10/22/22, 10:10 AM Spiritus Hermeticum: part nine

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An investigation of the origins of Hermeticism and the

true teachings of Hermes Trismegistus

Introduction
In the first two parts of this 12-part investigation we discussed the origins of
Hermeticism, the Greek and Egyptian conceptions of the God variously known as
Thoth, Theuth, Tat, and Tahuti, and the origins and extent of the Corpus Hermeticum.
This was followed by an examination of the actual teachings of Hermes as they have
come down to us in the various Hermetic books and fragments. In part eight we began
a study of the Seven Universal Hermetic Laws which govern all life—material and
spiritual, and considered the first two of these laws—Mentalism and Correspondence.
In this part we examine the third and fourth laws: Vibration and Polarity. The laws of
Rhythm, and Cause and Effect are covered in the part ten of this investigation.

These Laws are never openly stated in the Corpus Hermeticum, any more than they Emerald Tablet
are openly stated in the Tabula Smaragdina—the true 'Emerald Tablet' of Thoth. But In this afterword we
hints and clues there are a-plenty in all these texts. The only book we know which examine the eighth and
does describe these Laws is the Kybalion, in which they are referred to as 'The Seven ninth tablets of the so-
Hermetic Principles.' We discussed this book in our article on the Hermetic philosophy called 'Emerald Tablets of
of ancient Egypt and in the previous part of this investigation. Thoth the Atlantean'

In the 12 afterwords
In the twelve afterwords accompanying this investigation we are meticulously
accompanying this series of
dissecting the so-called Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean written by the 20th articles we expose the
century occultist—Dr Maurice Doreal. In this ninth afterword we turn our attention to presumptuous fraud which goes by
tablets eight and nine. If you have not read the previous parts now is the time to do the name of The Emerald Tablets
so, for this investigation forms an ascending scale of revelation which cannot be of Thoth the Atlantean. In the
first four parts we told you about
understood by skimming through one or more individual articles in a haphazard and the author—Dr Maurice Doreal,
piecemeal manner. and the influences which led him
to fabricate the tablets. In parts
five to eight we examined the
The Seven Universal Hermetic Laws summarised first seven tablets themselves. In
this part we turn our attention to
The simple truth that the universe arose out of Mind—and not the other way around as
the eighth and ninth tablets—The
science believes—is the foundation of all Seven Universal Hermetic Laws. These Laws Key of Mystery and The Key to
describe and explain all material and spiritual phenomena, such as material science Freedom of Space.
can never do, for it continues to deny the existence of any such thing as 'spirit' or a
At the end of this investigation we
Divine Source. If you have stumbled upon this page and/or know nothing about these will compare what we have
Laws we suggest you read the previous part of this investigation as well as our article learned with the 13 verses of the
on the Hermetic philosophy of ancient Egypt before proceeding further. To recap, the genuine SINGLE Emerald Tablet of
Seven Universal Hermetic Laws under discussion are: Hermes Trismegistus. In this way

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each may make up their own mind
1. Mentalism. This Law states that all that exists is derived from Mind. as to which is genuine and which
is the fake. If you wish to follow
2. Correspondence. This Law is enshrined in the well-known but poorly our analysis the complete text of
understood Hermetic maxim: "As above, so below." Doreal's tablets can be found
online and in print.
3. Vibration. This Law tells us that everything is in constant motion, both
internally and externally.
Tablet VIII—The Key of
4. Polarity. This Law states that everything is dual; positive and negative. Mystery
The eighth tablet begins well
5. Rhythm. This Law states that everything is subject to rhythm. Up and down,
enough with a statement which
left and right, backwards and forwards, etc. might be applied to the real
Hermes discussed in our main
6. Cause and Effect. This Law states that there is a cause for every effect and an
article. But Doreal quickly
effect for every cause.
descends into imbecility in the
7. Gender or Sex. This Law tells us that gender is a universal principle throughout second verse as we shall see.
the manifested Universe. "Unto thee, O man, have I given
my knowledge. Unto thee have I
We will now consider the third and fourth of these Laws—Vibration and Polarity more given of Light. Hear ye now and
fully, beginning with Vibration. receive my wisdom brought from
space planes above and beyond.

"Not as man am I for free have I

become of dimensions and
planes. In each, take I on a new
body. In each, I change in my
form. Know I now that the
formless is all there is of form.

"Great is the wisdom of the

Seven. Mighty are THEY from
beyond. Manifest THEY through
their power, filled by force from
beyond."

If Doreal had told us that all

material forms, from a stone to a
man, are an illusion, he would
have been right and we might
have learned something to our
advantage. But he does not say
this. Instead he writes 'Know I now
that the formless is all there is of
form,' which at best is confusing
and at worst complete gibberish.
The third verse is an
improvement, but tells us nothing
we cannot find in The Secret
Doctrine in which, as we have
repeatedly pointed out, such
occult truths are explained with
considerably greater clarity and
eloquence. For these reasons we
Tuco Amalfi — O Chamado (The Calling) — Acrylic on canvas, 2003 may skip the next two verses until
we come to:

"Man is in process of changing to

Vibration forms that are not of this world.
Grows he in time to the
The Third Universal Hermetic Law we shall now consider is Vibration. It is based upon formless, a plane on the cycle
Hermes' teaching in the first book of the Poemander that nothing rests; everything above. Know ye, ye must
moves; everything vibrates. Even a 'dead' piece of wood is filled with life and constant become formless before ye are
motion. Those of you who have read our articles on the Occult Sun, the Occult Aether with the LIGHT."
and Why Matter matters, will remember what we said about this when discussing the What utter tripe this is! Man's
vibration of atoms and sub-atomic particles. Modern science knows all this, and none body may change from ugliness to
of us need reminding of the terrific power which resides in a single atom of hydrogen beauty and vice versa as he either
when its energy is liberated in an atomic blast. We know too—though most scientists ascends to higher realms or
descends to lower realms during
reject the correspondence—that an atom is a Solar System in and by itself, just as our
the course of his evolution, but
his 'form' remains recognisably

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Kosmos is a 'super' atom. The only difference between them is one of size—and size, human as we may see in the
as occult science knows—is an illusion of our material senses. marvellous illustration of a
landscape god which accompanied
the previous part of this
The fact that all this was taught untold thousands of years ago puts 'modern' science
investigation. Nor must we
completely in the shade. The occult scientists of ancient Egypt—wrongly called become 'formless' to blend with
'priests' and 'magicians' by Egyptologists—were fully aware of these things, and in the Light. If this were true seeking
addition they understood the spiritual significance behind it all as well, which modern enlightenment on Earth would be
a complete waste of time and
science does not, and for this reason its theories and speculations about matter are
energy. Do you see how Doreal
completely put in the shade by the old Wisdom. The Law of Vibration, as first taught subtly promotes the exact
by Hermes, explains all the different phenomena of what science is pleased to call opposite of the Light he praises? It
'Matter', 'Force' and 'Energy', as well as the physical body and lower self or mind, both is for this reason that we have
of which are material too. Although the Higher Self or Mind is of a much finer nature gone to the trouble to analyse
these tablets in such depth; a task
than the lower self, it is still material, and therefore subject to the same Law of as distasteful as it is tedious. But
Vibration, though on an infinitely higher scale. Even the Divine Soul, which we if we manage to convince just one
discussed in the final article of our occult studies course, must come under the sway reader of the repetitive errors,
of this law, since it too, is a manifesting principle, albeit wholly spiritual. Indeed, half-truths and downright lies in
the insidious 'teachings' of this
according to the Hermetic axiom 'as above, so below,' even the unmanifest—which to
supposed 'Hermes', our time and
us seems non-being and no-thing—must be subject to these laws in some way utterly effort will not have been wasted.
beyond our comprehension, or they would not be universal laws, but mere theories. The next verse epitomises the
errors we have come to expect in
A very small proportion of the full scale of vibrations is known to us here on earth. these tablets.
The higher the rate of vibration, the more sublime its results, and vice versa, for
"Search ye the mysteries of
there are vibrations far below the 'lowest' we know on earth, and those low vibrations Earth's heart. Learn of the LAW
are connected with the lower spheres or realms of darkness, called 'Talas' in The that exists, holding the stars in
Secret Doctrine and described in The Golden Star, Symphonie Fantastique and other their balance by the force of the
books. The vibration of that which is called Spirit in occultism, is so high or fine, and primordial mist. Seek ye the
flame of the EARTH'S LIFE. Bathe
moves or oscillates at such a fast rate, that it appears not to move at all, just as a
in the glare of its flame. Follow
rapidly moving wheel seems to be motionless to our eyes. The same applies to the the three-cornered pathway
lowest vibrations which are so slow they also seem to be non-existing and motionless. until thou, too, art a flame."
In between these two extremes we find those vibrations we know as light, sound,
It is tempting to think that
taste, touch, smell and feeling. These, together with those finer and coarser 'primordial mist' refers to the
vibrations beyond the range of our physical senses, constitute a vast web of motion miasmic fog between Doreal's
which, in the ultimate, are one and derive from the Life and Light of the Supreme ears, but we will give him the
Deity. benefit of the doubt and surmise
he means the 'Fire-Mist' period of
Hence, sound is colour and colour is sound, just as smell is taste and both may be the creation of the Kosmos
discussed in Vision 8 of The
realized as touch. It all depends on the type and rapidity of the vibration under Golden Star. This is the stage
consideration and our ability to sense it. Certain vibrations affect the drum of the ear during which the Dhyân Chohans,
and we call this sound, another set of vibrations affect the optic nerves of the eye or Devas, as they are called in
and we visualise colour. The same is true of all the other vibrations we are capable of occult parlance, appear in the
cycle of Kosmic evolution. It is
sensing. The 20th century occultist and clairvoyant, Geoffrey Hodson was able to not
they who are the origin of form,
only hear sound but see the actual colours of the audible sounds, and several psychic as we may read in the
musicians have and do possess the same supernormal—but not supernatural—ability aforementioned book.
which material science calls Chromesthesia. Scientists have evolved several competing
If by the 'flame of the Earth's life,'
theories to explain this ability or condition over the years, but failed to come up with
Doreal means the fiery core at the
any satisfactory explanation of how or why it works. But you now have the answer. It centre of our globe, then this is a
is simply a matter of tuning in to a higher or lower range of vibrations using the material fire, not a spiritual one,
inherent power of the Mind to change material conditions, as we told you in the as H. P. Blavatsky tells us in The
Secret Doctrine. It is the same fire
previous part of this investigation when we discussed the first Hermetic Law—that of
that animates Man's physical body.
Mentalism. 'Bathing' in it is exactly what every
genuine spiritual teacher warns
But there is more to vibrations than this, for the knowledge of the appropriate his disciples not to do. This verse
formulae enabled the Initiates of ancient Egypt and other lands to control their own also introduces another of Doreal's
mental vibrations as well as those of others. This is one of the reasons why no genuine invented terms'—the mysterious
'three-cornered pathway' which,
teacher has ever, or will ever give out this dangerous knowledge, except to those who
as usual, he can't be bothered to
have proved their worthiness in every way and have learned to exercise such explain. There are several more
complete control over their lower nature that no negative thought or desire is allowed verses devoted to the lower fire
to influence them in any way. Natural phenomena such as the weather can also be which we will spare you. We may
controlled in this manner, and this was done thousands of years ago by the Druids who also skip the drivel about the 'dark
magic' practised by the sorcerers

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once ruled over these islands in wisdom and strict justice. How much we have lost and of Atlantis, of which the following
forgotten since those days and how little—if anything—we have learned or gained! is an example:

"In the form of man they

In parts four and five of this investigation we told you about the doctrine of amongst us, but only to sight
Regeneration taught by Hermes. Before this can be achieved a man must first have were they as are men. Serpent-
learnt to bring the vibrations of his lower mind into harmony with the Higher, so that headed when the glamour was
both these two natures may be transformed into Cosmic Harmony. The first step in lifted but appearing to man as
men among men. Crept they
this process is learning to relax the body as we discuss in the penultimate article in into the Councils, taking forms
our occult studies course, as well as in our article on The Occult Student. that were like unto men. Slaying
by their arts the chiefs of the
Unless we do learn to relax our body and quieten what has been aptly called the kingdoms, taking their form and
'monkey mind'—the lower self—we will only succeed in singing out of tune, or ruling o'er man. Only by magic
meditating out of tune as it were, which is nothing more than an exercise in vocal and could they be discovered. Only
by sound could their faces be
mental howling, shrieking, crying and cursing. We can witness just such chaotic seen. Sought they from the
performances among the more neurotic Evangelical sects in America, who devoutly Kingdom of shadows to destroy
believe they are being heard by either God or the devil. Let there be Peace in us, so man and rule in his place."
that the Light can enter our temple of the Self in Silence, and give us harmony and
We wondered how long it would
wisdom, guided by Love. Without the Silence of Peace there can be no spiritual power be before 'serpents' reared their
of any sort, and our worldly concerns and duties will suffer accordingly. We have unprepossessing heads in these
mentioned this simple truth in several of our articles, but it cannot be repeated too tablets! Presumably, the tell-tale
often. hissing of these slippery snakes
gave their presence away ('Only
So long as the Higher and lower selves have not been brought into harmony, they are by sound could their faces be
seen'). What adolescent drivel all
still, according to Hermes' wise precepts 'scattered abroad' by their Typhonic passions, this is. Yet, as we've said before,
and they reside in spiritual death instead of life. The Dawn has not yet come for thousands lap it up as an
them, and they rage impotently in the night of terror, amidst the lost souls who know authentic message from a dead
not, nor wish to know, the Way of Escape, weeping in mourning and gnashing their Lemurian without a critical
thought. What follows is so very
teeth in their fury of frustration. Without the blessings of harmony between the two
awful we are loathe to quote it.
minds, neither can become an instrument for cosmic music. But once the inner
harmony has been attained, there is a change of Gnostic tendency and a marvellous "List ye, O man, to the depth of
transmutation of the whole nature takes place. The regenerated man or woman my wisdom. Speak I of
knowledge hidden from man.
discards his or her Typhonic passions and the Titan is transformed into the god, which Far have I been on my journey
is the birthright of every human being, should they choose to make themselves worthy through SPACE-TIME, even to the
of this blessing. This is the simple meaning of the Grand Myth of Prometheus we end of space of this cycle. Aye,
unveiled to you in our analysis of Shelley's metaphysical drama Prometheus Unbound. glimpsed the HOUNDS of the
Barrier, lying in wait for he who
But do not fall into the trap of thinking these passions are really evil for that would be would pass them. In that space
where time exists not, faintly I
a very grave error indeed; one which religious fanatics and puritans of all times and sensed the guardians of cycles.
faiths have committed. Passions are necessary experiences in the nature of man, and Move they only through angles.
woman too, which bring with them a deeper realisation of the Divine Harmony with its Free are they not of the curved
sevenfold means of manifestation according to the teachings of Hermes. For the dimensions.
Divine Harmony is the creative instrument of the Divine Energy which perpetually "Strange and terrible are the
produces its various forms and methods of vibration and creation in full consciousness HOUNDS of the Barrier. Follow
and so gradually perfects the Mind so that it shall be capable of imaging forth the they consciousness to the limits
perfect man, ready to retake his proper place on High, ascending from Sphere to of space. Think not to escape by
entering your body, for follow
Sphere, or Realm to Realm, until he has attained the Divine Goal, as we discussed long
they fast the Soul through
ago in our occult studies course article on Evolution. What we said then is well worth angles. Only the circle will give
repeating now. "Man is a god in the making whose true destiny is to return to the ye protection, safe from the
Divine Source from which he first emerged, enriched with the knowledge and wisdom claws of the DWELLERS IN
ANGLES."
he has garnered on earth during the many cycles of his incarnations." Read that article
if you haven't done so before. Read it in any case for the light it sheds on this present Was Doreal bitten by a
investigation. mischievous mongrel as a lad? Did
his mummy refuse to buy him a
It is our passions which, to a large extent, are the means of our salvation, cute puppy for Christmas? Frankly,
regeneration and eventual liberation from rebirth on Earth. Those of us who travel the your guess is as good as ours and
just as pointless. We're sorry, we
path to the Light, whether as neophytes or as experienced wayfarers, must go through simply refuse to quote any more
a period inimical to our Gnostic rebirth. We are clad in the garments of bitter verses about these devilish
experience which become rags to our risen mind and consciousness, to be replaced by doggies which conclude with the
robes of power and majesty when the battle is won. The sackcloth of the slave is following, helpful advice:
exchanged for the raiment of the King or Queen, and though the new garments are

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from the same yarn and woven by the same energies of the same loom, the weaver "List ye, O man, and heed ye my
who has changed their texture and design by his own efforts can now follow the Plan warning: attempt not to pass
the guards on the way. Rather
of the Great Weaver and enter into the Company of the Blest depicted so truly in should ye seek to gain of thine
Vision Six of The Golden Star. own Light and make thyself
ready to pass on the way."

If we're not supposed to grapple

with these sharp-fanged monsters
why devote more than ten verses
to describing their canine capers?
What makes the forgoing such a
complete waste of perfectly good
virtual paper are the sentiments
expressed in the final verse of this
truly tedious tablet.

"LIGHT is thine ultimate end, O

my brother. Seek and find ever
the Light on the way."

This is something we can say

'Amen' to, though we suspect
Doreal would much rather wrestle
with his hellish hounds. Let us
leave them baying for his blood
and move on to the ninth tablet.

Tablet IX—The Key to

Freedom of Space
The first verse begins with
Doreal's customary exhortation to
'list ye'; meaning we once again
are expected to listen reverently
to the portentous piffle with
which we are now so depressingly
familiar.

"List ye, O man, hear ye my

voice, teaching of Wisdom and
Light in this cycle; teaching ye
how to banish the darkness,
teaching ye how to bring Light in
thy life."

Anon — The Egyptian Trinity — gouache on board, 1986 Doreal has taught us nothing of
the kind. This is another of his
empty promises which remains
Polarity unfulfilled. There is little wrong
with the verses which come next,
The Fourth Universal Hermetic Law is that of Polarity. This law teaches us that of which the following is an
example.
everything is dual, and that everything has two poles; positive and negative and that
everything has therefore its pair of opposites. These Hermetic axioms can be found in "Thy LIGHT, O man, is the great
the Poemander and in the Asclepios, which is the source from which the anonymous LIGHT, shining through the
shadow of flesh. Free must thou
authors of the Kybalion took them; a fact which anyone may verify but which seems
rise from the darkness before
to elude those carping critics who believe the laws described in the Kybalion are thou art One with the LIGHT."
invented! Truly, there are none so blind as they who will not see. Sadly there are
many such. But our discourse is not addressed to them, nor would they understand it, Doreal here repeats what Manly
Palmer Hall, Ralph Waldo Trine,
for as Heraclitus said: "eyes and ears are bad witnesses to men who have not an
Christian Larson, and a dozen
understanding heart." In this he echoed the Egyptian Sage Ptah-Hetep, who tells us in other 'New Thought' authors
his Teachings that the fool "looks upon the wise as one who knows nothing, and the taught in the 19th and 20th
qualities of virtue and excellence he considers to be defects. He does every kind of centuries, albeit without their
eloquence or clarity. If only Doreal
thing that is reprehensible, and these cause him to be abused daily. He lives upon that
wrote intelligible English
through which men die, and his bread is the corn of filth and abomination." This was sentences we would have less to
written 6,000 years ago. How little, if anything, has changed! complain of, but the pseudo-
archaic style he uses, combined
The Law of Polarity explains the paradox that thesis and antithesis are identical in with his abysmal grammar and
nature though different in degrees. Pairs of opposites may be and can and should be scrambled syntax conspire to

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reconcilable, and therefore it is said that extremes meet. It is also said that destroy any value his verses might
everything is and is not at one and the same time, and this will explain some of the have. The next verse is an
excruciating example of this.
apparent contradictions which the beginner in occult studies, or even many
experienced occultists, find so difficult to understand. From this it follows that all "Seek thou for wisdom always.
truths are but half-truths, and that every truth is half false if we do not understand Let not thine body betray. Keep
in the path of the Light wave.
the Law of Polarity. We often hear there are two sides to everything; even a bad
Shun thou the darkened way.
penny! Almost everyone is familiar with such sayings. However, they cannot be seen in Know thee that wisdom is
their right aspect without a full understanding of what a 'Whole Truth' really is. Very lasting. Existing since the ALL-
few know this, or can grasp it when told as we have pointed out so often in this SOUL began, creating harmony
from by the Law that exists in
investigation, as well as in our many articles. Thus, heat and cold are one and the
the WAY."
same thing though seemingly opposing one another; it is all a question of degree in
both instances, and what may seem to be hot to one person may seem cold to This verse is replete with the
another, and vice versa. One may burn oneself by touching an object that is extremely unexplained terms Doreal favours,
such as 'Light wave', 'All-Soul' and
cold as readily as one that is extremely hot. Neither is there absolute heat or absolute
'the way', any of which might
cold, and in the thermometer the two meet, as physics affirms, though we have mean a hundred different things
neither the time nor inclination to explore all the past and present scientific theories to different readers, or nothing at
behind this. Moreover, heat or cold as we understand them are but rates of vibration all. Perhaps he hopes this
(as science is also slowly discovering), thus linking up with the Law of Vibration we convoluted jargon will so mystify
his readers that they conclude
discussed earlier. Hence all the phenomena of heat and cold are manifestations of the their failure to comprehend it
Hermetic Law of Polarity. must lie with them and not the
author. For nothing impresses the
The same applies to light and darkness, to hard and soft, to sharp and dull, noise and unthinking so much as the use of
silence, high and low, and so on and so forth. All are examples of the Universal Law of unfamiliar and mysterious
Polarity. When we consider the operation of this law on the mental plane we find such terminology, especially when it is
delivered with sufficient gravitas
things as courage and cowardice, faith and fear, and love and hate, which are all the and authority. We have referred to
same. On the spiritual plane we find goodness and evil. All have degrees of intensity this before in our analysis of these
too, and in between love and hate, for example, we find mere like and dislike. But tablets, most recently in our fifth
the trained Hermeticist knows that we can exchange such opposites by turning hate afterword, when we said that the
only purpose such tricksy turns
into love for example, cold into heat or wet into dry. There will be no need to give
serve is to impress the unthinking
you further illustrations of this, you will know it yourself by personal experience. with the empty rhetoric contained
When a Hermeticist uses the art of polarisation in the right manner, he is said to in the following verse:
employ a sort of mental alchemy. This is quite true if applied to love and hate, faith
"Long, long ago, I cast off my
and fear, etc. Our regular readers will not be surprised to learn that the key to the body. Wandered I free through
change of mental and spiritual manipulation is Inner Peace. This enables one to send the vastness of ether, circled the
forth love towards hatred, subtly changing it into love, whereas evil can be influenced angles that hold man in
by good if there is the slightest spark of goodness in the evil one, which there surely bondage. Know ye, O man, ye
are only a spirit. The body is
must be, for in evil too there is the opposite polarity of good present, or else that
nothing. The Soul is ALL. Let not
hatred could not be manifested. If you have never thought about polarity before, your body be a fetter. Cast off
what we have put before you may give you a fresh view on the subject if you will keep the darkness and travel in Light.
in mind the rules we have mentioned above. Cast off your body, O man, and
be free, truly a Light that is ONE
It would enable you to make a Gnostic change by means of the great and better mind with the Light."
influencing the lesser and not so good one. It enables the Hermeticist to strip off vice We cannot think of any other
from the lower mind of another person, for, as Hermes has said, once all wrong occultist, with the possible
thinking and action has been stripped from the one who has gone astray, he or she will exception of Franz Bardon, who
be regenerated in the highest sense and enabled to enter the realms of Light, there to continuously prates about 'Light'
whilst so obviously dispensing
dwell with the Blessed in Paradise. To do this for another is the work of the true darkness or at best, twilight.
Master; the reward is Within, but it is a very great reward indeed. To save but one What a shock those who despise
single soul brings Heaven nearer to the Earth, and the saviour becomes an Angel in the body—that marvellous temple
Heaven. He who surrenders himself or herself to the divine Powers becomes one with of the spirit—will receive when
death releases them from it, only
them and dwells in the Kingdom of God the Father and the Mother. This is 'gaining
to find themselves in another one
Gnosis,' and there is nothing more sublime and wonderful. This is the change of just like it! But let us continue
Gnostic tendency which is wrought in the nature of one who passes from stage to with our dissection of this tablet
stage, away from the ordinary man who has no time for such things. Hermes calls this or we will never get to the end of
'The procession of Fate,' which is within the grasp of all who wish to qualify for this it.

immense elevation, which leads manhood to Godhood. "When ye are free from the
fetters of darkness and travel in
Hermes teaches that if we attain this pious goal, we shall both nobly live and happily space as the SUN of the LIGHT,
depart from this dream of life upon Earth. For we will no longer be ignorant of our then ye shall know that space is
not boundless but truly bounded
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destination nor the way to reach it. Hermes further teaches that every thing and by angles and curves. Know ye,
every being is in a constant state of change; but all things are not capable of being O man, that all that exists is
only an aspect of greater things
dissolved, though many things are solvable. That which can be dissolved can also be yet to come. Matter is fluid and
destroyed; only the permanent is eternal. Nothing in the domain of matter is flows like a stream, constantly
dissolvable; all that is of the Spirit is eternal. Not every animal is mortal, nor is every changing from one thing to
animal immortal. By this Hermes means the Spirit of man—what we call the Higher another."

Self—is immortal, but not the inner selves of animals, which possess only a lower Those of you who have read our
mind. Yet this too is capable of evolution, as is the case with the lower mind of man, article on Evolution may recall
and hence possesses the potential for immortality as Flitterflop and Bombast learned that before man is able to 'travel
in space as the SUN of the Light,'
in their fourth Astral Conversation about consciousness after death.
uncountable millions of mortal
years must elapse before the
Whatever is born on earth is destroyed in the end, and material things can and do
liberated Self reaches this stage
return to their primal essences, and float away into non-being so far as their original of perfection. Yet Doreal casually
form is concerned. Thus: all that is irrational is mortal; only the essence of things, its drops this in as if it were a facility
rational part, is immortal, for there is no true ultimate death for even the lowest one might expect to acquire in a
being or for the material essence, which will appear in another form or shape in later few months of desultory occult
study. Of course, he may have
times. There is no death in God's Universe, only change, as we have often told you. meant so-called 'astral travelling,'
Only the Essence of Spirit and Matter is therefore free from change. All that exists is but this is not the way this verse
twofold; Matter and Spirit, Heat and Cold, Male and Female. Duality is shown in that reads to us. He also makes the
Soul moves everything, but not everything is moved by the Soul; for there is mistake of denying the infinitude
of Space, which is no more
acquiescence and resistance, free will being the great Law, its contrary being slavery.
'bounded' by 'angles' and 'curves'
And all this is the result of the operation of the Hermetic Law of Polarity. than our thoughts are so bounded,
unless we deliberately erect
Hermes further teaches that all that suffers is sensible; but not all that is sensible, or barriers which prevent us from
known to the senses, suffers. All that feels pain also suffers pleasure, or can do so reaching out into all Space. The
under the right conditions of mind and body. There are also the polarities of health only thing he does get right is the
malleability of matter, but this is
and disease; reason and insanity; of folly and wisdom. Nothing within the body is true;
hardly a new or startling
all that is free from the body is free from untruth. The lower mind can suffer; the revelation, even to non-occultists.
Soul and Higher Mind are free from pain. Naught is good on earth; all is good in He continues:
Heaven; for illusions can never be good since they are contrary to Truth, which shows
"Nine are the interlocked
their polarities most clearly. The Laws of the Universe are always good; the laws of dimensions, and Nine are the
man are faulty and can be twisted and changed at the will of the cunning and cycles of space. Nine are the
unscrupulous. In Heaven all is free from change; all that exists below is for ever diffusions of consciousness, and
changing. No being in Heaven is a slave; no man on earth is free from the oppression Nine are the worlds within
worlds. Aye, Nine are the Lords
and persecution of others, animals or men, or even from the elements which are fixed
of the cycles that come from
according to the laws but rage at will in their fury. Nothing can not be known in above and below."
Heaven; nothing can be known on earth, for there hangs a veil between Truth and
Vision which few can penetrate; so the Law of Polarity holds good in this regard too. This is completely wrong. The
septenary nature of the Universe
Is the operation of this law so very obvious to you? Then why did you not think of all and everything in it is the ABC of
occult science which is thoroughly
these things before, bringing them before the seat of reason, which is of the lower explained in The Secret Doctrine
mind, which cannot solve anything at all though it may seem to do so? Why not ask the and The Golden Star, both of
Soul to instruct your Higher Mind by inspiration, so that the curtain of vision will fade, which quote the Poemander in
and Light show the Truth of all Polarities? For the things and thoughts of the earth, which we may read:
which are the things and thoughts of the lower mind, do not consort with heavenly "For the Mind being God, Male
things. All things in Heaven are free from blame; all things on earth are blameworthy, and Female, Life and Light,
no matter how excellent they may seem to be at times. For the immortal is not brought forth by his Word
another Mind or Workman; which
mortal; nor is the mortal immortal. That which is sown does not invariably come up;
being God of the Fire, and the
but that which comes up must invariably have been sown. All this is the teaching of Spirit, fashioned and formed
Hermes the Divine—the Thrice Great—on the Law of Polarity. A law the carping critics seven other Governors, which in
we mentioned earlier believe to be a chimera; a 'New Age' fiction dreamed up by their circles contain the Sensible
some idealistic mystic, the same as the rest of the Laws of Hermes we have discussed World, whose Government or
disposition is called Fate or
with you so far and will discuss further in the subsequent parts of this investigation. It
Destiny."
is up to you to choose; will it be the Wisdom of Hermes or the follies of men? And as
you choose so will your polarities change for good or ill. These 'circles' refer to the seven
sacred planets of occultism as
All that we have quoted can be found in the Poemander which further tells us that well as the seven 'dimensions' or
planes of which our familiar,
there are the two periods assigned to every dissolvable body; from its sowing to its
physical world is one. Nor are
birth, and from its birth to its death, but the Divine Soul has one Period only, which is there nine 'diffusions' of
from birth to Eternity and Everlastingness. We are also told that God is the Good that consciousness, but seven, just as
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naught can change and Man is the bad that can be changed. Could anything be clearer there are seven occult elements
than these sublime teachings, already ancient 10,000 or even 100,000 years ago, but and seven senses. For seven, as
we point out in our article on the
so very applicable now. Here follows a very important teaching which we have science of numbers, was the
rendered in our own words. Avoid conversation with the many on these things, but sacred number among all the
don't keep them selfishly to yourself either, if you can help someone in need of the civilised nations of antiquity; a
Wisdom of Hermes. For the like is acceptable to the like, but the unlike dislike it; fact Doreal seems unaware of.
The next verse affirms the occult
another example of polarity. Very few will listen to these words, being immersed in truth that Fire is the origin and
the sea of their own folly and too impatient to learn the truth. And it is even likely end of all things and beings—
that the 'few' will be notable by their non-existence! For all that is animal in man—our material and spiritual—proving he
old friend the lower self with all its passions that we mentioned earlier—is more prone could get some things right!
to bad than good, because it is in love with it. Now, if this animal should learn that "Then heard I the voice. Hear
the Universe is subject to genesis, polarity and strict laws, and that all things come thou and understand. The flame
and go according to Foreknowledge and by Necessity, as if Fate were ruling all, in no is the source of all things,
time at all the animal would grow even worse than it is now, thinking in scorn of the containing all things in
potentiality. The Order that sent
whole Universe as being subject to genesis, polarity, law and fate, and unto Fate
forth light is the WORD and from
referring all causes of that which is bad, and he would never cease from every evil the WORD, COME LIFE and the
deed, those, according to his animal reason, being preordained by Destiny and existence of all."
inescapable.
All this was expressed rather
better in the Gospel of John
Hence the wise should take care who they impart their knowledge to, in order that
thousands of years before Doreal
being left in ignorance, the animalistic man or woman may, perhaps, become less bad was born: "In the beginning was
through fear of the unknown. Such is the great Teaching of Hermes the Divine to his the Word, and the Word was with
son Tat on the Law of Polarity, as well as other good things. We have done our level God, and the Word was God. All
best to render his words with the maximum simplicity and clarity so that no one is left things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing
in any doubt of their true import, though to some they will sound like impenetrable made that was made. In him was
mysteries couched in some archaic tongue. But are not the very heavens full of life; and the life was the light of
mysteries in the form of the untold millions of stars which soften the darkness of night men. And the light shineth in
with their splendour? Is not God Himself the greatest Mystery of all? Many people think darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not."
that where there is mystery there must also be evil. Such are those who rail against
the secrecy with which the Wise have ever guarded their Arcana, thinking in their dire The last sentence might have
ignorance that there can never be any good reason for keeping anything secret. We been written for this pseudo-
answered this complaint in our Occult Faq so will not repeat ourselves. Thoth, who displays a truly
breathtaking talent for
mentioning the Light in almost
We would say that mystery is the great chain of causes and effects, which, linking one
every verse while being incapable
to another, even to the throne of God Himself, can never be entirely unravelled by the of comprehending the smallest
mind of man, however wise or knowledgeable he may be. And the mysteries of nature glimmer of it. Let us be charitable
and of man are not lessened, but increased by the discoveries of science and and pray that the final verse
philosophy, if by philosophy we mean inspired wisdom. But though mystery is often expresses Doreal's true
aspirations, even though he
the antagonist of truth, some of it is not beyond the power of human thought or
appears never to have made any
penetration, and the mystery of the Bible should teach us, at one and the same time, great effort to realize them.
our nothingness and our greatness, producing humility and animating hope. And
Hermes is the Master of Masters who, more than any other Teacher, past or present, "Put forth thy effort in gaining
LIGHT on the pathway of Life.
can unveil the mystery of the Universal Hermetic Laws, so that we may apply them to Seek to be One with the SUN
draw ever nearer to the First and Last of all Mysteries, which is God, the Father‒ state. Seek to be solely the
Mother‒Son; as the real Holy Trinity was known in ancient Egypt. At one time this was LIGHT."
embodied in the Gods Osiris, Isis and Horus, at others, by Ptah, Sekhmet and Iu-em-
 
Hetep—the Prince of Peace, and in later times, by Amen-Ra, Mut and their son,
Khonsu. But names do not matter; these were all handles employed at different
periods in Egypt's long history for different purposes. The actual Eternal Principles
concealed behind the screen of illusion, even as the Higher Self of man is so

concealed, never varied at any time, for how can the Divine Truths ever change?

In our next instalment we consider the Hermetic Laws of Rhythm and Cause and
Effect and hope to learn more of the Wisdom of Hermes the Thrice Great.

© Copyright occult-mysteries.org. Article published 21 December 2020.

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