Hermetics: Consciousness & Hyperperceptivity

SYMBOLISM

By Robert Zucker

In the human mind, basic and complex information can be reduced to symbols.

A symbol is an image that represents something.

Symbols serve in the absence of an object, manifestation or an idea. Sometimes, symbols are the actual forms they represent.

The human mind can relate, although only in partial terms, by symbols.

Before humans could write words, they used symbols. They drew symbols on cave walls.

Symbols often possess a specific, deeper, meaning in addition to their conventional and obvious meaning.

When the obvious meaning of a symbol is understood by the masses, it is called exoteric. When a deeper, more complex, meaning of a symbol is known only to a few, it is called esoteric.

Many ancient symbols are esoteric, but are only understood today exoterically.

A word can be a symbol. When it implies something more than its obvious and immediate meaning, it has a wider "unconscious" aspect that is never defined or fully explained.

This occult, or hidden meaning, is comprehended through insight and intuition. The hidden meaning can also be passed down from teacher to student. Other hidden meanings of exoteric words are published in books. But, those definitions often lack the esoteric knowledge.

A symbol is also a conscious, subconscious or unconscious projection device that used to produce a specific reponse in the mind. Symbolism has been used through history to describe forces which operate through the universe. In occultism, magic symbols represent forces within the universe and within oneself.

A symbol holds a microcosmic (internal, subjective, personal) as well as a macrocosmic (collective, objective, social) interpretation.

The Qabalah as a symbol

An ancient system of symbolic interpretation is the Judaic Qabalah. All of the forces of the universe are expressed through certain symbols which are also represetations of parts of the mind.

The structural design of this set of symbols is found in the Tree of Life, a diagrammatic model of the consciousness and unconsciousness.

The symbols used in Qabalah (also spelt as Kabalah, Kabbalah, Kaballah, etc), were developed centuries before the written word was a common tool for communication.

Symbols as allegory

The tarot is also another system of symbolic interpretations of defined universal constants. Understanding the concepts used in this ancient system are disguised in allegory. This is the heart of any esoteric system.

Allegory is an expression by symbolic figures, actions and truths or generalizations about human or nonhuman conduct or experiences. It is a symbolic representation.

Symbolism and allegory is vital in any occult or esoteric system.

In mysticism and magical practices, there is a belief that certain ideas are not meant for the masses. So, theses ideas must be disguised in certain forms (or symbols). The meaning of the symbols could only be understood by those who know the construct of the symbol. Otherwise, they remain as abscure and incoherent images. A computer print out means nothing to a primitive native. The unintelligeble scribbling only means something to someone who understands the images.

Symbols should been seen literally, but understood allegorically.

"In order for science to study any force,
it must be manifested into some objective form"
Robert Zucker, 1976

2006 Entertainment Magazine On Line. All rights reserved.
Contents cannot be copied, reproduced or distributed without permission from the author.
This original content is property of Robert Zucker

Symbolsim Book Recommendations

These are among some of the books in my library, now available through Amazon.com. When you click on any link or image, follow through for more books in related topics.

" Man and His Symbols"
Author: Carl Gustav Jung

Illustrated throughout with revealing images, this is the first and only work in which the world-famous Swiss psychologist explains to the layperson his enormously influential theory of symbolism as revealed in dreams. 432 pages.

A Dictionary of Symbols
Author: J. E. Cirlot

At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression, and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence on symbols. An essential part of the ancient arts of the Orient and Western medieval traditions, symbolism underwent a 20th-century revival with the study of the unconscious. Indeed, symbolic language is considered a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in the study of symbology. Its alphabetical entries--drawn from a diverse range of sources, including all of the major world religions, astrology, alchemy, numerology, heraldry, and prehistoric art--clarify the essential and unvarying meanings of each symbol. Whether used as a reference or browsed for pleasure, this informative volume offers a valuable key to elucidating the symbolic worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas. 32 black-and-white illus. 512 pages.

"The Secret Teachings of All Ages"
Manly Palmer Hall

In 1928, a 20-something Renaissance man named Manly Hall self-published a vast encyclopedia of the occult, believing that "modern" ideas of progress and materialism were displacing more important and ancient modes of knowledge. Hall's text has become a classic reference, dizzying in its breadth: various chapters explore Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, alchemy, cryptology, Tarot, pyramids, the Zodiac, Pythagorean philosophy, Masonry and gemology, among other topics. Includes a 16-page color insert.

"Initiation into Hermetics"
Author: Franz Bardon

356 pages. Book Description: Initiation into Hermetics provides step by step instruction in the form of practical exercises. These exercises lead to the development of body, soul and spirit. The result of the practical exercises is the development of occult abilities which can be of benefit to the student, in as far as he can change his existence for the better.