The Kybalion
The Kybalion
The Kybalion
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Version_1
To Hermes Trismegistus known by the ancient Egyptians as “The Great
Great” and “Master of Masters”
This little volume of hermetic teachings is reverently dedicated
CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Introduction to the Centenary Edition
Introduction
1. The Hermetic Philosophy
2. The Seven Hermetic Principles
3. Mental Transmutation
4. The All
5. The Mental Universe
6. The Divine Paradox
7. “The All” in All
8. The Planes of Correspondence
9. Vibration
10. Polarity
11. Rhythm
12. Causation
13. Gender
14. Mental Gender
15. Hermetic Axioms
About the Author
INTRODUCTION TO THE CENTENARY EDITION
by Richard Smoley
The origins of this book have mystified many. Scholar Philip Deslippe
argues, convincingly, I believe, that it was written by William Walker
Atkinson, who operated the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago (he is also
thought to be “Swami Ramacharaka”). As the first principle
—“Mentalism”—suggests, the ideas of The Kybalion bear some
resemblance to New Thought, a movement to which Atkinson was closely
connected. The universe, The Kybalion tells us, is contained in “the Mind of
THE ALL”: “THE ALL creates the Universe MENTALLY, in a manner akin to the
process whereby Man creates Mental Images.” This idea is central to
practically all New Thought teachings.
Nevertheless, the book does echo a more remote past. The term “The
All,” for example, resembles the Greek tò pân—which also means “the all”
and which appears in some Hermetic maxims, most famously Hèn tò pân:
“All is one.”
Given the claims made for it, the most obvious source to examine for
the roots of The Kybalion is the Corpus Hermeticum or “Hermetic body” of
texts. These were composed probably in the early centuries CE and purport
to expound the wisdom of Egypt as narrated in a series of discourses and
dialogues including Hermes and his son Tat (a version of “Thoth”). And
indeed there are intriguing resemblances between these works and The
Kybalion. The first text in the Corpus Hermeticum, the Poimandres
(probably a Greek adaptation of the Egyptian p-eime-n-re or “mind of
authority”), tells us that the source of the universe was noûs—
consciousness or mind—much as The Kybalion asserts the principle of
“Mentalism.” Moreover, this divine mind is described as “being androgyne
and existing as light and life”—which parallels the concept of “Gender” as
set out in The Kybalion.
The Kybalion also speaks of the principle of correspondence. This idea
appears in another ancient Hermetic text: the extremely brief and elliptical
Emerald Tablet, which says in Latin, “Quod est superius est sicut quod est
inferius, et quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, ad perpetranda
miracula rei unius”: “What is above is like what is below, and what is
below is like what is above, to enact the wonders of the one thing.” (The
Emerald Tablet is said to have originally been written in Syriac, a Semitic
language spoken in the eastern Mediterranean world in antiquity, but it
survives only in somewhat dissimilar translations in Latin and Arabic.)
Whether there really was a collection of aphorisms known as The
Kybalion and passed down from master to pupil from the days of antiquity
is hard to say. There are, to my knowledge, no copies of it or any references
to it that predate the 1908 edition, but that does not mean there were none.
And there are claims of similarly hidden texts in other traditions. The
Russian esotericist Boris Mouravieff claimed that esoteric Christianity has
an unpublished set of aphorisms called The Golden Book, some of which he
quotes in his three-volume work Gnosis: Study and Commentaries on the
Esoteric Tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy (although these do not resemble
the maxims of The Kybalion to any degree).
As for the author, William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932) was born in
Baltimore, Maryland. After an abortive career as a lawyer, he moved to
Chicago with his family in 1900, and lived there for most of the rest of his
life. He began writing books and articles in the vein of New Thought, a
movement that stresses the power of the mind in creating reality. His first
book, Thought Force, was published in 1901.
Most of Atkinson’s books were published pseudonymously. In 1903, he
began writing under the name “Yogi Ramacharaka,” and in 1908 The
Kybalion appeared, ascribed to “Three Initiates.” The publisher was
Atkinson’s own Chicago-based Yogi Publication Society.
The identity of these “Three Initiates” has long been a puzzle. Many
candidates have been named, notably the occultist Paul Foster Case,
founder of the society known as Builders of the Adytum. But as Philip
Deslippe’s research has shown, the book almost certainly had a single
author, and that was Atkinson. Indeed, in 1917, for a French edition, the
translator identified the author as “le Maître psychiste américain, W. W.
Atkinson.”
The Kybalion quotes a number of sources from Atkinson’s time:
Thomson Jay Hudson’s 1893 work The Law of Psychic Phenomena, Rama
Prasada’s 1890 title The Science of Breath and Philosophy of the Tatwas, as
well as philosophers William James and Herbert Spencer. But its chief
source probably lay elsewhere.
In a 2009 blog posting, Tarot scholar Mary K. Greer suggests a
plausible source for The Kybalion. In 1885, Anna Kingsford, an
Englishwoman who founded an organization called the Hermetic Society,
published a book titled The Virgin of the World of Hermes Mercurius
Trismegistus, which contained an adaptation of the Hermetic texts. As
Greer points out, this book, especially its introduction, written by
Kingsford’s associate Edward Maitland, offers parallels for The Kybalion’s
seven principles:
But we are left with this question: Why are the pseudonymous authors
said to be “Three Initiates”? Was Atkinson collaborating with anyone else?
If we go by the hypothesis that I have sketched out above, the answer
becomes apparent: Atkinson wrote the book by himself. But he wanted to
acknowledge his debt to Kingsford and Maitland. They were the other two
“initiates.” He is not saying that they helped to write the book, which they
did not do: both of them had died by the turn of the twentieth century
(Kingsford in 1888, Maitland in 1897). Atkinson is simply paying homage
to them by including them in the anonymous trinity of authors.
Thus it is possible to trace out a lineage for The Kybalion: the original
Hermetic texts, which have been known in the Western world since the
fifteenth century and which have existed in English versions since at least
the seventeenth; and the digest of these texts as presented by Kingsford and
Maitland in Victorian London.
In this sense, the aphorisms in The Kybalion are very likely a pious
fraud. Certainly their style and mode of thought are more evocative of
twentieth-century America than they are of ancient Egypt or Renaissance
Europe.
Even so, it would be a mistake, I think, to conclude that this work is
unfaithful to the tradition it lays claim to. A spiritual tradition is based,
certainly, on timeless and unchanging truths; but the application to which
these truths are put will vary from age to age, in accordance with that age’s
need. In this sense, The Kybalion is a genuine link in the Hermetic chain.
• • •
The Kybalion has been a central text for twentieth-century American
occultism and spirituality. The book has been hailed in Rosicrucian and
Hermetic circles, and in the realm of New Thought. Florence Scovel Shinn,
a popular New Thought author of the early twentieth century, identified her
positive thinking philosophy with the ideas of The Kybalion, and Shinn
herself went on to influence probably the best-known advocate of positive
thinking in the twentieth century: Norman Vincent Peale. In the twenty-first
century, The Kybalion’s ideas of vibration, frequency, mental alchemy, and
the law of attraction were incorporated into Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 best
seller, The Secret.
Given all this, how do the ideas in The Kybalion relate to traditional
esoteric teaching? The most striking thing about The Kybalion is its
terminology: vibration, rhythm, polarity, causation. All of these point to a
scientific, or a quasi-scientific, mode of thought. This fits the book perfectly
into its context: the early twentieth century, when science had established
itself as the ne plus ultra of human knowledge. To be taken seriously,
thinkers felt the need to frame their ideas in quasi-scientific terms and
invoke the hard physical sciences in support of them. We have already seen
examples in the passages quoted above on vibration, which cite “modern
science” and “physical science” as authorities. (Our own time has its
updated version of this: metaphysical writers invoke quantum physics and
relativity—often in garbled and almost unrecognizable forms—in much the
same way.)
This practice is legitimate, or at any rate understandable: one naturally
wishes to frame ancient and presumably eternal ideas in the terms that will
make the most sense to one’s contemporaries. But it has created a little-
noticed effect: scientific terms and concepts, as framed today, characterize
the entities they discuss as impersonal and inanimate: they are forces, not
living beings. In the sixth century BCE, Thales of Miletus, the first thinker to
explore the universe in a way that might be called scientific, insisted that
“all things are full of gods.” No scientist would dare make such a statement
today, even if he believed it.
The Kybalion, then, is part of a long-range trend in Western esoteric
thought to move from a world of the personal—from spirits, angels,
demons, fairies—into the impersonal: vibration, polarity, causation. Some
may automatically see this process as an advance, or evolution, of thought. I
myself am not so sure. I do not believe so categorically either in the
personal nature or in the impersonality of the forces that are being explored
here. Rather, I would imagine, these forces could look personal viewed
from one angle and impersonal from another—the totality being something
larger than our minds are likely to be able to apprehend.
Hence there is a major difference between the original Hermetic
teachings and the New Thought–flavored doctrines of The Kybalion. The
Corpus Hermeticum did not exist in a philosophical vacuum; its highly
elevated and abstruse dialogues form only a part of the ancient Hermetic
literature. Much of the rest consists of magical texts, and scholars have
become increasingly aware that these cannot be so easily divorced in
content or inspiration from the more theoretical Hermetic writings.
In short, the ancient Hermetists probably did not use a type of New
Thought–like mind power in their practice. Rather they probably made use
of such things as magical rituals, divination, and invocations of the gods,
just as we see in most forms of ancient religion. The use of mind power as
we find it in New Thought seems to be very much an innovation of the
nineteenth century, notably of the New England healer Phineas P. Quimby
and his spiritual descendants, including Mary Baker Eddy, founder of
Christian Science.
• • •
We now face the biggest and most difficult question of all: What value do
the teachings of The Kybalion have? Are they true?
There are many testimonials to the effects of thought power on events
in the physical world, but then there are also countless cases, many of
which we never hear about, in which these ideas simply did not work or did
not work as expected. To speak personally again, I would endorse the basic
idea of mind power: indeed there are levels of mind at which to think
something is to make it happen. Nonetheless, the levels of mind that
possess this creative power are surrounded by heavy defenses in the psyche.
For most people, they are inaccessible. You can force your way through
these barricades with certain techniques and certain drugs: this may be what
the traditional occult literature calls the confrontation with the Dweller on
the Threshold. This term, used in Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s classic occult
novel Zanoni (1842), refers essentially to this psychic barrier between the
conscious and unconscious minds. But unless you are extremely well
trained and well prepared (and probably even then), this attempt is likely to
distort and injure the mind rather than enlightening it.
All this is as it should be: Do you really want the power to think
something and instantly make it happen? Do you have the will and self-
mastery that that would require?
In any case, I believe that thought power, in its ultimate form, both
offers more power and presents more risks than many people would believe.
As for the simpler and easier (and less effective) forms of thought power—
positive suggestion and so on—I believe they also work, although in less
dramatic ways. Certainly it is better to be saying kind and cheering things to
yourself than harmful and destructive ones. But I also believe there are
limits to this practice: the subconscious knows when it is being lied to.
• • •
As for The Kybalion’s specific teachings, my own opinion is that they are
true, but it is not easy to grasp their essential connection from the terms it
presents.
Take the idea that the universe is entirely mental in nature. On the
surface, this idea appears to be false. On the surface, it seems that there are
(at least) two distinct types of events: mental events take place in one’s
mind; they are not publicly accessible (not, at any rate, without some type
of communication). We normally distinguish between these and physical
events, which are, for the most part, publicly accessible. If you and I are in
the same room, and there is a green lamp on the table, we will both see it.
But as I have said in my book The Dice Game of Shiva: How
Consciousness Creates the Universe, there is more truth to the idea of
mentalism than there may seem to be. We can understand it more clearly if
we take the following viewpoint: there is that which experiences and that
which is experienced. The former has many names in the world’s traditions:
the Self, Atman, purusha, the true I, Buddha nature, Spirit. It is pure
cognition. It has no contents of its own.
Then there is that which is experienced. This includes the sum total of
all experience, both physical and mental. It is variously known as prakrti,
“the world” (as in the Gospels), and even “matter.” But it is not matter as
conventionally understood. It is simply that which is perceived in all forms.
In this sense a rock is matter, but so is the image of a rock in your mind.
Prakrti is constantly changing, constantly moving, constantly altering.
Hence The Kybalion can tell us, “Nothing rests; everything moves;
everything vibrates.”
In ordinary human consciousness, that which experiences is entangled
with that which is experienced. We believe we are what we experience; we
believe we are the thoughts and emotions that pass through the mind; we
become what we behold. It can be difficult to detach the two, but I believe
that this is precisely the goal of many forms of meditation. The Self, as pure
witness, watches all phenomena, mental and physical, inner and outer,
pleasant and unpleasant, as images passing across the screen of the mind. In
this sense we can say that “all is Mental.”
Notice also that the interaction between Self and phenomena can itself
vary. Self can identify with the contents of its experience; or it can detach
itself from them. It seems likely to me that neither of these stances is
absolute, and indeed they can alternate, or appear to alternate, rapidly in
many cases. Self identifies with its contents; then it detaches itself from
them.
Let us go further and posit that this process takes place at all levels of
manifestation, from that of the subatomic particle to the atom to our own
level and beyond. (It is, in my view, entirely legitimate to speak of the
consciousness of the atom.) If we posit some kind of process whereby this
goes on constantly and, shall we say, habitually, we now see the source of
the “Vibration” that The Kybalion describes and which, as it points out, is
the standard feature of the universe. Because this process takes place at all
levels and scales of reality, we also see the source of the correspondence
among all levels that The Kybalion asserts.
In fact these considerations help explain all the basic principles of The
Kybalion. In addition to the ones I have just mentioned, we have:
In any event, even these few brief points can help us see the depth and
fertility of the ideas in The Kybalion. They also help us see that these ideas
are not merely an arbitrary string of axioms, but expressions of certain basic
principles that, once understood, illumine them all.
Winfield, Illinois
November 2016
Sources
Atkinson, William Walker. Practical Mental Influence and Mental
Fascination. N.p., n.d.
Kingsford, Anna, and Edward Maitland. The Virgin of the World of Hermes
Mercurius Trismegistus. San Diego, Calif.: Wizards Bookshelf, 1987
[1885].
Smoley, Richard. The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the
Universe. Novato, Calif.: New World Library, 2009.
__________
Richard Smoley’s latest book, How God Became God: What Scholars Are
Really Saying About God and the Bible, was published in June 2016 by
TarcherPerigee. He is also the author of The Deal: A Guide to Radical and
Complete Forgiveness; Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric
Tradition; The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the
Universe; Conscious Love: Insights from Mystical Christianity; The
Essential Nostradamus; Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of
Gnosticism; Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History; and Hidden
Wisdom: A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions (with Jay Kinney).
Smoley is the former editor of Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner
Traditions. Currently he is editor of Quest: Journal of the Theosophical
Society in America.
INTRODUCTION
THREE INITIATES.
1
THE HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY.
F rom old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings
which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations
and peoples, for several thousand years. Egypt, the home of the Pyramids
and the Sphinx, was the birthplace of the Hidden Wisdom and Mystic
Teachings. From her Secret Doctrine all nations have borrowed. India,
Persia, Chaldea, Medea, China, Japan, Assyria, ancient Greece and Rome,
and other ancient countries partook liberally at the feast of knowledge
which the Hierophants and Masters of the Land of Isis so freely provided
for those who came prepared to partake of the great store of Mystic and
Occult Lore which the masterminds of that ancient land had gathered
together.
In ancient Egypt dwelt the great Adepts and Masters who have never
been surpassed, and who seldom have been equaled, during the centuries
that have taken their processional flight since the days of the Great Hermes.
In Egypt was located the Great Lodge of Lodges of the Mystics. At the
doors of her Temples entered the Neophytes who afterward, as Hierophants,
Adepts, and Masters, traveled to the four corners of the earth, carrying with
them the precious knowledge which they were ready, anxious, and willing
to pass on to those who were ready to receive the same. All students of the
Occult recognize the debt that they owe to these venerable Masters of that
ancient land.
But among these great Masters of Ancient Egypt there once dwelt one
of whom Masters hailed as “The Master of Masters.” This man, if “man”
indeed he was, dwelt in Egypt in the earliest days. He was known as
Hermes Trismegistus. He was the father of the Occult Wisdom; the founder
of Astrology; the discoverer of Alchemy. The details of his life story are
lost to history, owing to the lapse of the years, though several of the ancient
countries disputed with each other in their claims to the honor of having
furnished his birthplace—and this thousands of years ago. The date of his
sojourn in Egypt, in that his last incarnation on this planet, is not now
known, but it has been fixed at the early days of the oldest dynasties of
Egypt—long before the days of Moses. The best authorities regard him as a
contemporary of Abraham, and some of the Jewish traditions go so far as to
claim that Abraham acquired a portion of his mystic knowledge from
Hermes himself.
As the years rolled by after his passing from this plane of life (tradition
recording that he lived three hundred years in the flesh), the Egyptians
deified Hermes, and made him one of their gods, under the name of Thoth.
Years after, the people of Ancient Greece also made him one of their many
gods—calling him “Hermes, the god of Wisdom.” The Egyptians revered
his memory for many centuries—yes, tens of centuries—calling him “the
Scribe of the Gods,” and bestowing upon him, distinctively, his ancient title,
“Trismegistus,” which means “the thrice-great”; “the great-great”; “the
greatest-great”; etc. In all the ancient lands, the name of Hermes
Trismegistus was revered, the name being synonymous with the “Fount of
Wisdom.”
Even to this day, we use the term “hermetic” in the sense of “secret”;
“sealed so that nothing can escape”; etc., and this by reason of the fact that
the followers of Hermes always observed the principle of secrecy in their
teachings. They did not believe in “casting pearls before swine,” but rather
held to the teaching “milk for babes; meat for strong men,” both of which
maxims are familiar to readers of the Christian scriptures, but both of which
had been used by the Egyptians for centuries before the Christian era.
And this policy of careful dissemination of the truth has always
characterized the Hermetics, even unto the present day. The Hermetic
Teachings are to be found in all lands, among all religions, but never
identified with any particular country, nor with any particular religious sect.
This because of the warning of the ancient teachers against allowing the
Secret Doctrine to become crystallized into a creed. The wisdom of this
caution is apparent to all students of history. The ancient occultism of India
and Persia degenerated, and was largely lost, owing to the fact that the
teachers became priests, and so mixed theology with the philosophy, the
result being that the occultism of India and Persia has been gradually lost
amidst the mass of religious superstition, cults, creeds and “gods.” So it was
with Ancient Greece and Rome. So it was with the Hermetic Teachings of
the Gnostics and Early Christians, which were lost at the time of
Constantine, whose iron hand smothered philosophy with the blanket of
theology, losing to the Christian Church that which was its very essence and
spirit, and causing it to grope throughout several centuries before it found
the way back to its ancient faith, the indications apparent to all careful
observers in this Twentieth Century being that the Church is now struggling
to get back to its ancient mystic teachings.
But there were always a few faithful souls who kept alive the Flame,
tending it carefully, and not allowing its light to become extinguished. And
thanks to these staunch hearts, and fearless minds, we have the truth still
with us. But it is not found in books, to any great extent. It has been passed
along from Master to Student; from Initiate to Hierophant; from lip to ear.
When it was written down at all, its meaning was veiled in terms of
alchemy and astrology, so that only those possessing the key could read it
aright. This was made necessary in order to avoid the persecutions of the
theologians of the Middle Ages, who fought the Secret Doctrine with fire
and sword; stake, gibbet and cross. Even to this day there will be found but
few reliable books on the Hermetic Philosophy, although there are countless
references to it in many books written on various phases of Occultism. And
yet, the Hermetic Philosophy is the only Master Key which will open all the
doors of the Occult Teachings!
In the early days, there was a compilation of certain Basic Hermetic
Doctrines, passed on from teacher to student, which was known as “THE
KYBALION,” the exact significance and meaning of the terms having been
lost for several centuries. This teaching, however, is known to many to
whom it has descended, from mouth to ear, on and on throughout the
centuries. Its precepts have never been written down, or printed, so far as
we know. It was merely a collection of maxims, axioms, and precepts,
which were non-understandable to outsiders, but which were readily
understood by students, after the axioms, maxims, and precepts had been
explained and exemplified by the Hermetic Initiates to their Neophytes.
These teachings really constituted the basic principles of “The Art of
Hermetic Alchemy,” which, contrary to the general belief, dealt in the
mastery of Mental Forces, rather than Material Elements—the
Transmutation of one kind of Mental Vibrations into others, instead of the
changing of one kind of metal into another. The legends of the
“Philosopher’s Stone” which would turn base metal into Gold, was an
allegory relating to Hermetic Philosophy, readily understood by all students
of true Hermeticism.
In this little book, of which this is the First Lesson, we invite our
students to examine into the Hermetic Teachings, as set forth in THE
KYBALION, and as explained by ourselves, humble students of the
Teachings, who, while bearing the title of Initiates, are still students at the
feet of HERMES, the Master. We herein give you many of the maxims,
axioms and precepts of THE KYBALION, accompanied by explanations
and illustrations which we deem likely to render the teachings more easily
comprehended by the modern student, particularly as the original text is
purposely veiled in obscure terms.
The original maxims, axioms, and precepts of “THE KYBALION” are
printed herein, in quotation marks, the proper credit being given. Our own
work is printed in the regular way, in the body of the work. We trust that the
many students to whom we now offer this little work will derive as much
benefit from the study of its pages as have the many who have gone on
before, treading the same Path to Mastery throughout the centuries that
have passed since the times of HERMES TRISMEGISTUS—the Master of
Masters—the Great-Great. In the words of “THE KYBALION”:
“Where fall the footsteps of the Master, the ears of those ready for his Teaching
open wide.”
—THE KYBALION.
“When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them
with Wisdom.”
—THE KYBALION.
This Principle embodies the truth that “All is Mind.” It explains that
THE ALL (which is the Substantial Reality underlying all the outward
manifestations and appearances which we know under the terms of “The
Material Universe”; the “Phenomena of Life”; “Matter”; “Energy”; and, in
short, all that is apparent to our material senses) is SPIRIT, which in itself is
UNKNOWABLE and UNDEFINABLE, but which may be considered and
thought of as AN UNIVERSAL, INFINITE, LIVING MIND. It also
explains that all the phenomenal world or universe is simply a Mental
Creation of THE ALL, subject to the Laws of Created Things, and that the
universe, as a whole, and in its parts or units, has its existence in the Mind
of THE ALL, in which Mind we “live and move and have our being.” This
Principle, by establishing the Mental Nature of the Universe, easily explains
all of the varied mental and psychic phenomena that occupy such a large
portion of the public attention, and which, without such explanation, are
non-understandable and defy scientific treatment. An understanding of this
great Hermetic Principle of Mentalism enables the individual to readily
grasp the laws of the Mental Universe, and to apply the same to his well-
being and advancement. The Hermetic Student is enabled to apply
intelligently the great Mental Laws, instead of using them in a haphazard
manner. With the Master-Key in his possession, the student may unlock the
many doors of the mental and psychic temple of knowledge, and enter the
same freely and intelligently. This Principle explains the true nature of
“Energy,” “Power,” and “Matter,” and why and how all these are
subordinate to the Mastery of Mind. One of the old Hermetic Masters
wrote, long ages ago: “He who grasps the truth of the Mental Nature of the
Universe is well advanced on The Path to Mastery.” And these words are as
true to-day as at the time they were first written. Without this Master-Key,
Mastery is impossible, and the student knocks in vain at the many doors of
The Temple.
II. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE.
“Everything 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.
“Everything 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.
“Every 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.
This 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. The 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. But the Masters, rising to the plane above, dominate their moods,
characters, qualities, and powers, as well as the environment surrounding
them, and become Movers instead of pawns. They help to PLAY THE
GAME OF LIFE, instead of being played and moved about by other wills
and environment. They USE the Principle instead of being its tools. The
Masters obey the Causation of the higher planes, but they help to RULE on
their own plane. In this statement there is condensed a wealth of Hermetic
knowledge—let him read who can.
VII. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER.
“Mind (as well as metals and elements) may be transmuted, from state to state;
degree to degree; condition to condition; pole to pole; vibration to vibration. True
Hermetic Transmutation is a Mental Art.”
—THE KYBALION.
“Under, and back of, the Universe of Time, Space and Change, is ever to be found
The Substantial Reality—the Fundamental Truth.”
—THE KYBALION.
“But, the report of Reason must be hospitably received, and treated with respect.”
—THE KYBALION.
The human reason, whose reports we must accept so long as we think at
all, informs us as follows regarding THE ALL, and that without attempting
to remove the veil of the Unknowable:
(1) THE ALL must be ALL that REALLY IS. There can be nothing
existing outside of THE ALL, else THE ALL would not be THE
ALL.
“THE ALL creates in its Infinite Mind countless Universes, which exist for aeons of
Time—and yet, to THE ALL, the creation, development, decline and death of a
million Universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye.”
—THE KYBALION.
“The half-wise, recognizing the comparative unreality of the Universe, imagine that
they may defy its Laws—such are vain and presumptuous fools, and they are
broken against the rocks and torn asunder by the elements by reason of their folly.
The truly wise, knowing the nature of the Universe, use Law against laws; the
higher against the lower; and by the Art of Alchemy transmute that which is
undesirable into that which is worthy, and thus triumph. Mastery consists not in
abnormal dreams, visions and fantastic imaginings or living, but in using the
higher forces against the lower—escaping the pains of the lower planes by
vibrating on the higher. Transmutation, not presumptuous denial, is the weapon of
the Master.”
—THE KYBALION.
“While All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in All. To him who
truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge.”
—THE KYBALION.
H ow often have the majority of people heard repeated the statement that
their Deity (called by many names) was “All in All,” and how little
have they suspected the inner occult truth concealed by these carelessly
uttered words? The commonly used expression is a survival of the ancient
Hermetic Maxim quoted above. As the Kybalion says: “To him who truly
understands this truth, hath come great knowledge.” And, this being so, let
us seek this truth, the understanding of which means so much. In this
statement of truth—this Hermetic Maxim—is concealed one of the greatest
philosophical, scientific and religious truths.
We have given you the Hermetic Teaching regarding the Mental Nature
of the Universe—the truth that “the Universe is Mental—held in the Mind
of THE ALL.” As the Kybalion says, in the passage quoted above: “All is
in THE ALL.” But note also the co-related statement, that: “It is equally
true that THE ALL is in ALL.” This apparently contradictory statement is
reconcilable under the Law of Paradox. It is, moreover, an exact Hermetic
statement of the relations existing between THE ALL and its Mental
Universe. We have seen how “All is in THE ALL”—now let us examine the
other aspect of the subject.
The Hermetic Teachings are to the effect that THE ALL is Imminent in
(“remaining within; inherent; abiding within”) its Universe, and in every
part, particle, unit, or combination, within the Universe. This statement is
usually illustrated by the Teachers by a reference to the Principle of
Correspondence. The Teacher instructs the student to form a Mental Image
of something, a person, an idea, something having a mental form, the
favorite example being that of the author or dramatist forming an idea of his
characters; or a painter or sculptor forming an image of an ideal that he
wishes to express by his art. In each case, the student will find that while
the image has its existence, and being, solely within his own mind, yet he,
the student, author, dramatist, painter, or sculptor, is, in a sense, immanent
in; remaining within; or abiding within, the mental image also. In other
words, the entire virtue, life, spirit, of reality in the mental image is derived
from the “immanent mind” of the thinker. Consider this for a moment, until
the idea is grasped.
To take a modern example, let us say that Othello, Iago, Hamlet, Lear,
Richard III, existed merely in the mind of Shakespeare, at the time of their
conception or creation. And yet, Shakespeare also existed within each of
these characters, giving them their vitality, spirit, and action. Whose is the
“spirit” of the characters that we know as Micawber, Oliver Twist, Uriah
Heep—is it Dickens, or have each of these characters a personal spirit,
independent of their creator? Have the Venus of Medici, the Sistine
Madonna, the Appollo Belvidere, spirits and reality of their own, or do they
represent the spiritual and mental power of their creators? The Law of
Paradox explains that both propositions are true, viewed from the proper
viewpoints. Micawber is both Micawber, and yet Dickens. And, again,
while Micawber may be said to be Dickens, yet Dickens is not identical
with Micawber. Man, like Micawber, may exclaim: “The Spirit of my
Creator is inherent within me—and yet I am not HE!” How different this
from the shocking half-truth so vociferously announced by certain of the
half-wise, who fill the air with their raucous cries of: “I Am God!” Imagine
poor Micawber, or the sneaky Uriah Heep, crying: “I am Dickens”; or some
of the lowly clods in one of Shakespeare’s plays, grandiloquently
announcing that: “I Am Shakespeare!” THE ALL is in the earth-worm, and
yet the earth-worm is far from being THE ALL. And still the wonder
remains, that though the earth-worm exists merely as a lowly thing, created
and having its being solely within the Mind of THE ALL—yet THE ALL is
immanent in the earth-worm, and in the particles that go to make up the
earthworm. Can there be any greater mystery than this of “All in THE ALL;
and THE ALL in All?”
The student will, of course, realize that the illustrations given above are
necessarily imperfect and inadequate, for they represent the creation of
mental images in finite minds, while the Universe is a creation of Infinite
Mind—and the difference between the two poles separates them. And yet it
is merely a matter of degree—the same Principle is in operation—the
Principle of Correspondence manifests in each—“As above, so Below; as
Below, so above.”
And, in the degree that Man realizes the existence of the Indwelling
Spirit immanent within his being, so will he rise in the spiritual scale of life.
This is what spiritual development means—the recognition, realization, and
manifestation of the Spirit within us. Try to remember this last definition—
that of spiritual development. It contains the Truth of True Religion.
There are many planes of Being—many sub-planes of Life—many
degrees of existence in the Universe. And all depend upon the advancement
of beings in the scale, of which scale the lowest point is the grossest matter,
the highest being separated only by the thinnest division from the SPIRIT
of THE ALL. And, upward and onward along this Scale of Life, everything
is moving. All are on the Path, whose end is THE ALL. All progress is a
Returning Home. All is Upward and Onward, in spite of all seemingly
contradictory appearances. Such is the Message of the Illumined.
The Hermetic Teachings concerning the process of the Mental Creation
of the Universe, are that at the beginning of the Creative Cycle, THE ALL,
in its aspect of “Being,” projects its Will toward its aspect of “Becoming,”
and the process of creation begins. It is taught that the process consists of
the lowering of Vibration until a very low degree of vibratory energy is
reached, at which point the grossest possible form of Matter is manifested.
This process is called the stage of Involution, in which THE ALL becomes
“involved,” or “wrapped up,” in its creation. This process is believed by the
Hermetists to have a Correspondence to the mental process of an artist,
writer, or inventor, who becomes so wrapped up in his mental creation as to
almost forget his own existence and who, for the time being, almost “lives
in his creation.” If instead of “wrapped” we use the word “rapt,” perhaps we
will give a better idea of what is meant.
This Involuntary stage of Creation is sometimes called the
“Outpouring” of the Divine Energy, just as the Evolutionary state is called
the “Indrawing.” The extreme pole of the Creative process is considered to
be the furthest removed from THE ALL, while the beginning of the
Evolutionary stage is regarded as the beginning of the return swing of the
pendulum of Rhythm—a “coming home” idea being held in all of the
Hermetic Teachings.
The Teachings are that during the “Outpouring,” the vibrations become
lower and lower until finally the urge ceases, and the return swing begins.
But there is this difference, that while in the “Outpouring” the creative
forces manifest compactly and as a whole, yet from the beginning of the
Evolutionary or “Indrawing” stage, there is manifested the Law of
Individualization—that is, the tendency to separate into Units of Force, so
that finally that which left THE ALL as unindividualized energy returns to
its source as countless highly developed Units of Life, having risen higher
and higher in the scale by means of Physical, Mental and Spiritual
Evolution.
The ancient Hermetists use the word “Meditation,” in describing the
process of the mental creation of the Universe in the Mind of THE ALL, the
word “Contemplation” also being frequently employed. But the idea
intended seems to be that of the employment of the Divine Attention.
“Attention” is a word derived from the Latin root, meaning “to reach out; to
stretch out,” and so the act of Attention is really a mental “reaching out;
extension” of mental energy, so that the underlying idea is readily
understood when we examine into the real meaning of “Attention.”
The Hermetic Teachings regarding the process of Evolution are that,
THE ALL, having meditated upon the beginning of the Creation—having
thus established the material foundations of the Universe—having thought
it into existence—then gradually awakens or rouses from its Meditation and
in so doing starts into manifestation the process of Evolution, on the
material, mental and spiritual planes, successively and in order. Thus the
upward movement begins—and all begins to move Spiritward. Matter
becomes less gross; the Units spring into being; the combinations begin to
form; Life appears and manifests in higher and higher forms; and Mind
becomes more and more in evidence—the vibrations constantly becoming
higher. In short, the entire process of Evolution, in all of its phases, begins,
and proceeds according to the established Laws of the “Indrawing” process.
All of this occupies æons upon æons of Man’s time, each æon containing
countless millions of years, but yet the Illumined inform us that the entire
creation, including Involution and Evolution, of an Universe, is but “as the
twinkle of the eye” to THE ALL. At the end of countless cycles of æons of
time, THE ALL withdraws its Attention—its Contemplation and Meditation
—of the Universe, for the Great Work is finished—and All is withdrawn
into THE ALL from which it emerged. But Mystery of Mysteries—the
Spirit of each soul is not annihilated, but is infinitely expanded—the
Created and the Creator are merged. Such is the report of the Illumined!
The above illustration of the “meditation,” and subsequent “awakening
from meditation,” of THE ALL, is of course but an attempt of the Teachers
to describe the Infinite process by a finite example. And, yet: “As Below, so
Above.” The difference is merely in degree. And just as THE ALL arouses
itself from the meditation upon the Universe, so does Man (in time) cease
from manifesting upon the Material Plane, and withdraws himself more and
more into the Indwelling Spirit, which is indeed “The Divine Ego.”
There is one more matter of which we desire to speak in this lesson, and
that comes very near to an invasion of the Metaphysical field of
speculation, although our purpose is merely to show the futility of such
speculation. We allude to the question which inevitably comes to the mind
of all thinkers who have ventured to seek the Truth. The question is: “WHY
does THE ALL create Universes?” The question may be asked in different
forms, but the above is the gist of the inquiry.
Men have striven hard to answer this question, but still there is no
answer worthy of the name. Some have imagined that THE ALL had
something to gain by it, but this is absurd, for what could THE ALL gain
that it did not already possess? Others have sought the answer in the idea
that THE ALL “wished something to love;” and others that it created for
pleasure, or amusement; or because it “was lonely”; or to manifest its
power;—all puerile explanations and ideas, belonging to the childish period
of thought.
Others have sought to explain the mystery by assuming that THE ALL
found itself “compelled” to create, by reason of its own “internal nature”—
its “creative instinct.” This idea is in advance of the others, but its weak
point lies in the idea of THE ALL being “compelled” by anything, internal
or external. If its “internal nature,” or “creative instinct,” compelled it to do
anything, then the “internal nature” or “creative instinct” would be the
Absolute, instead of THE ALL, and so accordingly that part of the
proposition falls. And, yet, THE ALL does create and manifest, and seems
to find some kind of satisfaction in so doing. And it is difficult to escape the
conclusion that in some infinite degree it must have what would correspond
to an “inner nature,” or “creative instinct,” in man, with correspondingly
infinite Desire and Will. It could not act unless it Willed to Act; and it
would not Will to Act, unless it Desired to Act; and it would not Desire to
Act unless it obtained some Satisfaction thereby. And all of these things
would belong to an “Inner Nature,” and might be postulated as existing
according to the Law of Correspondence. But, still, we prefer to think of
THE ALL as acting entirely FREE from any influence, internal as well as
external. That is the problem which lies at the root of difficulty—and the
difficulty that lies at the root of the problem.
Strictly speaking, there cannot be said to be any “Reason” whatsoever
for THE ALL to act, for a “reason” implies a “cause,” and THE ALL is
above Cause and Effect, except when it Wills to become a Cause, at which
time the Principle is set into motion. So, you see, the matter is Unthinkable,
just as THE ALL is Unknowable. Just as we say THE ALL merely “IS”—
so we are compelled to say that “THE ALL ACTS BECAUSE IT ACTS.”
At the last, THE ALL is All Reason in Itself; All Law in Itself; All Action
in Itself—and it may be said, truthfully, that THE ALL is Its Own Reason;
its own Law; its own Act—or still further, that THE ALL; Its Reason; Its
Act; is Law; are ONE, all being names for the same thing. In the opinion of
those who are giving you these present lessons, the answer is locked up in
INNER SELF of THE ALL, along with its Secret of Being. The Law of
Correspondence, in our opinion, reaches only to that aspect of THE ALL,
which may be spoken of as “The Aspect of BECOMING.” Back of that
Aspect is “The Aspect of BEING,” in which all Laws are lost in LAW; all
Principles merge into PRINCIPLE—and THE ALL; PRINCIPLE; and
BEING; are IDENTICAL, ONE AND THE SAME. Therefore,
Metaphysical speculation on this point is futile. We go into the matter here,
merely to show that we recognize the question, and also the absurdity of the
ordinary answers of metaphysics and theology.
In conclusion, it may be of interest to our students to learn that while
some of the ancient, and modern, Hermetic Teachers have rather inclined in
the direction of applying the Principle of Correspondence to the question,
with the result of the “Inner Nature” conclusion,—still the legends have it
that HERMES, the Great, when asked this question by his advanced
students, answered them by PRESSING HIS LIPS TIGHTLY TOGETHER
and saying not a word, indicating that there WAS NO ANSWER. But, then,
he may have intended to apply the axiom of his philosophy, that: “The lips
of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding,” believing that
even his advanced students did not possess the Understanding which
entitled them to the Teaching. At any rate, if Hermes possessed the Secret,
he failed to impart it, and so far as the world is concerned THE LIPS OF
HERMES ARE CLOSED regarding it. And where the Great Hermes
hesitated to speak, what mortal may dare to teach?
But, remember, that whatever be the answer to this problem, if indeed
there be an answer—the truth remains that: “While All is in THE ALL, it is
equally true that THE ALL is in All.” The Teaching on this point is
emphatic. And, we may add the concluding words of the quotation: “To him
who truly understands this truth, hath come great knowledge.”
8
THE PLANES OF CORRESPONDENCE.
These divisions are more or less artificial and arbitrary, for the truth is
that all of the three divisions are but ascending degrees of the great scale of
Life, the lowest point of which is undifferentiated Matter, and the highest
point that of Spirit. And, moreover, the different Planes shade into each
other, so that no hard and fast division may be made between the higher
phenomena of the Physical and the lower of the Mental; or between the
higher of the Mental and the lower of the Physical.
In short, the Three Great Planes may be regarded as three great groups
of degrees of Life Manifestation. While the purposes of this little book do
not allow us to enter into an extended discussion of, or explanation of, the
subject of these different planes, still we think it well to give a general
description of the same at this point.
At the beginning we may as well consider the question so often asked
by the neophyte, who desires to be informed regarding the meaning of the
word “Plane,” which term has been very freely used, and very poorly
explained, in many recent works upon the subject of occultism. The
question is generally about as follows: “Is a Plane a place having
dimensions, or is it merely a condition or state?” We answer: “No, not a
place, nor ordinary dimension of space; and yet more than a state or
condition. It may be considered as a state or condition, and yet the state or
condition is a degree of dimension, in a scale subject to measurement.”
Somewhat paradoxical, is it not? But let us examine the matter. A
“dimension,” you know, is “a measure in a straight line, relating to
measure,” etc. The ordinary dimensions of space are length, breadth, and
height, or perhaps length, breadth, height, thickness or circumference. But
there is another dimension of “created things,” or “measure in a straight
line,” known to occultists, and to scientists as well, although the latter have
not as yet applied the term “dimension” to it—and this new dimension,
which, by the way, is the much speculated-about “Fourth Dimension,” is the
standard used in determining the degrees or “planes.”
This Fourth Dimension may be called “the Dimension of Vibration.” It
is a fact well known to modern science, as well as to the Hermetists who
have embodied the truth in their “Third Hermetic Principle,” that
“everything is in motion; everything vibrates; nothing is at rest.” From the
highest manifestation, to the lowest, everything and all things Vibrate. Not
only do they vibrate at different rates of motion, but as in different
directions and in a different manner. The degrees of the “rate” of vibrations
constitute the degrees of measurement on the Scale of Vibrations—in other
words the degrees of the Fourth Dimension. And these degrees form what
occultists call “Planes.” The higher the degree of rate of vibration, the
higher the plane, and the higher the manifestation of Life occupying that
plane. So that while a plane is not “a place,” nor yet “a state or condition,”
yet it possesses qualities common to both. We shall have more to say
regarding the subject of the scale of Vibrations in our next lessons, in which
we shall consider the Hermetic Principle of Vibration.
You will kindly remember, however, that the Three Great Planes are not
actual divisions of the phenomena of the Universe, but merely arbitrary
terms used by the Hermetists in order to aid in the thought and study of the
various degrees and forms of universal activity and life. The atom of matter,
the unit of force, the mind of man, and the being of the arch-angel are all
but degrees in one scale, and all fundamentally the same, the difference
between solely a matter of degree, and rate of vibration—all are creations of
THE ALL, and have their existence solely within the Infinite Mind of THE
ALL.
The Hermetists sub-divide each of the Three Great Planes into Seven
Minor Planes, and each of these latter are also sub-divided into seven sub-
planes, all divisions being more or less arbitrary, shading into each other,
and adopted merely for convenience of scientific study and thought.
The Great Physical Plane, and its Seven Minor Planes, is that division
of the phenomena of the Universe which includes all that relates to physics,
or material things, forces, and manifestations. It includes all forms of that
which we call Matter, and all forms of that which we call Energy or Force.
But you must remember that the Hermetic Philosophy does not recognize
Matter as a “thing in itself,” or as having a separate existence even in the
Mind of THE ALL. The Teachings are that Matter is but a form of Energy
—that is, Energy at a low rate of vibrations of a certain kind. And
accordingly the Hermetists classify Matter under the head of Energy, and
give to it three of the Seven Minor Planes of the Great Physical Plane.
These Seven Minor Physical Planes are as follows:
The Plane of Matter (A) comprises the forms of Matter in its form of
solids, liquids, and gases, as generally recognized by the text-books on
physics. The Plane of Matter (B) comprises certain higher and more subtle
forms of Matter of the existence of which modern science is but now
recognizing, the phenomena of Radiant Matter, in its phases of radium, etc.,
belonging to the lower sub-division of this Minor Plane. The Plane of
Matter (C) comprises forms of the most subtle and tenuous Matter, the
existence of which is not suspected by ordinary scientists. The Plane of
Ethereal Substance comprises that which science speaks of as “The Ether,”
a substance of extreme tenuity and elasticity, pervading all Universal Space,
and acting as a medium for the transmission of waves of energy, such as
light, heat, electricity, etc. This Ethereal Substance forms a connecting link
between Matter (so-called) and Energy, and partakes of the nature of each.
The Hermetic Teachings, however, instruct that this plane has seven sub-
divisions (as have all of the Minor Planes), and that in fact there are seven
others, instead of but one.
Next above the Plane of Ethereal Substance comes the Plane of Energy
(A), which comprises the ordinary forms of Energy known to science, its
seven sub-planes being, respectively, Heat; Light; Magnetism; Electricity,
and Attraction (including Gravitation, Cohesion, Chemical Affinity, etc.)
and several other forms of energy indicated by scientific experiments but
not as yet named or classified. The Plane of Energy (B) comprises seven
sub-planes of higher forms of energy not as yet discovered by science, but
which have been called “Nature’s Finer Forces” and which are called into
operation in manifestations of certain forms of mental phenomena, and by
which such phenomena becomes possible. The Plane of Energy (C)
comprises seven sub-planes of energy so highly organized that it bears
many of the characteristics of “life,” but which is not recognized by the
minds of men on the ordinary plane of development, being available for the
use of beings of the Spiritual Plane alone—such energy is unthinkable to
ordinary man, and may be considered almost as “the divine power.” The
beings employing the same are as “gods” compared even to the highest
human types known to us.
The Great Mental Plane comprises those forms of “living things”
known to us in ordinary life, as well as certain other forms not so well
known except to the occultist. The classification of the Seven Minor Mental
Planes is more or less satisfactory and arbitrary (unless accompanied by
elaborate explanations which are foreign to the purpose of this particular
work), but we may as well mention them. They are as follows:
“Everything 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.
“Everything 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.
“Every 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.
_______________
FINIS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
T he identity of Three Initiates has been the subject of much secrecy and
rumor since The Kybalion first appeared in 1908. “Three Initiates” is
most likely one of the many pseudonyms used by William Walker
Atkinson, a popular New Thought writer and publisher in the early
twentieth century. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1862, Atkinson became
a successful attorney in 1894. Following a series of illnesses, he immersed
himself in New Thought literature. He soon became an important and
influential figure within the early days of the movement, publishing
magazines such as Suggestion, New Thought, and Advanced Thought, as
well as contributing to Elizabeth Towne’s The Nautilus. Under the aegis of
his own publishing company, Yogi Publication Society, Atkinson authored
The Secret of Success, as well as many titles written under pseudonyms
including Yogi Ramacharaka, Magus Incognito, and Theron Q. Dumont.
The Kybalion is the most popular and enduring work published by
Atkinson’s Yogi Publication Society. An honorary president of the
International New Thought Alliance, Atkinson died in California in 1932.
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