Hermeticism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hermeticism, also called Hermetism,[1][2] is a religious and philosophical tradition based primarily upon pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice Great").[3] These writings have greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance[4] and the Reformation.[5] The tradition claims descent from a prisca theologia, a doctrine which affirms that a single, true theology exists which is present in all religions and was given by God to man in antiquity.[6][7] Many Christian writers, including Emerson, Lactantius, Thomas of Aquinas, Augustine, Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity.[8][9] An account of how Hermes Trismegistus received the name "Thrice Great" is derived from the The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, wherein it is stated that he knew the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe.[10] The three parts of the wisdom are alchemy, astrology, and theurgy. The Poimandres, from which Marsilio Ficino formed his opinion, states that "They called him Trismegistus because he was the greatest philosopher and the greatest priest and the greatest king."[11] The Suda (10th century) states that "He was called Trismegistus on account of his praise of the trinity, saying there is one divine nature in the trinity."[12] Much of the importance of Hermeticism arises from its connection with the development of science during the time from 1300 to 1600 A.D. The prominence that it gave to the idea of influencing or controlling nature led many scientists to look to magic and its allied arts (e.g., alchemy, astrology) which, it was thought, could put Nature to the test by means of experiments. Consequently it was the practical aspects of Hermetic writings that attracted the attention of scientists.[13] Isaac Newton placed great faith in the concept of an unadulterated, pure, ancient doctrine, which he studied vigorously to aid his understanding of the physical world.[14] Many of Newton's manuscriptsmost of which are still unpublished[15]detail his thorough study of the Corpus Hermeticum, writings said to have been transmitted from ancient times, in which the secrets and techniques of influencing the stars and the forces of nature were revealed.

Contents
1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Late Antiquity 2.2 Renaissance 3 Philosophy 3.1 Prisca theologia 3.2 "As above, so below" 3.3 The three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe 3.4 Posthumous lives 3.5 Good and evil 3.6 Cosmogony 3 6 1 Al i

3.6.1 Alternative account 4 As a religion 4.1 Religious and philosophical texts 5 Societies 5.1 Rosicrucianism 5.2 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 5.3 Esoteric Christianity 5.4 Mystical Neopaganism 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links

Etymology
The term Hermetic is from the medieval Latin hermeticus, which is derived from the name of the Greek god, Hermes. In English, it has been attested since the 17th century, as in "Hermetic writers" (e.g., Franz Bardon). The word Hermetic was used by Dr. Everard in his English translation of The Pimander of Hermes (1650).[16] Mary Anne Atwood mentioned the use of the word Hermetic by Dufresnoy in 1386.[17][18] The synonymous term Hermetical is also attested in the 17th century. Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici of 1643 wrote: "Now besides these particular and divided Spirits, there may be (for ought I know) a universal and common Spirit to the whole world. It was the opinion of Plato, and is yet of the Hermeticall Philosophers." (R.M. Part 1:2)

History
Main article: Hermetica

Late Antiquity
Further information: Hellenistic religion and Decline of Hellenistic polytheism In Late Antiquity, Hermetism[19] emerged in parallel with early Christianity, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, the Chaldaean Oracles, and late Orphic and Pythagorean literature. These doctrines were "characterized by a resistance to the dominance of either pure rationality or doctrinal faith."[20] The books now known as the Corpus Hermeticum were part of a renaissance of syncretistic and intellectualized pagan thought that took place from the 3rd to the 7th century A.D. These post-Christian Greek texts dwell upon the oneness and goodness of God, urge purification

The caduceus, a symbol of Hermeticism.

of the soul, and defend pagan religious practices such as the veneration of images. Their predominant literary form is the dialogue: Hermes Trismegistus instructs a perplexed disciple upon various teachings of the hidden wisdom. Many lost Greek texts and many surviving vulgate books contained discussions of alchemy clothed in philosophical metaphor.[citation needed ] One of these, known as The Asclepius (lost in Greek but partially preserved in Latin), contained a bloody prophecy of the end of Roman rule in Egypt and the resurgence of paganism in Egypt.[citation needed]

Renaissance
Plutarch's mention of Hermes Trismegistus dates back to the 1st century A.D., and Tertullian, Iamblichus, and Porphyry were all familiar with Hermetic writings.[21] After some centuries out of favor (though apparently a subject of study at least in the eastern part of the Roman Empire), Hermeticism was reintroduced to the West in 1460 when a monk, Leonardo da Pistoia,[22] brought the Corpus Hermeticum to the city of Pistoia to be translated by Ficino. "Leonardo da Pistoia" was actually the pseudonym of Leonardo Alberti de Candia, a nobleman of the Alberti (family) of the counts of Prato in Pistoia. De Candia was one of many agents sent out by Florence's ruler, Cosimo de' Medici, to scour Greek monasteries for ancient writings and to either get a copy or steal the original.[23] "Leonardo da Pistoia" searched for ancient Hermetic manuscripts throughout the regions surrounding Constantinople, Pera, and Galata. He conducted his investigations under the protection of the Byzantine podest during the period of the joint Byzantine and Italian podest and before the capture of Constantinople by Ottoman Turks in 1453. In 1614, Isaac Casaubon, a Swiss philologist, analyzed the Greek Hermetic texts for linguistic style. He concluded that the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were not the work of an ancient Egyptian priest but in fact dated to the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.[24][25] Even in light of Casaubon's linguistic discovery (and typical of many adherents of Hermetic philosophy in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries), Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici (1643) confidently stated: "The severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes, that this visible world is but a portrait of the invisible." (R.M. Part 1:12) In the 19th century, Walter Scott placed the date of the Hermetic texts shortly after 200 A.D., but W. Flinders Petrie placed their origin between 200 and 500 B.C.[26] In 1945, Hermetic texts were found near Nag Hammadi. One of these texts had the form of a conversation between Hermes and Asclepius. A second text (titled On the Ogdoad and Ennead) told of the Hermetic mystery schools. It was written in the Coptic language, the latest and final form in which the Egyptian language was written.[27]

Philosophy
In Hermeticism, the ultimate reality is referred to variously as God, the All, or the One. God in the Hermetica is unitary and transcendent, he is one and exists apart from the material cosmos. Hermetism is therefore profoundly monotheistic, in a deistic and unitarian understanding of the term. "For it is a ridiculous thing to confess the World to be one, one Sun, one Moon, one Divinity, and yet to have, I know not how many gods." [28]

Its philosophy teaches that there is a transcendent God, or Absolute, in which we and the entire universe participate. It also subscribes to the idea that other beings, such as aeons, angels and elementals, exist within the universe.

Prisca theologia
Hermeticists believe in a prisca theologia, the doctrine that a single, true theology exists, that it exists in all religions, and that it was given by God to man in antiquity.[6][7] In order to demonstrate the truth of the prisca theologia doctrine, Christians appropriated the Hermetic teachings for their own purposes. By this account, Hermes Trismegistus was (according to the fathers of the Christian church) either a contemporary of Moses[29] or the third in a line of men named Hermes Enoch, Noah, and the Egyptian priest-king who is known to us as Hermes Trismegistus.[30][31]

"As above, so below"

These words circulate throughout occult and magical circles. They are recorded in Hermetic texts, although they originated in the Vedas.[citation needed ] The actual text of that maxim, as translated by Dennis W. Hauck from The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, is: "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing."[32] Thus, whatever happens on any level of reality (physical, emotional, or mental) also happens on every other level. This principle, however, is more often used in the sense of the microcosm and the macrocosm. The microcosm is oneself, and the macrocosm is the universe. The macrocosm is as the microcosm and vice versa; within each lies the other, and through understanding one (usually the microcosm) a man may understand the other.[33]

The three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe

Alchemy (the operation of the Sun): Alchemy is not merely the changing of lead into gold.[34] It is an investigation into the spiritual constitution, or life, of matter and material existence through an application of the mysteries of birth, death, and resurrection.[35] The various stages of chemical distillation and fermentation, among other processes, are aspects of these mysteries that, when applied, quicken nature's processes in order to bring a natural body to perfection.[36] This perfection is the accomplishment of the magnum opus (Latin for Great Work). Astrology (the operation of the stars): Hermes claims that Zoroaster discovered this part of the wisdom of the whole universe, astrology, and taught it to man.[37] In Hermetic thought, it is likely that the movements of the planets have meaning beyond the laws of physics and actually hold metaphorical value as symbols in the mind of The All, or God. Astrology has influences upon the Earth, but does not dictate our actions, and wisdom is gained when we know what these influences are and how to deal with them.
The Magician displaying the Hermetic concept of "As above, so below."

Theurgy (the operation of the gods): There are two different types of magic, according to Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Apology, completely opposite of each other. The first is , Gotia, black magic reliant upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e. demons). The second is Theurgy, divine magic reliant upon an alliance with divine spirits (i.e. angels, archangels, gods).[38] Theurgy translates to "The Science or Art of Divine Works" and is the practical aspect of the Hermetic art of alchemy.[39] Furthermore, alchemy is seen as the "key" to theurgy,[40] the ultimate goal of which is to become united with higher counterparts, leading to the attainment of Divine Consciousness.[39]

Posthumous lives
Reincarnation is mentioned in Hermetic texts. Hermes Trismegistus asked: O son, how many bodies have we to pass through, how many bands of demons, through how many series of repetitions and cycles of the stars, before we hasten to the One alone?[41]

Good and evil

Hermes explains in Book 9 of the Corpus Hermeticum that nous (reason and knowledge) brings forth either good or evil, depending upon whether one receives one's perceptions from God or from demons. God brings forth good, but demons bring forth evil. Among the evils brought forth by demons are: "adultery, murder, violence to one's father, sacrilege, ungodliness, strangling, suicide from a cliff and all such other demonic actions."[42] This provides evidence that Hermeticism includes a sense of morality. However, the word "good" is used very strictly. It is restricted to references to God.[43] It is only God (in the sense of the nous, not in the sense of the All) who is completely free of evil. Men are prevented from being good because man has a body, is consumed by his physical nature, and is ignorant of the Supreme Good.[44] A focus upon the material life is said to be the only thing that offends God: As processions passing in the road cannot achieve anything themselves yet still obstruct others, so these men merely process through the universe, led by the pleasures of the body.[45] One must create, one must do something positive in one's life because God is a generative power. Not creating anything leaves a person "sterile" (i.e., unable to accomplish anything).[46]

Cosmogony
A creation story is told by God to Hermes in the first book of the Corpus Hermeticum. It begins when God, by an act of will, creates the primary matter that is to constitute the cosmos. From primary matter God separates the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). Then God orders the elements into the seven heavens (often held to be the spheres of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the Moon, which travel in circles and govern destiny). "The Word" then leaps forth from the materializing four elements, which were unintelligent. Nous then makes the seven heavens spin, and from them spring forth creatures without speech. Earth is then separated from water, and animals (other than man) are brought forth.

The God then created androgynous man, in God's own image, and handed over his creation. Man carefully observed the creation of nous and received from God man's authority over all creation. Man then rose up above the spheres' paths in order to better view creation. He then showed the form of the All to Nature. Nature fell in love with the All, and man, seeing his reflection in water, fell in love with Nature and wished to dwell in it. Immediately, man became one with Nature and became a slave to its limitations, such as gender and sleep. In this way, man became speechless (having lost "the Word") and he became "double," being mortal in body yet immortal in spirit, and having authority over all creation yet subject to destiny.[47] Alternative account An alternative account of the fall of man, preserved in the Discourses of Isis to Horus, is as follows: God, having created the universe, then created the divisions, the worlds, and various gods and goddesses, whom he appointed to certain parts of the universe. He then took a mysterious transparent substance, out of which he created human souls. He appointed the souls to the astral region, which is just above the physical region. He then assigned the souls to create life on Earth. He handed over some of his creative substance to the souls and commanded them to contribute to his creation. The souls then used the substance to create the various animals and forms of physical life. Soon after, however, the souls began to overstep their boundaries; they succumbed to pride and desired to be equal to the highest gods. God was displeased and called upon Hermes to create physical bodies that would imprison the souls as a punishment for them. Hermes created human bodies on earth, and God then told the souls of their punishment. God decreed that suffering would await them in the physical world but he promised them that, if their actions on Earth were worthy of their divine origin, their condition would improve and they would eventually return to the heavenly world. If it did not improve, he would condemn them to repeated reincarnation upon Earth.[48]

As a religion
Tobias Churton, Professor of Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, states that, "The Hermetic tradition was both moderate and flexible, offering a tolerant philosophical religion, a religion of the (omnipresent) mind, a purified perception of God, the cosmos, and the self, and much positive encouragement for the spiritual seeker, all of which the student could take anywhere."[49] Lutheran Bishop James Heiser recently evaluated the writings of Marsilio Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola as an attempted "Hermetic Reformation."[50]

Religious and philosophical texts

Hermeticists generally attribute 42 books to Hermes Trismegistus,[citation needed ] although many more have been attributed to him. Most of them, however, are said to have been lost when the Great Library of Alexandria was destroyed.[citation needed] There are three major texts that contain Hermetic doctrines: The Corpus Hermeticum is the most widely known Hermetic text. It has 18 chapters, which contain dialogues between Hermes Trismegistus and a series of other men. The first chapter contains a dialogue between Poimandres (who is identified as God) and Hermes. This is the first time that Hermes is in contact with God. Poimandres teaches the secrets of the universe to Hermes. In later chapters, Hermes

teaches others, such as his son Tat and Asclepius. The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus is a short work which contains a phrase that is well known in occult circles: "As above, so below." The actual text of that maxim, as translated by Dennis W. Hauck, is: "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing".[32] The Emerald Tablet also refers to the three parts of the wisdom of the whole universe. Hermes states that his knowledge of these three parts is the reason why he received the name Trismegistus ("Thrice Great" or "Ao-Ao-Ao" [which mean "greatest"]). As the story is told, the Emerald Tablet was found by Alexander the Great at Hebron, supposedly in the tomb of Hermes.[51] The Perfect Sermon (also known as The Asclepius, The Perfect Discourse, or The Perfect Teaching) was written in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D.and is a Hermetic work similar in content to The Corpus Hermeticum. Other important original Hermetic texts include the Discourses of Isis to Horus,[52] which consists of a long dialogue between Isis and Horus on the fall of man and other matters; the Definitions of Hermes to Asclepius;[53] and many fragments, which are chiefly preserved in the anthology of Stobaeus. There are additional works that, while not as historically significant as the works listed above, have an important place in neo-Hermeticism: The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy is a book anonymously published in 1912 A.D. by three people who called themselves the "Three Initiates." Many of the Hermetic principles are explained in this book. A Suggestive Inquiry into Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy was written by Mary Anne Atwood and originally published anonymously in 1850 A.D. This book was withdrawn from circulation by Atwood but was later reprinted, after her death, by her longtime friend Isabelle de Steiger. Isabelle de Steiger was a member of the Golden Dawn. A Suggestive Inquiry was used for the study of Hermeticism and resulted in several works being published by members of the Golden Dawn:[54] Arthur Edward Waite, a member and later the head of the Golden Dawn, wrote The Hermetic Museum and The Hermetic Museum Restored and Enlarged. He edited The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus, which was published as a two-volume set. He considered himself to be a Hermeticist and was instrumental in adding the word "Hermetic" to the official title of the Golden Dawn.[55] William Wynn Westcott, a founding member of the Golden Dawn, edited a series of books on Hermeticism titled Collectanea Hermetica. The series was published by the Theosophical Publishing Society.[56] Initiation Into Hermetics is the title of the English translation of the first volume of Franz Bardon's threevolume work dealing with self-realization within the Hermetic tradition.

Societies
When Hermeticism was no longer endorsed by the Christian church, it was driven underground and several Hermetic societies were formed. The western esoteric tradition is now steeped in Hermeticism. The work of such writers as Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, who attempted to reconcile Jewish kabbalah and Christian mysticism, brought Hermeticism into a context more easily understood by Europeans during the time of the Renaissance.

A few primarily Hermetic occult orders were founded in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Hermetic magic underwent a 19th-century revival in Western Europe,[57] where it was practiced by groups such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Aurum Solis, and Ragon. It was also practiced by individual persons, such as Eliphas Lvi, William Butler Yeats, Arthur Machen, Frederick Hockley, and Kenneth M. Mackenzie.[58] Many Hermetic, or Hermetically influenced, groups exist today. Most of them are derived from Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry, or the Golden Dawn.

Rosicrucianism
Main article: Rosicrucianism Rosicrucianism is a movement which incorporates the Hermetic philosophy. It dates back to the 17th century. The sources dating the existence of the Rosicrucians to the 17th century are three German pamphlets: the Fama, the Confessio Fraternitatis, and The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.[59] Some scholars believe these to be hoaxes and say that later Rosicrucian organizations are the first actual appearance of a Rosicrucian society.[60] This argument is hard to sustain given that original copies are in existence, including a Fama Fraternitatis at the University of Illinois and another in the New York Public Library. The Rosicrucian Order consists of a secret inner body and a public outer body that is under the direction of the inner body. It has a graded system in which members move up in rank and gain access to more knowledge. There is no fee for advancement. Once a member has been deemed able to understand the teaching, he moves on to the next higher grade. The Fama Fraternitatis states that the Brothers of the Fraternity are to profess no other thing than "to cure the sick, and that gratis." The Rosicrucian spiritual path incorporates: philosophy, kabbalah, and divine magic. The Order is symbolized by the rose (the soul) and the cross (the body). The unfolding rose represents the human soul acquiring greater consciousness while living in a body on the material plane.

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

Main article: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Unlike the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was open to both sexes and treated them as equals. The Order was a specifically Hermetic society that taught alchemy, kabbalah, and the magic of Hermes, along with the principles of occult science. The Golden Dawn maintained the tightest of secrecy, which was enforced by severe penalties for those who disclosed its secrets. Overall, the general public was left oblivious of the actions, and even of the existence, of the Order, so few if any secrets were disclosed.[61] Its secrecy was broken first by Aleister Crowley in 1905 and later by Israel Regardie in 1940. Regardie gave a detailed account of the Order's teachings to the general public.[62]

Regardie had once claimed that there are many occult orders which learned whatever they know of magic from what had been leaked from the Golden Dawn by those whom Regardie deemed "renegade members."[citation needed] The Stella Matutina was a successor society of the Golden Dawn.

Esoteric Christianity
Hermeticism remains influential within esoteric Christianity, especially in Martinism.

Mystical Neopaganism
Hermeticism remains influential within Neopaganism, especially in Hellenism.

See also
Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Hellenistic magic Hermeneutics Hermeticists (category) Hermetism and other religions Recapitulation theory Renaissance magic Sex magic Thelema Thelemic mysticism Theosophy

References
1. ^ Audi, Robert (1999). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 378. ISBN 0521637228. 2. ^ Reese, William L. (1980). Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion. Sussex: Harvester Press. pp. 108 and 221. ISBN 0855271477. 3. ^ Churton p. 4 4. ^ "Hermeticism" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions 5. ^ Heiser, James D., Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century, Repristination Press, Texas: 2011. ISBN 978-1-4610-9382-4 6. ^ a b Yates, F., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Routledge, London, 1964, pp 1418 and pp 433 434 7. ^ a b Hanegraaff, W. J., New Age Religion and Western Culture, SUNY, 1998, p 360. 8. ^ Yates, F., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Routledge, London, 1964, pp 915 and pp 6166 and p 413 9. ^ Heiser, J., Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century", Repristination Press, Texas, 2011 [ISBN 978-1-4610-9382-4] 10. ^ Scully p. 322. 11. ^ Copenhaver, Hermetica, p. xlviii 12. ^ Copenhaver, Hermetica, p. xli 13. ^ Tambiah, Magic, Science, Religion, and the scope of Rationality, pp. 25-26 14. ^ Tambiah, 28 15. ^ Tambiah, 28 16. ^ Collectanea Hermetica Edited by W. Wynn. Westcott Volume 2. 17. ^ See Dufresnoy,Histoire del' Art Hermetique, vol. iii. Cat. Gr. MSS.

18. ^ A Suggestive Inquiry into Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy by Mary Anne Atwood 1850. 19. ^ van den Broek and Hanegraaff (1997) distinguish Hermetism in late antiquity from Hermeticism in the Renaissance revival. 20. ^ van den Broek and Hanegraaff (1997), p. vii. 21. ^ Stephan A. Hoeller, On the Trail of the Winged GodHermes and Hermeticism Throughout the Age, Gnosis: A Journal of Western Inner Traditions (Vol. 40, Summer 1996). 22. ^ This Leonardo di Pistoia was a monk [1] (http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/lib/coll.html), not to be confused with the artist Leonardo da Pistoia who was not born until c.1483 CE. 23. ^ Salaman, Van Oyen, Wharton and Mah, The Way of Hermes, p. 9 24. ^ Tambiah Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality pp. 2728. 25. ^ The Way of Hermes, p. 9. 26. ^ Abel and Hare p. 7. 27. ^ The Way of Hermes, pp. 910. 28. ^ http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/pym/pym11.htm 29. ^ Yates, F., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Routledge, London, 1964, p 27 and p 293 30. ^ Yates, F., Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Routledge, London, 1964, p52 31. ^ Copenhaver, B.P., "Hermetica", Cambridge University Press, 1992, p xlviii. 32. ^ a b Scully p. 321. 33. ^ Garstin p. 35. 34. ^ Hall The Hermetic Marriage p. 227. 35. ^ Eliade The Forge and the Crucible p. 149 and p. 155157 36. ^ Geber Summa Perfectionis 37. ^ Powell pp. 1920. 38. ^ Garstin p. v 39. ^ a b Garstin p. 6 40. ^ Garstin p. vi 41. ^ The Way of Hermes p. 33. 42. ^ The Way of Hermes p. 42. 43. ^ The Way of Hermes p. 28. 44. ^ The Way of Hermes p. 47. 45. ^ The Way of Hermes pp. 323. 46. ^ The Way of Hermes p. 29. 47. ^ The Poimandres 48. ^ Hermetica Volume 1, pg 457 ff (http://books.google.ca/books?id=dk38iSahvQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=hermetica+volume+1&hl=en&sa=X&ei=esfaUOuIMeSQ0QGy2oGoCQ&ved= 0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Isis%20to%20Horus&f=false) 49. ^ Churton p. 5. 50. ^ Heiser, James D., Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century, Repristination Press: Texas, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4610-9382-4 51. ^ Abel & Hare p. 12. 52. ^ Walter Scott, Hermetica Volume 1, pg 457 (http://books.google.ca/books?id=dk38iSahvQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=hermetica+volume+1&hl=en&sa=X&ei=esfaUOuIMeSQ0QGy2oGoCQ&ved= 0CDYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Isis%20to%20Horus&f=false) 53. ^ Salaman, Van Oyen, Wharton and Mah, The Way of Hermes (http://books.google.ca/books? id=1JoqHAAACAAJ&dq=way+of+hermes&hl=en&sa=X&ei=D8jaULObKsKB0AGk2oGYCw&ved=0CDwQ6A EwAA) 54. ^ "A Suggestive Inquiry into Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy" with an introduction by Isabelle de Steiger 55. ^ "Hermetic Papers of A. E. Waite: the Unknown Writings of a Modern Mystic" Edited by R. A. Gilbert. 56. ^ "The Pymander of Hermes" Volume 2, Collectanea Hermetica" published by The Theosophical Publishing Society in 1894. 57. ^ Regardie p. 17. 58. ^ Regardie pp. 156. 59. ^ Yates, Frances (1972). The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-71007380-1.

60. ^ Prof. Carl Edwin Lindgren, "The Rose Cross, A Historical and Philosophical View" http://users.panola.com/lindgren/rosecross.html 61. ^ Regardie pp. 157. 62. ^ Regardie p. ix.

Bibliography
Abel, Christopher R. and Hare, William O. (1997). Hermes Trismegistus: An Investigation of the Origin of the Hermetic Writings. Sequim: Holmes Publishing Group. Anonymous (2002). Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. Budge, E. A. Wallis (1895). The Egyptian Book of the Dead: (The Papyrus of Ani) Egyptian Text Transliteration and Translation. New York: Dover Publications. Churton, Tobias. The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians, and the First Freemasons. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2002. Copenhaver, Brian P. (1992). Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a new English translation, with notes and introduction (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42543-3. Garstin, E.J. Langford (2004). Theurgy or The Hermetic Practice. Berwick: Ibis Press. Published Posthumously Heiser, James D. (2011). Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century. Texas: Repristination Press. ISBN 978-1-4610-9382-4. Hoeller, Stephan A. On the Trail of the Winged God: Hermes and Hermeticism Throughout the Ages, Gnosis: A Journal of Western Inner Traditions (Vol. 40, Summer 1996). Also at "Hermes and Hermeticism" (http://www.gnosis.org/hermes.htm). Gnosis.org. Retrieved 2009-11-09. Powell, Robert A. (1991). Christian Hermetic Astrology: The Star of the Magi and the Life of Christ . Hudson: Anthroposohic Press. Regardie, Israel (1940). The Golden Dawn. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. Salaman, Clement and Van Oyen, Dorine and Wharton, William D. and Mah, Jean-Pierre (2000). The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Heremticum and The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius. Rochester: Inner Traditions. Scully, Nicki (2003). Alchemical Healing: A Guide to Spiritual, Physical, and Transformational Medicine. Rochester: Bear & Company. Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1990). Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Yates, Frances (1964). Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-95007-7.

External links
Online Version of the Corpus Hermeticum, version translated by (http://www.levity.com/alchemy/corpherm.html) John Everard in 1650 CE from Latin version Online Version of The Virgin of the World of Hermes Trismegistus, version translated by Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland in 1885 A.D. (http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/vow/index.htm) Online version of The Kybalion (1912) (http://www.gnostic.org/kybalionhtm/kybalion.htm) The Kybalion Resource Page (http://www.kybalion.org) An introduction to Hermeticism by Paul Newall (2004) (http://www.galilean-library.org/manuscript.php? postid=43803)

Hermetics Resource Site (http://www.hermetics.org)Many Hermetics texts The Hermetic Library (http://www.hermetic.com)A collection of texts and sites relating to Hermeticism Hermeticism (http://www.dmoz.org/society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Esoteric_and_Occult/Hermeticism) at DMOZ TransAlchemy (http://www.transalchemy.com)-Modern scientific and singularitarian Hermetic research Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermeticism&oldid=605889378" Categories: Esoteric schools of thought Creation myths Esotericism Hermeticism Mysticism Occult This page was last modified on 26 April 2014 at 12:48. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.