The Seven Hermetic Principles for Self-Mastery

I've been researching a bit about Spirituality, Metaphysics and Healthy Living lately and I stumbled upon an interesting video today.

The title "How to apply/use the Seven Hermetic Principles" caught my eye.

I was curious as to what the term "Hermetic" meant and watched the whole video. I felt that it was very valuable information and something that everyone needs to know.

The word "Hermetic" stands for esoteric or secret. It is the knowledge that's in correspondence with the conduct of the universe.

This knowledge is said to appear in your life when the time is right and you're ready to receive it's teachings.

So, if you're reading this article, you're one among those who are ready to receive the ancient wisdom.

Before we begin with the principles, let's talk about where it comes from.

The universe runs on a few laws. When we understand these laws, we can use them for our advantage.

From the beginning of the civilization, people have been in pursuit of understanding these laws.

The 7 greatest natural laws were written in a book called Kybalion. It was published by someone under the pseudonym "The Three Initiates" and was based on the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, also known as Thoth.

Thoth was looked up to as God by the Egyptians and as the God of Wisdom by the Greek.

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

Someone who understands these laws can master all of the three planes of existence - the mental, physical and spiritual.

Here are the Seven Hermetic Principles:

1. The Principle of Mentalism:

The ALL is mind; The Universe is Mental. –The Kybalion.

The universe itself has a mind of it's own. Everything material is created with thought. Everything that exists today was first thought by a universal living mind, what we call God. We are it's children and we create our reality with our minds.

You must've heard of the Law of Attraction. The Principle of Mentalism states the same and was known thousands of years ago under the Hermetic Principles.

How can you apply it?
First discover what you want in life and then adjust your thoughts to create the reality.

Look up for Law of Attraction to know exactly how to use it effectively in everyday life.

2. The Principle of Correspondence:

As above so below; as below so above. –The Kybalion

It means that the thoughts of your conscious and subconscious mind reflects on the external circumstances of your life.
Your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. If you hold thoughts of lack of health or wealth, it'll manifest itself in reality.

To apply the principle, first you'll have to take responsibility for whatever is happening in your life.
Observe what is working and what is not and take the necessary steps to change your life.

This law works equally for good or bad so by knowing it, you can use it for your good. Having positive thoughts about health or anything in your mind will manifest on the outside.

Suppose you're having problems related to some area in your life, you can always find solutions to your problems.
Since this is the era of internet, resources are abundantly available so you can Google the solutions to anything and sort it out to stay on the positive.

3. The Principle of Vibration:

Nothing rests; Everything moves; Everything vibrates. –The Kybalion

Every atoms and molecules of a mass vibrates at a certain frequency, speed and motion. It is the combination of these that determines the form and shape of any object.

From pure spirit to the grossest level of matter, all are formed by varying degrees of vibration.
You are also vibrating even though you seem not to be. That is because it happens at a microscopic level and can't be observed through the eye.

Your thoughts, feelings and the things you do make you vibrate at certain frequencies and there are many levels of positive and negative frequencies. If you think or feel good, you vibrate at a higher frequency. If you think or feel bad, you lower your frequency.

Did you ever notice that more bad things happen to you when you are already sad/angry/frustrated. That's because your low vibration attracts more bad things.

The higher your vibration, the quicker is your ability to manifest.
Feeling grateful for the all the small things in your life plays a really big role in increasing your vibrations.

Focus on all the good things in life and you're bound to experience life at the best!

4. 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. –The Kybalion

An example: You're at a parking lot and you spot someone driving in an old rusty car. You start thinking what an ugly old car it is. But suddenly you decide to change your perspective. Then you start thinking the car must be having a lot of memories associated with the person and that's why he's not getting a new one. Suddenly you start having value for the car and look at it in a good way.

Same thing applies to mental plane. Love/hate, generosity/stinginess, happiness/sadness are one and the same. You can change one vibration to another.

Anything can be changed into anything else. For eg: An empty bank account can be transformed into a full one. Weakness can be transformed into strength. They’re all varying degrees of the same thing that are under your direct control.

You can change the polarity of an emotion by choosing the degree of the emotion which best suits your needs.

5. 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. –The Kybalion

Everything has a rhythm to it. Breath has a rhythm, the cycle of life and death has a rhythm, the ocean tides have a rhythm.

This is manifested in all aspects of our lives and we see this in the ups and downs of situations we come across.

Similarly mental states also have a rhythm and we have to understand that. Only then we will be able to attain a level of fortitude where we can be in a good state of mind regardless of any situation in the mind.

6. The Principle of 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. –The Kybalion

The law States that there are no accidents in the universe. We create our own reality through the actions we take. For eg: If we are poor, it's because of our poor work ethic.

Most people are subject to their thoughts, emotions, desires and other people. Successful people learn how to become the cause and master their reality.

Learn how to become the cause from the people who have already achieved what you want to achieve in life and use it as an advantage.

7. The Principle of Gender:

Gender is in everything; Everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all planes.” –The Kybalion

Everything in the universe has a gender. Masculine and feminine are present not only on the physical plane but in the mental and spiritual planes as well.

It exists as sex in the physical plane and as something higher in the mental and spiritual planes.

It is impossible for creation to take place without gender.

Even us as individuals have two sides of the brain. One being female and another being male. We must learn to balance both the sides and that will lead to self mastery.

Each gender on their own are destructive and should work together to achieve harmony.

I've provided brief info about the Hermetic Principles. To learn more you can refer 1, 2, 3. There are many more info on the web regarding this topic in deep.

Here's the video which I came across when I first found this topic:

Now that you know about these principles, all you're left to do is apply them in your day to day life and achieve self mastery.

Cheers!