The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs (Cornerstone Editions) Paperback – 26 Dec. 2008

In this book Freke & Gandy provides you with some of the most thought provoking text attributed to Hermes and adding their take on the meaning of these in a manner that aims to help you in understanding the texts themselves.Corpus Hermeticum is a collection of texts compiled in 18 books (although they have not included anything from book 15 here), written originally in Greek and in Alexandria. You will be given a short history of the origins and thoughts around wether or not it was written by the Sage himself or by several authors since it is written in Greek but referes to scrips written in hieroglyphs.This history of the text itslf makes you realise how thought provoking it has been and still is, and makes you curious as to know why.Each text is presented by Freke & Gandy's take on what Hermes trully means by what he writes and provides you with an idea of what frame of mind you need to put yourself in as you read it. This helped me greatly in opening my mind to let the words speak to me as Hermes would have had us do.They have also chosen to write his words, not as the expected dialog which is the way Corpus Hermetica is originally written, but as clear cut speach. This is very helpfull for anyone not to familiar or comfortable with the usual form of writing, and or someone who is unfamiliar with philosophical writings and of Hermetic thought to begin with.I highly reccommend anyone interested in understading the mythology of the Egyptians, ancient relligion, Sufis, philosophy or religion as a whole to purchase this book as a companion to the original writings of Corpus Hermeticum as it will help you understand the basis of these better.One can really understand the many thinkers of our history that has been inspired by these writings, and also why so many rigid religious people has tried to destroy or discredit these words of ancient wisdom.I hope to have provided you with some help, and wish you luck on your quest for knowledge!

I have been to Egypt, the first time was in 1993, and I made my mind up that I'd like to study Egyptology.Although in my second year of studying Egyptology, during my third year I will be studying the Egyptian religion. Although it isn't one of the study books I will be required to read I still decided to purchase it.This classical sacred literature is believed to have been written by Hermes, an Egyptian sage, it is believed that it was written 3000 B.C.The people thought his wisdom was great.This is the first times this has been available to others rather then just scholars, archaeologists and anthropologists. The books authors have done endless research to present a collection of excerpts that would be understand and relevant to today's people of the world. You could say it's the earliest form of a religious bible to be written.It's very interesting to see the way they thought back then and how we'd translate to fit our present day. I have always been interested in the Ancient Egyptian Religion and I found this book informative, interesting and enjoyable to read.Whether you are studying Egyptology or just want a little more knowledge about the Egyptian Religion this is a good starting point.It makes an excellent edition to my little Egyptian library, which now stands at nearly 1000 books on this subject. :-)Have a look at the rest of my reviews, you'll find number of Egyptian books mentioned. :-)

Mainly liked the simplicity of the book as I heard the original hermetica is pretty much impenetrable.Would recommend if someone is interested in learning about ancient Egyptian wisdom.

Good book , good price too

Excellent

The Hermetic writings are actually quite vast, what this book does is distill the core ideas expressing them firstly as a modern interpretation and secondly through poetic prose. There are actually some interesting concepts in here that I was already aware of from other reading spiritual sources but hadn't realised that they linked back to ancient Egypt. There's a big debate as to whether or not the writings of Hermes Trismagestus are actually ancient Egyptian in origin or written by Greek authors in Alexandria. If the latter is the case I don't feel that it diminishes the power of the text. They still are, after all, as old as most biblical texts. There's a heavy gnostic element to Hermes teachings, especially the separation of the sole and the layers it loses through transcendence, which put me in mind of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. I gave it 5 stars because it was very engaging and enjoyable to read, but it by no means covered the whole subject and left me wanting to read more. But as a straightforward introduction it's a great read at a great price. I would recommend it to anyone instructed in ancient religions and spiritual practices.

A beautiful understanding of the cosmos and world we live in. A key to giving that extra bit of magic in your life

This is a very readable (and affordable) introduction to the ideas contained in the "Hermetica", a collection of texts written in Alexandria in the early centuries of the Christian era and purporting to represent the philosophical and mystical teachings of the Egyptian Religion for the consumption of a Greek-speaking audience. As I know next to nothing about this subject, I cannot comment on how accurately this book represents the Hermetica or how well the Hermetica represent the theology of Ancient Egypt but I can conclude that it is enough to give you an interest in the answers to those questions and several others it raises, not least about the influence of Hermeticism on the Age of Enlightenment.

This pamphlet covers the origins of man, the cycles of time and the divine masculine & feminine dating from a far ancient past, well before the Greeks. The gods mentioned are ancient Egyptian, yet after you read it you get a sense of their resonance on our minds & hearts embedded in our modern religious world.

Wisdom 100%

Truly a formidable book! Good analysis of the corpus hermeticum, using different sources to try and unravel the mysterious wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus. Clear explanation and in my case it was very enlightening, so thank you very much Timothy Freke & Peter Gandy! Continue awakening the minds of sleeping people and I wish everyone reading this the best ❤️

This books breaks down the complexity of The Hermitica into easily understood sections, with explanatory background and analysis. A great introduction.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I bought this because Neville Goddard quotes the contents of this book in many of his lectures. Being an avid practicer of the principles of the law of assumption, I found that this book a lot of insights to the one SOURCE and is great for anyone wanting to deep dive on the topic of manifestation, history, etc.