The Kybalion

The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece is a book originally published in 1908 by New Thought author William Walker Atkinson under the pseudonym “The Three Initiates”. This book is not exactly The Kybalion itself, it is more of a critical interpretation by Atkinson on hermetic philosophy. As such, it should be read with this in mind that it is not an authoritative hermetic text, but one only dedicated to Hermes Trismegistus.  The Kybalion presents seven universal principles it proposes to be the Severn Hermetic Principles: Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender. These principles are essentially explications of cycles, and before these principles is the notion of the primacy of mind as the cause of All (philosophical mentalism). This idea of mentalism is inspired by what is written about the Mind in The Hermetica.  Coinciding with Spiritualism, New Thought, and Theosophy, the book became very popular in New Age movements, particularly with its notion of spiritual and mental alchemy. The Kybalion is a text which must be read with this in mind, while it is an interpretation of hermetic philosophy, it is in part still a relic of its time. Its influence cannot be understated, and the need to read it critically cannot be overstated.