Chance is movement without order,
and skill is the force which creates order.
The Earth is kept in order
by means of humanity’s knowledge
and application of the arts and sciences-
for Atum willed that the universe
should not be complete
until man had played his part.
Hermes Trismegistus
from, The Hermetica
translated by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
Photo by Woodland Gnome
The student of pure philosophy
studies the sciences,
not as fanciful theories,
but as devotion to Atum-
because they reveal a universe
perfectly ordered by the power of number;
because measuring the depths of the sea
and forces of fire
and magnitudes of physical things
leads to a reverent awe
at the Creator’s skill and wisdom;
because the mysteries of music
bear witness to the unsurpassed talent
of the supreme Artist
who has beautifully harmonized
all things into a single Whole,
suffused with sweet melodies.
To simply love Atum in thought
with singleness of heart,
and to follow the goodness of his will-
this is philosophy,
unsullied by intrusive cravings
for pointless opinions.
But I foresee that , in times to come,
clever intellectuals
will mislead the minds of men,
turning them away from pure philosophy.
It will be taught that
our sacred devotion was ineffectual
and the heart-felt piety
and assiduous service
with which we Egyptians honour Atum
was a waste without reward.
Hermes Trismegistus, or Thoth
The Hermetica
Translated by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
Photo by Woodland Gnome 2013
Since the world is Atum’s handiwork,
those who maintain and enhance its beauty
are co-operating with the will of Atum
by contributing their bodily strength
in daily care and labour
to make things assume the shape
which his purpose has designed.
From The Hermetica, attributed to Thoth
Translated by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
Photo by Woodland Gnome 2013
In a sense, the Cosmos is changeless,
because its motions are determined by unalterable laws
which cause it to revolve eternally
without beginning and end.
Its parts manifest, disappear
and are created anew,
again and again
in the undulating pulse of time…
The present issues from the past,
and the future from the present.
Everything is made one by this continuity.
Time is like a circle,
where all the points are so linked
that you cannot say
where it begins or ends,
for all points both precede
and follow one another for ever.
Yet, there is an even deeper understanding.
The past has departed and no longer is.
The future has not arrived and is yet to be.
Even the present does not last,
so how can it be said to exist,
when it doesn’t stay still for a moment?
The Hermetica, attributed to Thoth
Translated by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
Photo by Woodland Gnome,
Virginia Beach, VA 2008
Give me your whole awareness,
and concentrate your thoughts,
for Knowledge of Atum’s Being
requires deep insight,
which comes only as a gift of grace.
It is like a plunging torrent of water
whose swiftness outstrips any man
who strives to follow it,
leaving behind not only the hearer,
but even the teacher himself.
To conceive of Atum is difficult.
To define him is impossible.
The imperfect and impermanent
cannot easily apprehend
the eternally perfected.
Atum is whole and constant.
In himself he is motionless,
yet he is self-moving.
He is immaculate,
incorruptible and ever-lasting.
He is the Supreme Absolute Reality.
He is filled with ideas
which are imperceptible to the senses,
and with all-embracing Knowledge.
Atum is Primal Mind.
He is too great
to be called by the name ‘Atum’.
He is hidden,
yet obvious everywhere.
His Being is known through thought alone,
yet we see his form before our eyes.
He is bodiless,
yet embodied in everything.
There is nothing which he is not.
He has no name,
because all names are his name.
He is the unity in all things,
so we must know him by all names
and call everything ‘Atum’.
from The Hermetica, attributed to Thoth
translated by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
photo of College Creek from the Colonial Parkway, Jamestown, VA
May 2011 by Woodland Gnome
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