Origins of the Seven Cosmic Principles

By Cheryl A. Chatfield, Ph.D.

There are Seven Cosmic Principles that can be traced back to the beginning of known time, to the earliest philosophies and beliefs. These reflect ideas from the Hermetists of Alexandria, Plato, the Gnostics, ancient Greeks, ancient Egyptians, and the Sumerians, among others. Records from the early civilizations of ancient Egypt and Sumer place the origin of the Cosmic Principles at least as far back as 3000 BCE. I expect new research may trace them even further.

Step One – Everything is Connected, or “As Above, so below,” was mentioned in Hermetic works, dating between 100-300 CE or, according to some historians, much earlier. This concept was probably influenced by Plato who described this same principle in the 400s BCE. The idea, however, was mentioned even earlier by the ancient Egyptians, who referred to the correspondence between things, or that the higher reflected the lower.

Step Two – Everything has a Reason has some roots in Astrology, which can be traced back to Sumer in the 3000s BCE. This law of cause and effect indicates that we experience a reaction to each of our actions. The same concept was prevalent among the Egyptians whose “Simultaneity” indicated there are no coincidences because events are connected by their underlying causes.

Step Three – We Change and Four – We Move can be seen in the ancient Greek model, which included the concept of the harmonious motion of the world, and in ancient Egypt. This reflects the vibration of Step Three and the rhythm of Step Four. The world moves and it moves in tempo.

Step Five – We Progress, referring to cycles, is expressed in the ancient Egyptians’ belief in the natural cycles of life that spiral upward.

Step Six – We Balance, or everything has its opposite, was described by Pythagoras in ancient Greece. The dynamics of the world, he believed, were based on the interaction of pairs of opposites. The Principles are not solely Western concepts, however. Lao Tzu of Taoism, living in the 600s BCE in China about the same time as Pythagoras in Greece, proposed a similar notion that all opposites are inseparable and complementary. The earlier Egyptians discussed the same thought in their “Pairing” and stated that everything had to include its opposite.

Egypt: Gizeh (Photo credit: Brooklyn Museum)

Step 7 – We Create refers to Sex Attraction, or the balance of the male and female. The significance of the goddess and the feminine is apparent in the ancient civilizations of Greece, Crete, Sumer, and Egypt. The Egyptian gods of Osiris, Isis and Horus, represented the father, mother and son. This trinity honored the feminine as well as the masculine.

All Seven Cosmic Principles can be traced to ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian and/or Sumerian times. As research continues, even earlier connections will be found. These wisdoms, somewhat diminished, forgotten and subverted, yet not abandoned in the passage of time, continue today.

About the author

Cheryl A. Chatfield, Ph.D. is a writer, teacher and inspirational speaker. This article is an excerpt from her recent Do It Yourself Guide To Spirituality: Seven Simple Steps .