The Emerald Table: The All and the One

Tis true without lying, certain and most true.

That which is below is like that which is above

and that which is above is like that is below 

to do the miracles of one only thing

And as all things have been and arose from one by the mediation of one: 

so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.

The Sun is its father, 

the moon its mother, 

the wind hath carried it in its belly, 

the earth is its nurse. 

The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. 

Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.

Separate thou the earth from the fire, 

the subtle from the gross 

sweetly with great industry. 

It ascends from the earth to the heaven

and again it descends to the earth

and receives the force of things superior and inferior.

By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world 

and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.

Its force is above all force. 

For it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.

So was ye world created.

From this are and do come admirable adaptations 

where of the means is here in this.

Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, 

having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world

That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.

(A translation by Isaac Newton is found among his alchemical papers that are currently housed in King's College Library, Cambridge University.)

The philosophy of the All and the One. The Hermetists: monas general monadem.

An imaginative 17th century depiction of the Emerald Tablet from the work of Heinrich Khunrath, 1606.

Latin text of the Emerald Tablet, from De Alchemia, Chrysogonus Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541

The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Tablet, or Tabula Smaragdina, is a compact and cryptic piece of the Hermetica reputed to contain the secret of the prima materia and its transmutation. Although Hermes Trismegistus is the author named in the text, its first known appearance is in a book written in Arabic between the sixth and eighth centuries. The text was first translated into Latin in the twelfth century. The layers of meaning in the Emerald Tablet have been associated with the creation of the philosopher's stone, as well as with other esoteric ideas.
(smaragdine. sma·rag·dine. adjective. Of or relating to emeralds. Having the color of emeralds.)

In its several Western recensions, the Tablet became a mainstay of medieval and Renaissance alchemy. Commentaries and/or translations were published by, among others, Trithemius, Roger Bacon, Michael Maier, Albertus Magnus, and Isaac Newton. The concise text was a popular summary of alchemical principles, wherein the secrets of the philosopher's stone were thought to have been described.

The fourteenth century alchemist Ortolanus (or Hortulanus) wrote a substantial exegesis on The Secret of Hermes, which was influential on the subsequent development of alchemy. Many manuscripts of this copy of the Emerald Tablet and the commentary of Ortolanus survive, dating at least as far back as the fifteenth century. Ortolanus, like Albertus Magnus before him saw the tablet as a cryptic recipe that described laboratory processes using deck names (or code words). This was the dominant view held by Europeans until the fifteenth century.

By the early sixteenth century, the writings of Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516) marked a shift away from a laboratory interpretation of the Emerald Tablet, to a literal approach. Trithemius equated Hermes' one thing with the monad of pythagorean philosophy and the anima mundi. This interpretation of the Hermetic text was adopted by alchemists such as John Dee, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and Gerhard Dorn.

The oldest documentable source of the text is the "Kitab Balaniyus al-Hakim fi'l-`Ilal Kitāb sirr al-ḫalīqa" كتاب سر الخليقة و صنعة الطبيعة أو كتاب العلل للحكيم بلنياس (book of Balinas the wise on the Causes) written in Arabic between the sixth and eighth centuries. This volume is attributed to "Balinas" (or Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana). He tells his readers that he discovered the text in a vault below a statue of Hermes in Tyana, and that, inside the vault, an old corpse on a golden throne held the emerald tablet.

Why emerald?

Hindus believe that those offering emeralds to the god Krishna will be rewarded. Since “givers are high in Heaven,” they will receive “Knowledge of the Soul and the Eternal.” The gods richly reward such generous giving. Hindu teachings also associate emerald with the planet Mercury, such as in the traditional “nine-gem” Navaratna jewel setting.

Western traditions connect emeralds more frequently with the planet Venus. Perhaps the story from Greek and Roman mythology of Venus emerging from the sea makes a difference here. For followers of Western astrology, the “sea green” color of emerald may make a better match with the goddess’s namesake planet.

[Mercury and Venus association--HermAphroditus]

According to Indian lore, the name Emerald was first translated from Sanskrit as Marakata, meaning “the green of growing things.” The term we use today is believed to derive from an ancient Persian word that translated to the Greek as Smaragdus, meaning “green stone,” the term used in antiquity and referred to a number of other green stones. Over time the Old French or Vulgar Latin versions, Esmeraulde, Esmaralda or Esmaraldus became the current name, Emerald.

Emeralds and the Breastplate of Aaron: the breastplate did include a green stone called smaragados in Ancient Greek. The movement toward astrological significance (the zodiacal birthstones) probably originated with speculation about the Biblical breastplate of Aaron. The instructions God delivered to Moses in Exodus included creating a breastplate of judgment set with four rows of three stones (Exodus 28:15-21). However, twelve gemstones appear later in the Bible. Revelation 21:19-20 lists twelve gemstones as the foundation stones of the Heavenly City. In the Middle Ages, commentators connected these twelve gems with the twelve apostles. In turn, they associated each apostle with one of the twelve months of the calendar. These stones were frequently connected to the twelve apostles. Andreas, bishop of Caesarea (563-637 CE), had this to say of the emerald:

The emerald, which is of a green color, is nourished with oil, that its transparency and beauty may not change; we conceive this stone to signify John the Evangelist. He, indeed, soothed the souls dejected by sin with a divine oil, and by the grace of his excellent doctrine lends constant strength to our faith.

In Jewish history, Emerald is listed in Exodus as the fourth stone in the Breastplate of the High Priest, though original manuscripts translate the smaragdus, Emerald, as being the Bareketh, the third stone, engraved with the tribe of Levi. Legend also relates Emerald as one of four precious stones given by God to King Solomon, endowing him with power over all creation.
In Christian history, the Emerald is attributed to St. John, emblematic of his youth and gentleness. In Revelations in the New Testament, he compares the rainbow around the Throne of God “in sight like unto an Emerald.”  For Christians, these stones became typical of the resurrection, of the birth into a new and purer life.

St. Hildegard of Bingen, the noted lithologist, declared, “All the green of nature is concentrated within the Emerald.” 

In Ancient Egypt, this sacred stone was considered a symbol of eternal life, the gift of Toth

In ancient Egypt, Emeralds were considered a symbol of eternal life. Matrix-emerald or faience of the same color was used in amulets for engraving texts and prayers from the Book of the Dead to be placed on the body for burial. The “papyrus scepter,” uat, meaning “verdure, flourishing, greenness,” is cut from matrix-emerald and, placed on the neck of the mummy, is emblematic of the eternal youth it was hoped the deceased would enjoy in the afterlife. The 159th chapter speaks of a uat of matrix-emerald, believed to be the gift of Thoth and thought to protect the limbs of the deceased.

In ancient times, these green stones were called "The Heart of Spring", and they were considered the symbol of hope and future, of renewal and growth, of justice and harmony. The emerald was given a poetic name: "The Seeker of Love" and "discoverer of truth." It is considered a "rock of happiness" because it is associated with a heart chakra (Anahata). The emerald was worshipped by ancient Incas and Chaldeans, and Phoenicians devoted it to Ishtar goddess of fertility and love.

The first-century Egyptian magician, Hermes Trismegistos, was said to carve on a pure Emerald tablet words that held the key to magic: “As above, so below.” For this reason Emeralds have always been considered a magical stone, connecting cosmic and Earthly realms, and for bringing thoughts and desires into reality. [Heaven and Earth meet in the heart]