New Esonet Project

by Athos A. Altomonte

© copyright 2007 by Esonet.it – Esonet.com

The Esonet Project originated from the idea of a Tree of small knowledge able to lead esotericism back to the condition of intellectualism necessary to bring back the principles of initiatory science.

We knew the symbolic meaning of the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life. The former was the metaphor of intellectual development, whilst the latter represented inner research.

If we had joined them we would have created a bad hybrid, since we knew that Initiation is made of two paths: an exterior one (the physical mind) and an inner one (subtle conscience); they ascend and intertwine but they don't blend (see Caduceus of Hermes) until the end, in the wings of the ‘ initiatory Synthesis '.

It has been necessary to prune the weakest branches to allow the Tree to grow and give good fruit. But we needed to be clear on what exactly to give ‘good fruit' meant.

The answer came from the friend Carlo Rondelli, webmaster of the Site ‘la Melagrana' ( The Pomegranate, Note of the Translator) : ‘ Many amateurs open sites to show off; when they don't know how to fill it they use ‘copy and paste' stealing each other's material. This is a form of media cannibalization due to the fact that they can't write, but only copy'.

The diagnosis was right; stolen material can't be a ‘good fruit'. Therefore we had the idea to improve our degree of originality, developing an Association of authors and creative artists who could produce original works able to illustrate scientific principles and rules of Art, with the purpose of correcting what surrounds and obscures initiatory orthodoxy.

This is how the Esonet Project has become a ‘ citadel of knowledge ', where every creative can open his own ‘Craftsman's Studio' to freely express himself and what he knows and to offer it to ‘those who look for answers'. We think that this interprets well the motto ‘work for the benefit of the humankind, dig dungeons not for vices (we are not priests) but for ignorance'. To ignore or to believe blindly are the worst enemies of light and truth.

Many ‘Studios' have opened around our Tree; it is likely that many more will open. This is an Association that has the value of the thought of those that work with thoughts in philosophical, scientific, ritualistic, hermetic, symbolic, mathematic, psychological and alchemic fields, to fight the chaos that has invaded the initiatory dimension as well.

The qualitative leap we aspire to is to bring the idea of esotericism from the infantile status of wondrousness to the initiatory dimension. This path is impracticable for those who still believe in miraculous shortcuts and who don't know that initiation consists only of the recognition that the transformation process has been accomplished.

During our meetings we have highlighted how the convergence of creative minds is an unusual but not random event, since on the mental planes as well there is the rule that ‘the simile attracts the simile'. An interesting theory says that the sum of many intellects can become the occasion for an exponential growth of all the participants. This postulate follows the energetic rules that move the operative groups; it should drive the most efficient to do the same, starting from the simplest form that is the triangle made of three people. The group of two should be avoided, since they can influence and confuse each other.

The Esonet Project expresses ancient metaphors and symbols but it is promotes new ideas. The ‘novelty' must not be considered as a cut to the roots of the esoteric thought, but as an attempt to re-define the cognitive and symbolic language linked to present culture. The aim is spiritual, intellectual and ethical growth of man; for this reason the instruments of thought are always useful. Since conscience is also a historical result, new languages are necessary; we need a forma mentis suitable to the twenty-first century, able to give an understandable form to ideas expressed in an ancient language by Plotinus or Zosimos of Panopoli.

In other words, we can't act like some orthodox Guénonians who stop at Meister Eckhart or Leibniz and refuse the history of Western thought, clinging to a solitary rock of wisdom. If new questions arose during the development of Western ideas we must answer them, we like it or not. To withdraw in a unique thought, whoever it belongs to, without looking around, reminds us of the child's attitude when he sees an unknown face and hides behind his mother's gown.