THE ONE of the Emerald Tablet

“Anna Lups’s marvelous memoir traces a pathway of cure, from health of the outer person to the inner esoterics of the soul, from allopathy to anthroposophic medicine. A lengthy sojourn through archetypal research to spiritual alchemy, she is guided by the questions ‘Who am I?’ ‘Where are my beginning and my end? and provide inspiration in the art of living to readers of all pursuits. A Work of immense creativity.”

— David Appelbaum, professor, Department of Philosophy, SUNY New Paltz, and former editor of Parabola

THE ONE of the Emerald Tablet

Book Review of the First Edition, spring 2018

Weaving together varied streams and topics, Dr. Anna Lups has written a book titled THE ONE of the Emerald Tablet. And who is this One she speaks of? It is each and every one of us, of course, as we come into this world and struggle to engage with the world humanly and fully. The book is peppered with autobiographical sketches to illustrate points, as well as sketches of certain patients she has known and worked with, but it is not an autobiography in a traditional sense. Her interest is to elaborate and elucidate aspects of our incarnation on earth—different stages and possibilities, from conception through the end of life and hints of what comes beyond.

She begins with The Child Artist’s drawings, in which she recognizes themes and images related to alchemy and to the incarnating individual. The Emerald Tablet is from the writings of Hermes Trismegistus, an ancient teacher and master. Elaborating the qualities of the numbers one through six—she brings in Rudolf Steiner’s understanding and teachings. Then she leads all of these themes together into five moving sections, Ah, Eh, EE, Oh, and U, elaborating embryology and incarnation. I quote from her introduction in these sections:

“With Ah sounding, the human body (column of living water) opens up to what surrounds it. What is outside is allowed to enter, expand, and fill me. Its gesture inspires me; it becomes a deep experience of adoration and desire to be one with all.

“In the sound E (‘ey’), a flowing motion is established as exhalation occurs. I exist as a polarity of right and left and crossing of the two opposites. Through this, I establish boundaries expressed in the waning of the staccato sound “hey.” This sound is twofold: streaming and interruption. The point of interruption, or silence, creates room for a new condition. This is a creative sound.”

Included in this section are gems on womanhood and motherhood in the Oh chapter. In Dr. Anna’s words, “here is a short evaluation of the vowel sequence used as a scaffold in the biographic maturation: Ah for expansion and growing; Eh for confrontation with the other; EE for authenticity and self-discovery; Oh for the urge to commune; and U for the realization of the finite as opposed to infinite reality.” It is deeply moving to have a physician write about the vowels with such insight.

It is hard to try to indicated the depth, breadth, and richness of this extraordinary book, full of wisdom, anecdotes, and illustrations from Dr. Anna’s life and studies. How did she manage to bring so many aspects of our lives into one coherent whole?! I can only encourage you to immerse yourself in the imaginative world of THE ONE of the Emerald Tablet.

— Jeanne Simon-MacDonald, Eurythmy Association Newslatter

C O N T E N T S:

Prologue
introduction

GALLERY OF THE CHILD ARTIST
Process of Consolidation
DROP formation
Gesture of Dispersion
Gesture of Consolidation
The Initiation of Kings
The Tabula Smaragdina

QUALITY OF NUMBERS
One—the Sophia
Twofold
Threefold
Fourfold
Fivefold
Sixfold: Contribution of Speech
Sevenfold: Life on Earth

SOUND A
Alchemy as the First Science
Processes in Nature
Threefold Function in the Human Form
Three Kings
Alchemical Equipment
The Path of Initiation for the Alchemist

SOUND E
History of the Gnostic Myth
Soul Genesis
Evolution of the Soul–Psyche
Physical Incarnation—Soma
Embryogenesis: Incarnation of the One
The Birthing of the Child

SOUND I
Seven-year Phases in Child Maturation
Story of the Unbeliever
Story of the Believer

SOUND O
The Experience in O for a Person on Earth
Gender
Sex, Love, and the Future of Humanity
Being a Woman
Being a Mother
The Act of Marriage
As Lover
The Credo
Being a Doctor

SOUND U
The Physical Organization, Myth, and the Vertical Plane
Etheric Organization and Fairytails
The Liver
The Lung
The Kidney
The Heart
The Astral Organization: The Parable
The “I” Organization: The Legend

EPILOGUE

Anna Lups, MBChB, MD

Dr. Anna Lups, MBChB, MD, earned a medical degree in South Africa, enabling her to immigrate to the U.S. and open a family practice in a rural Upstate New York in 1967. Her background as a cardiologist and family practitioner allowed her to experience a wide range of clinical care motifs. In 1979, she began her practice of anthroposophically extended medicine and integrative health and continues to develop her understanding of patient care and alternative holistic medicine in New York's Hudson Valley.