The Seven Hermetic Laws.

Introduction.

These lessons were taught personally by the Rosicrucian Imperator of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn - David Griffin, and by his wife - Leslie Mc Quade, the Witch Queen.

So I think that it's worthwhile, even if long, read.


1. The Hermetic Law of Unity.

'That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Unity asserts that all existence emanates from a single source — the One Thing. All division is illusion. Beneath the multiplicity of forms, there is only unity. The Hermetic magician begins here: not by seeking power in external things, but by aligning with the Source from which all things arise. Unity is not just philosophical — it is energetic. To act in unity with the One is to access the fundamental creative current of the cosmos. Every successful magical act is an act of unification: the operator aligns internal will with cosmic law, and a result appears.

This principle forms the bedrock of Hermetic metaphysics and underlies all magical operation. Without unity, the will is scattered. With unity, the smallest gesture can move mountains.

Magickal Mechanism.

Unity acts as the foundation and amplifier of all other laws. It is the original field from which all manifestation flows. In magickal operation, unity is evoked through harmonization — of inner and outer, above and below, operator and intention. Rituals of unity often feature vertical symbols: the staff, the axis, the pillar of light — all representing the linkage between divine source and material form. When this alignment is consciously invoked, energy flows without resistance. In Golden Dawn practice, the operator ritually becomes the central pillar of the Tree of Life — the vertical axis linking Malkuth to Kether. This “Middle Pillar” represents the living conduit of unity between the worlds, activated through breath, visualization, and divine invocation.


2. The Hermetic Law of Will.

'Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Law of Will declares that the human will, when unified and directed, becomes the prime agent of transformation in Hermetic science. Will is not wishful thinking. It is the axial current of command within the soul — the vector by which intention pierces the inertia of the world. In Hermetic tradition, all creation begins with an act of divine Will. The One Thing did not split into the many by accident, but by volition. The magician who awakens this same force within becomes not a beggar before the universe, but a co-creator of reality. This is the sacred flame — the internal fire that acts without permission, moves without delay, and causes without compromise.

Magickal Mechanism.

Will is the engine behind all magick. It is not the ritual that works — it is the Will that works through the ritual. All tools, symbols, gestures, and invocations are carriers for the one essential force: directed volition. Hermetic rites — from sigil charging to divine name projection — all rely on this current. The adept does not merely visualize success. He impresses his demand upon the astral matrix. He does not ask. He causes.

The Law of Will also implies polarity: operator and operation, sender and field, impulse and result. The magician acts as the sovereign axis — establishing dominance by projection, not petition. In the Golden Dawn tradition, foundational rituals such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) and the Ritual of the Hexagram are not passive forms — they are drills in volition. Each gesture, vibration, and visualization sharpens the will, aligning it with cosmic law and training the operator to act as a sovereign force in the astral field.


3. The Hermetic Law of Reflection.

'As all things were produced by the meditation of One, so all things were produced from this one thing by adaptation.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Reflection (traditionally called the Law of Correspondence) teaches that every level of existence is mirrored in every other. What is above is reflected below. What is inner is echoed outward. What is small reveals the great. The cosmos is not a linear chain but a nested field of resonant images — each reflecting the Whole in miniature. This principle is not poetic. It is structural. All reality is imaginal — shaped by thought, perception, and form. As the One contemplates itself, the Many emerge. And every object, being, or condition we encounter is a mirror of the deeper pattern beneath. To the Hermetic magician, Reflection is the true engine of sympathetic magick. The rite, the symbol, the utterance — these are not placeholders. They are tuned echoes. The magician doesn’t beg reality to change. He inserts a reflection so precise, so resonant, that the pattern must replicate itself across all levels of being.

Mirrors — literal and symbolic — are ancient magical tools not because they reveal what is, but because they summon what must become. In reflective magick, the image precedes the fact. The echo shapes the event.

Magickal Mechanism.

Reflection operates through pattern-recognition and energetic mimicry. When the magician places an image — a talisman, a sigil, a phrase — into the field of consciousness and aligns it with his intent, that image begins to replicate itself across subtle planes. The closer the resemblance to the desired condition, the faster the link. That’s why ritual mirrors, enchanted dolls, sympathetic effigies, and sigilied parchment were used across traditions — not as metaphors, but as anchors for manifestation. A mirror is not just a passive reflector — it is a transmitter when charged. A glyph is not inert — it hums when tuned. The adept selects, shapes, and positions images in time and space as blueprints for invisible construction.

In the Golden Dawn system, talismans and magical images are ritually consecrated not merely as tokens — but as precise mirrors of celestial and elemental forces. Through ceremonial alignment of materials, timing, and intention, the magician crafts a reflection so exact that the universe responds in kind.


4. The Hermetic Law of Vibration.

'The wind carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Vibration teaches that all things are in motion — and that the nature of that motion determines their condition. Every thought, object, being, and state emits a frequency. Vibration is not a metaphor. It is the very signature of form and force. In Hermetic doctrine, vibration is the primal medium of creation. In the beginning was the Word — not just spoken language, but Logos — the harmonic vibration of divine intelligence. Breath is vibration. Sound is vibration. Spirit itself, moving through form, generates a field. The ancients taught that the gods did not create by shaping matter directly, but by intoning its pattern into being. Thus, all reality is a kind of frozen music — and magick is the art of tuning the self to resonate with chosen forms.

What is low vibrates slowly. What is exalted vibrates rapidly. Emotional states, spiritual energies, and even financial conditions carry distinct vibratory signatures. The adept does not wait to 'feel high vibe' — he engineers his field. Through chant, breath, rhythm, posture, color, fragrance, and tone, the magician modifies vibration deliberately, aligning with desired realities.

This Law reveals the secret behind divine name invocation, mantra, planetary music, and sonic talismans. These are not superstition. They are harmonic technologies — instruments of magickal resonance.

Magickal Mechanism.

In ritual magick, vibration is both key and gate. Divine names are not spoken — they are vibrated. The air itself must shimmer. The body becomes a tuning fork. When the operator’s frequency matches the target reality, manifestation becomes inevitable — not as a gift, but as a harmonic consequence.

Entrainment is the mechanism: when one frequency sustains itself in the presence of another, the weaker conforms. A magician’s sustained inner vibration — through repeated ritual, chant, or breathwork — reshapes the field around him until it bends in resonance. This is why magical states are often induced physically: swaying, drumming, dancing, incanting. Thought alone lacks the amplitude. Frequency must be embodied. When mind, voice, and body pulse in unison, the spell vibrates through the worlds.


5. The Hermetic Law of Generation.

'Its father is the Sun, its mother the Moon.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Generation teaches that creation is born from polarity — not duality as conflict, but polarity as voltage. Every manifest thing arises from the dynamic interplay of complementary forces: sun and moon, force and form, projection and reception, spirit and matter.

This is not about balance — it is about creative tension. All generative power flows from polarity: the Two charged in such a way that they birth the Third. In Hermetic alchemy, this is the coniunctio — the sacred fusion that gives rise to life. In Golden Dawn symbolism, this is the hexagram: the upward triangle of fire united with the downward triangle of water. This union of opposites is not metaphorical — it is the very mechanism of manifestation.

The initiate does not seek neutrality. She polarizes. He amplifies. They generate. The current of creation flows only where the poles are set and held — not dissolved.

Magickal Mechanism.

This law functions by intentional polarization. When two opposing yet complementary forces are magnetized within a ritual field, a new energy is born between them. This 'arc of attraction' is the generative current. It can be harnessed to create change in matter, emotion, mind, or event.

Golden Dawn magick is saturated with this principle. The Pillars of Mercy and Severity. The red and white of the Kerubic beasts. The hexagram itself — each ritual structure encodes polarity not for symbolism alone, but because polarity is what causes manifestation. The initiate becomes the generator — the vessel in which polarity ignites. Through ritual posture, elemental invocation, sexual force, breath, and visualization, she builds the arc. When polarity reaches ignition, the world responds.


6. The Hermetic Law of Cycles.

'It rises from Earth to Heaven and descends again to Earth, receiving the power of the Above and of the Below.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Cycles teaches that all things move in rhythmic patterns — waves of emergence and withdrawal, growth and decay, fullness and void. Just as day follows night and tide follows tide, so too do the inner and outer worlds obey invisible currents of timing. In Hermetic science, time is not linear, but spiral. The past does not vanish — it returns at a higher or lower octave. The same energies resurface, wearing new faces. What once descended will rise again, and what rises must one day return. This law teaches not repetition, but rhythm.

The initiate does not fight time. She listens for it. Watches it. Senses when the tide begins to turn. She waits until the hour is ripe — and only then acts. By this, her magick is not forced but fated. Not pushed, but inevitable. This law forms the esoteric foundation of astrology, which is not superstition but the science of cycles. The stars do not cause — they reveal. By studying the heavens, the Hermetic magician learns to read the tides of becoming.

Magickal Mechanism.

All magick happens in time. Rituals are not cast into empty space — they ride currents already in motion. The Law of Cycles governs the timing and tone of every operation. Each phase — lunar, solar, planetary — acts as a gate, opening and closing specific channels of force. To work with cycles is to act with nature, not against it. Waxing moons amplify, waning moons banish. Jupiter expands, Saturn contracts. Venus attracts, Mars compels. When the magician aligns her acts with these tides, resistance vanishes and power flows clean. Timing is not cosmetic. It is causal. In the Hermetic Golden Dawn, operations are carefully synchronized with celestial hours and planetary correspondences. But even without complex charts, the magician can begin with simple harmonies — sunrise, sunset, the full moon, the turning of the year. Each is a doorway. The wise know when to knock.


7. The Hermetic Law of Transmutation.

'It ascends from the Earth to the Heaven and again descends to the Earth, thereby combining within itself the powers of both the Above and the Below.'
— The Emerald Tablet

Doctrinal Foundation.

The Hermetic Law of Transmutation declares a profound truth of nature: nothing is permanent. Everything transforms. Every particle of matter, every flash of energy, every human state — all are in flux. Solid becomes vapor. Desire becomes action. Lead becomes gold. This is not poetic — it is precise. It is the universal law by which the Great Work proceeds. Hermetic science does not merely study transformation. It directs it. The initiate does not wait to become more. He or she applies force, fire, and form to become otherwise.

Transmutation is the heart of the Opus Magnum — the work of changing the very substance of life. Whether by physical means or spiritual exertion, the operator reshapes reality by applying this law. Matter is spiritualized. Spirit is embodied. A new pattern emerges.

Magickal Mechanism.

The Law of Transmutation is not theoretical. It is the mechanism by which change happens — all change. In Hermetic Magick, the practitioner harnesses the energy of constant transformation and applies it with intention.

The secret is this: you do not need to invent power. The current of transmutation is already flowing. Everything is changing all the time — heat becomes motion, light becomes vision, thought becomes form. The magician acts not by resisting this process, but by aiming it. Transmutation requires no special state. Only recognition, and leverage. The operator selects a pattern — within or without — and deliberately alters its state using rite, will, word, and fire. This shift propagates. The new form stabilizes. And reality responds.