The ancient heresy of Hermeticism has, in recent years, made inroads into contemporary Western culture via thinkers such as Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson.
Hermeticism is a set of esoteric beliefs primarily based on the writings of the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus from (approximately) first century A.D. Greece and Egypt. Prioritizing experience above doctrine in all areas, Hermeticism equates the mind of man with God, and teaches salvation by “secret knowledge.”
Hermeticism is like the alcohol of heresies, convincing man that he can do anything. This is why it is both dangerous and attractive to many. It gave us socialism, as well as the work of Peterson, though each represents wildly different streams of Hermetic thought: one economic, the other psychological. Properly reacting to Hermeticism’s modern influence in all its forms will determine the next stage of Western culture.
Many orthodox believers have become drunk on the Hermetic heresy across Western history. In Enlightenment-era Germany, Pietist Christianity was associated with Hermetic mysticism, which greatly influenced many of the great German thinkers of that period. It was from those thinkers we received the “enlightened” thought of Karl Marx. New Age belief and the popularity of Jungian psychology are also examples of contemporary Hermeticism.
Pervasive wherever it goes, Hermeticism intoxicates to produce false teaching. Western culture currently faces two Hermetic threats: (1) the old political Hermeticism found in the Leftist movements, and (2) the unrecognized danger of Jungian Hermeticism gaining popularity in conservative circles.
In politics, Hermeticism is primarily a theological and eschatological heresy: by equating man with God it names man the savior of the world in the eventual political apocalypse. (What politician or disenfranchised peasant would not want a taste of that extreme self-righteousness?) The 20th century demonstrates how addictive that distinctly Hermetic idea is—in the many “Marxist utopias.” This is the chief example of Leftist political Hermeticism.
Hermeticism gained political ground on the Left through Marxism, and is now growing in cultural influence on the Right via the work of psychological thinkers. One need only look at Peterson’s partnership with the Daily Wire to understand the popularity Hermetic ideas have on the Right today. Though the friends of Peterson are often the friends of conservative Christians, Peterson and his ilk are perceived far too favorably by conservative Christians today.
Psychological hermeticism poses a problem to the West precisely because our current politics are the highest example of Hermetic syncretism. One strand of Hermeticism gave us socialism, what has been called the “last Christian heresy,” by historian Michael Sugrue. Orthodoxy should not allow another strand to grow strong.
Psychological Hermeticism gaining influence is a danger that grows in reality every day. It has not yet taken as much ground as the ideas of Marx or his intellectual descendents. But the degree to which it has grown should be alarming. The danger is one of dilution.
As the Church fights against the dangerous political ideas of the day, it needs as many allies as it can get. But if these allies tout ideas with such a damaging track record, though they are our friend for a time, Christians should be wary. If these ideas become more influential than orthodoxy in the future of the West, the Church will have failed to respond to a clear and present danger.
On the conservative side, Peterson’s Scriptural commentary is the primary example of Hermeticism. Peterson said in a conversation with cognitive scientist John Vervaeke: “I’ve been conceptualizing the sacred as a process….that dynamic relationship between conscience and calling, and that looks to be like what is conceptualized as the Holy Spirit.” It seems benign, but is a Trojan horse of psychological mysticism. The psychological Hermetics’ most common move is the distortion of Scripture to suit their own pseudo-Christian philosophies. Here Peterson makes the classic play of identifying God with the mind of man. It is the painful truth that while Peterson advertises himself as anti-relativist, the practical implications of his thought leave us without a God beyond a thought in our heads.
Mysticism of this sort has the uncanny knack of producing heretics. Historically, a mystic could affirm the Scriptures while technically disbelieving in their historicity—a sort of hermeneutic crossing your fingers. While much more “spiritual” than the materialist Hermeticism of socialism, Peterson’s work of diluting Scripture holds its own risks.
This is the danger we face as orthodox Christians in the West: one of dilution. It is not only an onslaught of materialistic scientism that fuels today’s great firestorms. That is only the vehicle. A pervasive mysticism comes up from the annals of history to greet us on both the Right and the Left. If materialism is the body, Hermeticism is the soul.
Though Christians and Conservatives are already pushing hard against the cultural encroachment of the Hermetic Left, the Hermetic Right must also be addressed. Their outsized cultural influence, even in orthodox circles, should draw the attention of whoever is concerned with the eventual destination of the West.
The West must not become drunk on Hermeticism. A very old Hermetic symbol is that of the Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail. Peterson’s influence in the culture can be of great benefit to orthodoxy if directed properly—but it cannot be allowed to get out of control. If orthodox Christians do not respond in kind to the encroachment of Hermeticism in conservative politics, they will be like the Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail.
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