Thoth and an Emerald Tablet

Thoth is the Greek name given to the Egyptian lunar deity, Djehuty. The Egyptians had a thorough understanding of astrology and astronomy and understood the significance of the moon and it's obvious cycles; making Thoth an important figure in Egyptian mythology.

The Egyptians credited Thoth with the invention of writing and the calendar, creation of magic, a divine record-keeper and mediator. It is through his role as messenger of the gods that he is associated by the Greeks with Hermes, and by me with the archangel Gabriel for the same reason.

Thoth was known as:

• the 'One who Made Calculations Concerning the Heavens, the Stars and the Earth'
• the 'Reckoner of Times and Seasons'
• the one who 'Measured out the Heavens and Planned the Earth.'
• He was 'He who Balances', the 'God of the Equilibrium' and 'Master of the Balance'
• 'The Lord of the Divine Body'
• 'Scribe of the Company of the Gods'
• the 'Voice of Ra'
• the 'Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, both Human and Divine'
• he who understood 'all that is hidden under the heavenly vault'.
• and 'He who Reckons the Heavens, the Counter of the Stars and the Measurer of the Earth.'

Thoth has particular significance for me because along with Isis (Asi) and Horus-Apophis (Hoor-Apep), Thoth presides over the Neophyte Temple of the Great White Brotherhood. August 6 is a date traditionally sacred to Thoth.

The Emerald Tablet

There is place for any discussion about Thoth (and therefore Hermes) for The Emerald Tablet; a series of tablets attributed to Thoth.

It is said that the tablet was written by Thoth, an immortal Priest-King who after the destruction of Atlantis founded the Atlantean colony of Egypt and ruled it from 52,000 B.C. to 36,000 B.C.

Thoth left his records and knowledge in the Great Halls of Amenti; concealed deep within The Great Pyramid and appointed guards. The descendants of these guards became the pyramid priests who deified Thoth as the God of Wisdom. In legend, the Halls of Amenti became the underworld, the Halls of the gods, where the soul passed after death for judgment.

Commentaries and translations of the Emerald Tablet have been published by Trithemius, Roger Bacon, Michael Maier, Aleister Crowley and Albertus Mangus among many others.

The Emerald Tablet can be said to be one of the cornerstones of Hermetic Philosophy. The text of the tablet has several modern translations, however my preferred translation is the one found amongst the alchemical papers of Sir Issac Newton:

1. Tis true without lying, certain and most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
3. And as all things have been and arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is it's father, the moon it's mother,
5. The wind hath carried it in it's belly, the earth is it's nurse.
6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
7. It's force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. Separate thou from earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.
9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world and thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
10. It's force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.
11. So was the world created.
12. From this are and do come admirable adaptations where of the means (or process) is here in this.
13. Hance I am called Hermes Trismegist having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.

There are said to be thirteen tablets that make up the entire collection; the titles of which are:

1. The History of Thoth, The Atlantean
2. The Halls of Amenti
3. The Key of Wisdom
4. The Space Born
5. The Dweller of Unal
6. The Key of Magic
7. The Seven Lords
8. The Key of Mysteries
9. The Key of Freedom of Space
10. The Key of Time
11. The Key to Above and Below
12. The Law of Cause and Effect and The Key of Prophecy
13. The Keys of Life and Death

Along with two supplementary tablets:

1. Atlantis
2. Secret of Secrets

A literal translation of these tablets can be found at http://www.crystalinks.com/emerald.html

Invocation

I've been a fan of the Invocation of Thoth as set to music by Israel Regardie on The Complete System of Golden Dawn Magic (audio); an invocation I regularly use when I feel the need to reach the divine wisdom within me that manifests itself as Thoth.

Procol oh procol este profani. Barlasti ompala.

In the name of the Mighty and Terrible One, I proclaim that I have banished the shells unto their habitations.

I invoke Tahuti, the Lord of Wisdom and of Utterance; the god that cometh forth from the veil.

Oh thou, majesty of the godhead, wisdom-crowned Tahuti, Lord of the gates of the universe.
Thee, thee I invoke.
Oh thou of the ibis head. Thee, thee I invoke.
Thou who wieldest the wand of double power. Thee, thee I invoke.
Thou who bearest in thy left hand the rose and cross of light and life. Thee, thee I invoke.
Thou whose head is as an emerald, and thy nemyss as the night sky blue. Thee, thee I invoke.
Thou whose skin is a flaming orange as though it burned in a furnace. Thee, thee I invoke.

Behold, I am yesterday, today, and the brother of tomorrow. I am born again and again. Mine is the unseen force whereof the gods are sprung, which is as life unto the dwellers in the Watchtowers of the Universe.

I am the charioteer of the east; Lord of the past and the future. I see by my own inward light; Lord of resurrection who cometh forth from the dust, and my birth is from the house of death.

Oh ye two Divine hawks upon your pinnacles who keep watch over the universe.
Ye who company the Bier to the house of rest, who pilot the ship of Ra, ever advancing onwards the heights of heaven. Lord of the shrine which standeth in the center of the earth.

Behold! He is me and I in him.
Mine is the radiance wherein Ptah floateth over the firmament.
I travel upon high. I tread upon the firmament of Nu.
I raise a flashing flame with the lightening of mine eye.
Ever rushing on in the splendor of the daily glorified Ra, giving my life to the dwellers of earth.
If I say come up upon the mountain, the celestial waters shall flow at my command.
For I am Ra incarnate, Kephra created in the flesh.
I am the idolar of my father Tnu, Lord of the city of the sun.
The god who commands is in my mouth.
The god of wisdom is in my heart.
My tongue is the sanctuary of truth and a god sitteth upon my lips.
My word is accomplished every day, and the desire of my heart realizes itself as that of Ptah when he created his works.

I am eternal, therefore all things are as my designs. Therefore do thou come forth unto me from thine abode in the silence, unutterable wisdom, all light or power.

Thoth.Hermes. Mercury. Odin.
By whatever name I call thee thou art still nameless to eternity.
Come thou forth I say, and aid and guard me in this work of art.

Thou star of the east that didst conduct the magi.
Thou art the same all present in heaven and in hell.
Thou that vibratest between the light and the darkness, rising, descending, changing ever, yet ever the same.

The sun is thy father; thy mother the moon.
The wind hath borne thee in it's bosom and earth hath ever nourished the changeless god head of thy youth.

Come thou forth I say, come thou forth and make every spirit of the firmament and of the ether, upon the earth and under the earth, on dry land and in the water, of whirling air and of rushing fire, and every spell and scourge of God the Vast One may be obedient unto me.

Esoteric Order of the Goden Dawn - Invocation of Thoth

A traditional invocation; based on ancient texts:

O Thou, the Apex of the Plane,
With Ibis head and wings of Night! Whose serpents strain
Their bodies, bounding the Beyond
Thou in the Light and in the Night
Art One, above their moving might.

Another very nice invocation that I found online, however it has no references or any other information available with it:

Hail to the Ibis Headed writer
of the world. Singer
of the first refrain that still
rings true. Hail to the describer
of forms and the final
judge of all his works

You brought the code to the code-
breakers and taught us
your secrets and your lore.
You’re the weaver
of the veil and you bear
the fire that may burn it away.

For I wear the head of an Ibis, at times,
and sometimes the form
of a baboon. I am Tahuti, called
Thoth, called Hermes: Thrice Great, called
Loki. Know this and know my deepest
mystery. I am the forger
of the real. The maker of a perfect
code, the breaker
of the thickest veil

I like it, but my personal preference for invoking Thoth is the Invocation used by The Golden Dawn.


Associations with Other Traditions

• Hermes was worshiped especially fervently by travelers, pilgrims, thieves and poets. Though temples to Hermes existed throughout Greece, Arcadia was a center of his cult. Hermoea were the festivals in his honor, also especially prevalent in Arcadia.
• Mercury was the messenger of Roman mythology; god of trade, profit and commerce. Most of Mercury's characteristics and mythology were stolen from Hermes. Through his association with Mercury and the attributes to do with Balance the astrological sign Gemini.
  
• The Roman historian Tacitus refers to Odin when he talks of Mercury
• Archangel Gabriel as Messenger of the Gods.
  
• Quetzalcoatl and the Mayan Calendar - Time with an end date of December 21, 2012.
• The Incan God Viracocha.
• Legend has it that Tehuti was the ruler of Atlantis for an unspecified period of time; coming and going throughout it's history and who recorded His message in the Emerald Tablet of Thoth the Atlantean.
• In some Masonic traditions; Thoth played a major role in preserving the knowledge of The Craft and re-establishing the tradition after The Flood.