Hermes Trismegistus is the alleged author of the Corpus Hermeticum. From the teachings of Thoth of ancient Egypt (and Hermes himself of ancient Greece), the Hermetic Principles are described as the 7 natural laws of the Universe.
These principles ‘open insight to the deeper nature of reality and once learned can be leveraged and applied’:
“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 7 Hermetic Principles of Natural Law
Below are some videos that explain the Hermetic Principles, but first, here are the 7 laws:
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- The Principle of Mentalism – The All is mind. The Universe is Mental.
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- The Principle of Correspondence – As above, so below. As within, so without.
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- The Principle of Vibration – Nothing rests. Everything moves. Everything vibrates.
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- The Principle of Polarity – Everything is dual. Everything has poles. Everything has its pair of opposites. Like and unlike are the same. Opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree. Extremes meet. All truths, are but half-truths. All paradoxes may be reconciled.
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- The Principle of Rhythm – Everything flows, out and in. Everything has its tides. All things rise and fall. The pendulum swing manifests in everything. The measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left. Rhythm compensates.
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- The Principle of Cause & Effect – Every cause has its effect. Every effect has its cause. Everything happens according to law. Chance is but a name for law not recognized. There are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law.
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- The Principle of Gender – Gender is in everything. Everything has its masculine and feminine principles. Gender manifests on all planes.
The Kybalion and Summaries of it’s Teachings
The full reading can be listened to in the first video or read here. The following videos summarize it for an oversight:
Here is an extended version of the talk from Mark Passio:
More can be read on The Kybalion via its category here.
