THE EMERALD TABLET

The Emerald Tablet, also known as Smaragdine Table, Tabula Smaragdina, or The Secret of Hermes, is a text purporting to reveal the secret of the primordial substance and its transmutations. It claims to be the work of Hermes Trismegistus ("Hermes the Thrice-Great"), a legendary Egyptian sage or god, variously identified with the Egyptian god Toth and the Greek God Hermes.
This short and cryptic text was highly regarded by European alchemists as the foundation of their art, in particular of its Hermetic tradition.

As Above, So Below

Textual History

The oldest documentable source for the text is the Kitab Sirr al-Asrar, a compendium of advice for rulers in Arabic which purports to be a letter from Aristotle toAlexander the Great. This work was translated into Latin as Secretum Secretorum (The Secret of Secrets) by Johannes "Hispalensis" or Hispaniensis John Of Seville ca. 1140 and by Phillip Of Tripoli c. 1243.
In the 14th century, the alchemist Ortolamus wrote a substantial exegesis on "The Secret of Hermes," which was influential on the subsequent development of alchemy. Many manuscripts of this copy of the Emerald Tablet and the commentary of Ortolanus survive, dating at least as far back as the 15th century.
The Tablet has also been found appended to manuscripts of the Kitab Ustugus al-Uss al-Thani (Second Book of the Elements of Foundation) attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan , and theKitab Sirrr al-Khaliga wa San 'at al Tabi 'a ("Book of the Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature"), dated between 650 and 830 AD.

The Emerald Tablet is an ancient artifact that reveals a profound spiritual technology, which has survived to this day despite centuries of effort to suppress it.

17th century depiction of the Tablet by Heinrich Khunrath, 1606

Encoded within the tablet's mysterious wording is a powerful formula that works in very specific and comprehensible steps on all levels of reality at once (the physical, the mental, and the spiritual) and shows us how to achieve personal transformation and even accelerate the evolution of our species.

hand-sketch of the original Emerald Tablet

Latin Text
(Chrysogonous Polydorus , Nuremberg 1541)

Verum, sine mendacio, certum et verissimum: Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione. Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna. Portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo. Nutrix eius terra est. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic. Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram. Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum. Sic habebis Gloriam totius mundi. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas. Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit. Sic mundus creatus est. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi. Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.

The Emerald Tablet says - Its father is the Sun, its mother the Moon

The source of alchemy and the Hermetic sciences, the tablet's universal approach made it forbidden knowledge, condemned by patriarchal powers for thousands of years, from the Egyptian priesthood, to the medieval Church, to our modern politicians and religious leaders. To ensure the survival of such "dangerous" principles, which guide people to higher states of consciousness, the ancients concealed their knowledge in a succinct declaration that has become a time capsule of wisdom for future generations.

English Translation

1. Truly, without deceit, certain and most veritable

2. 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 Entity.

3. And just as all things come from the One Entity, through the mediation of its One Mind, so do all created things originate from this One Entity through transformation.

4. Its father is the Sun. Its mother the Moon. The Wind carries it in its belly. Its nurse is the Earth. The origin of all the perfections of the world is here. Its force is entire, if it is converted into Earth.

5. Separate Earth from Fire, the subtle from the gross, gently and with great ingenuity. It rises from Earth to Heaven and descends again to Earth, thereby receiving the force of both things superior & inferior. In this way, you shall obtain the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly away from you.

6. This is a force, strong with all forces, for it overcomes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.

7. In this way the world was created.

8. From this will come many admirable applications, the means of which is in this.

9. Therefore I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. 10. What I have said of the operation of the Sun is finished."

English translations of the Emerald Tablet

Molded out of a single piece of green crystal, the Emerald Tablet carries a prophetic message full of hidden meaning. Although its true origin is lost in legends that go back over 10,000 years, the wondrous artifact was translated into Greek by Alexandrian scholars and actually put on display in Egypt in 330 BC. Around the year 400 AD, it was reportedly buried somewhere on the Giza plateau to protect it from religious zealots who were burning libraries around the world at that time. Many believe the tablet still lies hidden there.
Working only with these early translations, many seekers of truth recognized in subsequent centuries that the Emerald Tablet contained a secret formula for transforming reality.
Many alchemical drawings (such as the one called the Azoth of the Philosophers), are really schematic diagrams of the steps and operations of this Emerald Formula. The alchemists used these diagrams like Eastern mandalas and meditated on them in their laboratories to achieve altered states of consciousness.

Azoth of the Philosophers

The uncredited source of many of the our mystical and religious traditions, the tablet also inspired over 3,500 years of alchemy, a period in which some of the most creative minds in the world delved into the intertwined mysteries of matter, energy, soul, and spirit. Most medieval alchemists had copies of the tablet hanging on their laboratory wall. It was the only guidance they needed in both their meditation and practical work. It served as their Rosetta Stone for deciphering the deliberately obscured terminology of their art.

The Ouroboros connects the Above with the Below.

As we enter the third millennium, the ancient formula is resurfacing in what people perceive as mystical or paranormal events. Such experiences are in fact simply the continuing expressions of the underlying alchemy of our lives. For many decades, knowledge of this hidden pattern has been discussed only among an elite group of esoteric scholars, but now, this amazing science of soul is available to everyone. For those with the courage to see beyond the illusions handed down to us by blind tradition, the Emerald Tablet's formula offers a way to reinstate our rightful relationship with the universe.

The Emerald Tablet by Dennis William Hauck