The Emerald Tablet is a short text, of cryptic character, attributed to the mythical Hermes Trismegistus, whose purpose is to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations. Hermes Trismegistus is the Greek name of a mythical character who was associated with a syncretism of the Egyptian god Dyehuty (Tot in Greek).
Hermes Trismegistus was himself a pagan prophet who announced the advent of Christianity. Alchemical studies have been attributed to him such as the Emerald Tablet which was translated from Latin into English by Isaac Newton. In the Emerald Tablet is condensed or summarized all the art of the Great Work, the main objective of alchemy, alchemy is the art of perfection and the Great Work implies its fulfillment, perfection.It is said that the table was found around the years 1350 in a secret burial chamber that was under the pyramid of Cheops, the origin of this has been as mysterious as its interpretation and is considered by scholars as the "Cornerstone of Western alchemical thought". On the Emerald Tablet, there are engraved characters from the ancient language of Atlantis, characters that correspond to the thought waves in tune, which release the associated mental vibration in the mind.
There are many legends about the origin of the tablet, which blur the true story. One of these stories tells that Hermes was the son of Adam and that he wrote the Emerald Tablet to help mankind redeem itself from the sins his father had committed in the Garden of Eden. The Emerald Tablet is composed of 12 emerald green tablets made of a substance created by alchemical transmutation, the material of which the tablets are made is imperishable, as well as resistant to all elements and substances.Hebrew tradition identifies the author of the table to Seth the third son of Adam and Eve, and that it was saved from the universal flood by Noah who carried it in his ark. After the flood, Noah hid the Emerald Tablet in a cave near Hebron, where it was later discovered by Sarah, Abraham's wife. Another legend also describes Hermes giving the tablet to Miriam, Moses' sister, so that she would put it to safety and Miriam hid it inside the ark of the covenant, where it is still found.Who Hermes was for certain is not yet known, only that the Greeks called him a god as did the Egyptians. Hermes Trismegistus is mentioned primarily in occult literature as the Egyptian sage parallel to the god Tot, also an Egyptian god who created alchemy and developed a metaphysical belief system known today as Hermeticism. For some medieval thinkers, Hermes was a pagan prophet who heralded the advent of Christianity. However, due to the lack of conclusive evidence of his existence, the historical character has been constructed fictitiously from the Middle Ages to the present day, especially since the resurgence of esotericism. The term Trismegistus means the thrice great, who possesses the gift of triple wisdom: physical, mental and spiritual.
Some Hebrew trends point to him as a contemporary of Abraham and others indicate him as the teacher of Moses. His presence coincides with the rise of Egypt as the great center of mystical wisdom, so much importance is given to Hermes that according to Plato, he discovered numbers, geometry, astronomy and letters. He is also considered the manager of some basic principles of arithmetic, medical treatises, the handling of metals and pictographic or engraved writing.Diodorus, Greek historian of the first century B.C. commented that Osiris had him as his scribe and priest, and that he communicated to him every question and resorted to his advice in most cases. For his part, Clement of Alexandria commented that the written legacy of Hermes would consist of 42 books that existed in all the temples dedicated to the Goddess Isis and also in the famous Library of Alexandria before it was destroyed.There are three legends about how the Emerald Tablet was found, the first is that Alexander the Great found the tomb of Hermes and copied on a tablet the signs he found on the original emerald that covered the body of Hermes, leaving the place intact and then erasing all traces. The second version, tells that it was found by Abraham's wife, Sarah, also in the tomb of Hermes, and finally some indicate that it was Apollonius of Tyana, a Greek philosopher, who found the tablet in a cave underground.
In the Emerald Tablet of Hermes is written the following:True, without falsehood, true and very true:
what is below is like what is above,
and what is above is like what is below,
to perform the miracle of the One Thing.And as all things came from the One, through the mediation of the One,
so all things were born of this One Thing, by adaptation.His father is the Sun, his mother the Moon,
the Wind carried him in her womb,
the Earth was his wet nurse.The Father of all the Perfection of the whole World is here.
His strength will remain whole even if it were poured into the earth.Thou shalt separate Earth from Fire,
the subtle from the gross,
gently,
with much ingenuity.Ascend from Earth to Heaven,
and again descend to Earth,
and receive the strength of higher and lower things.Thus shalt thou attain the glory of the whole World.
Then shall all darkness flee from thee.Here is the strong force of all strength,
for it will overcome all that is subtle
and into all that is solid it will penetrate.Thus was the World created.
There will be here admirable adaptations,
the mode of which is that which has been said.For this I was called Hermes Thrice Greatest,
possessor of the three parts of the philosophy of the whole World.
Article by Araceli Rego