Another Look at the Seven Hermetic Principles
There is much to be said regarding these ancient principles, much one can read about them on the Internet, in the Kybalion. Rather than copy and paste either straight from the Kybalion or another’s work, as so many do on the Web, here I offer the Light shown to me in these foundational principles of the inner life.
- Mentalism: All is Mind. The created universe has as its origin a thought in the mind of God. And God is pure Spirit, therefore His creation is Spiritually founded; All is Spiritual.
- Correspondence: As above, so below; As below, so above. There are two primary planes of existence – the Spiritual plane and the physical plane. These are intimately related and are inseparable. What occurs on the physical plane creates an effect on the Spiritual plane. The reverse is also true. God and those divinities that exist on the Spiritual plane are at all times effecting, and are affected by, events on the physical plane. God is intimately involved in every one of our lives and, indeed, in all of His creation.
- Vibration: Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates. God does not rest, He is forever active upon His creation. If it were possible to catch a glimpse of His being, however., He would appear as if He were indeed at rest. This is due to the high frequency at which He vibrates. Objects of His creation vibrate at varying frequencies, from the highest, which is Spiritual, to the lowest, which is of the grossest form. Human beings, created in the blessed image of the Creator, possess the power to control the frequency of thought at which they function on the physical plane through the disciplined exercise of free will. To discipline the mind to operate at a higher frequency brings oneself closer to God – while he yet remains on the physical plane.
- 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. Everything is and everything is not, at the same time. Anything that can be measured has its polar opposites. These opposites do not differ in their material nature, rather they only differ by degrees. A high vibrational frequency and a low vibrational frequency are identical in nature, differing only in degree. Heat and cold are the same thing, also only differing in degree. Either extreme of a given matter on the physical plane is disruptive to the achievement of equanimity, the highest goal of one’s character. Equanimity is found in the balance between extremes. This is often referred to as the middle way.
- 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. A key to achieving the equanimity previously stated is understanding this principle. The principle of vibration cannot be escaped. The principle of polarity reveals the existence of extremes that exist in the material on the physical plane. To achieve equanimity, one can utilize the principle of rhythm by compensating for a “swing” too far in one direction with the proper degree of polarization in the opposite direction. This is known as the Mental Law of Neutralization.
- Cause and 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. There are no accidents, there is no such thing as chance outside God’s Law. To understand this is to understand the beauty and harmony of Creation. Fate is a person’s given roadmap for their life. Free will affords one the opportunity to make choices that “color” a given cause, thereby affecting the resulting effect. The result is the fashioning one’s fate into one’s own destiny. Ultimately this principle signifies value and purpose in every single life, and also every form of life.
- Gender: Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes. Everything identified as “being” is composed of a duality of gender. These are the polar end points of personality. Each acts and reacts (cause and effect) upon the other in vibrational rhythm. Each being posses a degree of both principles, or qualities. Properly balanced, the masculine brings strength while the feminine tames extremes. On the physical plane, gender functions in the unity of sexual relations as the instrument of bringing forth the vessel for a new life. Sexual union is meant as God’s instrument in the cyclical creation of His greatest achievement – the Human being – fashioned in His own likeness and meant for truly wonderful experiences.
If you begin this journey in earnest, with an honest desire, and find yourself on the precipice of frustration and despair, be encouraged. Such is only the internal compass indicating you are indeed on the path you seek. If you fall off the path, due to exhaustion or distraction, be not discouraged. If the Desire is real, it will compel you with, little energy exerted, back on your path in its own time. This is the very cross you must bear. It is not always the attainment of the goal that is important, but rather the striving. There are few that achieve the goal in a single lifetime. Remember this, however:
No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has perceived what God has in store for those that Love Him and Live according to His purpose.
Fight the good fight within yourself and you will surely, one day, achieve the goal, union with God, union with All. The end will have returned to the beginning. And you will then be what God intended for you from the beginning of His Word: A full, complete, unified, singular Human Being.