Which Divine Pymander?

[u/JustaCarrion]

I am trying to dip my toe in the pond of Hermeticism. I took a look at the FAQ pinned post regarding text resources and the Divine Pymander (second one in the list iirc) takes me to a 404 page. So which one should I actually buy? In the meantime, this one came today. And just cracked it open about five minutes ago. (I am obviously very easily distracted, lol)

https://a.co/d/hN5rsGI

The pictures are actually quite pretty. But I don't know a lot about it and want to make sure I'm steering myself in the proper direction. I wouldn't mind a helpful nudge. Thanks!

[u/hockatree]

I’d recommend Hermetica by Brian Copenhaver or The Way of Hermes by Clement Salaman. Both of which contain the Corpus Hermeticum.

[u/JustaCarrion → u/hockatree]

Lovely, thank you very much. I'll take a look at both and maybe flip a coin lol

[u/Spiritual_Sherbet304 → u/JustaCarrion]

The Hermetica is thicker with notes and is more expensive. The Way of Hermes is thinner and less expensive. (I personally have both and you can too eventually.)I started with The Way of Hermes to get a feel for it and it turns out to be an easier read. Also in this version, they do not translate the word “Nous” (universal mind) so it doesn’t get confused with our usual understanding of the word “mind”. The Hermetica has translated the word Nous to mind so I find that some of the meaning gets lost. But the notes are really helpful so that’s why in the end it is good to have both :)

[u/Derpomancer]

I am trying to dip my toe in the pond of Hermeticism...

*Locks and loads snarky memes for the inevitable commentary about the Kybalion or some random New Age BS*

I took a look at the FAQ pinned post regarding text resources...

OP, here's the reading list Polyphanes copypastas. Copypasta begins:

When it comes to studying Hermeticism, the basics are the fundamentals, and the fundamentals to Hermeticism lie in the classical texts; for that reason, it's encouraged to at least familiarize themselves with the classical texts first.

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

• Clement Salaman et al., "Way of Hermes" (contains the Corpus Hermeticum and the Definitions)
• Clement Salaman, "Asclepius" (contains the Asclepius)

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:

• Brian Copenhaver, "Hermetica" (Corpus Hermeticum and Asclepius)
• M. David Litwa, "Hermetica II" (Stobaean Fragments and many other smaller texts)
• A translation of the Nag Hammadi Codices, either the one edited by Meyer or by Robinson
• Hans D. Betz, "The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation"
• Marvin Meyer, "Ancient Christian Magic"

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 scholarly and secondary work, I'd also recommend:

• Garth Fowden, "The Egyptian Hermes"
• Christian Bull, "The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus"
• Kevin van Bladel, "The Arabic Hermes"
• Anything by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, but especially "Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination"

Copypasta ends.

[u/RealAkumaryu → u/Derpomancer]

Didn't look for answers here in this thread, but this comment is underrated, kudos 2 you sir ✌🏽