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The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece

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The Kybalion, originally published in 1912, is a short volume (223 pages, 7.5" x 5" hardcover) that presents, with commentary, the basic Hermetic principles. The author(s) of the book are anonymous.

Chapter 1 provides background on Hermetic philosophy, and describes the overall purpose of this book: "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 term having been lost for several centuries. This teaching, however, is known to many to whom it has descended, from mouth to ear, throughout the centuries. Its precepts have never been written down, nor printed, as 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 ... 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." (Note: as is common in many books of this era, the author(s) make extensive use of what today would be considered non-standard capitalization and punctuation.)

The Hermetic principles, familiar to any who have done basic readings in western esoteric philosophy, are outlined and then examined in depth. (For those not familiar with them, the principles include such ideas as "As above, so below; as below, so above," "opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree," "nothing rests, everything moves," "the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left," "every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized," "the universe is mental, held in the mind of The All," and "the Laws governing the nature of the universe can be used to transmute the undesireable into what is worthy.")

Quotations taken from the source material ("The Kybalion") are given, and then explained very clearly.

The chapters are as follows: 1. Hermetic Philosophy 2. Seven Hermetic Principles 3. Mental Transmutation 4. The All 5. The Mental Universe 6. The Divine Parodox 7. "The All" in All 8. Planes of Correspondence 9. Vibration 10. Polarity 11. Rhythm 12. Causation 13. Gender 14. Mental Gender 15. Hermetic Axioms.

Whether or not you agree with Hermeticism, this book and/or the material from the original "Kybalion" served as important source material for many of the key Hermetic writers of the 20th and late 19th centuries. This book should be included in the library of anyone seriously interested in western esoteric philosophy.

A number of other books has been written about these seven principles, using somewhat more modern language, but this book is the classic. This is not just a theory or a philosophy - the principles, being universal, are down-to-earth practical. If you apply them consciously in your life, your life will change.

While in times long gone by, these may have seemed to be only arbitrary spiritual principles, they are in accord with the view of quantum physics. Kybalion states that universe is mind-like in nature; quantum physics states that the universe is composed out of intelligent energy. The rest of the book describes how to manifest anything with one's thoughts - the process of manifestation, and it reminds me of the book "Dimensional Structure of Consciousness" by Samuel Avery.

The most important part of this book - other than pointing out these principles is that they are UNIVERSAL - they allways work, they express throughout nature and if you use them and apply the consciously, you can create whatever you can possibly desire in your life. You will know then that there is a law and that it works with mathematical precision, and that you can ALWAYS count on it.

The moment you grasp this truth, you will never ever again wish or hope for something to happen, you will know that you have the power to create it and you will be certain of it. And when you use this principles consciously and experience the truth of them - no one in the entire world will ever be able to talk you out of fulfilling your heart's desires. Even if the entire world doubts and laughs at you, you will not care because you'll KNOW that you CAN. You will have the "key".

Along with the Tao Teh Ching, this little book first published by the Yogi Publication Society in 1912, is one of the most complete and concise spiritual texts ever written. Many critics have criticized the Kybalion's lack of "authenticity." The teachings are allegedly taken from an ancient Egpytian teacher or demi-god named Hermes Trismegistus. Scholars, on the other hand, mainly believe that the Hermetic movement was really born in the Greek era. None of this in any way detracts from the value of this work. The true Hermes has always been a trickster god who blurs the distinction between history and mythology, so if you want real knowledge it's far preferable to leave the dry scholarship to the scholars and focus on the principles. Another criticism posed by those who don't understand such matters is that the material contained in the Kybalion is really from other traditions, such as Far Eastern. The true understanding of Hermetic philosophy is that truth is truth and it all comes from the same basic source. It follows from this that beliefs from one part of the world will be duplicated elsewhere. Debates concerning origins are very important in the fields of history, anthropology and archeology. To those on a quest for spiritual knowledge they are meaningless. I won't go through the list of seven principles contained in the Kybalion, but the primary ideas are quite simple, yet at the same time paradoxical. The universe is ultimately One, but that oneness manifests itself in duality. This is identical in essence to the Chinese idea that the Tao expresses itself through Yin and Yang. This duality creates a world where things are always moving from one extreme to the other, or Polarity as the Kybalion describes it. Perhaps the most important principle to keep in mind is that all opposites are really one. Apply this rather abstract notion to worldly matters such as politics and war and you will see the wisdom of it. This is a book worth reading many times.

I first picked up a copy of the Kybalion about 10 years ago from a friend of mine who was deeply into Hermetic study. She recommended it to me as a sort of primer for Hermetic and Occult studies. It was a small book, and I wasn't extremely impressed by what I figured would be a very simple read. I was completely mistaken. This book changed my views on religion, spirituality and magic forever.

The book is an in depth, but well-summarized description of the 7 principles of Hermetics, along with some scientific and spiritual evidence to support those principles. As with all Hermetic works, it is extremely ecclectic and borrows from many sources from modern mysticism to ancient Iamblichan Theurgy. The book is light (if not completely devoid of) specific magical practices, but the background information it gives is priceless.

A further note: long ago I gave up Hermetics as a magical or spiritual path, turning instead to a more earth-based Celtic Shamanism. Despite this, I still refer back to the Kybalion because, in my opinion, the principles it contains can be applied to any religious, spiritual or magical tradition. A definite must buy!

This book provides several general principles of the universe and how they operate--such that one can utilize them in living one's life to the full. It's like a General Systems Theory (GST) approach to metaphysics or an attempt to evolve physics into metaphysics--though that may not have been the authors' intention. General Systems Theory is an attempt to codify basic laws of nature across a multiplicity of disciplines. Certain equations, for instance, are virtually identical (except for embedded constants) in widely divergent fields. This volume provides a number of general principles which it claims to be relevant across highly divergent circumstances. The principles concern both human behavior (at least as a referent or resultant) and the basic laws of nature. They remind me a bit of Activation Theory in psychology (also called Arousal Theory). This involves the application of the Normal Distribution (a general principle of statistics, humans, and life) to human activity and its effectiveness. Maybe that's a stretch in reviewing this book, maybe not. In any case, I usually give away books after I've read them. I keep precious few for reference or loan. I've kept a copy of this book for years, maybe decades. I know of no book like it.

While the title of his review might sound self-contradicting reading this book will convince you otherwise.
With its roots several 1000s of years ago (possibly in Egypt) hermetic philosophy continues (and will continue) to be as pivotal in human understanding of the All as ever.
The Hermetists do not believe in "chance" nor do they believe in matter (the way modern science sees it). They also dont believe in the separation of things allthough that would need be further explained and that's not my intent here.
The Kyballion is basically an introduction to the 7 basic hermetic principles (they are subdivided in many other levels) and a rather brief explanation for each of those seven.

It doesn't matter whether you ultimately embrace this philosophy or not. Unless for some bizzare reason you happen to be negatively biased, you'll find that hermetics apply (or will apply) to your understanding regradless of which philosophy seems to have made sense to you up until this point.
Hermetic philosophy has this aura about it where things seem to be making automatic sense within you, as if these are truths or part of a larger truth that you innerly possess anyway but which need to be "ignited" sort of speak.

You'll find that the 7 principles explained and analysed in it can be applied in mostly everything and whether your reading up to now has been of depth in science or the (so-called) "paranormal" certain aspects will begin to take a clearer form.

What's also quite certain is that you'll feel intrigued to go deeper after reading this book.
Another thing that's striking about the Kyballion is that very often the reader feels he's reading a "scientific" book than rather a philosophical one. Hermetists did not look at their philosophy in the sense of simply trying to analyse human nature at its core and only slightly bothering with the surroundings but instead looked at the bigger scheme of things realising that this is the only sound way to attempt to define anything.

At the very worst the Kyballion will prove to be precious mental gymnastics for your mind. At best, it will be the key to several doors you never thought existed.

I always keep a few extra copies of this book on-hand, because I know that if I happen to meet somebody who is genuinely curious about Western Occultism, this is the one book that is most likely to help them find their own way onto the Path. The odd thing is that I don't really expect them to understand much of what they read, at least not initially. That's the marvelous thing about The Kybalion-- it plants seeds. Many of the spiritual truths expressed in this book seem obvious or trivial the first time that you read them, only to gain added significance in future readings.

It's not that any of the teachings in The Kybalion are particularly esoteric or obscure, either. This book is written in plain English. There is no misdirection and there are no blinds. Like life itself, the Three Initiates proclaim a simple truth that becomes more and more meaningful over time.

The Kybalion is essentially an introduction to the Seven Hermetic Principles, which are astute observations about nature: Reality is a mental phenomenon; Man is intimately connected with the universe, and inwardly reflects many of its outward characteristics; There are no constants-- everything is in a state of flux; All things are related in one way or another, differing mainly in increments rather than according to hard classifications; Change tends to follow cyclic patterns; Everything that happens has a cause, and creates other effects, even when immediate causes and effects aren't obvious to the casual observer; Everything that exists can be positive or negative, relative to other things. These truths are simple, perhaps obvious, yet proper understanding of the Seven Hermetic Principles could easily take an entire lifetime to achieve. Though long, the Path begins with a single step-- and the Kybalion is an earnest help to any serious and sincere student who wishes to make that start.

This book THE KYBALION, is very involved. I find I have to read it and stop to think about what these words meant. It may be the very Roots to inner understanding of one's self.

I read it once and find that when I look into it once again, each time it offers a different Facet into who I am.

Common Sense come into play and I share its teachings with one person every week.
I also know it is powerful and I have to be careful.

my life and attitudes have changed and every one I see asks me what is it, that I have.

my business is taking a shift towards the positive bigger and more focused .

I find that its teachings apply differently to all that may read it, for every one has their needs and problems.

I learned that I am not in charge yet learned to let go...
after all it is the ALL, that is in charge.

I liked the book, maybe you will too.

Grize'l

A very strange little book this, it was lent to me by a good friend and I thought it would take am weekend to read! At the time I failed to understand his analogy of the book to that of an onion. Now I understand. When you read this book you will abosrb a tiny fraction of the material and each time you choose to re-read a chapter, it's as if whole paragraphs are revealed to you for the firts time - a bit like removing successive layers from an onion skin. I find this book to be a foundation for any magik and although perhaps not easily understood in places, the more it is read, somehow the more you are allowed to understand. I now have had to return the book and am about to purchase a copy for myself. I agree with the others, it will be the best $14 I have spent for a very long time. A superb work and an absolute must for any collection worthy of the name.

What is this book about? It is "hermetic philosophy" in a nutshell. This book should help you in deciding whether the hermetic path (to occultism) is for you. If you are looking for a book of spells, invocations, evocations, rituals, etc. this book is not for you as it does not contain any "hands-on exercises" (these are covered in Franz Bardon's books).

It is well-written with very good explanation (considering the size of the book). Hermetic principles are not easy to understand but if you are looking for a "in-a-nutshell" book, this is it.

As of the Three Initiates... I read before somewhere that Paul Foster Case assisted with the editing, the book being written by William Walker Atkinson based on the knowledge provided by the pupil of late Yogi Ramacharaka, Baba Bharata.

It is also speculated that WWA through the tutelage of Bharata also wrote some other books on yoga with using "Yogi Ramacharaka" as pseudonym out of respect for Bharata's teacher.

Books by "Yogi Ramacharaka" are still in popular demand today.

My personal opinion is that: Regardless of whether you are on the hermetic path, so long as you desire to be an occultist, this book is a must-read.