The Kybalion — The Seven Hermetic Principles

1The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding. — The Kybalion

2Where fall the footsteps of the master, the ears of those ready for his teaching open wide. — The Kybalion

3When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then come the lips to fill them with wisdom. — The Kybalion

4The principles of truth are seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the magic key before whose touch all the doors of the temple fly open. — The Kybalion

I. The Principle of Mentalism

5The All is Mind; the universe is mental. — The Kybalion

6This principle embodies the truth that all that is the material universe — all the phenomena of life, matter, and energy — is the creation of the Infinite Living Mind which we call the All, of which all is a manifestation. The universe itself, in its entirety, as a whole, is a mental creation of the All. The mental nature of the universe explains all the varied phenomena of life which otherwise is incomprehensible.

II. The Principle of Correspondence

7As above, so below; as below, so above. — The Kybalion

8This principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: "As above, so below; as below, so above." A grasp of this principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox and hidden secret of nature.

9Just as a knowledge of the principles of geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables man to reason intelligently from the known to the unknown. Studying the monad, he understands the archangel.

III. The Principle of Vibration

10Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates. — The Kybalion

11This principle embodies the truth that everything is in motion; nothing is at rest; everything vibrates. This principle, recognized by the ancient Hermetists, has been verified by modern science. The differences between the various manifestations of matter, energy, mind, and even spirit, result largely from varying rates of vibration.

12From the All, which is pure spirit, down to the grossest form of matter, all is in vibration; the higher the vibration, the higher the position in the scale. Spirit, at one end of the pole, is at such an infinite rate of vibration as to be practically at rest; while at the other end of the pole, gross matter vibrates at so low a rate as to seem still.

IV. The Principle of Polarity

13Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. — The Kybalion

14This principle embodies the truth that everything is dual, everything has two poles, everything has its pair of opposites, all of which were old Hermetic axioms. It explains the old paradoxes that have perplexed so many: that "thesis and antithesis are identical in nature, but different in degree"; that "opposites are the same, differing only in degree."

15Heat and cold, although opposites, are really the same thing — the differences consisting merely in degrees of the same thing. Look at your thermometer and see if you can discover where heat terminates and cold begins. The same principle manifests in the case of light and darkness, large and small, hard and soft, black and white, sharp and dull, noise and quiet, high and low — and in pairs such as love and hate, courage and fear, good and evil.

V. The Principle of Rhythm

16Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates. — The Kybalion

17This principle embodies the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion, to and fro; a flow and inflow; a swing backward and forward; a pendulum-like movement; a tide-like ebb and flow; a high tide and a low tide; between the two poles which exist in accordance with the Principle of Polarity. There is always an action and a reaction; an advance and a retreat; a rising and a sinking. This is in the affairs of the universe, suns, worlds, men, animals, mind, energy, and matter.

18The Hermetists have grasped this principle and discovered certain means to overcome its effects in themselves by the use of an appropriate formula. They apply the Mental Law of Neutralization. They cannot annul the principle, or cause it to cease its operation, but they have learned how to escape its effects upon themselves to a certain degree depending on the mastery of the principle.

VI. The Principle of Cause and Effect

19Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law. — The Kybalion

20This principle embodies the fact that there is a cause for every effect; an effect from every cause. It explains that everything happens according to law; that nothing ever "merely happens"; that there is no such thing as chance; that, while there are various planes of cause and effect, the higher dominating the lower planes, still nothing ever entirely escapes the law.

21The Hermetists understand the art and methods of rising above the ordinary plane of cause and effect, to a certain degree, and by mentally rising to a higher plane they become causers instead of effects. The masses of people are carried along, obedient to environment; the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves; heredity; suggestion; and other outward causes — moving them about like pawns on the chessboard of life.

VII. The Principle of Gender

22Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes. — The Kybalion

23This principle embodies the truth that there is gender manifested in everything — the masculine and feminine principles being ever present and active in all phases of phenomena, on each and every plane of life. No creation, physical, mental, or spiritual, is possible without this principle.

24A grasp of its laws will throw light on many a subject that has perplexed the minds of men. The Principle of Gender always works in the direction of generation, regeneration, and creation. Everything, and every person, contains the two elements within itself, himself, or herself.

Closing

25The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of understanding. — The Kybalion

26When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then come the lips to fill them with wisdom. — The Kybalion