Ebook: The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus

HERMES—the fascinating, mercurial messenger of the gods, eloquent revealer of hidden wisdom, and guardian of occult knowledge—has played a central role in the development of esotericism in the West. Drawing upon many rare books and manuscripts, this highly illustrated work explores the question of where Hermes Trismegistus came from, how he came to be a patron of the esoteric traditions, and how the figure of Hermes has remained lively and inspiring to our own day.

»Great erudition blended with a highly refined metaphysical sensibility brings the great Hermes to life and allows this powerful psychospiritual archetype to speak once again (and perhaps even play a few much-needed tricks on us).« —Jacob Needleman, author of The Heart of Philosophy and Money and the Meaning of Life

»Faivre’s remarkable achievement in this single volume is to combine the historical richness of the Hermetic tradition with its relevance to understanding the circumambulations of the psyche today as it pursues its spiritual quest.« —June Singer, author of Boundaries of the Soul: The Practice of Jung’s Psychology

»This book is an impressive and compelling contribution to the puzzling question of both the source and perdurance of Hermes in his variety of shape-shifting guises. From Alexandria to Amsterdam, Athens to America, this thrice-great Hermes keeps showing up, perhaps even more than in antiquity!« —David L. Miller, Syracuse University, author of The New Polytheism

Antoine Faivre, the most prominent scholar of esotericism to have appeared since Mircea Eliade, is Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Section des Sciences Religieuses, Sorbonne), University Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Haute-Normandie, and director of the series Cahiers de l’Hermétisme (Albin Michel).