Hermetic philosophy which will be widely known as Hermeticism emerges from 6000 BCE which was as far back as 8000 years ago predating all major religions that we know. Hermetic philosophy has been adapted by many traditions throughout history but mainly expounds on seven principles or universal laws. These laws could unveil the true nature of our cosmos provided if one is ready to see the hidden mysteries right before their eyes! Hermes Trismegistus was known to possess wisdom and knowledge of the fundamental workings of universal laws governing existence of life. These unchanging principles are working right before our eyes, waiting for the seeking hearts to pierce through the illusory nature to reach higher levels of consciousness. By understanding these laws, we are able to build upon them in foundational truths, anchoring them in our hearts with perceptive inner guidance to navigate our everyday life. 

The Law of Mentalism
“All is Mind, the Universe is Mental.”
This first law proposes that we are all in the Divine Source’s mind. Everything that is happening right now, even every single timeline, is happening right now in the Divine Source’s mind. As Source’s children, we are also co-creators creating our reality through our mental powers. Our every thought carries energy and frequency. We can create resonance with our thoughts if they are aligned with the divine through unconditional love, wisdom, peace and harmony. We can also create negativity when our thoughts hover around fear, grief, shame, anger, jealousy, lies, selfishness and pride. This also corresponds to Quantum Observation where Divine Source is the absolute observer who observes everything into existence. 

The Law of Correspondence
“As Above, So Below; as Below, So Above”
This second law shows that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life. Which means that what happens to us here on earth does affect other planes of existence across universes. This principle of correspondence also implies that everything in the universe is interconnected and every part contains the whole like a hologram. This also corresponds to quantum entanglement where two subatomic particles can be intimately linked to each other even if separated by billions of light-years of space. And at another viewpoint, Emanuel Swedenborg sees correspondence as a relationship between two levels of existence. 

According to Swenenborg, the stories from the Ancient Word were all made up history which was an accepted custom in religious institutions of antiquity. When Yeshua was in the world, he spoke by correspondence which is both exoteric and esoteric in nature. According to Swenenborg, correspondences were not disclosed to the primitive people of that time because they were too simple to understand them. So the true meaning was withheld during those times to the general public. 

The Law of Vibration
“Nothing rests; everything moves, everything vibrates.”
This third law states that everything like plants, trees, animals, insects, humans and even non-living things vibrate! We are in a continual motion emitting a unique vibration signature. Higher frequency energetic bodies like humans will be vibrating in a higher resonance than a non-living object like a table or a chair. But do note that a non-living object is still vibrating albeit at a denser, slower rate than a highly atomically structured living thing because a non-living thing is made up of molecules of matter which essentially is still energy. So this makes it so important for humans who possess the gift of consciousness in exercising our free will to align with higher vibrational emotions like peace, joy, love, understanding etc. or with heavy and dense emotions like grief, fear, shame, jealousy etc. corresponding to the Map of consciousness. This law reflects the truth that our chakra system within our body is intrinsically affected by frequencies/vibrations. By understanding this law, we are able to be conscious of how we engage our thoughts and emotions in order to achieve equilibrium in good health of body, spirit and mind. 

The Law of Polarity
“Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”
This fourth law is profoundly difficult to assimilate for a lot of people. Fundamentally known by many, but hardly assimilated as direct truth of the heart. Observable reality does make us agree with duality in many situations. There is the Yin-Yang, Up-Down, Left-Right or even Good-Bad aspect of everything which we know. But when it comes to the fact that Divine Source being good and loving, will have no problem giving good. How about when it comes to the final and ultimate true reality of whether bad really was created by Divine Source? Many confounded upon this. Are we able to comprehend that light and darkness are just varying degrees but same in nature just like how white light (Divine Source is the ultimate White Light) will behave on a color spectrum of varying color wavelengths? We can reconcile all polarities by balance and harmony of going within ourselves to get true connection to the ultimate truth of oneness. 

The Law 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.”

This fifth law truly reflects the inner workings of the universe if we are able to see the ebb and flow of life not just physically but spiritually. There is a rhythmic regularity in histories, ages, cycles, patterns and even in ecological systems. This also corresponds to astrological influences where certain time(s) will affect us on an energetic level by the positioning of the planets. The key to understanding this is when life gets tough with ups and downs seemingly unmanageable, we will need to remind ourselves that the downs will be up soon. With the same token, knowing that the ups are not permanent, we must learn to appreciate life and the people around us. It is imperative to stay centered and not be caught up in the ebb and flow of emotional upheavals. 

The Law of Cause and Effect

“Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law.”

This sixth law is by far the most well known and talked about universal principle throughout antiquity till the present. This is in fact a very important tenet in various religions which famously quote as “what goes around, comes around”. For every action, there is a reaction. There are no accidents or coincidences in the universe. Every action we take has a corresponding effect, which will appear immediately, soon, later in this lifetime, next lifetime or later lifetimes. When we do not see the effect after effecting the cause, we fail to realize that the consequences do eventually come back to us due to karma which is referred to as action driven by intention. What we sow is truly what we will reap. So, if we plant a good seed, we will expect a good harvest. If we plant a bad seed, nothing grows except for a bad yield. If we believe and understand reincarnation, we will know that karmas do carry over lifetimes. Hence, do we still want to continue to engage in the wrong cause and activate the bad effects which essentially means bad karma? Start practicing doing the right cause and activate good karma to neutralize what we had accumulated. Karma is not meant to be repaid. It is meant to be learnt and balanced. By doing the right actions through the right thoughts and intentions, we are eventually going to neutralize all bad karma and start accumulating good karmas! 

The Law of Gender
“Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes.”

This seventh law has been comprehended in a very literal way by many. Which in and of itself, is correct and justly so. However, it may well be in the mental aspect of the divine nature of divine Source. The Masculine Principle of Mind corresponds to the so-called Objective Mind; Conscious Mind; Active Mind etc. The Feminine principle of mind is related to the Subjective Mind; Subconscious Mind; Passive Mind etc. The masculine aspect does engage in the objective will power of decision making, mental processes. reasoning etc. and the feminine aspect is involved with emotions, feelings, intuition etc. Divine Source is the embodiment of Light (Masculine) and Love (Feminine). Having too strong a preposition in anything is never a good thing. The key is always to be in balance. Too much logical reasoning action without compassion is not going to be the answer. Perfection is achieved when good thoughts combine unconditional love in action.