The Emerald Tablets

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1 The Emerald Tablets

A text based, allegedly, on the teachings of Thoth the Atlantean, also known as Hermes Trismegistus. Two distinct works are extant under this title: The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean and The Smaragdine Table (or Smaragdine/Emerald Tablet).

Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean

A series of fifteen purportedly ancient tablets made of an imperishable emerald substance, found and translated by Dr. Maurice Doreal of the Brotherhood of the White Temple society. Said to have originated with the spiritual initiations of ancient Egypt or even Thoth, the God of Wisdom himself, this text contains references to important figures from mythology, such as a description of the Halls of Amenti, found also in other texts from ancient Egypt. It also contains elements of scientific theories, such as a portion of what is contemporarily known as chaos theory, as well as instructions pertaining to the use of chakras and astral travel, and the famous "as above, so below" allegory of the structure of the Universe.

Smaragdine Table of Hermes

Also known as the "Emerald Tablet", this is an ancient alchemical text revealing the transmutation of primal matter into alchemical gold, a process otherwise known as the "Operation of the Sun" and considered to be the highest and most spiritual work of alchemy. This work is also attributed to Hermes Trismegistus or Thoth himself. The Emerald Tablet has been studied by major historical figures such as Plato, Aristotle, the Arabian mathematicians, Isaac Newton, and Carl Jung. To name a few. It was considered a foundation of the Hermetic tradition and of European alchemy in particular.

Purportedly tied to ancient Greece, its origins are subject to controversy. 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 to Alexander the Great. This work was later translated into Latin as the Secretum Secretorum ca. 1140. However, another version has been found in the Kitab Sirr al-Khaliqa wa San`at al-Tabi`a (Book of the Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature) which may have been written as early as 650. Mythically, it was said to have been discovered by Alexander the Great in the tomb of Hermes or underneath the Great Pyramid of Giza, where it was hidden by Egyptian priests.

This Emerald Tablet, considered extremely important by medieval alchemists, and a main focus for their work, may be a surviving fragment of the original Tablets of Thoth as described above. Both of these esoteric texts refer to valuable methods and practices which are said to bring Light into ourselves and the world at large, resulting in spiritual mastery and transmutation at all levels.

Corpus Hermeticum

The Corpus Hermeticum is one of the central and foundational texts of the Hermetic tradition. Popular during Hellenic Egypt and rediscovered during the 1400s, it provided the impulse for the development of Renaissance thought and culture. It was widely accepted amongst the early Church Fathers, considered by them to be a precursor to Christianity. Isaac Newton and other important historical figures undertook a deep study of this text, considering it of great importance. The Corpus Hermeticum also appears to be derived from the original Emerald Tablets of Thoth.