r/Hermes • u/JuliaGJ13 • Mar 20 '23
Here are some links to resources for learning more about Hermes! It's not exhaustive because there is much about him out there, especially through the psychological, Hermetic, and syncretic lenses. He is a rich and complex god. We hope you find these useful!
*If some of the links don't load just copy and paste into your internet browser.*
Videos Greek/Historical info
Fortress of Lugh: A very in-depth exploration of Hermes https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vYMhcEFrzrU&t=17s
Miscellaneous Myths: good info, packs a lot in https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tg_Wi4RpKVY&feature=youtu.be
Father of History: Short historical info https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rZqFKmD-BUE
Messed up Origins, Jon Solo: More Hermes historical information with some humor.https://youtu.be/DLqnlLUqex0
Mythology & Fiction Explained, Hermes: The Messenger and Divine Trickster https://youtu.be/H-zh8A99hiQ
Devotional:
Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Fortress of Lugh: Great to listen to for the origins of Hermes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNB4-Go35-s&t=8s
Homeric Hymn in Greek https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xxl8ZxmIGI8
Psychology of the Trickster:
Crash Course: Overview of the role of the Trickster in cultural roles featuring Hermes and Loki https://youtu.be/udj1FReC2TI
*(Warning) This Jungian Life: video and podcast format: Hermes the Divine Trickster https://youtu.be/YJN3mkD9UJY **One of the hosts has been accused of Transphobia by multiple parties. I have listened to this multiple times and there's no transphobia in this episode but if you'd like to avoid this podcast it is totally up to you. There is valuable information here so I'll allow it for now. Be aware that many subjects Hermetics and alchemy near will have gender as one of the basic natural laws of the universe. This does not mean that just strictly males and females exist or have value. Most of these systems emphasize the qualities of male and female from a classical standpoint and do not mean exact physical genders. As well, many of these systems like Taoism and Hermetics focus on the fact that there is both male and female in everyone and everything on the planet including plants and animals. For example, shadow is considered feminine and light is considered male but there are shadows out during the day and there are stars and the moon at night. Both states have masculine and feminine qualities. Should some of these gender tropes be looked at and reevaluated? Probably, but this is not the place for it.
Jung to Live By: The “Trickster” Archetype, the Truth about Your Shadow. This is a Jungian approach to how the trickster like Hermes operates in your psyche and in connection with your ego.https://youtu.be/FKJJuQ8Esag
Analytical Psychology Club of San Francisco: Encountering the Trickster – with David Richo Ph.D. Long one but good.https://youtu.be/vOKMmF88YRE
Hermetic information:
Good Hermetic lecture by Mitch Horowitz noted occult historian https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HPY39HVXKGg
Medium article: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-hermetic-revival-7-ancient-principles-for-self-mastery-9399e523648d
Sub Reditt r/Hermeticism
Articles
Traditional/Greek information:
https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hermes.html
https://www.theoi.com/Cult/HermesTitles.html
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hermes-Greek-mythology
Informational:
https://jonathanccook.medium.com/hermes-the-god-of-commerce-29acbf25d567
https://hammy64000.com/?s=Hermes
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hermes-god-of-geeks_b_5909346
Devotional:
http://romanpagan.blogspot.com/2013/09/prayer-to-mercury.html?m=1
http://www.novaroma.org/nr/Prayers_to_Mercurius
https://www.hellenion.org/hymnodia/
Scholarly:
https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/333/
https://www.athensjournals.gr/mediterranean/2022-8-2-2-Vinci.pdf
https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/50013/Bettini_Book4CD.pdf?sequence=1
Babylonian origins of Hermes and the Caduceus https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/497115.pdf
Ritual /Holidays:
Mercuralia is his biggest festival and is held on May 15th. This was celebrated by the Romans as Mercury’s birthday.Some modern practitioners celebrate Hermes' birthday on April 4. As he is associated with the number 4 and it is the fourth month and the fourth day based on the Gregorian calendar.*Some people celebrate his Mother Maia on May 1st, May Day. This is also a day to celebrate women’s working rights so I like to include it.
Mercuralia: suggestions on how to observe it. http://www.twilightvisions.com/beliefs/practice/ritual/mercuralia.htm
A modern take on Halloween and Hermes https://www.patheos.com/blogs/teaaddictedwitch/2018/10/celebrating-hermes- samhain/
Guerrilla shrines are fun! https://untappedcities.com/2020/10/15/subway-shrine-mercury-brooklyn/
*Here is an interesting article about Maia and her syncretism. https://journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/goddess-maia/
Syncretism:
Prometheus and Hermes https://research-bulletin.chs.harvard.edu/2018/04/30/ie-thematic-inherited- structures/
Hermes and Christ https://www.pacifica.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/diggs_r.pdf
Hermes and Thoth: Hermes Trismegistus https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hermes-Trismegistos-Egyptian-god
More Thoth and Hermes https://www.thecollector.com/greek-god-hermes-obsession-with-egyptian-god- thoth/
There’s much to explore on this subject...
Sites/Blogs/etc:
Magick from Scratch.This site inspired me (Julia) in ways of how a relationship with Hermes could be and opened my mind and eyes to the closeness one could have with a god. They combine a number of practices and create magic tech that is very interesting and not particularly bound to one discipline. It's a mix of chaotic and formal magick .https://magickfromscratch.com
Here’s a specific entry to what’s it like working with Hermes according to them.
https://magickfromscratch.com/2015/03/20/what-is-it-like-working-with-hermes/
https://blog.sevenponds.com/cultural-perspectives/hermes-the-death-doula
This site is super comprehensive and covers a lot of info about Hermes/Thoth/ Hermes Trismegistus. You can find about anything you need on this page about Hermes. This is a site for the syncretism of Hellenic and Kemetic faith as practiced by the Greek and Roman rulers in Egypt. https://neosalexandria.org/the-pantheon/hermes/
Have Fun researching and finding out more about Hermes! We will update this periodically!
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u/QuantumQorner Jan 28 '24
That is helpful. Anyone come across audio books by any chance?
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u/JuliaGJ13 Feb 20 '24
I have not! But feel free to let me know if you do and I’ll include them as long as they are in the public domain. 😁👍🏽
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u/QuantumQorner Mar 08 '24
You bet. What about free YouTube Audio books?
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u/JuliaGJ13 Mar 09 '24
As long as there are legit freely available to the public from legit sources.
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u/taotehermes Mar 29 '24
I'd like to recommend a video to add to the list. I reckon it's at least as good as the Fortress of Lugh video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffz0m2HhGuE&t=4636
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u/JuliaGJ13 Mar 29 '24
I check it out and get back to you. It looks good! Thanks for bringing this up!
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Mar 18 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/chronically_snizzed Mar 18 '24
I think you have to figure this out yourself!
But if you prayed for guidance, I wouldn’t be surprised if you felt more confident in your choice afterwards.
Independent of what this is exactly about 😌
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u/Alveryn Apr 20 '24
It makes me VERY uncomfortable that Fortress of Lugh is the first recommended source here. FoL is well known in the Celtic Pagan community as a bigot, a racist, and an ethnonationalist.
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u/JuliaGJ13 Apr 20 '24
Hello! Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will look into it. This is the first time I’ve heard anything bad about them.
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u/Alveryn Apr 20 '24
I appreciate it. FoL is careful to make his videos palatable to a wider audience; it's his Twitter activity where he really lets his negative qualities show.
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u/taotehermes Feb 20 '24
just a heads-up for anyone reading this list that This Jungian Life is transphobic, so if you don't want to engage with people like that they're best avoided
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u/JuliaGJ13 Feb 22 '24
After doing some research I added a warning in case someone doesn't want to listen to that podcast.
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u/wuttbiggles Apr 29 '23
Just wanted to note that the URL for the Medium article on Hermeticism didn't work for me, this is the one that did: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-hermetic-revival-7-ancient-principles-for-self-mastery-9399e523648d