The Seven Hermetic Principles
The indelible Principles by which everything 'is' and relates.
No commentary of Hermetics would be complete without mentioning the primacy of the Seven Hermetic Principles, and the Universal Principle by which they all operate and relate.
At it’s heart Hermetics is a Science of the Mind, a high ‘Priesthood’ as it were of Reason. The very notion of Reason and Science opens the door to the modality of working hypotheses.
The definition of a working hypothesis is the willingness to try an idea on for size, but really committing to the look. With ideas, to really give them a chance to unlocking better understanding and enhanced perspective, it is completely rational and prudent to treat the temporarily adopted idea as if it were completely true. In the absence of knowing, this is a very skilful game, which requires only the kind of courage which is born out of genuine curiosity.
The Seven Hermetic Principles
These are often also referred to as the Seven Hermetic Laws.
The word Law here, creates the same confusion as the word in the Hebrew Torah. Torah literally means Law, but given Christianity’s fixation with morality and rules, the word is often interpreted as being synonymous with Rules, or ‘thou shalts’. This is patently incorrect.
As with all the work of Reiterating Hermetica, I advocate the intellectual companionship of Wittgenstein’s quote “The limits of my language define the limits of my World.”
The notion of Law in the Torah, in the Kabbalah, is not rules as we understand them, they are more akin to the Laws of Thermodynamics or the Laws of Motion. For this reason I often prefer the word Principle, since it invites a clearer understanding.
The Prime Principle is Reason, as explained throughout below. By Reason, a harmony must and does exist between mathematical principles and metaphysical concepts, demonstrating that numbers can serve as symbols to enable understanding deeper realities and the mysteries of existence. Part of this sense of Reason is what is meant by Logos or The Law.
Key to the Understanding and appreciation of the Seven Laws is the principle of Reason, which implies, by definition that each Law is Governed by the preceding Law. This implies, by definition that The Prime Cause is Reason. This will be expounded on more deeply later. For now, it is sufficient to Understand that all the principles are governed by Reason, and that the second principle is governed by the first, and so on. (This is key to the understanding of The Way.)
Each Principle gives rise to the emergent property which defines the subsequent Principle.
Notes:
The first four principles are articulated in greater detail below because they are the most misunderstood and least intuitive to our modern language and predictive models, being that we commonly attribute their essence and meaning to gross misconstruals of spirituality, religion and science. The latter three principles are more familiar to us and lend themselves more readily to our conventional interpretations and understanding.
The word ‘Divine’ does not need have religious connotations, it is simply the highest expression of Will, Reason, Principle, Essence, Energy and Form closest to the Prime Cause.
Complexity, Duality, Essence, Flow, Form, Law, Meaning, Mind, Nous, Principle, Reason, Understanding, Unity and Will when appearing capitalised carry a different, deeper meaning to the usual meaning.
The Prime Principle is Reason.
The Prime Cause is Reason.
I - THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM
The ‘All’ is mind, Reason governs all, all that is, is governed under Reason.
Mind in the context of this first principle, refers to the Mind, the Consciousness and Understanding of the Intelligence fundamental to the entire design and machinations of the Universe. (See the article on the sister substack The Medicine of Understanding: KOSMOS.)
The word ‘mind’ can be confused with the notion of ‘mind’ or ‘small self’ we inherit from our exposure to eastern philosophy, particularly Buddhism. In a Hermetic context, this should be considered a misnomer. The notion of Mind in a Hermetic sense, is associated with another word common if not unique to Hermetics which is Nous. Nous is another poorly understood and misconstrued term, sometimes poorly translated as Intellect or Mind. A more useful and accurate framing would be to consider Nous as the unified essence of Consciousness and Understanding. Understanding and consciousness are related but not interchangeable terms: Understanding cannot be increased without consciousness, but consciousness can be increased without Understanding.
In the opening book of the Corpus, (The Divine Pymander), Nous is identified as being equivalent with the mind of the creator as well as having a revelatory function. In subsequent dialogs of the Corpus, Hermes receives divine revelations from Nous. Gnosis, direct knowledge or experience of the ‘Divine’, is facilitated by Nous.
It bears noting that reason, that is to say the brands of logic we apply to our human fields of philosophy, mathematics and science are a lower octave, a shadow only of Reason. Logos is only an aspect of Reason.
Ultimately this principle suggests that Intelligence under Reason and Consciousness are the Prime Cause, fundamental to the whole of ongoing Creation, across the entire expanse of encumbent time. Reason is the pairing of Love and Consciousness under Will. The progression of all creation stems from this absolute, this unity of Reason, unity of Will, unity of Consciousness and unity of Meaning. This means, by definition that for anything to exist, it exists first in concept. The etymology of concept rests of the latin root concipere, which means ‘to conceive’.
Everything that exists, exists by virtue of it Essence, of which everything manifest is merely an instantiation of that Essence.
II - THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE
Everything that is, is dual. Everything that is, exists in correspondence, relative and in relation to everything else.
It is this principle that expresses itself through Life as Duality, Symmetry and Fractality and the principle that births by necessity Relation and Relativity, under Reason.
The Second Principle is an emergent property of the First Principle. Two is the emergent property of the co-existence of Zero and One.
The Fibonacci sequence begins at 0. Zero is the All, the Unity, the Infinity. The Will of the All is Love. Love is Expanding, Actualising, Continuation, which expressed in creation we call Life. Under Reason, for something to exist, to be, it must be part of the All. There is nothing that can exist that is not part of the All. Under Reason, for something to exist it must exist within the All. Life is the Unity expressing itself as Complexity. The Door between Unity and Complexity is Duality.
Zero(0) represents the Void, the Infinite Potential. One(1) is the conceptual manifestation, that which the Kabbalists refer to as Aziluth, the Archetypal or Causal World or the world of Causes.
The second number in the Fibonacci sequence is 1. The Third number is also 1. The All is 0, but the All is also 1. Zero is the expression of Infinitude. 1 is the expression of Unity. The existence of both Zero and One create an inevitable Duality. The principle of this is represented by the existence of Zero and One. The mathematical notation, which allows expression in formation and creation is Two. The Kabbalistic concept of Tzimtzum is the Contraction, where the All contracts to create conceptual space for the created Universe to exist.
One has a relationship with Zero just as Two has a relationship with the co-existence of One and Zero. For Creation to ‘Be’, under Reason, there had to be a contraction in the All, and the principle of Duality was concieved. The idea of Two stems from the relationship between One and Zero, underscoring that numbers are not only abstract, but also a form of precise language by which all of creation is ordered, and can thereby be reflections of deeper fundamental truth.
This is the meaning behind the Ancient Greek concept of parthogenesis. Parthogenesis is the phenomenon in Greek (and other) creation myth, whereby a being is created from Void and then also creates is own offspring, represented through the laying and hatching of an egg that had no fertilisation partner. The egg is a metaphor of Zero.
Everything that is, exists in Relation to something else. For anything to exist, it must first exist as a conception of principle, of essense. This sheds further light on the previous Principle of Mentalism and what is meant by “The All is Mind”.
Everything that exists, exists according to Principle and Essence, which we call Logos and Archetype. Everything that is, is a prismatic or holographic refraction of fundamental Essense and Archetype, expressed as Variation, via Iteration. This is the essential meaning and the Essential Meaning of Actualisation.
Actualisation is the making real of essential potential in alignment with the highest intention.
Duality is the door through which that can occur. The principle of Correspondence is the aspect of Reason which makes it possible. By definition, Duality is expressed as two Dualities, locked in a Unity. The first is the the Duality of Reflection, the second is the Duality of Repetition.
In Kabbalistic traditions, the progression from the infinite light (Ein Sof) moves to a first manifestation (Keter) and then further emanates into various sephirot or attributes.
Duality provides its own necessary tension, necessary for the progression of Life and Actualisation through the flow of cycles. This tension is expressed in various expressions of Duality:
- Being & Non-Being (not to be confused with the Buddhist terminology)
- Iteration & Variation
- Active / Activated & Inert
- Masculine & Feminine
- Space & Time
- Shiva & Vishnu
- Yin & Yang
- Chaos & Order
- Void & Existence
- Gravity & Vaccuum
Dualities represented in my work will often be expressed by means ‘&’ symbol to denote their pairing.
The result of this self-creating tension are the DNA Helix, the nature of packets / cycles /hertz. This is expressed in creation and nature in two expressions: Branching (Variation) and Spiral Iterations (Iteration). This physically manifests as spiral patterns, and branch networks we see evident in spiral galaxies, cyclones and nautilus shells, in the one aspect and as tree roots, branches, leaves, river tributatires, river delta’s, neural networks, blood capillaries, mycellium networks.
The Universe and Nature’s way of organising itself and growing is essential to existence and Life. The organising principle and the growth vector relies absolutely on the tension of opposites. Life exists via iterations, of regeneration, via the continuation and the variation.
All subsequent Principles (III through VII), are expressions of Duality, or necessitated by Duality.
III - THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION
Everything that is, is in motion. Everything has vibrational frequencies. Nothing Rests.
The Principle of Vibration in essence, is the Principle of Movement and Distance (Unity / Singularity expressed as Duality), a unit of being, containing its own opposite. The Nature of Duality gives rise to cycles, as the tension of opposites acting on each other give rise to the pulsing property of Vibration according the nature of each thing.
The Second Principle is an emergent property of the First Principle. Three is the emergent property of the co-existence of Zero, One and Two.
As Zero Birthed One, and the relationship between One and Zero birthed Two, the relationship between Zero, One and Two birth Three. If we think of Binary states, Zero is Null/Infinity, or No State, One is Active (a separate Infinity), Two is Inactive. Three is the existence of Three possible States.
Similarly vibration is an emergent propery arising from the progressive existence of Reason / The All, Causation and Duality.
The Principle of Vibration, provides the essential property of everything that Exists, that allows for Existence by allowing the embodiment of Duality. Vibration is Frequency. Frequency is wave form. Vibration is the essence of Movement existing in Duality with Stillness, Being existing in Duality with Non-Being.
Everything that is, is an expression of the emantion of the Singularity. This is captured by the scientific hypothesis of the Big Bang; Infinity expressed as Finitude. Chaos / Void is absolute Movement, timeless, formlessness and infinite probability, whereas Order is finite Movement adhering to predictable Form and Flow subject to the resistance of Time. Existence is potential existence collapsed into actuality according to probability in alignment with Will. Will expressed without active Consciousness is Energy and Matter (of but not having Consciousness). Will expressed with active Consciousness is Life (of and having Consciousness).
IV - THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY
Everything that is, has degrees according to polarity. Everything is dual in nature, everything has poles of paired opposites.
Existence Persists, Persistence Resists.
If Vibration is the Flow of Movement, Polarity is the Form.
The Principle of Polarity is the emergent property of the progressive existence of first three Principles. Four is the mathemetical placeholder emergent from the co-existence of Zero, One, Two and Three.
If Movement is possible, there have to be limits of Movement, since only the All is Limitless. The All being the first cause, is regarded as the unmoved Mover. Everything that Moves, is moved by and within the unmoved Mover. The limits that define movement are the poles of opposites inherent to Being. Since nothing rests, and everything is in motion, everything must have polarity according to its nature and Essence.
In physics this is expressed as concetration gradients. At a macro scale Being is Birthing into Void, drawn thither by the same underlying principle that causes water to flow downhill, and is possible because of the existence of opposites co-existing within the same context. Void and Creation are a pair of firmly wedded opposites. In the context of the fundamental / the essential, everything that exists, exists by virtue of the tension of its inherent opposites. Hot and Cold are a pair of firmly wedded opposites. Density and Sparsity are inverse expressions of each other. Creation is the result of a finite number of fundemental archetypes and expressions acting on each other, which are themselves the fractal expression of Unity experienced as Multiplicity.
By the same principles as a square is a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional cube, the number six is a higher expression of the number four.
The emergent property of Polarity is force / movement, which is comprised of six principle expressions of Energy / Movement, arranged in three interacting pairs which we refer in a gross sense, as our Physics. The underlying principle is the relative concetration gradient that exists between concentrations or densities and relative sparsities.
In one sense, from the purview of reductionist physics, a black hole is absolute density, and vacuum is absolute sparsity. However in more comprehensive terms, space is not entirely void, it is simply emptiness with the capacity to filled. Space is still made up of quanta that are stretched or contracted relative to density of the mass which itself is relative to the activating / ordering principle of Gravity. True Void represents absolute sparsity, and ‘The’ singularity represents absolute density. Both void and the singularity are unmanifested potential. The absolute density is the masculine in one sense and absolute void is femine, and both are polarities of creation. Everything that is manifested contains its own opposite, and so cannot be absolute. All density contains some aspect of void, and all void in the manifested universe contains some aspect of density, however infinitesimally slight.
The first pair are Gravitational and Nuclear Forces. Nuclear force is innate Essense expressed as inherent attractive movement which is fundamental to persistence at the micro scale. Gravity is the emergent property of the collective force of potential movement of the sum of parts acting in concert. The Nuclear force is the activating principle for individual particles. Gravity is the activating principle affecting everything relative to the distribution of space (distance), density (mass) and movement.
The second pair is Electricity & Magnetism, collectively called Electromagnetism, which is a foundational force in physics, governing interactions between charged particles. It is responsible for everything from chemical bonds to light.
The third pair are Thermodynamics & Fluid Dynamics (vacuums, hydraulics etc.). Heat and Pressure are the emergent properties of their respective densities.
These six provide all movement in existence, have gross and subtle counterparts at each level of existence, and provide the catalysts for all Transformation at all scales. By the Principle of Polarity which is itself subservient to the Principle of Correspondence, the same six forms of potential movement, have essential, non-manifested counterparts. For every observable effect or force in the universe, there exists a dormant or potential version of it. The relationship between these is what lies at the heart of the mystery of Quantum Mechanics.
The Principle of Polarity gives rise to the Four Elements, Fire, Air, Water and Earth, which by the Law of Correspondence give rise to the Sixteen Figures or Geomancy (Elemancy), the co-existence of which is referred to as the Tetra-Polar Magnet.
The relationship between The Principle of Vibration and the Principle of Polarity describe the causal relationship between essense and principle which are fundamental to manifested expression. The essence and principle of movement, is fundamental to the expression of energy which is in turn fundamental to actual, movement of the manifested.
V - THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
Everything that is, ebbs and flows according to its tides of its form and the cycles of it’s flow.
The Principle of Rhythm is an emergent property of the four preceding Principles, under Reason. There is nothing that exists that is not subject to a cyclic nature. The Principle of Rhythm is the unmeasurable expressed as measurable, the infinite expressed in ‘finitude’, Persistence expressed as instantiation and periodicity.
The manifestation of this principle is the ebb and flow of our tides and seasons, of the ratchet and the pendulum. Rhythm is an emergent property of Duality, Movement and Polarity expressed in the elastic medium of space and time. The principle of Rhythm is fundamental to the instantiation of actual Rhythm. Quantum Mechanics remains undefinable by current scientific standards because the predicability of cyclic phenomena and their qualia is a factor of Linear time, which exists as a factor only on the manifestation or instantiation. Particles can be in superposition (in a sense, existing in multiple states at once) until observed (application of active consciousness). This can be challenging to our classical understanding of rhythm and predictability. Yet, even in quantum mechanics, there are rhythmic patterns, such as the probability waves that describe particle positions. The Principle of Rhythm is fundamental to our concept of space-time.
Space is not a contiguos blob, but rather arranged in elastic packets.
Rhythm is the expression of Spiral movement in Spacetime. We observe and experience this as our circadian rhythms, our ultradian rhythms, our lunar cycles, the tides of the ocean, the solar seasons, the elaborate orbits of celestial bodies.
The Principle of Correspondence, in concert with the Principles of Correspondence, Vibration and Polarity gives rise the the concept of nested iterations and nested periodicity. Seconds comprise minutes, minutes comprise hours, hours days, days weeks, weeks months, months years, and years comprise the Yugas, the great cosmic arcs of periodicity.
Rhythm is an expression of wave form travelling through a medium. The wave form has two properties being Frequency and Amplitude. Frequency is party determined by the medium. Amplitude is determined by the energy and the resistance of the medium.
By the Principle of Correspondence there is an inherited relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm, nested reiterations. Rhythms interacting with each other produce interference patterns as expressed in the given medium.
Waveform is a lower dimensional expression of a spiral. A spiral is a higher dimensional expression of a wave. The signature of the curve remains constant in arc, not in scale or frequency. The one interacting force of the principle of Correspondence / Duality provides the drive towards diversity / complexity. Its opposite provides impulse towards convergence / unity. The interplay of these induce transformation.
VI - THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
Every effect has its cause. Everything that is, is so according to Law.
The Principle of Cause and Effect is an emergent property of the preceding five Principles. This is the unchanging law of the Universe. By the Principle of Correspondence, everything that is manifested has an upper cause. The Principe of Cause and Effect imply an ordered universe in which events do not occur arbitrarily.
At the level of the manifestation / instatiation, this is the certainty by which humanity has defined the laws of physics whereby every action has a reaction or consequence, and this applies to everything in existence, from the smallest quantum event to vast cosmic interactions. Every phenomenon, every effect also has its originating cause, from the smallest quantum event to vast cosmic interactions at the grandest scales of time.
Whatever appears to be random is simply a lack of perception and perspective, an inability to perceive or correlate relationships of cause and effect, usually because the system (array of Causes) is too large, to small or too complex, or because we lack some of the necessary context.
The Principle of Cause and Effect runs in essence throughout all the Seven Principles in so far as Cause and Effect are not limited to just physical events and phenomenon. By the Law of Mentalism, thoughts, emotions, desires, and other mental states can also act as causes that manifest effects in the physical realm. This idea is encapsulated in the saying, "Thoughts become things." Imagination is simply resonance of Essence. Essence is seminal to manifestation by way of the Seven Principles.
The Law of Karma is predicated on the Principle of Cause and Effect and the Law of Rhythm (periodicity).
VII - THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER
Everything that is, has its masculine and its feminine.
The Principle of Gender is an emergent property of the preceding Principles. This does not refer to biological gender, rather the principle of Gender. The Principle of Gender exists at all levels of existence, from the Causal / Archetypal, through to the Creative, through to the Formative and the Manifest.
The Principle of Gender is best understood in the context of its two sub-principles, namely the Masculine and Feminine Principles, and the Principle of ‘Creation from Something’ which results from an interplay between the two. The latter is distinct from the Principle of ‘Creation from Nothing’ which is the sole domain of the All.
The Principle of Gender is paradoxically both elevated in the current collective conscious and also distorted in understanding and relevance in spiritual and psychological terms. In the context of Kabbalah, there are Four Worlds of Emantion, that is four levels of Reality through which the All descends from the Infinite Light (Ein Sof) into the Manifest Universe. The Four Worlds are
Atziluth (The Archetypal or Causal World)
Briah (The Creative World)
Yetzirah (The Formative World)
Assiah (The Manifest or Material World)
At the Causal level of creation, each of the Principles can be considered present in their ‘purest’, that is to say most essential expression. The Masculine principle at this level is the Will or intention, of the ‘Divine’, noting that the word ‘Divine’ does imply religious connotations, referring rather to the highest expression of Will, Reason, Principle, Essence, Energy and Form closest to the Prime Cause. The Feminine Principle is the Infinite potential of that intention to take form, expression or persistence.
At the Creative level, the level of pure intellect and creation, the fundamental causal principles and essences interact to give rise to the creative principles. At this level, the Masculine Principle is the Design, the Form aspect of creation and the Feminine Principle is the infinite womb of possibilities, the fertile aspect of creation.
At the Formative level, the level of primordial forces and instantiated archetypes reside. The processes and mechanics of this level shape and refine the creative essences in preparation for material manifestation. At this level the Masculine principle is the expression of Will towards fundamental actualisation and the Feminine principle the receptive, formative forces that gestate the expressions pursuant to material manifestation.
At the Manifest level, we encounter the physical tangible manifestation of Creation, where the energies and essences of the higher worlds are expressed as reflections of their essential natures. Here the Masculine and Feminine principles are most obvious and evident, including the interplay between the two being the Principle of ‘Creation from Something’ which underwrites all sexual and asexual reproduction, as well as other phenomenon of biological and non-biological chemistry:
Examples of Gender Principle in Biological Chemistry:
Molecular Interactions: At a molecular level, some molecules have "receptive" sites that allow other molecules to bind. The principle of lock and key in enzymes (feminine receptor or "lock") and substrates (masculine "key") is a good example. The enzyme provides the necessary environment (like a nurturing womb) for a chemical reaction to take place.
DNA Replication: DNA has two complementary strands. One strand acts as a template (passive or feminine) for the synthesis of a new (active or masculine) strand.
Cellular Communication: Hormones (often seen as the active or masculine messengers) are released and travel to specific cells with the right receptors (receptive or feminine) to initiate a response.
Neural Synapses: Neurotransmitters (active) are released from one neuron and received by receptors (passive) on another neuron, facilitating communication.
Examples of Gender Principle in Non-Biological Chemistry:
Ionic Bonding: In ionic bonding, one atom donates an electron (active/masculine) and another atom accepts it (receptive/feminine).
Covalent Bonding: Here, two atoms share electrons. Depending on the context, one can view this as a harmonious balance of the masculine and feminine principles, with both atoms participating equally.
Catalysis: In many chemical reactions, catalysts provide a platform (receptive/feminine) for the reactants to come together and react more efficiently, without the catalyst itself being consumed.
Solvent-Solute Dynamics: A solvent (like water) can dissolve a solute. The solvent acts as the receptive medium, while the solute is the active agent being dissolved.
Acid-Base Reactions: Acids donate protons (active/masculine) while bases accept them (receptive/feminine).
On the Primacy of Reason.
All principles are but one principle, the principle of Reason, whereby everything that is, is so in relation.
BY REASON Reason is the river which leads from and back to the source, and fills the entire ocean of meaning. It never runs dry. Against Reason, any truth we find is but a pool or a puddle. Rocco Jarman
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
The reiteration and alignment with Hermetica is absolutely essential and key to our evolution as a species. Whether by accident or deliberate intention, we cannot follow the signal without aligning with the signal, we cannot belong to Life without integrating the wisdom of Life. Hermetics is the wisdom of the Perennial. To enjoy the gifts of perennial Life, we have to amend ourselves to the project of alignment and unfolding. This is The Way.
This is a labour of duty and leadership, and an answer to the holding of the deep question: “What would I want / What does Love look like in this moment?”
I am doing my part, you can do yours by taking this material to heart, and by supporting this work with a subscription. All proceeds are invested to further the Cause of the future human and Hermetics via Project Shaduf and Eyes Wide Open Life.
For anyone wanting to know how to apply this knowledge and Understanding in pragmatic ways to a human life, follow my sister subtack: The Medicine of Understanding
Thanking You,
Yours in Service
Rocco Jarman