The New Religions of the Mediterranean World

In episode 339 Sam Block joins the show to talk about the ancient philosophy of Hermeticism and its relationship to Hellenistic astrology. Hermeticism is a religious, philosophical, and mystical movement that arose in Hellenistic Egypt around the first century, and is attributed to the teachings and practices of Hermes Trismegistus. It represents a popular synthesis of a number of philosophical and religious trends that were popular during the Hellenistic period, including Stoicism, Platonism, native Egyptian religion, and astrology. The majority of what is known about this philosophical or religious school survives in the Corpus Hermeticum and a handful of other writings from that time period. During the course of the episode we talk about what is known about the Hermetic philosophical tradition, and how it relates to the technical tradition of astrology that arose during the same time period. Sam is the author of a series on Hermeticism on his website, which I would recommend checking out for more information on this topic: https://digitalambler.com/about/hermeticism-posts/ Sign up for our Patreon to get early access to new episodes and other bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/astrologypodcast This episode is available in both audio and video versions below. Timestamps Timestamps for different topics covered and parts of the discussion: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:07 What survives from ancient Hermeticism 00:06:12 Religions and philosophies that influenced Hermeticism 00:15:00 The Corpus Hermeticum 00:24:44 Excerpts from the Hermetica 00:34:00 Hermeticism vs. Gnosticism 00:37:00 Excerpts about planets, soul, and fate 00:50:40 Diagram of the spheres of the cosmos 00:52:26 Gnosis meaning 00:55:25 Excerpt about salvation of the soul 01:02:19 Passage from Introduction to Gnosticism 01:03:18 Why astrology recurs as a motif in Hermeticism 01:07:00 A Stoic prayer and fate 01:12:05 Philosophical Hermetica vs. practical Hermetica 01:19:37 Hermetic influence on Vettius Valens 01:24:52 Alchemist Zosimos on fate 01:29:46 The Hermetica had multiple authors 01:50:04 Thoth and Hermes 01:52:36 Hermes and Mercury 01:54:08 Planetary joys scheme originates from Hermetic text 02:01:27 House significations and the Hermetica 02:16:40 Eclecticism and accessibility of the Hermetica 02:27:56 Birth charts in Egyptian temples 02:31:06 Divination in the Mediterranean world 02:35:17 Astrology as divination 02:38:44 Why is Hermes called thrice great? 02:40:30 What is the Way of Hermes? 02:44:51 What to do with birth chart information? 02:49:49 Hermeticism and Christianity 02:52:41 How much of our fate can we change? 02:55:57 Resources about Hermeticism 03:02:59 Book 3 of the Hermetica and astrology 03:09:25 Patrons and sponsors Watch the Video Version of This Episode Watch the video version of this episode on Hermeticism here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KupaADzq88g - Transcript A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 339 transcript Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode You can play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below: