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Part of a series on

Hermeticism

Mythology

 Hermes Trismegistus
 Thoth
 Poimandres

Hermetica

 Corpus Hermeticum
 The Kybalion

"Three Parts of the Wisdom of the Whole Universe"

 Alchemy
 Astrology
 Theurgy

Movements

 Freemasonry
 Rosicrucianism
 Theosophy
 Thelema
 Ariosophy
 Orders

 Holy Royal Arch Freemasonry

 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
 Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor
 Hermetic Brotherhood of Light
 Knights Templar
 Knights Templar (Freemasonry)
 Ordo Templi Orientis
 Rosicrucian Order
 Scottish Rite Freemasonry

Topics

 Hermetic Qabalah
 Influence and influences
 Occult and divinatory tarot

People

Aleister Crowley

 John Dee
 Manly P Hall
 Arthur Edward Waite
 Thābit ibn Qurra
 Paracelsus
 Giordano Bruno
 Ahmad al-Būni
 Eliphas Levi
 William Westcott
 Franz Bardon
 Jakob Böhme

 v
 t
 e

The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy, originally published in 1908 under the pseudonym
of "the Three Initiates", is a book claiming to be the essence of the teachings of Hermes
Trismegistus.

Contents

 1General description
 2Authorship
 3The seven Principles
o 3.1Principle of Mentalism
o 3.2Principle of Correspondence
o 3.3Principle of Vibration
o 3.4Principle of Polarity
o 3.5Principle of Rhythm
o 3.6Principle of Cause and Effect
o 3.7Principle of Gender
 4Influences
 5Languages
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References
 9External links

General description[edit]

The French cover of the book

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The Kybalion was first published in 1908 by the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago,
Illinois and has been in the public domain since 1977. Purportedly based upon
ancient Hermeticism, its philosophies became founding pillars within the New
Thought movement of the early 1910s. The book early on makes the claim that it makes
its appearance in one's life when the time is appropriate and includes axioms and
insights similar to those found in the Book of Proverbs.

Authorship[edit]
The "Three Initiates" who authored The Kybalion chose to remain anonymous. As a
result, a great deal of speculation has been made about who actually wrote the book.
The most common proposal is that The Kybalion was authored by William Walker
Atkinson, either alone or with others, such as Paul Foster Case and Elias Gewurz.
Atkinson was known to use many pseudonyms, and to self-publish his works. Also
suggestive is that among his earliest published pseudonymous and anonymous works
may have been a series entitled The Arcane Teachings (first published prior to 1909 and
the second edition in 1909), which bears many superficial similarities to The Kybalion.
While the latter explores seven "Hermetic Principles", The Arcane Teachings examines
seven "Arcane Laws"; The Kybalion claims to be an elucidation of an ancient,
unpublished Hermetic text of the same name, and The Arcane Teachings claims to
reveal the wisdom of an ancient, unpublished scroll of occult aphorisms. Both books
describe three "Great Planes" of reality which are further subdivided into seven lesser
planes. Both also describe three of the lesser planes as "astral black keys" analogous to
the black keys on a piano, and inhabited by elemental spirits. And both books describe
the process of "Mental Alchemy" in great detail, and in near-complete agreement with
each other. There are other similarities, and some[who?] argue that The Arcane
Teachings might have been Atkinson's "first draft" of material which later became The
Kybalion. Atkinson also attempted to describe the workings of the universe in terms of a
set of laws in his last manuscript The Seven Cosmic Laws, written in 1931 and published
posthumously in 2011.
A common theory is that Atkinson co-wrote the book with Paul Foster Case and Michael
Whitty. This theory is often held by members of Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), the
Mystery School later founded by Case, though it doesn't publicly make this claim. This
story appears to have originated with a B.O.T.A. splinter group, the Fraternity of the
Hidden Light.[1]
Along these lines, much has been made about Paul Foster Case's being a Freemason,
and that The Kybalion's publisher, the Yogi Publication Society, gave its address as
"Masonic Temple, Chicago IL" on the book's frontispiece. However, Chicago's "Masonic
Temple" was also the city's first skyscraper, housing dozens of stores and small
businesses without any Masonic affiliations, and named for the Masonic Lodge which
financed much of its construction and met in its top few floors.[2]
Other names speculatively mentioned as co-authors of The Kybalion include Harriet
Case (Paul Foster Case's wife at the time), Mabel Collins (a prominent Theosophical
writer), Claude Bragdon (an architect, Theosophist, and writer on "mystic geometry"),
and Claude Alexander (a well-known stage magician, mentalist, proponent of crystal
gazing, and New Thought author). Ann Davies, who succeeded Case as head of the
B.O.T.A., is often mentioned as a possible Kybalion contributor, but she was born in
1912—four years after the book's first publication.
The introduction for a 2011 edition of The Kybalion published by Tarcher/Penguin
presents an argument that William Walker Atkinson was the sole author of the work,
including evidence such as the 1912 edition of Who's Who in America, which attributes
Atkinson as the author, and a 1917 French language edition of The Kybalion in which the
translator's introduction attributes the work to "the American psychic master W.W.
Atkinson."[3]

The seven Principles[edit]

The book devotes a chapter to each of its seven "Principles", or axioms:
Principle of Mentalism[edit]
The Principle of Mentalism embodies the idea that "All is Mind." Everything that happens
has to be a result of a mental state which precedes it. For anything to exist, thoughts had
to form first, which then form physical reality or manifestation. "Your thoughts are seeds,
plant positive seeds in your mind garden."
Principle of Correspondence[edit]
The Principle of Correspondence expresses the idea that there is always a
correspondence between the laws of phenomena of the various "planes" of being and
life.[4] As above, so below; as below, so above. This principle states that there is a
harmony which can be made, agreement and correspondence between these planes,
delineated as:

 The Great Physical Plane

 The Great Mental Plane
 The Great Spiritual Plane
Principle of Vibration[edit]
This expounds the idea that motion is manifest in everything in the Universe, that nothing
rests, and everything moves, vibrates and circles.[5] This principle explains that the
distinction between manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, are the result
of only different "vibrations".[6] The higher a person is on the scale, the higher the rate of
vibration will be. Here, The All is said to be at an infinite level of vibration, almost to the
point of being at rest. There are said to be millions upon millions of varying degrees
between the highest level, The All, and the objects of the lowest vibration.[7]
Mental Transmutation is described as the practical application of this principle. To
change one's mental state is to change vibration. One may do this by an effort of Will, by
means of deliberately "fixing the attention" upon a more desirable state.[8]
Principle of Polarity[edit]
The Principle of Polarity embodies the idea that everything is dual, everything has two
poles, and everything has its opposite.[9] All manifested things have two sides, two
aspects, or two poles.[10] Everything "is" and "isn't" at the same time, all truths are but half
truths and every truth is half false, there are two sides to everything, opposites are
identical in nature yet different in degree, extremes meet, and all paradoxes may be
reconciled.[11]
Principle of Rhythm[edit]
The Principle of Rhythm expresses the idea that in everything there is manifested a
measured motion, a to and from, a flow and inflow, a swing backward and forward, a
pendulum-like movement.[12] There is rhythm between every pair of opposites, or poles,
and is closely related to the Principle of Polarity.[13] It can be seen that this Principle
enables transition from one pole to the other, and not necessarily poles of extreme
opposites.
Principle of Cause and Effect[edit]
It explains that there is a cause for every effect, and an effect for every cause.[14] It also
states that there is no such thing as chance, that chance is merely a term indicating
extant causes not recognized or perceived.[15] The Principle is clarified in the chapter
Causation.
Principle of Gender[edit]
The Principle of Gender embodies the idea that gender is manifested in
everything.[16] The authors state that this does not relate explicitly to the commonly
understood notion of sex, but rather "... to beget; to procreate, to generate, to create, or
to produce..." in general.[17] Gender manifests itself on all planes as the Feminine and
Masculine principles.
Mental Gender is described as a Hermetic concept which relates to the feminine and
masculine principles. It does not refer to someone's physical sex, nor does it suggest that
someone of a certain sex necessarily has a matching mental gender. Ideally, one wants
to have a balanced mental gender.[18]
The concept put forth in The Kybalion states that gender exists on all planes of existence
(Physical, Mental and Spiritual), and represents different aspects on different planes.
Everything and everyone contains these two elements or principles.[19]
The Feminine principle is always in the direction of receiving impressions, and has a
much more varied field of operation than the Masculine. The Feminine conducts the work
of generating new thoughts, concepts and ideas, including the work of the imagination.[20]
The Masculine principle is always in the direction of giving out or expressing, and
contents itself with the "Will" in its varied phases.[21]
It is said that there must be a balance in these two forces. Without the Feminine, the
Masculine is apt to act without restraint, order, or reason, resulting in chaos. The
Feminine alone, on the other hand, is apt to constantly reflect and fail to actually do
anything, resulting in stagnation. With both the Masculine and Feminine working in
conjunction, there is thoughtful action that breeds success, which points out that both the
Feminine and the Masculine fulfill each other.[22]

Influences[edit]
The works of the English philosopher Herbert Spencer are referred to approvingly in The
Kybalion as showing an understanding of hermetic principles; and Spencer himself is
eulogised as a reincarnation of the 5th century BCE Greek philosopher Heraclitus; who is
in turn described as being a reincarnation of a still more ancient, Egyptian philosopher.
No other writers are similarly referenced or endorsed within the text.

Languages[edit]
The Builders of the Adytum consider The Kybalion an essential foundation of their
beliefs, and have translated the original text into Spanish, German and French,[23] the last
was completed by André Durville.[24] The Kybalion itself claims to have influenced all
major religions and philosophies ancient and modern alike.[25]

See also[edit]
 Emerald Tablet (of Hermes Trismegistus)
 Gnosticism
 Hermetica
 Magic (paranormal)
 Occultism

Notes[edit]
1. ^ Clark, P. (2013).Paul Foster Case. His Life and Works. Covina CA: Fraternity of the
Hidden Light, 23. See also "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on
2003-04-23. Retrieved 2007-01-16.for more information.
2. ^ Emporis GmbH. "Masonic Temple, Chicago - 102685 - EMPORIS". emporis.com.
Retrieved 5 June 2015.
3. ^ "Amazon.com: The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition (9781585428748): William Walker
Atkinson, Three Initiates, Philip Deslippe: Books". amazon.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
4. ^ Kybalion page 28
5. ^ Kybalion page 137
6. ^ Kybalion page 30
7. ^ Kybalion page 31
8. ^ Kybalion page 214
9. ^ Kybalion page 32
10. ^ Kybalion page 149
11. ^ Kybalion pages 149-150
12. ^ Kybalion page 36
13. ^ Kybalion page 159
14. ^ Kybalion page 38
 15. ^ Kybalion page 171
16. ^ Kybalion pages 39-40
17. ^ Kybalion page 183
18. ^ Three Initiates pp. 193-211
19. ^ (Three Initiates page 40)
20. ^ (Three Initiates p. 203)
21. ^ (Three Initiates page 203)
22. ^ (Three Initiates pp. 203-4)
23. ^ "B.O.T.A. Builders of the Adytum". www.bota.org. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
24. ^ initiés, Trois; Durville, André (1997-03-01). Le Kybalion : Etude sur la philosophie
hermétique de l'ancienne Egypte et de l'ancienne Grèce. Paris: Librairie du
Magnétisme. ISBN 9782913695009.
25. ^ The Kybalion, p. 12, Biblio Bazaar LLC, 2008 ISBN 978-0-554-35434-7

References[edit]
 The Kybalion Online Text

External links[edit]
This article's use of external links may not follow
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this
article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links,
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 The Kybalion - Audiobook at ThoughtAudio.com

 The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and

Greece at Project Gutenberg
 The Kybalion Resource Page
 Summum and The Kybalion