The Hermitic Code: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times

Imaged Credit: DruzeTimes.com

Around 5,000 years ago a Greek man named Hermes Trismegistus, inventor, and patron of the arts, was believed to have written the Hermetic Code, seven principles of life that govern physical reality. These principles are mentalism, correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause and effect, and gender. I find these codes relevant to modern life, and even scientifically accurate.

Let's start with the law of mentalism which states that what you think about, positively or negatively, will eventually sprout out into your physical experience.

Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D., a cell biologist, professor, author, and researcher, is internationally recognized in bridging science and spirit. He explains how mentalism works in his book, The Biology of Belief. Our conscious mental activity creates the world we live in. Modern quantum physics reveals that our beliefs and behavior create our experience.

When quantum physics was founded in 1927, Max Plank theorized that consciousness is creating our life experience.  In 2005 Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, Richard Conn Henry, summarized, “The Universe is immaterial-mental and spiritual. Live and enjoy.”

The placebo effect is an example of mentalism; you take a pill, believing it will work, and it does, even though it contains only sugar. It is the belief and positive expectation that heals the person. The opposite is the nocebo effect, the result of negative thinking. Both placebo and nocebo are mental constructions.

Next is the law of correspondence. Another way of saying this is “as above, so below.” We see this principle in fractal geometry, the way trees have branches above that are mirrored below in their root system. Our cell biology, the vascular system, organisms that have shells, ferns, all exhibit the law of correspondence, repeating patterns in higher or lower levels of organization.

The principle of vibration says that everything vibrates, even inanimate objects. Energy is a vibrational force that shapes matter. Think of how the wind shapes trees and rocks, or a tornado, which is an energy force field, destroys everything in its path.

All atoms radiate energy. Even if things seem separate, they are all connected by energy and vibration that are never in isolation. Serbian American scientist Nikola Tesla said, “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

 Polarity is the next Hermetic principle. You think there are two poles, two opposites, but if everything is vibration, then everything can be seen as a vibration or frequency on a wave. When you see a Sine wave, you realize that there is a high, a low, and a midway point but no beginning or end. Everything can be seen as a sine wave, good and bad, night and day, up and down, and they are all connected — all a part of the wave.

Credit: PIxabay

Next is Rhythm which is a part of our physical reality. The tide goes in and out, the day breaks and the sun sets, the rainy season comes and then the dry season arrives.

All rhythms of life are energy vibrations that have up phases and down phases. Ride the rhythm. Go with the flow. Follow your bliss. The sine wave is relevant again, the natural up and down of life.

The indigenous people lived in balance with their environment, physically and spiritually. That is our goal, to live in balance and harmony with nature and each other. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius once wrote about going with the flow of happiness; when people notice what is going well rather than what’s wrong, their energy is not blocked.

The hermetic principal of cause and effect are actions and reactions. Energies react with other energies. On a molecular level, thoughts that are broadcast in our consciousness result in a perceived effect in the body.

The final hermetic principle is the law of gender. There is a male and female aspect to everything. All men and women possess both feminine and masculine energies. To be balanced both must work together.

Everything in our world has male and female characteristics. Male is structure and movement; female is vegetation, reproduction, growth and support. The left brain is logical, the right brain houses emotion and creativity. Male and female are part of the same continuum that must work together in balance for a harmonious life.

The hermetic laws soon spread out in history. Rosicrucianism, the enlightenment movement all about secret knowledge, taught many hermetic principles including correspondence, and the idea that everything is connected through vibration, polarity, rhythm, and cause and effect. They kept themselves secret because of religious persecution. The Rosacrucians believed in the goal of attaining spiritual wisdom and enlightenment.  

Rosicrucianism then grew into the modern-day Freemasons who also teach some Hermetic principles. Not only do the Freemasons help mentor men to walk on the right path; they also have the goal of spiritual enlightenment.

 Hermetic principles are found in the Kabbalah, which is modern Hermetic Judaism, practiced by the Essenes, an ancient Jewish sect who lived in highly organized groups. The Kabbalah contains ancient Hermetic wisdom including understanding the law of correspondence, as above, so below, through metaphor of the tree of life.

The Hermetic principle of mentalism (faith and belief) shows up in the Gnostic gospels which were a series of books which contained a philosophy that was all about giving the power of knowledge to the people instead of having it kept by just a few.

The Gnostic teachings were believed to contain the raw teachings of Jesus before it was edited by the early Roman church. The main Hermetic principle, mentalism, was taught by Jesus as belief and faith, knowing everything was going to be okay.

This is positive mentalism, and Jesus wanted to teach it to all people and not just a few. The New Testament talks about faith and belief, mentalism, over 200 times and how you must have faith in something for it to work.  

The Hermetic codes, especially the principle of mentalism, can help us in our everyday lives. It can help us know that if we cultivate a positive mindset, we can achieve positive changes in our lives. If we believe it first, we can connect to the vibrational frequency of the outcome.

The principle of mentalism can help us find peace knowing that we have the power to shape our lives, and we don't have to be victims of circumstance. We can use the power in many ways like healing our bodies and knowing that we can have the ability to make our lives better.

There used to be a time when religion, philosophy, and science intermingled. Hermetic principles show that philosophy, spirituality, and science can work together in harmony and are not at odds.  Science, philosophy, and spirituality are not separate but equal.

As Nikola Tesla said, “What one man calls God, another calls the laws of physics.”