/lit/ - Literature

>get on the internet and ask the same question on a bunch of pagan and neopagan forums
>be told it's all a bunch of polytheistic paganism and syncretism
>re-read the Corpus Hermeticum and discover that they're full of references to Egyptian deities
>tfw discover that the Corpus Hermeticum was used as the basis for the Emerald Tablet of Hermes
>tfw discover that the Emerald Tablet is almost certainly a fake, but was still used as a basis for alchemy
>discover that alchemy was used as the basis for modern chemistry
>tfw discover that the ancients were pretty on the ball about a lot of things

>>19491027
>2nd c ad
Is the CH supposed to be from thousands of years before that? Also I was utterly filtered by it. Not a clue what the fucknis going on "dark creating moist nature and then nature imprints on nature and" I almost took my meds after reading that.

>>19491031
>emerald tablet is certainly almost a fake
No hermes wrote it in atlantis like 36 000 BC bro

>>19491078
Yeah fr, I was there

>>19491027
Dont forget some people think buddhists and hindus were there too. It must of been a real fascinating time for anyone interested in metaphysics

>>19491031
>discover that alchemy was used as the basis for modern chemistry
Scientists in the 80s turned a small quantity of bismuth into gold, proving the claim made by alchemists that base metals can be transmuted into gold.

>>19491111
Digits confirm alchemy was the real deal all along

>>19491102
Also zoroastrians and pythagorians. Indeed interesting times for philosophic discussions, but they were probably attacking each other.

>>19491125
Yes probably, though I imagine there would be circles of interaction between the more educated amoung them

>>19491125
>>19491102
>>19491135
Are there any good books on this? The Alexandrian/Hellenistic Fertile Crescent intellectual environment?

>Philo was in Alexandria
>(Pseudo-?)Philo wrote about the "Therapeutae" (Essenes?) sprinkled across Egypt
>Essenes had Zoroastrian-sounding apocalyptic-mystic theology
>Who or what exactly was John the Baptist
>Clement of Alexander was Origen's teacher

It goes on and on. What also confuses me is how far east this environment stretched, and for how long. Did the Parthian and Sassanid periods have a "gnostic" free for all lasting 500+ years? How did the last Neoplatonists know to flee to the Persian court when Justinian shut down the Academy? What about the Greco-Bactrians and Kushans? Did they have contact with the Tarim basin and Kashmir?? WHO IS PRESTER JOHN?

>>19491254
I am not aware of any. The closest thing I can think of is a book called 'The Shape of Ancient
Thought' by Thomas McEvilley, which explores the possibly inspirations and interactions Platonism had with Indian metaphysics

>>19491273
McEvilley looks really good. What about Algis Uzdavinys?
>Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism
>Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity
>Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism

This seems good. Although how much of a Traditionalist is he? I like Traditionalism but some of them just regurgitate Guenon and Schuon like they are scripture.

>>19491285
He is much more Schuonian than Guenonian in my view, but I have not read much of him. What I have read I liked, I hear Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth is excellent

>>19491111
Post doi

Anyway getting gold wasn't really alchemy's goal, it was to achieve philosophical perfection

>>19491297
I think there were alchemists who ignored the spiritual elements of alchemy and took it literally, but you are correct that true alchemy is to reach a higher state of being

Bump

>>19491111
I do remember listening to a recorded lecture by Seyyed Hossein Nasr where he mentioned he witnessed someone turning some kind of metal into gold.

>>19491254
Pythagorean source book. Basically we're getting close to the Hyperborean secret history cut scene only psychic sigmas get to see
Add me on the ionosphere bros

>>19492464
I forgot my password to my two factor jhanauthorization

>>19491027
Orphic hymns + Elusinian mysteries
The akashic records are now yours

>>19492486
these ones fren?
https://www.theoi.com/Text/OrphicHymns1.html

>>19491027
bloomp because I'm specifically interested in this shit and I'm digging into all these sources pls post more stuff.

Grow up and stop believing in ooga-booga magic.

>>19492401
Link please?

>>19493567
This. I can’t believe people are gullible enough to believe in witch doctor voodoo quack tier shit written by ancient retards. Simply amazing. Reading stuff like this to understand how people thought thousands of years ago or learn about the history of science and philosophy is one thing, but actually believing in it is /x/ tier. I get that many people on this godforsaken board (especially the Americans but this applies to others as well) grew up in empty, grey, boring consumerist societies and lead pointless, pathetic lives but coping with le ancient magic is beyond embarrassing. Get a grip

>>19493567
Go read DFW or Franzen instead of seething

>>19493701
you are not yet where we are my friend

>>19491027
It was the result of Neanderthal / Cro Magnon hybrids forming a philosophy in Ancient Egypt
>Nose
>Brow Ridge
>Wide Blue eyes
>Red hair
>Elongated skull

Why does pleroma-sama allow demiurge-kun to keep us imprisoned in matter?

>>19493775
WE

>>19491078

I made the same mistake The Emerald Tablets of Hermes were quite real and are different from The Emerald Tablets of Thoth

>>19492575
Yes, but the translation is not that accurate. If you're Italian, there's a very good one from Mondadori, the one with the yellow cover. I don't know what to recommend you in English

>>19494136
Its impartial like rain and beings cause themselves to remain by their own actions and ignorance

>>19493640
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-lZJKms_hg

>>19494140
WUZ

>>19494365
Postalo