The Forbidden Universe: The Origins of Science and the Search for the Mind of God

by Lynn Picknett

  de Duve, Christian 1, 2, 3, 4

  Dee, John 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

  delayed choice thought-experiment 1

  Demiurge 1, 2, 3, 4

  Descartes, René 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Digges, Thomas 1, 2, 3

  Discovery of the Order of the Rosicrucians (Fama) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  divine spark 1, 2

  DNA 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Dobzhansky, Theodosius 1, 2, 3, 4

  Donne, John 1

  double-slit experiment 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Dr Who 1

  dragonflies 1

  Egypt

  enduring civilization 1

  Greek and Roman rule 1, 2, 3, 4

  Heliopolitan theology 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  hieroglyphs 1, 2

  prisca sapientia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Einstein, Albert 1, 2, 3, 4

  Elizabeth I of England 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Elizabeth of Bohemia 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Emerald Tablet 1, 2, 3

  English Civil War 1, 2

  erotic love, as portal to Hermetic illumination 1, 2

  eukaryotes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  evolutionary theory 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  adaptation 1, 2

  convergent evolution 1, 2, 3, 4

  creationism 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Darwinian 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  divergent evolution 1, 2

  evolutionary directionality 1

  intelligent design (ID) 1, 2, 3, 4

  natural selection 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

  neo-Darwinian synthesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  punctuated equilibrium 1, 2

  purposeful evolution 1

  quantum evolution 1, 2

  speciation 1

  stasis 1

  Fabri de Peirsec, Nicolas Claude 1

  female side of learning and understanding 1

  Feynman, Richard P. 1, 2, 3, 4

  Ficino, Marsilio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Corpus Hermeticum translation 1, 2

  Three Books on Life 1

  Flamel, Nicolas 1

  Fludd, Robert 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  formaldehyde 1, 2

  Fortune, Dion 1

  fossil record 1, 2, 3, 4

  Frederick V, Elector Palatine 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Freemasonry 1, 2, 3, 4

  Gaia hypothesis 1, 2

  Galileo, Galilei 1, 2

  astrology 1

  astronomy 1, 2

  before the Inquisition 1, 2, 3, 4

  and Bruno 1, 2, 3

  and Campanella 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  death of 1

  Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  disavowal of numerology 1

  Galilean relativity 1

  and heliocentricity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  and Hermeticism 1, 2, 3, 4

  major contributions to science 1, 2

  optics 1

  public recantation 1

  genetics 1, 2, 3, 4

  genetic mutation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  genetic recombination 1, 2

  germ theory of disease 1

  Gilbert, William 1

  Giordanisti 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

  Global Consciousness Project 1, 2, 3, 4

  Globe Theatre 1

  glycine 1, 2

  Gnosticism 1, 2, 3, 4

  God

  debate about the existence of 1, 2

  Hermetic God 1, 2

  Judeo-Christian 1, 2, 3, 4

  quest for the mind of God 1

  as Ultimate Observer 1

  see also Jesus

  Gould, Stephen Jay 1, 2, 3, 4

  Grand Universal Designer (GUD) 1, 2, 3, 4

  gravitational lensing 1

  gravity theory 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Habsburg monarchy 1, 2, 3

  Harran 1

  Hartlib, Samuel 1, 2, 3, 4

  Antilia 1, 2, 3, 4

  Harvey, William 1

  Havel, Václav 1

  Hawking, Stephen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

  Hawking-Hartle state 1

  Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 1

  heliocentric theory

  Catholic Church and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Copernicus’ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Hermetic reverence for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Protestant Church and 1

  Heliopolis 1, 2

  Heliopolitan theology 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Henri III of France 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Henri IV of France (Henry of Navarre) 1, 2, 3

  Hermes (Greek deity) 1

  Hermes Trismegistus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  as Egyptian sage 1, 2

  as pagan prophet 1, 2

  characteristics 1

  earliest reference to 1

  ‘Thrice Great’ epithet 1

  Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 1

  Hermetic texts

  alchemy 1

  ancient Egyptian wisdom 1, 2, 3, 4

  Arabic translations 1

  astrology and astronomy 1, 2

  and biblical parallels 1, 2

  Casaubon’s redating of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  cosmology 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Egyptian/Hellenic stylistic hybrid 1

  Greek language composition 1, 2

  and Heliopolitan theology 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  magic 1

  multiple authorship 1

  period of composition 1, 2

  philosophy 1, 2

  sources 1

  see also specific texts

  Hermeticism 1

  anima mundi 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  attitude to divinity and humankind 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  becomes province of the occult underground 1

  Church demonization of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  compatibility with Christianity 1, 2

  creation account 1, 2

  cult centres 1, 2, 3

  diverges from science 1

  in England 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  in France 1, 2, 3

  and Gnosticism 1

  and heliocentrism 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Hermetic God 1, 2

  Hermetic Renaissance 1, 2, 3

  Hermeticized science 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

  motto 1

  and Neoplatonism 1, 2, 3, 4

  prejudice against 1, 2, 3

  quest for the mind of God 1

  Sabian Hermeticism 1

  sacred sexuality 1, 2

  survival of 1

  tainted by heresy and diabolism 1

  as true original religion 1, 2, 3

  Hermopolis 1

  Herodotus 1

  Hess, Tobias 1, 2

  Hitchens, Christopher 1, 2

  holistic nature of existence 1

  Hooke, Robert 1, 2

  Hooker, Joseph Dalton 1

  Hortus Palatinus 1

  Horus 1, 2, 3

  House of Wisdom, Baghdad 1

  Hoyle, Fred 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

  humanism 1, 2

  Iamblichus of Syria 1, 2

  Idris, prophet 1

  Illuminati 1, 2

  Imhotep 1, 2, 3

  immortality 1

  infinitesimal calculus 1, 2, 3

  information theory 1

  Innocent VIII, Pope 1, 2, 3

  Inquisition 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

  intelligence 1, 2

  intelligent design (ID) 1, 2, 3, 4

  interstellar dust 1, 2, 3

  Invisible College 1

  Invisibles scare 1, 2, 3, 4

  Isis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  James I of England 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Jesuits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Jesus

  as gifted magus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Hermetic parallels 1, 2

  and return of Judaism to Egyptian roots 1, 2

  Jews, Judaism 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  John Paul II, Pope 1

  John the Baptist 1, 2, 3

  Kelley, Edward 1

  Kepler, Johannes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Keynes, John Maynard 1

  Kircher, Athanasius 1, 2

  astronomy 1

  and Bernini 1, 2, 3, 4

  and Bruno 1

  cosmology 1, 2

  Egyptology 1, 2

  evolutionary theory 1

  Hermeticism 1, 2

  Lactantius 1

  laws of motion 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm 1, 2

  art of memory 1, 2

  binary system 1, 2

  and Bruno 1

  calculus 1

  infinitesimal calculus 1, 2

  metaphysical inspiration 1

  monadology 1, 2

  Rosicrucian sympathizer 1, 2

  life

  building blocks of 1, 2, 3

  as cosmic imperative 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  membrane formation 1, 2

  three requisites of 1

  lipids 1

  living fossils 1

  Louis XIV of France 1

  Lovelock, James 1

  LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) 1, 2

  Luther, Martin 1, 2

  M-theory 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  magic

  as legitimate Christian activity 1

  Hermetic texts 1

  natural magic 1

  Renaissance interest in 1, 2

  sex magic 1

  split between magic and science 1

  talismanic magic 1

  magical worldview hardwired into humanity 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  magnetism 1, 2

  Magus, Simon 1

  Maier, Michael 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  mammals 1, 2

  Manetho 1, 2, 3, 4

  Mars 1

  Martinism 1

  mechanist philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  Medici, Catherine de’ 1, 2, 3

  Medici, Cosimo de’ 1

  Medici, Cosimo II de’ 1, 2

  Medici, Lorenzo de’ 1, 2

  Medici, Marie de’ 1

  memory systems 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Memphis 1, 2

  Mendel, Gregor 1

  Mersenne, Marin 1, 2

  meteorites 1, 2, 3

  Miller, Stanley L. 1

  mindduality 1

  Mocenigo, Zuan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  molecular biology 1

  monadology 1, 2

  Moray, Sir Robert 1, 2

  More, Henry 1, 2

  Moses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  multiverse hypothesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Nag Hammadi texts 1, 2

  NASA Ames Research Center 1, 2

  natural selection 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

  Neoplatonism 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Egyptian origins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Newton, Isaac 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  calculus 1

  esoteric interests 1, 2

  gravity theory 1, 2, 3, 4

  Hermeticism 1, 2

  infinitesimal calculus 1

  laws of motion 1, 2, 3

  light theory 1, 2

  optics 1, 2

  Principia Mathematica 1, 2, 3, 4

  proves Copernicus’ theory 1, 2

  and Rosicrucianism 1

  and the Royal Society 1, 2, 3

  spiritual beliefs 1

  noetics 1

  noosphere 1, 2

  nuclear physics 1, 2

  numerology 1

  obelisk-raising 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Occam’s razor 1

  occult philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4

  Oldenburg, Henry 1

  optics 1, 2, 3

  Origen 1

  original sin, doctrine of 1

  Osiander, Andreas 1

  Osiris 1, 2, 3

  Otherness 1, 2

  Panopolis 1

  pansophic college 1, 2

  panspermia 1, 2, 3, 4

  Paracelsus 1, 2, 3

  parapsychology (psi) 1, 2, 3

  participatory anthropic principle (PAP) 1, 2, 3, 4

  particle physics 1, 2

  Patrizi, Francesco 1

  Paul III, Pope 1, 2

  Paul V, Pope 1, 2

  Philo of Alexandria 1

  philosophia perennis 1

  photosynthesis 1

  physics 1, 2, 3, 4

  Pico della Mirandola, Giovanni 1, 2, 3, 4

  and Cabala 1

  and Ficino 1

  imprisonment 1, 2

  and magic 1

  Oration on the dignity of man 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Pinelli, Gian Vincenzo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  de Pistoia, Leonardo 1

  planetary motion, laws of 1, 2, 3

  see also heliocentric theory

  Plato 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Academy 1, 2, 3

  archetypes, theory of 1

  Plotinus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  Plutarch of Athens 1, 2

  Poliphilo’s Strife of Love in a Dream 1, 2

  polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 1, 2, 3

  Porphyry of Tyre 1

  Porta, Giovanni Battista della 1

  precognition 1

  ‘primordial soup’ 1, 2, 3

  prisca philosophia 1

  prisca sapientia 1

  prisca theologia 1, 2, 3

  prokaryotes 1, 2, 3

  Protestant Church 1, 2

  and heliocentricity 1

  France 1, 2

  and Hermeticism 1

  and Rosicrucianism 1

  Protestant Reformation 1, 2, 3, 4

  Psellus 1

  psychokinesis 1

  Ptah 1

  Ptolemy, Earth-centred model 1

  punctuated equilibrium 1, 2

  Pyramid Texts 1, 2, 3, 4

  quantum evolution 1, 2

  quantum theory 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

  quarks 1

  Qur’an 1, 2

  Ra/Re (Atum-Ra) 1, 2

  Random Event Generators (REGs) 1, 2

  Rees, Martin 1, 2, 3, 4

  relativity theory 1, 2

  religion and science debate 1, 2

  Renaissance 1, 2, 3

  French relocation 1, 2

  Hermetic Renaissance 1, 2, 3

  interest in the magical 1, 2

  and occult philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4

  resonance 1

  Richelieu, Cardinal 1, 2, 3, 4

  RNA 1, 2

  Rosenkreutz, Christian 1, 2, 3

  Rosicrucianism 1

  alchemical philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4

  and the Alchemical Wedding 1, 2, 3, 4

  anti-Rosicrucian paranoia 1, 2

  continuation of Hermetic reform 1, 2

  foundation myth 1

  Fraternity of the Rose Cross 1, 2, 3, 4

  and the Giordanisti 1, 2

  in England 1, 2, 3, 4

  in France 1, 2

  in Germany 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

  Invisibles 1, 2, 3

  rose and cross symbolism 1

  Rosicrucian manifestos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  secret societies 1, 2, 3

  seeks return to primitive Christianity 1

  shamanism 1

  Royal Society

  foundation 1, 2, 3, 4

  and Freemasonry 1

  and intelligence-gathering activities 1

  motto 1, 2

  Newton’s presidency 1, 2

  rejects Hermetic/Rosicrucian model 1, 2, 3, 4

  royal charter 1

  Rudolph II, Emperor 1, 2, 3, 4

  Sabians 1, 2

  sacred sexuality 1, 2

  salvation 1

  Samaritans 1

  Santa Maria sopra Minerva 1, 2, 3

  Saqqara 1, 2

  Sarpi, Paolo 1

  Schönborn, Christoph 1

  scientific atheism 1, 2

  scientific method 1, 2

  scientific rationalism 1, 2, 3, 4

  scientific revolutio
n 1, 2, 3

  scientism 1, 2, 3

  Scottish Covenanters 1

  senescence see ageing phenomenon

  Serapeum 1, 2, 3

  Serapis cult 1, 2, 3

  sexual evolution 1, 2

  sexual reproduction 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  Shakespeare, William

  Globe Theatre 1

  Hamlet 1, 2, 3

  and the heliocentric debate 1, 2

  Love’s Labour’s Lost 1

  Love’s Labour’s Won 1

  The Tempest 1

  shamanism 1, 2

  Shelley, Percy Bysshe 1

  Sidney, Sir Philip 1, 2, 3

  simulated universes concept 1

  Sixtus V, Pope 1, 2

  Smolin, Lee 1, 2, 3

  Societas Christiana 1, 2

  space-time curvature 1

  speciation 1, 2

  Spencer, Herbert 1

  stars 1, 2

  Stobaeus 1

  Stoker, Bram 1

  string theory 1, 2, 3

  subconscious mind 1

  Sufism 1

  supernovae 1

  superstition 1, 2

  Susskind, Leonard 1, 2, 3

  talismanic magic 1

  tantrism 1

  Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  telepathy 1

  telescopes 1, 2, 3

  Theodosius I, Emperor 1, 2

  Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria 1, 2

  theoretical physics 1, 2, 3

  theurgy 1, 2, 3

  Thirty Years War 1, 2, 3, 4

  Thoth 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  time asymmetry 1

  transubstantiation 1

  triple minimum, doctrine of 1, 2, 3

  triple-alpha process 1

  Ultimate Observer 1, 2

  universe

  anthropic principle 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

  big bang theory 1, 2, 3, 4

  designed for intelligent life 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

  expansion 1

  infinite universe 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  multiverse hypothesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

  participatory universe hypothesis 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

  simulated universes concept 1

  see also creation story; world systems

  Urban VIII, Pope 1, 2, 3

  Urey, Harold 1

  vacuum energy 1, 2, 3, 4

  da Vinci, Leonardo 1, 2

  Virgin of the World, The 1, 2

  Walsingham, Francis 1

  Watson, James D. 1, 2

  wave-particle duality 1

  Webster, John 1

  Weinberg, Steven 1

  Wense, Wilhelm 1

  Wheeler, John Archibald 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

  Wickramasinghe, Chandra 1, 2, 3, 4

  Wilkins, John 1, 2, 3, 4

  witchcraft 1

  world systems

  biblical theory 1, 2

  heliocentric 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

  hybrid model 1, 2

  Ptolemaic 1, 2, 3, 4

  Worthington, John 1, 2, 3, 4

  Wotton, Sir Henry 1

  Wren, Sir Christopher 1

  Yeats, W. B. 1

  Young, Thomas 1

  The famous page from Copernicus On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres (1543) showing his world-changing diagram of the sun-centred solar system. Less famously, just four lines below, he acknowledges his inspiration, the esoteric works of ‘Trismegistus’ – the legendary Egyptian sage Thrice-Great Hermes.