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Episode 103·October 7, 2020·hermetica

Corpus Hermeticum I, the Poimandres

Corpus Hermeticum Tractate I is one of the few Hermetica with something like a genuine ‘title’: Poimandres, a mysterious word which has been the subject of much speculation – could it be Egyptian, could it be Greek, could it perhaps be a mixture of both? Be that as it may, the Poimandres is the most mind-blowing text in the Corpus Hermeticum.

Listen on SHWEP18 sources in collection · 18 translated

Primary Sources

Pal.lat.1328

Hermes Trismegistus; Avicenna; al-Razi · 1400 · Latin · 170 pages

Pal.lat.1328 is a monumental synthesis of Hermetic philosophy and medieval Arabic science, offering a rare glimpse into the systematic pursuit of the Philosopher’s Stone. The text makes the bold claim that alchemy is 'lower astronomy'—a sacred art where metals act as terrestrial stars and volatile s

Fully translated

The Hermetic Corpus

Hermes Trismegistus · 1450 · Latin · 319 pages

Ott.lat.2074 is a breathtaking intellectual odyssey that bridges the gap between ancient Hermetic mystery and the rigorous structuralism of the Middle Ages. The text presents a world where the 'First Cause' is pursued through every available lens: the precision of Aristotelian categories, the negati

Fully translated

Reg.lat.1352

Hermes Trismegistus · 1450 · Latin · 432 pages

This manuscript is a monumental synthesis of classical literature and Hermetic philosophy, featuring the voices of Virgil, Servius, Apuleius, and the legendary Hermes Trismegistus. It boldly navigates the transition from the physical world of agriculture and apiculture to the metaphysical realms of

Fully translated

The Pimander of Hermes Trismegistus

Hermes Trismegistus; Ficino, Marsilio (translator) · 1481 · Latin · 96 pages

Marsilio Ficino’s translation of the Pimander introduces the concept of Prisca Theologia, the original theology that predates the classical world. The work argues that human beings possess a dual nature: we are physically mortal but spiritually divine. Through dialogues between Hermes and the divine

Fully translated

The Divine Pymander

Hermes Trismegistus (trans. Marsilio Ficino) · 1493 · Latin · 68 pages

The Divine Pymander is a foundational pillar of Hermeticism, offering a visionary exploration of how humanity can transcend the shackles of Fate through Gnosis. Translated by the legendary Marsilio Ficino for the Medici court, this text presents the 'Prisca Theologia'—a primordial wisdom that prefig

Fully translated

Complete Hermetica (1505 Paris Edition)

Hermes Trismegistus; Ficino, Marsilio (translator); Lefèvre d'Étaples (editor) · 1505 · Latin · 184 pages

The Complete Hermetica (1505 Paris Edition) is a profound synthesis of Western esotericism, offering a transformative vision of humanity’s place in the cosmos. Through the legendary dialogues of Hermes Trismegistus, the text argues that ignorance is the ultimate plague of the soul, while true knowle

Fully translated

Corpus Hermeticum with Pneumatica and Ocellus Lucanus

Hermes Trismegistus (attrib.) | Hero of Alexandria · 1530 · Greek · 284 pages

This text offers a rare synthesis of ancient mechanical ingenuity and the esoteric search for the divine. From Heron’s groundbreaking theories on the vacuum—which prefigure modern atomic theory—to Hermes Trismegistus’s meditations on the soul's ascent, the volume challenges the modern divide between

Fully translated

The Divine Pymander, Asclepius, and On the Mysteries

Hermes Trismegistus | Jamblichus | Proclus · 1532 · Latin · 237 pages

This monumental synthesis of Hermetic and Neoplatonic thought offers a radical roadmap for the soul’s ascent from the sensory 'multitude' to the intellectual 'One.' By weaving together the revelations of Hermes Trismegistus with the rigorous defenses of Iamblichus and the metaphysical depth of Procl

Fully translated

Pymander. Asclepius. On the Mysteries of the Egyptians. On Plato's Alcibiades, on the Soul and the Daemon. On Sacrifice.

Hermes Trismegistus|Jamblichus|Proclus · 1532 · Latin · 336 pages

This seminal volume brings together the core texts of the Hermetic and Neoplatonic traditions, asserting a unified lineage of 'ancient theology' (Prisca Theologia) that flows from Hermes Trismegistus to Plato. Readers will encounter bold claims about the human condition: that we are 'twofold' beings

Fully translated

Corpus Hermeticum and Plotinus' Enneads (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.9)

Hermes Trismegistus; Plotinus · 1550 · Greek · 502 pages

This rare collection documents the struggle of the human soul to recognize its divine origin while trapped in the sensible world. It presents the Hermetic tradition as an intuitive, performative realization of truth, contrasted against the systematic, dialectical path of Plotinus. The text argues th

Fully translated

Poimandres

Hermes Trismegistus · 1554 · Greek · 254 pages

This collection functions as a foundational guide for those seeking to understand the nature of God, the soul, and the cosmos. Hermes Trismegistus argues that the physical world is a veil, and that ignorance of one's own divinity is the ultimate human disaster. The text demands that you reject world

Fully translated

Poimandres

Hermes Trismegistus · 1574 · Greek-Latin · 168 pages

Poimandres is a foundational pillar of Western esotericism that posits humanity as a 'divine animal' caught between the material and the eternal. Purported to be the work of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus—a syncretic fusion of the Greek Hermes and Egyptian Thoth—this tractate offers a radical cos

Fully translated

Biblical Palimpsest with Inquisition Abjuration Documents

· 1610 · Greek · 197 pages

The Hermetic Corpus stands as one of the most provocative syncretic works in history, blending the legendary insights of Hermes Trismegistus with the foundational theology of early Christianity. It makes the bold claim that spiritual liberation is a process of 'gnosis'—a transformation of the mind t

Fully translated

Select Works of Porphyry (On Abstinence, Cave of the Nymphs, Auxiliaries)

Porphyry · 1823 · English · 304 pages

This text asserts that human desire for animal flesh corrupts the soul and stunts intellectual growth. Porphyry contends that a philosopher must live with radical purity to detach from the material world. He views the body as a prison and sensory experience as a trap that chains the spirit to fleeti

Fully translated

Collection of the Ancient Greek Alchemists, Vol. 1

Marcellin Berthelot · 1887 · French · 532 pages

Marcellin Berthelot strips away the centuries of legend surrounding alchemy to reveal its messy, practical origins in the workshops of antiquity. He documents the transition from mundane metal coloring and alloy fabrication to the birth of a global obsession with turning base metals into gold. The t

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Collection of the Ancient Greek Alchemists, Vols. 2-3

Marcellin Berthelot · 1888 · Greek · 708 pages

Marcellin Berthelot compiles the primary Greek texts that defined the alchemical tradition for centuries. These writings treat chemical transformation not as a distant science, but as a visceral, spiritual labor. The authors argue that metal is alive and capable of death, digestion, and resurrection

73% translated

Collection of the Ancient Greek Alchemists, Volume 3

Marcellin Berthelot · 1888 · French · 536 pages

Marcellin Berthelot strips away the romantic veneer of alchemy to reveal its roots in industrial fraud. He treats the Leiden Papyri as the primary evidence for this evolution, arguing that the desire to produce cheap imitations of precious metals created the very language of transformation. The auth

80% translated

The Hermetic Writings, Volume I: Texts and Translation

Walter Scott (ed.) · 1924 · Greek · 556 pages

This volume is a monumental reconstruction of the Hermetic tradition, presenting a world where philosophy is not merely an academic exercise but a literal means of deification. Scott challenges the notion that these texts are mere 'occult rubbish,' instead revealing them as the profound response of

Fully translated

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