The Emerald Tablet...

While the rest of the world went about their usual Sunday doings, I had the pleasure of participating in a little discussion on a ‘spiritual alchemy’ board that I am a member of. Here is a excerpt from this afternoon's discussion…


Topic: Sir Isaac Newton’ Translation of “The Emerald Tablet” (or Secret of Hermes- Hermes Trismegistus).

OM: 'It is true without lying, certain and most true. That which is Below is like that which is Above and that which is Above is like that which is Below to do the miracles of the Only Thing. And as all things have been and arose from One by the mediation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father; the Moon its mother; the Wind hath carried it in its belly; the Earth is its nurse. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into Earth. Separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the gross, sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the Earth to the Heavens and again it descends to the Earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are and do come admirable adaptations, whereof the process is here in this. Hence am I called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.'

NL: Thank you, dear Pelican :)

DR: Thank you, OM, for this wonderful translation. Can you tell me, is there more? It is beautiful.

OM: No, this was all, DR! Such a complex man and still considered one of the greatest contributors to science even side by side with giants like Einstein. Surely a neglected feature of his genius is his writings on biblical hermenuetics, although obviously his theory of heliocentrism was the dawning of a 'new', critical age and the emergence from old atrophied ideologies...

DR: Methinks Newton was able to "stand on the shoulders of giants" such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler, all who came before him and gave their own contributions to science. But all were men of God... They never denied the miracles of nature and gave a nod to the divine order of things.

There was a similar 'revolution' of sorts with Einstein and his contemporaries as they probed the smallest inklings of the universe, quantum theory. They looked inward while Newton, et al, looked outward. Indeed, "As above, so below"...Thank you, dear OM.


There are many such conversations in this wonderful forum. There are only a small number of people who participate, but each offers something that begs one to stop and spend time in deep thought and contemplation. It helps me stretch my thinking and has introduced me to many new ideas, concepts, and thinkers. I am grateful for the creator of this forum and for those who participate. It is a wonderful way to spend some free time on a Sunday afternoon, while curled up in front of the fireplace and watching the snow fall.

Blessings, my friends.