Hermes Trismegistus. Hermeticism. Not to be confused with Hermit.
Hermeticism, also called Hermetism,[1][2] is a religious and philosophical/esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus ("Thrice Great").[3] These writings have greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance[4] and the Reformation.[5] The tradition claims descent from a prisca theologia, a doctrine that affirms the existence of a single, true theology that is present in all religions and that was given by God to man in antiquity.[6][7] Many Christian writers, including Lactantius, Augustine,[8] Thomas Aquinas[citation needed], Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Giordano Bruno, Campanella, Sir Thomas Browne, and Emerson, considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity.[9][10] History[edit] Late Antiquity[edit] Renaissance[edit]
Emerald Tablet. An imaginative 17th century depiction of the Emerald Tablet from the work of Heinrich Khunrath, 1606.
The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Table, or Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic piece of Hermetica reputed to contain the secret of the prima materia and its transmutation. It was highly regarded by European alchemists as the foundation of their art and its Hermetic tradition.