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'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''<br>
[[File:WIZARDS - Mythical Monsters and other works.jpg|right|240px|thumb|Books by Wizards Bookshelf]]
'''ARTICLE UNDER CONSTRUCTION'''<br>
'''Wizards Bookshelf''' was a publishing house operated by [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] scholar Richard Robb. The company was founded in Minneapolis in 1972, and later moved to San Diego, California. It continued producing books until 2006[?].  
[[File:Hermes.png|right|200px|thumb|Medieval Drawing of Hermes Trismegistus]]
'''Hermeticism''' is a philosophical system based on writings attributed to [[Hermes Trismegistus]], a legendary combination of the Greek god Hermes, his Roman counterpart Mercury, and the Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth.


== Origins of Hermeticism ==
== The Secret Doctrine Reference Series ==
'''REVISE THIS SECTION'''<br>
'''REVISE THIS SECTION'''<br>


>>>>>SEE STEPHAN HOELLER
=== History of the series ===


Historians believe that the origins of the Hermetic school of thought goes back to Hellenistic Egypt, around 400-100 BCE.
Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in ''Sunrise'' in November 1975:
 
<blockquote>
Hermeticism does profess a lineage from a “prisca theologia,a doctrine that upholds the existence of a single, true theology existing in all theologies that was given to man by God in the very distant past.
''The Secret Doctrine'' was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.
 
== Foundational writings ==


The Hermetic teachings are collectively known as '''Hermetica'''. [[Hermes Trismegistus]], or his followers, are credited with writing forty-two books according to Clement of Alexander<ref>[https://platopagan.tripod.com/hermetic_books.htm The 42 Hermetic Books Cited by Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150-215 A.D.)] Quoted from a Clement of Alexandria work entitled ''Stromata'' (Miscellanies), Book VI, Chapter 4.</ref>. Clement described the sacred ceremonial of the ancient Egyptians as requiring use of hermetic books containing "the hymns of the gods and rules of conduct for the kings."<ref>[https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/H/hermes-trismegistus-or-mercurius.html Hermes Trismegistus, or Mercurius].</ref> Four books are related to astrology and others are alchemical. Another group presents philosophical concepts in the form of dialogues, in the style of Plato. Among the best-known works are ''Corpus Hermeticum'', ''The Divine Pymander'', and ''The Emerald Tablets''. The original works were written in Greek and Arabic. In 1948, an additional work was discovered in the Nag Hammadi Collection: ''The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth,'' which seems to be in initiation rite.
Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity.
When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.
=== ''Corpus Hermeticum'' ===


The ''Corpus Hermeticum'' became available as a manuscript in the fifteenth century, although the work was much older. Thought to have been written anywhere from 100 BCE to 1462 CE, the writings were lost or underground until 1452, when the document was rediscovered in Macedonia. Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) began translating the ''Corpus'' from Greek into Latin. He completed translation of the first fourteen treatises, and Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447–1500) translated the remaining three.<ref>Brian P. Copenhaver,''Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction''. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), xlvii–xlviii.</ref><ref>Wouter Hanegraaff, "Lazzarelli, Lodovico". In
That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of ''The Source of Measures'' on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of [[J. Ralston Skinner|Skinner's]] treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of ''The Source of Measures'', regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — ''The Book of Enoch''. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.
''Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism'' (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 680.</ref> 


The treatises within the ''Corpus'' include:
Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now.
 
There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.
# Discourse of Poimandres to [[Hermes Trismegistus]]
# Hermes to Asclepius
# A sacred discourse of Hermes
# A discourse of Hermes to Tat: The mixing bowl or the monad
# A discourse of Hermes to Tat, his son: That god is invisible and entirely visible
# Hermes to Asclepius: That the good is in god alone and nowhere else
# That the greatest evil in mankind is ignorance concerning god
# Hermes to Tat: That none of the things that are is destroyed, and they are mistaken who say that changes are deaths and destructions
# Hermes to Asclepius: On understanding and sensation: [That the beautiful and good are in god alone and nowhere else]
# Hermes to Tat: The key
# Mind (''[[Nous]]'') to Hermes
# Hermes to Tat: On the mind shared in common
# Hermes to Tat, a secret dialogue on the mountain: On being born again, and on the promise to be silent
# Hermes to Asclepius: health of mind
# Asclepius to King Ammon: Definitions on god, matter, vice, fate, the sun, intellectual essence, divine essence, mankind, the arrangement of the plenitude, the seven stars, and mankind according to the image
# Asclepius to King Ammon
# Tat to a king: On the soul hindered by the body's affections
 
=== ''The Divine Pymander'' ===
 
=== ''The Emerald Tablets'' ===
 
''The Emerald Tablets'' were written in a manner that is intentionally enigmatic to obscure the meaning to all but those trained in [[alchemy]]. The ''Tablets'' present one of the most basic concepts in occultism: '''"As above, so below"'''.
 
<blockquote>
It is true, no lie, certain, to be depended upon: What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is similar to that which is below to accomplish the wonders of one thing. As all things were produced by the mediation of one being, so all things were produced from this one by adaptation. Its father is the sun, its mother is the moon. It is the cause of all perfection throughout the whole earth. Its power is perfect if it is changed into earth. Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, acting prudently and with judgment. Ascend with the greatest sagacity from the earth to heaven, and then descend again to earth, and unite together the power of things inferior and superior; thus you will possess the light of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly away from you. This thing has more fortitude than fortitude itself, because it will overcome every subtle thing and penetrate every solid thing. By it the world was formed.
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


== Hermeticism compared to Gnosticism ==
Richard Robb wrote of [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky|Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's]] work '''[[The Secret Doctrine (book)|''The Secret Doctrine'']]''':  
'''REVISE THIS SECTION'''<br>
'''REVISE THIS SECTION'''<br>
Hermeticism and [[Gnosticism]] are often considered to be closely associated since they both seek gnosis but while they share many characteristics, their fundamental attitudes toward life is completely opposite. Gnosticism sees the world as a dark, evil place filled with demons to be overcome and a constant struggle to attain higher and higher levels of spiritual reality. Their goal is to escape from it, seeking salvation through gnosis. The hermeticist's view of the world is as evidence of beauty and divine harmony. Instead of escaping the world he wants more knowledge of the world in order to expand himself, to realize his full potential in the world. He works to free himself from the influence of the planetary spheres (astrological domination). He would read his horoscope in the morning paper not to see what his day has in store but to know how to master his fate. He sees beauty in the world and continues to be in love with Nature.
 
== Concepts of Hermeticism ==
 
Fundamental to understanding Hermeticism is a knowledge or '''gnosis''' that cannot be taught.  Gnosis reveals in an experiential way the total unity of everything in the universe.  Absolutely everything in the world is interconnected, there is no separation. Hermeticism is not a religion of faith or belief, it is about knowing that requires no trust in something unseen or unproven. Frances Yates says, Hermeticism is a religion “without temples or liturgy, followed in the mind alone.”<ref>Frances A. Yates, ''Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition'' (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1971), 13.</ref> The ways to open to gnosis can be taught to an aspirant but the experience itself is a direct, intuitive, very personal grasp of divine reality and the unity of everything.  Achieving this gnosis or cosmic consciousness is necessary to the hermetic man because this is how he becomes fully human; without this he is little more than an animal. 
 
This sudden revelation experience has been compared to what RM Bucke called “cosmic consciousness,” which is the very sudden, unprovoked sense of total oneness with everything.  It is a very rare occurrence. Bucke, in his 1901 book Cosmic Consciousness, explores the instances of this gnosis experienced by Jesus, the Buddha, Proust, Ouspensky, Dante, Whitman and Blake to name a few. As rare and as moving as these moments are Bucke believes our consciousness is moving toward a state where instances of cosmic consciousness will be commonplace.  Interestingly, Abraham Maslow investigating what he calls “peak experiences” found that when his students discussed with each other their personal peak experiences they tended to become more frequent. Perhaps knowledge of and discussion of gnosis will make it a less rare event.
 
One aspect of Hermeticism that greatly disturbs fundamentalist Christians is the belief that Man is the equal of God.  “If you do not make yourself the equal of God you cannot understand him. Like is understood by Like.”<ref>Gary Lachman, ''The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World'' (2011), 35.</ref> Advice from Nous to Hermes in Book XI of Corpus Hermeticum.  “Command your soul to go anywhere, and it will be there quicker than your command.  Bid it to go to the ocean and it will need no wings…Grow to immeasurable size.  Suppose nothing to be impossible to you.  Conceive yourself to be in all places at the same time; in earth, in the sea, in heaven; that you are not born yet, that you are within the womb, that you are young, old, dead.  Conceive all things at once; times, places, actions, qualities and quantities; then you can understand God.”<ref>Lachman, Gary. The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World. , 2011. Print. P35</ref>  Arrogance?  Hermes says that Man is a “divine being….and the true man is above the gods, or at least fully their equal in power.”<ref>Gary Lachman, ''The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World'' (2011), 35.</ref> Some schools of thought believe “God only knows what you know,” suggesting that man’s journey on earth is a learning experience for the creator, as well as the individual.  Those who believe their god is omniscient take offense with this premise of Hermeticism.
 
[[File:The_Magican.png|right|230px|thumb|The Magician in Tarot]]
 
Hermeticism emphasized the doctrine of “as above, so below,” or the '''[[Law of Correspondences]]'''. The ''Smaragdine Tablet'' or ''Emerald tablet'' of Hermes, opens with the words:  
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
What is below is like that which is above, and what is above is similar to that which is below.
''The Secret Doctrine'' is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.<ref>Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.</ref> 
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


Actions on one level of reality &ndash; physical, emotional or mental &ndash; happens on all levels. This doctrine echoes through most occult disciplines. In the Tarot, the first card of the major arcana is the Magician depicted with one arm pointing up and the other pointing down signifying “as above, so below.” On the table before  him are the representations of the four basic elements – earth (pentacles), wind (swords), fire (wands) and water (cups) – all controlled by the same doctrine.
{|style="margin: 0 auto;"
 
| [[File:Wizards_Bookshelf_MEC_set.jpg|400px|center|thumb|SD Reference Series with Blavatsky books. Owned by Michael Conlin]]
According to Hermeticism there are three parts of wisdom in the entire universe they are [[Alchemy]], [[Astrology]], and [[Theurgy]].  Alchemy is the operation of the sun or the striving for perfection.  Astrology, the operation of the stars, and the influences upon the human being and his work to rise above the influence of the heavens. Theurgy is the operation of the gods or magic. In Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Apology he writes that there are two different types of magic, Black Magic or Goëtia (Greek), which relies upon an alliance with evil spirits (i.e., demons) and there is White (or divine) magic called Theurgy, which relies on an alliance with divine spirits (i.e., angels, archangels, gods).
|}
 
=== List of titles in the series ===
Seven principles are presented in the Hermetica:
 
1. '''The Principle of Mentalism''': The All is mind; The Universe is Mental.<br>
2. '''The Principle of Correspondence''': As above, so below; as below, so above. As within, so without; as without, so within.<br>
3. '''The Principle of Vibration''': Nothing rests; Everything moves; Everything vibrates.<br>
4. '''The Principle of Polarity''': Everything is dual; Everything has poles; Like and unlike are the same; Opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree;  All truths, are but half-truths; All paradoxes may be reconciled.<br>
5. '''The Principle of Rhythm''': Everything flows, out and in; Everything has its tides; All things rise and fall; The pendulum swing manifests in everything. Rhythm compensates.<br>
6. '''The Principle of Cause & Effect''': Every cause has its effect; Every effect has its cause; Everything happens according to law.<br>
7. '''The Principle of Gender''': Gender is in everything; Everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes.
 
'''[[Reincarnation]]''' is a feature of Hermeticism. "O son, how many bodies we have to pass through, how many bands of demons, through how many series of repetitions and cycles of the stars, before we hasten to the One Alone?”<ref>Clement Salaman, Dorine Van Oyen, William D. Wharton, and Jean-Pierre Mahé. ''The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Hermeticum and The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius'' (Rochester: Inner Traditions, 2000), 33.</ref>
 
== '''Creation According To Hermes''' ==
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Understanding the creation story as recounted in Hermes’ Book I of ''Corpus Hermeticum'', called ''Poimandres'', will help to see where the beliefs of Hermeticism came from.
 
Nous is what God is called.  In the beginning Nous (God) created a second Nous, who becomes a craftsman and creates the world.  Nous II creates seven powers in seven spheres around what will become earth; the spheres have control over what will be the earth. They control what we know as destiny. The seven spheres are the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  Here is the beginning of astrology. But there is an eighth and a ninth sphere beyond these seven and it will be man’s goal to transcend the power of the seven and finally arrive at the eighth and then the ninth where he is to be reunited with the creator.  Nous II sets the spheres in motion and life begins on earth.
 
Nous I likes what Nous II has created and he wants to share his pleasure in this creation.  So Nous I creates Man.  Poimandres says, “Man is the same as self,” that is same as Nous.  The idea of being a child of god  is obvious here.  Seeing all the wonderful, beautiful things that had been created Man wants this power too and Nous I so loved Man that he handed creation over to him.  Man (still in heaven) became interested in what was going on down on earth so he pierces the seven spheres and looks down on what Nous II has created.  Nature looks up at Man and falls in love with him.  Man sees his own reflection in the waters of earth and falls in love with Nature and wants to be with her.  Immediately Man is transported into the world of form.  He and Nature fall into each other’s arms, make love and have been doing so ever since.
 
In the creation myth we are introduced to astrology and the influence of the planets upon man and from which man is expected to rise above.  We have dualism – a god of the heavens and one who created earth.  We see the idea of Man as the son or part of god.  We have man being given the power of creation. “You create your own reality.”  The idea that man has a dual nature – one in heaven (non-material, the soul or spirit) and one physical in the world of matter (the body). And “the Fall”, leaving heaven to be with Nature.
 
== Influence of Hermeticism ==
 
Hermeticism has influenced some of the greatest thinkers of the ancient and modern worlds.
 
=== In Renaissance thought ===
[[File:TheCaduceus.png|right|200px|thumb|The Caduceus]]
'''Marsilio Ficino''', Cosimo De Medici’s scribe who translated the newly unearthed Hermetic documents in 1463, was profoundly affected by the information he acquired from the writings. Ficino became a Roman Catholic priest and a high ranking official at the Cathedral of Florence. He hoped to merge Hermetic concepts into the Catholic religion but the Inquisition was still operational so he had to be extremely careful.
 
'''[[Pico della Mirandola|Giovanni Pico della Mirandola]]''', a student of Ficino, was a Renaissance philosopher famous for his ''Oration on the Dignity of Man''. Pico studied the mystical writings ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus, Zoroaster and Moses, Orpheus and Pythagoras, Christian theology, Islamic philosophy, and the Hebrew Qabalah.<ref>Katinka Hesselink, Katinka.http://www.katinkahesselink.net/his/PicoDellaMirandola.htm "Pico della Mirandola"]  Accessed on 3/25/2022.</ref><ref>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/philosophy-and-religion/philosophy-biographies/giovanni-pico-della-mirandola "Pico della Mirandolla, Giovanni"]. Accessed on 3/25/2022.</ref> Along with Ficino, he followed the doctrine of '''''Prisca Theologia''''', holding that one true theology &ndash; the real basis for all religions &ndash; was given to mankind in antiquity.  
 
'''[[Giordano Bruno]]''' (1548-1600) was also deeply influenced by hermeticism, along with [[astrology]] and [[Rosicrucianism]]. He developed a cosmology in which he viewed the universe as infinite and eternal; with a heliocentric model of the solar system; and the divinity, unity, and interdependence of all things.
 
=== In Theosophy ===
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Theosophy, however, tells us that “Thoth-Hermes was one of the King-Instructors, the "[[Sons of the Fire]]," who began in [[Lemuria]] in the Third Race to instruct infant humanity in the arts and sciences. The Egyptians always regarded Thoth-Hermes as a symbol of the Third Race. But in whichever of his characters Hermes appears, he is always credited as the first to teach the science of magic to the Egyptians.”<ref>Author Unknown, “Great Theosophists – Alchemy and the Alchemists” Wisdom World.org THEOSOPHY, Vol. 25, No. 11, September, 1937, (Pages 490-496; Size: 19K), (Number 14 of a 29-part series)</ref> 
 
“The Sons of Fire were a special group of Adepts who were produced consciously through kriy€ akti by the Sons of Wisdom during the Third Root Race of humanity. The [[Mahatma Letters]] refer to them as the inhabitants of [[Shamballa]] who triumphed over the wicked magicians of Poseidon, the last island of Atlantis. They were not a race, and are also called ‘Sons of Will and Yoga.’”<ref>http://www.theosophy.ph/encyclo/index.php?title=Sons_of_the_Fire_Mist# 2</ref>
 
The Kybalion uses Hermetic principles - mentalism - thought control
 
=== In modern thought ===
 
Joseph Rodrigues, Colton Swabb, and others have focused on the application of Hermetic concepts to achieve prosperity.
 
== The Hermetic Arts ==
 
Study of hermeticism led humanity toward modern science and medicine.
 
[[Alchemy]] is the study of how to purify and transmute human beings to realize their divine potential. The early alchemists combined chemical notations with ancient mythologies into a symbolic language to convey their spiritual experiences when words were inadequate. The idea that man should control his destiny rather than be a victim to the influence of the stars led to the concept of influencing or controlling nature.  This was of great interest to the developing discipline of science. '''Sir Isaac Newton''', for example, studyied the ''Corpus Hermeticum'' &ndash; in secret, due to the powerful Church’s disapproval of alchemy.
 
The secrecy surrounding alchemy led to many misunderstandings concerning what alchemy intended to accomplish. Interest in the exoteric view of alchemy converting base metal to gold, led people in the direction of developing the modern science of chemistry. The efforts of [[Paracelsus]], also misunderstanding the true nature of alchemy, led to the beginning of pharmacology.
 
The '''caduceus''' that has become the symbol used for modern medicine comes directly from hermeticism. The serpent was a symbol of wisdom associated with Hermes-Thoth in ancient times. One story of how the caduceus was created tells that when Hermes came upon two snakes locked in mortal combat, he separated them with his staff and acting as mediator brought peace between them by suggesting an alchemical reconciliation. Snakes shed their skins and appear to be reborn, and are connected symbolically to both magic and medicine.
 
== Additional resources ==
 
=== Hermetic writings ===
 
See also [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetica Hermetica] in Wikipedia for a detailed list.
 
* '''''[http://www.gnosis.org/library/hermet.htm#CH The Corpus Hermeticum]''''' at the Gnostic Society Library.
* '''''[https://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/pym/index.htm The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus]'''''. Translated from the Arabic by John Everard. 1650.
* '''''[http://iapsop.com/ssoc/1884__everard_jennings___divine_pymander.pdf The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus]'''''. Translated from the Arabic by John Everard. 1650. London: George Redway, 1884.
 
=== Books about Hermeticism ===
 
* Hancock, Graham, and Robert Bauval. ''Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith''. London: Michael Joseph, 2004.
 
* Lachman, Gary. ''The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World''. , 2011.
 
* Mead, G. R. S. ''Thrice-greatest Hermes: Studies in Hellenistic Theosophy and Gnosis, Being a Translation of the Extant Sermons and Fragments of the Trismegistic Literature, with Prolegomena, Commentaries, and Notes.'' London: J.M. Watkins, 1964.
 
* Salaman, Clement, and Hermes. ''The Way of Hermes: Translations of the Corpus Hermeticum and the Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius.'' Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2000.
 
* Wilson, Colin. ''From Atlantis to the Sphinx''. New York: Fromm International Pub, 1997.
 
* Yates, Frances A. ''Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition.'' Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1964.
 
=== Articles ===
 
* [https://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/sunrise/55-05-6/me-elo4.htm "The Emerald Tablet"] by Eloise Hart. Originally published in ''Sunrise magazine'', April/May 2006.
 
=== Websites ===


* [http://www.gnosis.org/library/ The Gnostic Archive].
* '''''The Divine Pymander of Hermes''''' translated from Arabic by John Everard.
* [https://blogs.uoregon.edu/rel399f14drreis/hermeticism/ Hermeticism].
* '''''The Virgin of the World: Hermes''''' translated by Dr. Anna Kingsford.
* [https://medium.com/the-mission/the-hermetic-revival-7-ancient-principles-for-self-mastery-9399e523648d The Hermetic Revival: & Ancient Principles for Self Mastery] by Colton Swabb. Feb 26, 2018.</ref>
* '''''The Book of Enoch the Prophet''''' translated from Ethiopie by Richard Laurence.
* '''''Esoteric Budhism''''' by A.P. Sinnett. 1885 edition with annotations.
* '''''The Origin & Significance of the Gt Pyramid''''' by C. Staniland Wake.
* '''''The Eleusinian & Bacchic Mysteries''''' translated by Thomas Taylor, notes by Alex Wilder.
* '''''The Chaldean Account of Genesis''''' translated from Cuneiform tablets by George Smith.
* '''''Sacred Mysteries Among the Mayas & Quiches''''' by Augustus LePleongeon.
* '''''The Theosophist: Volume I''''' edited by H.P. Blavatsky. 320p.
* '''''On the Mysteries: Iamblichus''''' translated by Thomas Taylor.
* '''''The Desatir''''' (1818) translated by Mulla Firuz bin Kaus.
* '''''The Pythagorean Triangle''''' by George Oliver.
* '''''Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery in the Source of Measures, + index & notes''''' by J. Ralston Skinner.
* '''''The Gnostics & Their Remains''''' by Charles W. King.
* '''''Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients Demonstrated''''' by Samson Arnold Mackay. Revised 2nd edition 1826.
* '''''The Zohar (Bereshith)''''' translated by Nurho de Manhar
* '''''Theon of Smyrna: Mathematics Useful for Understanding Plato''''' translated by Robert & Deborah Lawlor.
* '''''Surya Siddhanta (Hindu astronomy)''''' translated by E. Burgess & W.D. Whitney.
* '''''New Platonism & Alchemy''''' by Dr. Alexander Wilder.
* '''''The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac''''' by T. Subba Row.
* '''''Plato: Cratylus, Phaedo, Parmenides, Timaeus, & Critius''''' translated by Thomas Taylor. (1793 edition, reset).
* '''''Ancient Fragments of the Egyptian Phoenician, etc.''''' translated by I.P. Cory. 1832 edition.
* '''''Posthumous Humanity''''' by Adolphe D'Assier translated by Henry S. Olcott.
* '''''The Anugita''''' translated by K.T. Telang.
* '''''Mythical Monsters''''' by Charles Gould.
* '''''Life & Teachings of Paracelsus''''' by Dr. Franz Hartmann.
* '''''The Qabbalah''''' by Isaac Myer, intro by H.P. Blavatsky.
* '''''Sepher Yetzireh''''' translated by W. W. Westcott.
* '''''Sod, the Sun of Man''''' by S.F. Dunlap.


=== Video ===
== Other books published ==


* '''''Hermeticism and Gnosticism''''' by Stephan Hoeller
* '''''Astronomy & Astrology of the Babylonians''''' by A.H. Sayce.
** Volume 1: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Svff9PiH0 Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jleRvDBfacc Part 2].  
* '''''Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine'''''.
** Volume 2: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2UX9l6c7dI Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay2gtDHfmH4 Part 2].
* '''''The Lost Fragments of Proclus''''' translated by Thomas Taylor.
** Volume 3: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rrm8Va-NEA Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf_m232kd28 Part 2].
* '''''The Books of Kiu-Te in the Tibetan Buddhist Tantras''''' by David Reigle.
** Volume 4: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oz-vSoqyVc Part 1] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_tBTdqHme4 Part 2].
* '''''H.P. Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine''''' by Max Heindel.
* '''''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoPtrb2eMCQ What is Hermeticism?]''''' in Esoterica YouTube channel. Posted May 28, 2021.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KupaADzq88g Hermeticism and Ancient Astrology]'''. A discussion about the ancient philosophy of Hermeticism and its relationship to Hellenistic astrology, with Sam Block and Chris Brennan. Feb 16, 2022.
* '''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8TSCGoSsME The Kybalian by The Three Initiates (The Seven Hermetic Principles)]''' by Joseph Rodrigues. This presenter focuses on using the seven principles and especially thought power to achieve prosperity, in the tradition of Napoleon Hill's ''Think and Grow Rich''.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
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[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Publishing companies|Wizards Bookshelf]]
[[Category:Western Esotericism]]
[[Category:Schools of Thought]]

Latest revision as of 16:23, 26 April 2024

Books by Wizards Bookshelf

Wizards Bookshelf was a publishing house operated by Blavatsky scholar Richard Robb. The company was founded in Minneapolis in 1972, and later moved to San Diego, California. It continued producing books until 2006[?].

The Secret Doctrine Reference Series

History of the series

Mr. Robb wrote about the beginnings of Wizards Bookshelf in Sunrise in November 1975:

The Secret Doctrine was written for the Western world to stem the tide of abject materialism. No messenger made his appearance in glowing aura to impress the multitude and, if he had, he would probably have been completely ignored. Instead, we have a book designed to gain acceptance in the minds of thinking men for many long years to come. The form and content of the S.D. is such that the student is constantly referred to the thoughts and ideas of hundreds of authors, all of whom are generally tending in the same direction.

Some people have claimed that the 750 and more books cited are merely proofs. But what are proofs? If these references are by sheer weight of numbers designed to force people to believe the validity of the teachings developed in the S.D., then surely the exposition could have been far more explicit and detailed, thus removing from the mind of the inquirer any chance of doubt. But this is not the case. As stated in the Preface, there is simply not room enough to explain the complete scheme of nature in two volumes. It would take a thousand volumes. Moreover, the ideas expressed are often obscure to the Western mind, because we have no background. Background in these areas is best supplied by the very sources that are used, and the reader will discover that there are perhaps 40 or 50 out of the 750+ books referred to that are mentioned with regularity. When I first became interested in The Secret Doctrine, an interest that was fostered by happenstance — an encounter with a copy of The Mahatma Letters in a small bookstore in New Orleans — I felt the work was utterly impossible, that there was little chance that I would ever be able to understand it. However, I found parts so interesting that I continued to read. Whole paragraphs passed without the least bit of comprehension, but occasionally a page really made sense to me.

That was in 1965. Several people told me that the S.D. could not be read per se, but used only as a sort of dictionary or reference work. Be that as it may, I started and read the entire two volumes all the way through. When I had finished, two things were uppermost in my mind: first, that I was utterly ignorant; and secondly, that my education had left me totally unprepared for the study of The Secret Doctrine. Here was a range of knowledge that required effort and scholarly endeavor, books that I had never heard of before, whole subject areas that were foreign to me. As it turned out, I really was motivated to begin my education over again. And in so doing I set out to find some of the books quoted or referred to in the S.D. Of course, these were rather scarce and I didn't locate them immediately. However, after a time I discovered a copy of The Source of Measures on a used book list and sent away for it. The parts of Skinner's treatise that I did understand were an absolute revelation to me. "Why," I thought, "hadn't the Masons made a point of preserving this text, so rare and valuable as it is?" Inquiries of local Masons indicated that they possessed little knowledge of the subject matter. At length, I became convinced of the absolute necessity of preserving the text of The Source of Measures, regardless of cost or its public acceptance. Some day, somewhere, there would be men who would fasten upon these ideas. Though utterly unacquainted with the publishing industry, I did finally succeed in reprinting 535 copies. Response to advertisements was nonexistent. However, a few copies were sold, and I was encouraged to the extent that I considered a second title — The Book of Enoch. Since then the list of titles has steadily grown.

Thus the "Secret Doctrine Reference Series" (published by Wizards Bookshelf) came into being. It is fundamentally designed to guarantee future generations access to the ideas contained in the already rare and difficult-to-obtain titles of past centuries. These works, if hard to find today, will be impossible to locate a hundred years from now. There are many whose spiritual longing and philosophical inquiry are too sacred to be exposed among strangers or even among friends who they suspect may have entirely different views. The fact is, it is the written word that allows the student the privacy of his own thoughts, that gives rise to the most profound aspirations and the most intuitive insights It is literature, then due to its impersonal character, its relative permanence and its very silence, that has motivated us.

Richard Robb wrote of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's work The Secret Doctrine:

The Secret Doctrine is a timeless synthesis of philosophy, science, religion, history and metaphysics; its bibliography of over 1,000 books and journals draws upon many languages, and it has been called the most abstruse work in English.[1]

SD Reference Series with Blavatsky books. Owned by Michael Conlin

List of titles in the series

  • The Divine Pymander of Hermes translated from Arabic by John Everard.
  • The Virgin of the World: Hermes translated by Dr. Anna Kingsford.
  • The Book of Enoch the Prophet translated from Ethiopie by Richard Laurence.
  • Esoteric Budhism by A.P. Sinnett. 1885 edition with annotations.
  • The Origin & Significance of the Gt Pyramid by C. Staniland Wake.
  • The Eleusinian & Bacchic Mysteries translated by Thomas Taylor, notes by Alex Wilder.
  • The Chaldean Account of Genesis translated from Cuneiform tablets by George Smith.
  • Sacred Mysteries Among the Mayas & Quiches by Augustus LePleongeon.
  • The Theosophist: Volume I edited by H.P. Blavatsky. 320p.
  • On the Mysteries: Iamblichus translated by Thomas Taylor.
  • The Desatir (1818) translated by Mulla Firuz bin Kaus.
  • The Pythagorean Triangle by George Oliver.
  • Key to the Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery in the Source of Measures, + index & notes by J. Ralston Skinner.
  • The Gnostics & Their Remains by Charles W. King.
  • Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients Demonstrated by Samson Arnold Mackay. Revised 2nd edition 1826.
  • The Zohar (Bereshith) translated by Nurho de Manhar
  • Theon of Smyrna: Mathematics Useful for Understanding Plato translated by Robert & Deborah Lawlor.
  • Surya Siddhanta (Hindu astronomy) translated by E. Burgess & W.D. Whitney.
  • New Platonism & Alchemy by Dr. Alexander Wilder.
  • The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac by T. Subba Row.
  • Plato: Cratylus, Phaedo, Parmenides, Timaeus, & Critius translated by Thomas Taylor. (1793 edition, reset).
  • Ancient Fragments of the Egyptian Phoenician, etc. translated by I.P. Cory. 1832 edition.
  • Posthumous Humanity by Adolphe D'Assier translated by Henry S. Olcott.
  • The Anugita translated by K.T. Telang.
  • Mythical Monsters by Charles Gould.
  • Life & Teachings of Paracelsus by Dr. Franz Hartmann.
  • The Qabbalah by Isaac Myer, intro by H.P. Blavatsky.
  • Sepher Yetzireh translated by W. W. Westcott.
  • Sod, the Sun of Man by S.F. Dunlap.

Other books published

  • Astronomy & Astrology of the Babylonians by A.H. Sayce.
  • Proceedings of the 1st International Symposium on H.P. Blavatsky's Secret Doctrine.
  • The Lost Fragments of Proclus translated by Thomas Taylor.
  • The Books of Kiu-Te in the Tibetan Buddhist Tantras by David Reigle.
  • H.P. Blavatsky and the Secret Doctrine by Max Heindel.

Notes

  1. Richard Robb email to Michael Conlin. October 29, 2023. Theosophical Society in America Archives.