The Enigma of Numbers
He shows also that the angles and lines of these microscopic members of the vegetable kingdom are the precise angles and lines utilised in the planning of the Parthenon, in the construction of the Great Pyramid and in the composition of innumerable works by the greatest painters and sculptors.
By the proportions centred in these simple figures all force relations in the Universe are determined. Sound vibrations, both in pitch and volume, are determined by the same principles. All the play of Light and Colour follow the same laws of form. And the spirals of a shell are the logarithmetic spirals which are the basis of all forms.
Manly P. Hall has produced many diagrams in his large Encyclopaedia of Masonic and Hermetic Symbolismto illustrate these facts.
————————
All this made me think much more along Esoteric lines. As often happens when one comes in contact with Radionics, one is suddenly confronted with possibilities of deliberately developing one’s sensitivity. For many this is not a major factor, and it must be made clear that one can become an excellent Radionic Practitioner without esotericism. It is against esoteric teaching that this type of self-development can or should be forced on beginners … offered maybe … but forced … never. The choice must be left to each individual. For those who wish to use such facilities, they are confronted by a wide selection of training; many systems of approach become confusingly evident. Broadly speaking there are those who advocate the Eastern Tradition in various forms.
There is a safer although longer method of which many may not be aware. This lies in the teachings of the Western Tradition.
“The life of any person is necessarily influenced by the customs and traditions of his race. Thus escape from the world, which is normal in the East, is pathological in the West. Western occult systems do not seek ways of escape. They seek mastery of the hidden powers, both within and without, enabling the initiate to control his environment while he continues to live in it.” Dr. Paul Case, founder of ‘The Builders of the Adytum’ sets out the Western Tradition in the pamphlet ‘The Open Door’ (see Bibliography). This system of the Ancient Wisdom is known as the Hermetic Arts, after Hermes Trismegistus who is reported to be its founder. The Seven Hermetic Principles are set out in a book The Kybalion and is a study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece. Written by ‘Three Initiates’ these principles I now set out as described in this hook. This will be followed by considering the practical applications of this philosophy.
The Seven Hermetic Principles
Introduction
“The purpose of this work is not the enunciation of any special philosophy or doctrine, but rather is to give to the students a statement of Truth that will serve to reconcile the many bits of occult knowledge that they may have acquired, but which are apparently opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage and disgust the beginner in the study.
“From the land of the Ganges many advanced occultists wandered to the land of Egypt, and sat at the feet of the Master, Hermes Trismegistus, Master of Masters.
“In all the ancient lands, the name of Hermes Tris-megistus was revered, the name being synonymous with the ‘Fount of Truth’.
“The Principles of Truth are seven; he who knows these, understanding^, possesses the Magic Key before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple fly open.
“The Seven Hermetic Principles, upon which the entire Hermetic Philosophy is based are as follows:
1. The Principle of Mentalism– The ALL is Mind. The Universe is Mental.
2. The Principle of Correspondence– This principle embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the Laws and Phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life.
3. The Principle of Vibration– Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.
4. The Principle of Polarity– Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same, opposites are identical to nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; paradoxes may be reconciled.
5. The Principle of Rhythm– Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect– Every Cause has its Effect; Every effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but the name for Law not recognised; there are many places of causation, but nothing escapes the l aw
7. The Principle of Gender – Gender is in everything; every has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.” Now let us turn to the practical applications of the Hermetic Arts which include The Holy Kabalah, Tarot, Alchemy and Astrology. Unfortunately these have been misused, even debased in the past but when seriously studied, they serve as a dependable guide on the road to Mastership. They are largely based on symbolism which is a universal language, and gradually lead to higher states of consciousness.
Let us first look at Tarot and I quote from Dr. Case’s book of that name.
“Tarot is a pictorial text-book of Ageless Wisdom. From its pages has been drawn inspiration for some of the most important works on occult science published during the last seventy-five years. Its influence on the minds of a few enlightened thinkers may be traced throughout the history of the modern revival of interest in esoteric science and philosophy.
“This revival of interest began in 1854 with the publication of Eliphas Levi’s Dogma and Ritual of Transcendental Magic, first of a series of occult writings in which he names the Tarot as his most important source of information.
“Levi’s opinion of The Tarot was very high.” He said:
“As an erudite Kabalistic book, all combinations of which reveal the harmonies pre-existing between signs, letters and numbers, the practical value of the Tarot is truly, and above all, marvellous. A prisoner devoid of books, had he only a Tarot of which he knew how to make use, could in a few years acquire a universal science, and converse with unequalled doctrine and inex-haustable eloquence.
“The oldest examples of Tarot designs now preserved in European museums were probably made about 1390. According to an occult tradition, in which I am inclined to place confidence, the actual date of its invention was about the year 1200 A.D.
“The inventors, this tradition avers, were a group of Adepts who met at stated intervals in the City of Fez, in Morocco. After the destruction of Alexandria, Fez became the literary and scientific capital of the world. Thither, from all parts of the globe, came wise men of all nations, speaking all tongues. Their conferences were made difficult by difference in language and philosophical terminology. So they hit upon the device of embodying the most important of their doctrines in a book of pictures, whose combinations should depend on the occult harmonies of numbers.”
————————
In the chapter on the occult meaning of numbers Dr. Case writes:
“In this chapter we shall consider the occult significance of the numbers from Zero to Ten, with particular reference to the esoteric meanings of the so-called ‘Arabic’ numerals. As a matter of fact, these numerals were invented by Hindu priests, from whom they were borrowed, (and slightly altered), by the Arab Mathematicians who introduced them into Europe. The key to the meaning of the numerals is the diagram which appears at the frontispiece of this book.”
“Readers of these pages, who are familiar with occult symbolism, will percieve that the basis of the construction of this diagram is the six-pointed star, known as ‘The Shield of David’ and ‘The Star of the Macrocosm’. Years ago, one of the Theosophical Masters declared that the system of six circles, tangent to a central seventh, is a key to the construction of the Cosmos. At that time, the Master’s meaning was not grasped by the student to whom the statement was made.
“I hope the inclusion of this diagram may stimulate some of my readers to further research. Want of space forbids my developing the various details. I shall therefore content myself by saying that this one diagram is a key to the geometrical construction of the Great Pyramid; to a very close approximation to the squaring of the circle, to the true occult meaning of the apron worn by Free Masons, to the construction of the Qabalistic diagram known as The Tree of Life, (which has been called ‘a key to all things’), and to the proportions of the mysterious vault in which the body of the founder of the Rosicrucian Order is said to have been discovered. These are but a small selection of the mysteries to which this one diagram affords a clue.” Who then are ‘The Builders of the Adytum’? “They are an authentic Mystery School. Its system is that of the Western Tradition, and its teachings have been handed down from one group of Initiates to another since very ancient times.”