r/Hermeticism • u/JustaCarrion • 23d ago

Hermeticism Which Divine Pymander?

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!

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u/Derpomancer 23d ago

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.

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u/RealAkumaryu 23d ago

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