One famous book begins with the following sentence: “Let there be light.” Many other books of the same category but of other persuasions also propose and follow this thought.
The Kybalion is one of them.
The Kybalion begins with this sentence: “The lips of wisdom are closed, except to Understanding.” In order to understand, there must be “light}. Understanding leads to wisdom. Wisdom can be passed on but only to those who are willing to experience, master, and better themselves. Note that wisdom is the higher octave of learning, meaning that one can learn something to get by in life but still not have wisdom.
The universe is run by a set of laws. The Kybalion gives us a glimpse of these.
This thin book is an alchemical modern-day distillation of – NOT creating worldly riches – but of creating mental and spiritual riches: wisdom. The authors are 3 anonymous ‘Initiates’ utilizing Hermetic Principles, passed down to wise “King” Solomon (whose name means “3 lights”, and who lived from 970-931 BCE). These Principles were then later passed down through the portals of the Ancient Mystery Schools 3 ½ centuries ago. Thus, information from that time has been slowly and carefully transmitted through many generations of those who have had the burning desire to question their existence on earth and want to know how they fit into the scheme of things, among other things. Information continued to be guarded by presenting allegorical ‘stories’ and being part of ‘initiations’ of learning and then having that knowledge themselves if they are deemed wise enough to use it properly. Only then could an ‘initiate’ progress onto even higher levels of thought and activity. (Note that one organization with roots in the distant past that survives even today has a person in office named the “Thrice Illustrious Master”.)
Attaining wisdom in this way, from mouth-to-ear, this information was safely spread far and wide, and ‘nuggets of truth’ were written allegorically in order to deter or confuse those who didn’t have the correct knowledge ‘base’ to understand it or misuse the information.
To originally write this book in 1908, the “3 Initiates” carefully examined the allegories and replaced them with a more practical, easy-to-understand book of these previously ‘hidden” philosophies. They did this as a tip of the hat to the changing of the times in the way that people were starting to think and learn. And to save time.
Hermes Trismegistus (from which the word ‘Hermetic’ derives) was ‘half god/ half man’, living in the earliest days of the oldest of the Egyptian dynasties, and then in other incarnations (one of which was Greece) he was the son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas. By virtue of being ‘half god/ half man’, he would have knowledge that mere mortals would not have. Hermes is the font from which Hermetic Philosophy flows. He is the progenitor and author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts. This book, The Kybalion is a ‘distillation’ of these original books. It may be the entire Corpus or may be only part of it. And hopefully, there was no ‘loss in translation(s)’. The word ‘Kybalion’ takes the form of a Greek noun but has no meaning. However, the word could, in a hidden form, relate to the word ‘Kabballah’
Note that Hermes has had even later incarnations, all dealing with wisdom and its transmission into a multitude of other cultures.
Unfortunately, moving through the ages, people started perverting the wisdom knowledge base, so beginning with the Middle Ages, this knowledge went underground. Nowadays, modern-day living does not lend itself to people using complex thinking and abstractions to gain wisdom because it is faster to watch movies (the tech people are the ones who decide what something looks like and how it behaves, etc.) and because the author, publisher, and head of the company or TV station inserts his/ her views to present to the public. Therefore, most things IT are anti-Hermetic. This is one of the main problems facing mankind today: the inability to think, reason, and understand abstractions without seeing them in movies, TV.
Therefore, in order to gain wisdom, turn off all things IT (except for .PDF format reading devices) and read this and other books. The authors have distilled some major nuggets/ ideas for readers to think about, so that people can evolve; they can also continue to question ideas, and during this process, continue to refine themselves. Those that can’t do this fall away because they don’t have the mental strength to persevere. These people wouldn’t understand the concepts and may even pervert them because they lack the ability to stay with something long enough to learn from and benefit from it. Note also that people who evolve become refined by the trials and tribulations that they face; the result is wisdom and enlightenment, which is earned through hard work and perseverance.
The authors of this book, the keepers of this knowledge/ wisdom slowly release their information in general terms to those who are new to gaining wisdom, for them to evolve and mentally and spiritually be able to stitch together the principles that make up the Great Work from all of the major light sources of every great religion or philosophy. These ‘New Initiates’ that are ready will have started to change themselves from a rough state to a refined state, like ancient alchemy refining lead into gold. The “nuggets” of truth gained while doing this are universal.
This is one of a handful of books which many people who get on the path will eventually find.
After the Introduction, there are 15 chapters in this book: Chapter 1. The Hermetic Philosophy; Chapter 2. The Seven Hermetic Principles; Chapter 3. Mental Transmutation; Chapter 4. The All; Chapter 5. The Mental Universe; Chapter 6. The Divine Paradox; Chapter 7. “The All” in All; Chapter 8. Planes of Correspondence; Chapter 9. Vibration; Chapter 10. Polarity; Chapter 11. Rhythm; Chapter 12. Causation; Chapter 13. Gender; Chapter 14. Mental Gender; and Chapter 15. Hermetic Axioms.
Read the book and note especially what it says about the ‘wise’ and the ‘half-wise’. Read the book to learn about all of the other concepts.
This book is so interesting that I have bought multiple copies of it to give to friends to read, discuss, and compare to other similar books. This book contains many “nuggets’ of information and should be on the bookshelves of those who seek the past to be able to translate the present and future.
When you finish reading this book, read my Review of the “9 Faces of Christ”: (https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Faces-Christ-Quest-Initiate/dp/0875166652/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Nine Faces of Christ: Quest of the True Initiate ) to see more examples of wisdom and enlightenment and note the metaphysical process by which this is done. Compare and contrast main themes between “The Kybalion” and “9 Faces”.
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THE KYBALION is much needed truth!!!
<b>The Kybalion is a book that will inevitably allude you to strive towards self mastery. Study the 7 Hermetic Principles and ultimately you'll develop a greater mentality of awareness.</b> This book contains lots of jewels given to you conveying multiple truths. We can all be masters in the game of life if we apply the laws and study them within. Discipline yourself and go deep within to really understand this information. The Kybalion is not a book you just read and forget about. Be open-minded, you have to internalize the basic definitions of the principles so that they become second nature to you. After that you will truly benefit from this book and won't be confused at all. Each Principle has a chapter dedicated to their own respectively. Mentalism is the only Principle which has 6 separate chapters dedicated to understanding it as a whole due to the fact Mentalism is one of the most important principles to be understood as understanding this principle will help you see this is all about you and your momentum as a person. [The 6 Chapters of Mentalism are: 1:Mental Transmutation, 2:The All,3:The Mental Universe,4:The Divine Paradox, 5:The "All" in All and 6:Mental Gender]</b> When you fully grasp the helpful info in this book you will see it as a self-help book rather than some new age book. My only regret is I found out about this book very late. I'm glad I read it and will be studying and applying it. This book is essential knowledge. Only those who are disciplined to control themselves and approach life with boldness will truly appreciate this book. The 7 Principles hint at the laws of nature/the universe. We can see why a lot of scholars like Bobby Hemmitt, Dr. Phil Valentine, Brother C. Freeman El, and many others have recommended this book. This book will also be most helpful to those who practice deep meditation and metaphysics. Third Eye knowledge could be used in conjunction with The Kybalion. I feel as though if you truly read this book and ponder on it, you will value it and pass it on to others. If you need a better understanding of this book there are available resources if you know where to look. This book is also in the public domain. If you wish to dig deeper I recommend these books that will shed more light on The Kybalion and give insight on various topics discussed in the book Divine Magic: The Seven Sacred Secrets of Manifestation by Doreen Virtue, Awakening the Third Eye-Third Edition by Samuel Sagan(deeper inner consciousness), The Law Of Psychic Phenomena by Thomson Jay Hudson, The Master Key System by Charles Haanel and Ancient Future by Wayne B. Chandler.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2018
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2021
<b>The Kybalion is a book that will inevitably allude you to strive towards self mastery. Study the 7 Hermetic Principles and ultimately you'll develop a greater mentality of awareness.</b> This book contains lots of jewels given to you conveying multiple truths. We can all be masters in the game of life if we apply the laws and study them within. Discipline yourself and go deep within to really understand this information. The Kybalion is not a book you just read and forget about. Be open-minded, you have to internalize the basic definitions of the principles so that they become second nature to you. After that you will truly benefit from this book and won't be confused at all. Each Principle has a chapter dedicated to their own respectively. Mentalism is the only Principle which has 6 separate chapters dedicated to understanding it as a whole due to the fact Mentalism is one of the most important principles to be understood as understanding this principle will help you see this is all about you and your momentum as a person. [The 6 Chapters of Mentalism are: 1:Mental Transmutation, 2:The All,3:The Mental Universe,4:The Divine Paradox, 5:The "All" in All and 6:Mental Gender]</b> When you fully grasp the helpful info in this book you will see it as a self-help book rather than some new age book. My only regret is I found out about this book very late. I'm glad I read it and will be studying and applying it. This book is essential knowledge. Only those who are disciplined to control themselves and approach life with boldness will truly appreciate this book. The 7 Principles hint at the laws of nature/the universe. We can see why a lot of scholars like Bobby Hemmitt, Dr. Phil Valentine, Brother C. Freeman El, and many others have recommended this book. This book will also be most helpful to those who practice deep meditation and metaphysics. Third Eye knowledge could be used in conjunction with The Kybalion. I feel as though if you truly read this book and ponder on it, you will value it and pass it on to others. If you need a better understanding of this book there are available resources if you know where to look. This book is also in the public domain. If you wish to dig deeper I recommend these books that will shed more light on The Kybalion and give insight on various topics discussed in the book Divine Magic: The Seven Sacred Secrets of Manifestation by Doreen Virtue, Awakening the Third Eye-Third Edition by Samuel Sagan(deeper inner consciousness), The Law Of Psychic Phenomena by Thomson Jay Hudson, The Master Key System by Charles Haanel and Ancient Future by Wayne B. Chandler.
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Top reviews from other countries
T.Ivanov
The truth will set you free
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2023
Jonathan Dernehag
A must have for your book collection!
Reviewed in Sweden on January 24, 2023
