Your Spiritual Connection Centers: the 7 Hermetic Laws

This is a regular entry in the "Your Spiritual Connection Centers" series in which I discuss matters related to energy healing, lightworking, Reiki, and other self-healing practices. In today's edition, I'm talking about a Western approach to the metaphysics of spiritual healing. There are other suitable systems for discussing the framework and operation of spiritual connections centers, but this is the one that I find makes the most sense to me which is why I follow it in my own practice and teach it to my students.

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Conceptual illustration of
Hermes Trismegistus

It is easier to say who has been inspired by and what is connected to Hermes than it is to say who he actually was. Hermes inspired generations and caused entire organizations and movements to form in the name of his teachings. Among others, Hermes is the foundation of the Golden Dawn, Kabbalists, Sufis, Christian Science, and Rosicrucians such as the Ordo Templi Orientis, Ancient Mystical Order of the Rose Cross, and the Builders of the Adytum (to name a few.) Hermetic philosophy, the school of thought which follows his teachings, has been present to one degree or another for thousands of years. Moses himself of the Old Testament was said to have been a contemporary of Hermes; compare Hermes' caduceus with Moses’ answer to the Hebrews’ afflictions in the desert:

KJV Num. 21:5-9: And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

But just who was Hermes? Depending on who you ask, he was a god, a man, a Spirit, a demigod, or even an ascended master. Such was his influence and importance to so many that Greek, Arabic, and European scholars continue to argue to this day over his true identity. It is commonly believed that Hermes was not one person but a title or identity assumed by a line of teachers, each passing the title to his student upon death or inability to continue. Hermetic scholars give the traditional lineage of Hermes as Poimandres, Thoth, Hermes Trismegistus, Asclepius, and Tat. It is uncertain what gaps exist in the lineage and it is generally believed that some of the writings were of translators and scribes who maintained his teachings regarding occult lore and healing by way of the spiritual connection centers.

Hermes, however many he really was, was a prolific writer and renowned teacher. Works attributed either to Hermes or his teachings include the Corpus Hermeticum, Book of Thoth, Emerald Tablet, the Torah, and the Book of Raziel, among others. In more recent history, the Hermetic Law of Attraction appeared in Rhonda Byrne’s motivational and self-improvement movie “The Secret,” which is an odd name for something so widely known and commonly followed.

Going back only a hundred years, we find other writers and teachers who were inspired by the work of Hermes. One work to come out of the body of Hermetic thought is the Kybalion: it was printed in 1912 by the Yogi Publication Society and the only authors listed were the Three Initiates. The word Kybalion doesn’t exist anywhere else and most people agree that it’s an errant spelling of Kaballah. The Kyablion is described by the Initiates as the first-ever written account of a purely oral tradition and teaches seven laws which operate along Hermetic beliefs. They are:

The Law of Mentalism
The Law of Correspondence
The Law of Vibration
The Law of Polarity
The Law of Rhythm
The Law of Cause and Effect
The Law of Gender

The Law of Mentalism teaches that the universe and all things which we know or perceive are mental creations held within the Mind of THE ALL. THE ALL is described by such names as God, the First Cause, or the Creator, and is outside of and beyond all human comprehension. Just as man creates when he forms an idea in his Mind, THE ALL creates everything in its Mind. It is everything that ever was and ever will be, it cannot be created or destroyed, it cannot be decreased or increased in substance, and it moves in and out of form at will. Consider the Australian aboriginal expression, “Somewhere, a dreamer is dreaming us.”

I propose that Reiki – universal life Spirit – is the essence and Spirit of THE ALL which animates and moves all things: animal, insect, planet, microbe, mineral, and all other forms of matter which we haven’t yet discovered or acknowledged. By channeling Reiki, we open ourselves to the presence of THE ALL and invite pure, restorative, original source Spirit into our spiritual connection centers. Just as a pure spring feeds a river which may become cloudy far from the source, receiving Reiki is a return to our source and a drink of pure, original Spirit (a re-connection with the First Cause.)

One of the qualities which distinguishes Reiki from other healing modalities is that it is infinite and doesn’t “run out” or dissipate over time; additionally, it doesn’t deplete the practitioner’s own vitality. The Law of Mentalism explains this phenomenon: all life and all which we can perceive are mental creations in the Mind of THE ALL. Just as THE ALL creates without depleting itself through the generation of thoughts and ideas, so Reiki heals through the practitioner’s generation of thought. THE ALL is within all and encompasses all living things; thus, through meditation and Spiritual discipline one is able to channel the same creative, restorative, and regenerative presence of THE ALL.

The Law of Correspondence teaches the commonly recited maxim, “As above, so below; as below, so above.” This is the premise that there are many levels of existence and that an effect on one plane is felt on many others. This is where we gain the healing principle that the root cause (which is not always immediately discernible) should be given greater importance than the symptoms of dis-ease. If the body manifests an ache or pain, it is more important to treat the disturbance which is operating at the higher level. An example of this is headaches which we know appear more frequently during periods of stress and anxiety. The medicinal response to headaches is to treat the symptoms with aspirin or a similar remedy which acts on the physical level; however, headaches are symptoms, not causes. If the subject isn’t relieved of the root cause (stress, anxiety, anger, frustration, etc. present in the spiritual connection centers), the headache will return. In this case, headaches are a physical manifestation at the lowest base level of a disturbance on a higher level. Treat the dis-ease at the highest level and the disturbance on the lowest level will obey.

The Law of Correspondence also shows why Reiki through the Law of Mentalism is possible. THE ALL, being by its very nature beyond all human comprehension, still encompasses all which is known or perceived. In that sense, THE ALL is within each of us: the divine isn’t something to which access is mediated by a priesthood, it’s something innate to each of us. The Temple of God exists in our own minds and the doors are open to those who would dare to move them! Just as THE ALL creates infinite universes and realities within itself for its own purposes without depleting itself, such is the manner in which Reiki practitioners aid their clients. The finite human Mind is unable to even conceive a fraction of the generative power of the infinite Mind of THE ALL, but because it is similar in degrees to the infinite Mind of THE ALL it too is capable of creating, generating, and regenerating in the same manner on a lower plane.

The Law of Vibration teaches that everything is in motion and that everything moves. The only difference between a human body and a block of granite is that a block of granite vibrates at a dramatically lower frequency and forms a heavier mass. Matter is matter is matter, differentiated only by its atomic configuration.

Reiki scholar Frank Petter describes Reiki as Spiritual Fire, and the differing levels of vibration between hot and cold bodies can be simply illustrated at home. Pour a glass of ice-cold Water and a glass of boiling Water. Add two or three drops of food coloring to each: you will quickly see the difference in movement of the food coloring in the cold Water which dissipates slower and in hot Water which dissipates faster. Reiki, which I believe is an expression of Spirit at a very high speed of vibration, permeates and Spiritually invigorates the body and awakens your spiritual connection centers. Reiki represents pure Spirit in an extremely high vibratory state. The faster a thing moves, the finer and more subtle it becomes. Stress, anxiety, fear, depression, greed, anger, selfish pride, wrath, and similarly gross, overt states vibrate slower and restrict growth. To oversimplify the Law of Vibration, consider Peter Pan’s first lesson to Wendy: “Happy thoughts make you fly.” The extent to which you raise your vibratory level and take residence in the Temple of God within your Mind is the extent to which you cast aside negativity, shun wicked deeds, and consistently live a life of charity, virtue, honor, and righteousness.

The Law of Polarity states that in all things there are opposites, but also that opposites are complementary. That is, they are the same element at differing degrees of vibration. For example, what is the difference between love and hate? Both emotions are characterized by extreme interpersonal fixation and intense emotional arousal. In both love and hate, all of one’s attention is directed to another person to the point that it consumes the originator and impacts every aspect of his life. The extreme emotional attachment between the originator and the target of his emotions is the same, differentiated only by what he might do with his target: there’s a reason that sex and violence frequently appear together.

The Law of Polarity is evidenced in the manifestation of dis-ease across a spectrum of Spirit. Symptoms and root causes exist in the balance of the elements. Like an iceberg whose greater mass is hidden to plain sight below the Water, such is dis-ease. The symptomatic dis-ease of the Balance of Air will be accompanied by root disturbances in the Balance of Earth. Air and Earth oppose each other, but are in fact mirror reflections of the absence of the other; so, too, does this partnership exist between Fire and Water. Wherever you find opposites, look for the connection and you’ll find the answer: opposites define each other.

The Law of Rhythm states that all things have a regular motion, pattern, or set mode of movement. Just as the planets of the Solar System move in a predictable and orderly manner around the Sun and change the flow of Spirit in the Solar System and on Earth, so too do our bodies have a natural rhythm. Women experience a monthly rhythm of menstruation, men experience seasonal fluctuations in mood, and all things on Earth happen in their own time.

The Kybalion teaches that the “pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right, is the measure of the swing to the left.” What swings to the left must return to the right: what goes up must come down, and the health and wellness of living creatures is no exception. The Law of Rhythm is perhaps the most difficult one to apply because it necessitates finding the rhythm of one’s transit between opposite poles. By virtue of the Hermetic master’s wisdom and self-discipline, he dominates the base forces which impel him back and forth and stops himself at the point he wishes to rest. In this law is found the transformation of hate into love; lead into gold; Water into wine; the gross into the subtle; and dis-ease into health. There is no recipe for eternal physical life; the fountain of youth exists only in myth; and no mortal body may escape the inevitable day of transition; but mastery of the Law of Rhythm is the final key to the inner sanctum of the Temple of God within one’s own Mind where is found eternal Spiritual prosperity.

Stress is generally considered a result of only negative conflict, but it’s just not true: stress is the result of too much or too little of anything. The Law of Rhythm illustrates how too much or too little of even the most innocuous subject may lead to conflict, dissatisfaction, and discontent. When one’s rhythm is upset through lack or excess, it pushes one off-balance. In partnership with the Law of Polarity, the Law of Rhythm illustrates balance and how one may restore himself to the most suitable position.

The Law of Cause and Effect is very simple: for every cause (root), there is an effect (symptom.) Symptoms are easily observed, but root causes of dis-ease must be identified through application of the Law of Polarity. The balance of an element doesn’t just simply become dis-eased: it had to have been disrupted by an agent of change, be that agent internal or external to the subject. The Law of Cause and Effect also operates between higher and lower planes of Spirit: what happens on a higher plane cascades down to every lower plane beneath it. What happens in the Mind naturally affects the body.

Agents of change contribute not just to happiness, satisfaction, joy, ambition, self-esteem, confidence, and identity, but also to anxiety, anger, depression, selfish pride, discontent, hate, and other undesirable states. To return to the example given under the Law of Polarity, a symptomatic dis-ease in the Balance of Air indicates a more serious root dis-ease in the Balance of Earth. Having identified the root manifestation of dis-ease, the root causes are to be found in those houses where the members of the triplicity of Earth reside: the 2nd, 6th, and 10th Houses (these houses will be explained in the following chapters.)

Even though dis-ease can be mapped according to stressors resident in the subject's Spirit, it is emphatically not the Reiki practitioner’s responsibility to take part in the metaphysical blame-game. No responsible practitioner will say that the subject’s dis-ease is caused by poor thought or a failure to adapt. The Mind does affect the body and what one thinks can direct one’s health, but there is no beneficial purpose in blaming the subject for his own dis-ease. The responsible practitioner will record these observations in his notes and use them as a guide to the development and application of a series of Reiki sessions. The subject should only be encouraged and directed to take positive steps toward the resolution of his dis- ease!

Consider the central principle of the Hippocratic Oath: do no harm. A problem may not exist until the practitioner convinces the subject it is present, so you would do well to favor positive direction over negative illumination. The metaphysical blame-game will tell the subject that his dis-ease is a result of bad thought and that the subject has only himself to blame, but consider this: would you blame a fallen tree for the ice which felled it? If the tree had not grown tall and extended long branches, it would never have accumulated the weight which led to its collapse. You may find it irrelevant to compare a fallen tree to a dis-eased subject, but in the grand scale there is little difference: both are living organisms subject to natural laws and the influence of outside stressors. You wouldn’t blame a tree for accumulating ice, so don’t blame a subject for experiencing stress. Sometimes dis-ease is the result of internal stressors within the subject’s control, and sometimes dis-ease is the result of external stressors outside the subject’s control, but either way it’s not your place to judge: a Reiki practitioner’s only responsibility is to help.

Last, the Law of Gender. The Law of Gender teaches that there is a natural contraction and expansion, yin and yang, introversion and extroversion, and duality to all things. Just as there is masculine in the feminine, there is feminine in the masculine; the Law of Gender teaches that creation results from the unification of opposite poles. The Law of Gender manifests on the physical plane as sexual intercourse but also appears on higher planes in more subtle forms of Spiritual creation. All creation, generation, and regeneration are the result of the Law of Gender. The Law of Gender is seen in the dichotomy and division of the THE ALL by Wiccans and other neo-pagan into the God and the Goddess. The Gender dichotomy is also observed in Catholicism through the elevation of Mary into the role of the divine feminine opposite her son Jesus Christ in the role of the divine masculine. In either case, opposite masculine and feminine poles are the two faces of THE ALL.

Though all of these Laws are indispensable, the one which has proven to be the most quoted and the most referenced is the Law of Correspondence: “As above, so below; as below, so above.” Just as Agrippa and Manilius have described, the body in its perfect condition and its spiritual connection centers are analogous to the perfect order and movement of the Solar System. This system of correspondence teaches that in the logic, movement, and order of higher planes can be found the reason or explanation for all logic, movement, and order of the lower planes.

In this manner, Agrippa, Manilius, and others have corresponded the planets and signs of the Zodiac to portions of the body and made the function, order, systems, structures, and processes of the human body analogous to the order of the stars, planets, and heavenly bodies which Agrippa describes as the authorities and officers of the Divine. Just as the heavenly bodies in space move in their perfect order and maintain and distribute divine Spirit according to their movement through the heavens, the structures, parts, and processes of our body do the same by distributing and maintaining the balance of universal life Spirit within us.