The Seven Hermetic Laws [Archive.org URL]

Said to be passed down from a fellow named Hermes Trismegistus (“three times great”)—the Greeks called him “Hermes” (the messenger for the gods), the Romans called him Mercury (pictured him with winged shoes) and the Egyptians recognized him as their god Toth. According to legend, he was a contemporary (and even teacher of) Abraham. Considered the father of science, his Laws capture the essence of life. Super powerful. They are:

1. The Law of Mentalism – “The Universe is a mental creation of God.” I like to think of this Law as describing the power/intelligence that beats my heart, grows my fingernails and is currently digesting the bowl of (yummy!) quinoa I just ate—doing all of this, of course, without me thinking about it! This is the same force that grows a lizard’s tail and marches the Antarctic penguins to the same mating spot every single (!) year. Hermes calls it the “Law of Mentalism”; I like to call it “The Law of Universal Intelligence.”
2. The Law of Correspondence – “As above, so below; as below, so above.” Have you ever seen a tree with *really* bad roots bear beautiful fruits? Doesn’t happen. How about a *really* unhappy/angry/negative/pessimistic person with low blood pressure and optimal health? Not gonna happen. As above, so below. As inside, so outside. It’s the Law that captures the essence of the Mind/Body connection in medicine.
3. The Law of Vibration – “All things are in constant and never-ending motion. A change in the vibration causes a change in the manifestation.” Did you know the word “atom” means “un-cuttable”? The early scientists named ’em that because at one point we thought atoms were the absolute smallest particles in the Universe. They were “uncuttable.” Now we know better.Dig a little deeper inside those uncuttable atoms and you’ll find things even smaller called “quanta.” Dig a little deeper and all you’re left with is a bunch of vibrating energy. ALL life is simply vibration. Fascinating. From light (red is simply a light wave that vibrates slower than blue) to sound (your dog barking is simply a slower vibration than a dog whistle) to water (ice is simply “H2O” vibrating more slowly than water which is vibrating more slowly than vapor).Change the vibration and you change the manifestation. Fascinating. (This is the basis of the Law of Attraction and Abraham-Hicks’ and others’ wisdom that we pay attention to our thoughts/vibrations.)
4. The Law of Polarity – “All things are dual. Everything has its pair of opposites and these opposites are identical in nature, differing only in degree.” Light/Dark. Hot/Cold. Fear/Excitement. All things have their opposites. And, they’re identical in their nature, differing only in degree. Light/Dark: both represent the amount of light present—from none (dark) to a lot (light). Hot/Cold: both represent the amount of heat present—from none (cold) to a lot (hot). Fear/Excitement: Interestingly, these are opposite ends of the “expectation” spectrum—from negative expectations of “this is going to go terribly!” (fear) to positive expectations of “this is going to go great!” (excitement).
5. The Law of Rhythms – “All things have their tides, an ebb tide and a flood tide.” Ah, rhythms! Think of our (and every animals’!) 24-hour circadian “rhythm” that follows the sun to 28-day lunar cycles (that also tie to a woman’s cycle and the waves of the ocean). POWERFUL. Good stuff to pay attention to, don’t you think?!? Wayne Dyer likes to say, “First, be a good animal.” Following the remarkably powerful rhythms of the Universe is a good way to start being a “good animal.” My personal favorite change to align with the rhythms? I beat the sun up every morning. Living in the jungles of Bali for several months, it became *really* obvious that we’re meant to get up early and go to bed early. Doubt me? Go camping in the forest for a week and don’t bring anything electronic and no alcohol. Let me know when you’re going to bed/getting up by the last day.
6. The Law of Cause and Effect – “Every cause has its effect and every effect its cause.” Cause and Effect. Whether you think of it in the Hindu/Buddhist/Yogic terms of “karma” or Jesus’ wisdom that we reap what we sow, it’s clear: “Every cause has its effect and every effect its cause.”What does that mean? Well, if you want an apple tree, don’t think you’re going to get it by planting cucumber seeds. The cause of planting cucumber seeds will never produce the effect of an apple tree. You want happiness? Then think happy thoughts. The cause of planting unhappy thoughts will never produce a happy life.Cause and effect. Simple. (Very!) powerful. What seeds are you planting?
7. The Law of Gender – “All things have a masculine and feminine aspect.”  Masculine/feminine. All things have a bit of both—whether we’re talking about you and I, our species or even a conversation. I have feminine qualities (open to creative ideas from my intuition) and masculine qualities (driven to set goals/achieve/create!). A conversation has masculine (talking) and feminine (listening) qualities. Think yin and yang. Good thing to pay attention to and to consciously balance within our lives.