7 1who was responsible for the inclusion of the ceremonials based on the skrying of Sir

Edward Kelly. There is much in these Golden Dawn rituals and ceremonies that is of the
greatest value; but from the rst grade to the last it is all vitiated by these dangerous
elements taken from Dee and Kelly. !urthermore" in many places" the practical working is not
provided with ade#uate safeguards" so that" to the present writer$s personal knowledge" an
operator working with the %awn rituals runs very grave risks of breaking down his physical or&
ganism" or of obsession by evil entities.
The Seven Hermetic 'aws
as Stated in The Kybalion
The Kybalion has had a cult following since its publication, and remains in
print in various editions. The mysterious nature of the work probably adds to
its attraction. Whether or not we can determine who wrote it, it presents well
researched Hermetic principles, though the language is archaic.
The (rinciples of Truth are Seven; he who knows these" understandingly" possesses the
)agic Key before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple *y open.
The Kybalion
The Seven Hermetic (rinciples" upon which the entire (hilosophy is based" are as follows+
,. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! )E/T2',S),,. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! 01..ES(1/%E/0E
,,,. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! 3,4.2T,1/
,3. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! (1'2.,T5
3. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! .-5T-)
3,. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! 026SE 2/% E!!E0T
3,,. T-E (.,/0,('E 1! 7E/%E.
These seven (rinciples will be discussed and e8plained as we proceed with these lessons. 2
short e8planation of each" however" should be given at this point.7 9
!. The (rinciple of )entalism
T-E 2'' is ),/%; The 6niverse is )ental.
: The Kybalion
This principle embodies the truth that ;"ll is )ind.< !t e8plains that THE =which is the
Substantial .eality underlying all the outward manifestations and appearances which we know
under the terms of ;The )aterial #niverse"< the ;(henomena of 'ife"< ;)atter"< and ;Energy<;
and" in short" all that is apparent to our material senses> is S(!.!T" which in itself is
#/K/1?"4'E and #/DE!!/"4'E" but which may be considered and thought of as " #/!$E.S"'"
!/!!/!TE" '!$!/G )!/D. !t also e8plains that all the phenomenal world or universe is simply a
)ental 0reation of THE "''" sub@ect to the 'aws of 0reated Things" and that the universe" as a
whole and in its parts or units" has its e8istence in the )ind of THE in which )ind we ;live and
move and have our being.< This (rinciple" by establishing the )ental /ature of the #niverse"
easily e8plains all of the varied mental and psychic phenomena that occupy such a large
portion of the public attention" and which" without such e8planation" are non&understandable
and defy scientic treatment. "n understanding of this great Hermetic (rinciple of )entalism
enables the individual to readily grasp the laws of the )ental #niverse" and to apply the same
to his well&being and advancement. The Student is enabled to apply intelligently the great
)ental 'aws" instead of using them in a haphaAard manner. ?ith the )aster Key in his posses&
sion" the student may unlock the many doors of the mental and psychic temple of knowledge"
and enter the same freely and intelligently. This (rinciple e8plains the true nature of ;Energy"<
;(ower"< and ;)atter"< and why and how all these are subordinate to the )astery of )ind.
1ne of the old Hermetic )asters wrote" long ages ago+ ;He who grasps the truth of the )ental
/ature of the #niverse is well advanced on The (ath to )astery.< "nd these words are as true
today as at the time they were rst written. ?ithout this )aster Key" )astery is impossible"
and the student knocks in vain at the many doors of The Temple.7 B
!!. The (rinciple of 0orrespondence
2s above" so below; as below" so above.
:The Kybalion
This (rinciple embodies the Truth that there is always a 0orrespondence between the
laws and phenomena of the various planes of 4eing and 'ife. The old -ermetic a8iom is
;2s above" so below; as below" so above.< 2nd the grasping of this (rinciple gives one
the means of solving many a dark parado8 and hidden secret of /ature. There are planes
beyond our knowing" but when we apply the (rinciple of 0orrespondence to them" we are
able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This (rinciple is of
universal application and manifestation" on the various planes of the material" mental"
and spiritual universe:it is a #niversal 'aw. The ancient Hermeticists considered this
(rinciple as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry
aside the obstacles which hid from view the #nknown. !ts use even tore aside the $eil of
,sis to the e8tent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Cust as a
knowledge of the (rinciples of 7eometry enables man to measure distant suns and their
movements" while seated in his observatory" so a knowledge of the (rinciple of
0orrespondence enables )an to reason intelligently from the Known to the #nknown.
Studying the monad" he understands the archangel.
!!!. The (rinciple of $ibration
/othing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.
:The Kybalion
This (rinciple embodies the truth that everything is in motion" everything vibrates" and
nothing is at rest; facts which )odern Science endorses" and which each new scientic
discovery tends to verify. "nd yet this Hermetic (rinciple was enunciated thousands of years
ago by the )asters of "ncient Egypt. This (rinciple e8plains that the diDerences between
diDerent manifestations of )atter" Energy" )ind" and even Spirit result largely from varying
rates of $ibration. !rom THE 7 E
"''" which is (ure Spirit" down to the grossest form of )atter" all is in vibration" and the
higher the vibration" the higher the position in the scale. The vibration of Spirit is at such
an innite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is practically at rest:@ust as a rapidly
moving wheel seems to be motionless. "nd at the other end of the scale" there are gross
forms of matter whose vibrations are so low as to seem at rest. 4etween these poles"
there are millions upon millions of varying degrees of vibration. !rom corpuscle and
electron" atom and molecule" to worlds and universes" everything is in vibratory motion.
This is also true on the planes of energy and force =which are but varying degrees of
vibration>; and also on the mental planes =whose states depend upon vibrations>; and
even on to the spiritual planes. "n understanding of this (rinciple" with the appropriate
formulas" enables Hermetic students to control their own mental vibrations as well as
those of others. The )asters also apply this (rinciple to the con#uering of /atural
phenomena" in various ways. ;He who understands the (rinciple of $ibration has grasped
the scepter of power"< says one of the old writers.
!$. The (rinciple of (olarity
Everything is %ual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and
unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature" but diDerent in degree; e8tremes
meet; all truths are but half&truths; all parado8es may be reconciled.
:The Kybalion
This (rinciple embodies the truth that ;everything is dual"< ;everything has two poles"< and
;everything has its pair of opposites"< all of which were old Hermetic a8ioms. !t e8plains the
old parado8es that have perple8ed so many" which have been stated as follows+ Thesis and
antithesis are identical in nature" but diDerent in degree; opposites are the same" diDering
only in degree; the pairs of opposites may be reconciled; e8tremes meet; everything is and
isn$t" at the same time; all truths are but half&truths" every truth is half&false; there are two
sides to everything" etc." etc." etc. !t e8plains that in everything there are two poles" or
opposite aspects" and that ;opposites< are really only the two e8tremes of the same thing"
with many varying degrees between them. To illustrate+ heat and cold" although ;opposites"<
are really the same thing" the diDerences consisting merely of degrees. ='ook at your
thermometer and see if you can discover where ;heat< ends and ;cold< begins.> There is no
such thing as ;absolute heat< or ;absolute cold<:the terms ;heat< and ;cold< simply indicate
varying degrees of the same thing" and that thing which manifests as ;heat< and ;cold< is
merely a form" variety" and rate of $ibration. So ;heat< and ;cold< are simply the two poles of
that which we call ;heat<:and the phenomena attendant thereupon are manifestations of the
(rinciple of (olarity. The same (rinciple manifests in the case of ;light< and ;darkness"< which
are again the same thing" the diDerence consisting of varying degrees between the two poles
of the phenomena. ?here does ;darkness< leave oD and ;light< beginF ?hat is the diDerence
between ;large< and ;small<F 4etween ;hard< and ;soft<F 4etween ;black< and ;white<F
4etween ;sharp< and ;dull<F 4etween ;noise< and ;#uiet<F 4etween ;high< and ;low<F
4etween ;positive< and ;negative<F The (rinciple of (olarity e8plains these parado8es" and no
other (rinciple can supersede it. The same (rinciple operates on the )ental (lane. 'et us take
a radical and e8treme e8ample:that of ;love< and ;hate"< two mental states apparently
totally diDerent. "nd yet there are degrees of hate and degrees of love" and a middle point in
which we use the terms ;like< or ;dislike"< which shade into each other so gradually that
sometimes we are at a loss to know whether we like or dislike:or neither. all are simply
degrees of the same thing. "nd" more than this =and considered of more importance by the
Hermeticists>" it is possible to change the vibrations of hate to the vibrations of love" in one$s
own mind" and in the minds of others. )any of you" who read these lines" have had personal
e8periences of the involuntary rapid transition from love to hate" and the reverse" in your own
case and that of others. "nd you will therefore realiAe the possibility of this being
accomplished by the use of the ?ill" by means of the Hermetic formulas. ;Good< and ;evil< are
but the poles of the same thing" and the Hermeticist understands the art of transmuting evil
into good" by means of an application of the (rinciple