Principles of Hermetism

As my path of study being that of high magic, particularly Hermetic arts, and that is what my contributions to the coven will mainly consist of I have decided on placing a thread here for the underlying philosophies that the magics are based on.
Everyone has chosen their specific path because of the relevance and significance of that path to the sense of self. Long before I studied the philosophies i was practicing ritual magic, something drew me to it, i don't know if it was the theatrical aspect, or the symbolism, or what exactly. I grew up as a weird, shy, under confident and overstimulated artist. This did not grant me particular greatness in the social fields of life. constant harassment and beatings were commonplace for me. That is, until i worked a ritual, consistently for a good month or so. At the time i didn't know what it's significance was truly, or what the intonations were or the visualizations represented. I just knew i was lonely and tired and the imagery came easily to me. This ritual was the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. i did not know at the time that this ritual opened up energies that lay latent within a person, or that it was used to increase the potency of your auric field. i was, although, dedicated. as i look back(as hindsight is always 20/20) i understand what had happened, but then it was pure magic. all of a sudden people who were violently mean to me a few weeks before were saying hello and chatting me up. people who used to hit me would hit the people being mean to me. and i could tell what kind of person someone was by a look, or within a few minutes of conversation. this occurred from seventh to eighth grade. just before high school.
i know now that this opened up in me what is termed empathy. more specifically i believe i experienced(and do still to this day in fact more so)empathic resonance, where you not only feel emotions but gain a basic understanding of a person's nature as well as harmonizing with them(this is why i suddenly had so many friends i believe).
i actually became frightened at the realization that this magic affected my reality substantially. my entire life changed. so i was put of by it for 2 years. it wasn't until i had left high school(early) that i returned to my studies with a matured philosophy.
The reason i start with this anecdote is so i can seg-way into the actual theories behind hermetic magic. for me a validation of truth is necessary. it is in my nature to question all things and find truths for myself. this is why i state this. hermetic theories coincide uncannily with physics. i will attempt to draw parallels where i can, also feel free to add your own conclusions and questions as i am sure this will be an ongoing thread.

There are seven principles of hermetism.

Principle 1)
The Principle of Mentalism;
"All is Mind"
this is a statement although simply made is one that is hard to truly grasp. Many would tell you this is the master key to unlocking the doors of potentiality. It also states that the ALL(being the substantial reality underlying all outward manifestations of what may be termed as "the material universe"; also "the phenomena of life";"matter";"energy" or all that is apparent to an observer) is SPIRIT which is undefinable and unknowable, but may be thought of as a universal living mind. collective everything. now here i must interject and say that the universal living mind is not god, or a god, but a concept used to understand ways to connect to the true nature of being more wholly.
This principle also states that all that is became so through the meditation of the universal mind; referred to simply as the ALL.

The physics correlation i found here is apparent in the 10th dimension of physics; i will give a short summary of the dimensions. someone posted a very good video that explains these dimensions called "you cant get there from here" that explains the dimensions of reality.
first dimension is a single line in space. one dimensional object. to travel to another single line you would need to enter into the second dimension of space which would be a plane. now we have a 2d plane.to travel to another 2d plane you would need to enter into the third dimension, so now we have an x,y, and z representation of a 3d object. the fourth dimension is one of time. as if you want to move this object from point a to point b you must travel through time to do so. after the fourth dimension things get a bit hairy. the fifth dimension is what is called probability space. if it is noon and you have moved this object from point a to point b, how would you get the the reality where you didnt move said object. you woul need to travel through the 5th dimension, where potential realities are pulled into our reality. (remember the Schrodingers cat experiment?) so we say that our space time is being created one plank unit of time by one, pulled from the 5th dimension of probabilities. but we cannot go to a parallel universe where
there is no moon or where world war 2 never occurred because these options are not available in the probability spectrum. in order to do travel to these realities you would need to enter the 6th dimension, where every probability that's possible can exist at the same time. now in order to step up from here and enter into a reality where the physical laws that govern us can be changed you would need to enter into the seventh dimension where there are infinite numbers of universes each with their own values for the speed of light and the forces of physics. none of these universes can affect any of the others universes physical laws, without traveling to the 8th dimension. each interaction of two universes physical laws would create a separate universe, and to travel between these universes you would need to enter into the 9th dimension. the tenth dimension; is where we draw a correlation. the 10th dimension is the singularity; where every conceivable notion and reality all exist together at the same instant. this is what hermetics would call... "the ALL"

i will post all seven principles but need a bit of time to prepare each one so i can correlate them to physics...give me just a bit of time:)

i can see why you become hermetic,it must have been pretty overwhelming,no freinds,then to many.i was alone for twelve years, before i came here so i know a bit where you coming from xx

I think this is a great thread. While I have not studied hermetic philosophies, it will be nice to read of your own delving into it. Already, enjoy the post concerning alternate realities.

Very intresting post Arca, it also supports the thories of astronomical paralell universes, being that our universe was created from another thus making them infinate.

id just like to add what plank time is.

We cant explain what happened in the first 10-43 seconds after the big bang, the interval 10-43 seconds is known as the plank time named after Max Karl Earnest Plank. He introduced the concept the concept that energy could not be regarded as a continious flow, but packets of quanta each with a specific energy.

In Quantum Thoeroy the plank time repersents a fundemental limit, the smallest unit of time that can be said to have no meaning at all, the smallest unit in thoeroy that could ever be measured.

beautiful!

the second principle;
The principle of correspondence
this is where the so often used and so little understood axiom "as above; so below" is derived from. The actual axiom being"That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing"

this principle states that there is always a connection between the laws of one plane and the plane that is higher or lower than it. this is the principle that also states to understand the macrocosm of the universe one could begin through understanding the true nature of the microcosm of the self.

this has its parallel in physics as well, being that all the dimensions as stated above are directly interconnected with those above it.

this states also that "just as a man with the knowledge of the principles of geometry can measure distant suns and their movements, so can one discern the unknown from the known."

this principle is considered to be of highest import to students of hermetic arts as a basic key to understanding all the other secrets of the universe.

Although i do not study hermetic magick..I have read a little into Franz Bardon's work and find it very interesting..I have soo many different books half read :( and must really find the time to read more often!

Enjoyed your post Arca:) Thank you

Very informative, Arca. Thank you for sharing. I knew I chose the right coven. Intelligence is hard to find these days. ;) I have been drawn to Hermetics since my early teens. I had friends and all that, but it didn't feel right to me, like I was fighting my true calling. I look forward to learning more here, and your post has been very assuring.

glad everyone is enjoying this :) it is my pleasure completely


The next three principles, in my opinion, go together indefinitely so much so that one would have a difficult time observing one end and the next begin.

the third is the principle of vibration; this states that all things are in a constant state of motion. hermetic philosophy includes thought and spirit in this category of all things. The closer something comes to "the ALL" which we have defined in the principle of mentalism as the universal and infinite mind that lies within all reality and that all reality lies within, the faster its vibration would be. the "ALL" has an infinite vibration to the point of being both vibrating and at rest.(a mental image to hold onto would be that of a wheel that spins so fast that it appears to be at rest, of course this being a gross dilution of the concept one must use the principle of correspondence to understand that which emanates from the unknowable)

this principle in my opinion has its physics correlation in the relatively recently proposed string or m-theory, where the smallest particles of energy are thought to be oscillating 1 dimensional lines and/or membranes. this theory states that an objects energy is directly related to its vibrational frequency. The next two principles also relate to this.

the fourth principle is polarity; this states that everything is dual, a pair of opposites, in fact that everything that is opposite is identically the same entity just to a varying degree. think of hot and cold being opposites, but in reality just both degrees of the same thing, temperature. where could one say cold ends and hot begins?

the fifth principle is that of rhythm; stating that all things are in flux between two poles. there is a constant rise and fall, ebb and tide to all that is.

All these three principles reflect in the physics realm as waveforms in relation to string theory. where the vibratory nature of reality is explained through frequency. All three principles are evident in a waveform; vibration, polarity, and rhythm.

understanding these principles are important to the hermetic understanding of how one produces change in the self and ones environment by manipulating the frequencies of the mental,physical,and spiritual aspects of reality.