The origins of the Hermetic Theory of Magic, by
Cogitabunda scholae Bonisagi.
I have already
described the magical practises that existed before the formation of the
Order of Hermes, and that still exist today, beyond its purview. In this
essay I intend to examine the origins of the magic of the Order. To do this
I must first look at the life and works of Bonisagus, who formulated the
Theory of Hermetic Magic. I will then proceed to identify the magics of the
other eleven Founders, and how they contributed to the theory of magic.
Bonisagus was
born circa AD 710 in what is now the German Empire of Rome. He was one of
the few remaining heirs to the magics of forgotten Rome, more specifically
the Cult of Mercury. The Temple of Mercury was one of the foremost
priesthoods in Rome before the Empire. This priesthood used its powerful
ritual magic to help defend Rome from its worst enemies and to protect her
conquering armies as they united the Mediterranean world. In the second
century BC, the high priest Plentarch of the Pompeii temple had codified the
rituals of the Cult of Mercury into thirty-eight spells, each of which had
to be studied separately. Most of these spells were elaborate rituals that
required scores of wizards who were tightly bound to each other by training
and purpose - the more that were gathered, the more powerful was the spell.
With the coming of the Empire, trouble came to the Mercurian priesthood.
Infighting and jealousy of the relative standing of various temples with the
emperor began to fragment the Mercurians. Soon, the emperors themselves
became fearful of the power wielded by these Mercurian priests, and their
agents contributed to the disunity within the order. By the middle of the
second century, no two temples were on speaking terms, and some temples
overtly threatened and attacked others, looting their precious stores of
knowledge and wealth. The emperor Septimus Severus finally declared the
Temple of Mercury outlaw, revealing that its priests did not offer worship
to the pagan gods or to the divine emperors, but instead, worshipped the
power of magic itself. Throughout the empire, Mercurian priests hid from the
legions, seeking places of power far from human habitation and taking their
knowledge of magical power with them.
It is from these
priests that many of the Founders where ultimately descended. Their power
was drastically reduced because of their enforced separation from each
other, but distrust and selfishness had prevented them from getting
together. Instead, they started to study other magics than the Theurgy (see
my previous essay) that had been the mainstay of the Cult of Mercury's
power. Much of this magic came from the days before Rome, magic that the
Cult had eschewed in favour of the rituals of Mercury. Pliny the Elder and
his Naturalis Historia became the new authority, having recorded the
natural magic of ancient philosophers such as Aristotle, Hippocrates and
Sophocles, along with the lore of the Celts and Gauls. Few wizards retained
their Mercurian pasts, and so few were worthy of note by the middle of the
ninth century.
Then came
Bonisagus. His teacher, Albertus, was one of the few that had retained the
rituals of Mercury, though he was unable to use any but the simplest of
these magics. Upon taking Bonisagus as a student, Albertus resolved to seek
out other wizards and gather the lore of the Cult together once more.
Through diplomacy, invieglement and downright theft, Albertus and Bonisagus
managed to obtain thirty of Plentarch's 38 spells. This was perhaps more of
the Cult's magics gathered in one place that had ever been since the death
of Christ. This was the legacy handed to Bonisagus, and this, coupled with
his razor-sharp brilliance, were two of the three essential ingredients that
were to facilitate the formulation of Hermetic Theory. The third ingredient
was Bonisagus' own native magic. As well as the learning that Albertus had
given him, Bonisagus had the gift of prophecy. He was given to sudden and
violent fits in which he would experience visions of startling clarity.
These mystic insights were the final keys to unlocking the theories brewing
in the mind of the young Bonisagus.
Throughout his
travels with his master, he had witnessed many different types of magic.
This, coupled with studying the assembled lore of Mercury, brought him to
wonder whether there was an overall guiding principle of magic. He wondered
whether it would be possible for a single magus to display all of the
magical powers that he had seen. By examining these magical traditions, he
discovered similarities. Mercurian magic gave him the Forms of the Elements.
Natural Magic indicated the importance of animals and plants in any coherent
view of magic. Being a Christian and believing in the Divine status of the
rational soul, as separate from the souls of animals, he saw the need for a
Form that would deal with humans as opposed to other creatures. Two
traditions of magic gave him two more Forms - a Dinaric spirit-master by the
name of Guorna the Foetid demonstrated to Bonisagus (nearly at the cost of
his life) the power of the mind, and a now-forgotten group of mysterious
wizards called the praestigia taught him the uses of illusion. The
Ars Vis is only required in a coherent system of magic, which is what
Bonisagus was trying to achieve. This final art seemed natural to follow
from his studies, and while he took the precedent from Aristotle's "fifth
element" - the Form of Magic Itself was a creation wholly of the Master.
Use of these
powers, though, was somewhat erratic, and he had by no means mastered them
all. Bonisagus sought a way in which these ten basic Forms could be
controlled. The ancients showed him the way. From the teachings of the
Neoplatonists (Plotinus and his successors), Bonisagus adopted the act of
creation as the first of his Techniques. This gave him the idea of the
Verb-Noun structure of modern Hermetic magic, and he pursued the art of
destruction through the Atomists - Democritus and Epicurus. Continuing his
inspiration from the Ancients, Bonisagus developed the concept of
transformation from the writings of Apuleius, especially The
Metamorphoses. Divination was the source of the Ars Intellegentiae,
as practised by the soothsayers of Rome and Greece. The art of Control
stemmed mainly from the worthies of the Cult of Mercury such as Plentarch
and Martius of Tyre.
I don't want the
readers of this essay to get the impression that Bonisagus was no more than
a plagiarist, or at best a collector of Lore. He was so much more than this.
The concept of coupling Technique and Form that is the mainstay of Hermetic
Magic was derived in its entirety from the genius of Bonisagus. The
identification of the five Techniques and the ten Forms was genius in
itself, for it encompasses every action that a magus would desire to perform
through magic, with very few exceptions - and those exceptions are believed
to be fundamental limits of magic, like piercing the Lunar Sphere. The
symbol of House Bonisagus of two crossed keys symbolises the feat of the
Founder - the golden key represents Tradition, the silver Innovation, and
the symbol as a whole the harmonious interaction of the two.
The other major
feat of Bonisagus was the invention of the parma magica. To him, it
was an intellectual exercise, separate from his opus of Hermetic
Theory, but related to it. However, it was the parma magica that
allowed the existence of the Order of Hermes in the first place, and this is
where the maga Trianoma enters the story. Trianoma hailed from the Carmargue,
and through her hard work she had managed to form an uneasy alliance of
wizards to face the threat of the Moors in Iberia. They were called the
Pyrenean Alliance, for they considered the Pyrenees to be as far as they
were prepared for the Moors to get. The Alliance worked, for a while, and
they were able to aid the Franks, lead by Charles Martel, to keep the Moors
in Iberia. However, the Alliance was one of necessity - it only existed
because of the mutual threat of the Umayyad Caliphate. It was fraught with
distrust and treachery, for at this time, magical power was gained through
taking it, by force if necessary, from others. Trianoma first came into
contact with Bonisagus when searching far afield for more allies. She had
heard stories about him from other wizards, and went to see if she could
recruit his help. Bonisagus was unwilling to get involved in a magical
battle, however, he was more than willing to teach Trianoma what he knew.
For five years Trianoma became Bonisagus's apprentice, learning his new
theory and the parma magica, and fully realising the potential of
what she learnt. With this knowledge, particularly the parma magica,
wizards could meet in relative safety, and there would be no need for
distrust. With magical knowledge vastly superior to that wizards already
practised made freely available, the need for theft and double-dealing would
be negated.
With her
new-found magic, Trianoma went in search for her former colleagues of the
Pyrenean Alliance. The first she approached was Mercere, who was affable and
reasonable, and became excited about the concept of an order of mages. The
two of them then approached the other members of the Alliance, but only
managed to persuade Flambeau, Jerbiton, Verditius and Guernicus of the
benefits presented by Bonisagus's new magic. The others were wary (believing
it to be a trap), arrogant or sceptical. Guernicus proved the hardest to
convince, and only signed up with Trianoma when he realised the calibre of
those he would face were he not a member. These four went to the home of
Bonisagus in the Black Forest with Mercere, while Trianoma continued to roam
Europe in search of other wizards. The five who arrived at Durenmar were
taught Hermetic magic in the meantime, and through their knowledge (for they
were all powerful wizards in their own rights), Bonisagus refined his
theories.
Trianoma
travelled first to Ireland, but of all the native magicians there, she was
met nothing but ridicule from all bar one. The druids had their own order
already, however informal, and their own teaching methods, and saw nothing
of worth in the rigid spells of Bonisagus. The exception was a young druid
by the name of Díedne, and she travelled to Germany while Trianoma continued
searching. She next went to the northern wilds of Jutland, following rumours
that she had heard about a witch-bear. This proved to be an inexperienced
wizard by the name of Bjornaer, who, having her own enemies, was all too
eager to improve her own meagre skills. Bjornaer suggested that Trianoma
travel next to the Bialowecza Forest and seek a priestess of the Goddess by
the name of Merinita, whom she had heard of. It took her a year of searching
to locate Merinita, who was a legend even at that time. The priestess was
all too willing to share her knowledge in a new order, and needed little
coaching. Next stop for Trianoma was the Dinaric Alps in what is now the
Kingdom of Hungary. She was looking for the feared witch Guorna the Foetid,
but she had passed on. However, Trianoma did locate two of her former
apprentices, by the names of Tytalus and Tremere. Both were accomplished
spirit-masters, and once Tytalus had been convinced to join, Tremere
followed, not wishing to be threatened by his 'brother'. Trianoma continued
to search for wizards in the lands of Byzantium, but failed to find any who
were willing to join the Order, so she returned home. Meanwhile, a
thirteenth wizard had arrived at Durenmar, unbidden by Trianoma or any of
the other wizards. No-one had ever heard of this Criamon before, and his
magics proved to be completely different to that of the others. Bonisagus
accepted him as his final advanced pupil, and the Order was formed.
So what of the
magic of the Founders?
Bjornaer was one
of the youngest Founders, older only than Tremere. She came from an ancient
line of shapeshifting wizards whose only magic was the ability to take
different shapes. She had broken tradition of her people by learning the
skills of the cunning folk, and was ostracised by them for that. She found
the teaching methods of Bonisagus utterly alien to her, not being descended
from the tradition of the Cult of Mercury; and of all the Founders, she
adapted to Hermetic magic least well. It was Merinita that taught her
Hermetic magic - the priestess had picked up Bonisagus's theory with
consummate ease, and was able to teach Bjornaer because their traditions
were similar. Bjornaer's contribution to the Order's magic is overlooked in
this modern age, but it was by no means inconsequential. She assisted
Bonisagus with the art of transformation, which had been based up to then on
natural philosophy - which had proved useless with living beings. Her
knowledge of the form of Animal was likewise important in the formation of
the modern concepts of this power.
Criamon
practised the purest magic of all of the Founders, for he was the only one
amongst them that used theurgy to the exclusion of all other magic. He lived
an ascetic life, and was able to elevate himself to a higher mental state,
and thereby use magical powers born purely of his will. His lineage is now
obscured in the records of his House, but it is generally accepted that he
was of a cadet line of the main Cult of Mercury, who practised theurgy
according to the teachings of Plotinus. The rest of the Cult couched their
magical practises in complicated rites and incantations, whereas Criamon's
ancestors enacted magic by entering a meditative state and contemplating
their god. Criamon himself was keen to promote the Order's foundation
because he saw it as a means to insure his privacy, and stop him being
bothered by other wizards; leaving him time to pursue the Enigma in his
meditative journeys. Criamon taught the Order the ability to control
Twilight, which now forms a mainstay of an apprenticeship. Without this
specialist knowledge, many more magi would be lost to Final Twilight in
their prime.
Díedne, like
Bjornaer, was a member of a magical tradition which was not rooted in the
Cult of Mercury. Some opposed her joining the Order, seeing her as a threat,
but she was backed by Trianoma, Bonisagus, Merinita and Jerbiton. Her people
practised a form of natural magic, and were also skilled seers. What
attracted Bonisagus though, was her facility to improvise spells - mostly
minor magics, but requiring no lengthy incantations or set formulae. This
skill of Díedne's tradition was incorporated into Hermetic magic as
Spontaneous spells, but he was frustrated that he could not give Hermetic
magi the full power in these magics possessed by Díedne and her followers.
Díedne was a druid, a role which encompassed teacher, priest, advisor and
magician to the Brythonic, Gaelic and Gaulish people. Of the few remaining
druids, many refused to give up their roles in mundane society according to
the edicts of the Order.
Flambeau was
born a noble in Iberia, at a time that the Umayyad Caliphate was strongest.
He was the most powerful member of the Pyrenean Alliance, and many respected
his magic. His control over the elements was goetic magic - lengthy rites in
the Mercuric tradition gave him the power to call upon the destructive power
of fire at a moment's notice. His master was probably most similar to what
we would nowadays refer to as a 'spirit-master', calling upon terrible
spirits of death and destruction, though these are generally not considered
to be demons. Flambeau inherited these powers as well, thus his magical
strategy in battle was flexible and brilliant: he could alternately provide
an excellent distraction with a dazzling column of flame or silently remove
his opponents and their steeds without a sound. Despite the popular opinion
of House Flambeau, their Founder was clear-headed and slow to anger, and
once he had been convinced of the advantages of the Order, he was its
strongest proponent.
Guernicus was
originally known for his skill with the element of Earth. He shared some
skills with Flambeau, for he had bargained with a multitude of earth spirits
and enlisted their aid. His knowledge of the occult virtues of gemstones was
also unrivalled, and he was able to tap their powers to create magical
effects. Guernicus was better known for his great scepticism over the
success of the order, estimating that it would last no longer than the
lifespan of its youngest member. Trianoma, sick of his cynical comments,
manoeuvred him into accepting the role of magistrate, policing the other
wizards, keeping peace and enforcing the Code. He studied the arts of
Intellego and Mentem with fervour, and passed this knowledge onto his
apprentices. He also worked with Jerbiton to develop rituals that would be
unique to his House, and enable his successors to do their job efficiently.
Jerbiton was
another who was a noble by birth, a member of an old Roman patrician family
that had survived into the Dark Ages. He was well-known for his fine taste
for the human pleasures - music and other arts. He travelled a lot after
inheriting his magical powers from his master, and grew excited about the
prospect of the Pyrenean Alliance, seeing it as a chance for wizards to
co-operate in peace and develop traditions of art and philosophy. This was
clearly not the case, and he was therefore somewhat sceptical when he heard
about the Order of Hermes from Trianoma. He went to study with Bonisagus,
and soon saw the wisdom of the Order, and became very involved in its
organisation, basing its structure on the government of Rome. Jerbiton was a
natural magician, though his knowledge was somewhat piecemeal, absorbing
different aspects of magic as he came across them. He was therefore pleased
to learn a more coherent form of magic. His biggest gift to the new Order
was some texts he had inherited from his master detailing magics of the Cult
of Mercury hitherto unknown to Bonisagus. Jerbiton was the most
knowledgeable of the Founders of Ritual magic because of this inheritance,
and he was happy to share his knowledge with the rest of the Order.
Mercere was a
natural magician and alchemist. Like many wizards of the age, he had a
wanderlust, but his was surpassed by none. His travels took him to distant
Araby and Persia, where he learnt the secrets of alchemy. He was probably
the most powerful natural magician of the day, and taught Bonisagus nearly
as much as he learnt, refining the art of transformation in Hermetic theory.
After the magical accident which put pay to his Gift, Mercere continued to
support the Order with his enthusiasm and determination.
Merinita, as
already mentioned, was a priestess of the Goddess, whom she referred to as
'Moist Mother Earth', 'the Eternal Spirit of the Wilds', and 'the Queen of
the Heavens', among other names. Her magic was powerful and mysterious, born
of the very earth itself, and there is little doubt that she was the most
accomplished of the Founders in matters of magic, saving perhaps only
Bonisagus. Her magic was in tune with nature, but bore remarkable
similarities to the Roman magic of the Cult of Mercury, and it is possible
that she was descended from the priesthood of Roman deities such as Juno,
Ceres, or terrible Cybele. She assisted Bjornaer to get over her mental
block with Hermetic magic, and taught the other Founders the secrets of
Longevity potions. With Bonisagus she developed the Three Cords of binding a
familiar, while ensuring that a bond could not be established without mutual
trust and agreement between man and beast. Her knowledge of living things,
particularly plants, was unrivalled. After spending a couple of decades
assisting the formation of the Order and her House, she returned to the
wilds. The modern focus of House Merinita with the fae was a product of the
first primus Merinitae, Quendalon, who is widely believed to have been a
faerie himself. Faerie magic is only nominally Hermetic.
Tremere was the
youngest and weakest of the Founders, and was considered for joining the
Order on the strength of his master's reputation. Guorna the Foetid was a
powerful spirit-master, though Tremere found it difficult to learn her arts
fully. Tremere had the power of Enchantment, and was somewhat skilled at
manipulating the minds of others, but this proved to be of little use in the
Order, with the development of the parma magica. Tremere was prolific
at training apprentices - he took to Hermetic magic well, because he was not
already deeply entrenched in another magical tradition, like all of the
other Founders. His greatest contribution to the Order was the rite of
certámen, which he developed with the assistance of Bonisagus - this was a
boon to the Order as it enabled magi to settle differences without causing
loss of life. Tremere became the master of certámen through his own secret
tricks, which he taught to all his apprentices but no other. Through the
political power that mastery over certámen gave, the House of Tremere soon
became a leading force in the Order, lead by Tremere himself, who was the
longest living of all of the Founders.
Trianoma appears
to modern eyes as a paragon of virtue, and a veritable polymath. Not only
was she a skilled wizard (she managed to hold her own against the assaults
of Tytalus), but she was a puissant diplomat, a clever theoretician and,
most of all, a visionary. Her importance is overlooked today, for, when the
Order was big enough to divide into Houses, she and her apprentices decided
not to form their own House but to become part of House Bonisagus. She
continued to work behind the scenes, smoothing over the schism in House
Merinita upon the return of Quendalon, covering up the depravations of
Crasseus, a Criamon who went mad at the end of the ninth century, and
various other deeds for which she is rarely properly accredited. Little is
known about her magic before she learnt Hermetic magic, except that she was
of the Roman tradition. It is likely that she was a natural magician, but it
was her facility to absorb learning from Bonisagus during her advanced
apprenticeship that she is best known for. She mastered the intricacies of
the theory in remarkable time, then immediately went out to demonstrate its
advantages, sending magi on to Durenmar to be taught by her mentor.
Tytalus was the
most pugnacious of the Founders, and the threat that he posed was one of the
main driving forces to the creation of an Order where magi could live in
peace. He was a powerful spirit-master, having been trained by Guorna the
Foetid, and commanded many spirits which he sent against his enemies - who
were, as far as he was concerned, all other wizards. He had a fair bit of
knowledge about the spirits controlled by the Cult of Mercury, this
knowledge having been passed down from Guorna. They used earth spirits to
guard their temples, water spirits to guide Roman ships, and air spirits to
carry messages. Spirits of darkness would see of their enemies, and
planetary spirits would advise the high priests of the cult. Tytalus knew of
all these spirits and more, and didn't want the Order to form at first,
because this would mean a dilution of his power. Once Trianoma had
demonstrated the versatility of Hermetic magic to him, his opinions changed.
He saw the Order as a breeding ground for more worthy opponents, and joined,
turning his violent attentions towards those that didn't. It was perhaps
this fascination with spirits that lead to the disgrace of the House in the
tenth century. Tytali nowadays avoid the magical tradition of their Founder,
realising its perils.
Verditius hailed
originally from Sicily, though his tradition harked back to Ancient Greece.
At the time of the foundation of the Order, Verditius and his young
apprentice were perhaps the only two priest of Vulcan left in Europe. The
cult of Vulcan was important in days of Rome for Vulcan was the god of the
River Tiber as well as of volcanoes and artificers. Verditius was well-known
for his inability to cast spells; however, his skill lay in awakening and
enhancing the natural magic of inanimate objects. He practised astral magic,
calling down the power of the stars and locking them into items of his own
manufacture. It was his apprentice Fenistour who discovered how to bypass
this spell-casting inhibition by guiding the magic through specially
prepared objects which were created according to the principles of astral
magic. Verditius possibly contributed more to the magic of the Order than
any other of the Founders, Díedne excepted. Before he and Bonisagus met,
there was no provision in Hermetic theory for the creation of magical
objects, for it was a skill that Bonisagus knew nothing about. After
learning Hermetic magic, Verditius was able to adapt what he knew about
creating magical items so that it fitted in with Bonisagus's theory. There
were still some things that the two found difficult to adapt, which is why
the Verditii are the Order's premier creators of magical objects, as they
still practise the remnants of Verditius's original magic.
