Esotericism

The Egyptian Origins of Hermeticism

A Summary of “Thrice-Greatest Hermes” by G. R. S. Mead (1906)

The following article contains information of profound depth and learnedness. It concerns not merely the true origins of the hermetic mystical tradition, but also the ancient teachings of one of the most mysterious, complex, and yet advanced religions in all history, the essence of which persists in Western esotericism to this day.

The script for this article has been adapted from the first volume of historian and theosophist G. R. S. Mead’s comprehensive survey of the Hermetic literature attributed to the legendary Egyptian sage, Hermes Trismegistus. In spite of its age and imperfections, it is a work of monumental labor and studiousness; and it is of great value to all students of ancient wisdom.

In its standard form, the survey simultaneously analyses information from Egyptian, Greek, and Christian Gnostic sources, so that to cover it all in a single article would be total information overload.

I have reorganized and simplified this text, for the benefit of the reader, into three parts accordingly. In the present article, we shall explore the Egyptian origins of the Hermetic tradition.

I hope you enjoy.

By the way, I’m now publishing all of my book summaries under the publication Paraphilosophy. I’d really…