“The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the Magic Key before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple fly open.”–The Kybalion.
The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy is a 1908 book claiming to be the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, published anonymously under the pseudonym of “the Three Initiates”. In this book we learn that everything flows according to seven principles:
Principle of Mentalism: “All is Mind”
Principle of Correspondence: There is always a correspondence between the laws of phenomena of the various “planes” of being and life. ”As above, so below; as below, so above”
Principle of Vibration: This principle explains that the differences between different manifestations of Matter, Energy, Mind, and even Spirit, are the result of only different “vibrations”.
Principle of Polarity: Everything “is” and “isn’t” at the same time, all truths are but half truths and every truth is half false, there are two sides to everything, opposites are identical in nature, yet different in degree, extremes meet, and all paradoxes may be reconciled.
Principle of Rhythm: In everything there is manifested a measured motion, a to and fro, a flow and inflow, a swing backward and forward, a pendulum-like movement.
Principle of Cause and Effect: There is a cause for every effect, and an effect for every cause.
Principle of Gender: Gender is manifested in everything.
“The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding”
One of the underlying teachings of this work is the so-called Mental Transmutation (also described as Mental Alchemy, the Art of Mental Chemistry, and the Art of Polarization). It refers to the art of changing and transforming one’s own mental states and conditions, as well as influencing those of others.