Editing Hermeticism (section)

==Historical development==
===Middle Ages===
A few primarily Hermetic occult orders were founded in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. In England, it grew interwoven with the Lollard-Familist traditions.{{sfn|Hill|2020|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KejEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 75]}}

====Etymology====
The term 'Hermetic' derives from ''hermeticus'', a [[Latin]] adjective that first emerged in the [[medieval period]], derived from the name of the Greek god [[Hermes]], to describe the [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] writings and practices associated with [[Hermes Trismegistus]]. This term became widely used in reference to the ''[[Hermetica]]'', a body of texts considered to contain secret wisdom on the nature of the divine, the cosmos, and the human soul.

In English, the word 'Hermetic' appeared in the 17th century. One of the earliest instances in English literature is found in [[John Everard (preacher)|John Everard]]'s translation of ''The Pymander of Hermes'', published in 1650.{{sfn|Westcott|2012}} The term was used in reference to "Hermetic writers" such as [[Robert Fludd]]. The synonymous term 'Hermetical' is found in Sir Thomas Browne’s ''[[Religio Medici]]'' (1643), where "Hermetical Philosophers" are mentioned, referring to scholars and alchemists who engaged in the study of the natural world through the lens of Hermetic wisdom.{{sfn|Browne|2012|loc=part 1, section 2}}

The phrase "hermetically sealed" originates from [[alchemy|alchemical]] practices and refers to an airtight sealing method used in laboratories. This term became a metaphor for the safeguarding of esoteric knowledge, representing the idea that such wisdom should be kept hidden from the uninitiated.{{sfn|Copenhaver|1992}}

Over time, the word 'Hermetic' evolved to encompass a broader range of meanings, often signifying something mysterious, [[occult]], or impenetrable. This evolution reflects the central theme of secrecy within the Hermetic tradition, which emphasizes the importance of protecting sacred knowledge from those who are not prepared to receive it.{{sfn|Ebeling|2007}}

===Renaissance revival===
{{further|Renaissance magic}}
[[File:Corpus Hermeticum.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|''Corpus Hermeticum'': first Latin edition, by Marsilio Ficino, 1471, at the [[Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica]], [[Amsterdam]].]]

The [[Western esoteric tradition]] has been greatly influenced by Hermeticism. After centuries of falling out of favor, Hermeticism was reintroduced to the West when, in 1460, a man named Leonardo di Pistoia{{efn|This Leonardo di Pistoia was a monk {{cite web |url=http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/lib/coll.html |title=J.R. Ritman Library – Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica |access-date=2007-01-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101222307/http://www.ritmanlibrary.nl/c/p/lib/coll.html |archive-date=2007-01-01 }}, not to be confused with the artist [[Leonardo da Pistoia]] who was not born until c. 1483 CE.}} brought the ''[[Corpus Hermeticum]]'' to [[Pistoia]]. He was one of many agents sent out by Pistoia's ruler, [[Cosimo de' Medici]], to scour European monasteries for lost ancient writings.{{sfn|''The Way of Hermes''|1999|p=9}} The work of such writers as [[Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]], who attempted to reconcile [[Kabbalah|Jewish kabbalah]] and [[Christian mysticism]], brought Hermeticism into a context more easily understood by Europeans during the time of the Renaissance.

In 1614, [[Isaac Casaubon]], a Swiss [[Philology|philologist]], analyzed the Greek Hermetic texts for linguistic style. He concluded that the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were not the work of an ancient Egyptian priest but in fact dated to the second and third centuries&nbsp;CE.{{sfnm|1a1=Tambiah|1y=1990|1p=27–28|2a1=''The Way of Hermes''|2y=1999|2p=9}}

Even in light of Casaubon's linguistic discovery (and typical of many adherents of Hermetic philosophy in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries), [[Thomas Browne]] in his ''[[Religio Medici]]'' (1643) confidently stated: "The severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes, that this visible world is but a portrait of the invisible."{{sfn|Browne|2012|loc=part 1, section 12}}

In 1678, flaws in Casaubon's dating were discerned by [[Ralph Cudworth]], who argued that Casaubon's allegation of forgery could only be applied to three of the seventeen treatises contained within the ''Corpus Hermeticum''. Moreover, Cudworth noted Casaubon's failure to acknowledge the codification of these treatises as a late formulation of a pre-existing oral tradition. According to Cudworth, the texts must be viewed as a [[terminus ad quem]] and not a [[terminus a quo]]. Lost Greek texts, and many of the surviving vulgate books, contained discussions of alchemy clothed in philosophical metaphor.{{sfn|Genest|2002}}

In 1964, [[Frances Yates|Frances A. Yates]] advanced the thesis that Renaissance Hermeticism, or what she called "the Hermetic tradition", had been a crucial factor in the development of modern science.<ref>{{harvnb|Yates|1964}}; {{harvnb|Yates|1967}}; {{harvnb|Westman|McGuire|1977}}</ref> While Yates's thesis has since been largely rejected,<ref>{{harvnb|Ebeling|2007|pp=101–102}}; {{harvnb|Hanegraaff|2012|pp=322–334}}</ref> the important role played by the 'Hermetic' science of alchemy in the thought of such figures as [[Jan Baptist van Helmont]] (1580–1644), [[Robert Boyle]] (1627–1691) or [[Isaac Newton]] (1642–1727) has been amply demonstrated.<ref>{{harvnb|Principe|1998}}; {{harvnb|Newman|Principe|2002}}; {{harvnb|Newman|2019}}.</ref>

===Modern period===
[[Rosicrucianism]] is a movement which incorporates the Hermetic philosophy. It dates back to the 17th century. The sources dating the existence of the Rosicrucians to the 17th century are three German pamphlets: the ''[[Fama Fraternitatis|Fama]]'', the ''[[Confessio Fraternitatis]]'', and ''[[Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz|The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz]]''.{{sfn|Yates|1972}} Some scholars believe these to be hoaxes of the time and say that later Rosicrucian organizations are the first actual appearance of a Rosicrucian society.{{sfn|Lindgren|n.d.}}

Hermetic magic underwent a 19th-century revival in Western Europe,{{sfn|Regardie|1940|p=17}} where it was practiced by groups such as the [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]. It was also practiced by individual persons, such as [[Eliphas Levi|Eliphas Lévi]], [[William Butler Yeats]], [[Arthur Machen]], and [[Frederick Hockley]].{{sfn|Regardie|1940|pp=15–6}} The ''[[Kybalion]]'' is a book anonymously published in 1908 by three people who called themselves the "Three Initiates", and which expounds upon essential Hermetic principles.{{cn|date=August 2024}}

In 1924, [[Walter Scott (scholar)|Walter Scott]] placed the date of the Hermetic texts shortly after 200&nbsp;CE, but [[Flinders Petrie|W. Flinders Petrie]] placed their origin between 200 and 500&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Abel|Hare|1997|p=7}}

In 1945, Hermetic texts were found near the Egyptian town [[Nag Hammadi Library|Nag Hammadi]]. One of these texts had the form of a conversation between Hermes and [[Asclepius]]. A second text (titled ''On the Ogdoad and Ennead'') told of the [[Greco-Roman mysteries|Hermetic mystery schools]]. It was written in the [[Coptic language]], the latest and final form in which the [[Egyptian language]] was written.{{sfn|''The Way of Hermes''|1999|pp=9–10}}

[[Gilles Quispel]] says "It is now completely certain that there existed before and after the beginning of the Christian era in Alexandria a secret society, akin to a Masonic lodge. The members of this group called themselves 'brethren,' were initiated through a baptism of the Spirit, greeted each other with a sacred kiss, celebrated a sacred meal and read the Hermetic writings as edifying treatises for their spiritual progress."{{sfn|Quispel|2004}} On the other hand, Christian Bull argues that "there is no reason to identify [Alexandria] as the birthplace of a Hermetic lodge as several scholars have done. There is neither internal nor external evidence for such an Alexandrian lodge, a designation that is alien to the ancient world and carries Masonic connotations."{{sfn|Bull|2018|p=454}}

According to [[Geza Vermes]], Hermeticism was a Hellenistic mysticism contemporaneous with the Fourth Gospel, and Hermes Tresmegistos was "the Hellenized reincarnation of the Egyptian deity [[Thoth]], the source of wisdom, who was believed to deify man through knowledge (''gnosis'')."{{sfn|Vermes|2012|p=128}}

====Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn====
{{Main|Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn}}
{{Golden Dawn}}

The [[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]] was a specifically Hermetic society that taught alchemy, [[qabalah]], and the magic of Hermes, along with the principles of occult science. The Order was open to both sexes and treated them as equals.{{sfn|Greer|1994}} 

[[Arthur Edward Waite]], a member and later the head of the Golden Dawn, wrote ''The Hermetic Museum'' and ''The Hermetic Museum Restored and Enlarged''. He edited ''The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus'', which was published as a two-volume set. He considered himself to be a Hermeticist and was instrumental in adding the word "Hermetic" to the official title of the Golden Dawn.{{sfn|Gilbert|1987}}

The Golden Dawn maintained the tightest of secrecy, which was enforced by severe penalties for those who disclosed its secrets. Overall, the general public was left oblivious of the actions, and even of the existence, of the Order, so few if any secrets were disclosed.{{sfn|Regardie|1940|pp=15–7}}

Its secrecy was broken first by [[Aleister Crowley]] in 1905 and later by [[Israel Regardie]] in 1937. Regardie gave a detailed account of the Order's teachings to the general public.{{sfn|Regardie|1940|p=ix}}

====Scholarship on the ''Hermetica''====
{{See also|Hermetica#History_of_scholarship_on_the_Hermetica|label 1=History of scholarship on the Hermetica}}
After the [[Renaissance]] and even within the 20th century, scholars did not study Hermeticism nearly as much as other topics; however, the 1990s saw a renewed interest in Hermetic scholarly works and discussion.{{sfn|Carrasco|1999|p=425}}