The God Who Taught Humanity Everything: How Thoth and the Egyptian Mystery Schools Shaped All of Western Civilisation
Ancient Wisdom Week 19
Deep under the sands of Upper Egypt lies an ancient temple that was known by the Greeks as Hermopolis, or the City of Hermes. The temple has a unique purpose among all temples of the ancient world. This temple was not built for public worship or to be a place where kings held ceremonies; in fact, it did not allow the public (as in many temples) inside its doors. In order to enter, one must undergo an extensive selection process which includes passing tests and demonstrating one’s willingness to let go of everything that one might think is true about reality.
These places were often referred to as Mystery Schools by the ancient Egyptians, and they served as the center of humanity’s greatest exploration. Though they were not just places for religious activity, they were essentially a laboratory for the study of consciousness and were staffed by some of the most intelligent people of their time who were trained to understand the hidden laws of the universe, the soul, and their relationship. Guided by Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom, writing, mathematics, and magic, the Mystery Schools provided the foundation for modern esoteric traditions including Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and Freemasonry. Thoth was also known to the Greeks as Hermes Trismegistus, or the Thrice-Greatest.
What did these initiates learn at the Mystery Schools? And why is the knowledge gained at these temples of such importance in today’s age of information overload, institutional decay, and the search for true knowledge? The objective of this week’s edition of Ancient Wisdom is to provide these answers. The information contained within this edition is not based on mythological accounts but rather based on the history of the oldest university in human history, along with the core principle that remains relevant today: that the laws governing the planets above are the same as the laws of the soul within.
The Problem the Mystery Schools Refused to Ignore
For orthodox theologians at this point in history most importantly are those who expect everyone to obey the gods (deities), have faith in a pantheon of distant and judgmental gods, and accept the limitations of humanity. Mystery School initiates began with a much broader theme, something that most of their contemporaries would have tried their best to avoid – and that is that a very frightening and beautiful idea is that everything we see in the world is governed by laws that are hidden from us, but these hidden laws are accessible through our own intelligence, and can also be understood by the human soul.
We love to believe that the world itself is a creation that has been done perfectly, and that it is governed entirely by benevolent gods. We also want to believe that suffering is simply a test or punishment, and that we have a path to salvation that exists outside of us. We all need to feel secure in our lives, we need certainty and we need to have clearly defined rules for living. We need our spirituality to be so simple that we can manage it with a ritual. All the educated minds of the world at that time believed in the separation between the gods and humans, and that they were ruling over humanity from above.
Thus, the first statement made in the theology of the Mystery Schools is that the creator of the material world has given us a blueprint and that we can read that blueprint. As you can see, the beginning of this philosophy may feel very disorienting. However, it is important to realize that the Mystery School initiates were not attempting to give humanity a reason to feel hopeless, but rather to tell the truth. They were not saying that life does not have meaning, but they were saying that we do not find meaning by pretending that the suffering and cruelty of this physically manifested world is part of a perfectly divinely ordained plan that we cannot comprehend. The literal interpretations of myth, religious authority and our own self-recrimination that most of us continue to grasp, are nothing more than illusions. The universe is not going to shape itself to fit our need for orthodox theology. The material world is a manifestation of the divine, true laws are hidden from us, and the only way to attain salvation is to awaken from the illusion created by our superficial view of reality.
The initiates of the Mystery Schools taught that life was a subjective experience. We experience life in a never-ending state of being. We exist in an infinite expanding sphere of spirituality, and our minds continue to view life as being confined to an unchanging and external environment. This limitation creates suffering and ignorance. The initiation into the Mystery Schools was not an invention of the concept of inner divinity, but a choice by the initiates to recognize that there indeed exists a divine spark within man and therefore to deal with it accordingly.
The Three Pillars of the Mystery Schools: A Radical Diagnosis
The Mystery Schools’ major discovery is referred to as their esoteric theology. These concepts are a diagnosis of the state of human ignorance, and a route out of our spiritual shackles.
The first concept is The Keeper of All Knowledge.
The concept of The Keeper of All Knowledge refers to the god Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing and wisdom. Historically, it was believed that the gods were completely separate from humanity; however, Thoth provided tools to remedy the separation between humans and the gods. Thoth created writing, mathematics, astronomy, and magic; therefore, the Mystery Schools were temples to Thoth and were the only locations where initiates were taught the secret knowledge of the universe. Because the light that emanates from the Creator is pure, the initiates believed that the human soul must also be pure and is made of light. Therefore, there are no barriers between humans and the gods; there is only a lack of understanding. We are not miserable sinners awaiting external salvation; instead, we are pieces of divine light who have forgotten where we came from.
The second concept is The Weighing of the Heart.
Another significant piece of esoteric theology is the concept of The Weighing of the Heart. Upon examining the cruelty and imperfection of the material world, the initiates understood the true nature of the world. They believed that the foundation of Egyptian initiatory initiation was centered around Ma’at, which represented truth, justice and cosmic order. Therefore, in order to receive the most profound esoteric teachings, each initiate was required to demonstrate that his/her heart was lighter than a feather. The initiates taught that this purifying process was a prerequisite for aligning one’s soul with the divine order of the universe. We should not only worship the Creator of this flawed material world without question, but instead we should worship the hidden, transcendent cosmic laws of Ma’at that exist outside of our perception of the material world.
The third concept is As Above, So Below.
The most important tenet of Mystery School teaching was that of As Above So Below. This teaching is the foundation of the Philosophy of the Western Esoteric Schools. Rather than teaching salvation through blind faith or external rituals performed by an organized religion, the Mystery Schools taught that through understanding that there are the same laws governing the human soul that govern the heavens. Through knowing the self, we can know the cosmos. The concept of As Above, So Below is the foundation upon which all of Western Esotericism is based. Since the Divine Spark is within, salvation cannot come from an external source. The master initiate is never separate from God; rather, the master initiate becomes freed by awakening to his/her own true essence through becoming conscious of the Divine Spark that is present within.
A visual guide to the forbidden theology of the Egyptian Mystery Schools.
Why the Mystery Schools Still Feel So Modern
Civilisation changes on a continuum and has affected every other area of human experience beside our perceptions of historical events.
Due to the increasing amount of mistrust in institutions, growingly interconnectedness through technology globally, and people seeking spiritual connection for themselves (to be who they truly are), now we experience feelings of alienation, and a need to search for answers to our deepest existential questions, and that we are looking for authentic experiences, at rates that surpass any other culture captured in recorded history.
As a result of this phenomenon, society continues to tell its members that certainty and safety can only be achieved by relying on a rigid authority figure (the establishment or a government, etc), tribal identity (what tribe they belong to) or through the illusion of successful material possessions (having something to show for their years of work).
Through historical records, we find that no matter what happens to an individual, their mind always seeks to find truth or something absolute, therefore creating a situation where they can never be totally free from a constant outside demand.
Even today, individuals that come from the background of being initiated into Mystery Schools still very closely identify with the words and teachings of the Mystery Schools. This is due to the understanding that although suffering arises from the things we go through in life (suffering comes from life), it can also arise from our greatest unwillingness to look within ourselves (our minds) for our connection to the divine.
Evidence of this exists across our experiences of daily life. Consider the person who goes through a spiritual crisis; he/she will often react defensively and tend to grasp even tighter to their external form of spirituality and have a very hard time letting go of that external form.
When an individual faces the vastness of modern institutional failure or when an individual feels that he/she has failed to achieve the proper spiritual path through society’s attempts to force them into rigid belief systems, this will often cause him/her to fear, feel meaninglessness, and retreat to, or embrace, a narrow-minded dogmatic belief system (i.e. hellfire and brimstone or “no salvation but through the church”).
We build an identity based upon being “saved” by an outside force, only to later discover that the true nature of the human experience is always a diverse, complex, and ever-changing inner world that constantly challenges our beliefs.
Initiates of the Mystery Schools were the first to identify this pattern of humanity. To be human is not just to go through life; we are always clinging to and pushing away from the universe with the expectations of how we want to be saved, which leads to our eventual defence against those expectations.
Therefore, the teachings from the Mystery Schools are much more than simple historical references; they represent a body of teachings that provide a framework for human beings to better understand who they are as conscious beings engaged in a never-ending quest for truth, and help provide a framework for many mental and emotional responses to the hardships that one has experienced during their lifetime.
Three Practices for an Initiate’s Mind
The philosophy of the Mystery Schools is powerful because of the things that a practitioner practices. If the initiates lived in today’s world, they would encourage all of us to not only admire their hidden texts, but to put them into practice.
Here are three suggestions for how to begin putting these concepts into practice:
1. The “Keeper of Knowledge” Reflection
Be mindful of the thoughts in your mind throughout the course of your day and how often you view yourself as being inherently flawed, unworthy, or separate from the goodness of the Universe. This could happen in a moment of self-criticism, during moments of feeling like you have failed at something, or as a part of your belief system regarding how you should be punished.
If you notice that you are about to take an action based upon the self-condemnation you are experiencing, simply pause to remember this one thing.
“Is it possible that no matter what mistake I have made, there is still at the core of who I am a pure, unblemished God essence?”
When you stop in that moment and take a breath and reflect upon the positive “God essence” that is at the centre of who you are, you are truly practising what the Mystery Schools encourage. You begin to separate yourself from the self-condemnation of your ego and enter into a deeper state of self-compassion. This practice is not meant to suggest that you do not need to grow; it is intended to build your awareness that if you are able to see the illusion of being unworthy as untrue, you will release some of the “hold” that it has over you.
2. The “Weighing of the Heart” Practice
Once a day, take a few minutes to reflect upon everything you want to own and the enormous amount of time and energy required to acquire it. The idea of “Weighing of the Heart” doesn’t only have to do with being judged in the afterlife for the things we accumulated here, but can also refer to all of the systems of oppression, societal expectations, and materialistic desires that demand your worship today.
As you navigate the external pressures placed upon you this week, consider asking yourself the following: “Am I giving my ultimate allegiance to a flawed, temporary system, or am I remembering my connection to something higher and more enduring, and aligning my heart with truth and justice?”
The above question is one of the fundamental lessons of the Mystery Schools: We are truly suffering when we fail to recognize that the material world is not the ultimate reality. If you spend time reflecting upon the fleeting nature of the demands of society upon you, you will begin to see through the illusion that the only way to be successful is to be materially successful, which will allow you to approach life with greater calmness, less reactivity, and greater spiritual freedom.
3. Seeking “As Above, So Below”
The Mystery Schools teach that the journey to enlightenment is not simply an intellectual understanding of how to relate to ourselves and others but also how we interact with the world around us. As you go through your daily routines this week, pay attention to one instance where you would typically have looked to an external authority (a book, a guru, or societal consensus) for an answer to a deep, personal question. Instead, stop and look inward to find the answer, trusting that you have access to the truth within you, and that the laws of the universe are reflected in your inner being. Cast away the need to seek validation only from outside sources.
The view of the Mystery Schools is that we are all manifestations of an infinite, living, spiritual reality, and this spiritual truth cannot be contained in rigid institutionalized form. The truth is alive and available to you in your immediate inner experience, your intuitive feelings, and your present-moment awareness of the truth. Thus, each time you break the cycle of reliance upon outside sources for your answers or truths and begin to trust your own inner light, you will come into connection with the power of the universe, which is the basis for awakening. Awakened consciousness is not simply a “feeling”; it is the result of a disciplined, conscious choice to seek the divine presence within yourself.
The Freedom the Mystery Schools Achieved
Although the Mystery Schools do offer great possibilities for awakening within, they do not guarantee that their promises will be easily accepted by mainstream society. They provide something much greater than the approval of orthodox beliefs; they provide a way for an individual to free their soul completely. As a result of this new perspective on life, however, you will face resistance from others. But through your new perspective, you will no longer experience fear due to external judgement.
You will continue to experience moments when you feel confined or trapped within the material world, but that does not mean you need to create an identity based upon this confinement. You will still live in a society where individuals must conform; therefore, you do not have to submit yourself to spiritual incarceration.
You will continue to live in a world that is in a constant state of change; therefore, you do not need to wait for an eventual saviour before you will be able to realise your direct connection with God.
It has been thousands of years since the Egyptian Mystery Schools were at their highest, but their teachings remain relevant in today’s world. People are still going through a process where they feel unworthy and depend upon others; however, the basic pattern of creation maintains a spark of light hidden within every person.
The reason why initiates of these schools knew the secret knowledge was not due to pride; the knowledge was available to those who were willing to risk their safety through orthodoxy in order to attain the highest levels of truth and understanding.
The true nature of the Mystery Schools’ philosophies reflects the same tension between opposing worlds and the promise that one can be free through a connection to these higher frequencies of God.
The first stage of the Mystery Schools’ teachings is the frightening realisation that the material world holds imperfections; however, the teaching concludes with the belief that there exists within the universe an experience of spiritual courage, boundless inner exploration, and a connection to the law of the Universe that is available for every person. In today’s world, where so many people are building walls of dogma, and submitting to outside authority, the Mystery School teaches something of great value that is not as common as dogma – that you do not require a saviour to identify your divinity.
If you have found a way to remove yourself from your need for a saviour, you have then connected yourself to your own eternal kingdom.
By Dr Ioannis Syrigos
Recommended Reading
The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead translated by Raymond O. Faulkner