This article is taken from the December 2022 issue of Fraternal Review titled, “The Hermetic Mason”.
The connection between hermeticism and Freemasonry is made evident in the archetypally hermetic character of some of the Masonic Lodge officers’ roles, and by an observance of the relationship between the microcosm and macrocosm; particularly as this dynamic is described in the 1st through 4th century writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus[1] and a 6th century document called the Tabula Smaragdina, also known as the Emerald Tablet.[2]
This notable piece of Hermetica, the Emerald Tablet, is the source of the axiom: “that which is above is like that which is below.”3 This axiom has been represented in more recent times as the Hermetic Principle of Correspondence.[4]
One of the areas in which this Principle of Correspondence is made most readily apparent is architecture. The architectural conception of ancient megalithic edifices rested on a working knowledge of geometry, as does architecture today. There are many examples—from the megalithic structures of the Neolithic Era, through the cathedrals of the medieval Period, to many modern edifices—of astronomical alignments and astrological allusions, particularly as they pertain to the equinoxes and solstices and, more specifically, the phenomenon of axial precession. Geometry, in turn, was predicated on an understanding of astronomy, since geometry (literally, Earth measurement) could only be perceived and calculated through the Earth’s relative position to the fixed stars and the triangulation of coordinates thereby.[5]
Additionally, the orientation and design of the Lodge room is plainly stated to be a model of the Universe.[6] Much of the “floor work” of the Lodge officers, particularly the act of circumambulation, has been conjectured to be a Hermetic imitation of the Sun’s apparent path along the ecliptic, as viewed from the perspective of the Earth.[7]
The Terrestrial and Celestial Globes surmounting the Pillars of the Temple also reflect a similar correspondence.[8] It is important to note the juxtaposition of the terrestrial and celestial globes atop the Masonic Lodge’s Brazen Pillars, and that the Fellowcraft Mason’s attention is directed to them and he is told that “they are the noblest instruments for improving the mind;” note also the 47th Proposition of Euclid, as it pertains to navigation, astronomical calculations and
“Squaring the Temple,” a practice that may be traced at least as far back as the use of a 3:4:5 right triangle as a means of describing a 90° angle. Even a cursory study of the orientation and relative position of many ancient structures can confirm the irrefutable fact that these edifices were erected in keeping with the hermetic axiom, “that which is above is like that which is below”9 and its Christianization, “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”[10]
This Principle embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various, planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: ‘As above, so below; as below, so above.’ And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many dark paradoxes and hidden secrets of Nature. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them, we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and the spiritual universe—it is an Universal Law. The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments, by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. Its use even tore aside the Veil of Isis, to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Just as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Studying the monad, he understands the archangel.
—Three Initiates, The Kybalion, 1912, Yogi Publication Society Masonic Temple.
Adapted from Jaime Paul Lamb, Myth, Magick & Masonry, (The Laudable Pursuit, 2018), pp. 10-12, pp. 47-48.
Sources:
1. Salaman, Oyen, et al., The Way of Hermes: New Translations of The Corpus Hermeticum and the Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius, Inner Traditions, 2004.
2. Goodrick-Clarke, The Western Esoteric Traditions: A Historical Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 34.
3. Hall, Manley P., The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Dover, 2010, pp. 454-457.
4. Three Initiates, The Kybalion, Kessinger, 2012, p. 5.
5. Aveni, In Search of Ancient Astronomies, Doubleday, 1978, pp. 165-202.
6. Mackey, Albert G., The Symbolism of Freemasonry, Forgotten Books, 2012, pp. 100-105.
7. Brown, Robert H., Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy, Merchant Books, 2008. p. 59.
8. Clark, Edward, The Royal Secret, Kessinger, 2012, p. 103.
9. “quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius,” Chrysogonus Polydorus, De Alchimia, Nuremberg, 1541, retrieved online.
10. The Holy Bible KJV, Matthew 6:9-13.
Written by Jaime Paul Lamb