Did You Miss Something? Qabalah Versus Hermeticism
This is the first article in the series "Aurum Solis: The Heart of the Hermetic Tradition."
For many centuries the Western Tradition seems to have become reduced to teaching only one aspect of the tradition: Hebrew Qabalah. In a previous article, I explained that magic rituals, philosophical teachings, etc. existed long prior to the creation and development of the esoteric interpretations of the biblical texts. Of course this is an important aspect of the history of the West, which led to a new point of view of nature of the universe. Even more importantly, different aspects of our understanding of the cosmos were radically modified by this new vision. Your first reaction to this fact might be to accept it as a part of natural, historical evolution. Thus, in the same way that science and technology have evolved, you could infer that the Esoteric Tradition has also evolved. However, it must be understood that the term evolution does not necessarily imply a promise of progress towards something better. Rather, evolution can be seen as a succession of transformations that change things from one state to another state. Therefore, not all evolution brings about good results, but you can learn from each step in the process. For example, surely no one would argue that the dark days of the Middle Ages and the disappearance of nearly all the scientific knowledge that existed up to that point is a good thing. Still, we can learn from this period of darkness and intolerance. This principle is equally true for the evolution of esoteric traditions. These transformations were not always positive for the person who was eager to know the hidden arcana of the universe and the sacred Mysteries of the West. It is also true that, at certain periods in history, obscure minds or those with a specific religious agenda have warped or hidden essential parts of esoteric knowledge for long periods.
