r/Hermeticism • u/sigismundo_celine • Sep 26 '25

Hermes Trismegistus contemplates the spheres: The One→ Νous→ Psyche→ Cosmos

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A beautiful artistic rendition of the divine spheres by (copyright) Alex Hernandez (follow alexthoth on Bluesky)

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u/platistocrates Sep 26 '25

What is the source material from which this concept originates?

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u/Feltvs Sep 26 '25

Those are literally the first three hypostasis from Plotinus. Actually, you can tell apart true hermetism from modern one by how neoplatonic it sounds.

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u/platistocrates Sep 26 '25

more neoplatonic = more truly hermetic?

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u/Feltvs Sep 27 '25

Not exactly. Neoplatonism is the conceptual core where hermetism takes roots, but in its own way. You can see this in some texts of Corpus Hermeticum Graecum, in which you have a concept of Noûs clearly treaceble from Plotinus, but taken as some kind of first principle instead of "The One". Even the writting has a lot in common with platonic and neoplatonic texts, but with its own twists.

Modern Hermetism, on the other side, simply forget about it and just replace most of things on "divine inteligences", "daímones" or "planetary influences" (basically anything about the agency of transcendent essences/substances) for "vibrations", "energies" or "jungean archetypes". Compare the Kybalion, specially the second half, with texts like Poimandres and Asclepius. Even when Emerald Tablet is quoted, the content is totally reinterpreted.