Talk:Hermeticism

There are some errors when describing alchemy.

Although the different hermetic perspective appear to not be talking about the same subject they are actually symbolically speaking about the same principles of alchemy. Each of them describe the steps/process explained from the "Emerald Tablet" however different cultures had their own way to express these same universal principles. Therefore at times it will seem as if different regions, time periods, cultures etc are not in alignment with their fundamental meaning but that is a common misconception. 2601:1C0:4300:AA40:DA4:7E78:A23C:647D (talk) 16:54, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

- citations to reliable sources required to support claims, otherwise it is original research per WP:NOR - Epinoia (talk) 18:33, 7 February 2022 (UTC)

Arabic Tradition

The history of the Hermetic Tradition currently skips from a brief (wholly inadequate) discussion of Late Antiquity to the Renaissance. Not only is this extremely Eurocentric, it also does not make any sense. I can see from the talk page that the Sabians of Harran were mentioned on the version of the page from fifteen years ago. Perhaps this should be brought back, and a section on the Arabic Hermetica expanded. I have a few sources for this so I may create this section over the next few days. 31.205.208.11 (talk) 09:41, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

If your sources are of the type that Wikipedia considers reliable (in this case, academic secondary sources), please do expand the article! However, you should probably begin by reading Van Bladel, Kevin (2009). The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537613-5.

One of the main things you'll learn there is that the obscure religion of the Sabians of Harran has little or nothing to do with Hermeticism. It seems to have been a late survival of Hellenistic polytheism, and as such Hermes may have been held in some esteem by them, but on the one hand their religion was much broader than the narrow philosophical interests of Hermeticism, and on the other hand we could never learn anything about Hermeticism (assuming they had any connection to it in the first place) through them, since we have no extant sources from them (while we do have a rather large of corpus of Arabic Hermetic texts, wholly unrelated to the Sabians, that remains practically uninvestigated by scholars). Thanks, ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 15:05, 19 May 2022 (UTC)

Mental Plane

Hi there Hermetiscism experts, I am looking at this page: Mental plane which has not a single citation but a fair bit of information. I am trying to decide whether it is a subject worth developing, something that should be merged somewhere or something that needs a bit of WP:TNT. It claims that the Mental Plane is found in various philosophies and traditions, including yours. Is that correct? Most of the stuff I have found is only about Theosophy (or else something completely different!) If it is relevant to yourselves, you might want to make some edits there or else wight in on what it needs. Thanks Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 09:10, 24 August 2022 (UTC)

Pseudo-history

According the Wikipedia page on pseudo history, pseudo history is a deliberate attempt to distort history through faulty methods. The use of pseudo history implies that occultists were manipulating historical facts, where is the evidence that this was the case? They more likely used the term to describe a broader system of beliefs and “hermetic” just became broader. I don’t think they were trying to rewrite history like “pseudo history” implies. 2603:6010:11F0:3C0:D0C4:1D11:F82B:A9FB (talk) 17:58, 26 October 2022 (UTC)

The fault here may lie with the wording of the Pseudohistory Wikipedia article, but pseudohistory is not necessarily deliberate. Indeed, most often its practitioners believe that they are revealing the 'truth' to humanity in good faith. Rather, what is characteristic of pseudohistory as outlined by our article is the political/religious/personal agenda, the sensational claims, the historical revisionism, the accusation that mainstream scholars 'hide' the truth, the use of myths and legends as credible sources, and the conflation of demonstrating that something could theoretically have happened with demonstrating that it actually did happen. You will find all of these in occultist literature such as the works of Helena Blavatsky, which are particularly relevant with regard to Hermeticism (see Hermeticism#CITEREFProphet2018).

The term 'rewriting history' is often applied to distortions of the historical record for expressly political purposes, and this is indeed not what the occultists were doing. But that does not mean that they were not distorting the historical record: they were just doing it in the context of the history of philosophy and religion rather than, say, in military history. See for example our article on the Neohermetic phrase 'As above, so below', which Blavatsky interpreted in terms of such historically unrelated thought systems as Pythagoreanism, Kabbalah and Buddhism. See also the reference given there to our erudite scholars, a typical jab at the mainstream. Or see her quintessential perennialist statement cited in the 'As above, so below' article, There is no prominent character in all the annals of sacred or profane history whose prototype we cannot find in the half-fictitious and half-real traditions of bygone religions and mythologies: by regarding myths and legends as the most fundamental sources for 'true' history (when rid from fictitious and specific details they provide the general blueprint of everything that ever happened and will happen), perennialism as a historiographic methodology is inherently pseudo-historical. If any myth that reminds some occultist author of something in the Hermetica, whether they have found that myth in Hinduism or in some native American thought system or somewhere else yet, is to be called 'Hermetic', the term will indeed get entirely divorced from its historical context, and eventually lose all meaning. And this loss of meaning, ultimately, is perhaps the most characteristic feature of pseudohistory when applied to philosophy and religion. ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 12:22, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

A few thoughts about possible additions to the article.

Hi there. I have been wondering if it might be worth adding some information In two sections of the article.

1. Philosophical and theological concepts

I was wondering if it would be insightful to add some information here about the goals/ aims of Hermeticism. I hesitate to use the word soteriology in its strictest sense here so I hope you can get what I'm trying to say. But there are a few passages in the Hermetica that emphasises reverence in the hermetic pursuit. I understand that the goals of Hermeticism is explained in the opening paragraph of the Hermetic practices section ("These practices are not merely ritualistic but are aimed at achieving spiritual transformation, aligning the practitioner with the divine order, and unlocking hidden knowledge about the self and the cosmos.") But I wonder I'd love to hear y'all's thoughts about expanding and delving deeper into exactly the purposes and goals of achieving spiritual transformation, alignment with divine order, and unlocking hidden knowledge. Like delving deeper into things like what that specifically looks like and why that path is to be followed for a hermetic practitioner according to the Corpus Hermeticum. I understand that some of this is covered in the good and evil section too. Just wondering if its worth adding more is all.

2. Hermetic practices.

I am wondering if it might also be worth it to add some information on specific rituals and mystical practices of the Hermetics of antiquity. Wouter Hanegraaff's most recent book on the mystical practices of Hermeticism I think can contribute hugely here (Hermetic Spirituality and the Historical Imagination: Altered States of Knowledge in Late Antiquity: 2022) He covers hermetic inclinations and practices towards achieving altered states of consciousness in order to facilitate the aforementioned spiritual transformation, alignment with the divine order, and unlocking hidden knowledge that Hermeticism emphasises. I think adding more information on the rituals and things like three prayers as well as the instructions for those rituals that are found in the Corpus Hermeticum might be insightful for people reading this article. Like the instructions to face east with their morning prayers and south with their evening prayers as well as the prohibition on eating meat or sacrificing living beings is what I'm getting at.

I'm fairly new to editing Wikipedia. But I am more than willing to give it a go to add some of this information into the article if y'all agree that it's worth expanding. I have been told there is a method to write my contributions first and give access to the editors of the article for approval first before publishing changes on the actual article but I have yet to double check how to to that. I'm assuming sandbox? Let me know what you guys think. Limodius (talk) 23:03, 15 October 2025 (UTC)

@Limodius: most anything you may read in reliable secondary sources on Hermeticism is good to summarize here. Hanegraaff 2022 would be excellent. Just make sure that you only add what you read in secondary sources, and never something you yourself concluded based on your personal reading of primary sources like the Hermetic texts. If you make sure everything you add is directly and completely verifiable in reliable academic sources and entirely free of original research, it will likely be helpful. Don't forget to add a citation (including page numbers where applicable) for every piece of information you add. If someone thinks you put undue weight on certain aspects of the topic, they will revert your edits and you can discuss them here.

Generally, be bold and do not be afraid to edit. If you mess up, there will always be someone to fix it for you fairly quickly. Do make sure though to read the policy pages I linked to in this post, because they will be of great help in understanding how Wikipedia works. If you have any questions, please feel free to post here on my talk page. I'll be happy to answer them. Kind regards, ☿ Apaugasma (talk ☉) 09:41, 16 October 2025 (UTC)

'Philosophical and theological concepts'

The section does not distinguish between the original Hermetic writings and whatever subsequent syncretic systems have been constructed by various esoteric sects during subsequent periods (the Middle Ages, Renaissance, modern times), often by adding Biblical and Christian elements. It should. ~2025-31121-91 (talk) 14:43, 21 November 2025 (UTC)

Rebirth

'Rebirth appears central to the practice of hermetic philosophy. The process would begin with a candidate separating themselves from the world before they rid themselves of material vices; they are then reborn as someone completely different from who they were before.'

But is this literal rebirth? Is the person born again of a mother, as a baby? Do they die before that? These sentences allow a metaphorical interpretation, and indeed the idea that only someone exceedingly righteous and ascetic is reborn doesn't sound like the usual ideas of literal rebirth. ~2025-31121-91 (talk) 16:16, 21 November 2025 (UTC)