Fohat, then, is the personified electric vital power, the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies, on the unseen as on the manifested planes, the action of which resembles -- on an immense scale -- that of a living Force created by WILL, in those phenomena where the seemingly subjective acts on the seemingly objective and propels it to action.
Fohat is not only the living Symbol and Container of that Force, but is looked upon by the Occultists as an Entity -- the forces he acts upon being cosmic, human and terrestrial, and exercising their influence on all those planes respectively.
On the earthly plane his influence is felt in the magnetic and active force generated by the strong desire of the magnetizer.
On the Cosmic, it is present in the constructive power that carries out, in the formation of things -- from the planetary system down to the glow-worm and simple daisy -- the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing.
He is, metaphysically, the objectivised thought of the gods; the "Word made flesh," on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations: the active force in Universal Life.
In his secondary aspect, Fohat is the Solar Energy, the electric vital fluid,* and the preserving fourth [[Footnote(s)]] * In 1882 the President of the Theosophical Society, Col.
Olcott, was taken to task for asserting in one of his lectures that Electricity is matter.
Such, nevertheless, is the teaching of the Occult Doctrine.
"Force," "Energy," may be a better name for it, so long as European Science knows so little about its true nature; yet matter it is, as much as Ether is matter, since it is as atomic, though several removes from the latter.
It seems ridiculous to argue that because a thing is imponderable to Science, therefore it cannot be called matter.
Electricity is "immaterial" in the sense that its molecules are not subject to perception and experiment; yet it may be -- and Occultism says it is -- atomic; therefore it is matter.
But even supposing it were unscientific to speak of it in such terms, once Electricity is called in Science a source of Energy, Energy simply, and a Force -- where is that Force or that Energy which can be thought of without thinking of matter?
Maxwell, a mathematician and one of the greatest authorities upon Electricity and its phenomena, said, years ago, that Electricity was matter, not motion merely.
"If we accept the hypothesis that the elementary substances are composed of atoms we cannot avoid concluding that electricity also, positive as well as negative, is divided into definite elementary portions, which behave like atoms of electricity." (Helmholtz, Faraday Lecture, 1881).
We will go further than that, and assert that Electricity is not only Substance but that it is an emanation from an Entity, which is neither God nor Devil, but one of the numberless Entities that rule and guide our world according to the eternal Law of K ARMA.
(See the Addendum to this Book.) [[Vol.
1, Page]] 112 THE SECRET DOCTRINE.
principle, the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or -- Electricity.
In India, Fohat is connected with Vishnu and Surya in the early character of the (first) God; for Vishnu is not a high god in the Rig Veda.
The name Vishnu is from the root vish , "to pervade," and Fohat is called the "Pervader" and the Manufacturer, because he shapes the atoms from crude material.* In the sacred texts of the Rig Veda, Vishnu, also, is "a manifestation of the Solar Energy," and he is described as striding through the Seven regions of the Universe in three steps, the Vedic God having little in common with the Vishnu of later times.
Therefore the two are identical in this particular feature, and one is the copy of the other.
The "three and seven" strides refer to the Seven spheres inhabited by man, of the esoteric Doctrine, as well as to the Seven regions of the Earth.
Notwithstanding the frequent objections made by would-be Orientalists, the Seven Worlds or spheres of our planetary chain are distinctly referred to in the exoteric Hindu scriptures.
But how strangely all these numbers are connected with like numbers in other Cosmogonies and with their symbols, can be seen from comparisons and parallelisms made by students of old religions.
The "three strides of Vishnu" through the "seven regions of the Universe," of the Rig Veda, have been variously explained by commentators as meaning "fire, lightning and the Sun" cosmically; and as having been taken in the Earth, the atmosphere, and the sky; also as the "three steps" of the dwarf (Vishnu's incarnation), though more philosophically -- and in the astronomical sense, very correctly -- they are explained by Aurnavabha as being the various positions of the sun, rising, noon, and setting.
Esoteric philosophy alone explains it clearly, and the Zohar laid it down very philosophically and comprehensively.
It is said and plainly demonstrated therein that in the beginning the Elohim (Elhim) were called Echod, "one," or the "Deity is one in many," a very simple idea in a pantheistic conception (in its philosophical sense, of course).
Then came the change, "Jehovah is Elohim," thus unifying the multiplicity and taking the first step towards Monotheism.
Now to the query, "How is Jehovah Elohim?" the answer is, "By three Steps" from below.
[[Footnote(s)]] ------------------------------------------------- * It is well known that sand, when placed on a metal plate in vibration assumes a series of regular curved figures of various descriptions.
Can Science give a complete explanation of this fact?
[[Vol.
1, Page]] 113 THE CORRELATION OF THE GODS.
The meaning is plain.* They are all symbols, and emblematic, mutually and correlatively, of Spirit, Soul and Body (MAN); of the circle transformed into Spirit, the Soul of the World, and its body (or Earth).
Stepping out of the Circle of Infinity, that no man comprehendeth, Ain-Soph (the Kabalistic synonym for Parabrahm, for the Zeroana Akerne, of the Mazdeans, or for any other " U NKNOWABLE") becomes "One" -- the E CHOD, the E KA, the A HU -- then he (or it) is transformed by evolution into the One in many, the Dhyani-Buddhas or the Elohim, or again the Amshaspends, his third Step being taken into generation of the flesh, or "Man." And from man, or Jah-Hova, "male female," the inner divine entity becomes, on the metaphysical plane, once more the Elohim.
The Kabalistic idea is identical with the Esotericism of the Archaic period.
Divine archetypal beings or eternal attributes dwelling within the Pleroma, often arranged in male-female syzygies.
The Dhyani-Buddhas, Elohim, and Amshaspends are presented as the intermediate divine emanations between the One and material Man, functioning as archetypal beings in the cosmic hierarchy.
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The Unknowable is defined by what it is not — 'that no man comprehendeth' — and is identified across traditions as the nameless, indescribable ground, described only by negation and transcendence of categories.
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
Fohat is described as 'the electric vital fluid' and 'the animal Soul of Nature, so to say, or — Electricity,' functioning as a universal medium through which cosmic, human, and terrestrial forces are transmitted.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The entire passage is structured around correlating symbols across traditions — Fohat/Vishnu/Surya, the three strides mapping to Spirit/Soul/Body, the seven regions across Vedic, Zoharic, and esoteric systems — making the 'as above so below' principle its organizing method.
Narratives or doctrines of cosmic origin — how heaven, earth, and the primordial deities first came into being. The Kojiki's deities born alone on the Plain of High Heaven, Voluspo's Ginnungagap, Genesis's tohu wa-bohu, the Timaeus's Demiurge fashioning the Receptacle, the Hesiodic Theogony, the Kalevala's egg-cosmogony, Egyptian Nun-and-Atum. Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (structural-ontological cascade), letters_of_creation (mechanism of creation), and apocatastasis/frashokereti (end-state restoration); cosmogony is temporally-narrative beginning.
The passage narrates the origin of the cosmos from Ain-Soph through the One to the Dhyani-Buddhas/Elohim to Man, presenting a temporally-ordered account of how the world came into being.
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The supreme source is called 'the Unknowable' and 'the Circle of Infinity, that no man comprehendeth,' emphasizing radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
Fohat is described as present 'on the unseen as on the manifested planes' and 'exercising their influence on all those planes respectively,' pervading all levels of creation from the cosmic to the terrestrial.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
Fohat 'carries out... the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought, with regard to the development and growth of that special thing,' presenting the divine as actively ordering cosmic unfolding toward intelligible ends.
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
Ain-Soph is described as 'the Unknowable' and the 'Circle of Infinity, that no man comprehendeth,' a pure undivided being prior to all differentiation.
The infinite, unknowable aspect of the divine prior to and beyond all emanation; the hidden root from which the Sephirot unfold.
The passage explicitly names 'Ain-Soph (the Kabalistic synonym for Parabrahm, for the Zeroana Akerne, of the Mazdeans, or for any other UNKNOWABLE)' as the infinite, unknowable aspect prior to all emanation.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage explicitly traces a cascade from Ain-Soph (the Unknowable) through Echod/One to Dhyani-Buddhas/Elohim/Amshaspends to Man, a clear chain of divine principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage asserts 'Esoteric philosophy alone explains it clearly' and contrasts exoteric Hindu scriptures with their hidden esoteric meaning, framing the teaching as concealed inner truth.
The doctrine that the divine or a spiritual principle takes on a specific, bounded material or bodily form — descending from an unconditioned state into individual, corporeal existence — as a discrete act rather than a diffuse pervading presence. The Christian Word made flesh, the Hindu avatara, the Egyptian pharaoh as living Horus, the Vajrayana tulku. Distinct from divine_immanence (the general claim that the divine pervades all of creation diffusely, not a specific embodiment-event) and separation_from_source (the felt exile FROM origin, the opposite motion) in describing a specific, individuated descent INTO a particular body or form.
Fohat is called 'the Word made flesh, on a lower scale' and the passage describes the divine entity's 'third Step being taken into generation of the flesh, or Man' — a specific descent from unconditioned state into corporeal existence.
The doctrine that the cosmos unfolds as a structured descent of spirit into matter — a directional process traced stage by stage from an unconditioned principle down through successive planes to full materialization — complemented by its own eventual return ('evolution'). Distinct from emanation_hierarchy (the static structure of the resulting levels of the cascade) and cosmogony (a single originating event rather than an ongoing staged process) in naming the directional cosmic PROCESS of descent itself, paired with its own complementary ascent.
The passage explicitly describes a directional descent: 'Stepping out of the Circle of Infinity... becomes One... transformed by evolution into the One in many... his third Step being taken into generation of the flesh, or Man' — a staged process from unconditioned spirit to full materialization.
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
Fohat is explicitly called 'the objectivised thought of the gods; the Word made flesh, on a lower scale, and the messenger of Cosmic and human ideations,' directly invoking the Logos as mediating ordering principle.
The Hermetic doctrine that THE ALL is Mind, and the Universe is mental in nature — a created thought held in the mind of THE ALL. Distinct from unity_of_being in specifying WHAT the underlying oneness is (mind, not an unspecified single substance), and from logos (a mediating ordering word BETWEEN a transcendent God and a separate material world) in collapsing that mediation entirely — under mentalism there is no world outside mind to mediate to.
Fohat is described as 'the objectivised thought of the gods' and the constructive power that carries out 'the plan in the mind of nature, or in the Divine Thought,' presenting the cosmos as a thought held in a divine mind.
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The three strides are explicitly interpreted as 'emblematic, mutually and correlatively, of Spirit, Soul and Body (MAN); of the circle transformed into Spirit, the Soul of the World, and its body (or Earth),' mapping cosmic structure onto the human being.
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The 'One' (Echod, EKA, AHU) is described as the undivided first principle stepping out of the Circle of Infinity before transforming into multiplicity ('the One in many').
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The passage builds its argument around the significance of the numbers three and seven — 'three strides' through 'seven regions' — correlating them across Vedic, Zoharic, and esoteric systems as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The doctrine that the one Godhead or first principle subsists as three co-equal aspects or persons rather than a bare unity — the Christian Father/Son/Holy Ghost invoked in the recurring liturgical formula 'In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,' but structurally the same pattern as the Egyptian Amen/Ptah/Osiris, the Hindu Brahma/Vishnu/Siva, and the Kabbalistic Chochmah/Binah/Kether triads that esoteric writers explicitly map onto it as instances of one universal law. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about internal plurality) and divine_simplicity (God as having no parts or divisions at all) in asserting a definite three-aspected differentiation within a single divine essence.
The passage explicitly maps a three-step emanation (Ain-Soph → One → Dhyani-Buddhas/Elohim → Man) and identifies the three strides with 'Spirit, Soul and Body (MAN)' and 'fire, lightning and the Sun,' presenting a three-aspected structure within a single divine essence.
Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).
The three strides are interpreted as 'Spirit, Soul and Body (MAN),' mapping the tripartite structure of spirit, soul, and body onto the cosmic emanation.
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The passage presents Fohat as 'the transcendental binding Unity of all Cosmic Energies' and the entire emanation as a single process from one source, affirming that all existence is ultimately one divine reality.