Editing Emerald Tablet (section)

=== Esotericism and academia ===
The ''Emerald Tablet'' continued to interest [[Western esotericism|esotericists]]—and beginning in the 1850s and lasting up to the 1920s the newly emerging [[Occult|occultist current]]. In France the first occultist, [[Éliphas Lévi]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Faivre|1994|p=88}}.</ref> considered it the most important magical text.{{Efn|"Nothing surpasses, nor equals, as a synthesis of all the
doctrines of the ancient world, those few sentences engraved
on a precious stone by Hermes and known under
the name of the ''Emerald Tablet''; the unity of being and the unity
of harmonies—whether ascending or descending—
the progressive and proportional scale of the Word; the
immutable law of equilibrium and the proportional advancement of
universal analogies; the relation of the idea to the Word, estab
lishing the measure of the relationship between creator and created;
the mathematics of the infinite, demonstrated through
the measures of a single corner of the finite—all of this is ex
pressed in that single proposition of the great Egyptian
hierophant: […] The ''Emerald Tablet'' is all of magic in a single
page."<ref>{{harvnb|Lévi|1860|pp=77-78}}.</ref>}} Additionally, figures like [[Stanislas de Guaita|Stanislas de Guaïta]] and [[Gérard Encausse|Papus]] spent little time engaging with the broader Hermetic tradition but focused much of their efforts onto exegesis of the ''Tablet''. In Italy [[Giuliano Kremmerz]] authored a long commentary on it.<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|pp=|p=540}}</ref> English scholars such as [[John David Chambers|John Chambers]] initiated the academic study of the Hermetica. However, the most influential figure in this endeavor was [[G. R. S. Mead|George R.S. Mead]]. He began his examinations in the [[Theosophical Society|''Theosophical Society'']], but broke with it in 1879. From thereon he developed a scholarly objectivity when engaging with the material while not concealing his personal occultist beliefs.{{Efn|It is for this reason that his work can be seen as the first step towards the 20th-century scholarly approaches of [[Richard August Reitzenstein|Richard Reitzenstein]], [[Walter Scott (scholar)|Walter Scott]], [[Arthur Nock]], [[André-Jean Festugière]], [[Gilles Quispel]], [[Roelof van den Broek]],
[[Jean-Pierre Mahé]], and [[Brian Copenhaver]].<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|p=541}}</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|pp=|p=541}}.</ref>

The co-founder of the Theosophical Society, [[Helena Blavatsky]] produced exegetical interpretations of the ''Tablet''.<ref>{{harvnb|Goodrick-Clarke|2013|pp=287}}; {{harvnb|Prophet|2018|pp=87, 91}}; {{harvnb|Blavatsky|1891|pp=507-514}}.</ref> She also popularized a paraphrase of the second verse of the [[Emerald Tablet#Vulgate|''vulgate'']]: "[[as above, so below]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Prophet|2018|pp=87, 91}}.</ref> This use—along with that in the [[The Kybalion|''Kybalion'']]{{Efn|Which is often speculated to be the work of [[William Walker Atkinson|William W. Atkinson]], a [[New Thought]] pioneer.<ref>{{harvnb|Horowitz|2019|p=195}}</ref>}}<ref>{{harvnb|Horowitz|2019|p=195}}.</ref>—propelled it to become an oft-cited motto. Later in the twentieth century, it would rise to particular prominence in [[New Age]] circles.<ref>{{harvnb|Horowitz|2019|pp=193–194}}.</ref> This led to its adoption as a title for [[As above, so below (disambiguation)|various works of art]].<!-- intentional DAB link -->

A figure also influenced by [[Helena Blavatsky|Blavatsky]] was the Dutch founder of the [[Lectorium Rosicrucianum|''Lectorium Rosicrucianum'']], [[Jan van Rijckenborgh]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Nenzén|2020|p=66}}.</ref> He used the Tablet to derive the crux of his own worldview and ascribed much antiquity to it.<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|pp=|p=542}}.</ref> The world's most extensive collection of Hermetica is found in the [[Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica|''Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica'']],{{Efn|It is also notable for the scholars it has attracted to its editorial board such as {{ill|Frans A. Janssen|nl}} and {{ill|Carlos Gilly|de}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|p=542}}.</ref>}} which was founded by a memer of the [[Lectorium Rosicrucianum|''Lectorium'']], [[Joost Ritman]].<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|pp=|p=542}}.</ref> [[Perennial philosophy|Perennialist]]s as a whole have kept their distance from Hermeticism and its receptions in [[Western esotericism]] more generally. However, one of the best-known modern commentaries on the ''Tablet'' was produced by the [[Traditionalism (perennialism)|traditionalist]], [[Titus Burckhardt]].<ref>{{harvnb|Faivre|2005|pp=|p=542}}; ; {{harvnb|Burckhardt|1960|pp=219-225}}.</ref>

A prominent academic reception of the ''Tablet'' occurred in [[Carl Jung]]'s [[Alchemy#Psychology|psychology of alchemy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2016||pages=|p=73}}.</ref> He saw it as the paramount text of alchemy. Jung had read {{Harvnb|Ruska|1926}} and was familiar with the Arabic text of the ''[[Sirr al-khaliqa|Book of the Secret of Creation]]'' and the debates surrounding the text's age and original language. He focused his textual analysis mainly, however, on the Latin ''vulgate'' text.{{Efn|Exhibiting a particular textual preference for the 1541 Nuremberg edition.}}<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2016||pages=73, 76, 79-80.|p=}}</ref> The ''Tablet''’s alchemical operations—most notably the “operation of the sun”—became, for Jung, powerful metaphors: the sun’s “art” of [[Chrysopoeia|creating gold]] is none other than consciousness splitting from a “primeval” [[Jungian archetypes|archetypal]] source, working through the “prima materia” of the psyche, and reuniting to generate a transformed, [[Analytical psychology#Individuation|individuated]] [[Self in Jungian psychology|self]].<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2016||pages=79-80.|p=}}</ref>