The Lamp of Trismegistus

According to Eliphas Levi in Transcendental Magic the initiate possesses

• the lamp of Hermes Trismegistus, or reason illuminated by science.
• the mantle of Apollonius, full and complete self-possession, which isolates the sage from blind tendencies
• the staff of the patriarchs, which is the help of the secret and everlasting forces of Nature

The lamp of Trismegistus:

• enlightens present, past, and future
• lays bare the conscience of men
• manifests the inmost recesses of the female heart

Comment

The Hermit has given up personal opinions and goals. And he speaks the truth, when necessary, and charitably if possible. But sometimes the objectivity and plain-spokenness is interpreted as rudeness by others. In his role as prophet, he may announce blessings and woes, but the woes are warnings and should be interpreted as kindness, not as rudeness.

The Hermit is not really a misanthrope. He loves humanity, but objectively and intellectually, not sentimentally. But humanity prefers sentiment, or the illusion of love, to real love. The lamp with three flames that brings wisdom also casts shadows. So “the consciences of men are laid bare” and the faults, foibles, pretenses, and illusions of humanity are exposed. So that objective knowledge is not the result of hatred but rather of wisdom (another word for prudence). On the contrary, the mass of men, whom Louis Claude de St Martin called “men of the torrent”, refuse to understand, accept, and integrate their shadows … they are the real haters.

In La Vita Nuova, Dante describes his first glimpse, at nine years of age, of his beloved Beatrice, also nine years old. Nine days later at nine o’clock, she greets him on the street. Josephin Paladin in his essay on Dante relates that number to the Hermit, showing again that Dante was an initiate.