When Did We Forget We're on the Same Side?

Have you noticed how every conversation now comes with a litany of disclaimers? How we've learned to test the waters before sharing an opinion, gauging whether the person across from us is "safe"? When did Thanksgiving dinner become a minefield, and neighbors become enemies? And here's the real question… what if the very structure designed to keep us fighting left versus right, red versus blue, is precisely what prevents us from seeing the puppet strings?

The Hermetic Mirror: Polarity and the Illusion of Opposition

The Principle of Polarity teaches us that opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree. Hot and cold are both temperature. Love and hate are both passion. Republican and Democrat… are both responses to the same underlying fears and hopes for our communities.

But here's where it gets interesting.

When the pendulum swings too far in any direction, the Principle of Rhythm kicks in. Everything flows, in and out, swings back and forth. The pendulum doesn't stop at the extremes… it compensates. It overcorrects. And right now? We're watching it swing wider and wider, tearing through families, friendships, and the very fabric of our communities with each arc.

Politicians know this. They've weaponized it.

They've learned that fear is the fastest way to mobilize people. Fear of change. Fear of losing the "good old days" (which, let's be honest, were only good for some of us). Fear of the other… whoever that other might be. And while we're busy fighting each other over which color tie our leaders wear, we're not asking the questions that matter.

Why is infrastructure crumbling? Why are people working three jobs and still struggling? Why does it feel like the house is on fire while our leaders argue about the color of the curtains?

Is it oligarchy? Incompetence? A controlled demolition?

Maybe all three. But here's the cold, hard truth: while we're fighting each other, we're not fighting for each other. And that's exactly the point.

The Quantum Truth: We Are Not Separate

At the quantum level, science confirms what Hermeticism has always known: separation is an illusion.

The Principle of Correspondence whispers: As above, so below. As within, so without. Your inner state ripples outward. Your thoughts, your emotions, your actions… they're not contained within your skin. They're contagious.

When you're drowning in fear, anger, and resentment, you're not just affecting yourself. You're feeding into a collective vibration that spreads like wildfire. Every hateful comment, every assumption about someone based on their political affiliation, every moment you choose division over curiosity… it all adds to the frequency.

And right now? The collective vibration is tuned to the channel of chaos.

But here's where Hermeticism gets practical, not preachy. The answer isn't to stick our heads in the sand, light some incense, and pretend everything is "love and light." That's spiritual bypassing, and it's just another extreme of the pendulum.

The Principle of Vibration teaches us that nothing rests; everything moves, everything vibrates. You can't just wish your way to a higher frequency. You have to actively change it.

Mental Alchemy: How to Actually Shift the Vibration

So what do we do? How do we stop the pendulum from swinging into oblivion?

1. Recognize the Polarity for What It Is

Stop playing the game of "us versus them." The moment you label someone as entirely good or entirely evil based on their political beliefs, you've fallen into the trap. People are complex. Issues are nuanced. The person who votes differently than you? They're probably motivated by the same core desires you are: safety, prosperity, dignity, a better world for their kids.

Start asking: What are they afraid of? What do they hope for?

2. Find the Fulcrum

The pendulum swings, yes… but there's a center point. A place of balance where the pendulum is still, where you can observe both extremes without being swept up in either.

This is mental alchemy. This is the work.

It means refusing to be radicalized by fear. It means questioning your own certainty. It means holding space for nuance in a world that demands you pick a side.

It's uncomfortable. It's lonely sometimes. But it's where real power lives.

3. Activate Cause and Effect in the Positive Direction

The Principle of Cause and Effect is relentless. Every action creates a ripple. The doomscroll you indulge in? That's a cause. The angry Facebook rant? That's a cause. The assumption you make about your neighbor's character based on a yard sign? That's a cause.

But so is the opposite.

Pay it forward. Literally. Buy the coffee. Help the stranger. Have the difficult conversation with kindness instead of contempt. Actively look for common ground, even when it's hard. Create small moments of connection and watch them multiply.

This isn't wishful thinking. This is strategic intervention in the causal chain.

You want to shift the collective vibration? Start with your own. Then watch the domino effect.

4. Refuse the Extremes (Even the "Good" Ones)

Here's the warning: swinging too far toward forced positivity, toward performative love-and-light, toward pretending there's no real conflict or injustice… that's just another extreme. And the pendulum will correct for that, too.

Balance doesn't mean passivity. It means being grounded in the center while taking action. It means fighting for what's right without dehumanizing those you fight against. It means holding people accountable without losing your own integrity in the process.

The goal isn't to swing the pendulum in the "other direction." The goal is to slow the swing and find the stillness.

The Cold, Hard Truth

Let's not sugarcoat this: the system is broken. Whether by design or decay, we're watching something crumble. And the people in power… many of them benefit from our division. They're not coming to save us.

And that starts with refusing to participate in the manufactured hatred. It starts with recognizing when fear is being used as a weapon. It starts with remembering that constitutional rights, community bonds, and basic human dignity matter more than any political party's talking points.

Not because you're special. But because you're here. And the Hermetic laws don't care about your excuses. You're either adding to the frequency of fear and division… or you're actively shifting it. There is no neutral.

Returning to the Question: What Side Are We On?

So when did we forget we're on the same side?

Maybe we didn't forget. Maybe we were taught to forget. Maybe it was easier to divide us than to face us united.

But Hermeticism offers us the map back. Polarity shows us that extremes are illusions. Rhythm reminds us that pendulums swing but can be stilled. Vibration proves that we can change the frequency. Cause and Effect hands us the power to create new ripples.

The pendulum doesn't have to destroy us. We can find the center. We can build bridges. We can choose connection over tribalism, curiosity over certainty, and action over apathy.

But it requires something of us. It requires waking up. It requires doing the uncomfortable work of staying human in a world that wants to turn us into soldiers for someone else's war.

It requires remembering: we've always been on the same side. We're just fighting over who gets to steer the ship while it's sinking.

Maybe it's time to grab a bucket instead.

The Hermetic Path Forward

This principle isn't the only way it works. Return soon for more ways to weave Hermetic wisdom into your daily life. Do you have any questions unanswered, is there a topic you would like me to cover? Drop me a line and let me know! alex@hermeticpath.com.