The Kybalion
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TH E K Y B A L I O N A STUDY OF T H E H ERM ETI C PH I LOSOPHY OF ANCI ENT EGYPT AND G REECE TH REE INITIATES - ” un 07 m unm ule THE YOGI PUBLI CATI ON SOCI ETY MASONI C TEMPLE HI C CAGO, ILL C o p r x 1 1 t 1 9 , ; 3 6 COPYRI G H T 1 908 TH E YOG I PUB L I CATI ON SOC I E Y T . ’ Ent ered at St at ioner s H all All rights r eser ved H ERMES TRI S MEG I STUS K NOWN BY THE ANClENT EGYPTIANS TH E GREAT GREAT! AND MASTE R OF MASTE RS THIS LITTLE VOLUME OF HERMETIC TEACHINGS IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED CONTENTS 0m m . Paar . Introduction II . Seven H ermetic Principles Mental Transmutation The Divine Paradox “ ” VI I . The All in All I V I I . Planes of Corr espondence Vibration X. Polarity Rhythm Causation Gender H ermetic Ax ioms I NTRODUCTI ON. We take great pleasure in presenting to the attentionof students and investigators of the Secret Doctrines this little work based uponthe world- old Hermetic Teach ha so ings. There s been little written hi upon t s subject, notwithstanding the countless references to the Teachings in ul the many works upon occ tism, that the many earnest searchers after the Arcane Truths will doubtless welcome the appear ance of the present volume . The purpose of this work is not the enunciation of any special philosophy or i i doctr ne, but rather s to give to the stu dents a statement of the Truth that will serve to reconcile the many bits of occult n k owledge that they may have acquired , but which are apparently opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage 7 8 I ntr oduc tion and disgust the beginner in the study. Our intent is not to erect a new Temple of K to c nowledge, but rather pla e in the hands of the student a Master-K ey with which he may open the many inner doors in the Temple of Mystery through the m ain portals he has already entered . There is no portion of the occult teach ings possessed by the world which have been so closely guarded as the fragments of the Hermetic Teachings which have come down to us over the tens of centuries which have elapsed since the lifetime of its u r T great fo nder, He mes rismegistus , the ” scribe of the gods , who dwelt in old Egypt in the days when the present race of n men was in its i fancy. Contemporary A with braham, and, if the legends be true, an instructor of that venerable sage, Hermes was , and is , the Great Central Sun of r v t Occultism, whose rays have se ed o illumine the countless teachings which h All ave been promulgated since his time . the fundamental and basic teachings em bedded inthe esoteric teachings of every I ntr oduc tion 9 be c race may traced ba k to Hermes . Even the most ancient teachings of India un doubtedly have their roots in the original T i Hermetic each ngs. From the land of the Ganges many ad ve nced occultists wandered to the land of f Egypt, and sat at the feet o the Master . From him they obtained the Master-K ey which explained and reconciled their diver i he gent v ews , and thus t Secret Doctrine l was firmly estab ished . From other lands s n f al o came the lear ed ones , all o whom regarded Hermes as the Master of Mas hi nfl w ters , and s i uence as so great that in spite of the many wanderings from the path onthe part of the centuries of teach er fi r n m a s in these di e e t lands, there y still be found a certain basic resemblance and correspondence which underlies the many and often quite divergent theories enter tained and taught by the occultists of these ifi r nt Th d e e lands today. e student of Comparative Religions will be able to per ceive the influence of the Hermetic Teach i r ngs in eve y religion worthy of the name, 1 0 I ntr oduction now w man kno n to , whether it be a dead religion or one infull vigor inour own times . There is always a certaincorre spondence in spite of the contradictory features, and the Hermetic Teachings act as the Great Reconciler. The lifework of Hermes seems to have been inthe direction of planting the great Seed-Truth which has grown and blos somed in so r r many strange fo ms, ather than to establish a school of philos! ’ ophy which would dominate the world s B t v r ss r thought. u, ne e thele , the o igi nal truths taught by him have been kept intact in their original purity by in who re a few men each age, , fusing great numbers of half- developed students and followers, followed the Her metic custom and reserved their truth for the few who were ready to comprehend and master it . From lip to ear the truth has been handed down among the few . There have always beena few Initiates in inth of each generation, e various lands h h ed fl t e earth, w o kept alive the sacr ame I ntr oduction 1 1 of r T the He metic eachings , and such have always been willing to use their lamps to r e-light the lesser lamps of the outside world, when the light of truth grew dim, n and clouded by reaso of neglect, and when the wicks became clogged with foreign matter. There were always a few to tend f T faithfully the altar o the ruth, upon which was kept alight the Perpetual Lamp T of Wisdom . hese men devoted their lives to the labor of love which the poet has so well stated in his lines 0, let not the flame die out ! Cherished age after age inits dark cavern—inits holy temples cherished. Fed by pure min — ” isters of love let not the flame die out 1 These men have never sought popular T approval, nor numbers of followers . hey for are indifferent to these things , they know how few there are in each generation u who l who are ready for the tr th, or wou d recognize it if it were presented to them . “ ” They reserve the strong meat for men, “ while others furnish the milk for babes . They reserv e their pearls of wisdom for 1 2 I ntr oduction who the few elect, recognize their value h in in and w o wear them their crowns, stead of casting them before the material is i who t c vulgar swine, would trample them inthe mud and mix them with their disgust ing mental food . But still these menhave never forgottenor overlooked the original hi r in teac ngs of He mes, regard g the pass ing onof the words of truth to those ready to receive it, which teaching is stated in The K yb alion as follows Where fall s of the footsteps of the Master, the ear ” those ready for his Teaching openwide . “ And again: When the ears of the stu t n dent are ready o hear, the cometh the ’ lips to fill them with wisdom. But their customary attitude has always beenstrictly in accordance with the other Hermetic in Th K ali n The aphorism, also e yb o : t lips of Wisdom are closed, except o the ears of Understanding. There are those who have criticised this who e attitude of the Hermetists , and hav claimed that they did not manifest the proper spirit in their policy of seclusion I ntroduction 1 3 ’ and reticence. But a moment s glance back over the pages of history will show s n the wi dom of the Masters, who k ew the folly of attempting to teach to the world that which it w as neither ready or willing to r receive. The He metists have never s u to s n o ght be martyr , and have, i stead, sat silently aside with a pitying smile on s s ‘ their clo ed lip , while the heathen raged noisily about them ’ in their customary amusement of putting to death and torture the honest but misguided enthusiasts who imagined that they could force upona race of barbarians the truth capable of being understood only by the elect w ho had ad vanced along The Path . And the spirit of persecution has not as di yet ed out inthe land. There are cer n r hi tai He metic Teachings, w ch, if pub licl y promulgated, would bring down upon the teachers a great cry of scorn and h revilement from the multitude, w o would again raise the cry of Crucify l Crucify. In this little work we have endeavored to give you anidea of the fundamental 1 4 The Kybalion s The K balion to teaching of y , striving uthe give yo working Principles , leaving you to apply them yourselves , rather than attempting to work out the teaching in de . I f u tail you are a true student, yo will be able to work out and apply these Prin ci les—if p not, thenyou must develop your r self into one, for otherwise the He metic “ T s l eaching wi l be as words, words , ” s word to you.