Hermetic spirituality and the historical imagination : altered states of knowledge in late antiquity / Wouter J. Hanegraaff.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hanegraaff, Wouter J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hermetism.

Spirituality--History.

Spirituality.

Knowledge, Theory of--History.

Knowledge, Theory of.

Civilization, Ancient.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 438 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

In Egypt during the first centuries CE, men and women would meet discreetly in their homes, in temple sanctuaries, or insolitary places to learn a powerful practice of spiritual liberation. They thought of themselves as followers of Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary master of ancient wisdom. While many of their writings are lost, those that survived have been interpreted primarily as philosophical treatises about theological topics. Wouter J. Hanegraaff challenges this dominant narrative by demonstrating that Hermetic literature was concerned with experiential practices intended for healing the soul from mental delusion. The Way of Hermes involved radical alterations of consciousness in which practitioners claimed to perceive the true nature of reality behind the hallucinatory veil of appearances. Hanegraaff explores how practitioners went through a training regime that involved luminous visions, exorcism, spiritual rebirth, cosmic consciousness, and union with the divine beauty of universal goodness and truth to attain the salvational knowledge known as gnôsis.

Contents:

Hermetic spirituality

Heart of darkness

The presence of gods

Children of Hermes

Through a glass darkly

Healing the soul

The path of reverence

Becoming alive

The source

The conquest of time.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 20 Jun 2022).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009127936 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.