«One could even say that it is the principle of the principles, the son of God, the word, that one whose thoughts and feelings come also from the Holy Spirit.» — Voz de Zósimo en un texto siríaco traducido por Rubens Duval y citado por Abt en el prefacio: la identificación de lo que el espejo muestra con el principio de los principios, el hijo de Dios, el verbo.
Hermetismo
What does this tradition say about experience, knowledge and transformation? We approach these questions with consciousness as our centre, listening to the language of each source.
Gonzalo Olivares Velázquez · Spiritus Mundi
1 · Listen to the sources
How these passages were chosen: from the works assigned to this tradition, in alphabetical order, the first passage of each whose quoted words name consciousness, awareness, soul, spirit or knowledge (in English or Spanish); one per work, up to four. The choice is by vocabulary only: a passage may agree with our reading, disagree with it, or leave the question open.
«This little volume has been prepared under great difficulties, due to the immense scope of the subject matter and the consequent necessity of abbreviating so much valuable material. And yet it is almost impossible to condense this presentation of arcane knowledge without running the risk of causing greater confusion in the reader's mind.» — el problema de escala con que abre el prefacio a la primera edición: la materia obliga a abreviar, y abreviar arriesga confundir más al lector
«Every human soul is immortal, Asclepius, but not all in the same way; some differ in manner and time from others.»
«Pliny informs us that it was Ostanes, the Persian sage accompanying the army of Xerxes, who first inoculated Greece with the portentous spirit of his nation» — lo que atribuye a Plinio: fue Ostanes, el sabio persa que acompañaba al ejército de Jerjes, quien inoculó a Grecia el espíritu portentoso de su nación.
2 · Ask what each source declares
Who knows, and what is transformed? Is the relationship between inner experience and the world declared, disputed, or left open? Let the passage determine the answer before bringing it into dialogue with our reading.
Explore documented argument maps →3 · Return to the centre
For us, these paths meet in consciousness. Which passage converses with that reading, and which qualifies or contradicts it? Save it with your own note.
Read the position of the house →Open your notebook →