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hermeticism FAQ

Although I'm engaged in plenty of Hermeticism-related discussions online, I noticed a trend of the same questions getting asked over and over again. While understandable given a constant new influx of people interested in Hermeticism, I realized that it might be good to have a sort of list of frequently-asked questions with answers compiled ready to go, both to head off confusion at the start as well as to function as a sort of primer for Hermetic studies. Realizing that nobody else was likely to do it, I took it upon myself (with the ample help of my various friends online) to compile a list of questions and offer my own answers for those who are interested in Hermeticism. If you are at all new to Hermeticism or just want a refresher, please read these posts first!

overview and history

What is Hermeticism?

Hermeticism, or "The Way of Hermēs" as we know and understand it today, is a term to describe a milieu and development of religious, philosophical, and mystical ideas and practices that arose in Hellenistic Egypt in the early part of the Roman Empire, attributed to the teachings and practices of Hermēs Trismegistos. By combining Egyptian religiosity and Greek philosophy, Hermeticism seeks to come to know the underlying divine reality of all creation, and by that coming to work towards the salvation of the soul as well as the maintenance and well-ordering of the world we live in. This was achieved not only through works of ritual purity, spiritual elevation, and divine ascent, but also through the skills of astrology, alchemy, theurgy, and other magical and religious practices. As Hermeticism spread after the classical period, various aspects of Hermeticism were left behind in favor of the salvatorial elements of Christianity or Islam, and other aspects were emphasized, such as the practice of astrology or alchemy. The history of Hermeticism is long and complicated, but at its core, the central aims and goals of Hermeticism remain the same today as they were 2000 years ago.

Who was Hermēs Trismegistos?

"Hermēs Trismegistos" (sometimes spelled in a more Latin-friendly "Hermes Trismegistus" or a Latin "Mercurius Ter Maximus") is the "prophet" and founding teacher of Hermeticism. Although in the Hermetic texts he is described as a human being descended from the gods and named after his divine forebear, Hermēs Trismegistos was also celebrated and worshipped in ancient Hellenistic Egypt as either the Greek Hermēs, the Egyptian Thōth, or the syncretic Hermēs-Thōth. In some (generally later) traditions of Hermeticism, as in Arabic and Islamic traditions immediately following the classical period, there was a series of "multiple Hermēses", each teaching in a different time period, sometimes based on or building upon the teachings of their forebears. In Abrahamic religions, Hermēs Trismegistos has been identified with the biblical Enoch and the quranic Idris.

Why "Thrice-Great"?

The historical reason why Hermēs is described as "thrice great" (the literal meaning of "trismegistos" or "ter maximus") is because of how the ancient Egyptian language worked: a common epithet of Thōth in Egyptian texts was "the great, the great, the great", and repetition of an adjective in Egyptian served to intensify the adjective into a superlative, in this case meaning "greatest". This was literally translated as "thrice-great" in Greek. Later, more symbolic interpretations of "thrice-great" were applied to Hermēs as a sort of folk etymology, sometimes reflecting his supposed mythic role as king-priest-magician or being a master of the three arts of astrology, alchemy, and theurgy, or that (drawing from the Platonic tradition) he had been incarnated three times as a philosopher and on the third time recognized his past incarnations.

Did Hermēs Trismegistos ever really exist?

Some believe he did, some don't believe he did. What we all agree on is that Hermēs Trismegistos is held to be the teacher of the doctrines and practices of Hermeticism, regardless of the historicity or divinity of any such figure. Although it was popular several centuries ago to believe that Hermēs Trismegistos was an actual human being who was a contemporary or teacher of Moses, no such human likely ever existed except as a figure of myth. That being said, some doctrines of Islam equate Hermēs Trismegistos with the prophet Idris, himself associated with the biblical patriarch Enoch. Other Hermeticists believe that the figure of Hermēs Trismegistos is the syncretic god Hermēs-Thōth, or alternatively the Greek Hermēs and/or the Egyptian Thōth, giving Hermēs Trismegistos more of a divine presence than a historical one. To quote Alan Moore's "Promethea" issue #17:

That ain't important, whether he really existed. What's important is that he exists. What he means, the symbol. That's true. That's real. That's happenin' right now.

So is Hermēs Trismegistos a god?

In many ways, yes. Although Hermēs Trismegistos himself in the Hermetic texts describes himself as a human with human forebears, it is also true that the very notion of the character "Hermēs Trismegistos" is rooted in the Greco-Egyptian syncretic god Hermēs-Thōth, each of whom were considered equivalent to each other from the Hellenic understanding (to the point where "Hermēs" was considered the translation of the name "Thōth"). Likewise, even outside of a strictly Hermetic context and in a more Egyptian pagan one, Thōth is sometimes rendered into Greek as "Hermēs Trismegistos". Whether one considers Hermēs Trismegistos a god or a human (or a demigod or a deified human), however, is generally immaterial, only taking on importance should one engage in a polytheistic approach to Hermeticism and venerating Hermēs Trismegistos as a god instead of as an ancestor-teacher (if even that).

Do you worship Hermēs Trismegistos?

Some do, some don't. Hermeticists with a polytheistic bent are both likely and encouraged (but not required) to worship Hermēs Trismegistos as a god in one sense or another, but even if they do, the worship of Hermēs Trismegistos is not as important in Hermeticism as would be following his teachings and instructions of mysticism and devotion to God. Hermeticists who adapt Hermeticism to monotheistic contexts, like Hermetic Christians or Hermetic Muslims, will instead see Hermēs as just a human (or one in a series of humans who take on "Hermēs" as a title), but one who is on the level of a saint or holy man. In either case, all Hermeticists should consider Hermēs Trismegistos as an important teacher, prophet, and lineage-founder, and accord him the respect he deserves, but in spite of all this, Hermēs Trismegistos is not the focus of worship in Hermeticism.

Is Hermeticism Greek, or is it Egyptian?

It's both! Although Greeks have been in Egypt since the 7th century BCE, the Hellenistic conquest and invasion of Egypt by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE and the establishment of the Ptolemaic Kingdom firmly established and blended Greek culture, religion, and philosophy into the preexisting Egyptian ones. This is when Egypt became "Hellenistic", and although the Egyptianness of Egypt never went away, it did adapt and grow in new and interesting forms, and continued after the rise of the Roman Empire. In addition to various new cults and traditions springing up in this context, this blending and fusing of Greek and Egyptian entities into a single Greco-Egyptian one also produced the doctrines and texts of Hermeticism. As a result, Hermeticism is both Greek/Hellenic/Hellenistic and Egyptian, and both aspects of it should be understood and cherished together as one.

Is Hermeticism a philosophy?

Not really. Hermeticism can be thought of as a philosophy, but it lacks many of the same hallmarks of philosophy that e.g. Stoicism, Platonism, or Epicureanism have (e.g. no set axioms, no strict reliance on logical deduction, no central authority, no systematic way of deducing truths, etc.), and so Hermeticism can be better thought of as theosophy (in the etymological sense of the word) or as a type of mysticism rather than as a philosophy. There is a distinct notion of ecstatic devotion and piety in Hermeticism that "pure philosophy" itself tends to lack, so to call Hermeticism a "philosophy" can only be done in the same way as one might call Buddhism a "philosophy": with an extremely broad (and generally misleading) notion of what a "philosophy" is or does.

Is Hermeticism a religion?

Kinda! Although many modern people are scared or wary of the word "religion", we should remember that many modern people's conception of religion is colored by Christianity and Islam, when the case is much different for Hermeticism (and, indeed, many pagan religions). Hermeticism is focused on God and the gods, and how to rise up to them in order to secure the salvation of the soul; in this, Hermeticism bears much in common with many religions. However, Hermeticism (or what we have of it) doesn't give us much in the way of fixed litanies or worship services, even though some can be constructed. In its original context, Hermeticism was not meant to supplant or replace existing religions or religious cults, but to supplement them; for those who wanted more than just attending the usual temple sacrifices, Hermeticism would give more of a chance for profound spiritual experiences in a sort of extracurricular or after-hours setting.

What does Hermeticism have to do with ceremonial magic (the Golden Dawn, Franz Bardon, etc.)?

Due to the complicated history of Hermeticism and the adoption of Hermetic beliefs and practices by various groups, the word "Hermetic" has been applied to various different groups and their individual practices. Perhaps the most famous of these is the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, famed for their integration of various kinds of Solomonic and grimoire-based magic in a qabbalistic framework with Egyptian elements, but other magicians like Franz Bardon in his "Introduction to Hermetics" have also taken inspiration from the various arts of Hermeticism. In this, these things do have reason to be called "Hermetic", although they are not necessarily representative of the core of Hermeticism itself. As a result, ceremonial magic should not be thought of as synonymous with Hermeticism, but may be influenced by certain arts and practices associated with Hermeticism or with Hermēs Trismegistos as their founder or ancient teacher.

What about Freemasonry?

Although the mythic history of Freemasonry begins in primordial times with Adam and also includes the influence Egypt by means of Euclid, masonic lodges only truly began with the development of masonry guilds and trade organizations in the early modern period of Europe starting in the 16th century CE, and afterwards began to incorporate other influences such as Rosicrucianism. Due to their massive influence in modern Western civilization, many subsequent magical orders and organizations took on a Freemason-inspired lodge-based system. It is also the case that, as with many esoteric groups and disciplines of the time, that Hermeticism influenced the symbolism held sacred by the Freemasons, which was compounded when other non-Freemason-but-Freemason-inspired lodges took on more Hermetic influence that then fed back into Freemasonry. As a result, while Freemasonry may have Hermetic influence, it is not directly related to Hermeticism, though different types or styles of Freemasonry may incorporate Hermeticism or Hermetic symbolism to varying degrees.

What about gnosticism?

In many ways, Hermeticism and gnosticism can be thought of as sisters, since they arose from largely the same cultural and religious background in response to the same spiritual, religious, and philosophical problems. Some Hermetic texts and their doctrines are identical to those of gnosticism, and there was definite influence from Hermeticism on gnosticism to the point where Hermetic texts were known, studied, and cherished by gnostics (as evidenced by the find of Hermetic texts in the Nag Hammadi Library). However, as a whole, gnosticism tended to be both more dualistic, more world-negative, and more Abrahamic than Hermeticism, which tended to be somewhat less dualistic, less world-negative (to the point of being world-positive at times), and more resolutely pagan or otherwise non-Abrahamic. In a sense, Hermeticism can be considered a kind of "pagan gnosticism".

Is Hermeticism just Neoplatonism?

Nope! In fact, the advent of Neoplatonism came after the bulk of the classical Hermetic texts were already written. It is true that Iamblichus referenced the Hermetic texts, and so Neoplatonism can be said to have (at least a little) Hermetic influence, but Hermeticism itself is a blend of Egyptian religion and spirituality with Greek philosophy, most notably Stoicism and (early and middle) Platonism. Although Hermeticism does play nicely with Neoplatonism for the most part, that can be understood as being Neoplatonism accommodating and incorporating Hermeticism rather than the other way around.

Is Hermeticism based on Christianity or Judaism?

No, or at least not in any major way. It is true that in some of the earliest Hermetic texts available to us there is some influence from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Jewish Bible), and in the early years of the Roman Empire there was an interesting cross-cultural phenomenon of "pagan monotheism" all across the Mediterranean world (though to what extent this occurred and what the nature of this was is hotly debated). However, although there was influence from Hellenistic Judaism on the early development of some Hermetic beliefs, Hermeticism as a whole is not based on Judaism or any Abrahamic faith. At its core, Hermeticism is and has always been pagan.

Is Hermeticism satanic/witchcraft/devil-worshiping/a conspiracy?

No.

Is Hermeticism compatible with other religions?

It depends on those other religions. As noted earlier, Hermeticism was never intended to be a religion unto itself that one would have to exclusively convert to, but a supplemental or additional path of spirituality and mysticism that builds on other religions (originally Egyptian or Greco-Egyptian pagan religion). Over the past 2000 years, various philosophers, mystics, and magicians have incorporated Hermeticism into other religious and spiritual traditions in various ways, some taking just symbolic or stylistic influence while others fully integrating it as an entirely new syncretic religious path. Depending on how similar or different Hermeticism is in doctrine or practice from another religion, there may be some difficulty in meshing the two together, and in some cases it's better to keep Hermeticism as a separate "thing one does" rather than merging it with something else.

Is most (or all) occult and religious knowledge based on Hermeticism?

Although this is a common claim, especially with the Renaissance doctrine of prisca theologia, this is not at all true. Hermeticism is just one of many spiritual paths that arose in the classical world, and though it had an outsized influence on many other fields of religion, mysticism, magic, and the occult in the Mediterranean and European worlds in the centuries that followed, it was not the sole or even primary factor in their development. In more modern times, as the myth of Hermēs Trismegistos continued to grow based on not only the Hermetic texts themselves (added to constantly over the centuries) as well as bad history and a faulty understanding of it, it was common enough to claim that Hermēs Trismegistos is the primordial founder of any number of world religions or mystical traditions, despite how disrespectful it is to such religions and traditions that have their own sacred histories.

Who were the ancient Hermeticists?

Truth be told, there never were any—at least, not by that name. The first time we know of someone ever used the word "Hermetic" to describe themselves only came about in the 16th century, where Ludovico Lazzarelli in his Crater Hermetis claimed "Christianus sum, ô Rex, & Hermeticum simul esse non pudet" ("I am Christian, o King, and it does not shame me to also be Hermetic"). In the classical period, those whom we might consider "Hermeticists" today (with the benefit of our modern understanding of the word) were simply called "Egyptian" by others, given the overall origin and popularity of such thought as being considered hailing from Egypt (regardless of the Hellenistic components thereof). Thus, although we might consider there to be Hermeticists in the classical world, to call them "Hermeticists" is technically an anachronism; they espoused Hellenistic Egyptian belief and philosophy, and so were simply "Egyptian".

Was there a classical school or lodge of Hermeticism?

Not that we know of. Although the Hermetic texts suggest that there were indeed Hermetic communities, there's no evidence that there was any centralized authority or central school promulgating Hermetic doctrines and practices. What was much more likely the case were different teachers who taught and engaged in more-or-less the same overall religious and philosophical milieu to small groups of students across a wide geographic area in Egypt, whose texts were circulated across the Mediterranean in the classical period. This is why different Hermetic texts disagree on different points of doctrine, even if they all agree in the overall high-level aims and goals of Hermeticism. Thus, although "Hermeticism" wasn't a single thing in the classical period like how Platonism was a thing or like how Catholicism is a thing, we today can still engage with the tradition as a whole with the benefit of looking backwards and seeing overall trends in beliefs and practices.

So there was no one single school of Hermeticism?

Basically! That being said, although there was no single one school or tradition of Hermeticism (we only can talk of "Hermeticism" with the benefit of looking backwards in history from our modern perspective), that doesn't mean there weren't people engaging in this stuff in groups. Rather than the Hermetic texts being solely the private musings of independent mystics, there do appear to have been something resembling a decentralized group of teachers with their own sets of students that participated in roughly the same kind of mystic work towards the same mystic ends, each group managing to initiate others into their groups and sharing in the same mysteries of those groups. While this is too loose to be considered a single systematic school unto itself like how the Platonists were a school of philosophers centered in the Academy and Lyceum, the same would be the case for most kinds of pagan religion that differed from town to town or from tribe to tribe across the ancient world.

Are there modern Hermetic groups?

Depending on one's notion of what makes a group "Hermetic", or based on how closely they adhere to the core beliefs (if not the practices) of Hermeticism, sure. However, it should be noted that there is (almost certainly) no living community today that preserves a living unbroken lineage from the classical period from classical teachers; that being said, the teachings and texts that were preserved from the classical period have continued to influence a variety of communities since then into the modern period. Sufi orders, Golden Dawn-style groups, and similar communities can be said to be "Hermetic" in one sense or another, and groups like the Hermetic Federation are engaged in a reconstructionist-like effort to rebuild the practices contemporary with the classical Hermetic texts to implement their beliefs and doctrines.

What's the difference between "Hermeticism" and "Hermetism"?

Some scholars use a distinction between the terms "Hermeticism" and "Hermetism" to reflect different stages of the development of Hermetic belief and practice, or otherwise different focuses in different contexts. In general, "Hermetism" reflects the development of Hermetic belief and practice in the classical period, roughly up to 500 CE, with a focus on ritual practice for securing the salvation of the soul. "Hermeticism", when used as a general term, can also include this, but when contrasted with "Hermetism" refers to the post-classical development of Hermetic belief and practice, generally with a greater focus on the technical arts of alchemy and magic.

Why should we bother engaging with something so old in our modern age?

Despite generally-held notions of humanity having "evolved" or "progressed" from earlier, stupider, or more superstitious stages of religion and thinking, there is nothing to suggest that we don't suffer from the same exact problems that people 2000 years ago also suffered from, nor is there anything to suggest that the same solutions and approaches used by them won't work for us today. There is much for us to learn from the ancients, not least their very worldview and how they considered the world and their place in it.

What about "modern Hermeticism", or post-classical developments of Hermeticism generally?

Classical Hermeticism began (and, indeed, anticipated) its downfall roughly along the same time periods as the rise of Christianity and the fall of paganism generally in the Roman Empire, which only continued under the influence of Islam in North Africa and the Near/Middle East. That said, many of the teachings and arts attributed to Hermēs Trismegistos, when not outright decried by religious authorities, were sometimes reanalyzed or appropriated in ways according to the new dominant religious cultures that they found themselves in. As a result, much of Hermetic doctrine and belief has been furthered or developed, but generally under other religious climates than the one that spawned the original tradition. This process of reanalyzing, reintegrating, and appropriating Hermetic beliefs and practices has continued into the modern day to various ends, sometimes furthering the core logic and rationales of Hermeticism itself and sometimes supplanting or overwriting them with external influences that disagree with older doctrines of Hermeticism. While these newer traditions may be considered "Hermetic" to various degrees, it becomes increasingly difficult to judge the "Hermeticness" of these changes, and so we turn to the core founding tradition of Hermetic doctrine and belief as a baseline. This is not to say that no modern changes are allowed in the study of Hermeticism, but that the classical aspects of the tradition should remain central and centered to its study, with other changes understood in their own contexts and applied (or not) according to one's understanding and personal context. In other words, don't update what doesn't need updating.

Can I study or practice Hermeticism if I'm gay/trans/queer/etc.?

Yes, absolutely! There is nothing in the Hermetic texts that says otherwise, nor anything regarding much along the lines of sexuality to begin with beyond a few high-level descriptions of biological reproduction in humans. It's important to remember that, in Hermeticism, there is no essential or divine notion of masculinity or femininity, and that the whole point of Hermetic doctrine is that you are not your body and the only thing that's of importance (from a Hermetic standpoint) is the soul, which is held to be androgyne/genderless, to say nothing of God likewise being androgyne/queer. Hermeticism is quite amenable to being queered, if not already queer form the start depending on your interpretation of the texts. That being said, individual groups that profess Hermeticism may not permit you to join based on concerns over sexuality or gender identity, in which case you can bother with them or not (though it's probably best to not).

Can I be an atheist and get involved with Hermeticism?

Anyone can get involved with Hermeticism and get what they like out of it, but Hermeticism is explicitly theistic. Unlike some forms of spirituality which are atheistic (in that they deny the existence of gods) or nontheistic (in that the existence of gods are irrelevant), Hermeticism not only stresses the real existence of God and the gods, but emphasizes them as a central mystic focus that assumes belief in them and worship to them as a given on the part of the Hermeticist. Without accepting a theistic outlook, there is no center for Hermeticism to coagulate around, no impetus to give Hermeticism a point, no goal to give Hermeticism direction. While one might well be an occultist or magician of one bent or another with varying views of spirits or that there are only energies that we anthropomorphize or personify into interactable entities, one would not be able to meaningfully be an atheist Hermeticist just as one could not be an atheist Christian.

Are there moral or ethical rules to Hermeticism?

Sorta, but nothing so formal as the Ten Commandments or anything like that. There is a general push in the Hermetic texts for students of Hermēs Trismegistos to learn how to behave in a way that is not evil, to let go of the irrational torments of the body, and the like, which can be thought of as high-level guidelines or warnings away from behaving in ways that do harm to one's soul and the cosmos generally. These high-level guidelines can be meditated on or expanded into formal systems of morality and ethics, even to the development of rules or prohibitions, but such things are not explicitly present in the Hermetic texts themselves.

Is Hermeticism a closed practice/tradition?

No. The notion of a "closed practice" or "closed tradition" is a messy one that's made all the more complicated by bad understandings proliferated online by people who have more interest in chasing clout than actually getting involved with anything serious, and has contaminated many legitimate discussions of religion, spirituality, and the occult, even to the point of sidelining things that actually are closed. To be sure, there are good and worthwhile discussions to have regarding particular traditions along these lines, but this is a simple case: Hermeticism, as a whole, is not closed, since there is no fundamental barrier to approaching it for study and practice along any lines. Individual groups professing Hermetic doctrine and practice may be closed based on initiation, where you must undergo initiation in order to be part of the group with all the benefits, teaching, training, and license that membership of that group confers, but this does not necessarily reflect Hermeticism as a whole.

Can I borrow Hermetic practices/doctrines in my own non-Hermetic thing?

From its very inception, Hermeticism was a cosmopolitan spiritual and mystical phenomenon, and was the result of a variety of influences including (but not limited to) Egyptian, Greek/Hellenistic, Roman, Jewish, Gnostic, and Babylonian beliefs and practices rubbing shoulders and mixing together to create something new. In addition, Hermēs Trismegistos (as befitting his Greek origin of the trickster son of Zeus and Maia) has appeared countless times in countless texts as both a primordial god, a Babylonian priest, an Egyptian alchemist, a Renaissance astrologer, and the like. As a result, Hermeticism has been a huge influence, whether directly or indirectly, on much of Western occultism and esotericism over the years (though far from the only one, or even being a main one). There is no such thing as religious/cultural appropriation when it comes to Hermeticism in general. Although it is possible to appropriate from specific Hermetic groups or traditions like Sufism or the Golden Dawn, everything in Hermeticism itself is fair game for anyone to participate in, take influence from, or take inspiration from, however best it might serve them. Thus, studying and engaging with Hermeticism is not useful only for those who strive to follow the Way of Hermēs itself, but as well as for the students of many other traditions and religions who might want to engage with Hermeticism as a means to deepen their own belief and practice in their own tradition or religion. Just make sure whether it's actually alright to do so in your own non-Hermetic tradition or religion!

Who can practice Hermeticism?

Anyone, so long as they are willing and able to engage with it. Hermeticism is not a "closed" practice; certain aspects about it may have been held secret as mysteries, in the same sense that the cult at Eleusis or the Mithras cult were "mystery religions", but since there is no living community today that has preserved any such mystery from classical times, individual groups or practitioners are free to pick up Hermeticism as much as they feel appropriate to them and engage with it on their own terms, though preferably in a way that is in accord with the teachings and goals of Hermēs Trismegistos according to the extant texts.

Do I need a teacher for Hermeticism?

Having a teacher in anything is always preferred to self-study and self-work, and Hermeticism is no exception; it always helps to have someone who has already walked the way to show you the way and to guide you along it, rather than you trying to figure it out on your own, which can be costly and dangerous at times. That being said, as noted earlier, there is no surviving lineage of Hermeticism, so there is no teacher that has learned from an unbroken chain of Hermeticists dating back to the classical period. You can certainly find someone who can teach you, or you can join a group under a mentor/initiator who can guide you in the practices and beliefs of that group insofar as they profess Hermeticism, but in general, given the present state of Hermetic studies and practices in general, most people in Hermeticism are self-taught, and tend to find study groups or like-minded communities with which they can learn and practice together.

How can I find a Hermetic group or lodge?

As in all things, connections are everything. Ask around and see amongst your friends, online colleagues, and the like if anyone knows anything about such a group, and see if that group is open to being contacted. In some cases, such a group has a public webpage or similar public "face" that can be contacted directly, but in general, personal connections tend to work better. Learn what you can about that group, listen to what you can hear being said about that group, listen to how that group talks about itself and the other people in it, spend time with members of that group. See whether that group is right for you and whether you are right for them before you even consider asking to join. Don't be hasty and rush into a group that only seems good but is actually trash with a pretty mask covering it up. Some groups are quite legitimate and helpful, even if they don't have a historical pedigree; some groups, even with a solid pedigree, are also out to make victims out of potential candidates for initiation. Use your best judgment and pay attention, as with all such groups.

Is Hermeticism right for me?

Everyone has their own path to follow in life, and the Way of Hermēs is hard, even for those who have walked it for years. It is not a path meant for everyone, as not everyone has the maturity and capability of keeping up with the work that Hermēs teaches, and some people need preliminary training and study just to get up to the point to even begin it. That being said: if you are willing to learn about the nature of yourself and the world and of divinity, if you are willing to find a way to reduce or eliminate the suffering of your own life specifically and the world generally, if you are willing to follow the way to become divine, and if you are willing to engage in the work of the salvation of the soul, then Hermeticism may well be right for you, and I encourage you to begin its study and practice and see where this Way leads you.

texts

What is "the Hermetica?"

There is no one single classical text called "the Hermetica", although this term is sometimes used to refer to the collective body of Hermetic texts from the classical period. Confusingly, however, several modern authors and scholars have used the term "the Hermetica" to title their own books containing Hermetic texts:

While one may use "the Hermetica" to refer to the collective body of Hermetic texts from the classical period, in order to reduce confusion, it is recommended to use a different term, e.g. "the classical Hermetic texts" generally or the name of a specific such text instead. When referring to one of the above texts, it is better to clarify by stating the author's name, e.g. "Copenhaver's 'Hermetica'".

What is the "Divine Pymander"?

When Marsilio Ficino translated the Corpus Hermeticum into Latin from Greek in the 15th century CE, he used the title of the first "book" (what we might call a "chapter" nowadays) as the title for the entire translation. This was like titling the Old Testament "Book of Genesis". A few later translators working off Ficino, like John Everard, also used the same title. Depending on the context, "Divine Pymander" may refer to either Book I of the Corpus Hermeticum (the technically correct meaning), or to later translations of the Corpus Hermeticum as a whole. As a result, to reduce confusion, it is recommended to refer to Book I of the Corpus Hermeticum as just that, and refer to the specific translations by their authors, e.g. "in Ficino" or "in Everard".

What are the "philosophical Hermetica"?

There are plenty of different Hermetic texts available to us from antiquity, and although the distinction isn't always so clear or fixed as some scholars would like to believe, one group of texts is known as the "philosophical Hermetica" (or the "theoretical Hermetica"). These texts focus on the religious, philosophical, cosmological, theosophical, and otherwise doctrinal side of Hermeticism, and generally consist of dialogues or letters between Hermēs Trismegistos and his students. Although they may mention them at a high level, the "philosophical" texts generally lack any details regarding anything practice-oriented, like the study of astrology, the consecration of talismans, the ensoulment of statues, or the like; in other words, there is little "magic" or "ritual" in the "philosophical Hermetica", even if such things are assumed. Examples of "philosophical Hermetica" include (but are not limited to) the Corpus Hermeticum, the Stobaean Fragments, and the Perfect Sermon.

What are the "technical Hermetica"?

As opposed to the "philosophical Hermetica", the "technical Hermetica" (or the "practical Hermetica") focus on the practical, technical, or skill-oriented parts of Hermeticism; rather than being more about belief and doctrine, these are about practice and technology. As such, these have the bulk of the "magic" and "ritual" that the "philosophical Hermetica" lack. However, due to the overall distaste many historians and scholars have had for studying magical things, the "technical Hermetica" have received much less attention than the "philosophical Hermetica". This isn't to say that they don't exist or haven't been translated, but aren't as codified and haven't received as much popular attention as the "philosophical Hermetica", and due to the messy nature of magic and magical texts, there are plenty of overlaps between explicitly Hermetic practices and implicit ones. Further, "technical Hermetica" continued to be produced well after the last of the "philosophical Hermetica" were written, so "technical Hermetica" can also reasonably include post-classical and modern texts. Examples of "technical Hermetica" include the Greek Magical Papyri (PGM), the Sacred Book of Hermēs to Asklēpios, and the Picatrix.

Is the Corpus Hermeticum the Bible of Hermeticism?

Given the popularity and fame this collection of texts has received over the past 600 years, it sure seems so, doesn't it? Of course, the Corpus Hermeticum is just one of several collections of Hermetic texts, and despite its importance for the study and practice of Hermeticism, should not be considered the most or only important such collection. It is unclear whether there ever even was such a "primary text" of Hermeticism. That being said, considering Book I's role in the Corpus Hermeticum as giving us the founding myth and initial revelation of Hermēs Trismegistos, even if it was never intended to be a "Bible" for Hermeticism, it may be considered as such by those who choose to do so—though it is best taken together with similar texts such as the Perfect Sermon and the Stobaean Fragments for a more comprehensive reading and study.

What about "The Kybalion"?

Despite how much this book loves to call itself Hermetic, "The Kybalion" is not a Hermetic text. Rather, it is an invention of William Walker Atkinson, a prolific author and an early pioneer of New Thought, an early New Age movement, and who wrote under the pen name "The Three Initiates" (along with his other pen names like "Theron Q. Dumont" and "Yogi Ramacharaka"). Although "The Kybalion" claims to be based on an ancient Hermetic book (also called "The Kybalion"), no such text has ever been discovered, the doctrines within it do not match with those of either the philosophical or technical Hermetica, the terminology used within it is foreign to classical texts of any kind but rather match cleanly with New Age terminology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries CE, and generally lacks any notion of theology or theosophy present in the actual Hermetic texts. Although many modern occultists love "The Kybalion" and despite many people becoming interested in Hermeticism because of "The Kybalion", The this is not a Hermetic text, and is only "Hermetic" in the sense that it has been adopted by many modern Hermeticists rather than by any virtue of its own. The best discussion regarding "The Kybalion" and its (non-)Hermetic nature is the essay "The Kybalion's New Clothes: An Early 20th Century Text's Dubious Association with Hermeticism" by Nicholas E. Chapel. This isn't to say that "The Kybalion" is entirely without worth—for some people, New Thought can be profoundly useful—but the fact remains that it is not Hermetic, and so there's no need to discuss it in a Hermetic context or as a source of Hermetic doctrine or practice (not that there's much practical stuff in it to begin with).

What about "The Emerald Tablets of Thōth the Atlantean", and is it the same text as the Emerald Tablet?

"The Emerald Tablets of Thōth the Atlantean" is another entirely modern and New Age creation, much like The Kybalion, and so is also not Hermetic, and also goes pretty far afield into extremely New Age topics and discussions that are nowhere found in actual Hermetic texts to the point of it being sci-fi. The name is based on the Emerald Tablet (or Tabula Smaragdina), a short extract of a medieval 7th century CE Arabic book on natural philosophy and alchemy called the Book of the Secrets of Creation (Kitab sirr al-khaliqa) attributed to Apollonius of Tyana. The Emerald Tablet is a fascinating, though exceedingly dense and cryptic text, and has received much attention over the centuries since its first translation into Latin in the 12th century CE, though it is entirely unclear if this was a creation of Islamic Hermeticism or medieval Islamic alchemists, or whether it is a translation of something earlier from the classical period.

What's the deal with the Emerald Tablet, anyway?

The Emerald Tablet is a well-known Hermetic text, though exceedingly short, and is less of a discourse and more of a cryptic poem. Due to its crypticness, it's received much attention since it entered the European mindset, and much ink has been spilled about how it might have any number of mystical or mythical origins, including a supposed ancient Chinese antecedent. It is something of a puzzle, but it relies on early Islamic alchemical symbolism (which was the basis of much of Western and European alchemy) in order to communicate a notion of how to achieve the Philosopher's Stone by means of transmutation of the four elements. It is this text that the famous adages "‘tis true without lying" and "as above, so below" come from.

What about Julius Evola and his "The Hermetic Tradition"?

By Evola's own admission in his introduction to "The Hermetic Tradition", the book has nothing to do with Hermeticism as it is. When he uses the term "Hermetic tradition", he refers to his own take on medieval and Renaissance alchemical symbolism informed by Theosophically-influenced Vedic and Hindu spirituality. To be fair, though, Evola is someone to completely avoid at all costs; what modern occultists really need to know about him is that he founded a magic society based on a series of solar rituals that were grossly unbalanced, turning all its members into egotistical megalomaniacs who couldn't get along or organize for a common purpose. They all became convinced that they were, each of them, the Only True Source of Light, and so the organization exploded; naturally, having completely failed at designing effective magic, they turned to politics that gave them permission to murder anyone who disagreed with them. As a result, there is nothing that meaningful or worthwhile that you can learn from Evola's (or the Ur Group's) texts that you can't learn from some other, less obnoxious, less odious, less overweening, and overall better source in the century since or the many centuries before. I mean, heck, even John Michael Greer talked once upon a time about how bad Evola was, not just politically but also magically, especially in "Introduction to Magic" but also touching on how short-lived and paltry Evola's magical career was. JMG's article also points out something really neat: Evola was literally just involved in magic for, like, three years. That's it. In those few years, magic failed him because he failed at magic. The man was an egotistical, hyperfascist, woman-hating, violent abuser of not just other human beings but of human dignity itself, and the sooner people drop his shit and leave him to be swallowed by the sands of time in favor of literally anyone better, the better off we'll all be.

Are the Hermetic texts encoded or encrypted?

No. To be fair, many of these texts can be pretty dense and difficult to read, but that's more a function of two things: the very subject matter they deal with is also pretty dense and difficult to communicate in any language, and also because the style of their writing can be difficult for a lot of modern people to approach nowadays. They are, however, written in the usual rhetorical and literary styles common to a lot of philosophical, religious, or mystical texts also written in Hellenistic civilization, and so aren't really anything special in that regard. There has never been any suggestion that they were encrypted only for initiates to decipher, or that they were written in a code that can be parsed out from clues hidden in the text; such claims are sometimes repeated by people in New Age circles, but this is almost always a cover for people to explain their own inability to read and digest these texts, or to otherwise let people hide their fear and trepidation of ignorantly talking about the texts without direct experience with them. The only thing these texts need is time and dedication to understand; they are more like fine dining rather than fast food, and deserve thoughtful chewing upon in order to get anywhere with them.

Are the Hermetic texts corrupted or incomplete?

It is true that, over the past 2000 years, we have lost some Hermetic texts, and those Hermetic texts that have survived have not always done so in a pristine state; sometimes there are lacunae in the texts, sometimes marginalia or external notes have become incorporated with the texts, or sometimes the language is so garbled as to be rendered difficult to comprehend. While these are definite problems, our understanding of the texts (with the help of modern scholarship and comparison with related texts in similar or contemporary religious and philosophical traditions) is better than ever, and many of these problems have been resolved in a way that preserves (or recovers) the original meaning of the Hermetic texts themselves. So, while some parts of the Hermetic texts are corrupted or incomplete, they are uncorrupted and complete as a whole, and are still quite understandable today with the same meaning and impact as they had 2000 years ago.

What about the Hermetic texts that we've lost?

We only have what has survived the knife of time and the redactor's pen. We know for a fact that there were more Hermetic texts written than what we have today, and we even know that some of the texts we do have are missing parts (like how Book II of the Corpus Hermeticum is missing its entire introduction, and the title applied to Book II is actuall the title of a separate text that originally came before what we have today as Book II). We can only hope that there are still manuscripts out there, whether hidden away in desert sands or preserved still in mouldering monastery libraries or museum collections, that contain as-yet undiscovered Hermetic texts. Until then, we make do with what we can, and try to fill in the gaps as reasonably as we're able.

What are the core texts of Hermeticism?

The "beating heart" and root of much of Hermeticism are found in the classical Hermetic canon, which can be thought of as consisting of the following texts from the "philosophical Hermetica". These texts are:

As regards the "technical Hermetica", however, there is much more variability in terms of what texts one should consider as "core" to Hermeticism, especially given the varied nature of them and how well they may or may not integrate or harmonize with the "philosophical Hermetica". Important among these, however, can be considered (though by no means are limited to):

What are all these abbreviations like CH, AH, NHC, PGM…?

It's true, we do like throwing around abbreviations to refer to the various Hermetic texts, secondary academic literature, or other collections of texts that help us save letters/keystrokes (and thus precious time and space), but it can be a bit daunting for newcomers to get used to them all. While specific people might abbreviate particular texts differently (e.g. "AH" vs "Ascl."), in general the convention is to use the following for the texts mentioned above as well as a few that I'll mention later below:

General collections of texts:

Specific texts within those collections:

Other useful abbreviations:

Other academic literature commonly abbreviated:

In what order should I read the texts?

One after the other, usually from the front towards the back. More seriously, though, because each text is considered a single treatise on its own, and because none of the collections really build upon each other (even if there are a very few passing references from one to another), it doesn't generally matter what order you read them in (at least as far as the "philosophical Hermetica" are concerned).

What are the differences between different translations of the Corpus Hermeticum, Asclepius, etc., and which should I get?

As a rule, always go with more modern translations instead of older ones. It is true that the translations of Ficino, Everard, and Mead were greatly important in the history of Western esotericism, but we have more texts at our disposal today with better contextual understanding than what was available to earlier translators. As a result, modern translations (especially those based on the critical Greek edition of the Corpus Hermeticum produced by A. D. Nock and A.-J. Festugière) are going to use more source material with better ability to understand and transmit the text than what was done in earlier times. To that end, the best English translations available today of classical Hermetic texts are those produced by Brian Copenhaver, M. David Litwa, Clement Salaman, and J.-P. Mahé (as well as including more notes and references that further help elucidate the translated text, usually missing from earlier translations). Older translations may be used, but should be cross-referenced with modern translations when possible to make sure that the meaning of the text is properly understood.

What happened to Book XV of the Corpus Hermeticum?

The earliest translations of the Corpus Hermeticum did not always follow the same convention as what modern translations use, and depending on the underlying texts that Ficino or other translators used, different Hermetic texts might be present not part of the usual collection of the Corpus Hermeticum. As a result, Book XV of these early translations contained a Hermetic text that properly belonged to a separate collection and was not part of other Corpus Hermeticum manuscripts. In order to maintain the convention of numbering certain books from the Corpus Hermeticum the same for the purposes of ease of reference, no modern text in the Corpus Hermeticum is counted as "Book XV". It's not that "Book XV" is a "missing Hermetic text", just that we conventionally don't mark any text as "Book XV" (like how some buildings don't have a 13th floor, but immediately go from floor 12 to floor 14).

What's the deal with Walter Scott's "Hermetica"?

In the early 20th century, the English classical scholar Walter Scott put out his four-volume work "Hermetica", with the first volume containing his translation of various Hermetic texts, the second and third volumes containing his commentary, and the fourth (published posthumously) containing a variety of other fragments, testimonia, and notes not directly related to the other three volumes. Although his work was the first new English translation since G.R.S. Mead's some decades prior with ample academic work feeding into it, the translation itself is basically worthless to any serious student of Hermeticism given how badly Scott translated not what the texts actually are but what he thought they should be, sometimes so completely mangling the underlying text as to result with something completely different than what the text actually is. This is why, when comparing various translations of the CH and other texts, Scott often sticks out like a sore thumb. While his commentary is often still fantastic to consult, it should be remembered that it's a commentary on what produced as a translation, not the text itself as it is. A great summary of how this is viewed can be found in the introduction of Copenhaver's own Hermetica:

Reitzenstein had published another Greek text of C .H. I in his 1926 Studies, prefacing it with the comment that "in my notes I can use the new edition of the Corpus by Walter Scott…but for my text I can take nothing from it. Whether the long commentary that is promised can even partially justify the completely reckless arrangement of the text remains to be seen." At this point, Reitzenstein had seen only the first volume (1924) of Scott's Hermetica, which contains an introduction, the texts and the translations. Two thick volumes of commentary followed in 1926, but Scott's death in the previous year delayed publication of the fourth volume of testimonia and indices until 1936, when it appeared with extensive additions by A.S. Ferguson. Scholars have generally confirmed Reitzenstein's harsh verdict on the text, which is a jungle of excisions, interpolations and transpositions so distantly related to the manuscripts that Scott's translation can only be regarded as a translation of Scott, not of the Hermetic authors. Apart from the text and translation, however, Scott's volumes remain indispensable, and some of his textual insights were brilliantly right, others brilliantly wrong. His commentary is copious and learned, and his collection of testimonies an invaluable resource.

What else should I read to learn more about Hermeticism?

Plenty! Many works of Hellenistic time period, including those regarding Stoicism, Platonism (whether early or middle or new), Aristotelianism, Hellenistic Judaism, Egyptian religion and philosophy, and the like are helpful for getting a better contextual background for approaching and understanding the Hermetic texts. Similarly, the gnostic texts of the Nag Hammadi Library and related texts like the Books of Jeu are also helpful to see similar influences at play that played out differently from the path that Hermeticism took. In addition to these source texts, modern scholarship is also helpful to understand more subtle shifts and developments in these texts and the traditions that produced them that are not immediately apparent from the source texts themselves. Some scholars and authors to read on these fronts include, in no particular order nor is this an exhaustive list by any means:

Could you be more specific about which books I should focus on first, or in which order?

For the cheap-and-quick start TL;DR, I'd recommend getting these two books first:

If you get these two books (both are pretty cheap but good-quality modern translations of three separate Hermetic texts between them), you'll be well-placed to learning about Hermetic doctrine, practices, beliefs, and the like. However, if you can, I'd also recommend getting:

If you get all those, you'll have high-quality translation(s) of all currently-extant classical Hermetic texts with a good few post-classical/medieval ones, complete with plenty of scholarly references, notes, introductions, and appendices for further research and contemplation.

For modern scholarly work about the development, origination, practice, and growth of Hermeticism from its Egyptian origins into its later Arabic and medieval influences, these four books are fantastic (and the bibliographies of which can lead you to other works as well):

doctrine

Is Hermeticism monotheistic, or is it polytheistic?

Either or both, depending on your perspective, but it's really more of the latter. It is true that the bulk of the Hermetic texts, especially the "philosophical Hermetica", focus on a singular God as the One and the Good for the purposes of both cosmological structure as well as theosophical devotion, but it's also true that the same Hermetic texts discuss the ensoulment of statues by the gods and encourage the worship of such corporeal gods as well as the many gods in heaven. Whether one wants to consider there to be just one God and all other entities as angels subservient to this one God, or whether one wants to consider the One to be on an ontological level beyond the gods and the gods to have their own reality, Hermeticism may admit both or either perspective. It is also helpful to consider the One to be a "god whom the gods themselves worship" or a "god beyond the gods", a perspective that is evinced in magical texts from the same time period. However, because of the meanings of the terms ``monotheism'' and ``polytheism'' as being defined as ``belief that there is only one god'' and ``belief that there is more than one god'', and given that the Hermetic texts discuss the existence of multiple gods, the Hermetic texts are fundamentally polytheistic in their own context and phrasing.

Is Hermeticism pantheistic or panentheistic?

It is perhaps most accurate to describe Hermeticism as panentheistic, where God is both immanent within and throughout the cosmos as well as transcendent of it. All things in this cosmos come from God, and God is visible throughout all of creation by means of God's creatures; at the same time, God is also infinitely beyond the cosmos. God, however, should not be equated with the cosmos, which is a strictly pantheistic (and not panentheistic) perspective. Although one may understand all things that exist as existing within God, it should be remembered that God can only be known in a way that extends beyond and outside the cosmos; one must rise above and beyond the cosmos to get on God's own level in order to know God, which is also how we return to our own origin, which also lies beyond the cosmos.

Is there a demiurge in Hermeticism?

Depending on the specific text, yes, Hermeticism does teach that while God is the ultimate creator of all things, God creates worldly, material things by means of a demiurge. The word "demiurge" (demiourgos in Greek) literally means "craftsman" or "artisan", and in Hermeticism is seen to fashion the material, sensible, and perceptible world in accordance with the reason and will of God. This perspective of the demiurge should not be confused with the demiurge of gnostic teachings, which tends to consider the demiurge in a much more negative light, ignorant of God and thus considered "blind" or "stupid". No such association is made with the Hermetic demiurge, who is considered a representative of the will and reason of God and in our cosmos is represented by (or, depending on the text, literally present as) the Sun itself.

Is there fate or is there free will in Hermeticism?

Hermeticism is essentially deterministic, with notions of free will (as generally thought of on a mundane level) being an illusion, but there is some nuance to this stance in Hermeticism. There is a sort of chain that makes Hermeticism deterministic:

This is one of the reasons why the study of astrology is important for Hermeticism, since it—as the study of the planets and stars—grants us insight into Fate and, thus, the very will of God. It should be noted, however, that things only apply in the domains upon which they bear; thus, Fate only applies to the cosmos (and, more specifically, our material world). Because of this limitation on Fate, it is proper to say that Hermeticism is only deterministic within the realm of the cosmos, but beyond it, other rules apply. That distinction of determinism or lack thereof between the encosmic and hypercosmic realms becomes important once one understands the nature of and the relationship between the soul and the body, and what the goal of the Way of Hermēs is.

What exactly is the soul in Hermeticism, and what role does it play?

The existence of the soul is taken for granted in Hermeticism, and is one part of the dualistic understanding of what a human consists of: a material, mortal body and an immaterial, immortal soul. Of these two parts, it is the soul that is held to be the "true" human, the essence of a human being, and is made in the image of God as God's own child (and can be considered a sibling to the Demiurge and the cosmos itself). Being created directly by God and, thus, not as a product of the cosmos, the soul is essentially above Fate.

What exactly is the body in Hermeticism, and what role does it play?

The body is the material, mortal component of a human being, housing and being animated by the immaterial, immortal soul. Unlike the soul, which has its origins directly in God and is made as an image of God, the body is a creation of the cosmos and is made as an image of the soul. Because the body is a creation of the cosmos, the body is subject to Fate. Unlike the soul, which provides its own "energy" and will, the body is driven by two energies: that of drive (thumos, the emotional and passion-based desires of the body-generated ego) and desire (epithumia, the physical needs and appetites of the body).

What is the relationship between the soul and the body?

The essential human, being soul and thus being immaterial, cannot directly interact with a material cosmos without a material body, which is why the soul is housed in the body, and the connection between soul and body is facilitated by means of spirit (pneuma, literally "breath" but also with connotation of the subtle powers of air in general). Although the soul is nominally the master of the body, the body can sometimes overpower the soul if the drive and desire of the body is stronger than the intentions and will of the soul itself; because drive and desire are bodily, and because the body is subject to Fate, the overpowering of the soul by drive and desire thus afflicts the soul with Fate. Even though the soul comes from a realm beyond the cosmos and is thus not necessarily subject to Fate, it can still be influenced and impacted by Fate due to the body, especially when the body is stronger than the soul that it houses. It is part of the way of Hermēs to learn how to tame the drive and desire of the body so that they remain in service to the soul and not the other way around, thus minimizing the impact of Fate upon the soul and freeing the soul to act how it needs to.

Is there reincarnation in Hermeticism, or is there a Heaven and Hell, or other afterlife?

Reincarnation of the soul into different bodies is generally held to be the case in Hermeticism, at least up until the point where the soul is able to break free of the cycles of birth, death, and rebirth in the cosmos and rejoin with its origin in God beyond the cosmos.  This does not mean that incarnation is a punishment, but it is where we are all the same.  The bulk of Hermetic texts agree that the reincarnation of the human soul only occurs in human bodies, even if one’s conduct in their previous life can determine the quality of the next.  There is a strong similarity between these Hermetic notions and the doctrines of saṃsāra and mokṣa in Vedic religions like Hinduism.  There is no notion of a generic neutral afterlife of shadehood, like Haidēs for the Hellenes or Sheol for the Jews.  In most texts, likewise, there is no notion of a hell for sinners as in Christianity, although some texts do describe a punishment for souls who are unconditionally "stained with evil", so it appears that this doctrine was being developed in later texts or which was added onto Hermeticism from outside sources, and is not generally common or a universally-held belief.

Why are we here to begin with?

It is difficult to question the reason behind the creation of God, but the explanation for humanity's creation and incarnation is that God created the cosmos and thought it beautiful, since it was made according to the will of God and, thus, in an image of God. In order to fully celebrate the creation of the cosmos, God also created humans, also in the image of God (but in a different way than the cosmos was created), so as to engage with, understand, and adore the creation of God that was the cosmos. However, creating humans as immaterial soul alone was not enough for them to fully engage with the material cosmos, and so bodies were created to house the soul so as to fully immerse the human soul in creation as a human being consisting of both body (so as to interact with the cosmos) and soul (so as to know and comprehend the cosmos as a creation of God). The problems begin to arise when we misunderstand the proper relationship between the soul and the body, or between humanity, the cosmos, and God; when this relationship is imbalance or misunderstood, we begin to depart from our original tasks and forget what it is we're supposed to do and become while down here. This is part of the goal and aim of the Way of Hermēs: to remember our divine origin, to remember what we truly are, and to fully engage in the work of creation as is right and proper for us, but only as is right and proper for us.

What exactly is gnōsis in Hermeticism, and what role does it play?

The Greek word gnōsis literally means "knowledge" in English, but this is more than just an intellectual understanding of a concept. In the Way of Hermēs, gnōsis is more the experiential, non-discursive knowledge of something true; it is not something that can just be arrived at through discourse or logical proofs (what might be called logos in Greek), nor something that is simply taught and believed (what might be called epistēmē). Rather, gnōsis is more akin to a "divine revelation", and the experience of gnōsis is something Hermeticists aim for achieving—usually multiple times. The proper way to approach gnōsis (as evidenced in the Hermetic texts where such experiences are described) is one of care, through preparation and purification ahead of time and by means of unpacking and analysis afterwards, so as to properly integrate the experience and meaning of such an experience of gnōsis without misinterpreting it or going crazy because of it. It is thus beyond mere insight or a hunch, and closer to a literal inspiration in the soul by God itself.

What exactly is nous in Hermeticism, and what role does it play?

Nous is the Greek word for "mind", but this is not to be understood as what we generally or conventionally understood as our day-to-day thinking mind of thoughts and imagination. As a technical term in Hermeticism, nous refers to a sort of divine awareness, the faculty that allows one to achieve gnōsis. The specific nature of nous is not always clear in the Hermetic texts, and some Hermetic texts tend to describe it differently from others; as such, it is not clear whether nous is something external to the soul and "added onto/into" worthy souls that lack it and seek it, or whether it is simply a faculty preexistent in the soul but which lies dormant until awakened. Either way, not all people have access to nous, and realizing that access (and the potential gnōsis it permits) is an early part of the Way of Hermēs.

Why is the cosmos described as "evil"?

Although the words "good" and "evil" are bandied about in the Hermetic texts, it's important to remember that these were, for the most part, used in a philosophical sense and not a moral sense (although the moral senses of the words come about from the philosophical senses). Suffice it to say that the Good, as a philosophical concept, is equated with God, and anything that is not God is thus not Good; as a result, anything that is created by God is not Good, but because all things are in Good, all things are likewise in (or participate in) the Good. This can be expanded to notions of being able to be moved by passion, change, corruption, or the like, which are all discussed in the Hermetic texts, but this is the simple notion; thus, evil is just "not Good". When extended to morality, things are morally good if they draw one closer to God, and evil if they do not. A single act done by one person may be morally good for them, depending on their fate and whether or not they do that thing in accordance with fate and with the awareness that nous confers, while that same act may be morally evil for another depending on their fate and awareness (or the lack thereof) that nous confers. It can be a tricky subject to tackle at times, but in general, the more we align ourselves to act in accordance with our fate in this world and with the will of God directing our souls, the more good we do, since that is what helps us reach closer to the good.

Why did God create evil or allow it to exist?

It's fair to give God in the Hermetic texts the usual "all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful" description according to the usual arguments of theodicy, but we also need to give God the descriptor "all-rational", too; in that light, this is the best of all possible worlds, and all things that exist and happen do so according to the will of God (remember the Providence-Necessity-Fate chain described before). Evil, in this light, doesn't exist except as an illusion of duality, and the same generative and change-based processes that produce "evil" in the cosmos also purge the cosmos of that same "evil". Suffering, likewise, only exists as an artifact of sensation and ignorance, and it too is liable and obligated to pass away from existence just as much (and just as fast) as it passes into existence. In this, moral evil and suffering exist as part and parcel of the cosmos in which we live just as much as moral good and pleasure, because both are part of the same overall creation, and the existence of one logically necessitates the existence of the other. By coming to understand the processes of the cosmos, we also understand the nature of things and how they impact us, whether for weal or for woe; similarly, by coming to better understand the cosmos and our place in it, we also learn the means of rising above and beyond the cosmos, and thus away from suffering and closer to the peace of divinity.

In Book II of the Corpus Hermeticum, it says something weird about having children and how those who don't have children are cursed. Um…?

This part has caught a number of people off-guard, seemingly out of place when it comes to Hermetic discussions, as it seems to imply a sort of divine retribution for not rearing children. After all, not all people are willing or able to bear or raise children, sometimes for very good reasons (e.g. lack of means) and other times for reasons outside their control (e.g. infertility). That being said, in order to maintain the good ordering of the cosmos, humanity is enjoined to continue reproducing itself, which Book II of the Corpus Hermeticum interprets to place a moral obligation on individuals to continue that work of reproduction and the continuation of the human race. This text can just as much be said to apply to physical children as well as to spiritual children; thus, those who can manage to "increase by increasing and multiply by multiplying", whether by having children of one's own or by supporting the children of others, or by giving the gift of spiritual birth to those who seek the Way of Hermēs (since the spiritual womb that all have is used as a metaphor in several Hermetic texts) are all valid ways to fulfill this sort of obligation. Further, one can also interpret this injunction to have children even more generally by interpreting all acts of creation to be one's children, including the development of medicine, the cultivation of plants, the generation of art, the ensoulment of statues and talismans, the production of invention, and so forth; all of these are just as valid ways to engage in the work of creation in addition to bearing and raising children.

What about the Seven Hermetic Principles/Laws?

This is just more stuff from "The Kybalion", and has no meaningful bearing on the study of Hermeticism. Unless you're actively engaged with "The Kybalion" as a self-help book, all they're good for is getting more clicks on YouTube for badly-overdone video shorts on what miserably passes for "content" nowadays.

What about the planes of correspondence?

Again, more stuff from "The Kybalion"; there is no notion of "three great planes" (spiritual, mental, physical) in the Hermetic texts, nor subdivisions into sets of seven minor planes or a further sevenfold division into subplanes beyond that. Rather than positing a model of cosmology that could only be described as fundamentally New Age (and with a lot in common with Theosophical models specifically), a Hermetic cosmology is something much more straightforward and unified, bearing much in common with the Ptolemaic geocentric model of the cosmos: there is the Earth, then the seven spheres of the planets (literally the planets themselves), then the eighth sphere of the fixed stars, then the abode of Divinity itself beyond (which itself may or may not have divisions into one or more "spheres"). There is no notion of alternate dimensions, overlapping planes, or the like. How much these might "correspond" to each other is a matter of lower things depending on, resembling, and being influenced by higher things, but the reverse is not always true.

Something something gender?

We really don't need any more bad or historical cis takes in spirituality at this point. Besides the fact that the oft-vaunted "principle of gender" is nothing more than more tripe from The Kybalion, there's also nothing—zero, zip, zilch, nada—in Hermeticism that teaches about any divine or essential notion of masculinity or femininity. Rather, God is explicitly androgyne (which, in classical terms, is also equivalent to saying "genderless"), and as the essential human (i.e. the soul) is made in the image of God, so too is the essential human also androgyne (or genderless). Even the original humans were considered to be bimorphic, consisting of both genders (in much the same way as Aristophanes' story regarding the origin of love in Plato's Symposium) before they were split into distinct genders. Gender only comes about in terms of physical bodies for the explicit and sole purpose of biological reproduction, and otherwise has no bearing on any Hermetic teaching or practice. While some might find the notion of spiritual or divine gender comfortable or useful for their models of cosmology and theology, there is no such notion in Hermeticism, nor is one needed in order to make sense of the cosmos, of divinity, or of ourselves from a Hermetic standpoint. If there is any indication at all regarding gender in Hermeticism, even when it comes down to the physical level, it is that they are to be held equal in power and ability, just with distinct roles to play in a small handful of acts related to procreation.

What about the role of women in Hermeticism?

It is true that the vast majority of Hermetic texts involve male characters, or characters which are grammatically described as male in the original Greek, Latin, or Coptic language: Hermēs Trismegistos, Asklēpios, Tat, Ammōn, Osiris, Poimandrēs, and the like. The only woman who appears is Isis in the Kore Kosmou texts, where she appears as the mentor and instructor of Horos taking on the same role that Hermēs did for his students. The dearth of women in the Hermetic dialogs can be attributed largely to the culturally male-dominant milieu in which the Hermetic texts (and, for that matter, the vast majority of religious and philosophical texts of the time) were written, but this should not be construed to say that the absence of women is indicative of anything significant. As mentioned earlier, neither sex nor gender have any role to play on any level except that of biological procreation; in all other respects, both in this world and in any other, women are just as important, valid, necessary, and powerful as men, because there is no fundamental distinction between them that matters on any level beyond the merely physical, and that for one concern only.

What about the disagreements in doctrine amongst the Hermetic texts themselves?

It is true that not all the Hermetic texts agree on all details or on all points; after all, they were written by different teachers across several hundred years with varying influences, even if they all agreed on the same high-level things and participated in the same fundamental cultural, social, religious, and philosophical environment. Sometimes this is a case where different teachers started with the same set of premises, but used different logical arguments or different perspectives to end up at different conclusions; other times, different fundamental premises were used that led to different conclusions, even if the overall logic was the same. In some cases, different things were taught to students at different times, such as a simpler and more general model for beginner students but more complicated models with unexpected outcomes for more advanced students who are already comfortable with the general models; in other cases, one teacher's takeaway from a mystic vision leads them to have information and conclusions that fundamentally change their perception of a particular teaching. It is a fool's errand to try to get all the different and differing points of doctrine in the Hermetic texts to agree with each other completely, even if they can be said to agree generally; these differences should be understood for what they are. Such inconsistencies do not mean that Hermeticism is a fundamentally flawed form of mysticism, but that there is a wide variety of ways to perceive, reckon, and approach the cosmos and divinity even within the same overall milieu.

Did Hermetic doctrines or beliefs change over time?

To be sure, Hermeticism is not something necessarily fixed in time, as it continued to evolve through the millennia across several continents, adapting and adopting other beliefs and practices for its own ends just as much as it was adapted and adopted by other beliefs and practices for theirs. That being said, to trace the specific growth and evolution of Hermeticism through all these circumstances can be difficult. As a result, such doctrines and beliefs definitely underwent change, but not all such changes were done in a way that furthered the logic of Hermeticism, and some such changes ended up causing even more difference or disagreement in doctrine than what was there previously, especially if it meant Hermeticism could be made more tolerable to otherwise intolerant religious communities or authorities. Unless one is specifically focusing on a particular post-classical era or context in which Hermetic doctrines were present in some form or another, it is recommended to always draw things back to their origins and compare against the original fundamental Hermetic texts to get a better idea of what changed, how it changed, why it changed, and whether it is in accord with the original logic and goals of the Way of Hermēs.

Can I incorporate modern or non-Hermetic beliefs into Hermeticism?

It depends on the belief; if we use the classical Hermetic texts (the origin of the notion of "Hermeticism") as a foundation to gauge the "Hermeticness" of something, then we can identify things that are compatible with Hermeticism and things that are incompatible with Hermeticism. There's a general rubric I like to recommend for things like this, whether or not such beliefs are modern:

When discussing such doctrines that are added to or which extend the explicit doctrines of Hermeticism according to the Hermetic texts, it should be made clear what they are, why they are included, and whether and how much they agree with the explicit underlying doctrines or why they are permissible. In other words, it is better to justify one's approach in including such doctrines rather than simply adding them haphazardly in because one can.

practice

What practices are part of Hermeticism?

Although the "philosophical Hermetica" are great for teaching doctrine, they offer very little in the way of actual practice, whether day-to-day routine practice or things for non-routine ritual. However, we do know that prayer to God is something Hermēs Trismegistos encourages, especially at sunrise (preferably outdoors facing east) and at sunset (again preferably outdoors facing south), along with at nighttime immediately before going to bed. Practices of purity and asceticism are also encouraged, both for their training of the body as well for the work of engaging divinity without being polluted by the passions of base matter. In tandem with study of the discourses and other arts, frequent meditation should be engaged with, both for the purposes of delving deeper into the meanings of the teachings as well as to gain insight regarding one's own nature and the nature of the cosmos generally. For those who are building shrines for the gods, calling the gods down into statues for more immediate contact and worship of them is recommended, by the means of filling the statues with sacred substances, burning incense before them, bathing them in sacred liquids, and the singing of hymns to seat them in their terrestrial bodies; rather than just statues or other images, bodily possession by the gods may also be attempted. When ready, works of spiritual elevation and divine ascent should be undertaken, which can be considered among the crowning acts (though far from a one-time effort) a Hermeticist should endeavor towards. Besides these, many other practices as described in the "technical Hermetica" or which are borrowed from any number of other magical and spiritual traditions may also be incorporated.

Are there any particular gods I should worship?

Hermeticism arose in a temple-centric Greco-Egyptian culture, with the teachings taught (and the texts written) by polytheistic priests or those taught by them; as such, the mysticism of Hermeticism is grounded in polytheistic worship of the gods of the cosmos, where one builds up and works towards a sort of devotional worship of and union to God (or, rather, the Godhead). However, the worship of God is often distinct from other gods; rather than burning incense or making material sacrifices, the true worship of God consists of a sacrifice of speech and the singing of hymns in sacred silence, adoring the Creator by means of their Creation. As such, Hermeticism is best practiced within a polytheistic spiritual context (originally and perhaps preferably but not necessarily a Greco-Egyptian one), even if it is mystically monist in some sense or another; however, for those in a monotheistic framework, certain adaptations to worldviews and theology must be made that can depart from the teachings and worldview of the texts. Although it would be incorrect to say that the only deity one is required to worship in Hermeticism is God because the texts encourage (and frankly expect) the reader to worship the many gods of the cosmos, God is focused on in Hermeticism as a mystic niche who want to develop their mysticism further. Ultimately, there is no limit nor rule as to which gods one should worship in Hermeticism, so long as one also worships God and grounds that mysticism in worship of the gods.

Did the classical Hermeticists practice magic, and should we continue to practice magic today?

Although the "philosophical Hermetica" is silent on the subject, and although Zosimus of Panopolis suggests that Hermēs Trismegistos disavowed magic, it is a fact that Hermeticism has long been associated with magical works of many types, and indeed, ancient Egyptian religion saw little distinction between religious works and magical works, to the point where the very concept of magic itself (Heka) in Egypt was venerated as a deity in its own right in addition to the view that the gods had such supernatural power at their disposal to accomplish all manner of works. Magic is simply the operational use of subtle forces or spiritual entities in addition to or instead of physical or bodily ones to achieve particular ends, and as such, the study of such forces and entities is part and parcel of the study of the cosmos as much as the study of any material or physical force or entity. This being the case, classical Hermeticists (along with Egyptian priests themselves, and in company with many other wandering magicians of the day) certainly practiced magic, as this was a valid way to engage with the various powers of the cosmos, and thus we are both enabled and encouraged to today. Of course, such works should be held to a high moral and ethical standard—but so should any other work, whether or not it can be considered "magical".

What about astrology or alchemy?

These two arts have long been held to be Hermetic, and there's good reason for saying so; even in the core classical Hermetic texts themselves, there is much astrological symbolism and even directives to engage in the study and practice of astrology to better understand the nature of the cosmos and of divinity. Alchemy is somewhat more complicated of a subject, becoming more popular and well-studied in the late classical and post-classical periods, but is also tied to Hermetic practices of the creation of medicine, ink, oils, and talismans. Different texts from different time periods will focus on these arts to various degrees, but they are certainly important for the practical side of Hermeticism, and those who are interested in Hermeticism are encouraged to study and engage with them. Remember that the study of astrology is what helps us understand more about the processes of Fate; if astrology is the "as above", then alchemy provides the "so below", since it helps us understand the processes of change in the cosmos, learning how the activities and energies of the cosmos play out at a low level. The power and potentiality of Fate can be learned through astrology, and the activity and actuality of Fate can be learned through alchemy. Even if neither are strictly required, by learning both, one has a strong footing to engage in the work of theurgy.

What about theurgy?

Theurgy (from Greek theourgia, "divine work" or "god-work") is the ritual mystical practice of participating in the presence of the divine, whether individual gods or God itself. On the one hand, this can be considered the work of lifting oneself up to the level of the gods through spiritual elevation and divine ascent; on the other, it can also be considered the work of bringing the gods down to our level, either by having them inhabit sacred statues or other idols or by possessing their devotees for the gods to perform work down in our world. In either case, the ultimate goal of theurgy is to unite ourselves with the divine, fulfilled through rites of purification of the body and soul along with communion with the gods. It should be noted that this is not a kind of "coercion of the gods" where the gods are "forced" down (as if such a thing were possible in Hermetic terms), nor is it the case that we "trap" the gods in statues for our own bidding. This is an act of communion, such as inviting someone to live in your home and share your table, and similar acts can be seen in the tradition of "living statues" of Hinduism and in many other pagan traditions across the world. In a smaller sense, although not always done with theurgical goals in mind, the work of ensoulment and enlivening images can also be seen in the consecration of talismans, where one "brings to life" a particular object for it to confer some benefit, either by having a "shard" of the power of some force (like a planet) empower an object or by having a spirit come to inhabit the object.

What about thaumaturgy, and how is it different from theurgy?

Thaumaturgy (from Greek thaumatourgia "wonder-working") is a way to describe magic in general, especially magic that is intended to create change or other paranormal phenomena in our world. In other words, thaumaturgy is another word for most magic most people do and have done the whole world over since time immemorial. Although some people consider theurgy to be "high magic" and thaumaturgy to be "low magic", it should be noted that the difference between theurgy and thaumaturgy consists primarily in ends or goals, not in the means or methods; the same method one might use to raise a shade of the dead to learn where buried treasure lies may well be the same method one calls upon the presence of a god to bask in their glory in unity with them.

Are initiations involved or required in practicing Hermeticism?

"Initiation" in its literal sense indicates the beginning of something new, but in a religious context, it refers to the formal induction into a mystery, something secret that bestows some sacred or mystical power, license, experience, or knowledge, generally one protected as secret by a group dedicated to that mystery. Importantly, an initiation is conferred upon an initiate by someone who is already initiated; it is something given, not merely taken. In that light, although individual groups that profess Hermeticism may have their own mysteries may require initiations to access such mysteries, Hermeticism as a whole does not require them, and the very notion seems to be unknown according to the Hermetic texts. That beings said, there are mysteries in Hermeticism, and are described as such in terms of being acts of spiritual elevation or divine ascent in order to behold divine visions. Engaging in this work may be considered an initiation of sorts, whether or not there is one there to guide a student in such an endeavor. It is perhaps better to consider this an initiation only when one who has already undertaken such a feat guides another in undertaking that same feat; beyond that, when one undertakes it on their own without such guidance, it might better be said to not be an initiation in the technical sense, even if it does acquaint one with a mystery of the Divine apart and away from any such group. It's a complicated topic to discuss, but suffice it here to say that there are often initiatory experiences involved in the higher works one undertakes in Hermeticism, whether or not one is initiated into a group by other human beings.

Are hallucinogens or psychotropics involved in Hermeticism?

Nope. Although some religious and spiritual traditions make use of entheogenic substances to produce visions or engage one in a state of altered consciousness, this is far from a universal thing, especially when many traditions out there already engage in approaches to specific kinds of altered states of consciousness produced through specific exercises of prayer, ritual, and the like. Hermeticism solidly falls into that latter category, and moreover explicitly state that sobriety, clear-mindedness, and mental focus as being not just praiseworthy but essential to spiritual well-being. In the Hermetic texts, any form of intoxication is described in strictly negative terms, and there has never been any evidence to show that any form of mind-altering substances were used in any appreciable amount to produce such an experience in Hermeticism. In other words, if you want to take a trip, then take a nap and dream or refine the powers of your soul and direct it from place to place on its own as with astral projection or divine ascent. Likewise, if you want to receive a vision, then purify yourself from your physical senses and join yourself to divinity. There's no need for drug-based handicaps that become little more than handcuffs that chain us down to further bodily experiences.

Is divination okay in Hermeticism?

Absolutely! Divination is more than just "telling the future", although it also does that, too; it is the act of approaching the gods to come to know them and what they have to say. Not only does this fall in line with ancient practices that span the entire world, upholding old traditions of the oracles of the many gods, but it also is explicitly justified in the Hermetic texts as something legitimate we can do, so that we can know what has been, what is, and what will be. Plus, so many forms of divination have been assigned to Hermēs Trismegistos, or even just Hermēs in the purely Greek sense, not least of which is astrology, that it's hard to not separate out the work and study of divination from Hermeticism.

Do I need to be a vegetarian or vegan to be a Hermeticist?

At the end of the Perfect Sermon, there is a direction given by Hermēs Trismegistos to his students where they are to eat a "meal that includes no living thing" or "holy food which has no blood in it" following a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Some interpret that this is an injunction for students of Hermēs Trismegistos to be vegetarian (or even vegan) in general, while others hold to a more limited opinion that only certain ritual meals need to be vegetarian. It's a good question, but there's no one right answer. It is known that those initiated into the Orphic and Pythagorean mystery cults were famously vegetarian as a constant ascetic practice (and also excluded certain kinds of beans due to their textural similarity to flesh), and it is also known that Egyptian priestly purity practices involved many abstinences from any number of animal products, both the eating of meat and otherwise (like the wearing of wool). For our purposes today, while maintaining a vegetarian (or vegan, if one so chooses) diet is an excellent ascetic choice one can make, it can be agreed upon as important to abstain from consuming animal products prior to engaging in ritual and to only consume vegetarian (or vegan) food as part of ritual where ritual meals are called for, regardless whether sacrifices to the gods or spirits require meat or other animal products.

What about qabbala/kabbalah/cabala?

This term (all really the same word, just different transliterations from the Hebrew) refers to the overall mystical tradition of Judaism, which builds upon earlier Jewish traditions of hekaloth literature and merkaba mysticism along with Bablyonian and Hellenistic influence. Although its origins ultimately lie in much earlier Jewish practices, qabbala as its own discipline only arose in the medieval period around 1200 CE. Due to the complicated and messy history of Judaism in Europe, qabbala became integrated with non-Jewish systems of magic and mysticism, and earned central importance to magical systems like those of the Golden Dawn and Thelema. While the study of qabbala, in its various forms and approaches, may be useful to some modern Hermeticists of various styles, it is not in and of itself Hermetic in the same sense that the Corpus Hermeticum is Hermetic, though due to the Neoplatonic and broadly Hellenistic influences upon the development of qabbala, it may be integrated with Hermetic practices.

What about manifesting?

"Manifesting" is an old term that refers to something coming about in reality or becoming material, but the way this term is used in a lot of recent New Age discourse is something of a trendy way to reframe the Law of Attraction, a New Thought idea that can basically be summed up as "if you think it, you bring it". New Thought is big on the power of thinking (and especially the power of positive thinking) as having real-world external effects, and while this power shouldn't be trivialized or ignored, this also isn't taken much account of by Hermeticism: thinking about things is all well and good, but thinking is only ever an internal and subjective activity, and implementing those thoughts requires external action, without which nothing actually happens. One can certainly work with spirits, invoke and supplicate gods, channel powers of the planets and stars, create tinctures or talismans, and the like to achieve particular results in our world through magical means, which some might consider "manifesting" if not just "materializing", but there's a distinct difference between all this (which is action-based) and how a lot of New Age people talk about "manifesting". More broadly from a Hermetic perspective, it's better to focus on becoming fully manifest oneself as a fully-realized human being, rather than just "manifesting your desires" more nebulously.

Can I incorporate modern or non-Hermetic practices into Hermeticism?

By all means, feel free! Considering the difficulty we have in reconstructing the practices of classical Hermeticists, to say nothing of the variety between their practices as well as the practices of various Hermeticists throughout the past 2000 years, there is plenty that can be done by us today in service to the Way of Hermēs. Just bear in mind that just because you might use a practice within a Hermetic context does not automatically make it "Hermetic", and it is also worthy to remember the context in which such a practice arose and what its design and purpose is for. Some things can be adapted or adopted for Hermetic ends quite neatly and nicely, other things less so, and some practices are best kept separate from Hermeticism entirely depending on their nature and purpose.

What about Franz Bardon and self-initiation into Hermeticism?

Bardon was a fantastic modern 20th century occultist from what is now the Czech Republic, whose works like "Initiation Into Hermetics", "The Practice of Magical Evocation", and "The Key to the True Kabbalah" are well-regarded to this day. However, despite the name, "Initiation Into Hermetics" has little to do with Hermeticism proper; despite the frequent discussion of things he calls "hermetic", he only ever cites Hermēs Trismegistos once, and that's for his usual "as above, so below" bit from the Emerald Tablet. By and large, what Bardon calls "Hermetics" is roughly what people think of today as "ceremonial magic", the usual mixture of post-Renaissance magical theory, Solomonic goetic approaches to spirit interaction, European developments of kabbalah, and importations of Eastern/Orientalizing notions of energy/energy work/energy systems. In many ways, Bardon's approach can be considered a parallel development of the same modern European tradition of magic that gave rise to the Golden Dawn. As such, it can certainly be adapted and adopted within a properly Hermetic context, should the student of Bardon so choose.

Will Hermeticism make me powerful, give me spells to get laid, etc.?

Sigh. Technically yes, and I won't deny that a fundamental drive for magic is the drive to get laid and get paid, but we're also here to recognize that there's more to life than just power, sex, money, and the like. There's magic, and then there's magic for Hermetic ends, and while the same spell can be used for a Hermetic end as well as a non-Hermetic end, there's a reason greed and lust are outlined as "irrational torments of matter" that we're meant to purge ourselves from. Let's try to be a little more mature in the future, yes?