The Emerald Tablet, also called the Smaragdine Table or Tabula Smaragdina, is a short and mysterious text believed to have been written by the legendary figure Hermes Trismegistus. The earliest known versions of the text are four Arabic versions saved in mystical and alchemical writings from the 8th to 10th centuries CE, including the Secret of Creation (Arabic: سر الخليقة, romanized: Sirr al-Khalīqa) and the Secret of Secrets (Arabic: سرّ الأسرار, Sirr al-Asrār). These versions were often linked to a story about finding an emerald tablet in Hermes’ tomb.
Starting in the 12th century, Latin translations—especially a common version known as the vulgate—introduced the text to Europe, where it became widely studied. Medieval scholars, such as Hortulanus, believed it contained instructions for creating the philosopher’s stone and making gold. During the Renaissance, readers interpreted the text using ideas from Neoplatonism, allegory, and Christianity. Printers often paired the text with an emblem that became seen as a visual representation of the Tablet itself. Later, translations of the Latin vulgate into everyday languages, such as an English version by Isaac Newton, appeared.
After the 20th century, scholars like Eric Holmyard and Julius Ruska rediscovered Arabic sources, leading to ongoing debates about the Tablet’s origins. Scholars agree that the Secret of Creation, the earliest source of the Tablet, was likely created from earlier Greek or Syriac materials. The Tablet continues to influence mystical and occult traditions, where the phrase “as above, so below” (a summary of its second verse) is widely used. It has also been adopted by Jungian psychologists, artists, and pop culture figures, making it one of the most well-known texts from Hermeticism.
Background and early Arabic versions
Beginning in the first century BCE, Greek writings linked to Hermes Trismegistus, a mix of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth, appeared in Greco-Roman Egypt. These writings, called the Hermetica, are a collection of varied works. Today, they are often divided into two groups: the technical Hermetica, which includes writings about astrology, medicine, alchemy, and magic; and the religio-philosophical Hermetica, which includes mystical and philosophical writings.
These Greek texts were translated and copied in Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, and Middle Persian before the rise of Islam and the Arab conquests in the 630s. These conquests led to the creation of new empires where Arabic-speaking scholars emerged. These scholars translated the Greek texts and also created their own versions of the Hermetica. By the tenth century, some Arabic-speaking Muslims began to associate Hermes with the prophet Idris, treating the Hermetica as important Islamic writings. Until the early 1900s, only Latin versions of the Emerald Tablet were known in the West, with the oldest dating to the 1200s. Older Arabic versions, from the 800s and 900s, were rediscovered by scholars Eric John Holmyard and Julius Ruska.
The oldest known version of the Emerald Tablet is found as an appendix in an Arabic encyclopedia about natural philosophy, titled Book of the Secret of Creation and the Craft of Nature. This work was likely written in Arabic in the late 700s or early 800s. Some scholars think it may be a translation of an older Greek or Syriac text, though no such original manuscript is known. Others believe it was originally written in Arabic, based on older materials. The Arabic text claims to be a translation of a work by Apollonius of Tyana, a figure often falsely linked to magic, astrology, and alchemy in medieval Arabic texts. If the Tablet originally came from a text falsely attributed to Apollonius, it could be considered a work from late antiquity, like other similar writings.
The earliest version of the Emerald Tablet reads:
"Truth, without doubt, is true. The highest comes from the lowest, and the lowest comes from the highest. Wonders come from one, just as all things come from one by one plan. Its father is the sun, its mother is the moon. The wind carried it in her womb, and the earth fed it. Father of talismans, keeper of wonders, perfect in power. Fire became earth. Separate the earth from the fire. The soft is more noble than the rough. With gentleness and wisdom, it ascends from the earth to the heavens and descends from the heavens to the earth. In it is the power of the highest and the lowest, for with it is the light of lights. Therefore, darkness escapes from it. Power of powers, it prevails over everything. It enters all things. Against the creation of the great world, the work was made. This is my glory. Therefore, I am named Hermes the threefold with wisdom."
The introduction to Book of the Secret of Creation explains ideas about philosophy and alchemy. It describes how all things are made from four qualities—heat, cold, moisture, and dryness—based on Aristotle’s theory. These qualities determine how living things relate to each other. In the story, a figure named Balīnūs, known as the Master of Talismans, finds a hidden chamber under a statue of Hermes Trismegistus. Inside, he discovers an emerald tablet held by an old man with a book. The main part of the text is an alchemical work that first introduces the idea that all metals are made from two substances: sulfur and mercury. This idea became important in medieval alchemy. Emerald was linked to Hermes, quicksilver to his metal, and Mercury to his planet. Mars was connected to red stones and iron, while Saturn was linked to black stones and lead. In ancient times, people thought green minerals like green jasper and green granite were emeralds.
The Emerald Tablet appears in Book of the Secret of Creation as an appendix. Scholars have debated whether it is a separate piece or part of the larger work. Some think it was originally a magical text later understood as alchemical. This may have happened because it was separated from its original context in Book of the Secret of Creation and shared through alchemical writings.
Julius Ruska noted that the Tablet’s cosmogony in Book of the Secret of Creation did not seem Islamic, Iranian, or Christian. He suggested it might reflect ideas from Chaldean, Harranian, or Gnostic traditions near the Silk Road. Chang Tzu-Kung proposed a Chinese origin, linking Hermes Trismegistus to Chinese traditions. He noted that Chinese sayings often came from carvings in temples and caves. Tzu-Kung created a Chinese version of the Tablet based on a translation by John Read. He claimed the Tablet’s origin was a Han dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE) text called the Guanzi. Joseph Needham disagreed, saying this theory lacked enough proof.
Another early version of the Emerald Tablet is found in The Second Book of the Element of the Foundation (Arabic: Kitāb Usṭuqus al-Uss al-Thānī), attributed to the 8th-century alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan. This version is shorter, missing some lines from Book of the Secret of Creation. Other parts appear damaged. It reads:
"Truth! Certainty! That in which there is no doubt! That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above, working the miracles of one [thing]. As all things were from One. Its father is the Sun and its mother the Moon. The Earth carried it in her belly, and the Wind nourished it in her belly, as Earth which shall become Fire. Feed the Earth from that which is subtle, with the greatest power. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and becomes ruler over that which is above and that which is below."
Another text of the Emerald Tablet is found toward the…
European medieval period
The Book of the Secret of Creation was translated into Latin around 1145 to 1151 by a scholar named Hugo of Santalla. This text was not widely shared. The Latin version of the Tablet reads:
"Things above are connected to things below, and things below are connected to things above. All things come from one source, just as all things share the same purpose. The father is the Sun, the mother is the Moon, and the wind carries this in its body, making the Earth sweeter. Therefore, you, who create wonders, must use wisdom and care. If the Earth is formed, it must come from a subtle fire that surpasses all heaviness. With skill and knowledge, you must guide it. It will rise from Earth to Heaven and fall from Heaven to Earth, holding the power of both. From this, all darkness is illuminated, and everything subtle enters everything heavy. This process follows the structure of the greater world, which the philosopher Hermes called 'triple wisdom.'"
The Tablet was also translated into Latin in the 13th century as part of a book called Secretum Secretorum by Philip of Tripoli. This book was very popular during the Latin Middle Ages. Its version of the Tablet differs from Hugo of Santalla’s translation and the vulgate version. In Roger Bacon’s 1255 edition, the Tablet reads:
"Truth is certain. Things below respond to things above, and things above respond to things below. The one true God is the creator of all miracles. All things come from one substance, shaped by one purpose. The Sun is the father, the Moon is the mother, and the wind carries this nature into the Earth, which becomes fertile. The Sun is the father of all causes, the storehouse of miracles, and the giver of power. The Earth was made from fire. Separate the Earth from fire, for the subtle is better than the heavy, and the rare is better than the dense. This is done wisely and skillfully. It rises from Earth to Heaven and falls from Heaven to Earth, destroying the power of both. Thus, you will rule over all things, and light will shine on you, driving away darkness. The power above conquers everything. All rare things act on all dense things. This process follows the structure of the greater world, and for this reason, Hermes called it 'triple wisdom.'"
A third Latin version appears in an alchemical text from the 12th century. This version, called the vulgate, was widely used and became the basis for later translations. It is found in a collection of comments on the Emerald Tablet, translated from an Arabic text. This Arabic text has been called The Book of Hermes on Alchemy, The Book of Dabessus, or The Book of the Rebis. The translator of this version is thought to be Plato of Tivoli, who lived around 1134 to 1145. However, this is not certain, and the translator’s identity remains unknown.
The vulgate version of the Tablet reads:
"Truth, without lies, certain and true. What is above is like what is below, and what is below is like what is above. This allows miracles to be created. All things came from one thought, and all things were made from one act of shaping. The father is the Sun, the mother is the Moon. The wind carried it in its body, and the Earth is its nurse. The Sun is the father of all wonders in the world. Its power is perfect. If it is placed on Earth, it will separate Earth from fire, the subtle from the heavy. It rises gently from Earth to Heaven and returns to Earth, uniting the power of both. Then you will have the glory of the world’s brightness, and all darkness will flee from you. This is the strength of all strength, for it conquers everything subtle and enters everything solid. This is how the world was created. From this, wonderful changes will happen. Because of this, I am called Hermes, who holds the wisdom of the whole world. What I said about the Sun’s work is now complete."
The translator of this version did not understand the Arabic word ṭilasm, meaning "enigma" or "talisman," and wrote it as telesmus or telesmum in Latin. This mistake led to many different interpretations of the word. The word telesmus comes from Greek telesmos. Because its meaning was unclear, many explanations arose. In The Book of Hermes on Alchemy, the line with telesmus was left out. The final line of the vulgate, which mentions the Sun’s work, is often linked to the alchemical "Great Work." The Emerald Tablet was seen as a summary of alchemical rules, and it was believed to describe the secrets of the philosopher’s stone. This belief made the text very popular, leading to many European translations and commentaries, starting in the High Middle Ages and continuing to today.
Herman of Carinthia was one of a few European scholars in the 12th century who mentioned the Emerald Tablet. He wrote about it in his 1143 book On Essences, where he also described the story of the Tablet being found under a statue of Hermes in a cave, as told in The Book of the Secret of Creation. Herman was a friend of Robert of Chester, who translated The Book on the Composition of Alchemy in 1144. This was the first Latin translation of an Arabic alchemy text. An anonymous 12th-century writer tried to explain the word telesmus in the phrase "Father of all telesms" by saying it meant "Father of all secrets." The translator claimed that a type of divination called Thelesmus was considered the best among the Arabs. Later commentaries on the Emerald Tablet only used the meaning "secret." Around 1250, Albertus Magnus wrote about the vulgate version of the Tablet in his book On Minerals. Roger Bacon translated and added notes to Secretum Secretorum around 1275 to 1280.
Renaissance and early modernity
During the Renaissance, many people believed Hermes Trismegistus was the founder of alchemy and from Babylon. He was thought to have lived at the same time as Noah or Moses, and his story became connected to events in the Bible. One example of this belief is found in an anonymous text called Who Were the First Inventors of this Art, taken from a 14th-century work called Textus Alkimie. This text, or a later French version, influenced a story claiming a tablet and its symbol were discovered after the Biblical Flood in Hebron Valley.
This story evolved in Hieronymus Torrella’s 1496 book Splendid Work of Astrological Images. In it, Alexander the Great finds a Latin tablet called tabula zaradi (meaning "zaradi tablet") in Hermes’ tomb while traveling to the Oracle of Amun in Egypt. This story was repeated in 1617 by Michael Maier in Symbols of the Golden Table, which references a book called Book of Chymical Secrets attributed to Albertus Magnus, though it was likely not written by him. That same year, Maier published Fleeing Atalanta, illustrated by Matthaeus Merian the Elder, possibly with help from his cousin Theodor de Bry. The book included 50 alchemical symbols, each with a poem, a musical score, and explanations about alchemy and myths. Some symbols showed verses from the Emerald Tablet.
The first printed version of the Emerald Tablet appeared in 1541 in a book called Of Alchemy, published in Nuremberg by Johann Petreius and edited by someone named Chrysogonus Polydorus. This name is likely a pseudonym for Andreas Osiander, a Lutheran theologian who also edited Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres in 1543. This edition of the Emerald Tablet is similar to the vulgate version and includes a commentary by Hortulanus.
By the early 1600s, the writings of Johannes Trithemius shifted the interpretation of the Emerald Tablet from a focus on laboratory work to a more spiritual or metaphysical meaning. Trithemius linked Hermes’ "one thing" to the concept of the monad in Pythagorean philosophy and the anima mundi (world soul). This idea was later used by alchemists like John Dee, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, and Gerhard Dorn. In 1583, Dorn published a work by Christoph Corvinus titled On the Light of Physical Nature, which compared the Emerald Tablet to the creation story in the Bible.
From the late 1500s onward, the Emerald Tablet was often shown with a symbolic image called Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis (the Emerald Tablet of Hermes). This image had a Latin acrostic: Visita interiora terrae rectificando invenies occultum lapidem ("Visit the interior of the earth, and by correcting, you will find the hidden stone"). The initials of this phrase form the word "vitriol" in Old French, meaning sulfuric acid. At the top of the image, the sun and moon pour into a cup above the symbol for Mercury (☿). Around the cup are the symbols for the other planets, each linked to a metal: gold (Sun), silver (Moon), quicksilver (Mercury), tin (Jupiter), iron (Mars), copper (Venus), and lead (Saturn). The image originally used colors to connect these pairs. At the center are a ring and a globe with a cross, and at the bottom are the celestial and earthly spheres. Three symbols represent the three principles of alchemy: an eagle (quicksilver and spirit), a lion (sulfur and soul), and a star (salt and body). Two figures called Schwurhands appear beside the image, swearing to its truth.
The oldest known printed version of this image is in a book called The Golden Fleece, attributed to Salomon Trismosin, likely a pseudonym for a German Paracelsian. This book included a German poem explaining the image’s meaning in relation to alchemy’s goals: wealth, health, and long life. The image was based on ideas from other Paracelsian works and not directly connected to the Emerald Tablet itself. The association with the tablet may have helped legitimize the artwork as a metaphorical message. The image spread widely, especially among followers of Karl Widemann, a known Paracelsian. Initially, the image was a side element in books about the Emerald Tablet, but by the 17th century, the poem was removed, and the image became the main symbol of the tablet. The image became very popular and was often linked to the idea that ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs used hidden symbols to express deep truths about nature.
The 1541 Nuremberg edition of Of Alchemy, published by Johann Petreius, includes the following Latin text:
*"Verum sine mendacio, certum, et verissimum. Quod est inferius, est sicut quod est superius. Et quod est superius, est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione. Pater eius est Sol, mater eius est Luna. Portavit illud ventus in ventre suo. Nutrix eius terra est. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic. Vis eius integra est, si versa fuerit in terram. Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter cum magno ingenio. Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum. Sic habebis gloriam totius mundi. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas. Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit. Sic mundus creatus est. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus hic est. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus
Modernity and present
The Emerald Tablet remained a subject of interest for mystics and scholars. From the 1850s to the 1920s, a new occult movement grew in popularity. In France, Éliphas Lévi, one of the first occultists, believed the Tablet was the most important magical text. Others, like Stanislas de Guaïta and Papus, focused on interpreting the Tablet rather than studying the broader Hermetic tradition. In Italy, Giuliano Kremmerz wrote a detailed commentary on the Tablet. In England, John Chambers helped start the academic study of Hermetica. George R.S. Mead, the most influential figure in this effort, began his work in the Theosophical Society but left it in 1879. Afterward, he studied the Tablet objectively while still sharing his own occult beliefs.
Helena Blavatsky, a co-founder of the Theosophical Society, wrote interpretations of the Tablet. She also popularized a phrase from the Tablet: "as above, so below." This phrase became a common motto, especially in the Kybalion and later in New Age groups. It was used as a title for many artworks.
Jan van Rijckenborgh, a Dutch founder of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, was influenced by Blavatsky. He used the Tablet to shape his worldview and believed it had a long history. The largest collection of Hermetica is in the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, founded by Joost Ritman, a member of the Lectorium. Most perennialists avoided Hermeticism, but two exceptions were Titus Burckhardt, who wrote a famous modern commentary on the Tablet, and Julius Evola, who included the Tablet in his 1931 book The Hermetic Tradition.
Carl Jung, a psychologist, studied alchemy and saw the Tablet as the most important alchemical text. He praised Evola’s book as a detailed explanation of Hermetic philosophy. Jung studied the Arabic text of the Book of the Secret of Creation and the debates about its age and language, but focused mainly on the Latin version of the Tablet. For Jung, the Tablet’s alchemical processes, like the "operation of the sun," became symbols for the mind’s journey to create a whole, transformed self.
At the start of the 20th century, surrealist artist André Breton was inspired by alchemy. He believed surrealism should unite opposites, such as life and death, real and imaginary. In a 1942 essay, Breton used the Tablet’s phrase "as above, so below" to describe a bird flying and a lift descending into a mine, which he called opposites. He used this idea to create his first rule: "Never believe in the interior of a cave, always in the surface of an egg." Breton saw the artist Max Ernst, who claimed to be born from an egg, as an example of this alchemical idea.
In 1974, Brazilian musician Jorge Ben released an album titled A Tábua de Esmeralda ("The Emerald Tablet"). The album explored alchemy through songs like "Os Alquimistas estão chegando Os Alquimistas" and "Hermes Trismegisto e Sua Celeste Tábua de Esmeralda." Ben combined samba with jazz and rock, using his unique guitar style and musicians from various Brazilian music traditions. Some traditionalists saw this as a shift toward the American Jovem Guarda style.
Manfred Kelkel composed Tabula Smaragdina (Op. 24) between 1975 and 1977. Designed as a mystical ballet, the piece aimed to blend esotericism, alchemy, and music. Kelkel used graphic mandalas to map zodiac signs, planets, and the four elements onto musical scales, rhythms, and instruments. During performances, symbolic images were projected alongside a simplified score, turning each page into both stage scenery and musical instructions. Kelkel used ideas from Chinese trigrams, fractal geometry, medieval magic squares, and the harmony of the spheres to structure the piece. The ballet had twelve movements, each named after an alchemical process, like Nuptiae chymicae and Coagulatio, and each with its own emblem and rules. The result was a structured musical form meant to reveal hidden cosmic and psychological connections.
In the 2010s German TV series Dark, a character named Noah has a tattoo of a graphic image of the Emerald Tablet on his back. The image comes from Heinrich Khunrath’s Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (1609) and appears on a metal door in caves central to the story. Characters in the show study the text. A verse from the 1541 Latin version of the Tablet—"Sic mundus creatus est" (meaning "So was the world created")—is a key theme in the series and the title of the sixth episode of the first season.