THE SEVEN HERMETIC PRINCIPLES
Summary of Lecture #3 2016 presented by Brother Brian, 32nd Degree Master Mason
The information below is a partial summary from the book The Kybalion by The Three Initiates (1912).
The Kybalion
Other resources include:
Thrice Greatest Hermes Vol.1
Thrice Greatest Hermes Vol.2
Thrice Greatest Hermes Vol.3
The Emerald Tablet
The Corpus Hermeticum
“The 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.”
Seven is the number of completeness and perfection (both physical and spiritual). It derives much of its meaning from being tied directly to God’s creation of all things.
7 is used 735 times in the bible (54 times in the book of Revelation alone), the number 7 is the foundation of God’s word.
The number 7 is the seeker, the thinker, the searcher of Truth – it is always trying to understand the underlying, hidden truths.7 knows that nothing is exactly as it seems and that reality is often hidden behind illusions.
Click Here To See The Definition Of Hermeticism
The Seven Hermetic Principles, upon which the Hermetic Philosophy is based, are as follows:
1.) THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM
2.) THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE
3.) THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION
4.) THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY
5.) THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
6.) THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
7.) THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER
“The wise ones serve on the higher, but rule on the lower. They obey the laws coming from above them but on their own plane, and those below them they rule and give orders. And, yet, in so doing, they form a part of the Principle, instead of opposing it. The wise man falls in with the Law, and by understanding its movements he operates it instead of being its blind slave. Just as does the skilled swimmer turn this way and that way, going and coming as he will, instead of being as the log which is carried here and there…so is the wise man as compared to the ordinary man, and yet both swimmer and log; wise man and fool, are subject to Law. He who understands this is well on the road to Mastery”
1.) THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM
“The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”
“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.” 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. 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.”
2.) THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDENCE
“As ABOVE, so below; as BELOW, so above.”
“This Principle embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and spiritual universe it is a Universal Law. The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. Just as knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Understanding that all planes (physical, mental, sub-conscious, emotional and spiritual) effect one another, are connected and thus a reflection of one another enable us to change our vibration and bring positive effect to the other.”
3.) THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION
“Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” ~Nikola Tesla
“This Principle embodies the truth that “everything is in motion”; “everything vibrates”; “nothing is at rest”; facts which Modern Science endorses, and which each new scientific discovery tends to verify. And yet this Hermetic Principle was enunciated thousands of years ago, by the Masters of Ancient Egypt. This Principle explains that the differences between different manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, result largely from varying rates of Vibration. From THE ALL, which is Pure Spirit, down to the simplest form of Matter, all is in vibration. The higher the vibration, the higher the position in the scale. The vibration of Spirit is at such an infinite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is practically at rest…just as a rapidly moving wheel seems to be motionless. And at the other end of the scale, there are the smallest forms of matter whose vibrations are so low as to seem at rest. Between these poles, there are millions upon millions of varying degrees of vibration. From corpuscle and electron, atom and molecule, to worlds and universes, everything is in vibratory motion. This is also true on the planes of energy and force (which are but varying degrees of vibration); and also on the mental planes (whose states depend upon vibrations); and even on to the spiritual planes. An understanding of this Principle, enables us to control our own mental vibrations and effect our health, mood, attitude, etc..”
4.) THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY
“Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same.”
“Thesis and antithesis are identical in nature, but different in degree”; “opposites are the same, differing only in degree”; “the pairs of opposites may be reconciled”; “extremes meet”; “everything is and isn’t, at the same time”; “all truths are but half truths”; “every truth is half false”; “there are two sides to everything,” etc., etc., etc. It explains that in everything there are two poles, or opposite aspects, and that “opposites” are really only the two extremes of the same thing, with many varying degrees between them. To illustrate: Heat and Cold, although “opposites,” are really the same thing, the differences consisting merely of degrees of the same thing. Look at your thermometer and see if you can discover where “heat” terminates and “cold” begins There is no such thing as “absolute heat” or “absolute cold” the two terms “heat” and “cold” simply indicate varying degrees of the same thing, and that ‘same thing” which manifests as “heat’ and ‘cold” is merely a form, variety, and rate of Vibration. It is possible to change the vibrations of “Negativity” to the vibrations of “Positivity”, in one’s own mind, and manifest better results in our daily lives. Many of you, who read these lines, have had personal experiences of the involuntary rapid transition from “a good mood” to “a bad mood”, and the reverse, in your own case and that of others. You will therefore realize the possibility of this being reversed from “a bad mood” to a “good mood” and can be accomplished by the use of the Will, by means of the Hermetic formulas. “Good and Evil” are but the poles of the same thing, and the Hermetist understands the art of transmuting Evil into Good, by means of an application of the Principle of Polarity. In short, the “Art of Polarization becomes a phase of “Mental Alchemy. An understanding of the Principle will enable one to change his own Polarity, as well as that of others.”
5.) THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
“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.”
“This 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 low tide; between the two poles which exist in accordance with the Principle of Polarity described a moment ago. 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. This law is manifest in the creation and destruction of worlds; in the rise and fall of nations; in the life of all things; and finally in the mental states of men. Learning how to USE this principal ,instead of being USED BY it enables us to see the rhythms and take advantage of “the flow”.The Master of Hermetics polarizes himself at the point at which he desires to rest, and then neutralizes the Rhythmic swing of the pendulum which would tend to carry him to the other pole.”
6.) THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
“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.”
“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.”
7.) THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER
“Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.”
“This Principle embodies the truth that there is GENDER manifested in everything…the Masculine and Feminine Principles ever at work. This is true not only of the Physical Plane, but of the Mental and even the Spiritual Planes. On the Physical Plane, the Principle manifests as sex, on the higher planes it takes higher forms, but the Principle is ever the same. No creation, physical, mental or spiritual, is possible without this Principle. The Principle of Gender works ever in the direction of generation, regeneration, and creation. Everything, and every person, contains the two Elements or Principles, or this great Principle, within it, him or her. Every Male thing has the Female Element also; every Female contains also the Male Principle.”
SOME HERMETIC AXIOMS
“To change your mood or mental state change your vibration.”
“To destroy an undesirable rate of mental vibration, put into operation the principle of Polarity and concentrate upon the opposite pole to that which you desire to suppress. Kill out the undesirable by changing its polarity.”
“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.”
“Nothing escapes the Principle of Cause and Effect, but there are many Planes of Causation, and one may use the laws of the higher to overcome the laws of the lower.”
“True Hermetic Transmutation is a Mental Art.”
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