The Hermetic Store

To return to The Alchemical Egg click on Hermes head above. Scroll down to view the products. HERMES/MERCURY Hermes,whose name appears in Greek under his profile and who the Romans called Mercury, was originally a god of the flock. Because at that time wealth was measured in sheep, he became the god of prosperity, and as the culture became more sophisticated, the god of commerce and all of its associative skills and concerns: travel, runners, messages, persuasive speech, prudence, shrewdness, and luck. By the Classical period his role had blossomed. He became the god of athletics, wisdom, magic, alchemy, oratory, writing, and skill; the messenger of Zeus; and as the guide to the souls of the dead, the "Psychopomp," the ultimate god of travel. His winged hat was called a "Petasus," a traveler’s hat, the symbol of his swiftness, as he fulfilled his role as messenger and as protector of travelers and athletes. Additionally it became the symbol of inspiration, because as Psychopomp, he was likewise the guide of the mystic. Image and text copyright Robert M. Place, web master of The Alchemical Egg.