So is Hermeticism gnostic? I feel silly for not being able to answer this myself, but I've seen it described as such by various sources but not by others. But "gnostic" is such a wastebasket taxon I'm not sure if listing it among like, manichaeism or valentinianism makes sense or not you know. Do you think there are key features that are missing/present?
They're very similar, and they influenced each other. Some Hermetic writers have Gnostic influences, and some Gnostic writers have Hermetic influences.
The biggest difference, imo, is the character of God. The Gnostics cast God as a malicious demiurge who made the world as a prison, and the Hermetics think god did a pretty good job. They think god is alright.
The other big difference is the knowability of God. The Hermetics hold that God is comprehensible with enough preparation, and the Gnostics hold that God is unknowable, but can be experienced in a mystical sense.
See, I would consider Hermeticism, Gnosticism, and Manichaeism to all be different categories. But I would say that Valentinianism is gnostic.
I've found it useful to consider Gnosticism a spectrum. When it comes to the more christian flavored sects, I tend to look at how salvation can be achieved. If your sect believes that salvation can be gained through knowledge alone, rather than faith, you're more on the gnostic end of things.
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