The Secret Doctrine of the Human Form
"The oldest, the most profound, the most universal of all symbols is the human body." So wrote Manly P. Hall in his encyclopaedic survey of the secret wisdom of all ages. The Mysteries of every nation taught that the laws, elements, and powers of the universe were epitomized in the human constitution — that everything which existed outside of man had its analogue within him. The universe, being immeasurable in its immensity, was beyond mortal estimation; but in the narrow confines of man's own nature, the initiated found all the mysteries of the external spheres.
This teaching presents five interlocking disciplines drawn from the Pythagorean, Hermetic, and Qabbalistic traditions: the sacred geometry of the pentagram and hexagram as maps of the human constitution; the seven alchemical operations as a path of inner transmutation; the daily hermetic reading as a practice of cosmic orientation; the lunar journal as a method of emotional and astral integration; and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life as the supreme diagram of divine emanation. Each module is designed to be practiced, not merely read.
The universe was regarded as a man, and man as a miniature universe. The greater universe was termed the Macrocosm; man's body, the Microcosm. The key to these analogies constituted the most prized possession of the early initiates.
The Mysteries were primarily concerned with instructing neophytes in the true relationship existing between the Macrocosm and the Microcosm — in other words, between God and man.
The angel at the gate of Eden instructed Adam in the mysteries of Qabbalah and of alchemy, promising that when the human race had thoroughly mastered the secret wisdom concealed within these inspired arts, the curse of the forbidden fruit would be removed.