As the first planet in our solar system, Mercury rules Gemini. Mercury was messenger for the Roman gods. His Egyptian version was Thoth, scribe of the gods. In Greek myth, Hermes was the god of Wisdom. Hermes told his disciples, “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding.” In tarot, Hermes is a magician at a crossroads with the resources and tools to go anywhere and do anything at any time. Gemini’s secrets are only secrets to the uninitiated. Gemini (social) and Virgo (technical) are Hermes homes. As a real person in ancient Egypt, Hermes refused to grow old and reputedly lived with grace for three hundred years in the flesh. A 20th Century manifestation of Hermes adolescence is Peter Pan, who never grows old. Being a Gemini explains my youthfulness at 70, but for the mirror.
Hermes was the mystic teacher of Abraham. As the father of wireless communication, Hermes taught his disciples that our brains are our cell communication hardware while our minds transmit and receive messages. Long before Moses, while other alchemists were still trying to turn lead into Gold, Hermes realized that relationships between cells cause energy and matter to vibrate on different planes at the same time. He labeled these ever blending planes as physical, mental, and spiritual. Hermetic philosophy says everyone and everything is made of individual cells; physically, mentally, and spiritually connected to all other cells on all other planes at the same time. We can connect with anyone or anything at any time once we learn to establish and tune our links.
Hermetic alchemy is the mastery of mental forces, transmuting one mental vibration into another. Hermes describes the unknowable and indefinable spirit as “The ALL”. Hermes taught “While ALL is in The ALL, it is equally true that The ALL is in ALL. To him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge”. The inner nature of The ALL is unknowable. That’s why we have anthropomorphic gods and institutionalized religion. Spirit is the essence that glues and forms the whole. Our spiritual development depends on our recognition, realization, and manifestation of the Great Spirit within and without.
Real alchemy hasn’t much to do with turning lead (Saturn) into gold (Sun). It’s a set of magical formulas, tools, and esoteric instruction for being healthy, happy, and fulfilled. Alchemy is about cultivating vision, nurturing relationships, making healthy decisions, embracing right choices, having faith, cultivating healthy attitudes, building sound structures on solid foundations, and facing the future with courage, strength, wisdom, and grace. Accomplished alchemists are structured, disciplined, focused, mentally, emotionally, and philosophically balanced, and spiritually connected. Alchemy is a kind of spiritual magnetism. The law of attraction works best when you know what you desire and your intentions are clear. It’s nearly impossible to transform negative thinking and circumstances into positive results without taking a leap of faith and letting go of fear.
Everyone is familiar with at least one of Hermes secrets. “The Secret” has been a very profitable PR crusade for Hermes “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.” Hermes verified seven basic metaphysical and philosophical principles.
Hermes other six ‘secrets’ are Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender. Applying these principles enabled Hermes to explore, examine, and explain just about everything. Hermes describes opposites as two extremes of the same thing with many varying degrees between. Where does heat end and cold begin? Where does darkness leave off and light begin? What about hard and soft, sharp and dull, noisy and quiet, high and low, positive and negative? The same principle operates on the mental plane. Love and hate are simply degrees of the same thing. Somewhere in the middle are shades of like and dislike. The vibrations of hate can be changed to the vibrations of love through applying the art of polarization, a phase of mental alchemy known and practiced by ancient and modern Hermetic masters.
Hermetic masters possessed knowledge of transcendental astronomy called astrology, transcendental chemistry called alchemy, and transcendental psychology called mystic psychology. They cultivated inner as well as outer wisdom. Critical thinkers throughout history have unlocked the mysteries of nature using symbolism. Galileo, Pythagoras, Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Nostradamus, Leonardo Da Vinci, George Washington, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell, were all Grand Masters of symbolic thought.
Hermes used astrology to unlock the ancient mysteries. As a symbolic system, it compares and contrasts our heavens with the affairs of mankind on earth. Astrologers espouse Hermes second principle of correspondence “As above, so below, as below, so above”. A diversity of astrological symbols and their relationships comprise one big dysfunctional family we call humanity. The human race has become a race against bad shit happening. It doesn’t have to be that way. Every relationship changes every other relationship on a cellular level by raising or diminishing vibration, polarity, and rhythm.
Hermes asks us to know ourselves, to allow our minds and willpower to choose the most positive aspects of who we are. As we embrace our healthiest qualities, we attract nourishing relationships and find meaningful roles for ourselves. We can turn lead into gold by choosing to be happy, healthy, whole, centered, and peaceful, and then do the corresponding work. The rest is detail. The true secrets are in the work.