Between 2004 and 2008 I gave a number of talks at the much lauded esoteric bookshop, Treadwell's. The below is the synopsis of a talk on the role of Angels in Hermetic philosophy. Needless to say, there was much more to it than the blurb!
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The profoundest thinkers and visionaries of medieval Europe - Christian mystics, Jewish Kabbalists, Muslim Sufis and academic philosophers of each religion - were inspired by neoplatonism and hermeticism. The disciplines of alchemy, astrology and magic were unthinkable without this illumined wisdom, which united philosophy, science and religion
This talk will discuss three essential doctrines of spiritual hermeticism:
The great philosopher of the early renaissance is Pico della Mirandola. In this talk, we will look at Pico’s Heptaplus, a masterwork of hermetic philosophy. From there we shall move back to angelic philosophy, which is the vital missing piece of renaissance hermeticism. Returning to the medieval philosophies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Islamic thinkers such as the remarkable Iranian illuminist Suhrawardi, and the classical Kabbalah, we shall try to approach the entrance door to hermetic spirituality and its Egyptian cradle.
Following the sources of Pico’s vision, we shall see why hermeticism is unthinkable without a philosophy of Angels and their connection to the human soul. If this connection can indeed be experienced directly and lucidly through an ecstatic path beginning in philosophy, it may be argued that this has major implications for philosophy and society alike. This talk hopes to promote discussion of the role of visionary consciousness and whether it is time to re-evaluate the true place of humanism in our culture.
James North April 2006
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The profoundest thinkers and visionaries of medieval Europe - Christian mystics, Jewish Kabbalists, Muslim Sufis and academic philosophers of each religion - were inspired by neoplatonism and hermeticism. The disciplines of alchemy, astrology and magic were unthinkable without this illumined wisdom, which united philosophy, science and religion
This talk will discuss three essential doctrines of spiritual hermeticism:
- There are many orders of spiritual beings superior to humanity, closer than humans to God in knowledge, power and goodness. These are called Angels in the Semitic traditions, and ‘gods’ by the pagans.
- The human soul is connected with the cosmos, whose energies course through us in life and with which we unite after death
- True philosophy involves a visionary ascent from ordinary awareness to first-hand witnessing of the hermetic, spiritual cosmos.
The great philosopher of the early renaissance is Pico della Mirandola. In this talk, we will look at Pico’s Heptaplus, a masterwork of hermetic philosophy. From there we shall move back to angelic philosophy, which is the vital missing piece of renaissance hermeticism. Returning to the medieval philosophies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Islamic thinkers such as the remarkable Iranian illuminist Suhrawardi, and the classical Kabbalah, we shall try to approach the entrance door to hermetic spirituality and its Egyptian cradle.
Following the sources of Pico’s vision, we shall see why hermeticism is unthinkable without a philosophy of Angels and their connection to the human soul. If this connection can indeed be experienced directly and lucidly through an ecstatic path beginning in philosophy, it may be argued that this has major implications for philosophy and society alike. This talk hopes to promote discussion of the role of visionary consciousness and whether it is time to re-evaluate the true place of humanism in our culture.
James North April 2006