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The Emerald Tablet of Hermes: The Wisdom and Responsibility of the Rosicrucians
Zoran Petrowanowitsch
Herrgasse 2b
D – 79294 Soelden
Abstract
The ancient text of the Tabula Smaragdina (Emerald Tablet), after it had been translated into Latin, has taken a prominent position within the spirituality of the West. The few surviving lines have inspired a whole epoch, so that one may speak of a time before and a time after its discovery. As a graphic enhancement, the text later received an emblem and the whole was included into the book Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians.1
After this contribution initially outlines the history of the text and the emblems, it will concentrate, with the aid of selected images from Rosicrucian and alchemical literature of the late middle ages, on the interpretation of the individual symbols of the emblem. When these different images of the emblem in their symbolic meaning, as well as in their relationship to each other, are analyzed and become clear, they will open themselves up to modern consciousness. Thus it will become apparent that the emblem of the Emerald Tablet deserves to take a central place within the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, as it represents the essence of Rosicrucian wisdom.
Introduction
If there are only a few references to other contributions in this paper, then this is due to the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, there is little pertinent literature on the subject in existence. Since “outer science” can be of little help in the analysis of the enigma of the Emerald Tablet and its emblem, one has to find an “inner” way. However, scientific methodology has its application in the comprehension of the law of evolution of the human soul.
Since a certain knowledge of a subject is a precondition for creating and confirming a scientific work, there is also a certain degree of “inner” knowledge required to confirm and corroborate the results that are presented here.
With that, we will turn to the text of the Emerald Tablet and especially the emblem that is part of it, to interpret step by step the meaning that is contained in them.
The text of the Tabula Smaragdina (Latin for Emerald Tablet), was first cited in only a few lines at the end of the book “Sirr”, an Arabic work of the 7th Century and early Islam. The term “Sirr” is derived from the Arabic and translated means “On the secret of Creation.”2 The author was Balinus, and the text was supposedly first translated by a Christian priest. Through research and comparison with literature of the time, the name Balinus could be determined as the Arabic form of Apollonius of Tyana.
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Appollonios of Tyana was a Greek sage, well known in the first Christian century, who, supposedly lived to be a hundred years. He influenced the political fate of Rome and thus that of Christianity, and for the last part of his life he lived with John the Evangelist, who was of approximately the same age, on the Isle of Patmos. Whether there had been exchanges between the two sages, is not historically confirmed.
During the first half of the 13th Century the book “Sirr,” and thus the text of the Tabula Smaragdine was translated into Latin, which introduced it to the West. The several translations do not differ materially. However, the sequence of the particular sentences and the statements therein evoke the impression that they do not represent the entire text.
It is true without lie, it is certain in the truest!
That which is below is equal to that which is above. And what is above is equal to what is below to realize the miracle of the unique thing.
As all things are created by the One and His plan, so are all things originating from the One, by adaptation.
Its father is the sun, its mother is the moon.
The wind has born it in its belly.
Its nurturer is the earth.
It is the father of all perfection of all the world and all its virtue is perfect.
When it is changed into earth, all its power is gathered together.
Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the dense, step by step and with great understanding.
It rises to heaven from the earth and down again to the earth and thereby receives the power of the upper and the lower.
Thus you gain the glory of all the world. Above, all ignorance will leave you. The unique is of all the strengths the strongest strength. It defeats all subtle things and permeates all solids.
In this way, the cosmic was created.
This is from whence stem all the magnificent emulations, the way of which is described herein.
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he human soul and that
f the earth.
f
he
miracle of the unique thing”.
This is why I am called the trice-great Hermes because I possess the three parts of the wisdom of all the world.
What I have said of the workings of the sun is complete and perfect.
In 1604 in a different book, the Aureum Vellus3, an emblem was printed along with the accompanying, explanatory text. The interpretation of the emblem by the text is marked by strongly alchemical methods of expression. The emblem originally appears without coloration. Then, over time it takes on different colored characteristics and finally, in 1785 is integrated into the here represented as the antique text of the Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis and into the book of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (figure 1).
Though the Rosicrucians used the symbolic language of the alchemists, they did so, not seeking to turn base metals into gold. Rather, they sought to broaden the human consciousness to, responsibly, participate in the evolution of culture. Yet it is striking, how the different symbolicimages of the alchemists, from the metamorphoses of the elements to the imaginative experience contained therein, relate to the evolution of t
o
It is therefore reasonable to assumethat the alchemists applied the law-governed process of the evolution othe inner soul to the outer world of the elements in accordance with the statement of ttabula: “That which is below is equal to that which is above. And that which is above is equal to that which is below to realize the
Interpretation of the emblems of the “Emerald Tablet”
To better illustrate the individual steps in the interpretation of the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, let us think of it as four equal quarters, divided by a cross. Thus, the upper left quarter shows the sun (gold-yellow), the planet Mars (red), and Saturn (gray-black). The right quarter shows the moon (blue-crescent silver-white) and the planets Venus (green), and Jupiter (blue). Thus the following groups and oppositions emerge:
Sun – Moon
Mars – Venus
Saturn - Jupiter
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tly
y of
On the left sun-side, the qualities of Saturn and Mars, and on the right, moon-side the Mars and Jupiter qualities are concentrated.
When we look separately at the left side, because of the missing Venus and Jupiter, Saturn (because of the constriction) and Mars (of the ego) stand for the heightened experience and understanding of the world through the intellect.
In the symbolism of the imagination, this state of the soul is expressed as a “dragon.”
When we look at the right side separately, Jupiter and Venus, because of the absence of the consciously structuring qualities of Mars and Saturn, stand for the lack of structure and the one-sided devotion (Jupiter) and emotions (Venus) that arises from it, which we find expressed by the imaginative image of the snake.
Viewed in this way, the masculine and feminine qualities face each other in their one-sided-ness as dragon and snake.
The harmonization of the polar soul-life
Figure 2 shows the each-other devouring dragon and snake as the first level of polarity. Dragon and snake stand for the two polar principles of our consciousness. Emotions that emerge from unclear thoughts, and thoughts that emerge from emotions create a constanself- consuming and out of itself, newly born realitunreality, which determine our life in its progression. The background of the image is sparse but the unfolding flower points at further-evolving possibilities outside of this circle-bound movement. In its purity, the flower stands for an inner attitude, in which the one-sided aspects are not denied but, through the respective inclusion of the opposite poles, are harmonized. This power that binds the ego increasingly to the head, and thus permits the world mainly to be experienced through the intellect, can therefore be changed into a positive quality of conscious concentration, of attentiveness.
The power of this lack of structure, which leaves the soul to the emotions without limitation, we may therefore turn into conscious, loving devotion.
While the soul qualities of attentiveness and devotion compliment each other in the main, the soul mood of the “holy sobriety”, the reason of the middle, emerges in turn. This will be of important significance on the further path of spirituality.
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ebirth
son”
e
Sun and moon, situated over the planets represent in the emblem the second plane of polarity, the purified aspect of the planets, which have changed into the mental ability of conscious attentiveness and the ability of the soul for loving devotion. Together, they build the condition to bring forth the “new person,” who will lead us to the next step of the Rosicrucian teachings, the intuitive experience of the macrocosmic equivalent.
The Birth of The “New Person” as The Prerequisite for The Intuitive Experience of The Equivalent Of Macro- And Microcosm
Figure 3 represents the birth of the new person from the loins of the cosmic virgin Sophia, corresponding to the following lines of the Tabula.
His father is the sun, his mother is the moon. The wind carried him in his belly.
These images contain no poetic analogies but real inner experiences. Human beings, through the harmonization of the polarities, overcome their common point of reference in the head, whereby we descend into the belly cavity, and, in the darkness, and experience “intermittently,” from which they “ascend” as “new persons,” and “heavenly children.”
In the emblem of the Emerald Tablet this process of ris represented through the flowing together of the purifiedqualities of mind and soul, and thus bear the “new perMercury (Hermes), showing that the planet sign, Mercury,is the only symbol that unites the qualities of the other planets that are expressed in the symbolic elements of bowl, circle and cross. Thereby Hermes harmonizes thpolarities of male and female and becomes the androgynous messenger of heaven, who acts on the vertical plane of up and down, of heaven and earth, as the mediator.
Such a being we see depicted in figure 4. The picture also points to the next phase of awakening, the “ascension to heaven.”
A blue eagle carries aloft the purified, naked being (the synthesis of sun and moon). The polar, sensual sexuality of the male and the female is united by the overcoming of the
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restless thoughts (hare/day) on the one hand and the purified emotions (bat/night) on the other. However, the heads of the man and woman still show a duality, which points to the still existing, yet now no longer exclusive but complementing polarity of the newly reached plane of consciousness beyond the sensual. This symbol of the purified self, the new being, is where the eagle carries it. It “blooms” into a “blue flower,” becomes “space” and thus experiences its macrocosmic equivalence.
For Rosicrucians, this is the sphere of the “cosmic virgin Sophia,” the primordial face of the soul, shines in its purified, wisdom-filled state in a star-spangled pure blue.
In the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, this state of consciousness, the intuitive experience of the equivalence of micro- and macrocosm is represented by a circle in the center of the image.
When we summarize what has been described so far, we will recognize that what is depicted in the upper half of the emblem of the Emerald Tablet is the personal, spiritual path of evolution of humanity from the harmonization of the polar life of the soul, through the birth of the “new person,” to the “heavenly ascension,” the intuitive experience of the sphere of Sophia.
The lower half of the Emerald Tablet - the return to earth
The lower half of the emblem is marked by the three shields, which are connected to one another, as well as to the middle ring, by a golden chain.
On the left side, the shield shows a double eagle colored red on a white background on one side and colored white on a red background on the other. On the right, we see a green lion on a yellow background. Below in the image the trinity is concluded with a seven-pointed star, which in its rays represents the seven planets. To the sides of the star are shown cosmos and earth. They signify that on this plane of evolution, cosmic as well secular powers have to fertilize each other to further the evolution in time. In the picture of the earth, the land is shown brown and the oceans are shown blue. The cosmos symbolizes the blue level of consciousness of the Sophia, the fixed star contained in this sphere and the polar qualities of sun and moon. The meaning of the imperial orb, red with a yellow ring and topped with a yellow cross, that sits on the seven-pointed star, will become apparent through the further contemplation of the three shields.
Let us continue with the further interpretation of the emblem with a look at the double eagle.
The Double Eagle as the Continuing Polarity of the Consciousness of the Sphere of Sophia
To understand the meaning of the double eagle, let us return to the image of the blue eagle that carries aloft the androgynous being, the reborn soul beyond the sensual
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polarity, and which stands symbolically for the purified soul and the self. It lifts it to heaven and into the sphere of the cosmic Sophia.
As we have determined with the representation of the androgynous being, the consciousness for which it stands, though it is to be found beyond the sensual polarity, remains polar but corresponding to itself and not, as on the sensual plane, in a self exclusive way. The qualities of male and female remain intact.
This remaining polarity in the sphere of Sophia is what the double eagle points to. Although the consciousness, symbolized by the circle, is a self-contained unity, it shows itself in its passive-female (moon-silver-devotion) and male-active aspect (Mars-red-self). Thus the white eagle expresses the quality of the moon and the red eagle that of the sun in its self-quality on the level of Sophia. Their backgrounds represent the opposite colors, which points to the inseparable connection of the two qualities. One pole comes out of the other and in turn bears the first in its great revelation.
The empty circle symbolizes the still undeveloped nature of consciousness, which in its “emptiness” is nonetheless, directly creative and forth-bringing since the greatest “emptiness” by the spiritual principle as we have encountered with the double eagle, simultaneously brings forth an opposite pole from itself.
From the Rosicrucian standpoint, however, there is a danger in the state of consciousness that is symbolized by the double eagle. To understand this, let us once more return to figure 3 of “The Ergon and Parergon of the Rosicrucians” by Theophilus Schweighart.
The Ergon and Parergon of the Rosicrucians as the “golden” and the “silver” path.
The meaning of the title of the picture is: The primary work (Ergon) and the secondary work (Parergon). As is apparent from the picture, the individual, the inner development of humanity is understood by the Rosicrucians as the secondary work. Were men and women to remain in their inner development on the plane of the “secondary work,” according to Schweighart, they would be better off sunk to the bottom of the ocean with a mill stone around their necks.”4
Thus, the Rosicrucians divide the inner path of development into a “minor work” and a “major work”. The “minor work” is completed when the seeker, as shown in the picture, changes base metals into silver, as the alchemists tried to accomplish in reality.
Understood on a deeper level, the object is to master the starry sphere, to which has been attached the metal silver and the moon sphere. So, the “minor work” or parergon corresponds to the level of the intuitive experience of the Sophia. The Rosicrucian understands this level of consciousness to be the secondary work, since it “only” represents the precondition, to behold this spiritual sun, this spiritual being, the Christ, which, to him, is the actual source of his work.
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In the symbols of sun and moon, when they are shown together, we see the polarities of masculine and feminine. According to the understanding of the Rosicrucians, when the sun is depicted by itself in its spiritual aspect, it represents the Christ., which is expressed in figure 5, an image from the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. From Jesse, the father of King David of Israel, grows the root of the family tree of Christ, the spiritual sun.
So, through figure 5, we are led to a significant moment within the Rosicrucian initiation. Should students decide on the “silver path,” the one of the moon, they will -- in the sphere of cosmic wisdom -- take possession of such an all inclusive place in this life, that they will detach themselves from the “Evolution of the earth in time.” If, on the other hand, they seek the powers of the sun with the ego, which seed-like are slumbering in the sphere of Sophia, in order to awaken them in this renewed direction towards earth in time, then they follow the “golden path,” the one of the Christ.
Through the realization of the “minor work,” individuality is born in the experience of the sphere of the Sophia. However, it only comes to unfoldment through the dedication to and cooperation with the evolution of the earth, the “major work,” which comes to expression in the following sentences of the Emerald Tablet:
It climbs to heaven from earth and down again to the earth and thereby receives the power of the upper and the lower.
Thus you gain the glory of all the world. Above, all ignorance will leave you. The unique is of all the strengths the strongest strength because it defeats all subtle things and penetrates all solids.
The green lion, the uniting with the suns, the Christ powers
The second shield coming out of the circle is a green lion on a yellow background. It carries the quality of the sun in the seekers that they have internalized from the sphere of Sophia as a seed, which is the path, the truth and the goal for them. This is expressed in the yellow background. As nature, though the affect of the sun, begins to become green again, so too, in the picture of the lion, the newborn individuality seeks to internalize in its heart the sun quality, the Christ.
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This inner process is clarified in the next image figure 6. The moon drifts on the mirror- smooth ocean. In realizing the sphere of the Sophia, the consciousness, through the calming of the turbulent waves of the emotions and imaginations, is turned into a “mirror,” which permits it to view reality without distortion. The seven stars on its body indicate that together with the qualities of the seven planets in the flow of time, it goes the way of the sun by devouring it in the emblem.
The Seven-Pointed Star: The Way of Transforming the Earth by Turning to its Center.
The shield of the double eagle and that of the green lion surround the lowest shield of the seven-pointed star in the emblem. Wisdom and the self-powers that slumber seed-like in this sphere, now turn to the seven-count of time when individuality recognizes wisdom not as an end in itself but as a prerequisite. Out of this understanding, Rosicrucians attached a special meaning to the symbol of the seven-pointed star.
Through figure 7, we can understand in greater detail the different planes of inner evolution, as they are shown in the seven-pointed star in the emblem of the Emerald Tablet.
In the upper part of the triangle, we see the sun and the moon as the two aspects of the mirror-like consciousness of the Sophia, as depicted by the wing. When those two qualities, as they are represented in the shields of the green lion and the eagle, turn towards the lover point of the triangle, the body that is the earth in the space of evolution of the number 7 then the soul starts on the way that is indicated by the seven points.
The inscription around the circle in the Emerald Tablet has the same meaning as the one around the picture of the seven-pointed star: “ Vista interiora terrae rectificando invenies occultum lapidem.” Which means: “Search out the nether part of the earth, perfect it, and you will find the hidden stone.” This statement is called the VITRIOL formula since the initials of the seven words form the word VITRIOL, which to the alchemists meant the transformation of base matter into gold and to the Rosicrucians the transformation of earth into sun.
The soul, which in the beginning of the way to heaven, turned to the sphere of fixed stars beyond Saturn to experience its pure, cosmic, original state, shall now turn to the center of the earth. There, it is said, it will find the hidden stone. As the outermost of the planets, Saturn marked the gate to the sphere of the fixed-stars. However, in the seven-pointed star, it represents the gate to the center of the earth.
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When, in the sequence of numbers one to seven we begin with Saturn and proceed clockwise to the Moon, then the human soul is directed again on its way from heaven to the earth.
1
Saturn
2
Jupiter
3
Mars
4
Sun
5
Venus
6
Mercury
7
Moon
The next plane of evolution opens up through the seven-pointed star, when we follow the flow of time, signified by the rays of the star.
Saturn
Sun
Moon
Mars
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
This new figure of a seven-pointed star corresponds to the sequence of the days of the week in the flow of time and, when we begin with Saturn, to the evolutionary development of the earth through the different planetary states in time.5 Thus, through the symbol of the seven-pointed star, reference is made also to the cosmic development of the earth and therefore to the actual task of the Rosicrucian initiate. The turning of the individuality from the sphere of the Sophia to the earth and to the flow of time, and then further to the center of the earth, opens a new dimension of being, which connects directly to the Christ and the evolution of the earth.
Before we turn to the last symbol in the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, the “Orb of Empire,” above the seven-pointed star, we must deal with further, inner planes of human evolution that are necessary to its realization, and that lead from the cosmic through the human heart to the inner part of the earth.
“Three Natural Suns of the World” As Threefold Revelation of the Christ
Attention should be given to an easily overlooked
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representation from the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. It is called “Drey natürliche Sonnen in der Welt” (Three natural suns of the World) (Figure 8)
The representation names as follows:
“The great sun in the sky. Father and Mother of all creatures.”
then “the small sun within us” and
“the lowest sun inside the earth.”
From the point of view of the Rosicrucians, the Christ is revealed to humanity in this image of the three suns, in a three-fold way, where the Sophia-consciousness is not understood as an end in itself but as a gift, to once again turn from the vastness of space to time. The same wisdom is expressed in the prologue to the Gospel of John. We will here present only the pertinent sentences:
In the beginning there was only the word…Through it, all things became.
In it there was life and life was the light of humanity.
And the light shone in the darkness; but darkness did not accept it.6
The cosmic sun is the Christ in the first revelation as the original word SELF. The second, smaller sun is the Christ in the second revelation in humanity as the source of life itself, the intrinsic light that comes to us from the heart. The third, lowest sun inside the earth, we find once more depicted separately in the book, Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (Figure 9). It is the imagination of the crucified Christ inside the earth, who has taken upon himself anew the cross of the material.
In the “minor work,” metals are turned into silver, that is, the soul/body is purified of subjectivity. In the “major work,” a “desire to redeem” is achieved, through this completed sacrificial action in the harmonization of the three suns. Through this, men and women work consciously with the Christ in the transformation of the earth to gold, to a new sun. However, this requires our exertion of free will, to which the Christ, as represented in figure 9, holds forth his arms in an attitude of expectation. It is an “invitation,” rather than a moral demand on us to cooperate in the completion of the “great work.”
The “Cosmic Rose”
The second, central sun in us we find represented in the symbolic language of the Rosicrucians by figure 10, and in Christian representations by figure 11. It shows Christ
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pointing to a burning heart on his chest that has a burning flame on top. On the one hand, the heart is the source of life but it is also the gate through which the soul finds the Christ. Here we not only have suggestive imagery but also realistic Statements. This level of evolution is expressed in Rosicrucianism in the imaginary picture of the phoenix.
When the green lion devours the sun and turns into the red lion, the rose that is in the center of the cross, unfolds. The door of the heart opens up and the liberated soul soars, as the firebird phoenix, up to the Christ-sun to embrace it longingly with its wings.
The symbol of the Rosy Cross is derived from the inner experience. It is meant to remind us that we carry in our hearts the way to the Christ, the actual source of Rosicrucian wisdom.
Since this process of the coming-closer to the Christ, our true being, is an everlasting one, the sun-bird phoenix has to repeat forever this transformation, the death and resurrection.
Thus we now have two levels of experience for the rebirth of the soul. In the eagle, image of the purified soul, humanity enters through the first door to the intuitive experience of consciousness, the cosmic wisdom of the Sophia. In the imaginative image of the fire/sun bird phoenix we move through the second door of the heart and seek union with the macrocosmic equivalent of his self with the Christ.
The process described here we find depicted in the following emblem of figure 12. The picture bears a Latin inscription of “ IN HOC SIGNO VINCES”, which means: “In this sign you will be victorious.” It shows a sun with five main flames and eight smaller ones in between. The five stands for humanity and for the rose, the eight for the exaltation of the four elements, the resurrection. Thus we have in the picture of the “cosmic Rose,” the resurrection of humanity (phoenix) and the endeavor to unite with the cosmic Christ, the archetype of the self.
The unfolding of the cosmic rose begins a new plane of evolution of the soul, in which men and women find themselves at the beginning of an -- as yet un-dreamt of -- dimension of the active will. We sense the infinite expanse of a mystery, which will always be a living enigma to us.
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If we have, in the realization of the cosmic Sophia, experienced and recognized the eternal part of our soul, the consciousness then begins, with the approach to the Christ, with the rising of the soul from the heart – imaged by the sunbird phoenix -- to the Christ-sun, the active co-responsibility towards the evolution of the earth. These are events that happen within us as within the earth. Thus, we will be able to understand the final symbol on the emblem of the Tabula, the red imperial orb above the seven-pointed star. Through the power of the awakened self, it is the Christ-suffused earth that is turned into gold, a new sun, a cosmic heart in the evolution through the seven levels of the planetary evolution in time.
This journey receives the blessing of the spiritual world by the two hands that reach out from the clouds.
Closing Remarks
Though the aid of a series of emblems, primarily from the Rosicrucian literature, we have attempted a differentiated explanation of the meaning of the text and especially the emblem of the Emerald Tablet.
Research revealed that the upper half of the emblem showed a microcosmic path of evolution of the human soul, while the symbols of the lower half dealt with the macrocosmic path, the task of humanity with regard to the evolution of the earth. It is further pointed out that the heart, the source of Rosicrucian wisdom, constitutes the way to unity with the Christ, our true nature. From these connections, we also recognized the actual experience, from which the symbol of the Rosy Cross is derived.
As one approaches the text of the Tabula, it would appear that there are gaps in the inner levels of evolution. However, as was shown by our research, the emblem, which had been added to the text later, not only pictorially supplements the text but also serves as a stand-alone representation. Though it lends substance to the statements of the text, it also goes far beyond as it indicates the wisdom and task of Rosicrucianism for the evolution of humanity and the earth.
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Illustration Source
1 Tabula Smaragdina (Geheime Figuren dr Rosenkreuzer (Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians), Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin 1919, Pg. 17
2 Abraham Eleazar, Uraltes chymisches Werk (Ancient Chymical Work), Leipzig, 1760
3 Theophilus Schweighart, Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum, Frankfurt 1618
4 Aurora Consurgens, 15th century, author unknown
5 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians: “ The spiritual Sun”, Altona 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, Pg. 25
6 Stolcenberg, Stolcius von, Viridarium Chymicum, Berlin 1624
7 ebd.
8 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “The three natural suns of the world”. Altona , 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, pg. 14
9 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “The lowest sun in the earth”, Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919. pg. 10
10 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “Illustration of the human heart of the old and the new creature”, Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, pg. 16
11 J. Mueller, Munich, ca. 1900
12 Heinrich Khumrath, Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, “The Cosmic Rose”, Hamburg, 1595
Endnotes:
1 Geheime Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, Altona, 1785/88, new edition , Berlin 1919
2 Ursula Weisser, Das Buch ueber das Geheimnis der Schoepfung von Psuedo-Apollonios von Tyana ( The Book of the Secrets of Creation by Pseudo-Apollonios of Tyana), Berlin 1980
3 Trismosin, Salomon. Aureum Vellus oder Gueldin Schatz und Kunstkammer (Aureum Vellus or the golden Treasure and Art Chamber), Berlin 1604, III
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4 Schweighart, Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum, Frankfurt 1618
5 The evolution of the earth through the seven Phases is also dealt with by Rudolf Steiner in his book, Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss ( Outline of the Secret Science), Dornach, 1968
6 Emil Emil Bock, “Das neue Testament” (The New Testament), 1987
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The Emerald Tablet of Hermes: The Wisdom and Responsibility of the Rosicrucians
Zoran Petrowanowitsch
Herrgasse 2b
D – 79294 Soelden
Abstract
The ancient text of the Tabula Smaragdina (Emerald Tablet), after it had been translated into Latin, has taken a prominent position within the spirituality of the West. The few surviving lines have inspired a whole epoch, so that one may speak of a time before and a time after its discovery. As a graphic enhancement, the text later received an emblem and the whole was included into the book Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians.1
After this contribution initially outlines the history of the text and the emblems, it will concentrate, with the aid of selected images from Rosicrucian and alchemical literature of the late middle ages, on the interpretation of the individual symbols of the emblem. When these different images of the emblem in their symbolic meaning, as well as in their relationship to each other, are analyzed and become clear, they will open themselves up to modern consciousness. Thus it will become apparent that the emblem of the Emerald Tablet deserves to take a central place within the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, as it represents the essence of Rosicrucian wisdom.
Introduction
If there are only a few references to other contributions in this paper, then this is due to the fact that, to the best of my knowledge, there is little pertinent literature on the subject in existence. Since “outer science” can be of little help in the analysis of the enigma of the Emerald Tablet and its emblem, one has to find an “inner” way. However, scientific methodology has its application in the comprehension of the law of evolution of the human soul.
Since a certain knowledge of a subject is a precondition for creating and confirming a scientific work, there is also a certain degree of “inner” knowledge required to confirm and corroborate the results that are presented here.
With that, we will turn to the text of the Emerald Tablet and especially the emblem that is part of it, to interpret step by step the meaning that is contained in them.
The text of the Tabula Smaragdina (Latin for Emerald Tablet), was first cited in only a few lines at the end of the book “Sirr”, an Arabic work of the 7th Century and early Islam. The term “Sirr” is derived from the Arabic and translated means “On the secret of Creation.”2 The author was Balinus, and the text was supposedly first translated by a Christian priest. Through research and comparison with literature of the time, the name Balinus could be determined as the Arabic form of Apollonius of Tyana.
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Appollonios of Tyana was a Greek sage, well known in the first Christian century, who, supposedly lived to be a hundred years. He influenced the political fate of Rome and thus that of Christianity, and for the last part of his life he lived with John the Evangelist, who was of approximately the same age, on the Isle of Patmos. Whether there had been exchanges between the two sages, is not historically confirmed.
During the first half of the 13th Century the book “Sirr,” and thus the text of the Tabula Smaragdine was translated into Latin, which introduced it to the West. The several translations do not differ materially. However, the sequence of the particular sentences and the statements therein evoke the impression that they do not represent the entire text.
It is true without lie, it is certain in the truest!
That which is below is equal to that which is above. And what is above is equal to what is below to realize the miracle of the unique thing.
As all things are created by the One and His plan, so are all things originating from the One, by adaptation.
Its father is the sun, its mother is the moon.
The wind has born it in its belly.
Its nurturer is the earth.
It is the father of all perfection of all the world and all its virtue is perfect.
When it is changed into earth, all its power is gathered together.
Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the dense, step by step and with great understanding.
It rises to heaven from the earth and down again to the earth and thereby receives the power of the upper and the lower.
Thus you gain the glory of all the world. Above, all ignorance will leave you. The unique is of all the strengths the strongest strength. It defeats all subtle things and permeates all solids.
In this way, the cosmic was created.
This is from whence stem all the magnificent emulations, the way of which is described herein.
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he human soul and that
f the earth.
f
he
miracle of the unique thing”.
This is why I am called the trice-great Hermes because I possess the three parts of the wisdom of all the world.
What I have said of the workings of the sun is complete and perfect.
In 1604 in a different book, the Aureum Vellus3, an emblem was printed along with the accompanying, explanatory text. The interpretation of the emblem by the text is marked by strongly alchemical methods of expression. The emblem originally appears without coloration. Then, over time it takes on different colored characteristics and finally, in 1785 is integrated into the here represented as the antique text of the Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis and into the book of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (figure 1).
Though the Rosicrucians used the symbolic language of the alchemists, they did so, not seeking to turn base metals into gold. Rather, they sought to broaden the human consciousness to, responsibly, participate in the evolution of culture. Yet it is striking, how the different symbolicimages of the alchemists, from the metamorphoses of the elements to the imaginative experience contained therein, relate to the evolution of t
o
It is therefore reasonable to assumethat the alchemists applied the law-governed process of the evolution othe inner soul to the outer world of the elements in accordance with the statement of ttabula: “That which is below is equal to that which is above. And that which is above is equal to that which is below to realize the
Interpretation of the emblems of the “Emerald Tablet”
To better illustrate the individual steps in the interpretation of the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, let us think of it as four equal quarters, divided by a cross. Thus, the upper left quarter shows the sun (gold-yellow), the planet Mars (red), and Saturn (gray-black). The right quarter shows the moon (blue-crescent silver-white) and the planets Venus (green), and Jupiter (blue). Thus the following groups and oppositions emerge:
Sun – Moon
Mars – Venus
Saturn - Jupiter
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tly
y of
On the left sun-side, the qualities of Saturn and Mars, and on the right, moon-side the Mars and Jupiter qualities are concentrated.
When we look separately at the left side, because of the missing Venus and Jupiter, Saturn (because of the constriction) and Mars (of the ego) stand for the heightened experience and understanding of the world through the intellect.
In the symbolism of the imagination, this state of the soul is expressed as a “dragon.”
When we look at the right side separately, Jupiter and Venus, because of the absence of the consciously structuring qualities of Mars and Saturn, stand for the lack of structure and the one-sided devotion (Jupiter) and emotions (Venus) that arises from it, which we find expressed by the imaginative image of the snake.
Viewed in this way, the masculine and feminine qualities face each other in their one-sided-ness as dragon and snake.
The harmonization of the polar soul-life
Figure 2 shows the each-other devouring dragon and snake as the first level of polarity. Dragon and snake stand for the two polar principles of our consciousness. Emotions that emerge from unclear thoughts, and thoughts that emerge from emotions create a constanself- consuming and out of itself, newly born realitunreality, which determine our life in its progression. The background of the image is sparse but the unfolding flower points at further-evolving possibilities outside of this circle-bound movement. In its purity, the flower stands for an inner attitude, in which the one-sided aspects are not denied but, through the respective inclusion of the opposite poles, are harmonized. This power that binds the ego increasingly to the head, and thus permits the world mainly to be experienced through the intellect, can therefore be changed into a positive quality of conscious concentration, of attentiveness.
The power of this lack of structure, which leaves the soul to the emotions without limitation, we may therefore turn into conscious, loving devotion.
While the soul qualities of attentiveness and devotion compliment each other in the main, the soul mood of the “holy sobriety”, the reason of the middle, emerges in turn. This will be of important significance on the further path of spirituality.
2
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ebirth
son”
e
Sun and moon, situated over the planets represent in the emblem the second plane of polarity, the purified aspect of the planets, which have changed into the mental ability of conscious attentiveness and the ability of the soul for loving devotion. Together, they build the condition to bring forth the “new person,” who will lead us to the next step of the Rosicrucian teachings, the intuitive experience of the macrocosmic equivalent.
The Birth of The “New Person” as The Prerequisite for The Intuitive Experience of The Equivalent Of Macro- And Microcosm
Figure 3 represents the birth of the new person from the loins of the cosmic virgin Sophia, corresponding to the following lines of the Tabula.
His father is the sun, his mother is the moon. The wind carried him in his belly.
These images contain no poetic analogies but real inner experiences. Human beings, through the harmonization of the polarities, overcome their common point of reference in the head, whereby we descend into the belly cavity, and, in the darkness, and experience “intermittently,” from which they “ascend” as “new persons,” and “heavenly children.”
In the emblem of the Emerald Tablet this process of ris represented through the flowing together of the purifiedqualities of mind and soul, and thus bear the “new perMercury (Hermes), showing that the planet sign, Mercury,is the only symbol that unites the qualities of the other planets that are expressed in the symbolic elements of bowl, circle and cross. Thereby Hermes harmonizes thpolarities of male and female and becomes the androgynous messenger of heaven, who acts on the vertical plane of up and down, of heaven and earth, as the mediator.
Such a being we see depicted in figure 4. The picture also points to the next phase of awakening, the “ascension to heaven.”
A blue eagle carries aloft the purified, naked being (the synthesis of sun and moon). The polar, sensual sexuality of the male and the female is united by the overcoming of the
3
4
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restless thoughts (hare/day) on the one hand and the purified emotions (bat/night) on the other. However, the heads of the man and woman still show a duality, which points to the still existing, yet now no longer exclusive but complementing polarity of the newly reached plane of consciousness beyond the sensual. This symbol of the purified self, the new being, is where the eagle carries it. It “blooms” into a “blue flower,” becomes “space” and thus experiences its macrocosmic equivalence.
For Rosicrucians, this is the sphere of the “cosmic virgin Sophia,” the primordial face of the soul, shines in its purified, wisdom-filled state in a star-spangled pure blue.
In the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, this state of consciousness, the intuitive experience of the equivalence of micro- and macrocosm is represented by a circle in the center of the image.
When we summarize what has been described so far, we will recognize that what is depicted in the upper half of the emblem of the Emerald Tablet is the personal, spiritual path of evolution of humanity from the harmonization of the polar life of the soul, through the birth of the “new person,” to the “heavenly ascension,” the intuitive experience of the sphere of Sophia.
The lower half of the Emerald Tablet - the return to earth
The lower half of the emblem is marked by the three shields, which are connected to one another, as well as to the middle ring, by a golden chain.
On the left side, the shield shows a double eagle colored red on a white background on one side and colored white on a red background on the other. On the right, we see a green lion on a yellow background. Below in the image the trinity is concluded with a seven-pointed star, which in its rays represents the seven planets. To the sides of the star are shown cosmos and earth. They signify that on this plane of evolution, cosmic as well secular powers have to fertilize each other to further the evolution in time. In the picture of the earth, the land is shown brown and the oceans are shown blue. The cosmos symbolizes the blue level of consciousness of the Sophia, the fixed star contained in this sphere and the polar qualities of sun and moon. The meaning of the imperial orb, red with a yellow ring and topped with a yellow cross, that sits on the seven-pointed star, will become apparent through the further contemplation of the three shields.
Let us continue with the further interpretation of the emblem with a look at the double eagle.
The Double Eagle as the Continuing Polarity of the Consciousness of the Sphere of Sophia
To understand the meaning of the double eagle, let us return to the image of the blue eagle that carries aloft the androgynous being, the reborn soul beyond the sensual
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polarity, and which stands symbolically for the purified soul and the self. It lifts it to heaven and into the sphere of the cosmic Sophia.
As we have determined with the representation of the androgynous being, the consciousness for which it stands, though it is to be found beyond the sensual polarity, remains polar but corresponding to itself and not, as on the sensual plane, in a self exclusive way. The qualities of male and female remain intact.
This remaining polarity in the sphere of Sophia is what the double eagle points to. Although the consciousness, symbolized by the circle, is a self-contained unity, it shows itself in its passive-female (moon-silver-devotion) and male-active aspect (Mars-red-self). Thus the white eagle expresses the quality of the moon and the red eagle that of the sun in its self-quality on the level of Sophia. Their backgrounds represent the opposite colors, which points to the inseparable connection of the two qualities. One pole comes out of the other and in turn bears the first in its great revelation.
The empty circle symbolizes the still undeveloped nature of consciousness, which in its “emptiness” is nonetheless, directly creative and forth-bringing since the greatest “emptiness” by the spiritual principle as we have encountered with the double eagle, simultaneously brings forth an opposite pole from itself.
From the Rosicrucian standpoint, however, there is a danger in the state of consciousness that is symbolized by the double eagle. To understand this, let us once more return to figure 3 of “The Ergon and Parergon of the Rosicrucians” by Theophilus Schweighart.
The Ergon and Parergon of the Rosicrucians as the “golden” and the “silver” path.
The meaning of the title of the picture is: The primary work (Ergon) and the secondary work (Parergon). As is apparent from the picture, the individual, the inner development of humanity is understood by the Rosicrucians as the secondary work. Were men and women to remain in their inner development on the plane of the “secondary work,” according to Schweighart, they would be better off sunk to the bottom of the ocean with a mill stone around their necks.”4
Thus, the Rosicrucians divide the inner path of development into a “minor work” and a “major work”. The “minor work” is completed when the seeker, as shown in the picture, changes base metals into silver, as the alchemists tried to accomplish in reality.
Understood on a deeper level, the object is to master the starry sphere, to which has been attached the metal silver and the moon sphere. So, the “minor work” or parergon corresponds to the level of the intuitive experience of the Sophia. The Rosicrucian understands this level of consciousness to be the secondary work, since it “only” represents the precondition, to behold this spiritual sun, this spiritual being, the Christ, which, to him, is the actual source of his work.
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In the symbols of sun and moon, when they are shown together, we see the polarities of masculine and feminine. According to the understanding of the Rosicrucians, when the sun is depicted by itself in its spiritual aspect, it represents the Christ., which is expressed in figure 5, an image from the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. From Jesse, the father of King David of Israel, grows the root of the family tree of Christ, the spiritual sun.
So, through figure 5, we are led to a significant moment within the Rosicrucian initiation. Should students decide on the “silver path,” the one of the moon, they will -- in the sphere of cosmic wisdom -- take possession of such an all inclusive place in this life, that they will detach themselves from the “Evolution of the earth in time.” If, on the other hand, they seek the powers of the sun with the ego, which seed-like are slumbering in the sphere of Sophia, in order to awaken them in this renewed direction towards earth in time, then they follow the “golden path,” the one of the Christ.
Through the realization of the “minor work,” individuality is born in the experience of the sphere of the Sophia. However, it only comes to unfoldment through the dedication to and cooperation with the evolution of the earth, the “major work,” which comes to expression in the following sentences of the Emerald Tablet:
It climbs to heaven from earth and down again to the earth and thereby receives the power of the upper and the lower.
Thus you gain the glory of all the world. Above, all ignorance will leave you. The unique is of all the strengths the strongest strength because it defeats all subtle things and penetrates all solids.
The green lion, the uniting with the suns, the Christ powers
The second shield coming out of the circle is a green lion on a yellow background. It carries the quality of the sun in the seekers that they have internalized from the sphere of Sophia as a seed, which is the path, the truth and the goal for them. This is expressed in the yellow background. As nature, though the affect of the sun, begins to become green again, so too, in the picture of the lion, the newborn individuality seeks to internalize in its heart the sun quality, the Christ.
5
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This inner process is clarified in the next image figure 6. The moon drifts on the mirror- smooth ocean. In realizing the sphere of the Sophia, the consciousness, through the calming of the turbulent waves of the emotions and imaginations, is turned into a “mirror,” which permits it to view reality without distortion. The seven stars on its body indicate that together with the qualities of the seven planets in the flow of time, it goes the way of the sun by devouring it in the emblem.
The Seven-Pointed Star: The Way of Transforming the Earth by Turning to its Center.
The shield of the double eagle and that of the green lion surround the lowest shield of the seven-pointed star in the emblem. Wisdom and the self-powers that slumber seed-like in this sphere, now turn to the seven-count of time when individuality recognizes wisdom not as an end in itself but as a prerequisite. Out of this understanding, Rosicrucians attached a special meaning to the symbol of the seven-pointed star.
Through figure 7, we can understand in greater detail the different planes of inner evolution, as they are shown in the seven-pointed star in the emblem of the Emerald Tablet.
In the upper part of the triangle, we see the sun and the moon as the two aspects of the mirror-like consciousness of the Sophia, as depicted by the wing. When those two qualities, as they are represented in the shields of the green lion and the eagle, turn towards the lover point of the triangle, the body that is the earth in the space of evolution of the number 7 then the soul starts on the way that is indicated by the seven points.
The inscription around the circle in the Emerald Tablet has the same meaning as the one around the picture of the seven-pointed star: “ Vista interiora terrae rectificando invenies occultum lapidem.” Which means: “Search out the nether part of the earth, perfect it, and you will find the hidden stone.” This statement is called the VITRIOL formula since the initials of the seven words form the word VITRIOL, which to the alchemists meant the transformation of base matter into gold and to the Rosicrucians the transformation of earth into sun.
The soul, which in the beginning of the way to heaven, turned to the sphere of fixed stars beyond Saturn to experience its pure, cosmic, original state, shall now turn to the center of the earth. There, it is said, it will find the hidden stone. As the outermost of the planets, Saturn marked the gate to the sphere of the fixed-stars. However, in the seven-pointed star, it represents the gate to the center of the earth.
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When, in the sequence of numbers one to seven we begin with Saturn and proceed clockwise to the Moon, then the human soul is directed again on its way from heaven to the earth.
1
Saturn
2
Jupiter
3
Mars
4
Sun
5
Venus
6
Mercury
7
Moon
The next plane of evolution opens up through the seven-pointed star, when we follow the flow of time, signified by the rays of the star.
Saturn
Sun
Moon
Mars
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
This new figure of a seven-pointed star corresponds to the sequence of the days of the week in the flow of time and, when we begin with Saturn, to the evolutionary development of the earth through the different planetary states in time.5 Thus, through the symbol of the seven-pointed star, reference is made also to the cosmic development of the earth and therefore to the actual task of the Rosicrucian initiate. The turning of the individuality from the sphere of the Sophia to the earth and to the flow of time, and then further to the center of the earth, opens a new dimension of being, which connects directly to the Christ and the evolution of the earth.
Before we turn to the last symbol in the emblem of the Emerald Tablet, the “Orb of Empire,” above the seven-pointed star, we must deal with further, inner planes of human evolution that are necessary to its realization, and that lead from the cosmic through the human heart to the inner part of the earth.
“Three Natural Suns of the World” As Threefold Revelation of the Christ
Attention should be given to an easily overlooked
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representation from the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians. It is called “Drey natürliche Sonnen in der Welt” (Three natural suns of the World) (Figure 8)
The representation names as follows:
“The great sun in the sky. Father and Mother of all creatures.”
then “the small sun within us” and
“the lowest sun inside the earth.”
From the point of view of the Rosicrucians, the Christ is revealed to humanity in this image of the three suns, in a three-fold way, where the Sophia-consciousness is not understood as an end in itself but as a gift, to once again turn from the vastness of space to time. The same wisdom is expressed in the prologue to the Gospel of John. We will here present only the pertinent sentences:
In the beginning there was only the word…Through it, all things became.
In it there was life and life was the light of humanity.
And the light shone in the darkness; but darkness did not accept it.6
The cosmic sun is the Christ in the first revelation as the original word SELF. The second, smaller sun is the Christ in the second revelation in humanity as the source of life itself, the intrinsic light that comes to us from the heart. The third, lowest sun inside the earth, we find once more depicted separately in the book, Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (Figure 9). It is the imagination of the crucified Christ inside the earth, who has taken upon himself anew the cross of the material.
In the “minor work,” metals are turned into silver, that is, the soul/body is purified of subjectivity. In the “major work,” a “desire to redeem” is achieved, through this completed sacrificial action in the harmonization of the three suns. Through this, men and women work consciously with the Christ in the transformation of the earth to gold, to a new sun. However, this requires our exertion of free will, to which the Christ, as represented in figure 9, holds forth his arms in an attitude of expectation. It is an “invitation,” rather than a moral demand on us to cooperate in the completion of the “great work.”
The “Cosmic Rose”
The second, central sun in us we find represented in the symbolic language of the Rosicrucians by figure 10, and in Christian representations by figure 11. It shows Christ
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pointing to a burning heart on his chest that has a burning flame on top. On the one hand, the heart is the source of life but it is also the gate through which the soul finds the Christ. Here we not only have suggestive imagery but also realistic Statements. This level of evolution is expressed in Rosicrucianism in the imaginary picture of the phoenix.
When the green lion devours the sun and turns into the red lion, the rose that is in the center of the cross, unfolds. The door of the heart opens up and the liberated soul soars, as the firebird phoenix, up to the Christ-sun to embrace it longingly with its wings.
The symbol of the Rosy Cross is derived from the inner experience. It is meant to remind us that we carry in our hearts the way to the Christ, the actual source of Rosicrucian wisdom.
Since this process of the coming-closer to the Christ, our true being, is an everlasting one, the sun-bird phoenix has to repeat forever this transformation, the death and resurrection.
Thus we now have two levels of experience for the rebirth of the soul. In the eagle, image of the purified soul, humanity enters through the first door to the intuitive experience of consciousness, the cosmic wisdom of the Sophia. In the imaginative image of the fire/sun bird phoenix we move through the second door of the heart and seek union with the macrocosmic equivalent of his self with the Christ.
The process described here we find depicted in the following emblem of figure 12. The picture bears a Latin inscription of “ IN HOC SIGNO VINCES”, which means: “In this sign you will be victorious.” It shows a sun with five main flames and eight smaller ones in between. The five stands for humanity and for the rose, the eight for the exaltation of the four elements, the resurrection. Thus we have in the picture of the “cosmic Rose,” the resurrection of humanity (phoenix) and the endeavor to unite with the cosmic Christ, the archetype of the self.
The unfolding of the cosmic rose begins a new plane of evolution of the soul, in which men and women find themselves at the beginning of an -- as yet un-dreamt of -- dimension of the active will. We sense the infinite expanse of a mystery, which will always be a living enigma to us.
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If we have, in the realization of the cosmic Sophia, experienced and recognized the eternal part of our soul, the consciousness then begins, with the approach to the Christ, with the rising of the soul from the heart – imaged by the sunbird phoenix -- to the Christ-sun, the active co-responsibility towards the evolution of the earth. These are events that happen within us as within the earth. Thus, we will be able to understand the final symbol on the emblem of the Tabula, the red imperial orb above the seven-pointed star. Through the power of the awakened self, it is the Christ-suffused earth that is turned into gold, a new sun, a cosmic heart in the evolution through the seven levels of the planetary evolution in time.
This journey receives the blessing of the spiritual world by the two hands that reach out from the clouds.
Closing Remarks
Though the aid of a series of emblems, primarily from the Rosicrucian literature, we have attempted a differentiated explanation of the meaning of the text and especially the emblem of the Emerald Tablet.
Research revealed that the upper half of the emblem showed a microcosmic path of evolution of the human soul, while the symbols of the lower half dealt with the macrocosmic path, the task of humanity with regard to the evolution of the earth. It is further pointed out that the heart, the source of Rosicrucian wisdom, constitutes the way to unity with the Christ, our true nature. From these connections, we also recognized the actual experience, from which the symbol of the Rosy Cross is derived.
As one approaches the text of the Tabula, it would appear that there are gaps in the inner levels of evolution. However, as was shown by our research, the emblem, which had been added to the text later, not only pictorially supplements the text but also serves as a stand-alone representation. Though it lends substance to the statements of the text, it also goes far beyond as it indicates the wisdom and task of Rosicrucianism for the evolution of humanity and the earth.
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Steiner, Rudolf, Theosophie (Theosophy), Dornach 1961
Stracke, Viktor, Das Geistesgebaeude der Rosenkreuzer (The Spiritual House of the Rosicrucians), Dornach 2000
Wehr, Gerhard, Esoterisches Christentum (Esoteric Christianity), Stuttgart 1995
Wehr, Gerhard, Die Brudershaft der Rosenkreuzer ( The Brotherhood of the Rosicrucians), Colon 1984
Weisser, Ursula, Das ‘Buch ueber die Geheimnisse der Schoepfung’ von Pseudo- Applolonios Tyana (The book ‘On the Secrets of Creation’ by Pseudo-Appolonios of Tyana), Berlin 1980
Illustration Source
1 Tabula Smaragdina (Geheime Figuren dr Rosenkreuzer (Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians), Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin 1919, Pg. 17
2 Abraham Eleazar, Uraltes chymisches Werk (Ancient Chymical Work), Leipzig, 1760
3 Theophilus Schweighart, Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum, Frankfurt 1618
4 Aurora Consurgens, 15th century, author unknown
5 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians: “ The spiritual Sun”, Altona 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, Pg. 25
6 Stolcenberg, Stolcius von, Viridarium Chymicum, Berlin 1624
7 ebd.
8 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “The three natural suns of the world”. Altona , 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, pg. 14
9 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “The lowest sun in the earth”, Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919. pg. 10
10 Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, “Illustration of the human heart of the old and the new creature”, Altona, 1785/88, new edition, Berlin, 1919, pg. 16
11 J. Mueller, Munich, ca. 1900
12 Heinrich Khumrath, Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, “The Cosmic Rose”, Hamburg, 1595
Endnotes:
1 Geheime Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians, Altona, 1785/88, new edition , Berlin 1919
2 Ursula Weisser, Das Buch ueber das Geheimnis der Schoepfung von Psuedo-Apollonios von Tyana ( The Book of the Secrets of Creation by Pseudo-Apollonios of Tyana), Berlin 1980
3 Trismosin, Salomon. Aureum Vellus oder Gueldin Schatz und Kunstkammer (Aureum Vellus or the golden Treasure and Art Chamber), Berlin 1604, III
The Rose+Croix Journal 2009 – Vol 6 bb http://www.rosecroixjournal.org
4 Schweighart, Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticum, Frankfurt 1618
5 The evolution of the earth through the seven Phases is also dealt with by Rudolf Steiner in his book, Die Geheimwissenschaft im Umriss ( Outline of the Secret Science), Dornach, 1968
6 Emil Emil Bock, “Das neue Testament” (The New Testament), 1987
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14