
When the Greeks came to dominate Egypt and the Middle East it created a cosmopolitan environment that synthesized Egyptian and Middle East religion with Greek rationalism, leading to groups of mystical philosophies known as Neoplatonist. It also led to a series of mystical texts known as the Hermetic texts, containing works on alchemy, magic, astrology, and philosophy – collectively called the Hermetica. Hermetic philosophy became a major influence on all Western magical practices and mystical traditions. Neoplatonism, alchemy, Kabbalah, Sufism, mystical Christianity and occultism, including the Tarot are all affected by this influence.