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

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.


Seven Universal Principles - Seven Laws of Nature   October 27, 2004
Laura De Giorgio (Canada)
48 out of 52 found this review helpful

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".


Concise summary of timeless spiritual principles   August 25, 2002
Lleu Christopher (Hudson Valley, NY)
41 out of 44 found this review helpful

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.


The Ancient Universal Wisdom Religion   December 15, 1999
J. R. Seydel (Oregon United States)
36 out of 47 found this review helpful

An excellent book for those who wish to know the nature of SPIRIT. So much information on so few pages. An unsurpassed source of Spiritual Knowledge based on the Ancient Hermetic Philosophy of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus aka Enoch of Old. The person who reads this book and applies it to their lives are well on the way to Spiritual development and growth. Many if not all of the world's religions have borrowed from the Ancient Hermetic Philosophy from a long forgotten distant past. It is an excellent source of knowledge in the manifestation and operation of the Universe and the LAWS that indicate that the Universe and our environment is not as physical or material as we believe it is. The Kybalion is a description of the relative nature of God that has escaped the awareness of most humans in this civilization. Man has no idea what God is. The Kybalion will explain this aspect of the Truth and those who are attuned to SPIRIT will recognize its Truth.

The Peace of Spirit abide with you all.


Applicable to Any Religious or Spiritual Tradition   February 27, 2003
E. M. Hodge (Virginia Beach, VA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

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!