Hermetica

Much of my studies for the past few years has been focused primarily on mysticism, occult science, magic, and alchemy. Although this itself seems, in the context of an academic study, a bit strange (is this specificially not what theology is about - irrational belief), it is precisely since it has been outside the academy until the mid-20th century, that it is so rich of a topic.

Long within the Western, and lets for sake of arguement say Judeo-Christian/Muslim, religion tradition, magic has played a prominent role, albeit often around the perphery. By the late medieval period, magic (authentic, non-demonic magic) became attributed to one person - Hermes Trimistigistus. He was thought to be a contemporary of Moses and privy, in the Corpus Hermeticum and other attributed Late Antique documents, to some degree of mono-theistic and even proto-Dionysian mystical Christianity. He was the founder of alchemy (and author of the Emerald Tablet, cited earlier) and wise to all matters of the natural and divine forces of the universe.

In actually, Hermes Trimistigistus ("Thrice-Praised Hermes") was a Neo-Platonic, Hellenistic projection of the Egyptian Thoth, and the documents date from the first two or so centuries of the Common Era. But power was this impression, that parallel to revelation on Sinai, a mind outside the Scripture pierced deep spiritual, theological, and cosmological truths, beyond that seen since.

The phrase "Hermetic Tradition" by and large was coined by Frances A. Yates, and has directed much of the course of modern esoteric study (at least within the Academy). There is some continuity from this Late Antique, Hellenistic mystery-religion, the magical research of priests and former clerics (such as Ficino and Bruno) during the Renaissance, and the occult science that swept man's desire for the hidden logic of the world toward modern science and progress.

In my studies, I have not been as synthetic, and perhaps as quick to make connections as Yates (and admittedly, even though her stretching to prove a continuious push toward modernity and science was a bit too modernist, she was much more well studied than I). Instead, I looked closely in a few different instances, at where alchemy intersected with normative social and religious culture, and where occult science reflected the completion or complement to Reformed religion.

As my research solidifies, and as I scan, proof, and edit my previous papers and continue on with my explorations, I will be posting more interesting material to this section of the site. It will be an entire section, serving as a brief encylopedia of 14th - 17th century occult science in the West, but with greatest detail pertaining to my work.

In the meantime, I present the following links to other phenominal work on the web, or in the case of not-so-phenominal or heavily biosed research (anything smacking of O.T.O. or A.:A.: or Golden Dawn),* some places to at least get aquainted with English translations of the source material.

Adam McLean's The Alchemy Web Site
Although named fairly genericly, this site is "the" alchemy site on the web. It not only contains many translations and transcriptions, but catalogs of academic articles and books on the subject written in the last half a century, images of alchemy alegory, the whole nine, really. McLean does make his money off his books, study guides, and image CDs/prints, so there are no real high-res materials, and some of the translations are not the best you can work from (those are for sale), but it is a fantastic starting point of the study, and McLean himself is one of the foremost authorities on alchemy, since Carl Jung.

Joseph H. Peterson's Twilit Groto - Esoteric Archives
Not the best organized, nor formatted site, Peterson is an absolute fiend for collecting documents and translating them to at least decent English editions. This is one of the more complete [text] collections of various medieval and early modern magical works.

Benjamin Rowe's Norton's Imperium (archive on www.hermetic.com)
Although not important in academic circles to any regard, Rowe, the foremost "authority" and practioner of modern enochian magic on web, did manage to transcribe in digital format several "classics of Magic" - many of which in turn were translated in the late 19th century by the Golden Dawn. Although not the greatest translations of these works, some do not have better ones available in English, and furthmore, they are freely downloadable. Following Rowe's death, this site has been moved, to the above cited location.

Phanes Press
A very nice small publisher of occult scientific, alchemical, and mystical works. McLean's private (and very limited edition) imprint Magum Opus Sourceworks, are at least in part available (in paperback) from Phanes. If anyone wants to buy me a birthday or Christmas present I would really love, get me a book from this press. Most any would be perfect.

Red Wheel/Weisner Books
Another small imprint, handling a variety of magic/occult/esoteric books by modern scholars and researchers, among other topics. Although some of the catalog is more common Barnes and Noble "Magic, Wicca, and Occult" section books (rather than Phanes, which is more likely to be selected by faculty at a university as an edition to the library), there are some very valuable books on this imprint.

University of Wisconsin-Madison's Henrich Khunrath's Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae
If you want to see an Early Modern alchemy/cosmology book up close, here's your chance. University of Wisconsin-Madison's library put together a site with low and high-res scans of Khunrath's 1595 alchemical treatise. It's in Latin, but there is some interesting material assembled on the site to read about the text, and it is very cool to look at.

Michigan State Universitity's Esoterica
Esoterica is an online journal with a broad variety of topics in magic, mysticism, occult science, and alchemy. The best part - its fully online.

Brill's Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism
This is the big show: Aries is hands down the best source for what is going on in research of Western Esotericism, hands down. Intelligensia Select, keeps an issue or two randomly online to look at, but go to your university library (if they stock it) and page through it. It is great and the articles are varied and well excuted. Also the book reviews are especially useful in this field, since it is sometimes hard to filter the gems from the tripe, since a new pop-culture "magic" book comes out every other week and the rare academic ones silently live elsewhere.

Clay Holden's John Dee Publication Project
Never, ever updated, but contains some nice transcriptions of Dr. Dee's angelic conversations ("Mysteriorum Librii").

Gallica
Associated in some way, shape or form with the French National Library, this online collection houses some nice Latin editions of some of Henrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim's works.

MSU Libraries' Digital Collections Three Books of Occult Philosophy
Want a copy of all three volumes of Agrippa's work in Johnathan French's 1651 English printing? There you go.

Bivio: Biblioteca Virtuale On-line
In case you wanted it in the orginally Latin - the Institute of Rennaissance Studies has an online text only edition. Bruno and Ficino are also there.

UPenn Libraries - SCETI's Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
Although not wrapped up nicely in a neat little exhibit site or a nice PDF download, you can look at very high res scans of Elias Ashmole's 1652 compilation of the best of English alchemy. If you want another copy of Thomas Norton's Ordinall of Alchemy - here's another copy from a bit wacky, but seemly chock-full site.

* In reference to the Ordo Templi Orientis, Argenteum Astrum, or the Order of the Golden Dawn: although these groups and their founders and personalities (such S.L. MacGregor Mathers, A.E. Waite, Alistar Crowley, etc.) have had a phenominal impact on the development of "occultism" and its preceived "rebirth" during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their work does not immediately and honestly (in terms of academic and historical reliablity or attention) reflect the texts and meanings of the texts of magic and occult science prior their modern, synthetic sensibilities. Although important, Crowley, et. al. were not impressively honest and authorative scholars of this material (but for their own "magickal" systems believed much of this material worth consideration). As such, I am not perpared to use their scholarship, but may occasionally make reference or point to some of their compositional or translation work.