We are currently in the Chinese New Year and not all that far from our own. We have finished with the crass commercialism surrounding the celebration of the Christians’ Master and are heading into the other pagan season in honour of the goddess Estara, the goddess of fertility whose ancient pre-Christian symbols are the egg and the hare or rabbit.

In my Christmas series I suggested that you remember that the Pilgrim Fathers whom we are supposed to honor, kept Christmas as a fast day, and no celebrations were allowed. The –ism worshipped today in this country is Commercialism, the God of which is money and its derivative, power.

There is an inspired, possibly divinely inspired set of writings that have brought civilization, culture, activity of thought, and receptiveness to humane feeling whenever and wherever they have surfaced throughout history.

This set of writings has been difficult to find recently except in scholarly treatises with more footnotes than main content. And the footnotes are usually by people who have little idea of what they are dealing with. I speak of the set of writings known as the Hermetica, since the Greeks gave them that name in the 2^nd century C.E.