The Hermetic Link by Jacob Slavenburg

On Thursday May 22nd, 2014 the Hermetic Hour with host Poke Runyon will present a review on a very important recent book on the Hermetic Tradition by Dutch author Jacob Slavenburg titled: "The Hermetic Link." Reviewing this book will be a team effort between the host and our esteemed guest Frater Ophis (Freeman Presson) who beat us to the punch and reviewed Slavenburg's book on his website two years ago. How did we miss it? No excuse because it should not have been missed. Certainly there have been other surveys of the Hermetic Tradition, usually combined with other related elements such as Kabbalah, Rosicrucianism, magick, etc. but this is the best and most complete tracing of the great Hermetic Gnosis from ancient Egypt, through Alexandria, Harran, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the so-called "Enlightenment" and the present modern age. Slavenburg takes us from Zosimus to the Kybalion in a sympathetic, very thoughtful and comfortably philosophical style. He quotes Peter Kingsley ("Reality") frequently and does as good a job as Kingsley in getting across the deepest meaning of the Hermetic Mystery (the Great I AM) - perhaps he does it better in that he uses excerpts from Hermes to reveal the treasure we ardent Hermetic devotees hold so dear, whereas Kingsley in Reality depended on pre-Hermetic Parmenides and Empedocles. If all this is Greek to you, it shouldn't be and Slavenburg goes a long way toward establishing the true and enduring magnificence of our venerable Tradition. Tune in and get yourself Hermetically sealed. (Preserved for the next incarnation.)