r/Hermeticism

My grandfather dug this up while tilling a small plot of land to plant potatoes, in a very remote village in Portugal (only accessible by 4x4). It was wrapped in a velvet pouch, its heavy and was buried in the soil.
I took it to a large antique dealer who confirmed it's
"esoteric" but had never seen this exact design before, even after searching his own reference photos.
Any help identifying the specific origin or symbolism would be hugely appreciated. Happy to share more photos.

So as of late, this is actually been a dilemma for me because in early March I made a transition to vegetarianism, largely motivated by fitness goals, but the secondary and most strongest support actually came from reading On Abstinence by Porphyry, who’s primary argument as to why animal consumption is unlawful was that animals contain logos, and to eat a creature that contains logos is to violate divine order.

Now, I wasn’t set in stone about his interpretation, but it resonated enough with me to at least draw the conclusion that when it comes to appetite and our human need to fuel our bodies with sustenance, animal consumption ranks as the lowest level of virtue, because the consumption of dead flesh, souped up with spices and herbs signify submission to the fullest satisfaction of our desires, particularly the tormentor of lust.

But then, I was rereading the Stobaean Hermetica, in book 4, which states that non-human animals do not truly contain logos, and that which is mistaken for it is in actuality, instinct, and memory, which are natural animal impulses.

Since processing that, it’s put me in this place where I’m like, well, I can eat meat if I want to, and I really don’t like that place because I’ve been eating really clean, feeling light and strong without animal consumption, and the previous module I was operating under provided a more ontologically rooted restriction that compelled discipline for me that the are awareness of non-human animals not containing logos does not. Full transparency, I wrote this after I was contemplating ordering five guys for the first time in four months 😳for now I’m going to continue exercising continence!

So basically, what I gather is that, eating animals is not an inherently irreverent or disruptive to divine order, but, because of the intensity of desire it signifies, it does represent momentary submission to the tormentor of lust, which it would seem that in pursuit of the highest virtue within us, we should thrive to spiritually grow out of.

What do you all think?

Long before modern science separated astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and religion into different fields, many scholars believed they were all part of a single, interconnected system.

One of the most remarkable expressions of that idea is the Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum. Created during the early seventeenth century, this extraordinary diagram weaves together astrology, alchemy, sacred geometry, angelology, Kabbalah, and Christian symbolism into one intricate visual framework.

Rather than marking days or months, it presents a symbolic vision of reality. Every planet, element, number, and geometric form was understood to reflect a deeper relationship between the natural world, humanity, and the divine. To its creators, the universe was not a collection of isolated parts but a living network of meaningful connections.

Whether you see it as an artistic masterpiece, a historical document, or a fascinating example of Renaissance philosophy, the Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum offers a rare glimpse into a worldview that sought unity in everything.
Even centuries later, its symbols continue to inspire historians, artists, and students of the Western esoteric tradition.
What detail in this remarkable chart captures your attention first?

So I've obviously read a couple of posts and lists etc , But I've yet to see of recognise this book in any of them , any feedback on it?

Dr. Rubenstein's writing has been really helpful for me.

https://www.elias-rubenstein.com/elias-rubenstein/elias-rubenstein-a-hermetic-framework-for-transformation-sensitive-knowledge-scientific-paper/

Found this woodcut on Sendivogius edition and it’s been sitting with me. It’s labeled ARBOR RARITATIS, Tree of Rarity, under a Greek header that reads ΤΥΡΑΝΝΟΣ ΠΝΕΥΜΑΤΙΚΟΣ — “spiritual sovereign.”

What strikes me is that it’s built on the Pythagorean Y. The letter as the fork in the road, the choice between the lower and higher path. Here the trunk rises through the ages of a human life — infancy, boyhood, youth — and at the fork the soul’s material nature splits and begins to climb. Earth and water at the base, thinning upward toward air and fire at the crown. Density giving way to rarity. The two upper branches carry the harder words: on one side ABYSSVS, VIS, FRAVS — abyss, force, deceit — and on the other the Greek ΣΟΦΟΣ and ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΟΣ, wise and lover-of-wisdom, climbing toward “Adeptus” beside the fire at the very top.

So the image reads to me as a moral-cosmological map disguised as a diagram of the elements. The descent into matter and the possible ascent back out, with the adept’s path running up the side of fire. The “spiritual sovereign” of the title being what you become if you take the right branch.

What I keep turning over: the choice in a classical bivium is moral — virtue or vice. Here it’s mapped onto elemental rarity, as if becoming rarer, less dense, \*is\* the virtuous ascent. Has anyone seen this rarefaction-as-virtue move elsewhere in the Hermetic material, or is Sendivogius doing something his own here?

Flagging honestly that I’m reading some of the smaller labels off a photograph and haven’t fixed the exact edition, so corrections welcome on both.

​

One of the most interesting aspects of any proposal to reform or restore esoteric correspondences is a question that is rarely asked explicitly: what happens when we try to work with them in practice?

In recent years I have devoted a significant part of my research to the study of the attribution of Tzaddi and its consequences for the structure of the Tree of Life, a subject I explore at length in "The Star in Aries". However, beyond textual, historical and kabbalistic analysis, one question remains open: if certain symbolic relationships have been correctly restored, should they produce observable effects in magical and contemplative work?

With this question in mind, we have embarked on a small practical experiment using the Genii of Liber XXII.

The Genii constitute a set of symbolic intelligences whose attributes present a complex network of astrological, zodiacal and kabbalistic relationships. Precisely for this reason, they offer a particularly interesting field of work for exploring how certain theoretical configurations manifest in practical experience.

The aim of the experiment is not to prove any preconceived theory. Nor is it intended to obtain ‘evidence’ in a strictly scientific sense. What we seek is something more modest, though equally valuable: to observe whether consistent patterns emerge when different practitioners work following a common ritual structure.

To this end, a simple methodology has been designed. Each participant undertakes a contemplative practice based on the corresponding sigil, using a structured visualisation and subsequently recording their impressions, perceived symbols, emotional content and any significant elements that arise during the practice.

The underlying question is particularly interesting. If certain symbolic relationships possess genuine internal coherence, one would expect certain images, themes or experiences to appear repeatedly among different participants. Conversely, if the correspondences are arbitrary or incorrect, the results would tend to be more scattered and less consistent.

Naturally, this type of work lies somewhere between symbolic research, the psychology of the imagination and esoteric practice. The results should therefore be interpreted with caution. We do not seek to confirm pre-existing beliefs, but rather to observe what happens when a theoretical hypothesis is transferred to the realm of experience.

As the experiment progresses, we will publish observations and reflections arising from the process.

Perhaps the most valuable outcome is not the confirmation of a specific theory, but the opening up of new avenues for studying esoteric correspondences from a more experiential and less purely speculative perspective.

After all, any symbolic system claims to describe something about reality. And if that claim is true, it should be possible to explore it not only through texts and diagrams, but also through practice.

The Star in Aries, available from 21 June, sets out the theoretical framework that has given rise to this line of research. (https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0H3FN8CGN)

Hermes is shown here in one of his most archaic symbolic forms, the Ram-Bearer (Κριοφόρος) a cultic epithet commemorating the ritual sacrifice of a ram and tied to a Boeotian myth in which Hermes saved the city of Tanagra from plague by ritually hoisting a ram around the border walls. This style became one of the most recognizable images of the god in Greek votive art emphasizing instead his role as savior and purifier, patron of shepherds, guardian of flocks, intermediary of thresholds, etc. The archetype outlasted pagan antiquity entirely, becoming the visual template early Christian theology and art later adopted for the Good Shepherd symbol, the salvific figure carrying the lost sheep on his shoulders.

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