THOTH

Thoth is the Egyptian god of writing, magic, wisdom, and the moon. He was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt alternately said to be self-created or born of the seed of Horus from the forehead of Set. As the son of these two deities, who represented order and chaos respectively, he was also the god of equilibrium and balance and associated closely with both the principle of ma’at (divine balance) and the goddess Ma’at who personified this principle (and who was sometimes seen as his wife).

Thoth’s Egyptian name was Djehuty (also dhwty) meaning “He Who is Like the Ibis”. The ibis was a sacred bird in ancient Egypt as well as a popular pet and associated with wisdom. Other forms of his name are Jehuti, Tahuti, Tehuti, Zehuti, Techu, Tetu, and Lord of the Khemenu (the later city of Hermopolis) which was his major cult center. Hermopolis was so named because of the Greek association of Thoth with their god Hermes and to the Greeks Thoth became Hermes Trimegistus (Thoth the Thrice Great often given as “Three Times Great, Great”).

Thoth was credited with the creation of a number of branches of knowledge (law, magic, philosophy, religion, science, and writing) he was thought to be an infallible judge capable of rendering completely just decisions. The Greeks admired him so greatly that they credited him as the originator of all knowledge on earth and in the heavens.

His home in the afterlife, known as the Mansion of Thoth, provided a safe place for souls to rest and receive magic spells to help them against the demons who would prevent them from reaching paradise. His magic was also instrumental in the revitalization of the soul which brought the dead back to life in the underworld. The association of writing with magic gave rise to the belief that Thoth had written magical treatises based on all he knew of the heavens, the earth, and the afterlife, and that these books were hidden away to be found by the initiates of later generations.

THE EMERALD TABLETS

The Emerald Tablet of Thoth, also referred to as the Emerald Tablets of Hermes, is thought to be the work of Hermes Trismegistus (“Hermes the Thrice-Great”), a legendary Egyptian sage or god, variously identified with the Egyptian god Thoth and/or the Greek god Hermes created to chronicle his journeys from the times of Atlantis until the times of Khem (Egypt).

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes is the original source of Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy. These tablets are said to reveal various hidden magical treatises and secrets revealing a recipe for the preparation of the Philosopher’s Stone which may be used for transmutation.

The soul of Thoth is said to have passed into the bodies of men in the manner described in the tablets. As such, he incarnated three times, in his last being known as Hermes, the thrice-born. The Emerald Tablets became a book of record and occult wisdom which he wrote and left in the Pyramid for those of a future Age of Light.

This short and cryptic text was highly regarded by European alchemists as the foundation of their art, in particular of its Hermetic tradition:

Historical Translation

True, without error, certain and most true: that which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above, to perform the miracles of the One Thing.

And as all things were from One, by the meditation of One, so from this One Thing come all things by adaptation. Its father is the Sun, its mother is the Moon, the wind carried it in its belly, the nurse thereof is the Earth.

It is the father of all perfection and the consummation of the whole world. Its power is integral if it be turned to Earth.

Thou shalt separate the Earth from the Fire, the subtle from the coarse, gently and with much ingenuity. It ascends from Earth to heaven and descends again to Earth, and receives the power of the superiors and the inferiors.

Thus thou hast the glory of the whole world; therefore let all obscurity flee before thee. This is the strong fortitude of all fortitude, overcoming every subtle and penetrating every solid thing. Thus the world was created. Hence are all wonderful adaptations, of which this is the manner.

Therefore am I called Hermes the Thrice Great, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world. That is finished which I have to say concerning the operation of the Sun.

Translation & Interpretations by Dr. Doreal

Originally published in mimeographed form in the 1930s by a mysterious “Dr. Doreal,” these writings quickly became an underground sensation among esotoricists of the time. He is said to have obtained his knowledge from Tibet around the Second World War. Tablets 1-13 are part of the original work; tablets 14 and 15 are supplemental. No one has ever seen the original tablets mentioned here, and in all likelihood, these writings would be considered channeled material today. However, the Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean are still part of the modern Corpus Hermeticum, for they elaborate and deepen the meaning of the historical Emerald Tablet and writings of Thoth/Hermes.