The Chaldæan Oracles of Zoroaster

[1895]

Attributed to, but probably not of Chaldean origin; not oracles (in the sense of ); and definitely not ; this is a famous collection of aphorisms cherry-picked from classical sources. The earliest editions of the COZ were published during the renaissance, when Chaldea was a land of mystery to Europeans. Many of the cryptic 'Oracles' seem to reflect Neo-Platonism, the Kabbalah and Gnostic views, which would have been considered heretical at the time. Claiming an ancient Chaldean origin might simply have been a flag of convenience.

The main text here was translated by the 19th century Neo-Platonist Thomas Taylor, and I.P. Cory in his . This edition was published and introduced by the Theosophist W. W. Westcott in his series Collectanea Hermetica in 1895. Despite the twisted background of this text, it has a definite resonance which students of the Esoteric will enjoy. Indeed, , who moved in Theosophical circles, was an admirer of this text.

This is the first complete transcription of this edition of the COZ at sacred-texts. This version supersedes an earlier etext, prepared by a third party, which was incomplete and defective.