Hermeticism has its origins in the classical world of Hellenic Egypt.  Consider the atmosphere of the bustling port city of Alexandria, the Hermetic tradition is the result of academic, philosophical, and spiritual shoulder-rubbing from Jews, Christians, Gnostics, Neoplatonists, Stoics, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Babylonians, Indians, and any and all others that passed through that famous crossroads of the ancient world.  In a sense, the Hermetic tradition can be considered one of the finest examples of syncretism at its best, and it has the philosophical, spiritual, religious, and magical literature to match.  This is most evident with the body of texts now known as the Greek Magical Papyri, or PGM for short, a sort of Dead Sea Scrolls-type discovery of various classical early Hermetic magic.  The PGM, and its related sister texts the Demotic Magical Papyri (PDM), give us profound insight into the practices and beliefs of magicians and diviners from 300 bce to 500 ce.

This section of pages is a collection of rituals taken from the PGM and other similar sources that date to the earliest periods of Hermetic practice, and have been popularized in recent decades after centuries of being hidden.  The rituals in this section are based on translations of the Hermetic texts from the following books, or are otherwise informed by them as excellent resources:

• The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: Including the Demotic Spells (Volume 1: Texts) by Hans Dieter Betz (1996).
• The Book of Abrasax by Michael Cecchetelli (2014).
• Graeco-Egyptian Magick by Tony Mierzwicki (2006).
• Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic by Stephen Skinner (2014).
• Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power by Marvin W. Meyer et al. (1999).

To view these prayers, please use the navigation bar at the top of the site: Occult→ Classical Hermetic Rituals → (pagename).