THE KYBALION
A Study of
The Hermetic Philosophy of
Ancient Egypt and
Greece
BY
THREE INITIATES
"THE LIPS OF WISDOM ARE CLOSED, EXCEPT TO THE
EARS OF UNDERSTANDING"
1912
COPYRIGHT 1912
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY
THE YOGI PUBLICATION SOCIETY
MASONIC TEMPLE
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
ISBN 0 911662-25-1
TO
HERMES TRISMEGISTUS
KNOWN BY THE ANCIENT
EGYPTIANS AS
"THE GREAT GREAT"
AND
"MASTER OF MASTERS"
THIS LITTLE VOLUME OF HERMETIC TEACHING
IS REVERENTLY DEDICATED
Table of Contents
I. The Hermetic Philosophy
II. The Seven Hermetic Principles
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
III. Mental Transmutation
IV. The All
V. The Mental Universe
VI. The Divine Paradox
VII. "The All" in All
VIII. Planes of Correspondence
IX. Vibration
X. Polarity
XI. Rhythm
XII. Causation
XIII. Gender
XIV. Mental Gender
XV. Hermetic Axioms
INTRODUCTION
We take great pleasure in presenting to the attention of students and
investigators of the Secret Doctrines this little work based upon the
world-old Hermetic Teachings. There has been so little written upon this
subject, not withstanding the countless references to the Teachings in
the many works upon occultism, that the many earnest searchers after the
Arcane Truths will doubtless welcome the appearance of this present
volume.
The purpose of this work is not the enunciation of any special
philosophy or doctrine, but rather is to give to the students a
statement of the Truth that will serve to reconcile the many bits of
occult knowledge that they may have acquired, but which are apparently
opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage and disgust
the beginner in the study. Our intent is not to erect a new Temple of
Knowledge, but rather to place in the hands of the student a Master-Key
with which he may open the many inner doors in the Temple of Mystery
through the main portals he has already entered.
There is no portion of the occult teachings 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 great founder, Hermes Trismegistus, the
"scribe of the gods," who dwelt in old Egypt in the days when the
present race of men was in its infancy. Contemporary with Abraham, and,
if the legends be true, an instructor of that venerable sage, Hermes
was, and is, the Great Central Sun of Occultism, whose rays have served
to illumine the countless teachings which have been promulgated since
his time. All the fundamental and basic teachings embedded in the
esoteric teachings of every race may be traced back to Hermes. Even the
most ancient teachings of India undoubtedly have their roots in the
original Hermetic Teachings.
From the land of the Ganges many advanced occultists wandered to the
land of Egypt, and sat at the feet of the Master. From him they obtained
the Master-Key which explained and reconciled their divergent views, and
thus the Secret Doctrine was firmly established. From other lands also
came the learned ones, all of whom regarded Hermes as the Master of
Masters, and his influence was so great that in spite of the many
wanderings from the path on the part of the centuries of teachers in
these different lands, there may still be found a certain basic
resemblance and correspondence which underlies the many and often quite
divergent theories entertained and taught by the occultists of these
different lands today. The student of Comparative Religions will be able
to perceive the influence of the Hermetic Teachings in every religion
worthy of the name, now known to man, whether it be a dead religion or
one in full vigor in our own times. There is always certain
correspondence in spite of the contradictory features, and the Hermetic
Teachings act as the Great Reconciler.
The lifework of Hermes seems to have been in the direction of planting
the great Seed-Truth which has grown and blossomed in so many strange
forms, rather than to establish a school of philosophy which would
dominate, the world's thought. But, nevertheless, the original truths
taught by him have been kept intact in their original purity by a few
men each age, who, refusing great numbers of half-developed students and
followers, followed the Hermetic 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 been a few
Initiates in each generation, in the various lands of the earth, who
kept alive the sacred flame of the Hermetic Teachings, and such have
always been willing to use their lamps to re-light the lesser lamps of
the outside world, when the light of truth grew dim, and clouded by
reason of neglect, and when the wicks became clogged with foreign
matter. There were always a few to tend faithfully the altar of the
Truth, upon which was kept alight the Perpetual Lamp of Wisdom. These
men devoted their lives to the labor of love which the poet has so well
stated in his lines:
"O, let not the flame die out! Cherished age after age
in its dark cavern--in its holy temples cherished. Fed
by pure ministers of love--let not the flame die out!"
These men have never sought popular approval, nor numbers of followers.
They are indifferent to these things, for they know how few there are in
each generation who are ready for the truth, or who would recognize it
if it were presented to them. They reserve the "strong meat for men,"
while others furnish the "milk for babes." They reserve their pearls of
wisdom for the few elect, who recognize their value and who wear them in
their crowns, instead of casting them before the materialistic vulgar
swine, who would trample them in the mud and mix them with their
disgusting mental food. But still these men have never forgotten or
overlooked the original teachings of Hermes, regarding the passing on of
the words of truth to those ready to receive it, which teaching is
stated in The Kybalion as follows: "Where fall the footsteps of the
Master, the ears of those ready for his Teaching open wide." And again:
"When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to
fill them with wisdom." But their customary attitude has always been
strictly in accordance with the other Hermetic aphorism, also in The
Kybalion: "The lips of Wisdom are closed, except to the ears of
Understanding."
There are those who have criticized this attitude of the Hermetists, and
who have claimed that they did not manifest the proper spirit in their
policy of seclusion and reticence. But a moment's glance back over the
pages of history will show the wisdom of the Masters, who knew the folly
of attempting to teach to the world that which it was neither ready or
willing to receive. The Hermetists have never sought to be martyrs, and
have, instead, sat silently aside with a pitying smile on their closed
lips, 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 upon a race of barbarians
the truth capable of being understood only by the elect who had advanced
along The Path.
And the spirit of persecution has not as yet died out in the land. There
are certain Hermetic Teachings, which, if publicly promulgated, would
bring down upon the teachers a great cry of scorn and revilement from
the multitude, who would again raise the cry of "Crucify! Crucify."
In this little work we have endeavored to give you an idea of the
fundamental teachings of The Kybalion, striving to give you the working
Principles, leaving you to apply therm yourselves, rather than
attempting to work out the teaching in detail. If you are a true
student, you will be able to work out and apply these Principles--if
not, then you must develop yourself into one, for otherwise the Hermetic
Teachings will be as "words, words, words" to you.
THE THREE INITIATES.
CHAPTER I
THE HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY
"The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears
of Understanding"--The Kybalion.
From old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings
which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations
and peoples, for several thousand years. Egypt, the home of the Pyramids
and the Sphinx, was the birthplace of the Hidden Wisdom and Mystic
Teachings. From her Secret Doctrine all nations have borrowed. India,
Persia, Chaldea, Medea, China, Japan, Assyria, ancient Greece and Rome,
and other ancient countries partook liberally at the feast of knowledge
which the Hierophants and Masters of the Land of Isis so freely provided
for those who came prepared to partake of the great store of Mystic and
Occult Lore which the masterminds of that ancient land had gathered
together.
In ancient Egypt dwelt the great Adepts and Masters who have never been
surpassed, and who seldom have been equaled, during the centuries that
have taken their processional flight since the days of the Great Hermes.
In Egypt was located the Great Lodge of Lodges of the Mystics. At the
doors of her Temples entered the Neophytes who afterward, as
Hierophants, Adepts, and Masters, traveled to the four corners of the
earth, carrying with them the precious knowledge which they were ready,
anxious, and willing to pass on to those who were ready to receive the
same. All students of the Occult recognize the debt that they owe to
these venerable Masters of that ancient land.
But among these great Masters of Ancient Egypt there once dwelt one of
whom Masters hailed as "The Master of Masters." This man, if "man"
indeed he was, dwelt in Egypt in the earliest days. He was known as
Hermes Trismegistus. He was the father of the Occult Wisdom; the founder
of Astrology; the discoverer of Alchemy. The details of his life story
are lost to history, owing to the lapse of the years, though several of
the ancient countries disputed with each other in their claims to the
honor of having furnished his birthplace--and this thousands of years
ago. The date of his sojourn in Egypt, in that his last incarnation on
this planet, is not now known, but it has been fixed at the early days
of the oldest dynasties of Egypt--long before the days of Moses. The
best authorities regard him as a contemporary of Abraham, and some of
the Jewish traditions go so far as to claim that Abraham acquired a
portion of his mystic knowledge from Hermes himself.
As the years rolled by after his passing from this plane of life
(tradition recording that he lived three hundred years in the flesh),
the Egyptians deified Hermes, and made him one of their gods, under the
name of Thoth. Years after, the people of Ancient Greece also made him
one of their many gods--calling him "Hermes, the god of Wisdom." The
Egyptians revered his memory for many centuries-yes, tens of centuries--
calling him "the Scribe of the Gods," and bestowing upon him,
distinctively, his ancient title, "Trismegistus," which means "the
thrice-great"; "the great-great"; "the greatest-great"; etc. In all the
ancient lands, the name of Hermes Trismegistus was revered, the name
being synonymous with the "Fount of Wisdom."
Even to this day, we use the term "hermetic" in the sense of "secret";
"sealed so that nothing can escape"; etc., and this by reason of the
fact that the followers of Hermes always observed the principle of
secrecy in their teachings. They did not believe in "casting pearls
before swine," but rather held to the teaching "milk for babes"; "meat
for strong men," both of which maxims are familiar to readers of the
Christian scriptures, but both of which had been used by the Egyptians
for centuries before the Christian era.
And this policy of careful dissemination of the truth has always
characterized the Hermetics, even unto the present day. The Hermetic
Teachings are to be found in all lands, among all religions, but never
identified with any particular country, nor with any particular
religious sect. This because of the warning of the ancient teachers
against allowing the Secret Doctrine to become crystallized into a
creed. The wisdom of this caution is apparent to all students of
history. The ancient occultism of India and Persia degenerated, and was
largely lost, owing to the fact that the teachers became priests, and so
mixed theology with the philosophy, the result being that the occultism
of India and Persia has been gradually lost amidst the mass of religious
superstition, cults, creeds and "gods." So it was with Ancient Greece
and Rome. So it was with the Hermetic Teachings of the Gnostics and
Early Christians, which were lost at the time of Constantine, whose iron
hand smothered philosophy with the blanket of theology, losing to the
Christian Church that which was its very essence and spirit, and causing
it to grope throughout several centuries before it found the way back to
its ancient faith, the indications apparent to all careful observers in
this Twentieth Century being that the Church is now struggling to get
back to its ancient mystic teachings.
But there were always a few faithful souls who kept alive the Flame,
tending it carefully, and not allowing its light to become extinguished.
And thanks to these staunch hearts, and fearless minds, we have the
truth still with us. But it is not found in books, to any great extent.
It has been passed along from Master to Student; from Initiate to
Hierophant; from lip to ear. When it was written down at all, its
meaning was veiled in terms of alchemy and astrology so that only those
possessing the key could read it aright. This was made necessary in
order to avoid the persecutions of the theologians of the Middle Ages,
who fought the Secret Doctrine with fire and sword; stake, gibbet and
cross. Even to this day there will be found but few reliable books on
the Hermetic Philosophy, although there are countless references to it
in many books written on various phases of Occultism. And yet, the
Hermetic Philosophy is the only Master Key which will open all the doors
of the Occult Teachings!
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, on and on throughout the
centuries. Its precepts have never been written down, or printed, so 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.
These teachings really constituted the basic principles of "The Art of
Hermetic Alchemy," which, contrary to the general belief, dealt in the
mastery of Mental Forces, rather than Material Elements-the
Transmutation of one kind of Mental Vibrations into others, instead of
the changing of one kind of metal into another. The legends of the
"Philosopher's Stone" which would turn base metal into Gold, was an
allegory relating to Hermetic Philosophy, readily understood by all
students of true Hermeticism.
In this little book, of which this is the First Lesson, we invite our
students to examine into the Hermetic Teachings, as set forth in THE
KYBALION, and as explained by ourselves, humble students of the
Teachings, who, while bearing the title of Initiates, are still students
at the feet of HERMES, the Master. 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.
The original maxims, axioms, and precepts of THE KYBALION are printed
herein, in italics, the proper credit being given. Our own work is
printed in the regular way, in the body of the work. We trust that the
many students to whom we now offer this little work will derive as much
benefit from the study of its pages as have the many who have gone on
before, treading the same Path to Mastery throughout the centuries that
have passed since the times of HERMES TRISMEGISTUS--the Master of
Masters--the Great-Great. In the words of "THE KYBALION":
"Where fall the footsteps of the Master, the ears of those
ready for his Teaching open wide."--The Kybalion.
"When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh
the lips to fill them with Wisdom."--The Kybalion.
So that according to the Teachings, the passage of this book to those
ready for the instruction will attract the attention of such as are
prepared to receive the Teaching. And, likewise, when the pupil is ready
to receive the truth, then will this little book come to him, or her.
Such is The Law. The Hermetic Principle of Cause and Effect, in its
aspect of The Law of Attraction, will bring lips and ear together--pupil
and book in company. So mote it be!