THE HERMETIC PRINCIPLES
A corner stone of magic lore since the earliest times has been the seven Hermetic Principles. These were recorded in the Emerald Table attributed to the sage Hermes Trismegistus. (His mane is interesting. Hermes is the Greek god of wisdom and magic. Trismegistus means thrice great.) Legend has it that the Emerald Table was a tablet of genuine emerald engraved with Phoenician writing. It is said to have been found in a cave tomb, still clutched in the skeleton hand of the sage. Another legend attributes the building of the pyramids to Hermes Trismegistus. By 1200 A.D. Arabic and Latin translations of the Emerald Table where in circulation. Some of the translations differ in important details but the generally excepted principles are as follows.
Hermetic Principle #1: The Universe is a mental creation of God.
Another way to say the same thing is that The Universe is a creation of the mind of God – the Universal Mind. Form this one can postulate that the universe IS the physical manifestation of God And if this is true then God is the immortal soul of the universe.
Hermetic Principle #2:That which is above is like that which is below and that which is below is like that which is above, to achieve the wonders of the one thing.
From this has arisen the ideas of “as above, so below” and that the universe is “Man writ big”. In magic the universe is considered as a macrocosm of the microcosmic human body and the human mind as a microcosmic version of the universal mind. Looking at this from the viewpoint of Principle #1, the mind of God is the part that does the creating, therefore it follows that the human mind is the part of us with the creative capabilities. When you cast a spell, say a prayer or make a petition or whatever you chose to call it, you are imprinting the Universal Mind with your own thoughts. In this course you will be taught the most effective ways of doing this.
Occultists believe that the universe is a grand whole, a perfect working machine with all its component parts connected in a meaningful way, even if from the human perspective, the unity and meaning are hard to see. The principle of macrocosm and microcosm tell us that all things are aspects of the one thing.
There are great forces operating in the universe, each doing its own thing. The light aspects create and the dark aspects destroy. Yet they should not be considered as good or evil. All things move in a cycle of life and death, and the old worn out things must be cleared away to make room for the new. By attuning ourselves to these forces we can learn to manipulate some of their effects for our own good.
The forces that move the universe are basically the same as those that move us. The forces within ourselves, although often neglected, are powerful indeed. To discover these forces and to attune to them is an essential part of all occult training. Know Thyself was the advice given by the oracle at Delphi.
These great universal forces are often given god or goddess names. Some are named after angles, archangels and demons. Still others are equated with the planets. This should not be taken too literally, it is more like an ancient filing system. More details of this will be given as the course unfolds.
Hermetic Principle #3: All things are in a perpetual state of motion.
A change in the vibration rate causes a change in the manifestation. Heat causes molecules to vibrate faster. Water vibrating fast (hot) manifests as steam. Water vibrating slowly (cold) manifests as ice. Quantum physics is exploring the possibilities of changing the vibration of atoms by changing their sub atomic particles. This was also the dream of the alchemists although their methods were somewhat different.
All things have their characteristic vibrations, and not just material things either. Health, sickness, wealth, poverty, happiness, sadness; they all have vibrations which can be altered. Change the vibration, by the application of Mind, and you change the manifestation.
Hermetic Principle #4: All things are arranged according to polarity.
Everything has its pair of opposites. These opposites are identical in nature, differing only in degree. Tall & short, Fear & Faith, Love & hate, Sickness & health, Rich & poor; Creation & destruction; all are opposite ends of the same scales. All universal forces have both a negative and a positive aspect.
Hermetic Principle #5: All things have their tides and rhythms, waxing and waning.
There are rhythmic cycles of growth and deterioration, life and death. Even ordinary daily events have regular cycles. The sun comes up every morning and sets at night. The phases of the Moon repeat endlessly every 29 days. Every aspect of your life, your biorhythms, can be plotted. This is why all good occultists use diaries. For instance, if you can identify a luck cycle you will know when to gamble and when to keep away from the race track. The same thing goes for all aspects of your life.
Hermetic Principle #6: Every cause has its effect, and every effect has a causes.
Apparent accidents and coincidences are just the result of unrecognised causes. The law of cause and effect is universal. Magic is an attempt to identify and control this principle.
Hermetic Principle #7: All things have their masculine and feminine aspects.
This is similar to Principle #4 but of all the pairs of opposites the gender polarity is probably the most important. This is not just about men and women, the principle goes much deeper. In fact all men have both masculine and feminine aspects, as do women. Carl Jung called this the anima and animus. Everywhere in nature we see a positive, outgoing, masculine aspect; as well as a negative, receptive, feminine one.
