The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs

I love the authors..Their other books are gems..This one is pure potry and condeced wisdom..Highly recommened for the Truth seeker...

I found this book interesting for getting the basic idea of what the Hermetica is.I guess some reviewers think it's too watered down and doesn't match the voluminous original texts. However I read one such book years ago which was overloaded with footnotes and sections written in the original language which unfortunately for me I am not fluent in. There's something to be said for creating an approachable introduction to such a metaphysical subject.The statements attributed to Thoth / Hermes in this book are very eloquent and poetic at times. He describes the universe as a goddess named Destiny who governs the stars and the constellations of the Zodiac. The Zodiac in turn governs the affairs of us mortals. On the day we are born the position of the constellations will foretell our destiny during this incarnation.I would like to find a good book about astrology that shows the connections between the Zodiac and Egyptian mysticism if anyone can think of one. I'm interested in what the 12 signs mean in relation to the effects of the constellations on the affairs of mortals.Some people see a connection between the Egyptian god Thoth and Christ like Thoth was Christ in another incarnation. Edgar Cayce stated that Thoth was the living embodiment of 'The Word' or something to that effect. The Gospel Of John describes Christ in that same way.Another possible connection with Christ is the way Thoth explained what the term 'born again' means. Christians use that term often but do they know what it really means ? Perhaps they do know but they usually won't explain it in terms of Egyptian mysticism.I believe Christ traveled to Egypt and studied with the Egyptian priests during the so called missing years that weren't captured in the bible. Christ experienced the Egyptian initiation rites I believe. If what some people believe is true it was Christ Himself who created the Egyptian priesthood and the initiation rites during his life experience as Melchizedek. Although who knows if Melchizedek and Thoth were even normal human beings. Perhaps they were something more.That's why Saint Augustine said that Christianity has always existed and is the one true religion. The authors show that quote in the introduction.It's an interesting theory that ancient and secret knowledge is passed along to a chosen few in every generation. Some people think that Pythagoras and Plato may have been two of those people.The search for the origins of philosophy will I believe lead us back to ancient Egypt and ultimately to Atlantis. Mythology is the common thread between all of the world's religions, even the evil ones like Satanism. Although I'm not sure that saying Satan is 'evil' is totally accurate either.Zeus, Osiris, Isis and those others are very real. Have no doubt about that.Edgar Cayce's Story of JesusInitiationInitiation in the Great Pyramid (Astara's library of mystical classics)The Lives of Edgar CayceEdgar Cayce's Past Lives of Jesus: An Amazing StoryFulcanelli: Master Alchemist: Le Mystere des Cathedrales, Esoteric Intrepretation of the Hermetic Symbols of The Great WorkEgyptian Heritage: Based on the Edgar Cayce ReadingsEdgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever KnownThe Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient EgyptAtlantis

This is a book that I will read several times. Beautifully written and informative. A must read for anyone on the spiritual path. Thank you!

Great read and very informative.

Speaking from the perspective of a fundamentalist Christian, this book has a lot of very revealing information concerning one of the most influential collections of literature on early Christian philosophers such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen. It's just one more reason that Christians should avoid philosophy altogether (Col. 2:9). Even so, it's well worth the time to read it. Did the idea of being "born again now" have its origin, in part, in the Hermetica? Possibly. Did the idea of mystic contemplation of the unknowable god, in contradistinction to Jer. 9:23-24, have its origin, in part, in the Hermetica? Again, possibly. This book is a good place to begin such investigative studies.This book gives only an overview of the material contained in the Hermetica. For more advanced studies, I would recommend "The Egyptian Hermes" by Garth Fowden and "Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition" by Frances Yates. What's annoying is that a bibliography is given at the end of the book, but there are NO FOOTNOTES in the text. Comments such as "The pyramid texts of Saqquara...are over 5000 years old and yet contain doctrines that are identical to those expounded in the Hermetica [which were composed, most likely from pre-existing material, in the 2nd and/or 3rd cent. AD]" may or may not be found in the texts in the bibliography. There's no easy way to tell, other than purchasing and reading the listed titles. It's even more annoying that one of the books in the bibliography is badly misrepresented. The author's name is Lucie Lamy, not Lucy Lamy, and the title is "Egyptian Mysteries: New Light on Ancient Knowledge" not "The Mysteries of Ancient Egypt." This is the one that the aforementioned comment most likely came from, but it took me several weeks to realize the authors' mistake.Okay, I'm done griping now. Enjoy the read. :-)

Hermes was clearly a great genius, but it's hard to know the precise meaning of the ancient writings, so scholars are prone to argue about translations. In my view, the arguments miss the point. Great truths resist translation to words, so we must use our intuition to ride along with the prose so we can receive enlightenment. Then our understanding can be filled in directly from source, within. In this version, I found the streaming lyrical script this author uses to be very inspiring and illuminating. I just like to keep this book around, pick it up now and then, and read. Hermes was what in India would have been called a guru, a sage, a mahatma, and he is talking about the living cosmos, the embodiment of awareness from top to bottom in this universe. He says the universe is breathing and singing, and in that divine vibration everything is happening. We are an intimate part of it, and knowing that is incredibly exciting. As above, so below. As without, so within. We are an atom in a galaxy, but within us are billions of tiny worlds as well. There is no end to the glory of Atum ( the one god and infinite spirit ). Every time I read this book I get a little more understanding. compare to Upanishads, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and tibetan teachings about the nature of the cosmos. Wonderful book. If you also want a more scholarly approach to the complete teachings of Hermes, there are many other great titles.

Good read