LUDOVIC NICOLAS STUDIO

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An original thesis on space-time.

A JOURNEY INTO THE UNIVERSAL MATRIX

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” Those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries. “

Carl Sagan (1934-1996)

Rockefeller Center - New York City, USA

INTRODUCTION

Published October 28, 2021

 

 

Pre-Scriptum: this text was originally written in French. Unfortunately, when it comes to semantics, etymology, and homophony, no translation can effectively preserve the original meaning. To remedy this, and to preserve the explicit content, I have decided to keep the original French words and put their English translations in brackets.

 

 

First of all, I would like to make it clear that this thesis is not part of an academic work, as many might automatically assume. If we follow the definition of the word "thesis" given by the Larousse dictionary: « a theoretical proposition, an opinion, a position on something whose veracity one strives to demonstrate, » my work can perfectly well bear this title without receiving the recognition of the system or any "authority." It is therefore with limitless freedom of thought, without concession, and, above all, without having to answer to anyone, that we will be able to study, from any and all angles, the subjects dear to the enthusiasm of a polymath. Thanks to this mindset, original ideas were able to flourish, thrive, and reveal themselves outside of the plantation in which our curiosity is usually confined. To be invigorated by such openness is a blessing, and I would like, without any shame, to share with you the rose of its quintessence.

 

 

•••••

 

 

The genesis of this thesis dates back to the day I turned my eyes to the sky, or rather, to the night when I became aware that the starry vault turned inexorably around a fixed point, like a wheel around an axle. While contemplating this grand spectacle, I never would have believed that my naive reflections on the workings of the cosmos would lead me to study a plethora of disciplines, linking astronomy to the – seemingly immobile – spheres of mineralogy.

 

 

I initially turned to academic science, and despite compelling discoveries in certain fields like quantum physics, I found within it many theories and very few theorems. Unlike a theorem, a theory is based on speculations: it is a system formed by hypotheses that attempts to find cohesion among established principles, be they philosophical or mathematical. In other words, a theory does not define immutable rules and laws in reality. Indeed, contemporary scientific dogma relies on complex theories that cannot be demonstrated outside of a mathematical language teeming with equations. And since these equations tend to feed into, intertwine with, and reflect each other in a closed circle, this linguistic architecture is conducive to the wildest abstractions. The lines of equations are certainly very impressive to the average person, but, as René Guénon pointed out, they drift away from the sensible reality they claim to explain.

 

As "progress" advances, these equations inevitably form an artificial body upon which scientists continue to build their work, without ever questioning the actual solidity of its foundations. Theoretical science thus compares to a Leaning Tower of Pisa – a structure that holds up admirably well, yet threatens to collapse under the cumulative weight of its own aberrations with each new advancement. And as surprising as it may seem, this explicit observation nonetheless escapes the actors within the scientific community. Currently, the most revealing example to contrast the synthetic complexity of mathematics with the rationality of the biological environment is undoubtedly the String theory. Confronted with this kind of absurdities, a question then arises: why do we continue to expend so much time, energy, and money studying realms that have no reciprocity with the metrology of terrestrial life?

 

Before turning its attention to realms invisible to the naked eye – be it the infinitely large with astrophysics or the infinitely small with particle physics – perhaps the scientific elite would gain in authenticity if it devoted more time to pondering the manifestations of nature's laws with the seriousness they deserve. It is paradoxical, after all, that on the dawn of the 21st century, the nature of life remains one of the deepest enigmas within a community that boasts of understanding the origins of our cosmos and constantly pushing its boundaries. Perhaps this "elite" should lower its ambitions and focus more on the essential: the cause (or causes?) of life deserve far more attention than its effects. By seeking to impress us with conceptual abstractions that, in the absolute, rest on nothing concrete, the prestidigitators of universities mask their incompetence and their gaps in understanding the elementary principle(s) of observable reality, dazzling their audience –their students and science-fiction enthusiasts – with a sleight of hand that is undoubtedly fascinating.

 

The day academics distance themselves from a theoretical science that leads nowhere, perhaps the great enigmas of nature will finally be reconsidered in their lecture halls. When that day comes, science will once again be in symbiosis with the fundamentals of universal physics. We could begin, for example, by taking an interest in the influence of lunar radiation on the perpendicular growth of a plant, or the polarized and analogous relationship between the bronchi of a lung and the branches of a tree: the former is sheltered from sunlight, inhales oxygen and exhales carbon dioxide, while the latter absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen under the direct influence of the Sun.

Analogy lung - tree

At the beginning of the 20th century, Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) – the visionary of invisible physics – had already warned us about the misleading tendencies he perceived in theoretical science (embodied in his time by Albert Einstein) in the American newspaper The New York Times in 1931: « Einstein's work on relativity is a magnificent mathematical disguise which fascinates, dazzles, and makes people blind to the underlying errors. The theory is like a beggar clothed in purple whom the ignorant take for a king... Its exponents are brilliant men, but they are metaphysicists rather than scientists. » Indeed, the case of Albert Einstein is more than symptomatic in revealing the intellectual stagnation in which we are immersed. By "borrowing" the main tenets of his theory of general relativity from the French physicist Henri Poincaré (1854-1912), we take very little risk in asserting that the renown of this transgenerational science icon stems more from social engineering than from authentic genius. Having a plagiarist as an adored reference point is a telling sign of the times, revealing the level of respectability these institutions truly deserve.

 

The lies are not limited to the honesty and morality of the pillars of our society; they also extend to the technology we use daily. At a time when electromagnetic waves connect all the inhabitants of the Earth, the anachronism between the engineering of a mobile phone and that of the internal combustion engine, whose basic technology is about one hundred and seventy years old, is more than laughable. This raises a question to be pondered in all sincerity: are the "scientific" works elevated to the heights by the system the only ones that do not threaten its hegemony and the prosperity of its economic model? The question at least deserves to be explored...

 

So be warned: if you wish to obtain a degree from a prestigious university and build a career, it is best to avoid certain topics. Directing your research outside the framework imposed by state-sanctioned conformity, especially when it challenges the theories of the unassailable gods of the scientific pantheon, is a mistake not to be made. Despite the evident dead ends, it is now unthinkable to question the structural beliefs of the scientific Church. Refusing to bow before its idols would sign your excommunication, and the loss of your credibility and respectability.

 

Since I have nothing to lose, to gain, or even to prove, it is easier for me to highlight the frivolity of "extraterrestrial" physics concerning the primary focus of this study: the revolutions of celestial bodies above our heads. Although astrophysicists remain light-years away from uncovering the underlying mechanics of these revolutions, they stubbornly persist, anchored in the dogma of their education, in attempting to explain this phenomenon through Isaac Newton's (1642-1726) universal law of gravitation. While the equation of this theory allows for the quantification of parameters for an object's fall on earth and provides a mathematical solution to explain the balance between two celestial bodies, it absolutely does not specify the cause of their movement, let alone its regularity. Since the former president of the Royal Society pronounced his law of gravity, no member of the establishment has sought to expand – with the applied seriousness worthy of the scientific method – upon the cause of the rotational force (denoted by f  in the illustration below, where the moon's orbital path around the earth's center is taken as an example). This force, to use common nomenclature, is never taken into account: that is precisely where the problem lies.

The law of universal gravitation

If no element of explanation for the origin of force f can be formulated, then gravity cannot be validated as it is presented by contemporary cosmology. Furthermore, let us not forget that no device can detect it and no scientist can reproduce its field in a laboratory. Of all the fundamental interactions, and because it is the one that most eludes our understanding, this so-called force of cohesion remains one of the most profound mysteries in physics today. Consequently, we must not be afraid to acknowledge that the lack of scientific rigor surrounding this concept is not reassuring regarding the quality of the expertise and weakens the pillars upon which its reputation rests. Nevertheless, speculations, each more implausible than the last, continue to assert themselves on the scientific stage. But in truth, from the theory of spacetime curvature to the hypothetical subatomic particles of the quantum world called gravitons, we have not advanced one iota. Why? Simply because the origin of this natural phenomenon remains utterly inscrutable to the science of our peers. Physicists still content themselves with explaining that the kinetics of celestial bodies is a remnant of a hypothetical explosion at the origin of our universe – the dubious "Big Bang"– presented to the world by the Jesuit Georges Lemaître in the early 20th century.

 

Newtonian gravity poses another problem: the unification of quantum mechanics and the theory of general relativity. If gravity cannot be removed from the equation, we must acknowledge that theoretical physics is once again colliding with the boundaries of its own extravagances.

 

Once we have accepted the fact that certain theories are currently taught as truths, it becomes easier to admit that science has lost the heart of its intrinsic beauty. Its glorious hours, which built its reputation, are now behind it, and the torches that once distinguished it from religion now emit a feeble light. Richard Feynman (1918-1988), Nobel Prize in Physics winner in 1965 for his work on the development of quantum electrodynamics, had no problem admitting that: « Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. »

 

Even if the standard model of astrophysics appears self-satisfied, our understanding of the universe remains juvenile, incorrect, and clumsily patched together. Humanity will never emancipate itself from its cosmic Stone Age if we stubbornly insist on building ever higher on the foundations of a "science" that has demonstrated its limits and belongs more to the realm of fantasy than to empirical theorem. It is a fact: science has sunk into doctrinal systems from which it struggles to exorcise itself. And the academic gatekeepers, haloed in displayed vanity, never miss an opportunity to ridicule anything that does not originate from their field of possibilities. Such a mentality can never initiate the paradigm shift the scientific world needs to evolve. The day our approach merges with the principles at the source of creation, perhaps nature will once again reveal to us the inner workings used by the regulator of its magnificent clock.

 

 

•••••

 

 

Despite this consensus, annoying as it may be, we must be careful not to fall into the spotlight of extremism and dismiss all theories with a wave of the hand; because some, stemming not from mathematics but from pure intelligence, are worthy of interest. We are thinking particularly of the somewhat obscure notions of dark energy and dark matter, which set the scientific community abuzz following Edwin Hubble's observations in 1929. Since then, many astrophysicists have come to believe that the expansion of our universe is linked to a dynamic phenomenon, invisible and intrinsic to space itself.

 

Considered to be 96% empty (6), this space would not be empty at all; it would be filled with an energetic essence, indescribable in our tangible world, that would nonetheless interact with it. The void would thus be full of a kinetic essence, more or less dense, that no one can, for the moment, explain, measure, or reproduce. It is therefore not impossible that behind the world accessible to human senses lies a continuum whose existence we are entirely unaware of. And it is not David Bohm (1917-1992), one of the fathers of quantum physics, who would contradict us, as he stated: « Space is not empty, it is full. The universe is not separate from this cosmic sea of dark energy. »

Materia Prima

Looking at mainstream cosmology, several fundamental questions about celestial mechanics remain unanswered. Here, in my opinion, are the most pertinent ones:

 

·       What causes the Earth to spin on its axis?

·       What causes the Earth to orbit the Sun?

·       What causes the solar system to orbit the center of the galaxy?

·       Why do the planets orbit the Sun on a common plane?

·       Why do the planets spin on their axes?

·       Why can we predict the movement and position of celestial bodies with such great precision over time?

·       Why are the Earth, the Sun, and all the planets spherical in shape?

·       According to the law of action-reaction in physics, what type of energy is consumed in the movement of celestial bodies?

·       Is it possible that the circular motion of our bright stars is a reaction to the action of this mysterious dark energy?

·       Could the mysteries surrounding the mechanics of universal gravity be the observable effects of an invisible cause within dark energy?

 

I believe the answers lie at the very heart of this abstraction from the material world called "dark energy." But, knowing that this realm is invisible, unknown, and unexplored, how can we cross its threshold and comprehend it? If modern science has reached its limits, where should we turn?

 

 

•••••

 

 

At the age of 30 (3), I came across a book titled The Mystery of the Cathedrals: The Esoteric Interpretation of the Hermetic Symbols of the Great Work, written by Fulcanelli, the famous French adept. This work, a classic and essential in the field of alchemy, was the spark that lite the fuse of my research, because it provides very valuable keys for unlocking the doors to the metaphysical kingdom of dark energy.

 

However, access to these keys was concealed behind the artistic smokescreen of a figurative, cryptographic, and cabalistic language. Despite my inability to grasp the essence of this language, the mysterious spirit of this Art permeated my mind from the very first paragraphs written by the master. This vibration was not foreign to me; its aroma had already resonated very significantly, naturally, and intuitively within my inner self since my earliest childhood. I was far from imagining that this linguistic axiom – the Cabale – truly existed outside the understanding of my secret garden. So that you may understand what it is about, here is one of the best definitions of the Cabale (from the Latin "cabbalus"): « It is a hieroglyphic-like language, playing on all registers of expression: images, words, letters, numbers, sounds, colors, shapes, weights, etc... as well as on secret conventions, of which metaphor and emblematic rebuses are the most common type. It has no proper or particular form and depends solely on the culture and imagination of those who employ it. »

 

Today, unfortunately, the only "Kabbale" known by the atrophied Western culture and speculative Freemasonry appeared in the Rabbinic tradition in 13th century Spain with the Zohar – the Book of Splendors. Contrary to proselytizing consensus, "Kabbale" or "Kabbalah," or even "Qabbalah" – with the aim of serving a more effective mystification – is not an original, isolated, and predominant current, but merely the reflection given by Jewish mysticism to a tradition that preceded it. Furthermore, the word "Kabbale" is not of Hebrew origin, as its etymology derives from the Greek "kabbalès". This is why, in order to avoid the trap of homophony, to counter the nonsense of popular culture, and to affirm the universality of its affiliation, scholars prefer to use the term "Hermetic Cabale" (in honor of the Greek god Hermes).

 

In any case, whether it is "cabbalus" in Latin or "kabbalès" in Greek, both terms define the emblematic animal of knowledge since the highest antiquity: the horse. Consequently, the semantic relationship between "cabaliste" (cabalist – a person who uses the Cabale) and "cavalier" (horseman) becomes utterly evident, coherent, and justified in light of initiatory tales, which are very often chivalric, like those written by Chrétien de Troyes since the first crusades and the discovery of oriental folklore. Indeed, from the heights of the astronomical sympathies we share here down to Earth how can we not contemplate the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur, and the quest for the Holy Grail – the chalice of chalices – from a perspective different from that of the Hermetic prism? It is no coincidence ("hasard" is a term of Persian origin, translated as "the hand of God") that the hero's journey, always embodied by the adventures of a valiant horseman (the expression of the Donum Dei), is so emblematic for a tradition that dates back to the dawn of time: the mount of Pegasus was already being ridden under the starry dome of the Chaldean-Egyptian priesthood.

Pegasus with the "Cabalist" Hermes in the Carrousel Garden - Paris, France

To understand how the spirit of Hermetic Cabale functions, let us take a literary example with the word "occult" (this choice is not insignificant, as it will distance your thoughts from the association that vulgar culture makes with demonic practices). The structure of this word breaks down into "o," "c," and "cult". For a disciple of Hermes, the "o" is the hieroglyphic sign of the Sun, and "c", in its curvature, that of the Moon; consequently, "occult" emphasizes the cult dedicated to these two luminaries. From an operative standpoint, this reading resonates with the definition given by the Larousse dictionary: « That which acts, or is done in a secret way, whose purposes remain unknown, hidden: an occult influence ».

 

Before the universality of Hermetic Cabale was led astray by the Qabbalah, and before the School of Fine Arts feigned amnesia, all Artists (worthy of that capital A) used it in their works to perfect beauty in its most arcane forms until the end of the 19th century. When I fully realized that these aesthetes used their creations as an initiatory canvas, my feet didn't touch the ground for several days. This epiphany bordered on enlightment.

 

Indeed, the implications of such a practice for my relationship with Art, both in interpreting its concepts and in the exegesis of culture in general, constituted an unprecedented revelation in my life. For I could never have imagined that my natural predisposition for finding analogies between things which, a priori, had none, would one day reveal itself to be one of my greatest assets in my quest for the absolute. What I had always taken for a curse – a psychological pathology – now appeared to me as a gift to be cultivated. A sign had been sent to me, and I received its message with the utmost consideration: Hermeticism dwelled within me.

 

The whims of fate are decidedly more than just romantic, for this ancestral tradition held the potential to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration and to channel my most metaphysical musings. I knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, that the gates to the mysterious kingdom of the invisible were no longer sealed forever.

 

At the dawn of my 33rd (6) year, from the sublunar world, I turned my gaze toward the rising Sun.

 

 

•••••

 

 

Before continuing, it seems important to me to open a brief parenthesis in order to explain why Hermetic philosophy and its operative applications – alchemy, magic, and astrology – are no longer respected and valued as they were by the science of our ancestors.

 

Indeed, the mere mention of any one of them is enough to trigger the sneers of our contemporaries. This mentality, however disdainful, was spearheaded by a school of thought born in the 18th century, which dared to shamelessly distort the meaning and use of the word "philosophy". Let us be very clear on this subject: authentic philosophy has nothing in common with the "philosophy" of the Age of Enlightenment; the sociological, humanist, and naturalist speculations of the latter were never the focus of interest for ancient philosophers such as Zoroaster (c. 6th century BC), Aristotle (384-322 BC), or Confucius (551-479 BC). Unlike the editors of the Encyclopedia and their Germanic counterparts, true philosophers were driven by a sincere quest for spirituality, wisdom, and truth.

 

Furthermore, why not call their intellectual movement "la philosophie de la Lumière" ("the philosophy of the Light") instead of "la philosophie des lumières" ("the philosophy of lights" which is the true translation of "the philosophy of enlightenment")? Putting the word "light" in the plural marks a diabolical intention to fragment what cannot be fragmented. Through this manipulation, seemingly innocuous, truth no longer exists as such, but becomes falsely multiple and of variable geometry depending on each individual's orientation. Therefore, let us not allow ourselves to be blinded by the worldly hypocrisies of a certain bourgeoisie, and let us not lose sight of the fact that the authentic definition of philosophy is, in its etymological excellence, "the love of wisdom". Pythagoras (6th century BC) clarified: « I am a philosopher, not someone who claims to possess wisdom, but a man who strives for it. » Attributing a revised architecture to words, in order to divert the power of their egregore and destroy the traditional heritage of our past, is one of the perversities that have been used and financed by a dominating "elite" to ensure the permanence of their power.

 

Driven by the revolutionary impulse of the Age of Enlightenment, wrongly attributed to the people by our history books, society plunged into a frantic and deadly obscurantism. Everything connected to the beliefs of the preceding culture had to disappear, be erased, forgotten, and, symbolically, our majestic cathedrals were vandalized.

Spire of Notre-Dame Cathedral - Paris, France

The Jacobin mentality, perfected by fallacious initiations into which all sorts of arrivistes rushed, ultimately delivered the coup de grâce with the abject idea that man could henceforth be considered the equal of God. This kind of doctrine is a blasphemy in light of Chapter 6, Verse 19, of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (a book of the New Testament), written by the Apostle Paul: « Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. » From then on, the Gnostic teaching of divine transcendence no longer had a place in the temple. And the operative was insidiously replaced by the speculative: why bother to look at the sky and its starry planisphere, since in the eyes of these merchants, who never truly left the temple, there is no longer any truth outside of that of the all-seeing eye?

 

Since the advent of the Enlightenment – materialist, naturalist, and nominalist – everything that cannot be demonstrated, qualified, or measured, no longer exists. Like Saint Thomas, the science of the Encyclopédie now only believes what it sees, and Hermetic doctrines were definitively shelved under the label of superstition. And let us not mince words, this triumphant rationalism is the source of the immobility, conformism, and rationalism of today's scientific community. René Guénon specified: « Rationalism is essentially defined by the belief in the supremacy of reason, proclaimed as a true dogma, implying the denial of pure intellectual intuition, which logically entails the exclusion of any true metaphysical knowledge. »

 

Parenthesis closed, let's return to a more vertical approach in our considerations.

 

 

•••••

 

 

Since societies have long been initiatory in name only, the only way to find the long-sought grace is to independently follow a personal path. To do this, it is essential to study the mysteries of Hermetic philosophy through its texts.

 

For an occultist, this work is no small task, for this literature is full of false appearances. If you did not know that initiates always veiled their writings using the Hermetic Cabale to keep the envious at bay, their grimoires were of no use. Many aspirants were thus misled. Michel Sendivogius, the famous 17th century alchemist, better known as the Cosmopolite, warned us: « If Hermes, the father of the Philosophers, were to be resurrected today, along with the subtle Geber, the profound Raymond Lully, they would not be regarded as Philosophers by our vulgar chemists, who would scarcely deign to count them among their Disciples, because they would be ignorant of how to proceed with all these distillations, these circulations, these calcinations, and all these innumerable operations which our vulgar chemists have invented from having misunderstood the allegorical writings of these Philosophers. »

 

To this, it must be added that after the tsunami of the Enlightenment between the 18th and 19th centuries, false prophets took it upon themselves, in order to captivate their audience, to "enrich" the Hermetic legacy with texts straight from their own imaginations. Knowing that one must bypass these deceptions, the core of our exegesis must therefore focus on the texts of the Oriental tradition, translated into Greek presumably since the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century before the Christian era.

 

When the Macedonian seized Egypt and installed one of his generals as the new pharaoh ("pharaoh" is a term of Greek origin which translates to "he who carries the Sun"), the horizon of this ancestral land was rekindled by the luminous flame of a new beacon. Most of the time, the annexation of a land often signals the death knell for the local culture, but with the line of Ptolemaic pharaohs, this was not the case. Rather than destroying to impose their vision, the new legislators rebuilt the country to restore its former splendor. Driven by Aristotelian philosophy, Greco-Hellenistic culture blended with the millennia-old teachings of the Egyptian mystery schools and the Mesopotamian world. Whether it came from Persian sages, like Zarathustra (whose name means "the golden star" or "the splendor of the Sun"), or from the priestly caste officiating in the temples on the banks of the Nile, the initiatory teaching received by the Greeks was certainly not new, for it is often repeated that Thales of Miletus (625-585 BC), Pythagoras (570-495 BC), and Plato (428-347 BC) had already greatly benefited from it in their time. The city of Alexandria – renamed after its conqueror – thus became a highly prized meeting and exchange place for all the experts of the Mediterranean basin in Hermeticism and occultism. In this prodigious and wonderful hub of scholars, scientists, and magi, gnosis ("gnōsis" translates from Greek as "knowledge" and stems from the desire to know God and his secrets) was incredibly fruitful. Unfortunately for the salvation of Humanity, most of the manuscripts produced during this fervent period seem to have perished in the flames of the memorable library. This ultimate barbarity against the heritage of our peers was not only a witness to a change in mentality; it also branded the entry of our civilization under the temporal yoke of the Roman Empire for the millennia to come.

 

Even if, today, Rome's power is no longer as preponderant in its visibility, rest assured that its influence has managed to traverse the ages: after having conquered lands by the sword, the Catholic Church – the direct heir of the Empire – seized souls by the crucifix.

YHWH watches over the Latin cross of Saint-Roch Church - Paris, France

Fortunately for the tradition, 17 manuscripts from Egyptian Philosophy in the Ptolemaic era resurfaced with the translations by Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) – the inescapable luminary of the Italian Renaissance. Collected under the name of the Corpus Hermeticum, these texts are considered the foundational texts of Hermeticism; on the path of the sages, their radiant philosophy acts as a natural prism and breaks down the light of divine revelation into the following themes:

 

·        Order of the cosmos

·        Unity (the omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence of God)

·        The Sun

·        The Demiurge

·        Cohesion of the spheres

·        Fusion of opposites and polarity

·        The visible and the invisible

·        Truth and the illusion of our reality

·        Creation through the circular setting in motion of unity

·        The Noos and creative will

·        Time, space, and matter

·        Body, soul, and spirit

·        The good, the beautiful, the right, and the just

·        Vices and virtues

·        Creation is an Art and the notion of harmony

·        The Ogdoad

·        Intelligence and its relationship to the god-man

·        The 12/10 (or 6/5) ratio

·        The zodiac and astrology

 

Obviously, the mention of astrology in this list may seem utterly surprising, but you should know that, despite the fate reserved for it today, the initiated magi of antiquity always considered it the cornerstone of all their sciences. Along with magic and alchemy, this esotericism brings together, under the term theurgy, the 3 operative paths of Hermetic philosophy. They form a harmonious and inseparable whole. It is therefore unlikely that an alchemist could define themselves as such without having been initiated into the magestria of the other two disciplines.

 

The importance of this trinity was well understood by the Greeks, as it is suggested in the name of the god associated with the father of philosophers, the aptly named Hermes Trismegistus. Indeed, alongside the commonly accepted translation of "Trismegistus" as " the 3 times very great," one can quite easily, through phonetics, propose another level of interpretation: "the 3 magestria ".

 

Even though the trinitarian doctrine of unity has traversed time through the Pantheon of the Greek world, its historical origin is indeed Egyptian. The splendor of this testament is found on the Giza plateau, where the 3 pyramids remind the intellect of the contemplator that the divine trinity is timeless, immortal, and indestructible. How can one not be captivated by the majesty, grandeur, and genius of the civilization that built them? The geometric, astronomical, and energetic properties implicit in these volumes reveal to all eyes, but especially to those who know how to see beyond appearances, the beauty of a thought that our own has never matched.

 

Emerging from the dawn of time, the legacy of this intelligence is also personified in the attributes of the messenger of the Egyptian gods, Djehuty-Thot (tradition has always delighted in comparing him to Hermes Trismegistus). The pen of the late Jean Phaure (1928-2002) described Djehuty-Thot as follows: « He is the scribe of the divine Ennead, the brush with which the god of the universe writes, the creator of languages, the great magician of the spheres who presides over the original creation to call the world into existence by the word, alongside Ptah. Above all, he is the one who presides over the order of the world, the great calculator, the master of the cycles of time. »

 

It is important to specify that in the theogony of the Egyptians, Djehuty-Thot was not considered a god in the literal sense of the term, but rather as a neter (phonetically very close to "nature"); that is, the anthropomorphizing of a force, an action of the divine immanence in the manifested world, a kind of hypostasis or an aeon, as the Gnostics liked to define it. One could not be more charitable than by offering you the key that opens access to the 12 (3) verses of the Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina in Latin or Lawḥ al-zumurrudh in Arabic), upon which the entire firmament of Hermetic philosophy is synthesized. All occultists versed in the history of religions have developed a passion for these writings engraved on an emerald – a green precious stone. Depending on their culture and era, the most learned among them have produced a slew of translations, more or less representative of the oldest recorded version, written in Arabic in the 9th century: the appendix of the Book of the Secret of Creation (Kitâb sirr al-Halîka). From the viewpoint of tradition, the Arabic affiliation is not without meaning, since the descendants of the Persians dislodged the Byzantines from Alexandria in the 7th century and became, by force of circumstance, the active vectors of the transmission of the initiation.

 

Personally, I prefer Hortulain's 14th century translation of the Latin Vulgate :

 

                I.          It is true without lying, certain and very true

              II.          What is below, is what is above: and what is above, is what is below, to work the miracles of one thing.

            III.          And as all things have been, and have come from one, through the mediation of one: so all things have been born of this one thing, by adaptation.

            IV.          The Sun is its father, the Moon is its mother, the wind carries it in its womb; The earth is his nurse.

              V.          The father of all the Telesme of everyone is here. His Force or Power is whole,

            VI.          If it is converted to land.

          VII.          Thou shalt separate the earth from the Fire, the subtle from the thick gently, with great industry.

        VIII.          He ascends from earth to heaven, and again he descends to earth, and he receives the Force of higher and lower things. Thou shalt have by this means the glory of all; and for this all darkness will flee from you.

            IX.          It is the strong force of all Force: for it will overcome every subtle thing, and penetrate every solid thing.

              X.          Thus, the world was created.

            XI.          From this will come admirable adaptations, the means of which is here.

          XII.          That's why I was called Hermes-Trismegistus, having the 3 parts of everyone's Philosophy. What I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished, & completed.

 

 

These verses have a curious resonance with the prologue to St. John's Gospel, which is quoted below:

 

                I.          In the beginning was the Word (the Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

              II.          The Word was with God in the beginning.

            III.          All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

            IV.          In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity;

              V.          And The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

            VI.          A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.

          VII.          This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about The Light, so that all would believe through him.

        VIII.          hat one was not the light, but came in order that he could testify about the light.

            IX.          The Word was the true Light, which enlightens every man by coming into the world.

              X.          He was in the world, through whom the world was made, but the world did not recognize him.

 

Indeed, the similarities between the two texts are more than striking. Consequently, the scribes of the Catholic Church were likely inspired by the wisdom contained within the breath of the Hermetic texts. In the creation of the "Holy Scriptures," the plagiarism of earlier manuscripts by the Church Fathers is confirmed on two occasions. On the one hand, the Gospel of John bears a striking resemblance to the Gnostic Gospels of Cerinthus dating from the first century of the Christian era. On the other hand, the Apocalypse ("apokalypsis" translates from Latin as "revelation"), written by Saint John, is an assemblage of a series of sacred texts, such as the Book of Enoch or the Book of Ezekiel.

 

In a sense, the desire to incorporate ancestral knowledge into the message of Christ's favorite apostle (always depicted wearing a green cloak in iconography) indicates that Catholicism was shaped from pre-existing doctrines. Furthermore, let us not forget that before the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, falsifying a manuscript was child's play; those thirsty for religious supremacy wielded this practice with the success we know. For example, regarding the scriptures of the Old Testament, all exegetes know that the Ten Commandments, supposedly delivered to Moses by God on Mount Sinai, are merely a vulgar plagiarism of paragraph 1:125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Like it or not, Hebrew theology, and Christian theology as well, is but a pale copy of the Gnostic precepts of the neter with the single green eye: Hor or Horus – the Egyptian light-bearer. There is nothing new under the Sun; the Egyptians had also recycled earlier knowledge. This is why the various biblical texts, the Pentateuch, and the canonical Gospels can never be considered historical truths or indisputable theological references.

 

Nevertheless, even in its altered state, sacred literature still holds many initiatory treasures worth examining closely, for the theosophical syncretism found in all texts of a given culture or civilization inevitably suggests a common origin, a kind of primordial tradition as René Guénon liked to define it.

 

That said, let's return to the verses of the Emerald Tablet.

 

 

•••••

 

 

In these verses, what initially strikes our attention is the entirely novel principle that a force ("the Word" in the prologue of Saint John) would be linked to the creation of the world, the action of the Sun (symbol of light), and the mediation of unity. This ancestral conception of the origin of matter is remarkably close to the statement made by Max Planck, Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 1919: « All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter. » Realizing that the initiates of antiquity had already understood what 20th century men are only just beginning to discover is nothing short of staggering. And let us not be mistaken, it is indeed the existence of God that is suggested by this luminary of the scientific community.

 

The reality of fields that are inaccessible, indescribable, and immeasurable can no longer be viewed as a sci-fi movie artifice or the ramblings of wisdom masters from the Orient. By automatically referencing George Lucas's films whenever the idea of a "force" is mentioned, our generation's culture does not suspect that the description of the Force given by Master Yoda to his young apprentice and future Jedi Knight, Luke, is in every way similar to that of the tradition of the magi: « For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. »  To master the Force is to attain, as you have guessed, the rank of knight... After long centuries of religious ineptitude, adogmatic science and popular culture can finally reconcile on the fertile ground of Gnostic clairvoyance.

 

Before we continue, it is always good to know that the authors of Star Wars were erudite Artists, for "Luc" comes from the Latin root "lucere" and the Proto-Indo-European "leuk", meaning "light," "clarity," or "radiant energy," and "Jedi" is a phonetic borrowing from... Djehuty-Thot.

 

Thanks to these revelations about the Force, which likens creation to the will of an intelligent consciousness or a demiurge, the 12 (3) verses of the Emerald Tablet guide each person's consciousness toward the primacy and accuracy of the vision of Hermes' disciples. Where our peers limit themselves to a science of effects – the material – our ancestors had already transcended the intelligible world and focused directly on the cause of manifestation – the spiritual, beyond time and space.

Caduceus of Hermes on the façade of the Musée d'Orsay - Paris, France
The Force - Arcana XI of the Tarot of Marseille

The adepts of Hermetic philosophy have always compared the properties of the spiritual essence preceding matter to that of an ocean, for its water fills the "void" ("vidyā (विद्या)" translates to "knowledge" in Sanskrit) as in any container. This ocean echoes the cosmic sea of dark energy to which David Bohm alluded. Since the homophone of "mer" (sea), "mère" (mother), comes from "mater" in Latin, we can weave interesting semantic links between "mer," "mère," "mercure" (Mercury) (the avatar of Hermes Trismegistus among the Latins), "matière" (matter), "matrice" (matrix/womb), and "Marie" (Mary - which is an anagram of "aimer," "to love" in english).

 

If this invisible matrix is the origin of all manifestation, the assumption that it is a virgin follows logically, and the emblem of the Black Virgin (black, as opposed to the synthesis of the 6 colors of the visible spectrum, expresses the absence of light), like that of the Virgin Mary, then becomes more explicit from the angle of Theosophy, for the Holy Virgin, the Queen Mother, "la mère divine" ("the divine sea"), is the ordinary figuration of the philosophers' mercury. Curiously, the anagram of "énergie noire" ("dark energy") is "reine ignorée" ("ignored queen"), which reminds us of the parable from verse 1:5 of the Song of Songs, likely born from the love between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: « I am black, but I am beautiful (...) ».

 

In the 12th century, in his work The Secret Book dealing with the hidden art and the Philosopher's Stone, the alchemist Artephius presented "l’eau des sages" ("the water of the wise") in this way: « Oh, how precious and magnificent is this water! For without it, the work could not be perfected: thus it is named the vessel of nature, the belly, the matrix, the receptacle of the tincture, the earth and its nurse, it is the fountain in which the King and the Queen are washed, and the mother who must be placed and sealed upon the belly of her child, who is the Sun. »

 

Do you begin to understand how the cabalists deliberately obscured the trails leading back to the primordial ocean by using a deliberately convoluted lexicon to define a single thing, namely, the unity of matter – the materia prima ?

Prima Materia at Phra That Lampang Luang Temple – Thailand

In the Corpus Hermeticum, verse 16 of an excerpt from a discourse between Hermes and Tat states that: « All that exists is in motion; non-being alone is immobile ». The unity, the preliminary state to the divine manifestation, could thus be imagined as energy in the form of standing waves, and when this energy is vectorized, the whole is set in motion to create space, time, and, consequently, matter. The universal matrix would be born from the rupture of the spatial equilibrium of unity: this first impulse would be the strong force of all forces, its Spiritus Mundi and its Holy Spirit ("Saint-Esprit" in French). This would be the passage from Ain Soph to Ain Soph Aur in the Tree of Life of the Hebrew Qabbalah.

 

An experienced cabalist would break down the word "Saint" from "Saint-Esprit" ("Holy Spirit") into 3 parts: "s," "ain," and "t". The silent "t" is the tracing of a cross, it expresses the center. "Ain" is the principle preceding matter, which defines the "abyss" and "non-existence" in Hebrew, and is heard as "un" ("one"), the number of unity, and "s" is the letter of manifestation, because it undulates like the graphic representation of a pulsation. In other words, a Saint is a person whose vibratory signature resonates with the first impulse emanating from the center of unity. This is why the soul of a Saint – his spirit – will always be closest to the divine and creative resonance of God.

 

The different states of matter could then be compared to the rungs of a ladder, where the matrix Force crystallizes, or gradually condenses, into more or less regular forms. This state of affairs is supported by the best definition of alchemy you will find, that of Fulcanelli:  « Alchemy is the permutation of form by light, fire, or spirit. »

Cybele (Scala Philosophorum) on the façade of Notre-Dame Cathedral - Paris, France

Even though, according to the testimony of Eirenaeus Philalethes (1628-1665), metallic transmutation is a reality, it is important to emphasize that making gold to enrich oneself was never the ultimate goal of alchemy. Here again, many have gone astray by failing to understand the cabalistic writings of our elders. To separate the pure from the impure is to move from a base matter to a rectified matter. The simpler and more ordered the molecular arrangements become, the more matter and the matrix source gradually tend towards reunification, towards unity. Matter purifies itself in a revolution inverse to the Luciferian fall ("Lucifer" is "the light-bearer" in Latin, and he first appears in Greek mythology as the guardian of the horses of the sun god Apollo), hence the Nietzschean concept of the eternal return. The famous immortality, which dreamers fantasize about so much, may ultimately be nothing more than the search for eternity, for absolute stillness, where the eternal rests, closest to unity.

 

The kingdom of the adepts' science is, by definition, outside of time and space. Furthermore, unlike modern science, which is exclusively concerned with matter, alchemy, magic, and astrology focus directly on the matrix and the invisible laws that animate it.

 

·        Astrology gauges the energetic variations of the celestial fire by observing the influences of the stars and planets on the terrestrial world.

·        Alchemy represents the manifestation of this fire in, ostensibly, inanimate organisms (minerals and plants).

·        Magic directly channels this fire into the body of the adept. The latter, as a mage in the noble sense of the term, possesses perfect mastery of the cosmic fire. They manage to transit this force through the chakras of their body in order to modulate and redirect it according to the use they wish to make of it. If divine love fills their heart, they will practice white magic, aiming to create harmony and well-being. Conversely, if they allow themselves to be seduced by the dark side, they will sink into black magic, using this force to sow division and destruction.

The Holy Spirit at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - Paris, France

On the horizon of our reflections, it appears that the driving principle of all existence – the force underlying life – is generated by a matrix that finds its origin beyond the boundaries of our reality. A deduction shared by Niels Bohr, Nobel Prize winner in physics, who stated in 1922: « Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real ».

 

Therefore, if this creative Forece resides beyond the sensible and measurable field, how is it possible to perceive its essence in the world accessible to men?

 

 

•••••

 

 

In my view, if this creative force is the cause of tangible effects, its signature must necessarily be observable in nature. It should therefore be possible to glimpse the mechanisms of this matrix by adopting the mentality of an insatiably curious person, that is, by opening one's eyes wide. To satisfy this will, specializing in one field or another would be a grave error: the natural philosopher must open the field of possibilities to all scientific domains, from astronomy to mineralogy – in other words, to all phenomena visible between the heavens and the earth. The imprint of the force must be present everywhere, and as the Emerald Tablet suggests, in the infinitely large as well as the infinitely small. The work consists of identifying its traces and then finding the analogies that link them.

 

It was while working on this task in the 13th century of the Christian era that the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci noticed an arithmetic sequence linked to generation in the biological world. In the progression of this sequence, each new number is the sum of the two preceding it: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21(3), 34, 55, 89, 144 (9) and so on. The higher the numbers become, the more the ratio between a number and the one preceding it tends towards a mathematical constant with a value of 1.618. This ratio of proportion was defined by the father of Greek geometry, Euclid, as the division of a segment in extreme and mean ratio. This proportion, found in the phyllotaxis of the plant world, appears to be a universal model, repeating invariably in all creations of nature.

Phyllotaxis, cactus at the Queen Sirikit Botanical Garden - Chiang Mai, Thailand

Thus, we observe spiral arrangements of this numerical matrix in flowers, the Romanesco cauliflower, and the pine cone, but also in the shells of nautiluses and gastropods. These analogies are utterly astonishing because they are not limited to these few examples; they find a universal echo in the 3 kingdoms of the living world: the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal. Nature does geometry, automatically, without a square or a compass. Nature does not need a blueprint; it is the blueprint. Its architecture, especially when expressed in a helical ("helical" and "helix" share the same etymological root as Helios, the Sun god of the Greeks) and logarithmic manner, is simply dazzling. I will never understand why most of us remain stoic in the face of so much beauty and elegance. Do they not have eyes to see?

 

Since the 20th century and the work of Matila Ghyka, the ratio equal to 1.618 has been known as the "nombre d’or" ("golden number"). Using this designation would, however, be a gross error, for a proportion is not a number but a relationship between two numbers, in their arithmetic or geometric expression. It is therefore preferable to use "golden ratio" instead of "golden number".

 

The etymology of "or" ("gold") comes from "aor," "aour," "aur," or "our" in Semitic languages, all of which translate to "light." Recalling the prologue of the Gospel of Saint John, where it is written: « The Word was God (...) The Word was the true light », the correlation between God, the Word, light, and the golden ratio becomes more than evident for one of the modes of thinking among the magi: synonymic reasoning. If you were looking for concrete proof of God's existence, the golden ratio would give your argument a factual dimension that would be difficult to refute. Especially since the Greek symbol for the golden ratio, Φ, defined for the early worshippers of Christ as "the force of God," "the Will" ("the Telesme" of the Emerald Tablet), or the principle of the concentration of spirit in matter.

 

The signature of Φ is also manifested in human anatomy. Among the multitude of examples, we could cite the case of the navel is the most significant. Indeed, knowing that the word "nombril" ("the navel") is the phonetic equivalent of "nombreel" , cabalists would break it down into "nombre" ("number") and "El" to find its substantive marrow. Since El is the name of God at the origins of humanity, this point, so special in the context of the Vitruvian Man, is the physical revelation of the divine signature in the proportions of the human body. On the one hand, it is from here that the nourishing energy of the mother was instilled in us; on the other hand, and this is what interests us here, it on average divides the distance between the feet and the head by the golden ratio. The verse 1:27 of Genesis which states that « man was built in the image of God » is therefore not a parable; it must be understood literally, at face value.

 

The Larousse dictionary explains that: « Φ is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet (21(3) = 3 x 7), corresponding, in ancient Greek, to an aspirated " p " and, in modern Greek, to an " f ". It is transliterated as " ph " in French words derived from Greek ». The first syllable of the words "philosophy," "physics," "phyllotaxy," "firmament," "force," and "fire" underscores the intimate relationship these words have with the golden ratio. Etymology is a science to be handled with the utmost seriousness because, as you have previously observed, the investigative keys offered by this tool are unparalleled.

Vitruvian Man - Léonard de Vinci

Faced with all these sympathies, it seems to me not overly presumptuous to assert that Φ, the true swirling pivot of universal harmony (to be heard as "uni vers El" ("united toward El ") or "uni ver sel," meaning "united green salt" in a right-to-left reading, is the organic imprint of a creative matrix, whose structure is subject to the laws of geometry and arithmetic. Plato understood this very well, as he declared: « God always geometrizes. » and « Geometry draws the soul toward truth and creates the spirit of philosophy, forcing the soul to turn its gaze upward instead of downward. »

 

For their part, historians recount that the golden ratio was named "phi" to honor the sculptor Phidias (480-430 BC), famous for his participation in the construction of the Parthenon in Athens, where the precious ratio is exalted in the proportions of the facade. Should we be astounded by the fact that the golden ratio was already used five centuries before the Christian era by Greek architects, and also, according to the work of René Adolphe Schwaller de Lubicz (1887-1961), by their Egyptian counterparts? Absolutely not, because all Artists, worthy of the capital A, have always tried to make their works resonate with this particular signature. In their desire to mimic ("singer" in French, to be heard "saint G" ("holy G"), they attributed to Φ the ultimate canon of beauty. Every time Φ is used, it is a syncretic tribute to nature and the creator that is celebrated. From the grandiose pyramids of the Giza plateau to the abstract paintings of Kandinsky, Φ has always been the prerogative of Artistic genius and the mark of a symbiotic relationship with the universe. This form of expression was undoubtedly born from a necessity: to reveal and glorify the invisible intelligence of divine creation in the material world.

 

 

•••••

 

 

No offense to our contemporaries, the Art before the 20th century had nothing in common with the "works" of today. The word "art" has unwittingly become a catch-all term into which any kind of creation can find its place. One only needs to frequent art galleries to realize that "art" has become an intellectual masquerade and a visual pollution on which ill-intentioned people or charlatans try to make their fortune. In 1973, Jean Phaure already described this trend with the objectivity it deserved: « Modern art is a black magic, sometimes in the most operative sense of the term, and has the eschatological function, like psychoanalysis, of placing back into the field of our consciousness our infra-psychism, populated by all the psychic and demonic residues that in the previous phases of the cycle had been contained in those cellars by sacred art, religions, and initiatory knowledge. »

 

No need to hold a doctorate in art history to realize that creativity is, compared to the achievements of our past, the victim of a deliberate process of destruction. Indeed, how can one place the paintings of Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) on the same pedestal as those of Michelangelo (1475-1564), Raphael (1483-1520), or Botticelli (1445-1510)? Unfortunately for humankind, this enforced form of intellectual terrorism is not confined to the borders of art, but corrupts all the pillars upon which the liberation of a healthy and balanced society rests.

 

To this, it must be added that a person's creativity does not automatically make them an Artist. The masters are formal and are always there to testify: one does not become an Artist overnight; perfecting one's Art requires a great deal of work and constant spiritual asceticism. Without having undergone the purification and rectification of one's soul – demonstrating holiness – it is practically impossible to receive divine inspiration, to resonate with the force, and to become one with the grace of its quintessence to produce anything. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) drives the nail even deeper into the flesh of the aspirants, who are often untalented, by suggesting that the qualification of Artist is indeed only earned in high places: « The artist, constantly occupied with contemplating creation, renders a perpetual homage to the creator. Our so patient study of the divine work demands more effort than singing matins. »

 

Art thus implies a fusional relationship with the sacred, and in this sense, it must be a reflection of the matrix space. To achieve this, every detail must be thoroughly considered, measured, and weighed. Absolutely no element can be the product of chance. And as Jean Phaure pointed out, this type of work is the antithesis of spontaneous art: arithmetic proportions and regulating geometric lines organize a harmonious and resonant composition, the choice of colors aligns with the symbolism of the figures and volumes, and mythological and religious archetypes blend with all kinds of cabalistic references. And of course, never forget the hermetic character of the form, that is, as the tradition's adage stipulates: « to show, to signify, and to hide... all at once ». The divine does not show... it suggests!

Symbolic façade at 63 Rue Réaumur - Paris, France

In the superior magma of the creative spirit, and since it is often considered the cornerstone of all Arts, architecture occupies a privileged place in the relationship it maintains with natural elements. The synchronization between a temple's properties and temporal cycles has always been one of the best-kept secrets by the initiatory high spheres of priestly castes. It is in the resolution of the squaring of the circle that the edifice is elevated towards the sacred, thus asserting its operative function by conjugating celestial and terrestrial energies within itself. When a temple is built according to the rules of Art, its geometric shape gives the space its orientation, and, like a needle on a sundial, it also gives the measure of time. In this, the scientific knowledge of cosmic cycles elevates the Architect to the rank of initiates, and, for this purpose, it cannot be otherwise.

 

Unfortunately for Humanity, few people truly understand the encoding systems used in the Artworks of our ancestors. And even if their attempts are successful, the academic doxa automatically labels them as gentle visionaries. This label further justifies the modern approach to the Arts through the prism of psychology, for one must attempt to provide an explanation, even a fantastical one, for the allegories, metaphors, and parables of the traditional culture of our masters. Be that as it may, we will try to decipher a few works for what they really were throughout this thesis. With this in mind, the best way to tackle this is to use the tools that have been bequeathed to us, and in this virtuosity, the measure of the Liberal Arts is essential.

 

The Liberal Arts number 7 and are divided into two paths: the Trivium and the Quadrivium.

 

·       The Trivium is defined by the expression of the Word (the Light) through words. It is divided into 3 subjects: grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric.

·       The Quadrivium relates to the powers of numbers, that is, the expression of the Word through mathematics, and is divided into 4 subjects: arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy.

 

Alongside these 7 paths, a linguistic axiom from the Hermetic Cabale, called the Language of the Birds (the Green Language), completes the already well-stocked palette of the Artist. This slang, qualified as solar, whose principles are sanctified in the appearance of its initiator with the head of an ibis, Djehuty-Thot, is based exclusively on the assonance of words, without ever taking into account the rules of spelling and grammar. Richard Khaitzine (1947-2013) spoke of it in this way: « This language of the birds is the one revealed by Jesus to the apostles through his spirit, the Holy Spirit. Remember that episode from the Gospels. It is the period of Pentecost and the apostles receive the gift of tongues in the form of tongues of fire, fire being a synonym for spirit. But in that case, you might ask, why is it called the language of the birds? Because the Holy Spirit, of a volatile nature, is frequently symbolized by a bird, often a dove. »

 

In order to compensate for the weaknesses of language and to provide the final keys essential for opening the closed kingdom of the magi, the disciple of Hermes will use another vector of transmission, still very poorly understood today: the symbol.

 

 

•••••

 

 

The symbol plays a more than singular role: stimulating only the psyche, this figurative sign connects man to his imagination and links his thought to spheres indescribable by words. Indeed, the sound of a word is a vibration that the ear can hear, and, in this state, it already possesses a material manifestation. The word therefore clumsily cuts the dynamics of the idea it wishes to define; it is precisely to remedy this weakness that the use of the symbol demonstrates its full effectiveness. By creating a bridge between the created and the uncreated, this mode of reading gives the mind the possibility to traverse the mirror of appearances, to glimpse the other side of the set, outside of space and time. Ferdinand Brunetière (1849-1906) specified: « The symbol is an image, it is thought... It allows us to grasp between the world and ourselves some of those secret affinities and obscure laws which may well exceed the reach of science, but which are no less certain for that, every symbol is in this sense a kind of revelation. »

 

We could not continue this introduction without honoring the sharp verb of René Guénon (1886-1951), because his life and work alone crystallize a spiritual search without any concession. He wrote in his book Symbols of Sacred Science: « We have already had occasion to speak of the importance of the symbolic form in the transmission of doctrinal teachings of a traditional order (...) Why does one encounter so much more or less avowed hostility towards symbolism? Assuredly, because it is a mode of expression that has become entirely foreign to the modern mentality, and because man is naturally inclined to distrust what he does not understand. Symbolism is the means best adapted to the teaching of truths of a superior order, religious and metaphysical, that is to say, of all that the modern spirit rejects or neglects; it is the very opposite of what suits rationalism, and all its adversaries behave, some without knowing it, as true rationalists (...) It is thus that the highest truths, which would not be communicable or transmissible by any other means, become so to a certain point when they are, so to speak, incorporated into symbols which will doubtless conceal them for many, but which will manifest them in all their brilliance to the eyes of those who know how to see (...) If the Word is thought on the inside and speech on the outside, if the world is the effect of the divine Word uttered at the origin of time, the whole of nature can be taken as a symbol of the supernatural reality. Everything that is, in whatever mode, having its principle in the divine intellect, translates or represents this principle in its own way and according to its order of existence; and, thus, from one order to another, all things are linked and correspond to contribute to the universal and total harmony, which is like a reflection of the divine Trinity itself. This correspondence is the true foundation of symbolism and that is why the laws of an inferior domain can always be taken to symbolize the realities of a superior order, where they have their profound reason, which is at once their principle and their end. »

 

In its vulgar figuration, the "saint bol" ("holy cup") takes the form of a cup or a chalice. During the magical ritual of the Mass, at the moment of the Eucharistic sacrament, it collects the Christic blood – the metaphorical liquid of the cosmic fluid. The evocation of an aqueous essence inevitably recalls the way the disciple of Hermes associated the behavior of the mercurial spirit with a primordial ocean. Following analogical reasoning, the symbol fulfills exactly the same function as its homophone, revealed by the language of the birds, namely that the "saint bol" ("holy cup") is the receptacle and the revealer in the tangible world of the ineffable principles of the universal matrix.

The Holy Grail, Saint-Eustache Church - Paris, France

I understand that for most of you, the Hermetic tradition seems very mysterious, even chimerical, especially since this philosophical current proposes historical and scientific perspectives that the dominant thinking qualifies as irrational. I can already hear the rhetoric of the most indoctrinated: « How could ancient man have known what modern science is only beginning to glimpse? Are we not superior to those hicks of the past? »

 

Indeed, and whatever he may think, modern man is unaware of his own ignorance. But we must not cast stones at him, for from the benches of kindergarten to the lecture halls of universities, he is encouraged to naively repeat what he is taught. And since the majority has grown up in the same system, it is logical that "normal" people are all molded in the same way. In his defense, it must be recognized that the pursuit of knowledge, intellectual and cultural enrichment, is an activity that is no longer valued. Absolutely nothing is organized to encourage us to read the works in libraries and to multiply our general knowledge. This sad observation is the inexorable consequence of a state-controlled education constantly leveled downward, the propagation and normalization of a culture of the artificial (to the detriment of the natural), the promotion and standardization of mediocrity by the dominant media, the stupefaction and hypnotic manipulation of the masses by television. And above all, the ever-growing denial of a transcendent and salvific spiritual kingdom. It's a fact; we can no longer count the friends who are very proud of their agnosticism... How sad!

 

At the dawn of the 21st century, the collapse of thought mirrors the decadence, degeneration, and decline of our civilization. This intellectual sclerosis has become an increasingly thorny obstacle for those who take the paths of spiritual evolution, personal emancipation, or the Gnostic path. Social conditioning is so powerful that the intrepid, those who still dare to think for themselves, are often ostracized and unfortunately subject to mockery. It takes tremendous strength of character to free oneself from public condemnation and the judgment of others. This work requires a deep and delicate introspection upon oneself; very few people are prepared to suffer in order to dissolve the illusions of daily life so as to be completely freed from them. To be able to empty one's chalice of all dross, and then refill it with a more radiant light, is an achievement inaccessible to most of us.

"Vert-bois" Fountain - Paris, France

Prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice are the cardinal virtues necessary for the opening of the kingdom of God. If perseverance is our loyal servant on the path of truth, the vertical essence of the solar fire will illuminate our hearts, and the undertaken work will always be crowned with success. Without this spiritual quest, I probably would never have found the courage to share these few lines with you, because the metaphysical currents upon which the winds of this demonstration will carry us are ridiculed by the orthodoxy of the educational system and are very poorly understood by today's globalized culture. This thesis could never have become an original stone added to the edifice if our usual prejudices had not been overcome, if the lands of the unexplored had not been pushed back, and if our reality had not been transcended.

 

To achieve this, the scientific and syncretic study of the principal religious symbols is the major axis – its axis mundi – around which this thesis will evolve. Like a modern Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece, guided by the clarity of the pole star, we will navigate the most mystical and unimaginable vibratory oceans. I therefore invite you to explore sacred science aboard my vessel, to lift the veil on the naturing nature of the Holy Spirit, and to cast off towards the most absolute mystery of all: the creation of space-time.

 

 

Ludovic Nicolas

 

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