7 Hermetic Principles That Govern The Universe (2022)

“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

According to the Kybalion by Three Initiates, there are 7 hermetic laws or principles that govern the whole universe.

These are the laws that can never be broken.

The word “LAW” is an anagram for the word”WALL”, which is the impenetrable wall that will last forever.

Man cannot create the law. Man can only make rules and regulations and follow the laws that are above him.

Law is the process by which the unmanifest becomes the manifest, the observer becomes the observed. What we call as “life, matter, and energy” are the manifestations of the unmanifest.

In other words, all creations are the manifestation, the result, and the consequence of the Unmanifest, of the Unseen, and of God transforming itself into the Manifest, the Seen, and the Visible.

For example, when you say that you are powerful, can you see your power? Let say that you have a great mind with super intelligence, can you see it? No, it is invisible. However, once you express your intelligence into your works or studying, for sure you and other people will see the power because the unmanifest is now being manifested.

Similarly, you cannot see the One; you cannot see God, but when you look at the trees, the sun, the moon, and your own self, indeed, in these are signs which stand for the power of the Word of God.

*Note: If you want to understand the spiritual law that governs our universe, I’d strongly recommend you to read The Kybalion, which is the classic book in the esoteric world. I use this book as a reference for this article, so check it out!

Here is the list of the 7 hermetic principles that govern the universe:

1. Hermetic Principle of Mentalism
2. Hermetic Principle of Correspondence
3. Hermetic Principle of Vibration
4. Hermetic Principle of Polarity
5. Hermetic Principle of Rhythm
6. Hermetic Principle of Cause and Effect
7. Hermetic Principle of Gender

1. Hermetic Principle of Mentalism

“The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”

The Kybalion

The Hermetic Principle of Mentalism is the law of the Universal Mind. Everything which has its roots in physical manifestation first comes from the mental plane, which is the spiritual above the materiality.

Thus, preceding a physical action is the mental activity behind it.

When you plan something, you first create the manifestation in the form of “image” in your “image-nation”. When you execute your plan, you simply project out in the physical world of what you first crafted in your mind.

Therefore, to use the principle of mentalism, you need to think first before any action.

Remember that everything you see in the material world are just what you mentally project out from the inner world.

Your thoughts have power to MOVE things around the world and you need to know that!

Another way to understand the principle of mentalism is that all things come from the same Oneness (or the All). It is the same essence that creates the whole universe from plants, rocks, plants, etc. to animals and humans.

The physical body is the dwelling place for your spirit as the Bible states that your body is a temple of God, NOT the church.

Therefore,

• The source of all creation is the Spirit, the All, or the Universal Mind.
• The process of creation is the Universal Mind in motion.
• The object of creation is the physical universe.

2. Hermetic Principle of Correspondence

“As above, so below; as below, so above.”

The Kybalion

The Hermetic Principle of Correspondence is the esoteric law of “As above, so below”. It demonstrates that whatever happens on the heaven also occurs on the earth.

This law also explains the relationship among the body, mind, and spirit that the higher is always the ruler above the lower. That is, how you think significantly affects what you do and vice versa.

We can relate the hermetic law of correspondence to the law of astrology. Astrology works by observing the above (planets, stars) and comparing its effects on the below (the earth).

Remember that the above always rule the below just like the mental plane is always higher than the physical plane.

Thus, when you change what you think, you will change what you do, and eventually you will change who you are.

If you are aware, your thoughts are the invisible while your actions are the visible. So, we can see clearly the hidden interaction between the unmanifested and the manifested under the law of correspondence. That is, the inner rules over the outer, the unseen over the seen, and the spiritual over the material.

3. Hermetic Principle of Vibration

“Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”

The Kybalion

The Hermetic Principle of Vibration states that everything is in motion. Nothing stands still. Everything in this world is always moving.

If you leave a cup of water on a table, you may see that the cup is fixed that it’s not moving. However, the cup is actually moving – its atoms are moving.

Thus, spirit and matter can occupy the same space; they are just different in terms of the degrees of vibration.

Your thoughts and actions also vibrate at a certain speed if you know that. For example, your thoughts of gratitude and gratefulness vibrate much faster and higher than your thoughts of greed and jealousy.

Due to the law of vibration, you will attract the same frequency of what you are vibrating. This is the reason why in many manifestation workshops, they tell you to be grateful for what you have, as you will attract positive energy to your life.

However, most people forget that the manifestation also comes from our subconsciousness, which occupies around 80-90% of our daily activity.

Therefore, when you want to manifest abundance, you have to CONSCIOUSLY vibrate with the vibration of richness for A LONG PERIOD TIME, because your subconsciousness will definitely find a way to stop what you try to change.

4. Hermetic 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

The Hermetic Principle of Polarity is the duality in nature: yin-yang, male-female, masculine-feminine, etc. In other words, light and darkness are just 2 faces of the same coin. They are not separate from each other but differ in degrees of vibration.

The law of polarity sets out 2 pairs of opposites, which are like and unlike in nature. Inside yin, we have yang. Inside yang, we have yin.

Nothing is absolute in the physical world, unless we can raise our awareness into a higher spiritual level.

As stated in the principle of mentalism, everything is essentially one. For example, heat and cold are just 2 different qualities of the same oneness. They are just different in the matter of degree. Thus, hot water can be frozen while frozen water can become boiled water.

You can change the quality of a substance into a better one based on the principle of polarity.

This is the secret art of Alchemy: transforming the base metals into gold.

5. Hermetic 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

The Hermetic Principle of Rhythm indicates that everything flows in a cyclic nature of the universe. This is why we see the alternation of day and night, summer follows winter, dogs chase cats, cats chase mice, etc.

This is the rhythm that swings you back and forth in between the 2 polarities based on the law of polarity.

The law of rhythm explains why you are lucky or unlucky during a certain period of time. Nobody is all-time-happy and nobody is all-time-sad.

We all have “moments” when we are either up or down in the roller coaster of life.

Nothing in this world lasts forever and things are always changing. The only way to overcome the “down” period is to polarize with the opposite.

For example, if you are a self-critical person, you need to find some good things about your character that make you a good person. It could be an act of helping someone else, being brave, etc. Either way, you have to find something positive to polarize the negative.

This is how you act instead of reacting to life’s situations.

6. Hermetic 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 Hermetic Principle of Cause and Effect is essentially the Law of Karma. Karma means action-reaction, reap-sow, cause-consequence, and so on. In other words, you shall reap what you sow.

The law will maintain fairness in the world that makes sure everyone gets what he/she deserves according to his/her deeds.

You cannot sow an apple seed and hope that one day it will grow to be a banana tree. There must be a banana seed if you want to grow a banana tree. This is logic.

Similarly, if you want to be rich, you can not sow negative thoughts in your mind. Your mind has the power to project whatever you have from the mental world.

If you are having an unwanted effect, such as illness, you will need to check the cause of the effect and replace it with the new one, not to replace the effect with another effect.

For example, if your lung is hurt due to your excessive smoking behavior, you need to STOP smoking instead of going to see the doctor. It doesn’t matter how many surgeries the doctor will perform for you, you will still have the same effects if you still produce the same cause.

I don’t say that going to see the doctor is wrong, but what I mean is that if you don’t stop the CAUSE, it will always produce the EFFECT that you don’t want it to happen.

Thus, conscious intention in every single moment is essential in working out the law of cause and effect.

7. Hermetic Principle of Gender

“Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all planes.”

The Kybalion

The Hermetic Principle of Gender states that all living things have a gender. Gender is not sexes but the feminine and masculine principle underlying the creation of the universe. For example, within a man, there is a female element while within a woman, there is a male element.

Gold is masculine while silver is feminine in nature.

I’m talking about the energy here my friend. It is by harmonizing between the masculine and feminine aspects within ourselves so that we can be peaceful. By this, I mean not only in the physical plane but also in the mental and spiritual plane as well.

We can also see the manifestation of the principle of gender in the law of physics. For instance, atom is made up of proton and electron, which are positive and negative respectively.

In Chinese philosophy, the law of gender is the law of yin yang. The yin quality are cold, passive, reserved, and rest while the yang quality are hot, active, motivated, and outgoing.