Dear Sir, what´s the meaning of the hexagram in Martinism? For some reason, I can´t let go of hexagram symbolism. Not since a certain Thomas Sheridan started talking about Saturn being "the god of Tucker Carlson"...
What is the meaning of the hexagram ("Star of David") in the symbols of the esoteric/occult stream known as Martinism?
In Martinism, the hexagram (often called the Seal of Solomon rather than the “Star of David”) is not primarily a Jewish ethnic symbol, nor a modern political one. It is a cosmological and initiatory symbol, inherited from Renaissance Christian Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and the theosophical current that Martinism consciously situates itself within.
To understand its meaning in Martinism, it helps to move step by step: source → structure → specifically Martinist interpretation.
1. Immediate source: Christian Kabbalah and Hermeticism
Martinism (Saint-Martin, Pasqually, Willermoz) inherits the hexagram from:
• Renaissance Hermeticism
• Christian Kabbalah (Pico, Reuchlin, Knorr von Rosenroth)
• Rosicrucian symbolism
• Masonic high-degree symbolism
In these streams, the hexagram is:
The symbol of the reconciliation of divine and created orders
This is already distinct from later Jewish nationalist uses.
2. Structural meaning of the hexagram
The hexagram consists of:
• An upward-pointing triangle
• A downward-pointing triangle
Classical esoteric meanings
Upward triangle:
• Fire
• Ascent
• Spirit rising toward God
• Human aspiration
Downward triangle:
• Water
• Descent
• Divine grace descending
• God’s immanence
When interlaced:
Ascent and descent are united without confusion
This is the core metaphysical intuition behind the symbol.
3. Central Martinist doctrine: Reintegration
Martinism is built around one key idea (from Martinez de Pasqually):
Reintegration (Réintégration)
Meaning:
• Humanity fell from a primordial divine state
• The cosmos itself is disordered
• Salvation is not merely moral but ontological
• The goal is restoration of original unity with God
The hexagram visually encodes this doctrine.
4. The hexagram as a map of the Fall and Return
In Martinist interpretation:
• The downward triangle represents:
– Divine emanation
– Creation
– The descent into multiplicity
• The upward triangle represents:
– Human reintegration
– Return through purification
– Ascent back to the divine source
Their interpenetration means:
The path of return exists within creation itself
This fits Martinism’s non-dualist but non-monist metaphysics.
5. Adam Kadmon and the Primordial Human
Martinism is deeply indebted to Kabbalistic anthropology.
The hexagram is associated with:
• Adam Kadmon (Primordial Man)
• Humanity as mediator between worlds
• Microcosm–macrocosm correspondence
The six points often represent:
• Six directions of space
• Six creative days
• Six powers or attributes manifest in creation
The center (sometimes emphasized) represents:
• The divine spark
• The heart
• The point of reintegration
6. Christological meaning (very important)
In explicitly Christian Martinism:
• The hexagram is sometimes interpreted Christologically:
– Christ as mediator of heaven and earth
– Logos as the axis of reintegration
This distinguishes Martinism from Jewish Kabbalah.
Christ is not an external redeemer alone, but:
The archetype of reintegrated humanity
The hexagram symbolizes this mediatory function.
7. Why Martinists use the hexagram instead of the cross (sometimes)
The cross emphasizes:
• Sacrifice
• Suffering
• Historical redemption
The hexagram emphasizes:
• Cosmic order
• Ontological healing
• Metaphysical reconciliation
Martinism is less juridical and more cosmological than mainstream Christianity.
Thus the hexagram fits its spiritual temperament.
8. Relation to the pentagram (contrast)
Martinism also uses the pentagram, but differently:
Pentagram:
• Human microcosm
• Ethical and initiatory purification
• Personal regeneration
Hexagram:
• Cosmic reconciliation
• Divine–human mediation
• Universal reintegration
The hexagram is larger in scope.
9. Why the symbol predates modern Jewish identity usage
Historically:
• The hexagram was widespread in:
– Christian churches
– Islamic architecture
– Magical grimoires
– Alchemical texts
Its exclusive association with Judaism is very recent (19th–20th century).
Martinist usage predates that shift.
10. One-sentence synthesis
In Martinism, the hexagram symbolizes the interpenetration of divine descent and human ascent—the cosmic process of Fall and Reintegration—rather than Jewish identity or political meaning.
11. If you want to go deeper
We could:
• Compare Martinist hexagram use with Lurianic Kabbalah
• Contrast it with Theosophical reinterpretations
• Examine Pasqually’s ritual diagrams
• Or compare Martinism with non-dual traditions (Advaita, Sufism)
Just say the direction.
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