"You are the salt of the earth"
Christ
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The origin of the Hermes' Emerald
Tablet has posed just as much of a mystery as does its interpretation.
The Emerald Tablet is the cornerstone of western alchemical thought.
Alchemy is the practical application of the Hermetic Philosophy which is
contained, in total, in its 13 succinct portions. Hermes Trismegistus
(thrice great), a supreme magus, is the author of the transcendent masterpiece
called "The Emerald Tablet" which is the most revered magical / transcendental
writing in all of Western mysticism. The date of its origin is unknown,
however, some translations of the tablet go back to the 12th century and
much earlier. The Emerald Tablet has challenged many of the greatest
minds the world has ever produced, and numerous commentaries have been
offered. Sir Isaac Newton's draft of The Emerald Tablet is reproduced
below. A version in modern english follows that of Sir Isaac Newton and
I have included my own translation /commentary.
The
Emerald Tablet
Isaac
Newton
1.
Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
2.
That wch is below is like that wch is above & that wch is above is
like yt wch is below to do ye miracles of one only thing.
3.
And as all things have been & arose from one by ye mediation of one:
so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4.
The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in
its belly, the earth its nourse.
5.
The father of all perfection in ye whole world is here.
6.
Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7.
Seperate thou ye earth from ye fire, ye subtile from the gross sweetly
wth great indoustry.
8.
It ascends from ye earth to ye heaven & again it desends to ye earth
and receives ye force of things superior & inferior.
9.
By this means you shall have ye glory of ye whole world & thereby all
obscurity shall fly from you.
Its
force is above all force. ffor it vanquishes every subtile thing &
penetrates every solid thing.
10.
So was ye world created.
11.
From this are & do come admirable adaptaions whereof ye means (Or process)
is here in this.
12.
Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of ye philosophy
of ye whole world.
13.
That wch I have said of ye operation of ye Sun is accomplished & ended.
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The Emerald
Tablet of Hermes
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(Modern
Version)
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1
True, without falsehood, certain and most true,
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2
that which is above is as that which is below and that which is below is
as that which is above, for the performance of the miracles of the One
Thing.
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3
And as all things are from One, by the mediation of One,
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so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation.
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4
The Sun is its father, the Moon its mother, the Wind carries it in its
belly, its nurse is the Earth.
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5
It is the father of all perfection, or consummation of the whole world.
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6
Its power is complete if it be turned into earth.
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7
Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, deftly, and
with great ingenuity.
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8
It ascends from earth to heaven and descends again to earth, and receives
the power of the superiors and of the inferiors so thou hast the glory
of the whole world and all obscurity will flee before you.
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9
This is the fortitude of all fortitude, overcoming every subtle thing and
penetrating every solid thing.
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10
This is how the world was created.
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11
Hence were all wonderful adaptations produced in this way.
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12
Therefore am I called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the
philosophy of the whole world.
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13
What I have to tell concerning the operation of the Sun is complete.
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The following is my interpretation
/ commentary on
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The Emerald Tablet...
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1
The following is true and, of all truths, it is the truest
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2
Everything, all of the pairs of opposites, is an expression of The One
Thing...the "One Thing" being what Man calls "God".
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3
The "One Thing" is the mediator and for Man to have a second birth he must
adapt himself to the mediations of The One. ("Not my will but thine
be done." )
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4
The Sun is its' father because the Sun is a symbol of the soul or creative
power ("I AM the light"), the moon was its' mother because the moon is
a symbol of the body which, like the moon, has no light of its own...the
wind carries it in its' belly because it is a spirit...its' nurse is the
Earth, the nurturing garden in which Man was created.
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5
Its desire for perfection brings it forth from the womb (egg, crypt, tomb)
of matter,
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6
In its' original "Adamic" condition it has dominion over all created things,
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7
To ascend from "the below" to "the above" the fire/light/soul/spirit/consciousness
is distilled from the relatively gross physical body, gently and exercising
great ingenuity it weans itself from undue material desires,
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8
It ascends from the physical to the spiritual and, formulating an enlightened
desire, it incarnates once again, possessing the powers of both heaven
and earth, blessed with the glory of the whole world and free of all obscurity,
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9
It is eternal and is the matrix upon which everything, both subtle and
solid, is manifest.
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10 This
is how the world was created....spirit into form.
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11 All
wonderful adaptations are produced in this way...desire...patient surrender...and
manifestation,
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12 Therefore,
I
AM called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy
of the whole world, being
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1) spirit 2) consciousness
and 3) form
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13 What
I have to tell concerning the operation of the Soul (Sol/Sun) is complete.
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Notes:
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- Alchemy
is ostensibly the art of extracting gold from lead. Alchemy, in reality,
is the art of extracting the spirit (gold) from the body (lead or "stone").
The work of alchemy is conducted by the indwelling consciousness.
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- The "art"
of alchemy is also symbolized by an "emerald". An emerald is something
of great worth extracted from the earth and mirrors the true work of the
Hermetic practice of alchemy, i.e., extracting something of great worth
(the spirit) from the physical body.
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- The physical
body is "the stone" which must, first, be divided in two (splitting the
ADAM) and without the awareness (faith) of the spirit, the body remains
intact and incapable of practicing the Hermetic Arts.
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- The two
parts that the body is split into are: spirit and form. Consciousness
mediates between spirit and form.
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- The color
of an emerald is green, which is composed of two chromatic opposites: yellow
and blue. The emerald is a symbol of "en-LIGHT-ened" Man. Man,
according to the Hermetic Philosophy, is a physical form (symbolized by
the moon because the body, like the moon, is a baron wasteland without
the spirit or "light" of the Sun / spirit) composed of two seeming opposing
forces: spirit and body. Spirit is symbolized by "yellow gold" and
consciousness is symbolized by air and the color (sky) blue and the "stone"
is symbolized by the emerald. Green is the color of the Earth.
All three combined in perfect proportion produce a living soul.
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Therefore,
I
AM called Hermes Trismegistus,
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having
the three parts of the philosophy
-
of the
whole world,
1)
spirit 2) consciousness 3) form
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The pair of opposites "theme"
that compose Man is also repeated in the sacred symbols of the Star of
David which is composed of two opposing triangles, and the Christian cross
which is composed of two opposing lines which meet at the heart.
The essence of both symbols is a deft balance that must exist between the
pairs of opposites.
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Moses "freed the slaves" from
the ravages and demands of material possessions by leading his people,
in a circle, in the desert for 40 years. He "fathered" one generation
of followers who matured being unattached to material possessions and the
everpresent drudgery of being a nomad with "too much stuff". After
Moses came Christ, who, using love as the great dissolver of self, frees
his followers from the drudgery of having a self (another "stone") that
was separated from "God"...i.e. the "moon" without the LIGHT of the Sun.
The Old and New Testaments, together, contain the complete Hermetic Philosophy.
Lose the bondage of material desires and then lose the bondage of the physical
form and all of its ridiculous demands and return to (the above) spirit.
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Conclusion.... we are in
the "underworld" ("the below") of gross physical form and,
despite its delights, it is "hellish" compared to the heavenly "above".
What keeps us here in "the below" is material desire (objects and sensation)
rather than a spiritual desire. In fact, in esoteric Christianity,
the five wounds of the Christ and the additional "crown of thorns" represent
the five senses which keep the spirit "crucified" on the world and chained
to death. The crown of thorns represents "non-spiritual" (material)
thinking and the mockery of the souls who seek a kingdom in the "place
of the skulls" (Golgatha), here in the underworld, until they are released
by a perfect act of surrender. Are You the rock (stone) too heavy
for God to lift?
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Surrender to God ("Into your
hands I command my spirit") produces the spiritual disposition that creates
the opportunity to be "mediated" by the Creator ("The One Thing") and lifted
into (the above) perfect balance. It frees the consciousness by "distilling"
it (alchemy) out of the morass of a purely material cosmology.
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The mystery of "The Last Supper"
and the Passover "Seder" are two rituals depicting the alchemical process
of the transmutation of the lower nature (unleavened bread....not yet "risen")
by the indwelling spirit.....the "consumption" of the "flesh and blood"
(bread and wine) by the higher spiritual nature....removing the dross (impurities)
from the gold....eating the "bitter herbs"......and passing out of (the
purgation process or passing over) this "reality" into Paradise or The
Promised Land.
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The "prize" for the successful
completion of The Great Work? Eternal life! The Holy Grail!
The Fountain of Youth! Paradise! The Return to Eden! The Promised
Land! Atlantis Rising! The Return of the Goddess! The fulfillment
of all of the promises made by The Christ.
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In essence, alchemy and its
symbolic processes reveal the key to the mystery of the resurrection.
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Therefore, I
AM called Hermes Trismegistus,
having the three parts of the philosophy
of the whole world,
being 1) spirit / Sun HE
2) consciousness / Soul ME
and 3) form / Moon HER
and " S "
(plurality)
for the myriad "adaptations" and expressions
of "The One",
I AM called
Hermes
Sitemap
John
Charles Webb, Jr.- ©Copyright
2005 - All Rights Reserved -
United
States of America
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