the inner muse

The Kybalion

by Stephanie Leung

Considered to be an essential book of Hermetic philosophy, the Kybalion presents us with seven core principles that stand behind our understanding of the Universe.

Article Contents

7 Hermetic Principles

Expanded Writings

Below is a free pdf and a summary of all seven universal laws, as well as expanded writings on each principle.

7 Hermetic Principles

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I. The Principle of Mentalism

“The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”

The Universe is a Mental Construct

Behind what we know to be the Universe, there is a singular intelligence that vibrates through it all.

The mind that we experience in our human body is but a fractal of the larger Mind, the Universal Mind. As we ascend higher, we connect in greater ways to the Universal Mind, and our journey continues until we return full circle back to its source. Many call this original source point: God, Source, Creator.

II. The Principle of Correspondence

“As above, so below; as below, so above.”

There is Truth on All Planes

Whatever you find on one level, you will always find its frequency match on another level. What is true on one dimension will be true on another, but only in its corresponding place.

The universe is a never-ending fractal of itself, continually expanding in all directions.

This means we can be sure that what we know, from one perspective, will always become manifest in its own way from another.

III. The Principle of Vibration

“Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”

All is in a State of Becoming

Everything is frequency and vibration.

There is energy in all things, and as energetic beings, you can communicate with all things, if you can tap into the right frequency.

IV. The Principle of Polarity

“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.”

Reality is Paradoxical

For every concept, there is a duality–both a positive and negative extreme. And yet, both extremes embody the same idea, and when understood as a union, become whole in its truth.

Without this understanding, there is duality and only duality.

V. 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.”

There is No End to this Dance of Life

On all planes of existence, there is a rise and there is a fall.

Eventually, we return to a place once visited before, but from a more expanded or contracted perspective.

Rhythm is circular, wavelike, and predictive. It is a breathing out, as far as it is a breathing in. It grows and it contracts, and grows again.

VI. 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 causations, but nothing escapes the law.”

Nothing is Ever Removed, But Only Transformed