What tradition can remain to us of those generations that have not left us a single written line? … Fortunately, the past never completely dies for man. Man may forget it, but he always preserves it within him. For, take him at any epoch, and he is the product, the epitome, of all the earlier epochs. Let him look into his own soul, and he can find and distinguish these different epochs by what each of them has left behind.
~ Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, The Ancient City

What we see described here is a method to uncover tradition. Like an archeologist at a site, we dig deeper and deeper into the soul to uncover more and more layers. Mr. Fustel studies legends and rites preserved by later Romans in order to extrapolate backwards to more ancient times. He also makes connections to the Vedas and Laws of Manu, which have been preserved until our time. Mr. Fustel was neither an esoterist nor a Hermetist, yet he understood this method. How much more, then, can a Hermetist uncover in a similar manner.

A simple Internet search will display incessant arguments about whether or not such and such a writer (e.g., Aurobindo) is a “traditionalist” or which “tradition” is more suitable. These discussions are along the lines of which tattoo to buy; different tattoos may appeal to different types of men, yet it will never be more than skin deep. Gornahoor is not interested in such debates, since there is only one Tradition: call it the Hyperborean Tradition, or the Indo-European, or La Tradizione Romana. The way to understand it is to return to the Primordial State, deep within the soul. Hermetists do not recognize each other through their erudition, but rather through their depth.

Thus, Gornahoor wants to change the terms of the discussion. Whatever your exoteric path, your “tattoo” as it were, there are some common elements. The Hermetist must undergo the three trials. He must master the four elements. He understands the cosmic and juridical order. He practices Hermetic meditation. He must have drunk the silence, by calming the oscillations of the mind. He understands the esoteric meaning of power and his True Will.

In short, this path is not for the man with a pedigree but rather for the Twice-born, or noble man. This path is not for the man with a degree, but rather for the man of power. This path is not for the specialist, but rather for the genius.