Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "thrice-greatest Hermes" is the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism. As a divine source of wisdom, Hermes Trismegistus was credited with tens of thousands of writings of high standing, reputed to be of immense antiquity. The Hermetica is a category of papyri containing spells and initiatory induction procedures. In the dialogue called the Asclepius (after the Greek god of healing) the art of imprisoning the souls of demons or of angels in statues with the help of herbs, gems and odors, is described, such that the statue could speak and engage in prophecy. In other papyri, there are recipes for constructing...