By: A. W. Finnegan
In the world of Truth and Universal Law, its design is governed by an order or code that permeates and sustains the currents of its reality. This order is inherent in everything within it and all are bound by it. Some have termed this Natural Law, that is, the timeless wisdom that remains at the heart of nature in every age and stage of existence. It is God and Goddess, the sum total of all its energy and Spirit, built on Seven essential steps to govern its nature and mechanics, with an eighth, Forgotten principle to walk them all.
The Grace in which we exist is determined by the level and degree in which we align and live in accordance with these laws. Our understanding of the applied to action and persistence determines the result- harmony or discord and all degrees in between. Repeated action may not bring forth the intended result in the immediate sense, and it is this reason that persistence becomes a necessary component.
In the following article, I will describe and explain these laws, so the spiritually-driven may be inspired enough to begin the climb up the seven steps of the stairway on the eternal pyramid of Truth. From there, the initiate can begin to develop and discover the great power and potential we all hold within. Know thy own self and it is in this ownership that Freedom can be reclaimed, as there is no outside force that will do it for you. On the contrary, if you neglect self-ownership, quickly will the chains of ignorance bind you, so quickly will the inner demons and worldly tyrants move to enslave you. There is only one way out of this bondage. The way out is through:
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The Law of Mentalism
This law states that all that comes forth and manifests starts in the realm of thought or mind. This can be in the mind of man or the All, that is, the mind of the Universe and Creation itself. it is first in the Spirit realm of thought and brought into existence. Human beings have brought whole cities forth, which began in thought, then planned and built into existence. The mind sets forth the blueprints to all it brings into action. That is the essence of this Law. I described aspects of this Law in my article, The Garden of Life: Seeds of Thought and the Fruits they Produce. We build our life in thought first, apply it in action, and we shape our character and life accordingly. The same is true for the Creator’s bringing forth the Universe. This same reflection man also mirrors within himself, which brings us to the next Law:
2. The Law of Correspondence
Some will recognize this by the old Hermetic axiom, “As Above, So Below.” That is to say, the sub-components are but a reflection of its larger whole, a microcosm of the macrocosm. One can think of it in a fully grown plant, if you were to take small clippings from one of its branches and cloned it, that is, to stick the bottom of the small clipping into soil and water accordingly, the plant will root itself and grow up in the same likeness of its larger parent plant which it was clipped from. This small clipping, once rooted into the soil, will be a miniature reflection of the larger parent plant, and that is what the phrase “microcosm of the macrocosm” implies, along with the more well-known, “As Above, So Below.”
I will illustrate this with another example: The human being is a miniature reflection of the larger Earth. Within the human being is contained the 4 elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Within the blood and bone are minerals like iron and calcium, while a large percentage of the blood contains water. The protective covering of flesh, the dense tissue, and digestive system reflects the earthy elements, as the Planet Earth also contains a protective layer of dirt comparable to the flesh of a human body. The body’s heat and fiery passionate emotions resemble the nature of fire, in the likeness of the Earth’s inner core of heat and lava. The blood contains oxygen and its use creates carbon monoxide, which is exhaled like the carbon dioxide given off by the Earth’s plants and dense coverings of forestry.
The human being also mirrors the larger solar system which the planet Earth is a microcosm of. There are qualities of each planet that were associated with the human organs. The larger solar system works in unison, like the network of human organs to sustain the body, with each planet having a role in the homeostasis of the solar system as a whole. Beyond this, Planet is sectioned off like a mini-universe of its own, just as the solar system within the galaxy is a smaller system within a larger galaxy, and the galaxy being like a mini-Universe in the larger universe.
The law of correspondence also associates different elements of the world like shape, color, symbols, planets, and beyond, through a law of attraction . For instance, the color red, is reflective of fire and passion, war, romance, the planet Mars, and action, while the color blue reflects the likeness of water, passive qualities of mind, serene emotion and peaceful compliance. The law of attraction holds much importance to the inner mechanics of the human mind, and is a major part of Occult philosophy.
3. The Law of Vibration
This law states that all things are in motion, nothing is truly at rest. The ‘rest,’ appearing so, are very low forms of vibration beyond the range of our limited awareness. In the same token, all of the mental and spiritual plane is in a state of vibration, and again we must emphasize the law of attraction applies here too. You will attract the likeness of which you vibrate outward, as well as its equal opposite. The vibration of mental emotion and the spiritual radiance acts like a magnet and attracts the corresponding energy to it.
Music is a classic example, which many will tend to listen to according to their emotional state. For someone who is feeling down and out, depressed and hopeless, they will likely listen to music that reflects this, scales that have a depressing, somber feel to it, while someone who is pissed off, may go for some dark heavy metal. For instance, an intense kind of personality may resonate most with heavy metal. In a state of feeling down and out, they may find their vibration of emotion resonates with Firelights, a song by Swallow the Sun, while someone who feels pissed off might resonate with Dissection’s Beyond the Horizon.
4. The Law of Polarity
The Law of Polarity is the law of duality, all things have an opposite. That which we term good has an equal opposite called evil. Light has an opposite in darkness. However, the world is not just in black and white, there are all shades of grey between it, which reconcile the two. One great work of literature called The Kybalion, by the Three Initiates, states:
“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.”
The world today is very polarized. When all begin to realize that life can be pursued by drawing from both sides and in between, the opposites can be reconciled. There is an occult formula that states, Thesis vs. Antithesis brings Synthesis. The balance between the two is the way in which we can reach our full potential and propel us forward. Balance is a necessary component in the harmonious nature of the Universe.
5. The Law of Rhythm
The principle of rhythm is in some respects like that of vibration, as a fluctuation of vibration working with Time. That is to say, there is a motion, or pattern of change within the vibration over time, where energy rises and falls, flourishes and decays. The human breath is a continuous motion of inhaling and exhaling, just as the heart is a continuous rhythm of expanding and contracting.
The Stars in a solar system are much the same way. The Universe itself also finds a state of expansion and contraction. Birth and death in human existence are of a rhythmic nature, just as the seasons bring forth hot summer and soon recede into the cold winter. In that sense you may notice that the Law of Polarity holds relevance in the Law of Rhythm.
6. The Law of Cause and Effect
The Law of Cause and Effect is a Law which holds so much relevance in today’s day and age, just as it did throughout the Ages. Our actions have consequences, whether desired or detested. The rule here shows us that when we stop paying attention to the important aspects of life, that is, self-responsibility and maintaining our state of awareness and attention, we lose control of our lives and find self-inflicted suffering.
In the collective sense, we descend into ignorance, and as a result, the power-hungry rulers that run its system begin to want more and more control of our sovereignty. We end up giving it to them, because we are too distracted with nonsense, don’t pay attention or educate ourselves about the world and its nature, and little by little we find ourselves enslaved and ruled by tyrants.
This is ever the case today, we are quickly descending into ignorance. It is evident in the United States, where instability is becoming the new normal, and brute force by authorities is bringing its equal opposite reaction. Because the mainstream and alternative media have an agenda of their own, people will either flock to one or the other, failing to do their own research and end up being played or fooled into a misleading or outright deceptive understanding of the full picture.
7. The Law of Gender
The Law of Gender is a concept that closely resembles that of Polarity, being that it is one aspect of it. The Law of Gender states that all beings contain within them a masculine and feminine principle. This has nothing whatsoever to do with physical traits, but rather, passive and active traits. The feminine side is ‘passive’ like the subconscious mind, a plane of emotion and thought. The masculine side is the active force.
Human existence consists of daytime life, operating from a solar side, an active, awakened state where life is applied to living and doing life’s activities. This solar force is masculine in nature. At night, we fall to sleep and the mind descends into its lunar, passive side of the unconscious dream state. This is a state of deep reflection and by nature is the feminine principle. That is not to say the feminine aspect is only active at nighttime or in the subconscious mind, it too, has different aspects in both day and night that range from emotional sides, to deep thought and intuition, to the unconscious, dream states and beyond.
Depending on the situation, we may alternate between the two for different situations or aspects of our life. For example, in a relationship, a female partner going through hardship and turmoil may be upset about something serious and start crying, venting to her significant other, and the man, being at the other end of this, may find that it would be best to not exert the masculine principle of active force to do something or tell her what to do when his partner is crying and trying to vent. He may be more attentive by operating in the passive, feminine aspect of not ‘doing’ anything but rather just ‘listening.’
The other side of that coin might be a situation where a man’s girlfriend is just standing there and a stranger comes up to her and disrespects her and tries to hit on her. In this situation, the man would be best to employ his masculine, active force and stand up for her and tell the guy to “get lost or else…”
This gender aspect is also present in the planet’s nature as well. For instance, the seasons are reflective of the masculine and feminine energies, where spring and summer are active and bring forth abundant, green plant life. It is active and flourishing, while the fall and winter reflect the feminine side of Earth and life recedes and goes dark, much like the lunar aspects of deep thought and sleep. The Law of Rhythm holds significance here, as you can see, the fluctuation between the masculine and feminine has an expanding (active masculine) and a contracting (passive feminine) nature to it.
The masculine force is generally represented by the Sun, because of its fiery nature, and association with bringing life forth through its action of pouring Sunlight to the life nourished by it. The female aspect is represented by the Moon, a lunar force of darkness, also associated with water, and signifies the deep subconscious mind, full of potential and immense power.
Indeed, the feminine force is not by any means weak or lesser than the active masculine force just because it is passive and not in action. They are equal in importance, but different in degree, as in the Law of Polarity. The feminine force’s power is actually very great, even if it is not overt in its effect like the masculine active force. The passive force can be a force to be reckoned with, and should be respected deeply. After all, the masculine force is drawing its power from the feminine force, which is deep as the deepest of oceans and as vast as the blackened void of this Infinite Universe. It is this Feminine force that serves as the basis of the Eighth and Final, Forgotten yet most important Step…
8. “The Forgotten Eighth Principle” — The Law of Care
While the Hermetic Principles are officially in Seven Steps or Degrees of Law, there is yet another Step, the Eighth and most important of all. This Step was the Forgotten Key, lost in time and degradation. Many may encounter and learn the Seven Steps or Laws of Hermetic Intelligence, but without the Eighth Step which binds them all, the prior Seven Steps will have little use or value to the one who finds them. This forgotten Eighth Step is “Care.” Care is the feminine force that puts the Seven steps into its masculine active form.
With Care, we begin to see how the Seven Steps all intersect with each other in some way to make up the larger existence. With Care, we utilize the Steps on the journey upward on the Pyramid of Truth, getting closer to the Kingdom of Stars which blanket the sky above us. With Care, we are inspired to apply these Divine Steps to the mundane world in which suffering is great, and with the fire from above we disperse the spark to others, hoping they catch alight and burn with the same Care, inspired to take control of their Destiny and take back their Divine nature and rediscover Self-Governance. It is with this Great Work we may free the chains that are quickly imprisoning the glorious nature imparted to us through Divine Creation…
Below: Original Artwork, “8 Degrees of Care” By: A. W. Finnegan:
