I'm already aware of the Nag Hammadi codices and Corpus Hermeticum, but I don't know where to start. I feel compelled to dive right into intermediate and more advanced texts, but I don't think I have the necessary background. At the same time, I don't want to waste my time on beginner schlock no better than a bargain bin self-help book.
I want well translated essential texts with extensive footnotes. Any recommendations? Is Elaine Pagels actually good? Any good intros to Qabbalism, astrology? Is too early to buy sackcloth robes and a caduceus cane? I am very enthusiastic about this.
Pic related is a very convenient book containing all the main Gnostic texts split into useful categories.
Jordan Phillips
Thank you. Any other suggestions?
Michael Foster
Bump?
Angel Green
>Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Qabalah Read The middle pillar by Israel Regardie >Golden Dawn: Complete Golden Dawn by Regardie. >Qabalah Sepher Yetzirah by Aryeh Kaplan. >Chaos magic Read Liber Null and Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll >8 circuit Read Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson >Rosicrucian Read The Mystic Path by Raymund Andrea >General practice Read "Initiation into Hermetics" by Franz Bardon (better accompanied by "A Bardon Companion" by Rawn Clark). >General theory "Three Books of Occult Philosophy" by Agrippa. "Theurgia or the Egyptian Mysteries" by Iamblichus. >Ars Memoriae Rhetorica ad Herennium The New Psychology by William Walker Atkinson
For gnosticism is a good introduction.
Andrew Fisher
Why even read anything on Gnosticism when you can just look at Gnostic memes?
Adam Collins
...
Gavin Mitchell
Top kek
Gavin Adams
Why doesn't the Demiurge just kill itself? It got pretty BTFO over here.
Connor Roberts
...
Dylan Wright
thru
Nicholas Murphy
Bump
Jayden Wilson
I just want to get all those references.
Christopher Phillips
Want so much to know about gnosticism? You seem like a Forbidden Religion type of guy theforbiddenreligion.com/
Mason Allen
I myself have been exploring these topics for fifteen years...
I would suggest the following books:
>The Bible >The Midrash >The Nag Hammadi Library >Sefer Yetzirah >Tetrabiblos >The Golden Chain: An Anthology of Pythagorean and Platonic Philosophy (or get the Prometheus Trust Thomas Taylor series if you're a true completionist) >Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth >Philosophy and Theurgy In Late Antiquity >Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism >Corpus Hermetica >Orphic Hymns >Chaldean Oracles >Greek Magical Papyri >Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic >Techniques of Solomonic Magic >The True Grimoire >Geosophia: The Argo of Magic >Testament of Cyprian the Mage >Three Books of Occult Philosophy >Transcendental Magic >Introduction to Magic >The Hermetic Tradition >Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy >Collected Works of CG Jung >Liber Novus >Star.Ships >Chaos Protocols >Occult Traditions >Alchemical Traditions
These books form the core of my practice at the moment. Probably the most frequently visited books on my bookshelf. Pretty much covers the gamut of the Western Esoteric Tradition.
David Richardson
There's not much point in getting into Gnosticism if you don't have a solid background in the Old and New Testaments. Much of what's going on in the tradition only makes sense in terms of them, especially Genesis but to a lesser extent Isaiah in the OT and the Gospel of John and the Pauline epistles, and to a lesser extent Revelation, in the NT. Passages like 2 Corinthians 4:4 are especially relevant.
From there I'd recommend reading up a little bit on Marcion, followed by the Gospel of Thomas, and then reading up a little bit on Valentinus, followed by the Gospel of Phillip. From there, the Gnostic myth can be found in The Reality of the Rulers, and On the Origin of the World. From there you can go through the Nag Hammadi library more systematically: much of it will reiterate similar themes, and in some places it gets pretty wacky with cosmology.
The Questions of John / The Secret Supper is then a neat appendix that provides a medieval Bogomil / Cathar twist on the old Gnostic myths.
Robert Diaz
>tell normies I'm interested in Gnosticism >"Sweet, I happen to be an Agnostic myself. What do you want to know?"
This has happened at least 3 times.
Blake Perez
>tfw moral imperative to free as many divine souls from their fleshy prisons as possible
Luke Butler
For anyone who has read the Nag Hammadi Scriptures: According to an amazon review, the translator/editor of it has "a greater commitment to political correctness than to accuracy." Apparently the translator did not do his job correctly and added his own flavor, changing genders and stuff for example, the review proceeds to say that >When the text says "Son of Man" that should not - in my view - be mistranslated as "Child of Humanity." When the text says "Father," that should not become "Parent." When the text says, "He," that should not be transformed into "It." Should I still buy it or should I look for for something else?
Eli Perry
I don't think that this is a sufficient reason not to familiarise oneself with these scriptures at all. Just bear it in mind when you read.
Joshua Thompson
user...easy on the wisecracking..
Cameron Cruz
Should I just assume that everytime a neutral gender is stated, that it is male?
Ryder Rodriguez
Is it even possible to be authentically Gnostic? Surely all of the teachings in the nag hammadi library etc would have been augmented with 'gnostic' hidden oral teachings too? The lineage seems utterly broken unless you believe you can self-initiate.
Wyatt Morris
Just read PKD bro!
Cameron Parker
>hidden oral teachings bruh... this is a blue board
Gabriel Campbell
There's no such thing as a "pure" Gnostic tradition and there never has been.
Nolan Wood
/x/>occultism and magick general thread>thel ibrary of Solomon link>"Gnostic"
Kayden Lewis
Holy shit, thanks a ton!
Nathan Jackson
Please respond...
Mason Ward
bugs ... easy on the gnosos
James Kelly
Made me smirk.
Alexander Rodriguez
why has Gnosticism become a recent meme?
is it the peterson --> jung ---> Gnosticism connection?
is because bloom talks about it vaguely every so often?
has some youtuber that im not aware of gone full on gnostic?
has everyone suddenly become current 93 fans because they did the soundtrack to some kind of vidya or anime I'm not aware of?
what the fuck is going on?
Christopher Carter
Flavour of the month. Like those people that make an one-year contract with the gym after new years and stop going after a month, don't pay those people any mind.
Xavier Jenkins
The Kybalion
Jack Williams
What have you gained from all of this study? I mean no disrespect, I am just genuinely curious if it's worthwhile
Jaxson Gray
...
Kevin Sanders
Gnosticism was popular around here at least in 2014. Well before that mediocre psychology professor was known for his memetic hugbox talks.
Chase Turner
Videogames
Lucas Cox
people are looking for areas of study they can do on their own that will take up so much time theyll forget that they were just trying to avoid making any decisions about their lives;gnosticism seems to offer a pit you vould spend a lifetime crawling out of-perfect for that sort of purpose
Juan Ward
Helpful tip: the g is silent. It's pronounced "nosticism"
Caleb Morgan
Read Rene Guenon and Julius Evola.
Benjamin Gutierrez
Guenon yes, disregard the other fuckwit
Aiden Edwards
I know, that's exactly how I pronounce it. Still sounds like "agnosticism" to the retards I talk to.
Gabriel Jones
>Gnosticism was popular around here at least in 2014.
not like this, newbuddy
Bentley Young
This, in fact I believe I found out about Gnosticism from Veeky Forums somewhere around 2012 or 2013.
Jonathan Clark
Personally I'm moving on to idries shah's brand of sufism
Nathan Brown
Thot?
Angel Morgan
What happens when the Demiurge wakes up?
David Turner
...
Jace Brown
i'd say the kybalion is a good place to start you wont learn much from it but its meant more to intrigue you into following the whole thing its like a small handbook meant to push you forward, no?
Sebastian Myers
No-one fucking post it, please.
William Martinez
The occult is essentially a religion or religious practice. It is the essence of all true religion, in my opinion. But it is not dogmatic. It is the shamanism of the west.
Jayden Long
What does anyone gain from anything, ever?
Oliver Hall
What profit hath a man for all he labors under the sun?
Adrian Cruz
OP here
The Saturnian threads on /x/ got me interested. They were later revealed to be a LARP, but I found the mysticism fascinating.
Joseph Thompson
Well if you're looking for lit deeply rooted in Western Esoterism I would recommend reading the works of Alistair Crowley.
Daniel Ortiz
Why is the demiurge the final boss of Persona 5?
Chase Young
because your are a little bitch that didn't did the ultimate boss of strange journey
Hunter Johnson
I've read the Gnostic Gospels, I've understood them. I've read the Corpus Hermitcum. I've read Dion Fortune and Williams Atkinson (meaning to get onto Crowley's weird notes). I've read The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Where do I go now?
Levi James
The Secret Teachings of All Ages contains introductory information for loads of stuff. Read up on the Gnostics and Hermes Trismegustus there. Get HT's Corpus Hermitucum (similar to the more complicated, mythology-heavy Gnostic Gospels except it's only hinting at Jesus and other stuff that gets expanded on in the Gnostic Gospels. Good starting point).
Carter Rivera
It offers a more interesting and attractive perspective on the divine, reading Philip K. Dick and later into Gnosticism got me out of nihilism
Christian Wood
These
Robert Phillips
Read and appreciated, thank you user
Jaxon Williams
Good thread, wrote down a lot of the recs. Using it to ask where to start with Gurdjieff?
Chase Sullivan
The Struggle of The Magicians and Beelzebubās Tales to His Grandson are on my reading list, suggestions came highly recommended.
Aiden Morris
A very nice user here recommended beginning with Ouspensky first, because he simplifies a lot of Gurdjieff and puts it in readable form.
Camden Ward
A man of the warrior caste can self-initiate without the rule of the priestly caste.
See: Napoleon
Nathan Myers
Where can I read more about this?
Noah Nguyen
Evola, Revolt Against the Modern World.
Luke Morris
>Evola >Revolt Against the Modern World WARNING: extremely biased and ideological work. Read with caution and understand his are interpretations.
David Price
It's hard to be biased when he is right.
Jacob Green
First things first, you need to understand that esotericism isn't a set of stale doctrines and moldy practices uniformally static throughout the centuries, but like Proteus, ever shapeshifting and fluid, sometimes slightly, sometimes greatly.
The biggest mistake I see newcomers make time and time again is to start off with writings from the 19th century onwards, iredeemably interpreting the various strands of esotericism through a bolted set of discolored lenses. Understand the history and specialize afterwards.
>Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Wouter J. Haanegraaf >Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, Ioan P. Couliano >The Theosophical Enlightenment, Joscelyn Godwin
Levi Stewart
Then he has a big surprise lol
Colton Green
Why would anyone start with the 19th century when all the most interesting esoteric writings happened before that?
God fucking damn it.
Kevin Gomez
ageru
Jordan Morales
And that's all you're gonna get, you vain hare.
Jayden Sullivan
> Western Esotericism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Wouter J. Haanegraaf
One of the best books I've read, it's a sincerely enjoyable read. I have a few of his other works but haven't gotten around to reading them, very much looking forward to it though.
Ethan Morales
Make sure to pick up his translation of Lodovico Lazzarelli. It's out of print, but still avaliable for a reasonable price through secondhand sources.
John Phillips
I've been wondering this, my research interests are related to neoplatonism and hermetic philosophy and I'm a bit bewildered I increasingly see threads about this stuff. Also pleased ofc.
Blake Reyes
Hermeticism is about LIVED experience, not some dogmas you can learn in a book. Here is a good list for practical hermeticism:
Good texts: The Hermetic Tradition - Evola Theosophia Practica - Gichtel The Book of Supreme Truth - John Ruysbroeck The Way to Christ - Boehme The Imitation of Christ - Kempen Bhagavad Gita
Alchemy: Rosarium Philosophorum - Rosary of the Philosophers Splendor Solis (with text www.rexresearch.com/splsol/trismosin.htm)
Fiction: Golem and The Green Face by Meyrink
Read with the "ear of the heart", and don't assume anything.