Reading

[Brother BhDA]

The two primary hermetic texts are, of course, the Corpus Hermeticum (which usually includes the Asclepius) and the Emerald Tablet, though this apparently didn't gain much popularity until Paracelsus.

There are a number of translations of the ET available, I'm not certain if there is an academic standard or not. For the CH I recommend Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius, translated by Brian P. Cophenhaver.

For secondary sources I recommend The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times by Florian Ebeling. Though Frances Yates' work on Hermeticism in the Renaissance is a classic, its also completely outdated and just about all of her theories have been been shown to be false. So, its important for the history of the study of thought, but not so good for actual theory.

Beyond these, I also recommend the Chaldean Oracles, written and edited by the father and sun Julians' (Julianus the Caldean and Julianus the Theurgos). They are not, strictly speaking, Hermetic. However they were very influential on both the straight Neoplatonists and the early Hermetists (whom are considered by some to be a variety of Neoplatonism. Its personally strikes me as being more of a pagan Neoplatonic Gnosticism, but that's besides the point). Theurgia.org has several translations available.

b'shalom
-Bro. BhDA

[Brother BhDA]

After classical Hermetic texts I would suggest Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the Llewellyn edition is actually quite good. A good deal of the GD material originates from Francis Barret's The Magus, which is almost entirely plagiarized, a large portion of its content coming from the Three Books. For those interested in a study of Agrippa I would also recommend, if you can find an affordable copy, Chris Lehrich's The Language of Angels and Demons: Cornelius Agrippa's Occult Philosophy.

As a secondary source Ioan Culiano's [i]Eros and Magic in the Renaissance is quite important as well. Chri's Lerich's The Occult Mind is also important for its discussion of the differences between Renaissance and Modern thought (which Culiano's also discusses). Both, to varying extents, discuss the transition from Renaissance to Modern thought, which is quite relevant for the GD, which seems to attempt to employ Renaissance-influenced occultism but is definitely a Modern system.

b'shalom
-Bro. BhDA

[Bráthair FnB]

After classical Hermetic texts I would suggest Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, the Llewellyn edition is actually quite good.
b'shalom
-Bro. BhDA

I believe this was the edition I was contemplating this morning actually, is it the version as edited by Donal Tyson? Would you recommend this for the newly intrigued?

[Brother BhDA]

Yep, that's the Tyson edition. As an aside,Tyson did the notes and commentary, the translation itself is fairly old but, from what I understand, also fairly good.

Agrippa is an excellent resource. It isn't just a book, though, its a compendium of lore and knowledge. He doesn't tell you how to put it all together, at least not explicitly, and its set up according to a Neoplatonic cosmology, which is kind of a hint. Pretty much a must have for any occultist, not just the ceremonial magician.

b'shalom
-Bro. BhDA

[Alkhemia]

I am not a big fan of the Copenhaver translation. I am sure he is more than competent as a Renaissance scholar, but he appears to misapprehend the historical context for the Hermetica. This misapprehension leads to misleading translations of the Greek text. For right now, Festiguere's La Revelation d'Hermes Trismegiste is by far the best translation and exegesis of the Hermetica.

For a secondary perspective, I highly recommend Garth Fowden's The Egyptian Hermes. Fowden (unlike Copenhaver) possesses a formidable understanding of Hellenistic Egypt and its associated literature.