PYTHAGOREAN BROTHERHOOD

By Anders Sandberg (nv91-asa@oder.nada.kth.se)

History

The Pythagoreans were a minor tradition during the classic Greek era, an offshoot of Greek philosophy and eastern ideas. It was founded by Pythagoras himself around 500 BC. Many stories have been told about him and his achievements. It is said that he could do almost anything; He competed and won prizes in the Olympic wrestling games when he was only eighteen years old. He travelled to Egypt and Babylonia to learn the ancient wisdom of the priests. He could tame a bear or stop the eagle in the air with a few magickal words. He was a masterful musician and physician. When Polykrates became tyrant on his native Samos, Pythagoras left and moved to Crotone in southern Italy (this is a historical fact). Here he founded his school of philosophy and mysticism, and spent much time in thought in a cave, discovering the hidden truths of the universe and writing them down in small legends or laws.

The sect was strict, ascetic and centralised. Members swore an oath of silence and weren't allowed to say anything until they had listened to the teachings of the Master for five years. The authority of the Master was total, his word was not to be questioned in any way whatsoever (this is the source of the idiom "Iurare in verba magistri", "to swear on the word of the teacher"). All results were attributed to the sect or to the Master, not to their discoverers who remained anonymous. They were strict vegetarians, and were also prohibited from eating beans since they were thought to house the souls of the dead. The students were taught mathematics (mainly geometry, it's highest form), music, astronomy and magick.

The Pythagoreans taught that the planets (including the invisible Anti-Earth on the other side of the Sun), the Moon and the Sun were fixed on great spheres of crystal, rotating around a central fire. Their motions creates the exquisite harmony of the spheres, which ordinary people cannot hear because they are too used to it. The Pythagoreans made no distinction between music, mathematics and magick. Music was found to be based upon subtle mathematical laws, and so was magick. Everything in the universe follows mathematical laws and is created out of the geometrical interactions of the numbers, which are the true basis of reality. Each number is holy and has its own powers. One is the indivisible monad, creating everything out of itself. Two is the pure duality, perfect balance between opposites. Three is the number of the gods, while four is the number of the material world (hence the four elements). And so on. This became the foundation of the numerology that the Order of Hermes adopted.

The Pythagoreans believed in the eastern idea that the soul is divine and immortal, and that it does reincarnate after each death. It is imprisoned in our imperfect material bodies as a punishment. The goal for all rational people is to break free from this prison. The only way this can be achieved is by seeing and understanding the true reality.

In the tradition of Greek philosophy, the Pythagoreans were more thinkers and mystics than practical mages. They regarded the external use of magick (or mathematics) as filthy, and avoided it at all costs. Instead they turned inwards, studying the secrets of the universe. They did not want to reveal anything to the unworthy people outside the group, preferring to keep silence on the great truth they knew.

The Pythagoreans were mainly interested in the nature of space and geometry, having Correspondence as main sphere. However, they studied all of reality with equal zeal. Their interest was mainly theoretical and directed more towards understanding the world than influencing it. Most Pythagoreans learned many spheres, but often just to a basic level, enough to see the relevant aspect of reality, which they then began to study. To actually use a sphere to change reality was abhorrent to them. Instead they turned inwards, trying to perfect their understanding of the cosmic harmony. To focus their minds they used music (especially string instruments like harps and lutes), geometry and meditation.

The Pythagoreans became influential in the politics of Crotone. Their asceticism contrasted strongly to the hedonism of the nearby city of Sybaris, which they fought and finally destroyed. They also strongly supported the aristocracy, regarding it as self-evident that a few competent people could run things better than the great masses. As the democratic movement won power in southern Italy in the 4th century BC, the Pythagoreans became persecuted. However, they persisted well into the 3rd century despite the persecutions and the dissolution of their rigid hierarchy.

Their ideas were adopted by Plato and through him later influenced the Gnostics and the Order of Hermes (and the Technocracy to some extent). The sect was never forgotten, and small groups may have revived its ideas and practices at different times and places. Its ideas seem to have survived with a surprising tenacity.

Philosophy

"Everything is created out of the whole numbers. From their ratios, differences and sums everything is made. The spheres are arranged by their immutable laws, rotating in eternal harmony. In the same way we can attain perfect harmony with the cosmos by opening our minds to the truth of numbers."

Organisation

The Pythagoreans were probably organised (or disorganised) like a normal Greek school of philosophy. In the centre was the Master, which everyone had to listen to and obey. Around him was a circle of trusted friends and students, which performed most of the teaching and training. The acolytes and new students had the least status, and were not permitted to speak.

Meetings

Whenever the Master called his students, or whenever there was a particular need. There was no special celebrations or feasts in the group.

Initiation

After spending five years listening to the teachings in total silence, the student was left in a cave to meditate. If he had understood the teachings correctly and had the right type of mind, he would then be able to hear the harmony of the spheres. If he succeeded, he was made a full member of the group, while if he failed he was thrown out or forced to remain silent for five more years.

Chantry

There were never any true chantries except for the meeting places of the group in Crotone. However, the caves and beaches nearby were often used for meditation, teaching and musical experiments best performed beyond the reach of the ears of mortals.

Acolytes

Philosophers, young nobles, politicians, mathematical cranks

Sphere

Correspondence. The Pythagoreans regarded geometry as the highest form of mathematics, and the field most worthy of study. The relations between points, lines, circles and other figures provided an endless source of mysteries to understand. However, they also strived to perfect their understanding of music and acoustics (using Time and Forces), the mental world and the world of spirits.

Foci

• All spheres: Geometric constructions. To fully understand something, the Pythagoreans had to see how it related to the fundamental concepts creating everything, the numbers and geometrical objects. Everything they studied was carefully drawn and analysed. They generally made diagrams and constructions using ruler and compass in fine sand, sometimes engraving them in wax.

• Mind, Time: Meditation. Many Pythagoreans followed the Master by learning to listen to their inner voices, understanding their own (and others) minds.

• Forces, Life, Spirit, Prime: Music. By playing the harp or lute the pythagoreans could create vibrations showing the subtle properties of surrounding objects. It also gave them the ability to see how the vibrations they created interacted with the music of the spheres. Some music was harmonious with it, and enforced and healed. Other kinds of music was discordant and could hurt or cause dangerous effects. Quite understandably the pythagoreans took music seriously, and couldn't stand if it was played incorrectly or poorly.

Concepts

Philosopher, mathematician, hermit, musician

Quote

"The Golden Ratio manifests in the whole of creation. Take the ratio of the length of a man and the height of his navel. The ratio of the sides of the Great Temple. The ratio between the long and short sides of a pentagram. Why is this? Because the ratio of the Whole to the Greater is the ratio of the Greater to the Lesser."

Rotes

The Pythagoreans disliked using magick to influence reality, so they didn't approve of most rotes except passive methods to study the world. Only in desperate cases did they use their knowledge in any direct way. Another fact is that much of their magick today is coincidental or even considered to be science. Calculating sizes from a distance using trigonometry is no longer magick, it is mathematics.

Measurement (Correspondence 1 Mind 1)

By simply watching something in the distance and then performing a few simple calculations, a Pythagorean could easily count the number of objects, their distances and relations with each other.

Absolute Tuning (Forces 1 Mind 1)

By performing geometrical calculations while listening to the sound of an instrument, the pythagoreans could tune it perfectly, giving it almost unearthly perfect sound. This was reputed to be done by calculating how to tune the instrument in accordance with the harmony of the spheres. This could at least in theory be done to anything, causing it to resonate with the spheres.

The Fall of Sybaris (Mind 2 Life 2)

The enmity between the ascetic Pythagoreans in Crotone and the hedonistic Sybarites of Sybaris led to several wars. In the end the Pythagoreans won through psychology and cunning. The Sybaritic army was extravagantly dressed and equipped. The horses of the cavalry was trained to move to music for use in the many parades of Sybaris. The Pythagoreans simply let their musicians play a happy melody, which made the horses dance. With the cavalry out of the way, the Pythagoreans could easily capture Sybaris, which they destroyed totally.

Cosmic Meditation (Correspondence 3 Mind 1 Entropy 1)

Pythagoras himself spent much time meditating on geometric problems, developing elaborate and subtle theories. By employing his knowledge of the harmony of the spheres in his work, he could guide himself to levels of greater understanding and eliminate the chance of making random errors. He could spend days watching how the pure geometrical relationships which made up the universe interacted, and extract deep insights from them.

[ The mage enters a deep intellectual trance, where he is one with the realm of mathematics and logic. He can see the universe from this point of view, see the deep mathematical relations making it up, without even moving from his place. ]

Cosmic Disharmony (Correspondence 4 Entropy 4 Prime 2)

This rote was probably never used, but remained a theoretical application of the magick of the Pythagoreans. By very carefully setting up a resonance using music and geometry with the spheres, a link could be formed between the universe and an object or person. By suddenly throwing the music into discord the harmonious link could turn into a most deadly force, as the forces of the universe rips the object (or person) apart and spreads it across all of creation in an instant.

[ The mage colocates the affected object to many places at once, ties it to them using Prime and then releases it. The resulting effect will rip it apart using the inertia of the whole universe. Each success will make 4 damage levels, and the victim will be spread out over the universe, leaving no trace behind.]