The Hermetic Link: From Secret Tradition to Modern Thought

by Jacob Slavenburg

Hermes is the Greek god of the Word, of thought and magic, the swift-moving messenger of the Divine and guardian of souls in the Afterlife. In Ancient Egypt he was the majestic god Thoth, the Recorder, the lord of measurement and science, the brother/husband of Isis. In Rome, he was of course Mercury, flying through the Empyrean at the speed of idea by the aid of his winged helmet and boots.

In this broad survey of the Hermetic arts, author Jacob Slavenburg brings an unparalleled depth of insight to the subject. He examines the historical Hermetic literature and details its relevance to modern occultism, from the symbolism of architecture and art to the mysteries of Freemasonry. The heavenly mysteries of astrology are explored as are the healing arts which derive from the spirit of scientific inquiry embodied by Thoth/Hermes. Slavenburg examines the magical writings of the Greek papyri and their development into the contemporary magical practices of modern adepts.

He sheds light on the workings of alchemy and the esoteric philosophy to the world of modern chemistry and physics. He explores the origin of evil and the realm of the afterlife, and the Hermetic doctrines of reincarnation and karma. In addition, the author provides a wealth of biographical data on the magi of Hermeticsm, from Ficino to Agrippa, John Dee to Giordano Bruno.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Religion

432 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2012

About the author

Ik ben geboren in Gorinchem in de zomer van 1943. Ik ben al vroeg gaan werken in het bedrijfsleven en heb op latere leeftijd mijn studie weer opgenomen. In 1986 behaalde ik mijn doctoraal in de cultuurgeschiedenis. Tijdens mijn studie godsdienstgeschiedenis kwam ik in aanraking met de spectaculaire vondst bij Nag Hammadi uit 1945 die eind zeventiger jaren bekend werd door een eerste integrale vertaling in het Engels. Ik studeerde af in de ‘Gnostica’ (zoals mijn bul het letterlijk aangeeft) bij professor Roelof van den Broek, de opvolger van de legendarische professor Gilles Quispel.

Reviews

[Barbara Ardinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, originally published in Dutch in 2003 as De Hermetische Schakel, would be really good if the English translation were better. Unfortunately, there are numerous examples of nonidiomatic English that had me shaking my head and wondering what the author really meant. His thesis seems to be that Hermes Trismegistus, the archetypal alchemist, was really the Egyptian god Thoth. The author gives us great amounts of astrological and alchemical information that we can also find in other books. It's all enormously interesting, but you need to have read, say, Dion Fortune or Christian Rosenkreutz to understand it. If you want to know more about The Corpus Hermeticum, the Emerald Tablet, the Philosopher's Stone, and secret doctrines, this is the book for you.

[Caelisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good summary of the history of hermeticism. This is the one book that traces these thoughts throughout history.

[Trew Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much editorializing for an already fringe academic study. I detected an anti-Christian bias from the get-go, the author preferring Gnostic interpretations, which compromises the reader’s belief in an honest treatment of Christian hermeticism later in the book. Some comments about how “we’re all the same as animals and we have this annoying preoccupation with thinking we’re better” and so on. For a subject of such an ancient and beguiling character, the personal opinions of the author felt a bit like halted climaxes. Still, a helpful introduction.

Refer to Yates or Tomberg for superior Hermetic dialogue.

[Rudyard L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Respectable on the history end. Disappointing on Hermetic doctrine or explaining the worldview. I found it left out too many details it should not have, but the book is already 300 pages so I won’t fault the author for brevity. The author left out several high important junctures in the history alongside he’s clearly a Gnostic. You can’t trust Hermetic Gnostics. With all that being said, I would say this is a pretty good book. It was a breeze to read through, I learned at least a dozen things and it takes you through a complex history in a simple yet compelling way.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure I learned a damned thing here. Hermeticism is as impenetrable for me as the Kabballah. But then again, it's supposed to be esoteric, right? Or maybe its just Slavenburg's meandering troublesome prose? I was initially intrigued and hopeful that it would all tie together soon but nope, didn't happen. Might be better off reading some primary sources.

Is Hermeticism just for doughy pseudo-intellectual arcane book collectors? Or is there something of interest here?