Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Principia Hermetica
I, King Pepi, am THOTH, the mightiest of the gods …
"Do You not know, Asclepius, that Egypt is an image of heaven, or, to speak more exactly, in Egypt all the operations of the powers which rule and work in heaven have been transferred to Earth below ?" – Asclepius III, 24b
The religion of Ancient Egypt has been reconstructed by the Greeks (in the Hermetica), by the Abrahamic tradition (in their Scriptures) and by the Western Mystery Tradition (Hermeticism). But these reconstructions are flawed. The Hermetic teachings incorporate an un-Egyptian view on the mysteries (stressing the mind at the expense of the body). The protagonists of the revealed religions (Judaism, Christianity & Islam), as well as the initiators of Hermeticism, were unable to read the hieroglyphs, and if they did, only allegorical, explaining the obscure with more obscurity. Only the last two hundred years has a reliable historical reconstruction become available, offering a basic historical framework.
Not the Qabalah (Jewish or Christian), but the Ancient Egyptian Mystery Tradition (or Kemetism) is the backbone of the Western Tradition. Instead of Hermeticism, a return to Hermetism is envisaged. To approach Kemetism today, ten Hermetic principles are isolated. Each is associated with a fundamental teaching found in Egyptian texts. This exercise is possible because the Hermetica are rooted in the native Egyptian religion, albeit Hellenized. The authors were Egyptians still able to read the "words of the gods". In this way, the Western Tradition may finally stretch its roots in perennial soil, first in Alexandrian thought and from there in the native Egyptian tradition, its natural ally.
http://www.sofiatopia.org/maat/ten_keys.htm