Universal Doctrines
“Behind the veil of all mystical allegories of ancient doctrines [teachings], behind the darkness and strange ordeals of all initiations, under the seal of all sacred writings…in the cryptic emblems of our old books on alchemy, in the ceremonies practiced at reception by all secret societies, there are found indications of a doctrine which is everywhere the same.”
–Eliphas Levi (a.k.a. Alphonse Louis Constant, French Writer, Historian and Magician, 1810-1875)
Symbols of Oneness
“The common origin of the human race is proved by the universal themes of folklore [and] legend…. Orientalism, the study of comparative religion, mythology, cultural anthropology, the history of civilization and art, esotericism, psychoanalysis, and symbolological research have all combined to provide us with ample material to substantiate psychological truth, and this essential oneness.”
–J.E. Cirlot (a.k.a. Juan Eduardo Cirlot Laporta, Spanish Poet, Art critic, Hermeneutist, Mythologist, Musician and Writer, 1916-1973)
The Law of Correspondences
“The law of correspondences is the foundation of all symbolism and by virtue of it every thing proceeding essentially from a metaphysical principle, which is the source of its reality, translates and expresses this principle in its own way and according to its own level of existence, so that all things are related and joined together in total, universal harmony which is, in its many guises, a reflection of its own fundamental unity.”
–René Guénon (a.k.a. Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya, French Intellectual, Metaphysician and Writer on the Perennial Philosophy, 1886-1951)
