A Modern Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery

Part II: A More Esoteric Consideration of the Hermetic Art and Its Mysteries

Chapter 1: The True Subject of the Hermetic Art, Part 1

Introduction: With the Golden Treatise behind us, we enter a deeper exploration of alchemy’s esoteric heart. This chapter unveils the hidden root of the art, a universal essence found within humanity, guiding seekers toward divine wisdom.

The Hidden Path of Alchemy

Hermes declared in the Golden Treatise, “The work is with you and around you, fixed in earth or sea.” Until now, we’ve viewed alchemy’s labyrinth from the outside, tracing its historical and theoretical outlines. Now, we venture inward, where the path grows dark, intricate, and solitary, far from ordinary understanding. Time has overgrown the way with doubt and prejudice, making it hard to reach the sanctuary of wisdom, where a sacred light burns eternally in the presence of truth.

Modern chemistry, despite borrowing alchemical terms like aqua fortis or aqua regia, has no true connection to the Hermetic art. It dissects and distills, breaking matter apart without touching its vital essence. Pseudo-alchemists, chasing gold, tortured substances with crude sulphur, mercury, and salt, misreading cryptic texts and lacking a guiding theory. Even those with glimpses of the universal essence tried to capture it in vessels, using magnets or attractions, but without the adepts’ secret fire and vessel, they failed to unlock nature’s true identity.

The Concealed Root

The ancient book of Tobit teaches it’s honorable to reveal God’s works but wise to guard a king’s secret. Alchemists followed this, celebrating nature’s grandeur while hiding its core—the “king” or universal essence. This secrecy caused many to perish in ignorance, unable to grasp the attainable truth. Yet, for the sake of truth-seekers, we now dare to unveil this essence, encouraging respectful inquiry without betraying its sacred trust.

Our earlier chapters identified this essence as a hypothetical universal matter, obscured by the adepts’ vague instructions. Modern skepticism, dismissing the improbable, blocks deeper inquiry, as humanity has lost touch with its own inner phenomena. The Hermetic art hinges on this essence, found within a unique vessel—humanity itself. As Hermes, Morien, and Albertus Magnus declare, this vessel is key to supernatural generation, but its nature remains veiled. Maria warns, “Philosophers reveal all but the vessel, a divine secret hidden from the unworthy.”

Humanity as the Vessel

Sendivogius, reflecting on Morien’s advice to King Calid—“This matter is extracted from thee”—veils this truth with distractions, like gold in a dead man’s teeth, to protect it from the reckless. Yet, when Jakob Böhme’s writings emerged, alchemists feared their secrets were exposed, as he applied alchemy to human life, much like Agrippa and Paracelsus’ disciples. They taught that the universal Mercury exists everywhere but is best drawn from humanity, the noblest vessel, containing all forms in a superior essence.

Böhme and Agrippa assert that the human soul, freed from bodily senses, connects to divine nature, comprehending all things. Agrippa writes, “Man, made in God’s image, contains the universal reason, symbolizing all—matter, elements, plants, animals, heavens, angels, and God. Through wisdom, he knows all, acting with all, even God, by knowing and loving Him.” Sendivogius adds, “Nature’s light is hidden by the body’s shadow. When enlightened, one sees the lodestone’s point, revealing all. Man’s body, like nature, holds a secret food of life, better than the world.”

This essence, the soul’s vital spirit in the purest blood, governs the mind and body. Outside the body, it reigns freely, unlike other creatures’ spirits, enabling man to unlock nature’s mysteries through self-knowledge.

Closing: This chapter introduces the esoteric heart of alchemy, revealing the universal essence within humanity as its true subject. The path to this hidden root begins to unfold, promising deeper insights into the sacred art. The journey continues in our next post, exploring further mysteries of the Hermetic vessel.