Hermeticism
A tradition of wisdom, correspondence, symbolic study, spiritual philosophy, and transmission associated with Hermes Trismegistus.
Definition
Hermeticism is a tradition of spiritual philosophy, symbolic interpretation, correspondence, and sacred knowledge associated with the figure of Hermes Trismegistus.
Expanded Explanation
Hermeticism studies the relationship between the divine, the cosmos, nature, and the human being.
It is not a single church, doctrine, or institution. It is better understood as a stream of texts, ideas, practices, and symbolic frameworks concerned with wisdom, creation, spiritual ascent, transformation, and the hidden order of reality.
One of its most recognizable ideas is correspondence, often summarized by the phrase “as above, so below.” This means that patterns at one level of reality may reflect patterns at another.
Within hermetic alchemy, Hermeticism is approached as a preserved wisdom tradition that connects study, practice, symbolic literacy, and transformation. It supports the archive’s work with alchemy, astrology, symbolism, manuscripts, plants, philosophy, and the transmission of traditional knowledge.