Download The Kybalion: A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece fb2

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”.

A must for any progressing mind. The book is very thin if that anyhow is important to you. It has paper cover, so yes,it will not preserve well, but I am sure you don't buy books for their looks. If you can fully absorb 10 % of the info from the book, your life will change forever. The book is not an easy read if you are expecting a fast ride. Most people are likely not ready to approach this book thus why it clearly states in the very beginning of it that truth is spoken when you have ears ready to accept the words of wisdom. It will be good to read the book and find a practitioner hermitist since the book only have essence and does not cover topics such as WILL power. The book does give you keys to open or deepen any other knowledge, so if you are into astrology, numerology,any other occult science, you will have a tremendous insights into your studies as an extra unexpected bonus. Again, the book has essence and will keep bringing you back to it from time to time as you uncover more and more of its hidden wisdom.

This little book will produce years of meaningful contemplation and has the potential to change lives. For example the principal of rhythm sates (in paraphrase) that no matter what extreme comes in life (or any other set of measure) - that it must in time return to an opposite and equal extreme - so when I have bad days ..and very, very bad days I find comfort in knowing that nature itself will recover them in time and equally good days and very , very good days will happen as the rhythm swings back the pendulum to balance it all out in an enigmatic work of universal justice. This is not a work of spirituality , but definitely sets perspectives of the deeper symmetries of physical reality.

I purchased this for my man who is incarcerated. He and I are really exploring a lot of these concepts. It is well written in the aspect that the information is not easy to consume without cumulative knowledge that you have acquired overtime. Initially when I was exposed to a lot of this I considered it hocus pocus mumbo jumbo because I had been brought us Christian all my life. I'm glad that this read did not fall into my life in the very beginning because it would've fell on deaf and dumb ears.

If you are not ready to receive this type of information don't waste your time. It will go right over your head as it could've been with the old me. This is meant to be taken in light of itself not comparative to other texts. The best rule of thumb is listen to all spectrums, agreeable as well as disagreeable, with an open mind. Use your God given common sense because we all have it. Then you will be receptive.

This information makes sense if you will be open to it. Actually if you really look, these are the same concepts that all these self help gurus who successful people follow are feeding you. They just package it a little differently and take out anything that might be offensive to the masses. I hope you find your enlightenment through it.

A special friend and spiritual guide gave me her copy to read. She considers it a Bible for her life. After reading it, I ordered my own copy and I am reading and highlighting it again. Absolutely mind opening about the revelations of Hermes. Even if you are new to new thought, new age, spirit of mind, or any ideas of being a thought of the universe and not just a body, this book will expand your horizons exponentially! Read it, experience it. As Richard Bach wrote through his protagonist, Donald shimoda, in 'Illusions', "We are only here for two reasons: to learn and to have fun!" Continue your travels and enjoy the journey.