnish translation: ”But I asked them to rise, and I became a guide to those who are like me.” To truly be a leader and an equal at the same time; this is uniting the hands. One becomes His/Her true Self, one masters one's Will, but it doesn't diminish others while at it, but instead it helps others grow and find their Way too.

The mentions of jest are very familiar; we know how even today spiritual worldview can appear first and foremost amusing to some people. This is nothing new. Mockery is an easy way (not only in the context of laughing at spirituality, but in many other contexts as well...) to appear confident, intelligent, superior... But this is often just an impression, nothing more.

”Deathless Water” is in the Everard translation ”Ambrozian Water of Immortality”. Ambrosia is the mythological food of the Gods, and this makes me think of the Eucharist again (which we discussed with the very first verse already). Also makes me think of the ”Living Water” and buddhi.

”And when even was come and all sun's beams began to set, I bade them all give thanks to God. And when they had brought to an end the giving of their thanks, each man returned to his own resting place.” A beautiful part, and I see in this an ideal depiction of death. This can be the physical death, where the ”resting place” means one's constitution dissolving and the essence reaching a higher state, but it could be also seen as a depiction of mortification while still alive, where one finds one's ”place” in the world. A ”resting place” in the eyes of the old self, maybe?
"Ja kun minun kirkkauteni kulkee ohitse, asetan minä sinut kallion rotkoon ja peitän sinut kädelläni, kunnes olen kulkenut ohi.
Kun minä sitten siirrän pois käteni, näet sinä minun selkäpuoleni; mutta minun kasvojani ei voi kenkään katsoa."
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Smaragd
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Post by Smaragd »

Hermes Trismegistos wrote:Some of them, who had surrendered themselves to the way of death, resumed their mocking and withdrew, while those who desired to be taught cast themselves at my feet.
In this context the way of death means the focus on the temporary world detached from the eternal spirit. This is not to be confused with tantrism or shaktism where in theory the temporary world has a vital connection to the spirit. Still, the way of death is to a degree the respectable way of mortification, where individuals will eventually come to the existential questions, as the time is ripe. And this rhythm of the individuals need to be respected from distance in order to find a good stance towards the world. Good stance means that one remains awake towards the friction and suffering going on in the world, and thus keeps one's ability to offer valid occult teaching each circulation is in need for, while at the same time acknowledges the individual rhythm and works within the area of occultism where the work is actually, concretely possible without constant need to defend the basic principles themselves. It is a question of giving way to the potential, but letting it to be brought out by the individuals themselves.
Hermes Trismegistos wrote:Having made them rise, I became guide to my race, teaching them the words - how to be saved and in what manner - and I sowed the words of wisdom among them, and they were nourished from the ambrosial water.
Within the above mentioned sweet spot, one may recognize the sphere of buddhi defining an occult circle of students. Here a bodhisattva may share occult teaching from the body of the Bodhisattva. Some sources sees Bodhisattva to be named Melchisedek in the Judeo-Christian mythology. This is an entity overseeing the occult school of our planet, if we follow Ervast's interpretation, and within its body the students share the teaching. This deeply occult process is often depicted as sharing a meal of immortal source. Whether it is Ambrosia, Amrita or the Blood of Christ, as Beshiira pointed out, we are at the same source from which the divinely inspired souls are drinking as they work with the Master.

It could be said that the previously mentioned occult circle of buddhi is a pre-requisite for the internal Eucharist.
Hermes Trismegistos wrote:When evening came and the sun's light began to disappear entirely, I commanded them to give thanks to god, and when each completed the thanksgiving, he turned to his own bed.
This might be just stubborn translation between different kinds of languages, but it catches the eye when it is not plural "them" who turns to "his own bed", as it is in the Mead translation. If we follow the Mead translation, it reads like the people give thanks to the God for being able to share in the Ambrosia, and returning to the source completely in their deepest sleep. This could be seen also as a practice of respect and more complete unity with the spirit in the sense that the student reaches the more nuanced demands by treating a deity as a living otherness. Respectful dealing with other complex deities, like fellow human beings, is quite demanding in all the complexities, but simply striving for it goes a long way. When doing so towards an inner deity, we may reach to a connection that is atleast on the level of a decent human being. The deeper connections can start to build on from there.

If I would interpret the text from the Copenhaver translation, then I would think God also sleeping gives way to the night side, the Goddess, whom with the student may converse during one's sleep. The occult work continues while asleep, and reveals the things we have left unnoticed during the day.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

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Hermes Trismegistus wrote:30. But I recorded in my heart Man-Shepherd's benefaction, and with my every hope fulfilled more than rejoiced. For body's sleep became the soul's awakening, and closing of the eyes - true vision, pregnant with Good my silence, and the utterance of my word (logos) begetting of good things.

All this befell me from my Mind, that is Man-Shepherd, Word (Logos) of all masterhood, by whom being God-inspired I came unto the Plain of Truth. Wherefore with all my soul and strength thanksgiving give I unto Father-God.

I read this as a depiction of what Jesus in the gospels speaks of as the ”Kingdom of Heaven”, a totally new kind of understanding of reality, where mortal life as we knew it seems like a negligible fraction of the whole. A new kind of way of being itself. Thus is ”my every hope fulfilled”.

”For body's sleep became the soul's awakening, and closing of the eyes - true vision”; cf. what has been written previously here (and elsewhere) about mortification.

”Wherefore with all my soul and strength thanksgiving give I unto Father-God.” In this state, ultimately, we too naturally become ”like angels”, and our being becomes an act of prayer and thanksgiving.

Our existence on earth can hardly be like this entirely, right away, but we can see glimpses of it every now and then.
"Ja kun minun kirkkauteni kulkee ohitse, asetan minä sinut kallion rotkoon ja peitän sinut kädelläni, kunnes olen kulkenut ohi.
Kun minä sitten siirrän pois käteni, näet sinä minun selkäpuoleni; mutta minun kasvojani ei voi kenkään katsoa."
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Smaragd
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Post by Smaragd »

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:[30] Within myself I recorded the kindness of Poimandres
Such gratitude towards the inner and/or outer teachers will create an actual occult bridge between the student and the occult body of entities, which gives out its teaching. When one has found the courage to knock on the door, it will be answered, but the depth of connection to the circles sharing gnosis are almost entirely dependent of the student's ability and preparedness to receive it. Humility and gratitude goes a long way as formal abilities of buddhi, and the virtuous pride and expanding intelligence helps too. Although the latter two can be seen primarily connected to formal sides of manas, they connect to buddhi too in their purely virtuous forms. A simple example of this is two people talking and the one who listens can have overflowing gratitude, yet without being able to reach the meaning of the words of the other, there is hardly a connection i.e. buddhi present. Still the formal sides of buddhi are often more important in the beginning, as pride and intelligence on their own drift so easily in to a ditch. Yet the deficit on either side can be worked out if one has the Will to seek balance and keep on trying to work with the individual shadows.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:and I was deeply happy because I was filled with what I wished, for the sleep of my body became sobriety of soul, the closing of my eyes beame true vision, my silence became pregnant with good, and the birthing of the word became a progeny of goods.
The going to bed truly seems to come to the idea of mortification as Beshiira suggested on the previous verse. Sleep is a metaphor for the powers of oneself given over to the night to be rearranged. This is about openness for change, for the inner flame to burn that which is temporal within us, and thus already doomed for destruction. Such openness will allow the individual to receive gnosis as the shadow forms of night are casted light upon. This will turn demons to siddhis - magical power. Objective reality in all its simple and magical ways are illuminated as the subjective dross are being alchemically dealt with. The human instrument is thus being sharpened.

However cold and technical the above might have sounded like, it is really a fine process to a mystical extent if we approach it with fine and concrete enough ways as the idea of sleep and the later mentioned might suggests. There's also again the idea of buddhi emphasised in such mystic sleep of death.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:This happened to me because I was receptive of mind - of Poimandres, that is, the word of sovereignty. I have arrived, inspired with the divine breath of truth.
Receptivity and sovereignty complete or actualize the connection to the Master. While the sleep in this interpretation gives emphasis to buddhi, which we could see on this occasion as a feminine principle, here the more masculine aspects are pointed towards. Receptivity can be seen as buddhic instrument, but it also has an active meaning where one's own intellect is used. Sovereignty of the Master is an empowerment coming from the masculine principle. And with the mortification of sleep, the sovereignty is not an ego trip but connection to the actually divine Ego. A droplet of God forming our innermost, essential core.
Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Therefore, I give praise to god the father from my soul and with all my might:
Again, the might of the lower self joins the sovereignty of the divinity within oneself by overcoming the shadows of the ego completely and continually as the Great Work proceeds.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Beshiira
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

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Hermes Trismegistus wrote:31. Holy art Thou, O God, the universals' Father.

Holy art Thou, O God, whose Will perfects itself by means of its own Powers.
The ”Powers” again remind me of Shakti. Everything that exists is manifestation of Power (Shakti) of the Power-Holder (Shiva), and thus also we men are those Powers. I also see this as a beautiful depiction of how the Will of man and the Will of God align.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Holy art Thou, O God, who willeth to be known and art known by Thine own.
Makes me think of Jesus' teachings about him ”confessing his own people before his Father in Heaven”, as well as the ”tree is known by its fruit” analogy.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Holy art Thou,who didst by Word (Logos) make to consist the things that are.
Again stresses the holyness and the power of the Word. What a mystery.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Holy art Thou, of whom All-nature hath been made an image.

Holy art Thou, whose Form Nature hath never made.
Nature ”has never made” God's form, as Nature itself is manifestation of God, or His Form. God behind all forms is alone ”uncreated”.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Holy art Thou, more powerful than all power.
Because He is the totality of all imaginable forms of power, and more. Such suprarational things can pretty much be spoken of only in some sort of poetic form.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Holy art Thou, transcending all pre-eminence.

Holy Thou art, Thou better than all praise.
No praise can ever totally reach or equal the Divine, but the act of prayer is still our only way to it. Prayer here in the broad sense, not only as words but as something living, something that directs us to God/the Master/Spirit. Once again makes me think of the idea of ceaseless prayer, the Prayer of the Heart.

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:Accept my reason's offerings pure, from soul and heart for aye stretched up to Thee, O Thou unutterable, unspeakable, Whose Name naught but the Silence can express.
The mention of reason here was for me a bit surprising at first, but then again it makes sense, as we speak of reason's ”pure offerings” in particular. When all the human ”instruments” are gathered together, purified and directed to spirit, they all become vessels of the Master. Reasoning aligns with the soul and the heart and our Master does hear our prayer and ”confess us before the Father”. And then also ”The Voice of Silence” is heard.
"Ja kun minun kirkkauteni kulkee ohitse, asetan minä sinut kallion rotkoon ja peitän sinut kädelläni, kunnes olen kulkenut ohi.
Kun minä sitten siirrän pois käteni, näet sinä minun selkäpuoleni; mutta minun kasvojani ei voi kenkään katsoa."
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Smaragd
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

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And the writer goes on to praise god with all his might, which I interpret is a practice to reach greater understanding and communion with God:
[31] Holy is god, the father of all;
Holy is god, whose counsel is done by his own powers;
Both of these lines attempt at portraying the greatest whole, which is the God the praise is given to. There have been many gods and spirits that has been given praise to during the ages, and if the lesser gods are worshipped blindly without the philosophy of oneness behind, it's quite straight on calling dualistic barriers to block the way forth. But that too might be a starting point, to realize the problems one has just created for themselves. One must just remember that if you dig your hole deep enough, it might be quite a feat to get out from there.

The latter line is an interesting one, a tool of sorts with which the entity can be judged: if the entity is totally self-contained, needing no blood from you, transcends linear thought ("counsel"), has no imbalances, has all the world working within it, then it has some close proximity to what is referred to by "God".
Holy is god, who wishes to be known and is known by his own people;
An acknowledgement of the mystery god, the Goddeess, the powers that are known to an adept. This is a completing aspect to the God the Father, and together they create the Hermetic Golden Chain through which the God is know to those who seek Truth.
Holy are you, who by the word have constituted all things that are;
Holy are you, from whom all nature was born as image;
Holy are you, of whom nature has not made a like figure;
Holy are you, who are stronger than every power;
Holy are you, who surpass every excellence;
It was today or some day just recently when I was sitting in a bus and again contemplating the hidden god, the beauty of the divine hidden from the surface, and once again I wondered how obvious it is that the things we sense in this world are so clearly detached from this hidden "Kingdom" or what ever should we call it. There is a connection between the hidden core and the surface, alright, but it is through a medium which asks from the observer alot to make the jump over the void separating the core from its circumference. It's the archetypal maze placed in the astral layers that awaits to be solved before the middle part of pan-en-teism is clearly seen through experience.

All of these lines seem to denote this void between the sensible world and the divine realm. It is the detached condition of the world, the enchantment which is eventually cleared for the occultist, after which the occultist becomes a bridge, a bolt of lightning between the worlds, as they know how the detached secretly are attached. The archetype of the Wounded Healer is present here for shamans share this idea of having gained the powers to traverse between the worlds.

The magician longs to see... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQSzajmDhKw
Holy are you, mightier than praises.
To justify the formal praises, their inevitable shortcomings must be acknowledged to honor God.
You whom we address in silence, the unspeakable, the unsayable, accept pure speech offerings from a heart and soul that reach up to you.
What a beautiful offering to give - pure speech! This is the same practice I've been trying to do here on the forums: to reach through my limitations towards the divine by seeking the virtues, as well as by the failures I recognize making in the process. Honest words, yet reaching towards greater heights and understanding than I knew I had. It's a Fool's practice which will still carry over the precipice if attended consistently enough and seeking balance. I like the image of a Knight as an emblem of such practice of the virtues. Embracing the Knight does not only brush off the ridiculing Zeitgeist "intellectualism", which sees in the knight only some trivia of some fallen, debauched knights of history, but more importantly the embracing brushes off the defeatist mentality within oneself and gallops forth to greater plains.
"Would to God that all the Lord's people were Prophets”, Numbers 11:29 as echoed by William Blake
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Beshiira
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

Post by Beshiira »

Hermes Trismegistus wrote:32. Give ear to me who pray that I may ne'er of Gnosis fail, [Gnosis] which is our common being's nature; and fill me with Thy Power, and with this Grace [of Thine], that I may give the Light to those in ignorance of the Race, my Brethren, and Thy Sons.

For this cause I believe, and I bear witness; I go to Life and Light. Blessed art Thou, O Father. Thy Man would holy be as Thou art holy, e'en as Thou gave him Thy full authority [to be].

The first paragraph again stresses action. ”The lesson has been learned”, the student now clearly knows what has to be done and the path opens right in front of him/her. Now one must walk on, and continue to do so. What unites us with God, what makes us inevitably one with Him, is Gnosis, as it's called here. It shall be our guiding light in the dark; both the guide and the destination.

”...and fill me with Thy Power, and with this Grace [of Thine], that I may give the Light to those in ignorance of the Race, my Brethren, and Thy Sons.” Power and Grace together, what could be more wonderful? With the hands united, our faces become images of God on earth. The ”teacher vibe” here (”giving Light to the ignorant” etc.) can seem pretentious or patronizing, but the ”teacher” is wise enough to see that those mentioned ignorant ones are indeed his Brothers, children of God too. Thus what those with Gnosis teach doesn't come from themselves personally, but through them from their common Master. A metaphor of mirrors comes to mind; some are covered by dust, some not, and naturally those with less dust on their surface refract images better. Similarily there's nothing essentially ”more special” about ”more attained” people. And yet, while becoming vessels of the Master they don't loose themselves in some grey mass, but they shine God's light in their own unique ways. This is an immense mystery.

”For this cause I believe, and I bear witness; I go to Life and Light.” One's Dharma has been realized, the student is on his/her way to adepthood, in this life or a next one.

”Thy Man would holy be as Thou art holy, e'en as Thou gave him Thy full authority [to be].” Again cf. ”In caelum conscendam super astra Dei” = ”I will ascend into heaven, above the stars of God” (Isaiah 14:13 & SoA's Hymn to Lucifer). Also cf. ”Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48) As human beings there is no way we can ever be perfect, and yet we must be. God and Man, Spirit and Matter, the Absolute as well as the cracks in it – all is One.


***

That's it for me! It's been a journey. Some of the posts I've written in haste, some with more time, and the approach differed somewhat in different posts. Still it stayed associative, as with me quite often I guess. I hope this project has given something to others too; hopefully a spark to investigate the hermetic texts further.

And thank you immensely Smaragd for joining with your commentary!
"Ja kun minun kirkkauteni kulkee ohitse, asetan minä sinut kallion rotkoon ja peitän sinut kädelläni, kunnes olen kulkenut ohi.
Kun minä sitten siirrän pois käteni, näet sinä minun selkäpuoleni; mutta minun kasvojani ei voi kenkään katsoa."
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Re: Poimandres (Corpus Hermeticum)

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Thank you Brothers Beshiira and Smaragd for the Work you have done (and for what still is to come).

You've been lighthouses for certain and have the awesome Power to light warming Sparks on this toughest of planets.
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