Marriage, An Expanded Perspective

Thoth Hermes, or Hermes Trismegistus, is a legendary ancient Egyptian sage who was believed by some to be a contemporary of Moses, with a few even thinking Moses and he were the same person. It is theorized that Hermes combined Egyptian wisdom, writing, astrology, medicine, and alchemy with Greek knowledge of commerce, travel, and communication, thus combining two very different world views into a new, more broadened perspective of reality. I would say that the new Hermetic thought combined the Egyptian philosophy of the vertical axis (the interior / spiritual) with the Greek knowledge of the horizontal axis (the exterior / material).

Hermes is regarded by some as “the first Kabbalist,” “the first physician,” “the first alchemist,” and “the first historian.” According to Canadian-born mystic, historian, and writer Manly P. Hall (1901–1990), “Hermes was to ancient philosophy what Jesus is to Christianity—its light, its inspiration, and its impetus.”

Though most of Hermes’ philosophical and scientific writings are lost, what is left is found in The Hermetica, a collection of sacred texts attributed to him. Often those teachings are referred to as “Hermetics”, which sounds familiar to “Vanetics”. Actually, Vanetics includes a refining and expanding of Hermetics. Vanetics is a Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation term given for spiritual teachings presented by Van, a member of the Planetary Prince’s staff who remained loyal to God at the time of the Lucifer Rebellion approximately 200,000 years ago. (See Paper 67 of The URANTIA Book.)

Underlining all of Hermetics is the great Hermetic axiom: “That which is above is like unto that which is below, and that which is below is like that which is above.” In other words, there is a pattern or similarity of what is divine or heavenly with what is material or earthly.

The URANTIA Book expands upon this idea of pattern found in all levels of reality, and thus patterns found in Paradise and in the central perfect universe of Havona are manifested in the finite evolving universes of time and space. These patterns are reflected on material and spirit levels as well as in mind and personality. There are even patterns for ideal relationships and ways of relating to other personalities. There is a pattern found in the divine laws and principles of God that manifest into levels of perfection on evolutionary worlds, into ethics and morality within the values and behavior of human beings.

*****

The broadest meaning of “marriage” is: two or more different things or elements coming together in a union, which creates something new. Within Hermetics is the concept of Hermetic marriage, which at its highest level is the romance of the spirit and the soul, of the mind and the heart. Within human individuals, Hermetic marriage happens when a person attains completeness, a balance within his or her being, a marriage of head and heart.

In the more advanced religions and new science, and expanded upon in epochal revelation, is the unfolding understanding of ascension, which implies that universes, worlds, persons, and civilizations are meant to evolve or ascend into a level of divine perfection that reflects in some manner the patterns of perfection found in Paradise and the Havona worlds.

So, Hermetic marriage is all about evolution or ascension into perfection—the marriage of all phases or elements of reality into a beautiful harmony of wholeness. And Hermetic marriages happen on every level of reality, including the level of the gods.

The URANTIA Book reveals the evolutionary God, called the Supreme Being, as being married to the worlds of time and space, evolving into completeness as the physical worlds and their personalities ascend into wholeness within divine pattern. As we humans ascend—as individual souls and as a group—our marriage partner, God the Supreme, also ascends. Our ascension contributes to the Supreme’s unfoldment.

The URANTIA Book introduces the concept of psychic or cosmic circles, and as we ascend and stabilize in the higher circles, we come closer to attaining a Hermetic marriage at its highest level. The more we individual ascending sons and daughters integrate, or marry, with our true God-given personalities, the closer to a Hermetic marriage (union between God and human) we get.

Within Christianity is the idea of “the bride of Christ” being individuals who choose to “marry” Christ, devoting their lives to following his teachings rather than the teachings of the materialistic world. Van of Urantia’s song “Cosmic Brides” is based on that concept—the human mind and heart uniting with the divine, thus becoming a “new creature in Christ” and contributing to the healing of the world rather than to its suffering.

*****

Hermetics also teaches the laws of polarity, which encompasses two very different elements or opposites of nature being attracted to each other and, if united, bring completeness or wholeness. Thus, a Hermetic marriage, on a cosmic as well as an earthly level, is where father- and mother-principles unite within the will of God.

Manly P. Hall states: “In symbolism, all energies, vitalities, and spiritual powers are represented by the Father [First Source and Center]. All substances and elements in the visible universe are included under the great Mother,” which Hall refers to as “Nature” and is of the material world that scientists study.

To reiterate, the Hermetic marriage is “an alchemical symbol found in the nature of all things, for the law of polarity is universal. In the human world it appears as sex [gender]—positive and negative, masculine and feminine.” Hall goes on to explain: “From the bubbles of ether to the cells of the body, we find the universal law of polarity. We find the romance of electrons, the love story of the fire mist, the swirling ethers, the endless waves of the sea as they kiss the shore, all manifesting divine romance.”

Hermetics teaches that the spirit expresses itself through the mind [Spirit Fragment of Universal Father, a.k.a. the Thought Adjuster], which is the positive pole, and the soul and body through the heart, which is the negative pole. Ancient alchemists called the mind the sun and the heart the moon, with strength, reason, and logic being masculine, paternal, and having solar powers. Love beauty, intuition, and kindliness are feminine, maternal, and have lunar qualities.

So, it was believed that reason, logic, philosophy, courage, daring, even aspiration, are masculine powers. Inspiration, intuition, grace, beauty, and love are considered feminine powers. The URANTIA Book and The Cosmic Family volumes reveal similar information. The marriage of sun and moon is therefore the marriage of the mind and heart—the two halves of every nature. It is a union of strength with beauty, courage with inspiration, and in its greater sense, the union of science with theology/religion—God with Nature.

According to Hermetics, cold intellectualism and commercialism need the complement of friendliness and altruism to offset mechanistic heartlessness. To use a very generalized comparison of the two dominating political parties in the U.S.—the Republicans and the Democrats—one is more solar, more focused on financial and military power, and one is more lunar, more based on humanitarian and diplomatic legislation. Both parties need each other to bring balance to governance; they need to reach across the aisle and marry each other.

Manly P. Hall explains: “Neither matriarchy [Mother-, lunar-, female-oriented] nor patriarchy [Father-, solar-, male-oriented] alone can ever rule the world well, but when these two join forces, then the affairs of the world will be run as wisely as those of the gods. Then the Lords of Compassion will join with the Lords of Reason in molding the destiny of the universe.”

We are aware of the ruling dominant culture on Urantia being imbalanced in patriarchy, which has resulted in many tragedies and devastation over the centuries. We are also informed in The Cosmic Family volumes of a Fanoving world that suffered from the imbalance of a ruling matriarchy. So balance in governing is crucial, no matter which side imbalances may arise from.

*****

Each quality of these polarities complements the other and is incomplete without the other qualities or powers. In order for individual persons to attain wholeness, they need the sun and the moon, both father and mother, which Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation refers to as Father and Mother circuitry.

Hermetic anatomy teaches that the human body has two small “bodies” in the brain that are identified as Yin and Yang in Chinese philosophy. Those bodies are the pineal and pituitary glands, and Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation explains further their significance in relation to individual persons becoming more realized within their unique personality integration, which brings balance and wholeness.

The term “androgynous” comes from the Greek words “andros”, meaning man and “gyne”, meaning woman. So androgynous means the blending of the masculine and feminine, having the nature of both the positive and negative poles, or, as we would say within Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation, having the balance of the Father and Mother circuitry. The “Hermetic Androgyne” is a visual of a two-sided person, with one side portrayed as a male holding the sun and the other side a female holding the moon, and symbolizes the ideal individual of perfect balance.

As we know, perfectly balanced people are rarely found, and those who are closer to attaining the balance of the Father and Mother circuitry within them are, in Hermetic terms, a living “Philosopher’s Stone”, which means they have strength matched with kindliness and practice justice tempered with mercy.

To reiterate, a Hermetic marriage within an individual person indicates the lower animal and human nature of a person choosing to “love, honor, and obey” his or her own Threefold Spirit of God within.

*****

Both The URANTIA Book and Continuing Fifth Epochal Revelation emphasize the necessity of men and women needing each other in order to become more balanced and whole and to be more useful for outworking the will of God on this world. The “marriage” of complementary polarities does not necessarily mean the human institution of marriage between a man and a woman, though that is an important aspect of Hermetic marriages.

Because men and women naturally are very different, almost as if two different species according to The URANTIA Book, they each have different characteristics that the other needs in order to be more effective in living and working, thus, in the ideal situation, complementing each other in their socialization, whether in a work situation or in parenting children, etc.

In Hermetics, “sex” is not in spirit at all, which Epochal Revelation also indicates. Many non-sex morontia (semi-material) and spirit beings work together in pairs, with one having more the positive energy field of Father circuitry and the other more of the negative pole of Mother circuitry. Some examples of these beings who work closely with us humans are the midwayers, sanobim, cherubim, and seraphim, according to The URANTIA Book. None of these morontia and spirit personalities are sexual in nature, but they are more Yang or Yin in nature.

It is interesting to note that the sex of a human embryo is not delineated before the third month of prenatal life. We humans are sexual beings who, in order for the species to survive, must procreate through sexual union. Procreation necessitates sex, and thus a division within individuals between the two poles of positive (solar, masculine) and negative (lunar, feminine) energy. So human men and women differ greatly, and, when they are not in cultures that promote appreciation of and respect for their differences, an imbalance in relationships can occur between men and women, creating misunderstanding and conflict, which is unfortunately a reality on Urantia (Earth).

The human institution of marriage is necessary for not only procreation but for the survival of civilization. According not only to Hermetics but also to many world religions and philosophies, as well as Epochal Revelation, the high purposes of the institution of human marriage is twofold: “1) to fulfill the natural law of polarity in the reproduction of the species and 2) to fulfill the spiritual law of association whereby the latent side of each nature may be stimulated by association with the other, each personality acquiring symmetry.” [Direct quotes of Manly P. Hall from the booklet Hermetic Marriage]

The pattern for human marriage between a man and woman is seen in the relationship between the Universe Creator Father and Universe Mother Spirit of Nebadon, which is so beautifully portrayed in Paper 84, Section 6 of The URANTIA Book. Many papers of Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of The Cosmic Family expand upon complementary polarity relationships between men and women.

To put simply, the institution of human marriage is the Hermetic symbol of the ultimate reunion of the two halves of each individual’s androgynous nature.