i came to this after reading corpus hermeticum, and i am appalled at the level of difference between the two works. this is just the secret dressed up to look far grander than it really is. it's puerile self-help cloaked as a master-key for all the mysteries of the universe. anybody looking for wisdom here is just essentially looking into a mirror. you would be better served to look anywhere else if hermeticism and the esoteric truly interests you. it has some good lines here and there, but it's largely disappointing for a book proclaiming to be a so-called 'master-key'.