Hermeticism Revived

introduction

Religion scholar Robert Ellwood sees the New Age as another return of Hermeticism which periodically surfaces in Western culture.[i] Hermeticism originated in Egypt in the second through fourth centuries C.E. and is the foundation of alchemy. Ellwood maintains that this underground tradition has periodically surfaced in Western culture, and its influence is apparent in the Renaissance, Freemasonry, Spiritualism and Theosophy. Robert Ellwood says that “the New Age is a contemporary manifestation of a western alternative spirituality tradition going back at least to the Greco-Roman world.”[ii]

The six major beliefs of Hermeticism

Ellwood says that this tradition has a general set of six major beliefs. First, it believes in a neo-Platonic hierarchical universe culminating in an impersonal, monistic Absolute. The Absolute operates in the universe in a lawlike way in which spirit and matter are thoroughly intertwined. Second, this intertwining of spirit and matter means there are linkages between the human and cosmic levels through astrology, mineral or crystal power, and quasi-mechanical manipulation of energy. Third, humans are a deep cosmic intermingling of matter, mind and spirit ,and so there is an emphasis on holistic and alternative healing. Fourth, at the same time there is a complementary movement in which the spirit is also affirmed as sovereign and independent. This independence results in an emphasis on reincarnation, out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences. Fifth, this emphasis on independent spirits leads to believing there are many intermediaries between the Absolute and humans, and thus they believe in the existence of masters, spirits and angels. Finally, the knowledge of the nature of reality is not easily accessible to most people, therefore, one needs intuition or a gnosis, which is best conveyed by those having it and best preserved in small groups.

conclusion

The Hermeticism scholar Wouter Hanegraaff agrees with Robert Ellwood’s point that the New Age movement is a secularized version of Hermetic esotericism. He says that even the ideas and activities the movement borrows from Asia it puts into a Western framework of focus on this world.[iii]

Ellwood and Hanegraaff have an intriguing point. Many of the most prominent features of the New Age are similar to this alternative spiritual tradition. Nevertheless, this explanation fits Theosophy (Ellwood is a Theosophist) much better than the New Age movement. Unlike earlier manifestations of this alternative spiritual tradition such as alchemy, Rosicrucianism, and early Theosophy, the New Age movement does not claim to originate from this strand of ancient wisdom, and few New Agers are involved with it. Furthermore, this explanation does not encompass the significant business, psychological and New Science strands of the New Age, nor does it account for the significant Asian influence on the movement. The sixth point Ellwood makes about this alternative spiritual tradition, that it emphasizes small elite groups, surely does not explain the large conventions or workshops the New Agers often hold or their claim that everyone can learn their techniques. Moreover, Ellwood’s explanation does not explain why the New Age movement arose at this time. Finally Hermeticism significantly influenced the Romantic movement, and the similarities between the New Age movement and Hermeticism can better be understood by looking at the Romantic movement than by looking at Hermeticism.

Copyrighted 2009

FOOTNOTES

[i]Robert Ellwood, “How New is the New Age?” in James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton, ed., Perspectives on the New Age (Albany: SUNY Press, 1992), p. 59.

[ii]Ibid., p. 60.

[iii]Wouter J. Hanegraaff, New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996), p. 517-520.