The Seven Hermetic Principles: Complete Guide to the Kybalion

BY NICOLE LAU

Introduction to the Seven Hermetic Principles

The Seven Hermetic Principles, as presented in The Kybalion (1908), form the foundation of Hermetic philosophy and Western esoteric thought. These principles—Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender—describe the fundamental laws governing reality, consciousness, and manifestation. Though The Kybalion is a modern text, these principles accurately distill ancient Hermetic wisdom from the Corpus Hermeticum and the Emerald Tablet.

Understanding and applying these principles provides a complete framework for spiritual development, mental mastery, and conscious creation. This comprehensive guide explores each principle in depth, with practical applications for modern life and spiritual practice.

The Source: Hermes Trismegistus and The Kybalion

Hermes Trismegistus

Hermes Trismegistus ('Thrice-Great Hermes') is the legendary founder of Hermeticism, a synthesis of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. The Hermetic texts attributed to him form the foundation of Western esotericism, influencing alchemy, astrology, magic, and mysticism.

The Kybalion

Published in 1908 by 'Three Initiates' (likely William Walker Atkinson), The Kybalion presents the Seven Hermetic Principles as the master keys to understanding reality. While not ancient, it accurately synthesizes core Hermetic teachings into accessible form.

The Seven Hermetic Principles

1. The Principle of Mentalism

Statement: 'THE ALL is MIND; The Universe is Mental.'

Core Teaching

Reality is fundamentally mental or consciousness-based. The universe exists within the infinite mind of THE ALL (God, Source, the Absolute). Everything we experience—matter, energy, space, time—is a mental creation, a thought in the divine mind. We, too, are thoughts within this infinite consciousness.

Implications

• Consciousness is Primary: Mind precedes and creates matter, not vice versa
• Thoughts Create Reality: Your thoughts shape your experience of reality
• We Are Mental Beings: Our essential nature is consciousness, not body
• The Universe is Alive: All is conscious at some level
• Mental Laws Govern: Understanding mental laws allows mastery of reality

Practical Applications

• Mental Discipline: Master your thoughts to master your reality
• Visualization: Mental images have creative power
• Affirmations: Repeated thoughts shape reality
• Meditation: Access the deeper mind beyond surface thoughts
• Conscious Creation: Deliberately choose thoughts that create desired reality

The Paradox

If all is mental, what about physical reality? Hermetic teaching holds that matter is mind vibrating at a lower frequency—it's still mental, just denser. The physical world is real within its own plane but ultimately mental in nature.

2. The Principle of Correspondence

Statement: 'As above, so below; as below, so above. As within, so without; as without, so within.'

Core Teaching

There is harmony, agreement, and correspondence between the different planes of existence (physical, mental, spiritual). The patterns repeat at every level—what is true in the macrocosm (universe) is true in the microcosm (individual), and vice versa. The universe is holographic—each part contains the whole.

Implications

• Universal Patterns: The same laws operate at all levels
• Microcosm = Macrocosm: The human being is a miniature universe
• Inner = Outer: Your inner world creates your outer experience
• Study One, Know All: Understanding one level reveals all levels
• Astrology Works: Celestial patterns correspond to earthly patterns

The Three Planes

Hermetic philosophy recognizes three great planes:

• The Physical Plane: Matter, energy, the material world
• The Mental Plane: Thought, consciousness, mind
• The Spiritual Plane: Spirit, the divine, pure consciousness

What happens on one plane corresponds to the others.

Practical Applications

• Inner Work Changes Outer Reality: Transform yourself to transform your world
• Study Yourself: To understand the cosmos, study your own consciousness
• Pattern Recognition: See the same patterns in nature, psyche, and cosmos
• Hermetic Astrology: Planetary patterns correspond to psychological patterns
• Alchemy: Outer transformation mirrors inner transformation

3. The Principle of Vibration

Statement: 'Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.'

Core Teaching

Everything in the universe is in constant motion, vibrating at different frequencies. The difference between matter, energy, mind, and spirit is merely a difference in vibration rate. Nothing is truly solid or static—all is energy in motion.

Implications

• Matter is Energy: Solid matter is energy vibrating slowly
• Thoughts Vibrate: Mental states are vibrations in the mental plane
• Emotions Vibrate: Feelings are vibrations in the astral/emotional plane
• Higher = Faster: Higher consciousness vibrates at higher frequencies
• Like Attracts Like: Similar vibrations attract each other

The Vibrational Scale

From lowest to highest vibration:

1. Dense matter (rocks, minerals)
2. Organic matter (plants, animals)
3. Human consciousness
4. Higher mental states
5. Spiritual consciousness
6. Divine consciousness
7. THE ALL (infinite vibration)

Practical Applications

• Raise Your Vibration: Through meditation, positive thoughts, healthy living
• Law of Attraction: Your vibration attracts matching experiences
• Energy Healing: Shift vibrations to heal body and mind
• Music and Sound: Use vibration consciously (mantras, music, toning)
• Emotional Mastery: Shift from low (fear, anger) to high (love, joy) vibrations

4. The Principle of Polarity

Statement: 'Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites.'

Core Teaching

All manifested things have two sides, two aspects, two poles. Opposites are identical in nature but different in degree. Hot and cold are the same thing (temperature) at different points on the scale. Love and hate are the same energy at different vibrations. Everything contains its opposite.

Implications

• Opposites are One: Extremes of the same thing, not different things
• Everything Contains Its Opposite: Light contains darkness, good contains evil
• Transmutation is Possible: You can shift from one pole to another
• No Absolute Opposites: All is relative, a matter of degree
• The Middle Path: Balance lies between extremes

Examples of Polarity

• Hot ←→ Cold (same thing: temperature)
• Light ←→ Dark (same thing: illumination)
• Love ←→ Hate (same thing: emotional energy)
• Courage ←→ Fear (same thing: response to danger)
• Rich ←→ Poor (same thing: wealth)

Practical Applications

• Mental Transmutation: Shift from negative to positive pole
• Emotional Alchemy: Transform hate to love, fear to courage
• Neutralize Opposites: Rise above polarity to the middle point
• Understand Relativity: Nothing is absolutely good or bad
• Shadow Work: Integrate the opposite pole within yourself

5. The Principle of Rhythm

Statement: 'Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall.'

Core Teaching

Everything has a rhythm, a measured motion between two poles. The pendulum swing manifests in everything—day and night, seasons, civilizations, moods, life and death. What goes up must come down, and what goes down will rise again. This is the law of compensation and balance.

Implications

• Cycles are Natural: Everything moves in cycles
• Compensation: The pendulum swings equally in both directions
• Rise and Fall: Success follows failure, failure follows success
• Moods Cycle: Emotional highs and lows are rhythmic
• Nothing is Permanent: All states are temporary

Examples of Rhythm

• Day and night
• Seasons of the year
• Tides of the ocean
• Breath (inhale and exhale)
• Economic cycles (boom and bust)
• Civilizations (rise and fall)
• Personal moods and energy

Practical Applications

• Accept the Rhythm: Don't resist natural cycles
• Prepare for the Swing: When high, prepare for the low; when low, know the high is coming
• Law of Neutralization: Rise above the swing through mental mastery
• Work with Cycles: Plant in spring, harvest in fall; act in yang, rest in yin
• Emotional Equanimity: Don't be swept away by mood swings

6. The Principle of Cause and Effect

Statement: 'Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law.'

Core Teaching

Nothing happens by chance—everything happens according to law. Every effect has a cause, and every cause produces an effect. What we call 'chance' is merely law not recognized. There are no accidents, only causes we don't see. We are either causes (masters) or effects (victims).

Implications

• No Luck or Chance: Everything has a cause
• Karma: The law of cause and effect in action
• Responsibility: You are the cause of your experience
• Mastery: Become a cause, not an effect
• Predictability: Understanding causes allows prediction of effects

The Planes of Causation

Causes on higher planes create effects on lower planes:

• Spiritual causes → Mental effects
• Mental causes → Emotional effects
• Emotional causes → Physical effects

To change effects, change causes on a higher plane.

Practical Applications

• Take Responsibility: You created your current reality through past causes
• Become a Cause: Act consciously rather than react unconsciously
• Change Causes: To change your life, change your thoughts and actions
• Rise Above: Operate from higher planes to influence lower planes
• Understand Karma: Present actions create future effects

7. The Principle of Gender

Statement: 'Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles.'

Core Teaching

Gender manifests on all planes—not just physical sex, but the masculine (active, projective, yang) and feminine (receptive, creative, yin) principles that exist in everything and everyone. Creation requires both principles working together. Every person contains both masculine and feminine energies.

Implications

• Beyond Physical Sex: Gender is a universal principle, not just biology
• Creation Requires Both: Masculine and feminine must unite to create
• Everyone Has Both: All people contain masculine and feminine energies
• Mental Gender: The mind has masculine (will) and feminine (imagination) aspects
• Balance is Key: Wholeness requires integrating both principles

Masculine and Feminine Principles

Masculine (Yang):

• Active, projective, giving
• Will, logic, analysis
• Doing, initiating, asserting
• Sun, fire, air

Feminine (Yin):

• Receptive, containing, receiving
• Imagination, intuition, synthesis
• Being, nurturing, allowing
• Moon, water, earth

Mental Gender

In mental creation:

• Masculine Will: Directs and focuses
• Feminine Imagination: Creates and gestates
• Together: Will impregnates imagination, which births the creation

Practical Applications

• Balance Within: Develop both masculine and feminine qualities
• Mental Creation: Use will (masculine) to direct imagination (feminine)
• Relationships: Understand the dance of masculine and feminine energies
• The Alchemical Marriage: Unite opposites within yourself
• Wholeness: Integration of both principles creates the complete human

Working with the Seven Principles

The Master Key

The Seven Principles are not separate but interconnected aspects of one truth. Together they form a complete system for understanding and mastering reality:

1. Mentalism: All is mind—start here
2. Correspondence: As above, so below—understand the connections
3. Vibration: All vibrates—raise your frequency
4. Polarity: Opposites are one—transmute negative to positive
5. Rhythm: All cycles—flow with the rhythm
6. Cause and Effect: All is law—become a cause
7. Gender: All has both—integrate masculine and feminine

Practical Integration

To apply all seven principles:

1. Recognize reality is mental (Mentalism)
2. Change your inner world to change outer world (Correspondence)
3. Raise your vibration through positive thoughts (Vibration)
4. Transmute negative to positive (Polarity)
5. Accept and work with natural cycles (Rhythm)
6. Take responsibility and act consciously (Cause and Effect)
7. Balance masculine and feminine within (Gender)

Further Study

Primary Texts:

• The Kybalion by Three Initiates
• The Corpus Hermeticum (ancient Hermetic texts)
• The Emerald Tablet

Modern Interpretations:

• The Hermetica by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
• Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy by Paul Foster Case

Conclusion

The Seven Hermetic Principles provide a complete framework for understanding reality, consciousness, and the laws governing manifestation. By studying and applying these principles—Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender—you gain the master keys to mental mastery, spiritual development, and conscious creation. These are not mere theories but practical tools for transforming your life and realizing your divine nature.

May you master the Seven Principles. May you apply the Hermetic laws. May you become a conscious creator of your reality.