THE KYBALION - A Study Guide For Hermetic Philosophy - Full esoteric audiobook w/ Text Images

[Music] the cabalion a study of the hermetic philosophy of ancient egypt and greece by three initiates narrated by matthew schmitz the lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding introduction we take great pleasure in presenting to the attention of students and investigators of the secret doctrines this little work based upon the world old hermetic teachings there has been so little written upon this subject notwithstanding the countless references to the teachings and the many works upon occultism that the many earnest searchers after the arcane truths will doubtless welcome the appearance of this present

volume the purpose of this work is not the enunciation of any special philosophy or doctrine but rather is to give to the students a statement of the truth that will serve to reconcile the many bits of occult knowledge that they may have acquired but which are apparently opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage and disgust the beginner in the study our intent is not to erect a new temple of knowledge but rather to place in the hands of the student a master key with which he may open the many inner doors in

the temple of mystery through the main portals he has already entered there is no portion of the occult teachings possessed by the world which have been so closely guarded as the fragments of the hermetic teachings which have come down to us over the tens of centuries which have elapsed since the lifetime of its great founder hermes tris magistas the scribe of the gods who dwelt in old egypt in the days when the present race of men was in its infancy contemporary with abraham and if the legends be true an instructor of that venerable sage hermes

was and is the great central son of occultism whose rays have served to illumine the countless teachings which have been promulgated since his time all the fundamental and basic teachings embedded in the esoteric teachings of every race may be traced back to hermes even the most ancient teachings of india undoubtedly have their roots in the original hermetic teachings from the land of the ganges many advanced occultists wandered to the land of egypt and sat at the feet of the master from him they obtained the master key which explained and reconciled their divergent views and thus

the secret doctrine was firmly established from other lands also came the learned ones all of whom regarded hermes as the master of masters and his influence was so great that in spite of the many wanderings from the path on the part of the centuries of teachers in these different lands there may still be found a certain basic resemblance and correspondence which underlies the many and often quite divergent theories entertained and taught by the occultists of these different lands today the student of comparative religions will be able to perceive the influence of the hermetic teachings in

every religion worthy of the name now known to man whether it be a dead religion or one in full vigor in our own times there is always certain correspondence in spite of the contradictory features and the hermetic teachings act as the great reconciler the life work of hermes seems to have been in the direction of planting the great seed truth which has grown and blossomed in so many strange forms rather than to establish a school of philosophy which would dominate the world's thought but nevertheless the original truths taught by him have been kept intact in

their original purity by a few men each age who refusing great numbers of half-developed students and followers followed the hermetic custom and reserved their truth for the few who are ready to comprehend and master it from lip to ear the truth has been handed down among the few there have always been a few initiates in each generation in the various lands of the earth who kept alive the sacred flame of the hermetic teachings and such have always been willing to use their lamps to relight the lesser lamps of the outside world when the light of

truth grew dim and clouded by reason of neglect and when the wicks became clogged with foreign matter there were always a few to tend faithfully the altar of the truth upon which was kept the light the perpetual lamp of wisdom these men devoted their lives to the labor of love which the poet has so well stated in his lines oh let not the flame die out cherished age after age in its dark cavern in its holy temples cherished fed by pure ministers of love let not the flame die out these men have never sought popular

approval nor numbers of followers they are indifferent to these things for they know how few there are in each generation who are ready for the truth or who would recognize it if it were presented to them they reserved the strong meat for men while others furnish the milk for babes they reserved their pearls of wisdom for the few elect who recognized their value and who wear them in their crowns instead of casting them before the materialistic vulgar swine who would trample them in the mud and mix them with their disgusting mental food but still these

men have never forgotten or overlooked the original teachings of hermes regarding the passing on of the words of truth to those ready to receive it which teachings is stated in the kabalyan as follows wherefall the footsteps of the master the ears of those ready for his teaching open wide and again when the ears of the student are ready to hear then cometh the lips to fill them with wisdom but their customary attitude has always been strictly in accordance with the other hermetic aphorism also in the kabulian the lips of wisdom are closed except to the

ears of understanding there are those who have criticized this attitude of their hermitists and who have claimed that they did not manifest the proper spirit in their policy of seclusion and reticence but a moment's glance back over the pages of history will show the wisdom of the masters who knew the folly of attempting to teach to the world that which it was neither ready or willing to receive the hermitis have never sought to be martyrs and have instead sat silently aside with a pitying smile on their closed lips while the heathen raged noisily about them

in their customary amusement of putting to death and torture the honest but misguided enthusiasts who imagined that they could force upon a race of barbarians the truth capable of being understood only by the elect who had advanced along the path and the spirit of persecution has not as yet died out in the land there are certain hermetic teachings which if publicly promulgated would bring down upon the teachers a great cry of scorn and revilement from the multitude who would again raise the cry of crucify crucify in this little work we have endeavored to give you

an idea of the fundamental teachings of the caballian striving to give you the working principles leaving you to apply them yourselves rather than attempting to work out the teaching in detail if you are a true student you will be able to work out and apply these principles if not then you must develop yourself into one for otherwise the hermetic teachings will be as words words words to you the three initiates chapter 1 the hermetic philosophy the lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding the kabalian from old egypt have come the fundamental

esoteric and occult teachings which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races nations and peoples for several thousand years egypt the home of the pyramids and the sphinx was the birthplace of the hidden wisdom and mystic teachings from her secret doctrine all nations have borrowed india persia chaldea medea china japan assyria ancient greece and rome and other ancient countries partook liberally at the feast of knowledge which the higher offense and a masters of the land of isis so freely provided for those who came prepared to partake of the great store of mystic and occult

lore which the masterminds of that ancient land had gathered together in ancient egypt dwelt the great adepts and masters who have never been surpassed and who seldom have been equalled during the centuries that have taken their processional flight since the days of the great hermes in egypt was located the great lodge of lodges of the mystics at the doors of her temples entered the neophytes who afterward as hierophants adepts and masters traveled to the four corners of the earth carrying with them the precious knowledge which they were ready anxious and willing to pass on to

those who were ready to receive the same all students of the occult recognized the debt that they owe to these venerable masters of that ancient land but among those great masters of ancient egypt there once dwelt one of whom masters hailed as the master of masters this man if man indeed he was dwelt in egypt in the earliest days he was known as hermes trismagistus he was the father of the occult wisdom the founder of astrology the discoverer of alchemy the details of his life story are lost to history owing to the lapse of the

years though several of the ancient countries disputed with each other in their claims to the honor of having furnished his birthplace and this thousands of years ago the date of his sojourn in egypt in that his last incarnation on this planet is not now known but it has been fixed at the early days of the oldest dynasties of egypt long before the days of moses the best authorities regard him as a contemporary of abraham and some of the jewish traditions go so far as to claim that abraham acquired a portion of his mystic knowledge from

hermes himself as the years rolled by after his passing from this plane of life tradition recording that he lived 300 years in the flesh the egyptians deified hermes and made him one of their gods under the name of thoth years later the people of ancient greece also made him one of their many gods calling him hermes the god of wisdom the egyptians revered his memory for many centuries yes tens of centuries calling him the scribe of the gods and bestowing upon him distinctively his ancient title tris magistas which means the thrice great the great great

the greatest great etc in all the ancient lands the name of hermes trismagistus was revered the name being synonymous with the fount of wisdom even to this day we use the term hermetic in the sense of secret sealed so that nothing can escape etc and this by reason of the fact that the followers of hermes always observed the principle of secrecy in their teachings they did not believe in casting pearls before swine but rather held to the teaching milk for babes meat for strong men both of which maxims are familiar to readers of the christian

scriptures but both of which had been used by the egyptians for centuries before the christian era and this policy of careful dissemination of the truth has always characterized the hermetics even unto the present day the hermetic teachings are to be found in all lands among all religions but never identified with any particular country nor with any particular religious sect this is because of the warning of the ancient teachers against allowing the secret doctrine to become crystallized into a creed the wisdom of this caution is apparent to all students of history the ancient occultism of india

and persia degenerated and was largely lost owing to the fact that the teachers became priests and so mixed theology with the philosophy the result being that the occultism of india and persia has been gradually lost amidst the mass of religious superstition cults creeds and gods so it was with ancient greece and rome so it was with the hermetic teachings of the gnostics and early christians which were lost at the time of constantine whose iron hand smothered philosophy with the blanket of theology losing to the christian church that which was its very essence and spirit and

causing it to grope throughout several centuries before it found the way back to its ancient faith the indications apparent to all careful observers in this 20th century being that the church is now struggling to get back to its ancient mystic teachings but there were always a few faithful souls who kept alive the flame tending it carefully and not allowing its light to become extinguished and thanks to these staunch hearts and fearless minds we have the truth still with us but it is not found in books to any great extent it has been passed along from

master to student from initiate to hierophant from lip to ear when it was written down at all its meaning was veiled in terms of alchemy and astrology so that only those possessing the key could read it a right this was made necessary in order to avoid the persecutions of the theologians of the middle ages who fought the secret doctrine with fire and sword stake gibbet and cross even to this day there will be found but few reliable books on the hermetic philosophy although there are countless references to it in many books written on various phases

of occultism and yet the hermetic philosophy is the only master key which will open all the doors of the occult teachings in the early days there was a compilation of certain basic hermetic doctrines passed on from teacher to student which was known as the caballian the exact significance and meaning of the term having been lost for centuries this teaching however is known to many to whom it has descended from mouth to ear on and on throughout the centuries its precepts have never been written down or printed so far as we know it was merely a

collection of maxims axioms and precepts which were non-understandable to outsiders but which were readily understood by students after the axioms maxims and precepts had been explained and exemplified by the hermetic initiates to their neophytes these teachings really constituted the basic principles of the art of hermetic alchemy which contrary to the general belief dealt in the mastery of mental forces rather than the material elements the transmutation of one kind of mental vibrations into others instead of the changing of one kind of metal into another the legends of the philosopher's stone which would turn base metal into

gold was an allegory relating to hermetic philosophy readily understood by all students of true hermeticism in this little book of which is the first lesson we invite our students to examine into the hermetic teachings as set forth in the kabulian and as explained by ourselves humble students of the teachings who while bearing the title of initiates are still students at the feet of hermes the master we herein give you many of the maxims axioms and precepts of the kabulian accompanied by explanations and illustrations which we deem likely to render the teachings more easily comprehended by

the modern student particularly as the original text is purposely veiled in obscure terms the original maxims axioms and precepts of the kabulian are printed herein in italics the proper credit being given our own work is printed in the regular way in the body of the work we trust that the many students to whom we now offer this little work will derive as much benefit from the study of its pages as have the many who have gone on before treading the same path to mastery throughout the centuries that have passed since the times of hermes tris

magistas the master of masters the great great in the words of the cabalion wherefall the footsteps of the master the ears of those ready for his teaching open wide the kabalian when the ears of the student are ready to hear then cometh the lips to fill them with wisdom the kabalian so that according to the teachings the passage of this book to those ready for the instruction will attract the attention of such as are prepared to receive the teaching and likewise when the pupil is ready to receive the truth then will this little book come

to him or her such is the law the hermetic principle of cause and effect in its aspect of the law of attraction will bring lips and ear together pupil and book in company so mote it be chapter two the seven hermetic principles the principles of truth are seven he who knows these understandingly possess the magic key before whose touch all the doors of the temple fly open the cavalien the seven hermetic principles upon which the entire hermetic philosophy is based are as follows one the principle of mentalism two the principle of correspondence three the principle

of vibration four the principle of polarity 5. the principle of rhythm 6. the principle of cause and effect 7. the principle of gender these seven principles will be discussed and explained as we proceed with these lessons a short explanation of each however may as well be given at this point one the principle of mentalism the all is mind the universe is mental the kabalian this principle embodies the truth that all is mind it explains that the all which is the substantial reality underlying all the outward manifestations and appearances which we know under the terms of

the material universe the phenomena of life matter energy and in short all that is apparent to our material senses is spirit which in itself is unknowable and undefinable but which may be considered and thought of as an universal infinite living mind it also explains that all the phenomenal world or universe is simply a mental creation of the all subject to the laws of created things and that the universe as a whole and in its parts or units has its existence in the mind of the all in which mind we live and move and have our

being this principle by establishing the mental nature of the universe easily explains all of the varied mental and psychic phenomena that occupy such a large portion of the public attention and which without such explanation are non-understandable and defy scientific treatment an understanding of this great hermetic principle of mentalism enables the individual to readily grasp the laws of the mental universe and to apply the same to his well-being and advancement the hermetic student is enabled to apply intelligently the great mental laws instead of using them in a haphazard manner with the master key in his possession

the student may unlock the many doors of the mental and psychic temple of knowledge and enter the same freely and intelligently this principle explains the true nature of energy power and matter and why and how all these are subordinate to the mastery of mind one of the old hermetic masters wrote long ages ago he who grasps the truth of the mental nature of the universe is well advanced on the path to mastery and these words are as true today as at the time they were first written without this master key mastery is impossible and the

student knocks in vain at the many doors of the temple two the principle of correspondence as above so below as below so above the cabalion this principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life the old hermetic axiom ran in these words as above so below as below so above and the grasping of this principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox and hidden secret of nature there are planes beyond our knowing but when we apply the principle of

correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us this principle is of universal application and manifestation on the various planes of the material mental and spiritual universe it is an universal law the ancient hermitis considered this principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the unknown its use even tore aside the veil of isis to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught just as a knowledge of the

principles of geometry enables a man to measure distant suns and their movements while seated in his observatory so a knowledge of the principle of correspondence enables man to reason intelligently from the known to the unknown studying the monad he understands the archangel three the principle of vibration nothing rests everything moves everything vibrates the caballian this principle embodies the truth that everything is in motion everything vibrates nothing is at rest facts with modern science endorses and which each new scientific discovery tends to verify and yet this hermetic principle was enunciated thousands of years ago by the

masters of ancient egypt this principle explains that the differences between different manifestations of matter energy mind and even spirit result largely from varying rates of vibration from the all which is pure spirit down to the grossest form of matter all is in vibration the higher the vibration the higher the position in the scale the vibration of spirit is at such an infinite rate of intensity and rapidity that it is practically at rest just as a rapidly moving wheel seems to be motionless and at the other end of the scale there are gross forms of matter

whose vibrations are so low as the seam at rest between these poles there are millions upon millions of varying degrees of vibration from corpuscle and electron atom and a molecule two worlds and universes everything is in vibratory motion this is also true on the planes of energy and force which are but varying degrees of vibration and also on the mental planes whose states depend upon vibrations and even onto the spiritual planes an understanding of this principle with the appropriate formulas enables hermetic students to control their own mental vibrations as well as those of others the

masters also apply this principle to the conquering of natural phenomena in various ways he who understands the principle of vibration has grasped the scepter of power says one of the old writers four 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 kabulian this principle embodies the truth that everything is dual everything has two poles everything has its pair of opposites all of

which were old hermetic axioms it explains the old paradoxes that have perplexed so many which have been stated as follows thesis and antithesis are identical in nature but different in degree opposites are the same differing only in degree the pairs of opposites may be reconciled extremes meet everything is and isn't at the same time all truths are but half truths every truth is half false there are two sides to everything etc etc etc it explains that in everything there are two poles or opposite aspects and that opposites are really only the two extremes of the

same thing with many varying degrees between them to illustrate heat and cold although opposites are really the same thing the differences consisting merely of degrees of the same thing look at your thermometer and see if you can discover where heat terminates and cold begins there is no such thing as absolute heat or absolute cold the two terms heat and cold simply indicate varying degrees of the same thing and that same thing which manifests as heat and cold is merely a form variety and rate of vibration so heat and cold are simply the two poles of

that which we call heat and the phenomena attendant thereupon are manifestations of the principle of polarity the same principle manifests in the case of light and darkness which are the same thing the difference consisting of varying degrees between the two poles of the phenomena where does darkness leave off and light begin what is the difference between large and small between hard and soft between black and white between sharp and dull between noise and quiet between high and low between positive and negative the principle of polarity explains these paradoxes and no other principle can supersede it

the same principle operates on the mental plane let us take a radical and extreme example that of love and hate two mental states apparently totally different and yet there are degrees of hate and degrees of love and a middle point in which we use the terms like or dislike which shade into each other so gradually that sometimes we are at a loss to know whether we luck or dislike or neither and all are simply degrees of the same thing as you will see if you will but think a moment and more than this and considered

of more importance by the hermitis it is possible to change the vibrations of hate to the vibrations of love in one's own mind and in the minds of others many of you who read these lines have had personal experiences of the involuntary rapid transition from love to hate and the reverse in your own case and that of others and you will therefore realize the possibility of this being accomplished by the use of the will by means of the hermetic formulas good and evil are but the poles of the same thing and the hermitis understands the

art of transmuting evil into good by means of an application of the principle of polarity in short the art of polarization becomes a phase of mental alchemy known and practiced by the ancient and modern hermetic masters an understanding of the principle will enable one to change his own polarity as well as that of others if he will devote the time and study necessary to master the art 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 kabalian this principle embodies the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion to and fro a flow and inflow a swing backward and forward a pendulum like movement a tide like ebb and flow a high tide and low tide between the two poles which exist in accordance with the principle of polarity described a moment ago there was always an action and a reaction an advance and a retreat a rising and a sinking this is in the affairs of the

universe sons worlds men animals mind energy and matter this law is manifest in the creation and destruction of worlds in the rise and fall of nations in the life of all things and finally in the mental states of man and it is with this ladder that the hermitis find the understanding of the principle most important the hermitis have grasped this principle finding its universal application and have also discovered certain means to overcome its effects in themselves by the use of the appropriate formulas and methods they apply the mental law of neutralization they cannot annul the

principle or cause it to cease its operation but they have learned how to escape its effects upon themselves to a certain degree depending upon the mastery of the principle they have learned how to use it instead of being used by it in this and similar methods consist the art of the hermitists the master of hermetics polarizes himself at the point at which he desires to rest and then neutralizes the rhythmic swing of the pendulum which would tend to carry him to the other pole all individuals who have attained any degree of self-mastery do this to

a certain degree more or less unconsciously but the master does this consciously and by the use of his will and attains a degree of poise and mental firmness almost impossible of belief on the part of the masses who are swung backward and forward like a pendulum this principle and that of polarity have been closely studied by the hermitis and the methods of counteracting neutralizing and using them form an important part of the hermetic mental alchemy six 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 cabalion this principle embodies the fact that there is a cause for every effect an effect from every cause it explains that everything happens according to law that nothing ever merely happens that there is no such thing as chance that while there are various planes of cause and effect the higher dominating the lower planes still nothing ever entirely escapes the law the hermitis understand the art and methods of rising above the ordinary plane of cause

and effect to a certain degree and by mentally rising to a higher plane they become causers instead of effects the masses of people are carried along obedient to environment the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves heredity suggestion and other outward causes moving about them like pawns on the chessboard of life but the masters rising to the plane above dominate their moods characters qualities and powers as well as the environment surrounding them and become movers instead of pawns they help to play the game of life instead of being played and moved about by other

wills and environment they use the principle instead of being its tools the masters obey the causation of the higher planes but they helped to rule on their own plane in this statement there is considered a wealth of hermetic knowledge let him read who can seven the principle of gender gender isn't everything everything has its masculine and feminine principles gender manifests on all planes the caballian this principle embodies the truth that there is gender manifested in everything the masculine and feminine principles ever at work this is true not only of the physical plane but of the

mental and even the spiritual planes on the physical plane the principle manifests as sex on the higher planes it takes higher forms but the principle is ever the same no creation physical mental or spiritual is possible without this principle an understanding of its laws will throw light on many a subject that has perplexed the minds of men the principle of gender works ever in the direction of generation regeneration and creation everything and every person contains the two elements or principles or this great principle within it him or her every male thing has the female element

also every female contains also the male principle if you would understand the philosophy of mental and spiritual creation generation and regeneration you must understand and study this hermetic principle it contains the solution of many mysteries of life we caution you that this principle has no reference to the many base pernicious and degrading lustful theories teachings and practices which are taught under fanciful titles and which are a prostitution of the great natural principle of gender such base revivals of the ancient infamous forms of fallacism tend to ruin mind body and soul and the hermetic philosophy has

ever sounded the warning note against these degraded teachings which tend towards lust licentiousness and perversion of nature's principles if you seek such teachings you must go elsewhere for them hermeticism contains nothing for you along these lines to the pure all things are pure to the base all things are based chapter 3 mental transmutation mind as well as metals and elements may be transmuted from state to state degree to degree condition to condition pull to pull vibration to vibration true hermetic transmutation is a mental art the caballian as we have stated the hermetists were the original

alchemists astrologers and psychologists hermes having been the founder of these schools of thought from astrology has grown modern astronomy from alchemy has grown modern chemistry from the mystic psychology has grown the modern psychology of the schools but it must not be supposed that the ancients were ignorant of that which the modern schools supposed to be their exclusive and special property the records engraved on the stones of ancient egypt show conclusively that the ancients had a full comprehensive knowledge of astronomy the very building of the pyramids showing the connection between their design and the study of

astronomical science nor were they ignorant of chemistry for the fragments of the ancient writings show that they were acquainted with the chemical properties of things in fact the ancient theories regarding physics are being slowly verified by the latest discoveries of modern science notably those relating to the constitution of matter nor must it be supposed that they were ignorant of the so-called modern discoveries in psychology on the contrary the egyptians were especially skilled in the science of psychology particularly in the branches that the modern schools ignore but which nevertheless are being uncovered under the name of

psychic science which is perplexing the psychologists of today and making them reluctantly admit that there may be something in it after all the truth is that beneath the material chemistry astronomy and psychology that is the psychology in its phase of brain action the ancients possessed a knowledge of transcendental astronomy called astrology of transcendental chemistry called alchemy of transcendental psychology called mystic psychology they possessed the inner knowledge as well as the outer knowledge the latter alone being possessed by modern scientists among the many secret branches of knowledge possessed by the hermitis was that known as mental

transmutation which forms the subject matter of this lesson transmutation is a term usually employed to designate the ancient art of the transmutation of metals particularly of the base metals into gold the word transmute means to change from one nature form or substance into another to transform webster and accordingly mental transmutation means the art of changing and transforming mental states forms and conditions into others so you may see that mental transmutation is the art of mental chemistry if you like the term a form of practical mystic psychology but this means far more than appears on the

surface transmutation alchemy or chemistry on the mental plane is important enough in its effects to be sure and if the art stopped there it would still be one of the most important branches of study known to man but this is only the beginning let us see why the first of the seven hermetic principles is the principle of mentalism the axiom of which is the all is mind the universe is mental which means that the underlying reality of the universe is mind and the universe itself is mental that is existing in the mind of the all

we shall consider this principle in succeeding lessons but let us see the effect of the principle if it be assumed to be true if the universe is mental in its nature then mental transmutation must be the art of changing the conditions of the universe along the lines of matter force and mind so you see therefore that mental transmutation is really the magic of which the ancient writers had so much to say in their mystical works and about which they gave so few practical instructions if all be mental then the art which enables one to transmute

mental conditions must render the master the controller of material conditions as well as those ordinarily called mental as a matter of fact none but advanced mental alchemists have been able to attain the degree of power necessary to control the grosser physical conditions such as the control of the elements of nature the production or cessation of tempests the production and cessation of earthquakes and other great physical phenomena but that such men have existed and do exist today is a matter of earnest belief to all advanced occultists of all schools that the masters exist and have these

powers the best teachers assure their students having had experiences which justify them in such belief and statements these masters do not make public exhibitions of their powers but seek seclusion from the crowds of men in order to better their work along the path of attainment we mentioned their existence at this point merely to call your attention to the fact that their power is entirely mental and operates along the lines of the higher mental transmutation under the hermetic principle of mentalism the universe is mental the caballian but students and hermetists of lesser degree than masters the

initiates and teachers are able to freely work along the mental plane in mental transmutation in fact all that we call psychic phenomena mental influence mental science new thought phenomena etc operates along the same general lines for there is but one principle involved no matter by what name the phenomena be called the student and practitioner of mental transmutation works among the mental plane transmuting mental conditions states etc into others according to various formulas more or less efficacious the various treatments affirmations denials etc of the schools of mental science are but formulas often quite imperfect and unscientific

of the hermetic art the majority of modern practitioners are quite ignorant compared to the ancient masters for they lack the fundamental knowledge upon which the work is based not only may the mental states etc of oneself be changed or transmuted by hermetic methods but also the states of others may be and are constantly transmuted in the same way usually unconsciously but often consciously by some understanding the laws and principles in cases where the people affected are not informed of the principles of self-protection and more than this as many students and practitioners of modern mental science

know every material condition depending upon the minds of other people may be changed or transmuted in accordance with the earnest desire will and treatments of persons desiring changed conditions of life the public are so generally informed regarding these things at present that we do not deem it necessary to mention the same at length our purpose at this point being merely to show the hermetic principle and art underlying all of these various forms of practice good and evil for the force can be used in opposite directions according to the hermetic principles of polarity in this little

book we shall state the basic principles of mental transmutation that all who read may grasp the underlying principles and thus possess the master key that will unlock the many doors of the principle of polarity we shall now proceed to a consideration of the first of the hermetic seven principles the principle of mentalism in which is explained the truth that the all is mind the universe is mental in the words of the cabalion we ask the close attention and careful study of this great principle on the part of our students for it is really the basic

principle of the whole hermetic philosophy and of the hermetic art of mental transmutation chapter 4 the all under and back of the universe of time space and change is ever to be found the substantial reality the fundamental truth the caballion substance means that which underlies all outward manifestations the essence the essential reality the thing in itself etc substantial means actually existing being the essential element being real etc reality means the state of being real true enduring valid fixed permanent actual etc under and behind all outward appearances or manifestations there must always be a substantial reality

this is the law man considering the universe of which he is a unit sees nothing but change in matter forces and mental states he sees that nothing really is but that everything is becoming and changing nothing stands still everything is being born growing dying the very instant a thing reaches its height it begins to decline the law of rhythm is in constant operation there is no reality enduring quality fixity or substantiality in anything nothing is permanent but change he sees all things evolving from other things and resolving into other things constant action and reaction inflow

and outflow building up and tearing down creation and destruction birth growth and death nothing endures but change and if he be a thinking man he realizes that all of these changing things must be but outward appearances or manifestations of some underlying power some substantial reality all thinkers in all lands and in all times have assumed the necessity for postulating the existence of this substantial reality all philosophies worthy of the name have been based upon this thought men have given to this substantial reality many names some have called it by the name of deity under many

titles others have called it the infinite and eternal energy others have tried to call it matter but all have acknowledged its existence it is self-evident it needs no argument in these lessons we have followed the example of some of the world's greatest thinkers both ancient and modern the hermetic masters and have called this underlying power this substantial reality by the hermetic name of the all which term we consider the most comprehensive of the many terms applied by man to that which transcends names and terms we accept and teach the view of the great hermetic thinkers

of all times as well as of those illumined souls who have reached higher planes of being both of whom assert that the inner nature of the all is unknowable this must be so for naught by the all itself can comprehend its own nature and being the hermitists believe and teach that the all in itself is and must ever be unknowable they regard all the theories guesses and speculations of the theologians and metaphysicians regarding the inner nature of the all as but the childish efforts of mortal minds to grasp the secret of the infinite such efforts

have always failed and will always fail from the very nature of the task one pursuing such inquiries travels around and around in the labyrinth of thought until he was lost to all sane reasoning action or conduct and is utterly unfitted for the work of life he is like the squirrel which frantically runs around and around the circling treadmill wheel of his cage traveling ever and yet reaching nowhere at the end a prisoner still and standing just where he started and still more presumptuous are those who attempt to ascribe to the all the personality qualities properties

characteristics and attributes of themselves ascribing to the all the human emotions feelings and characteristics even down to the pettiest qualities of mankind such as jealousy susceptibility to flattery and praise desire for offerings and worship and all the other survivals from the days of the childhood of the race such ideas are not worthy of grown men and women and are rapidly being discarded at this point it may be proper for me to state that we make a distinction between religion and theology between philosophy and metaphysics religion to us means that intuitional realization of the existence of

the all and one's relationship to it while theology means the attempts of men to ascribe personality qualities and characteristics to it their theories regarding its affairs will desires plans and designs and their assumption of the office of middlemen between the all and the people philosophy to us means the inquiry after knowledge of things knowable and thinkable while metaphysics means the attempt to carry the inquiry over and beyond the boundaries into regions unknowable and unthinkable and with the same tendency as that of theology and consequently both religion and philosophy mean to us things having roots in

reality while theology and metaphysics seem like broken reeds rooted in the quicksands of ignorance and affording not but the most insecure support for the mind or soul of man we do not insist upon our students accepting these definitions we mention them merely to show our position at any rate you shall hear very little about theology and metaphysics in these lessons but while the essential nature of the all is unknowable there are certain truths connected with its existence which the human mind finds itself compelled to accept and an examination of these reports from a proper subject

of inquiry particularly as they agree with the reports of the illumined on higher planes and to this inquiry we now invite you that which is the fundamental truth the substantial reality is beyond true naming but the wise men call it the all the caballian in its essence the all is unknowable the caballian but the report of reason must be hospitably received and treated with respect the cabalion the human reason whose reports we must accept so long as we think at all informs us as following regarding the all and that without attempting to remove the veil

of the unknowable 1. the all must be all that really is there can be nothing existing outside of the all else the all would not be the all 2 the all must be infinite for there is nothing else to define confine bound limit or restrict the all it must be infinite in time or eternal it must have always continuously existed for there is nothing else to have ever created it and something can never evolve from nothing and if it had ever not been even for a moment it would not be now it must continuously exist

forever for there is nothing to destroy it and it can never not be even for a moment because something can never become nothing it must be infinite in space it must be everywhere for there is no place outside of the all it cannot be otherwise than continuous in space without break cessation separation or interruption for there is nothing to break separate or interrupt its continuity and nothing with which to fill in the gaps it must be infinite in power or absolute for there is nothing to limit restrict restrain confine disturb or condition it it is

subject to no other power for there is no other power 3. the all must be immutable or not subject to change in its real nature for there is nothing to work changes upon it nothing into which it could change nor from which it could have changed it cannot be added to nor subtracted from increased nor diminished nor become greater or lesser in any respect whatsoever it must have always been and must always remain just what it is now the all there has never been is not now and never will be anything else into which it

can change the all being infinite absolute eternal and unchangeable it must follow that anything finite changeable fleeting and conditioned cannot be the all and as there is nothing outside of the all in reality then any and all such finite things must be as nothing in reality now do not become be fogged nor frightened we are not trying to lead you into the christian science field under cover of hermetic philosophy there is a reconciliation of this apparently contradictory state of affairs be patient we will reach it in time we see around us that which is called

matter which foundations for all forms is the all merely matter not at all matter cannot manifest life or mind and as life and mind are manifested in the universe the all cannot be matter for nothing rises higher than its own source nothing is ever manifested in an effect that is not in the cause nothing is evolved as a consequent that is not involved as an antecedent and then modern science informs us that there is really no such thing as matter that what we call matter is merely interrupted energy or force that is energy or force

at a low rate of vibration as a recent writer has said matter has melted into mystery even material science has abandoned the theory of matter and now rests on the basis of energy then is the all mere energy or force not energy or force as the materialists use the terms for their energy and force are blind mechanical things devoid of life or mind life and mind can never evolve from blind energy or force for the reason given a moment ago nothing can rise higher than its source nothing is evolved unless it is involved nothing manifests

in the effect unless it is in the cause and so the all cannot be mere energy or force for if it were then there would be no such things as life and mind in existence and we know better than that for we are alive and using mind to consider this very question and so are those who claim that energy or force is everything what is there then higher than matter or energy that we know to be existent in the universe life and mind life and mind in all their varying degrees of unfoldment then you ask

do you mean to tell us that the all is life and mind yes and no is our answer if you mean life and mind as we poor petty mortals know them we say no the all is not that but what kind of life and mind do you mean you ask the answer is living mind as far above that which mortals know by those words as life and mind are higher than mechanical forces or matter infinite living mind as compared to finite life and mind we mean that which the illumined souls mean when they reverently pronounce

the word spirit the all is infinite living mind the illumined call it spirit chapter 5 the mental universe the universe is mental held in the mind of the all the kabbalian the all is spirit but what is spirit this question cannot be answered for the reason that its definition is practically that of the all which cannot be explained or defined spirit is simply a name that men give to the highest conception of infinite living mind it means the real essence it means living mind as much superior to life and mind as we know them as

the latter are superior to mechanical energy and matter spirit transcends our understanding and we use the term merely that we may think or speak of the all for the purposes of thought and understanding we are justified in thinking of spirit as infinite living mind at the same time acknowledging that we cannot fully understand it we must either do this or stop thinking of the matter at all let us now proceed to a consideration of the nature of the universe as a whole and in its parts what is the universe we have seen that there can

be nothing outside of the all then is the universe the all no this cannot be because the universe seems to be made up of many and is constantly changing and in other ways it does not measure up to the ideas that we are compelled to accept regarding the all as stated in our last lesson then if the universe be not the all then it must be nothing such is the inevitable conclusion of the mind at first thought but this will not satisfy the question for we are sensible of the existence of the universe then if

the universe is neither the all nor nothing what can it be let us examine this question if the universe exists at all or seems to exist it must proceed in some way from the all it must be a creation of the all but as something can never come from nothing from what could the all have created it some philosophers have answered this question by saying that the all created the universe from itself that is from the being and substance of the all but this will not do for the all cannot be subtracted from nor divided

as we have seen and then again if this be so would not each particle in the universe be aware of its being the all the all could not lose its knowledge of itself nor actually become an atom or blind force or lowly living thing some men indeed realizing that the all is indeed all and also recognizing that they the men existed have jumped to the conclusion that they and the all were identical and they have filled the air with shouts of i am god to the amusement of the multitude and the sorrow of sages the

claim of the corpuscle that i am man would be modest in comparison but what indeed is the universe if it be not the all not yet created by the all having separated itself into fragments what else can it be of what else can it be made this is the great question let us examine it carefully we find here that the principle of correspondence see lesson one comes to our aid here the old hermetic axiom as above so below may be pressed into service at this point let us endeavor to get a glimpse of the workings

on higher planes by examining those on our own the principle of correspondence must apply to this as well as to other problems let us see on his own plane of being how does man create well first he may create by making something out of outside materials but this will not do for there are no materials outside of the all with which it may create well then secondly man procreates or reproduces his kind by the process of begetting which is self-multiplication accomplished by transferring a portion of his substance to his offspring but this will not do

because the all cannot transfer or subtract a portion of itself nor can it reproduce or multiply itself in the first place there would be a taking away and in the second case a multiplication or addition to the all both thoughts being an absurdity is there no third way in which man creates yes there is he creates mentally and in so doing he uses no outside materials nor does he reproduce himself and yet his spirit pervades the mental creation following the principle of correspondence we are justified in considering that the all creates the universe mentally in

a manner akin to the process whereby man creates mental images and here is where the report of reason tallies precisely with the report of the illumined as shown by their teachings and writings such are the teachings of the wise men such was the teaching of hermes the all can create in no other way except mentally without either using material and there is none to use or else reproducing itself which is also impossible there is no escape from this conclusion of the reason which as we have said agrees with the highest teachings of the illumined just

as you student may create a universe of your own in your mentality so does the all create universes in its own mentality but your universe is the mental creation of a finite mind whereas that of the all is the creation of an infinite the two are similar and kind but definitely different in degree we shall examine more closely into the process of creation and manifestation as we proceed but this is the point to fix in your minds at this stage the universe and all it contains is a mental creation of the all verily indeed all

is mined the all creates in its infinite mind countless universes which exist for aeons of time and yet to the all the creation development decline and death of a million universes is as the time of the twinkling of an eye the kabbalian the infinite mind of the all is the womb of universes the kabulian the principle of gender see lesson 1 and other lessons to follow is manifested on all planes of life material mental and spiritual but as we have said before gender does not mean sex sex is merely a material manifestation of gender gender

means relating to generation or creation and whenever anything is generated or created on any plane the principle of gender must be manifested and this is true even in the creation of universes now do not jump to the conclusion that we are teaching that there is a male and female god or creator that idea is merely a distortion of the ancient teachings on the subject the true teaching is that the all in itself is above gender as it is above every other law including those of time and space it is the law from which the laws

proceed and it is not subject to them but when the all manifests on the plane of generation or creation then it acts according to law and principle for it is moving on a lower plane of being and consequently it manifests the principle of gender in its masculine and feminine aspects on the mental plane of course this idea may seem startling to some of you who hear it for the first time but you have all really passively accepted it in your everyday conceptions you speak of the fatherhood of god and the motherhood of nature of god

the divine father and nature the universal mother and have thus instinctively acknowledged the principle of gender in the universe is this not so but the hermetic teaching does not imply a real duality the all is one the two aspects are merely aspects of manifestation the teaching is that the masculine principle manifested by the all stands in a way apart from the actual mental creation of the universe it projects its will toward the feminine principle which may be called nature whereupon the latter begins the actual work of the evolution of the universe from simple centers of

activity onto man and then on and on still higher all according to well-established and firmly enforced laws of nature if you prefer the old figures of thought you may think of the masculine principle as god the father and of the feminine principle as nature the universal mother from whose womb all things have been born this is more than a mere poetic figure of speech it is an idea of the actual process of the creation of the universe but always remember that the all is but one and that in its infinite mind the universe is generated

created and exists it may help you to get the proper idea if you will apply the law of correspondence to yourself and your own mind you know that the part of you which you call i in a sense stands apart and witnesses the creation of mental images in your own mind the part of your mind in which the mental generation is accomplished may be called the me in distinction from the eye which stands apart and witnesses and examines the thoughts ideas and images of the me as above so below remember and the phenomena of one

plane may be employed to solve the riddles of higher or lower planes is it any wonder that you the child feel that instinctive reverence for the all which feeling we call religion that respect and reverence for the father mind is it any wonder that when you consider the works and wonders of nature you are overcome with a mighty feeling which has its roots away down in your in most being it is the mother mind that you are pressing close up to like a babe to the breast do not make the mistake of supposing that the

little world you see around you the earth which is a mere grain of dust in the universe is the universe itself there are millions upon millions of such worlds and greater and there are millions of millions of such universes in existence within the infinite mind of the all and even in our own little solar system there are regions and planes of life far higher than ours and beings compared to which we earthbound mortals are as the slimy life-forms that dwell on the ocean's bed when compared to man there are beings with powers and attributes higher

than man has ever dreamed of the gods possessing and yet these beings were once as you and still lower and you will be even as they and still hire in time for such is the destiny of man as reported by the illumined and death is not real even in the relative sense it is but birth to a new life and you shall go on and on and on to higher and still higher planes of life for aeons upon aeons of time the universe is your home and you shall explore its farthest recesses before the end

of time you are dwelling in the infinite mind of the all and your possibilities and opportunities are infinite both in time and space and at the end of the grand cycle of aeons when the all shall draw back into itself all of its creations you will go gladly for you will then be able to know the whole truth of being at one with the all such is the report of the illumined those who have advanced well along the path and in the meantime rest calm and serene you are safe and protected by the infinite power

of the father mother mind within the father-mother mind mortal children are at home the kabulian there is not one who is fatherless nor motherless in the universe the cabalion chapter 6 the divine paradox the half-wise recognizing the comparative unreality of the universe imagine that they may defy its laws such are vain and presumptuous fools and they are broken against the rocks and torn asunder by the elements by reason of their folly the truly wise knowing the nature of the universe use law against laws the higher against the lower and by the art of alchemy transmute

that which is undesirable into that which is worthy and thus triumph mastery consists not in abnormal dreams visions and fantastic imaginings or living but in using the higher forces against the lower escaping the pains of the lower planes by vibrating on the higher transmutation not presumptuous denial is the weapon of the master the cabalion this is the paradox of the universe resulting from the principle of polarity which manifests when the all begins to create hearken to it for it points the difference between half-wisdom and wisdom while to the infinite all the universe its laws its

powers its life its phenomena are as things witnessed in the state of meditation or dream yet to all that is finite the universe must be treated as real and life and action and thought must be based thereupon accordingly although with an ever understanding of the higher truth each according to its own plane and laws were the all to imagine that the universe were indeed reality then woe to the universe for there would be no escape from lower to higher divine word then would the universe become a fixity and progress would become impossible and if man

owing to half wisdom acts and lives and thinks of the universe as merely a dream akin to his own finite dreams then indeed does it so become for him and like a sleepwalker he stumbles ever around and around in a circle making no progress and being forced into an awakening at last by his falling bruised and bleeding over the natural laws which he ignored keep your mind ever on the star but let your eyes watch over your footsteps lest you fall into the mire by reason of your upward gaze remember the divine paradox that while

the universe is not still it is remember ever the two poles of truth the absolute and the relative beware of half-truths what hermetists know as the law of paradox is an aspect of the principle of polarity the hermetic writings are filled with references to the appearance of the paradox in the consideration of the problems of life and being the teachers are constantly warning their students against the error of omitting the other side of any question and their warnings are particularly directed to the problems of the absolute and the relative which perplexed all students of philosophy

and which caused so many to think and act contrary to what is generally known as common sense and we caution all students to be sure to grasp the divine paradox of the absolute and relative lest they become entangled in the mire of the half-truth with this in view this particular lesson has been written read it carefully the first thought that comes to the thinking man after he realizes the truth that the universe is a mental creation of the all is that the universe and all that it contains is a mere illusion and unreality against which

idea his instincts revolt but this like all other great truths must be considered both from the absolute and the relative points of view from the absolute viewpoint of course the universe is in the nature of an illusion a dream a phantasmagoria as compared to the all in itself we recognize this even in our ordinary view for we speak of the world as a fleeting show that comes and goes is born and dies for the element of impermanence and change finiteness and unsubstantiality must ever be connected with the idea of a created universe when it is

contrasted with the idea of the all no matter what may be our beliefs concerning the nature of both philosopher metaphysician scientist and theologian all agree upon this idea and the thought is found in all forms of philosophical thought and religious conceptions as well as in the theories of the respective schools of metaphysics and theology so the hermetic teachings do not preach the unsubstantiality of the universe in any stronger terms than those more familiar to you although their presentation of the subject may seem somewhat more startling anything that has a beginning and an end must be

in a sense unreal and untrue and the universe comes under the rule in all schools of thought from the absolute point of view there is nothing real except the all no matter what terms we may use in thinking of or discussing the subject whether the universe be created of matter or whether it be a mental creation in the mind of the all it is unsubstantial not enduring a thing of time space and change we want you to realize this fact thoroughly before you pass judgment on the hermetic conception of the mental nature of the universe

think over any and all of the other conceptions and see whether this be not true of them but the absolute point of view shows merely one side of the picture the other side is the relative one absolute truth has been defined as things as the mind of god knows them while relative truth is things as the highest reason of man understands them and so while to the all the universe must be unreal and illusionary a mere dream or result of meditation nevertheless to the finite minds forming a part of that universe and viewing it through

mortal faculties the universe is very real indeed and must be so considered in recognizing the absolute view we must not make the mistake of ignoring or denying the facts and phenomena of the universe as they present themselves to our mortal faculties we are not the all remember to take familiar illustrations we all recognize the fact that matter exists to our senses we will fare badly if we do not and yet even our finite minds understand the scientific dictum that there is no such thing as matter from a scientific point of view that which we call

matter is held to be merely an aggregation of atoms which atoms themselves are merely a grouping of units of force called electrons or ions vibrating and in constant circular motion we kick a stone and we feel the impact it seems to be real notwithstanding that we know it to be merely what we have stated above but remember that our foot which feels the impact by means of our brains is likewise matter so constituted of electrons and for that matter so are our brains and at the best if it were not by reason of our mind

we would not know the foot or stone at all then again the ideal of the artist or sculptor which he is endeavoring to reproduce in stone or on canvas seems very real to him so do the characters in the mind of the author or dramatist which he seeks to express so that others may recognize them and if this be true in the case of our finite minds what must be the degree of reality in the mental images created in the mind of the infinite oh friends this universe of mentality is very real indeed it is

the only one we can ever know though we rise from plane to plane higher and higher in it to know it otherwise but actual experience we must be the all itself it is true that the higher we rise in the scale the nearer to the mind of the father we reach the more a parent becomes the illusory nature of finite things but not until the all finally withdraws us into itself does the vision actually vanish so we need not dwell upon the feature of illusion rather let us recognizing the real nature of the universe seek

to understand its mental laws and endeavor to use them to the best effect in our upward progress through life as we travel from plane to plane of being the laws of the universe are nonetheless iron laws because of the mental nature all except the all are bound by them what is in the infinite mind of the all is real in a degree second only to that reality itself which is vested in the nature of the all so do not feel insecure or afraid we are all held firmly in the finite mind of the all and

there is not to hurt us or for us to fear there is no power outside of the all to affect us so we may rest calm and secure there is a world of comfort and security in this realization when once attained then calm and peaceful do we sleep rocked in the cradle of the deep resting safely on the bosom of the ocean of infinite mind which is the all in the all indeed do we live and move and have our being matter is nonetheless matter to us while we dwell on the plane of matter although

we know it to be merely an aggregation of electrons or particles of force vibrating rapidly and gyrating around each other in the formations of atoms the atoms in turn vibrating and gyrating forming molecules which latter in turn form larger masses of matter nor does matter become less matter when we follow the inquiry still further and learn from the hermetic teachings that the force of which the electrons are but units is merely a manifestation of the mind of the all and like all else in the universe is purely mental in its nature while on the plane

of matter we must recognize its phenomena we may control matter as all masters of higher or lesser degree do but we do so by applying the higher forces we commit a folly when we attempt to deny the existence of matter in the relative aspect we may deny its mastery over us and rightly so but we should not attempt to ignore it in its relative aspect at least so long as we dwell upon its plane nor do the laws of nature become less constant or effective when we know them likewise to be merely mental creations they

are in full effect on the various planes we overcome the lower laws by applying still higher ones and in this way only but we cannot escape law or rise above it entirely nothing but the all can escape law and that because the all is law itself from which all laws emerge the most advanced masters may acquire the powers usually attributed to the gods of men and there are countless ranks of being in the great hierarchy of life whose being and power transcends even that of the highest masters among men to a degree unthinkable by mortals

but even the highest master and the highest being must bow to the law and be as nothing in the eye of the all so that if even these highest beings whose powers exceed even those attributed by men to their gods even if these are bound by and are subservient to law then imagine the presumption of mortal men of our race and grade when he dares to consider the laws of nature as unreal visionary and illusory because he happens to be able to grasp the truth that the laws are mental in nature and simply mental creations

of the all those laws which the all intends to be governing laws are not to be defied or argued away so long as the universe endears will they endure for the universe exists by virtue of these laws which form its framework and which hold it together the hermetic principle of mentalism while explaining the true nature of the universe upon the principle that all is mental does not change the scientific conceptions of the universe life or evolution in fact science merely corroborates the hermetic teachings the latter merely teaches that the nature of the universe is mental

while modern science has taught that it is material or of late that it is energy at the last analysis the hermetic teachings have no fault to find with herbert spencer's basic principle which postulates the existence of an infinite and eternal energy from which all things proceed in fact the hermetics recognize in spencer's philosophy the highest outside statement of the workings of the natural laws that have ever been promulgated and they believe spencer to have been a reincarnation of an ancient philosopher who dwelt in ancient egypt thousands of years ago and who later incarnated as heraclitus

the grecian philosopher who lived bc 500 and they regard his statement of the infinite and eternal energy as directly in the line of the hermetic teachings always with the addition of their own doctrine that his energy is the energy of the mind of the all with the master key of the hermetic philosophy the student of spencer will be able to unlock many doors of the inner philosophical conceptions of the great english philosopher whose work shows the results of the preparation of his previous incarnations his teachings regarding evolution and rhythm are in almost perfect agreement with

the hermetic teachings regarding the principle of rhythm so the student of her medics need not lay aside any of his cherished scientific views regarding the universe all he is asked to do is grasp the underlying principle of the all is mind the universe is mental held in the mind of the all he will find that the other six of the seven principles will fit into his scientific knowledge and will serve to bring out obscure points and to throw light in dark corners this is not to be wondered at when we realize the influence of the

hermetic thought of the early philosophers of greece upon whose foundations of thought the theories of modern science largely rest the acceptance of the first hermetic principle mentalism is the only great point of difference between modern science and hermetic students and science is gradually moving toward the hermetic position in its groping in the dark for a way out of the labyrinth into which it has wandered in its search for reality the purpose of this lesson is to impress upon the minds of our students the fact that to all intents and purposes the universe and its laws

and its phenomena are just as real so far as man is concerned as they would be under the hypotheses of materialism or energism under any hypothesis the universe in its outer aspect is changing ever flowing and transitory and therefore devoid of substantiality and reality but note the other pole of the truth under the same hypothesis we are compelled to act and live as if the fleeting things were real and substantial with this difference always between the various hypotheses that under the old views mental power was ignored as a natural force while under mentalism it becomes

the greatest natural force and this one difference revolutionizes life to those who understand the principle and its resulting laws and practice so finally students all grasp the advantage of mentalism and learn to know use and apply the laws resulting they're from but do not yield to the temptation which as the caballian states overcomes the half-wise and which causes them to be hypnotized by the apparent unreality of things the consequence being that they wander about like dream people dwelling in a world of dreams ignoring the practical work and life of man the end being that they

are broken against the rocks and torn asunder by the elements by reason of their folly rather follow the example of the wise which the same authority states use law against laws the higher against the lower and by the art of alchemy transmute that which is undesirable into that which is worthy and thus triumph following the authority let us avoid the half-wisdom which is folly which ignores the truth that mastery consists not in abnormal dreams vision and fantastic imaginings or living but in using the higher forces against the lower escaping the pains of the lower planes

by vibrating on the higher remember always student that transmutation not presumptuous denial is the weapon of the master the above quotations are from the kabulian and are worthy of being committed to memory by the student we do not live in a world of dreams but in an universe which while relative is real so far as our lives and actions are concerned our business in the universe is not to deny its existence but to live using the laws to rise from lower to higher living on doing the best that we can under the circumstances arising each

day and living so far as possible to our biggest ideas and ideals the true meaning of life is not known to men on this plane if indeed to any but the highest authorities and our own intuitions teach us that we will make no mistake in living up to the best that is in us so far as is possible and realizing the universal tendency in the same direction in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary we are all on the path and the road leads ever upward with frequent resting places read the message of the caballon

and follow the example of the wise avoiding the mistake of the half-wise who perish by reason of their folly chapter 7 the all in all while all is in the all it is equally true that the all is in all to him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge the kabbalian how often have the majority of people heard repeated the statement that their deity called by many names was all in all and how little have they suspected the inner occult truth concealed by these carelessly uttered words the commonly used expression is a survival

of the ancient hermetic maxim quoted above as the kabbalian says to him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge and this being so let us seek this truth the understanding of which means so much in this statement of truth this hermetic maxim is concealed one of the greatest philosophical scientific and religious truths we have given you the hermetic teaching regarding the mental nature of the universe the truth that the universe is mental held in the mind of the all as the kabulian says in the passage quoted above all is in the all but

note also the co-related statement that it is equally true that the all is in all this apparently contradictory statement is reconcilable under the law of paradox it is moreover an exact hermetic statement of the relations existing between the all and its mental universe we have seen how all is in the all now let us examine the other aspect of the subject the hermetic teachings are to the effect that the all is imminent in remaining within inherent abiding within its universe and in every part particle unit or combination within the universe this statement is usually illustrated

by the teachers by a reference to the principle of correspondence the teacher instructs the student to form a mental image of something a person an idea something having a mental form the favorite example being that of the author or dramatist forming an idea of his characters or a painter or sculptor forming an image of an ideal that he wishes to express by his art in each case the student will find that while the image has its existence and being solely within his own mind yet he the student author dramatist painter or sculptor is in a

sense imminent in remaining within or abiding within the mental image also in other words the entire virtue life spirit of reality in the mental image is derived from the imminent mind of the thinker consider this for a moment until the idea is grasped to take a modern example let us say that othello iago hamlet lear richard iii existed merely in the mind of shakespeare at the time of their conception or creation and yet shakespeare also existed within each of these characters giving them their vitality spirit and action whose is the spirit of the characters that

we know as micawber oliver twist uriah heap is it dickens or have each of these characters a personal spirit independent of their creator have the venus of medici the sistine madonna the apollo belvedere spirits and reality of their own or do they represent the spiritual and mental power of their creators the law of paradox explains that both propositions are true viewed from the proper viewpoints micawber is both micawber and yet dickens and again while micawber may be said to be dickens yet dickens is not identical with micawber man like micawber may exclaim the spirit of

my creator is inherent within me and yet i am not he how different this from the shocking half-truth so vociferously announced by a certain of the half-wise who filled the air with their raucous cries of i am god imagine poor micawber or the sneaky uriah heap crying i am dickens or some of the lowly clods in one of shakespeare's plays eloquently announcing that i am shakespeare the all is in the earthworm and yet the earthworm is far from being the all and still the wonder remains that though the earthworm exists merely as a lowly thing

created and having its being solely within the mind of the all yet the all is imminent in the earthworm and in the particles that go to make up the earthworm can there be any greater mystery than this of all in the all and the all in all the student will of course realize that the illustrations given above are necessarily imperfect and inadequate for they represent the creation of mental images and finite minds while the universe is a creation of infinite mind and the difference between the two poles separates them and yet it is merely a

matter of degree the same principle is an operation the principle of correspondence manifests in each as above so below as below so above and in the degree that man realizes the existence of the indwelling spirit imminent within his being so will he rise in the spiritual scale of life this is what spiritual development means the recognition realization and manifestation of the spirit within us try to remember this last definition that of spiritual development it contains the truth of true religion there are many planes of being many subplanes of life many degrees of existence in the

universe and all depend upon the advancement of beings in the scale of which scale the lowest point is the grossest matter the highest being separated only by the thinnest division from the spirit of the all and upward and onward along this scale of life everything is moving all are on the path whose end is the all all progress is a returning home all is upward and onward in spite of all seemingly contradictory appearances such is the message of the illumined the hermetic teachings concerning the process of the mental creation of the universe are that at

the beginning of the creative cycle the all in its aspect of being projects its will toward its aspect of becoming and the process of creation begins it is taught that the process consists of the lowering of vibration until a very low degree of vibratory energy is reached at which point the grossest possible form of matter is manifested this process is called the stage of involution in which the all becomes involved or wrapped up in its creation this process is believed by the hermitis to have a correspondence to the mental process of an artist writer or

inventor who becomes so wrapped up in his mental creation as to almost forget his own existence and who for the time being almost lives in his creation if instead of wrapped we use the word wrapped perhaps we will give a better idea of what is meant this involuntary stage of creation is sometimes called the outpouring of the divine energy just as the evolutionary state is called the in-drawing the extreme pole of the creative process is considered to be the furthest removed from the all while the beginning of the evolutionary stage is regarded as the beginning

of the return swing of the pendulum of rhythm a coming home idea being held in all of the hermetic teachings the teachings are that during the outpouring the vibrations become lower and lower until finally the urge ceases and the return swing begins but there is this difference that while in the outpouring the creative forces manifest compactly and as a whole yet from the beginning of the evolutionary or in-drawing stage there is manifested the law of individualization that is the tendency to separate into units of force so that finally that which left the all as unindividualized

energy returns to its source as countless highly developed units of life having risen higher and higher in the scale by means of physical mental and spiritual evolution the ancient hermitis used the word meditation in describing the process of the mental creation of the universe in the mind of the all the word contemplation also being frequently employed but the idea intended seems to be that of the employment of the divine attention attention is a word derived from the latin root meaning to reach out to stretch out and so the act of attention is really a mental

reaching out extension of mental energy so that the underlying idea is readily understood when we examine into the real meaning of attention the hermetic teachings regarding the process of evolution are that the all having meditated upon the beginning of the creation having thus established the material foundations of the universe having thought it into existence then gradually awakens or rouses from its meditation and in so doing starts into manifestation the process of evolution on the material mental and spiritual planes successively and in order thus the upward movement begins and all begins to move spirit ward matter

becomes less gross the units spring into being the combinations begin to form life appears and manifests in higher and higher forms and mind becomes more and more in evidence the vibrations constantly becoming higher in short the entire process of evolution in all of its phases begins and proceeds according to the established laws of the in-drawing process all of this occupies aeons upon aeons of man's time each aeon containing countless millions of years but yet the illumined inform us that the entire creation including involution and evolution of an universe is but as the twinkle of the

eye to the all at the end of countless cycles of aeons of time the all withdraws its attention its contemplation and meditation of the universe for the great work is finished and all is withdrawn into the all from which it emerged but mystery of mysteries the spirit of each soul is not annihilated but is infinitely expanded the created and the creator are merged such is the report of the illumined the above illustration of the meditation and subsequent awakening from meditation of the all is of course but an attempt of the teachers to describe the infinite

process by a finite example and yet as below so above the difference is merely in degree and just as the all arouses itself from the meditation upon the universe so does man in time cease from manifesting upon the material plane and withdraws himself more and more into the indwelling spirit which is indeed the divine ego there is one more matter of which we desire to speak in this lesson and that comes very near to an invasion of the metaphysical field of speculation although our purpose is merely to show the futility of such speculation we allude

to the question which inevitably comes to the mind of all thinkers who have ventured to seek the truth the question is why does the all create universes the question may be asked in different forms but the above is the gist of the inquiry men have striven hard to answer this question but still there is no answer worthy of the name some have imagined that the all had something to gain by it but this is absurd for what could the all gain that it did not already possess others have sought the answer in the idea that

the all wished something to love and others that it created for pleasure or amusement or because it was lonely or to manifest its power all pure isle explanations and ideas belonging to the childish period of thought others have sought to explain the mystery by assuming that the all found itself compelled to create by reason of its own internal nature its creative instinct this idea is in advance of the others but its weak point lies in the idea of the all being compelled by anything internal or external if its internal nature or creative instinct compelled it

to do anything then the internal nature or creative instinct would be the absolute instead of the all and so accordingly that part of the proposition falls and yet the all does create and manifest and seems to find some kind of satisfaction in so doing and it is difficult to escape the conclusion that in some infinite degree it must have what would correspond to an inner nature or creative instinct in man with correspondingly infinite desire and will it could not act unless it willed to act and it would not will to act unless it desired to

act and it would not desire to act unless it obtained some satisfaction thereby and all of these things would belong to an inner nature and might be postulated as existing according to the law of correspondence but still we prefer to think of the all as acting entirely free from any influence internal as well as external that is the problem which lies at the root of difficulty and the difficulty that lies at the root of the problem strictly speaking there cannot be said to be any reason whatsoever for the all to act for a reason implies

a cause and the all is above cause and effect except when it wills to become a cause at which time the principle is set into motion so you see the matter is unthinkable just as the all is unknowable just as we say the all merely is so we are compelled to say that the all acts because it acts at the last the all is all reason in itself all law in itself all action in itself and it may be said truthfully that the all is its own reason its own law its own act or still

further that the all its reason its act is law are one all being names for the same thing in the opinion of those who are giving you these present lessons the answer is locked up in the inner self of the all along with its secret of being the law of correspondence in our opinion reaches only to that aspect of the all which may be spoken of as the aspect of becoming back of that aspect is the aspect of being in which all laws are lost in law all principles merge into principle and the all principle

and being are identical one and the same therefore metaphysical speculation on this point is futile we go into the matter here merely to show that we recognize the question and also the absurdity of the ordinary answers of metaphysics and theology in conclusion it may be of interest to our students to learn that while some of the ancient and modern hermetic teachers have rather inclined in the direction of applying the principle of correspondence to the question with the result of the inner nature conclusion still the legends have it that hermes the great when asked this question

by his advanced students answered them by pressing his lips tightly together and saying not a word indicating that there was no answer but then he may have intended to apply the axiom of his philosophy that the lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding believing that even his advanced students did not possess the understanding which entitled them to the teaching at any rate if hermes possessed the secret he failed to impart it and so far as the world is concerned the lips of hermes are closed regarding it and where the great hermes

hesitated to speak what mortal may dare to teach but remember that whatever be the answer to this problem if indeed there be an answer the truth remains that while all is in the all it is equally true that the all is in all the teaching on this point is emphatic and we may add the concluding words of the quotation to him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge chapter 8 planes of correspondence as above so below as below so above the cabalion the great second hermetic principle embodies the truth that there is a

harmony agreement and correspondence between the several planes of manifestation life and being this truth is a truth because all that is included in the universe emanates from the same source and the same laws principles and characteristics apply to each unit or combination of units of activity as each manifests its own phenomena upon its own plane for the purpose of convenience of thought and study the hermetic philosophy considers that the universe may be divided into three great classes of phenomena known as the three great plains namely the great physical plane the great mental plane the great

spiritual plane these divisions are more or less artificial and arbitrary for the truth is that all of the three divisions are but ascending degrees of the great scale of life the lowest point of which is undifferentiated matter and the highest point that of spirit and moreover the different planes shade into each other so that no hard and fast division may be made between the higher phenomena of the physical and the lower of the mental or between the higher of the mental and the lower of the physical in short the three great planes may be regarded

as three great groups of degrees of life manifestation while the purposes of this little book do not allow us to enter into an extended discussion of or explanation of the subject of these different planes still we thank it well to give a general description of the same at this point at the beginning we may as well consider the question so often asked by the neophyte who desires to be informed regarding the meaning of the word plain which term has been verily freely used and very poorly explained in many recent works upon the subject of occultism

the question is generally about as follows is a plane a place having dimensions or is it merely a condition or state we answer no not a place nor ordinary dimension of space and yet more than a state or condition it may be considered as a state or condition and yet the state or condition is a degree of dimension in a scale subject to measurement somewhat paradoxical is it not but let us examine the matter a dimension you know is a measure in a straight line relating to measure etc the ordinary dimensions of space are length

breadth and height or perhaps length breadth height thickness or circumference but there is another dimension of created things or measure in a straight line known to occultists and to scientists as well although the latter have not as yet applied the term dimension to it and this new dimension which by the way is the much speculated about fourth dimension is the standard used in determining the degrees or planes this fourth dimension may be called the dimension of vibration it is a fact well known to modern science as well as to the hermitis who have embodied the

truth in their third hermetic principle that everything is in motion everything vibrates nothing is at rest from the highest manifestation to the lowest everything and all things vibrate not only do they vibrate at different rates of motion but as in different directions and in a different manner the degrees of the rate of vibrations constitute the degrees of measurement on the scale of vibrations in other words the degrees of the fourth dimension and these degrees form what occultists call planes the higher the degree of rate of vibration the higher the plane and the higher the manifestation

of life occupying that plane so that while a plane is not a place nor yet a state or condition yet it possesses qualities common to both we shall have more to say regarding the subject of the scale of vibrations in our next lessons in which we shall consider the hermetic principle of vibration you will kindly remember however that the three great planes are not actual divisions of the phenomena of the universe but merely arbitrary terms used by the hermitis in order to aid in the thought and study of the various degrees and forms of universal

activity and life the atom of matter the unit of force the mind of man and the being of the archangel are all but degrees in one scale and all fundamentally the same the difference between solely a matter of degree and rate of vibration all are creations of the all and have their existence solely within the infinite mind of the all the hermitis subdivide each of the three great planes into seven minor planes and each of these ladder are also subdivided into seven subplanes all divisions being more or less arbitrary shading into each other and adopted

merely for the convenience of scientific study and thought the great physical plane and its seven minor planes is that division of the phenomena of the universe which includes all that relates to physics or material things forces and manifestations it includes all forms of that which we call matter and all forms of that which we call energy or force but you must remember that the hermetic philosophy does not recognize matter as a thing in itself or as having a separate existence even in the mind of the all the teachings are that matter is but a form

of energy that is energy at a low rate of vibrations of a certain kind and accordingly the hermitis classify matter under the head of energy and give to it three of the seven minor planes of the great physical plane these seven minor physical planes are as follows the plane of matter a the plane of matter b the plane of matter c the plane of ethereal substance the plane of energy a the plane of energy b the plane of energy c the plane of matter a comprises the forms of matter in its form of solids liquids

and gases and generally recognized by the textbooks on physics the plane of matter b comprises certain higher and more subtle forms of matter of the existence of which modern science is but now recognizing the phenomena of radiant manner in its phases of radium etc belonging to the lower subdivision of this minor plane the plane of matter c comprises forms of the most subtle and tenuous matter the existence of which is not suspected by ordinary scientists the plane of ethereal substance comprises that which science speaks of as the ether a substance of extreme tenuity and elasticity

pervading all universal space and acting as a medium for the transmission of waves of energy such as light heat electricity etc this ethereal substance forms a connecting link between matter so-called and energy and partakes of the nature of each the hermetic teachings however instruct that this plane has seven subdivisions as have all of the minor planes and that in fact there are seven ethers instead of but one next above the plane of ethereal substance comes the plane of energy a which comprises the ordinary forms of energy known to science its seven subplanes being respectively heat

light magnetism electricity and attraction including gravitation cohesion chemical affinity etc and several other forms of energy indicated by scientific experiments but not as yet named or classified the plane of energy b comprises seven subplanes of higher forms of energy not as yet discovered by science but which have been called nature's finer forces and which are called into operation in manifestations of certain forms of mental phenomena and by which such phenomena becomes possible the plane of energy c comprises seven subplanes of energy so highly organized that it bears many of the characteristics of life but which

is not recognized by the minds of men on the ordinary plane of development being available for the use on beings of the spiritual plane alone such energy is unthinkable to ordinary man and may be considered almost as the divine power the beings employing the same are as gods compared even to the highest human types known to us the great mental plane comprises those forms of living things known to us in ordinary life as well as certain other forms not so well known except to the occultist the classification of the seven minor mental planes is more

or less satisfactory and arbitrary unless accompanied by elaborate explanations which are foreign to the purpose of this particular work but we may as well mention them they are as follows the plane of mineral mind the plane of elemental mind a the plane of plant mind the plane of elemental mind b the plane of animal mind the plane of elemental mind see the plane of human mind the plane of mineral mind comprises the states or conditions of the units or entities or groups and combinations of the same which animate the forms known to us as minerals

chemicals etc these entities must not be confounded with the molecules atoms and corpuscles themselves the latter being merely the material bodies or forms of these entities just as a man's body is but his material form and not himself these entities may be called souls in one sense and are living beings of a low degree of development life and mind just a little more than the units of living energy which comprise the higher subdivisions of the highest physical plane the average mind does not generally attribute the possession of mind soul or life to the mineral kingdom

but all occultists recognize the existence of the same and modern science is rapidly moving forward to the point of view of the hermetic in this respect the molecules atoms and corpuscles have their loves and hates likes and dislikes attractions and repulsions affinities and non-affinities etc and some of the more daring of modern scientific minds have expressed the opinion that the desire and will emotions and feelings of the atoms differ only in degree from those of men we have no time or space to argue this matter here all occultists know it to be a fact and

others are referred to some of the more recent scientific works for outside corroboration there are the usual seven subdivisions to this plane the plane of elemental mind a comprises the state or condition and degree of mental and vital development of a class of entities unknown to the average man but recognized to occultists they are invisible to the ordinary census of man but nevertheless exist and play their part of the drama of the universe their degree of intelligence is between that of the mineral and chemical entities on the one hand and of the entities of the

plant kingdom on the other there are seven subdivisions to this plane also the plane of plant mind in its seven subdivisions comprises the states or conditions of the entities comprising the kingdoms of the plant world the vital and mental phenomena of which is fairly well understood by the average intelligent person many new and interesting scientific works regarding mind and life in plants having been published during the last decade plants have life mind and souls as well as have the animals man and superman the plane of elemental mind b in its seven subdivisions comprises the states

and conditions of a higher form of elemental or unseen entities playing their part in the general work of the universe the mind and life of which form a part of the scale between the plane of plant mind and the plane of animal mind the entities partaking of the nature of both the plane of animal mind in its seven subdivisions comprises the states and conditions of the entities beings or souls animating the animal forms of life familiar to us all it is not necessary to go into details regarding this kingdom or plane of life for the

animal world is as familiar to us as is our own the plane of elemental mind c in its seven subdivisions comprises those entities or beings invisible as are all such elemental forms which partake of the nature of both animal and human life in a degree and in certain combinations the highest forms are semi-human in intelligence the plane of human mind in its seven subdivisions comprises those manifestations of life and mentality which are common to man in his various grades degrees and divisions in this connection we wish to point out the fact that the average man

of today occupies but the fourth subdivision of the plane of human mind and only the most intelligent have crossed the borders of the fifth subdivision it has taken the race millions of years to reach this stage and it will take many more years for the race to move on to the sixth and seventh subdivisions and beyond but remember that there have been races before us which have passed through these degrees and then on to higher planes our own race is the fifth with stragglers from the fourth which has set foot upon the path and then

there are a few advanced souls of our own race who have outstripped the masses and who have passed on to the sixth and seventh subdivision and some few being still further on the man of the sixth subdivision will be the superman he of the seventh will be the over man in our consideration of the seven minor mental planes we have merely referred to the three elementary planes in a general way we do not wish to go into this subject in detail in this work for it does not belong to this part of the general philosophy

and teachings but we may say this much in order to give you a little clearer idea of the relations of these planes to the more familiar ones the elementary planes bear the same relation to the planes of mineral plant animal and human mentality and life that the black keys on the piano do to the white keys the white keys are sufficient to produce music but there are certain scales melodies and harmonies in which the black keys play their part and in which their presence is necessary they are also necessary as connecting links of soul condition

entity states etc between the several other planes certain forms of development being attained therein this last fact giving to the reader who can read between the lines a new light upon the processes of evolution and a new key to the secret door of the leaps of life between kingdom and kingdom the great kingdoms of elementals are fully recognized by all occultists and the esoteric writings are full of mention of them the readers of balwars sinoni and similar tales will recognize the entities inhabiting these planes of life passing on from the great mental plane to the

great spiritual plane what shall we say how can we explain these higher states of being life and mind to minds as yet unable to grasp and understand the higher subdivisions of the plane of human mind the task is impossible we can speak only in the most general terms how may light be described to a man born blind how sugar to a man who has never tasted anything sweet how harmony to one born deaf all that we can say is that the seven minor planes of the great spiritual plane each minor plane having its seven subdivisions

comprise beings possessing life mind and form as far above that of man today as the latter is above the earthworm mineral or even certain forms of energy or matter the life of these beings so far transcends our own that we cannot even think of the details of the same their minds so far transcend ours that to them we scarcely seem to think and our mental processes seem almost akin to material processes the matter of which their forms are composed is of the highest planes of matter nay some are even said to be clothed in pure

energy what may be said of such beings on the seven minor planes of the great spiritual plane exist beings of whom we may speak as angels archangels demigods on the lower minor planes dwell those great souls whom we call masters and adepts above them come the great hierarchies of the angelic hosts unthinkable to man and above those come those who may without irreverence be called the gods so high in the scale of being are they their being intelligence and power being akin to those attributed by the races of men to their conceptions of deity these

beings are beyond even the highest flights of the human imagination the word divine being the only one applicable to them many of these beings as well as the angelic host take the greatest interest in the affairs of the universe and play an important part in its affairs these unseen divinities and angelic helpers extend their influence freely and powerfully in the process of evolution and cosmic progress their occasional intervention and assistance in human affairs have led to the many legends beliefs religions and traditions of the race past and present they have superimposed their knowledge and power

upon the world again and again all under the law of the all of course but yet even the highest of these advanced beings exist merely as creations of and in the mind of the all and are subject to the cosmic processes and universal laws they are still mortal we may call them gods if we like but still they are but the elder brethren of the race the advanced souls who have outstripped their brethren and who have forgone the ecstasy of absorption by the all in order to help the race on its upward journey along the

path but they belong to the universe and are subject to its conditions they are mortal and their plane is below that of absolute spirit only the most advanced hermitists are able to grasp the inner teachings regarding the state of existence and the powers manifested on the spiritual planes the phenomena is so much higher than that of the mental planes that a confusion of ideas would surely result from an attempt to describe the same only those whose minds have been carefully trained along the lines of the hermetic philosophy for years yes those who have brought with

them from other incarnations the knowledge acquired previously can comprehend just what is meant by the teaching regarding these spiritual planes and much of these inner teachings is held by the hermitis as being too sacred important and even dangerous for general public dissemination the intelligence student may recognize what we mean by this when we state that the meaning of spirit as used by the hermitis is akin to living power animated force inner essence essence of life etc which meaning must not be confounded with that usually and commonly employed in connection with the term such as religious

ecclesiastical spiritual ethereal holy etc etc to occultists the word spirit is used in the sense of the animating principle carrying with it the idea of power living energy mystic force etc and occultists know that that which is known to them as spiritual power may be employed for evil as well as good ends in accordance with the principle of polarity a fact which has been recognized by the majority of religions in their conceptions of satan bialzebub the devil lucifer fallen angels etc and so the knowledge regarding these planes has been kept in the holy of holies

in all esoteric fraternities and occult orders in the secret chamber of the temple but this may be said here that those who have attained high spiritual powers and have misused them have a terrible fate in store for them and the swing of the pendulum of rhythm will inevitably swing them back to the furthest extreme of material existence from which point they must retrace their steps spirit word along the weary rounds of the path but always with the added torture of having always with them a lingering memory of the heights from which they fell owing to

their evil actions the legends of the fallen angels have a basis in actual facts as all advanced occultists know the striving for selfish power on these spiritual planes inevitably results in the selfish soul losing its spiritual balance and falling back as far as it had previously risen but to even such a soul the opportunity of a return is given and such souls make the return journey paying the terrible penalty according to the invariable law in conclusion we would again remind you that according to the principle of correspondence which embodies the truth as above so below

as below so above all of the seven hermetic principles are in full operation on all of the many planes physical mental and spiritual the principle of mental substance of course applies to all the planes for all are held in the mind of the all the principle of correspondence manifests in all for there is a correspondence harmony and agreement between the several planes the principle of vibration manifests on all planes in fact the very differences that go to make the planes arise from vibration as we have explained the principle of polarity manifests on each plane the

extremes of the poles being apparently opposite and contradictory the principle of rhythm manifests on each plane the movement of the phenomena having its ebb and flow rise and flow incoming and outgoing the principle of cause and effect manifests on each plane every effect having its cause and every cause having its effect the principle of gender manifests on each plane the creative energy being always manifest and operating along the lines of its masculine and feminine aspects as above so below as below so above this centuries-old hermetic axiom embodies one of the great principles of universal phenomena

as we proceed with our consideration of the remaining principles we will see even more clearly the truth of the universal nature of this great principle of correspondence chapter 9 vibration nothing rests everything moves everything vibrates the caballian the great third hermetic principle the principle of vibration embodies the truth that motion is manifest in everything in the universe that nothing is at rest that everything moves vibrates and circles this hermetic principle was recognized by some of the early greek philosophers who embodied it in their systems but then for centuries it was lost sight of by the

thinkers outside of the hermetic ranks but in the 19th century physical science rediscovered the truth and the 20th century scientific discoveries have added additional proof of the correctness and truth of this centuries-old hermetic doctrine the hermetic teachings are that not only is everything in constant movement and vibration but that the differences between the various manifestations of the universal power are due entirely to the varying rate and mode of vibrations not only this but that even the all in itself manifests a constant vibration of such an infinite degree of intensity and rapid motion that it may

be practically considered as at rest the teachers directing the attention of the students to the fact that even on the physical plane a rapidly moving object such as a revolving wheel seems to be at rest the teachings are to the effect that spirit is at one end of the pole of vibration the other pole being certain extremely gross forms of matter between these two poles are millions upon millions of different rates and modes of vibration modern science has proven that all that we call matter and energy are but modes of vibratory motion and some of

the more advanced scientists are rapidly moving toward the positions of the occultists who hold that the phenomena of mind are likewise modes of vibration or motion let us see what science has to say regarding the question of vibrations in matter and energy in the first place science teaches that all matter manifests in some degree the vibrations arising from temperature or heat be an object cold or hot both being but degrees of the same things it manifests certain heat vibrations and in that sense is in motion and vibration then all particles of matter are in circular

movement from corpuscle to suns the planets revolve around suns and many of them turn on their axes the suns move around greater central points and these are believed to move around still greater and so on add infinitum the molecules of which the particular kinds of matter are composed are in a state of constant vibration and movement around each other and against each other the molecules are composed of atoms which likewise are in a state of constant movement and vibration the atoms are composed of corpuscles sometimes called electrons ions etc which are also in a state

of rapid motion revolving around each other and which manifest a very rapid state and mode of vibration and so we see that all forms of matter manifest vibration in accordance with the hermetic principle of vibration and so it is with the various forms of energy science teaches that light heat magnetism and electricity are but forms of vibratory motion connected in some way with and probably emanating from the ether science does not as yet attempt to explain the nature of the phenomena known as cohesion which is the principle of molecular attraction nor chemical affinity which is

the principle of atomic attraction nor gravitation the greatest mystery of the three which is the principle of attraction by which every particle or mass of matter is bound to every other particle or mass these three forms of energy are not as yet understood by science yet the writers inclined to the opinion that these two are manifestations of some form of vibratory energy a fact which the hermitis have held and taught for ages past the universal ether which is postulated by science without its nature being understood clearly is held by the hermitis to be but a

higher manifestation of that which is erroneously called matter that is to say matter at a higher degree of vibration and is called by them the ethereal substance the hermitis teach that this ethereal substance is of extreme tenuity and elasticity and pervades universal space serving as a medium of transmission of waves of vibratory energy such as heat light electricity magnetism etc the teachings are that the ethereal substance is a connecting link between the forms of vibratory energy known as matter on the one hand and energy or force on the other and also that it manifests a

degree of vibration in rate and mode entirely on its own scientists have offered the illustration of a rapidly moving wheel top or cylinder to show the effects of increasing rates of vibration the illustration supposes a wheel top or revolving cylinder running at a low rate of speed we will call this revolving thing the object in following out the illustration let us suppose the object is moving slowly it may be seen readily but no sound of its movement reaches the ear the speed is gradually increased in a few moments its movement becomes so rapid that a

deep growl or low note may be heard then as the rate is increased the note rises one in the musical scale then the motion being still further increased the next highest note is distinguished then one after another all the notes of the musical scale appear rising higher and higher as the motion is increased finally when the motions have reached a certain rate the final note perceptible to human ears is reached and the shrill piercing shriek dies away and silence follows no sound is heard from the revolving object the rate of motion being so high that

the human ear cannot register the vibrations then comes the perception of rising degrees of heat then after quite a time the eye catches a glimpse of the object becoming a dull dark reddish color as the rate increases the red becomes brighter then as the speed is increased the red melts into an orange then the orange melts into a yellow then follow successively the shades of green blue indigo and finally violet as the rate of speed increases then the violet shades away and all colors disappear the human eye not being able to register them but there

are invisible rays emanating from the revolving object the rays that are used in photographing and other subtle rays of light then begin to manifest the peculiar rays known as the x-rays etc as the constitution of the object changes electricity and magnetism are emitted when the appropriate rate of vibration is attained when the object reaches a certain state of vibration its molecules disintegrate and resolve themselves into the original elements or atoms then the atoms following the principle of vibration are separated into the countless corpuscles of which they are composed and finally even the corpuscles disappear and

the object may be said to be composed of the ethereal substance science does not dare to follow the illustration further but the hermitis teach that if the vibrations be continually increased the object would mount up the successive states of manifestation and would in turn manifest the various mental stages and then on spirit word until it would finally re-enter the all which is absolute spirit the object however would have ceased to be an object long before the stage of ethereal substance was reached but otherwise the illustration is correct inasmuch as it shows the effect of constantly

increased rates and modes of vibration it must be remembered in the above illustration that at the stages at which the object throws off vibrations of light heat etc it is not actually resolved into those forms of energy which are much higher in the scale but simply that it reaches a degree of vibration in which those forms of energy are liberated in a degree from the confining influences of its molecules atoms and corpuscles as the case may be these forms of energy although much higher in the scale than matter are imprisoned and confined in the material

combinations by reason of the energies manifesting through and using material forms but thus becoming entangled and confined in their creations of material forms which to an extent is true of all creations the creating force becoming involved in its creation but the hermetic teachings go much further than do those of modern science they teach that all manifestation of thought emotion reason will or desire or any mental state or condition are accompanied by vibrations a portion of which are thrown off in which tend to affect the minds of other persons by induction this is the principle which

produces the phenomena of telepathy mental influence and other forms of the action and power of mind over mind with which the general public is rapidly becoming acquainted owing to the wide dissemination of occult knowledge by the various schools cults and teachers along these lines at this time every thought emotion or mental state has its corresponding rate and mode of vibration and by an effort of the will of the person or of other persons these mental states may be reproduced just as a musical tone may be reproduced by causing an instrument to vibrate at a certain

rate just as color may be reproduced in the same way by a knowledge of the principle of vibration as applied to mental phenomena one may polarize his mind at any degree he wishes thus gaining a perfect control over his mental states moods etc in the same way he may affect the minds of others producing the desired mental states in them in short he may be able to produce on the mental plane that which science produces on the physical plane namely vibrations at will this power of course may be acquired only by the proper instruction exercises

practice etc the science being that of mental transmutation one of the branches of the hermetic art a little reflection on what we have said will show the student that the principle of vibration underlies the wonderful phenomena of the power manifested by the masters and adepts who are able to apparently set aside the laws of nature but who in reality are simply using one law against another one principle against others and who accomplish their results by changing the vibrations of material objects or forms of energy and thus perform what are commonly called miracles as one of

the old hermetic writers has truly said he who understands the principle of vibration has grasped the scepter of power chapter 10 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 caballian the great fourth hermetic principle the principle of polarity embodies the truth that all manifested things have two sides two aspects two poles and a pair of opposites with manifold degrees between the two extremes

the old paradoxes which have ever perplexed the mind of men are explained by an understanding of this principle man has always recognized something akin to this principle and has endeavored to express it by such sayings maxims and aphorisms as the following everything is and isn't at the same time all truths are but half truths every truth is half false there are two sides to everything there is a reverse side to every shield etc etc the hermetic teachings are to the effect that the difference between things seemingly diametrically opposed to each other is merely a matter

of degree it teaches that the pairs of opposites may be reconciled and that thesis and antithesis are identical in nature but different in degree and that the universal reconciliation of opposites is affected by a recognition of this principle of polarity the teachers claim that illustrations of this principle may be had on every hand and from an examination into the real nature of anything they begin by showing that spirit and matter are but two poles of the same thing the intermediate planes being merely degrees of vibration they show that the all and the many are the

same the difference being merely a matter of degree of mental manifestation thus the law and laws are the two opposite poles of one thing likewise principle and principles infinite mind and finite minds then passing on to the physical plane they illustrate the principle by showing that heat and cold are identical in nature the difference being merely a matter of degrees the thermometer shows many degrees of temperature the lowest pole being called cold and the highest heat between these two poles are many degrees of heat or cold call them either and you are equally correct the

higher of two degrees is always warmer while the lower is always colder there is no absolute standard all is a matter of degree there is no place on the thermometer where heat ceases and cold begins it is all a matter of higher or lower vibrations the very terms high and low which we are compelled to use are but poles of the same thing the terms are relative so with east and west travel around the world in an eastward direction and you will reach a point which is called west at your starting point and you return

from that westward point travel far enough north and you will find yourself traveling south or vice versa light and darkness are poles of the same thing with many degrees between them the musical scale is the same starting with c you move upward until you reach another c and so on the differences between the two ends of the board being the same with many degrees between the two extremes the scale of color is the same higher and lower vibrations being the only difference between high violet and low red large and small are relative so are noise

and quiet hard and soft follow the rule likewise sharp and dull positive and negative are two poles of the same thing with countless degrees between them good and bad are not absolute we call one end of the scale good and the other bad or one end good and the other evil according to the use of the terms a thing is less good than the thing higher in the scale but that less good thing in turn is more good than the thing next below it and so on the more or less being regulated by the position

on the scale and so it is on the mental plane love and hate are generally regarded as being things diametrically opposed to each other entirely different unreconcilable but we apply the principle of polarity we find that there is no such thing as absolute love or absolute hate as distinguished from each other the two are merely terms applied to the two poles of the same thing beginning at any point of the scale we find more love or less hate as we ascend the scale and more hate or less love as we descend this being true no

matter from what point high or low we may start there are degrees of love and hate and there is a middle point where like and dislike become so faint that it is difficult to distinguish between them courage and fear come under the same rule the pairs of opposites exist everywhere where you find one thing you find its opposite the two poles and it is this fact that enables the hermitis to transmute one mental state into another along the lines of polarization things belonging to different classes cannot be transmuted into each other but things of the

same class may be changed that is may have their polarity changed thus love never becomes east or west or red or violet but it may and often does turn into hate and likewise hate may be transformed into love by changing its polarity courage may be transmuted into fear and the reverse hard things may be rendered soft dull things become sharp hot things become cold and so on the transmutation always being between things of the same kind of different degrees take the case of a fearful man by raising his mental vibrations along the line of fear

and courage he can be filled with the highest degree of courage and fearlessness and likewise the slothful man may change himself into an active energetic individual simply by polarizing along the lines of the desired quality the student who is familiar with the processes by which the various schools of mental science etc produce changes in the mental states of those following their teachings may not readily understand the principle underlying many of these changes when however the principle of polarity is once grasped and it is seen that the mental changes are occasioned by a change of polarity

a sliding along the same scale the latter is readily understood the change is not in the nature of a transmutation of one thing into another thing entirely different but is merely a change of degree in the same things a vastly important difference for instance borrowing an analogy from the physical plane it is impossible to change heat into sharpness loudness highness etc but heat may readily be transmuted into cold simply by lowering the vibrations in the same way hate and love are mutually transmutable so are fear and courage but fear cannot be transformed into love nor

can courage be transmuted into hate the mental states belong to innumerable classes each class of which has its opposite poles along which transmutation is possible the student will readily recognize that in the mental states as well as in the phenomena of the physical plane the two poles may be classified as positive and negative respectively thus love is positive to hate courage to fear activity to non-activity etc etc and it will also be noticed that even to those unfamiliar with the principle of vibration the positive pole seems to be of a higher degree than the negative

and readily dominates it the tendency of nature is in the direction of the dominant activity of the positive pole in addition to the changing of the poles of one's own mental states by the operation of the art of polarization the phenomena of mental influence in its manifold phases shows us that the principle may be extended so as to embrace the phenomena of the influence of one mind over that of another of which so much has been written and taught of late years when it is understood that mental induction is possible that is that mental states

may be produced by induction from others then we can readily see how a certain rate the vibration or polarization of a certain mental state may be communicated to another person and his polarity in that class of mental states thus changed it is along this principle that the results of many of the mental treatments are obtained for instance a person is blue melancholy and full of fear a mental scientist bringing his own mind up to the desired vibration by his trained will and thus obtaining the desired polarization in his own case then produces a similar mental

state in the other by induction the result being that the vibrations are raised and the person polarizes toward the positive end of the scale instead of toward the negative and his fear and other negative emotions are transmuted to courage and similar positive mental states a little study will show you that these mental changes are nearly all along the line of polarization the change being one of degree rather than of kind a knowledge of the existence of this great hermetic principle will enable the student to better understand his own mental states and those of other people

he will see that these states are all matters of degree and seeing thus he will be able to raise or lower the vibration at will to change his mental poles and thus be master of his mental states instead of being their servant and slave and by his knowledge he will be able to aid his fellows intelligently and by the appropriate methods change the polarity when the same is desirable we advise all students to familiarize themselves with this principle of polarity for a correct understanding of the same will throw light on many difficult subjects chapter 11

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 caballian the great fifth hermetic principle the principle of rhythm embodies the truth that in everything there is manifested a measured motion a to and from movement a flow and inflow a swing forward and backward a pendulum-like movement a tide-like ebb and flow a high tide and a low tide between the two poles manifest on the physical

mental or spiritual planes the principle of rhythm is closely connected with the principle of polarity described in the preceding chapter rhythm manifests between the two poles established by the principle of polarity this does not mean however that the pendulum of rhythm swings to the extreme poles four this rarely happens in fact it is difficult to establish the extreme polar opposites in the majority of cases but the swings ever toward first one pole and then the other there is always an action and reaction an advance and a retreat a rising and a sinking manifested in all

the airs and phenomena of the universe sons worlds men animals plants minerals forces energy mind and matter yes even spirit manifests this principle the principle manifests in the creation and destruction of worlds in the rise and fall of nations in the life history of all things and finally in the mental states of man beginning with the manifestations of spirit of the all it will be noticed that there is ever the outpouring and the in-drawing the out-breathing and inbreathing of brahma as the brahmanas worded universes are created reached their extreme low point of materiality and then

begin their upward swing suns spring into being and then their height of power being reached the process of retrogression begins and after aeons they become dead masses of matter awaiting another impulse which starts again their inner energies into activity and a new solar life cycle is begun and thus it is with all the worlds they are born grow and die only to be reborn and thus it is with all the things of shape and form they swing from action to reaction from birth to death from activity to inactivity and then back again thus it is

with all living things they are born grow and die and then are reborn so it is with all great movements philosophies creeds fashions governments nations and all else birth growth maturity decadence death and then new birth the swing of the pendulum is ever in evidence night follows day and day night the pendulum swings from summer to winter and then back again the corpuscles atoms molecules and all masses of matter swing around the circle of their nature there is no such thing as absolute rest or cessation from movement and all movement partakes of rhythm the principle

is of universal application it may be applied to any question or phenomena of any of the many planes of life it may be applied to all phases of human activity there is always the rhythmic swing from one pole to the other the universal pendulum is ever in motion the tides of life flow in and out according to law the principle of rhythm is well understood by modern science and is considered a universal law as applied to material things but the hermitis carry the principle much further and know that its manifestations and influence extend to the

mental activities of man and that it accounts for the bewildering succession of moods feelings and other annoying and perplexing changes that we notice in ourselves but the hermitis by studying the operations of this principle have learned to escape some of its activities by transmutation the hermetic masters long since discovered that while the principle of rhythm was invariable and ever in evidence in mental phenomena still there were two planes of its manifestation so far as mental phenomena are concerned they discovered that there were two general planes of consciousness the lower and the higher the understanding of

which fact enabled them to rise to the higher plane and thus escape the swing of the rhythmic pendulum which manifested on the lower plane in other words the swing of the pendulum occurred on the unconscious plane and the consciousness was not affected this they call the law of neutralization its operations consist in the raising of the ego above the vibrations of the unconscious plane of mental activity so that the negative swing of the pendulum is not manifested in consciousness and therefore they are not affected it is akin to rising above a thing and letting it

pass beneath you the hermetic master or advanced student polarizes himself at the desired pole and by a process akin to refusing to participate in the backwards swing or if you prefer a denial of its influence over him he stands firm in his polarized position and allows the mental pendulum to swing back along the unconscious plane all individuals who have attained any degree of self-mastery accomplish this more or less unknowingly and by refusing to allow their moods and negative mental states to affect them they apply the law of neutralization the master however carries this to a

much higher degree of proficiency and by the use of his will he attains a degree of poise and mental firmness almost impossible of belief on the part of those who allow themselves to be swung backward and forward by the mental pendulum of moods and feelings the importance of this will be appreciated by any thinking person who realizes what creatures of moods feelings and emotion the majority of people are and how little mastery of themselves they manifest if you will stop and consider a moment you will realize how much of these swings of rhythm have affected

you in your life how a period of enthusiasm has been invariably followed by an opposite feeling and mood of depression likewise your moods and periods of courage have been succeeded by equal moods of fear and so it has ever been with the majority of persons tides of feeling have ever risen and fallen with them but they have never suspected the cause or reason of the mental phenomena an understanding of the workings of this principle will give one the key to the mastery of these rhythmic swings of feeling and will enable him to know himself better

and to avoid being carried away by these inflows and outflows the will is superior to the conscious manifestation of this principle although the principle itself can never be destroyed we may escape its effects but the principle operates nevertheless the pendulum ever swings although we may escape being carried along with it there are other features of the operation of this principle of rhythm of which we wish to speak at this point there comes into its operations that which is known as the law of compensation one of the definitions or meanings of the word compensate is to

counterbalance which is the sense in which the hermitis used the term it is this law of compensation to which the kabulian refers when it says the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left rhythm compensates the law of compensation is that the swing in one direction determines the swing in the opposite direction or to the opposite pole the one balances or counterbalances the other on the physical plane we see many examples of this law the pendulum of the clock swings a certain distance to the right and then

an equal distance to the left the seasons balance each other in the same way the tides follow the same law and the same law is manifested in all phenomena of rhythm the pendulum with a short swing in one direction has but a short swing in the other while the long swing to the right invariably means the long swing to the left an object hurled upward to a certain height has an equal distance to traverse on its return the force with which a projectile is sent upward a mile is reproduced when the projectile returns to the

earth on its return journey this law is constant on the fiscal plane as reference to the standard authorities will show you but the hermitis carry it still further they teach that a man's mental states are subject to the same law the man who enjoys keenly is subject to keen suffering while he who feels but little pain is capable of feeling but little joy the pig suffers but little mentally and enjoys but little he is compensated and on the other hand there are other animals who enjoy keenly but whose nervous organism and temperament cause them to

suffer exquisite degrees of pain and so it is with man there are temperaments which permit of but low degrees of enjoyment and equally low degrees of suffering while there are others which permit the most intense enjoyment but also the most intense suffering the rule is that the capacity for pain and pleasure in each individual are balanced the law of compensation is in full operation here but the hermitis go still further in this matter they teach that before one is able to enjoy a certain degree of pleasure he must have swung as far proportionately toward the

other pole of feeling they hold however that the negative is precedent to the positive in this manner that is to say that in experiencing a certain degree of pleasure it does not follow that he will have to pay up for it with a corresponding degree of pain on the contrary the pleasure is the rhythmic swing according to the law of compensation for a degree of pain previously experienced either in the present life or in a previous incarnation this throws a new light on the problem of pain the hermitis regard the chain of lives as continuous

and as forming a part of one life of the individual so that in consequence the rhythmic swing is understood in this way while it would be without meaning unless the truth of reincarnation is admitted but the hermitis claim that the master or advanced student is able to a great degree to escape the swing toward pain by the process of neutralization before mentioned by rising onto the higher plane of the ego much of the experience that comes to those dwelling on the lower plane is avoided and escaped the law of compensation plays an important part in

the lives of men and women it will be noticed that one generally pays the price of anything he possesses or lacks if he has one thing he lacks another the balance is struck no one can keep his penny and have the bit of cake at the same time everything has its pleasant and unpleasant sides the things that one gains are always paid for by the things that one loses the rich possess much that the poor lack while the poor often possess things that are beyond the reach of the rich the millionaire may have the inclination

toward feasting and the wealth wherewith to secure all the dainties and luxuries of the table while he lacks the appetite to enjoy the same he envies the appetite and digestion of the laborer who lacks the wealth and inclinations of the millionaire and who gets more pleasure from his plain food than the millionaire could obtain even if his appetite were not jaded nor his digestion ruined for the wants habits and inclinations differ and so it is through life the law of compensation is ever in operation striving to balance and counterbalance and always succeeding in time even

though several lives may be required for the return swing of the pendulum of rhythm chapter 12 causation 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 caballon the great sixth hermetic principle the principle of cause and effect embodies the truth that law pervades the universe that nothing happens by chance that chance is merely a term indicating cause existing but not recognized or perceived that phenomena is continuous without break or

exception the principle of cause and effect underlies all scientific thought ancient and modern and was enunciated by the hermetic teachers in the earliest days while many and varied disputes between the many schools of thought have since arisen these disputes have been principally upon the details of the operations of the principle and still more often upon the meaning of certain words the underlying principle of cause and effect has been accepted as correct by practically all the thinkers of the world worthy of the name to think otherwise would be to take the phenomena of the universe from

the domain of law and order and to relegate it to the control of the imaginary something which men have called chance a little consideration will show that there is in reality no such thing as pure chance webster defines the word chance as follows a supposed agent or mode of activity other than a force law or purpose the operation or activity of such agent the supposed effect of such an agent a happening fortuity casualty etc but a little consideration will show you that there can be no such agent as chance in the sense of something outside

of law something outside of cause and effect how could there be a something acting in the phenomenal universe independent of the laws order and continuity of the latter such a something would be entirely independent of the orderly trend of the universe and therefore superior to it we can imagine nothing outside of the all being outside of the law and that only because the all is the law in itself there is no room in the universe for a something outside of and independent of law the existence of such a something would render all natural laws ineffective

and would plunge the universe into chaotic disorder and lawlessness a careful examination will show that what we call chance is merely an expression relating to obscure causes causes that we cannot perceive causes that we cannot understand the word chance is derived from a word meaning to fall as the falling of dice the idea being that the fall of the dice and many other happenings are merely a happening unrelated to any cause and this is the sense in which the term is generally employed but when the matter is closely examined it is seen that there is

no chance whatsoever about the fall of the dice each time a die falls and displays a certain number it obeys a law as infallible as that which governs the revolution of the planets around the sun back of the fall of the die are causes or chains of causes running back further than the mind can follow the position of the dye in the box the amount of muscular energy expended in the throw the condition of the table etc etc are all causes the effect of which may be seen but back of these seen causes are the

chains of unseen preceding causes all of which had a bearing upon the number of the die which fell uppermost if a die be cast a great number of times it will be found that the numbers shown will be about equal that is there will be an equal number of one spot two spot etc coming uppermost toss a penny in the air and it may come down either heads or tails but make a sufficient number of tosses and the heads and tails will about even up this is the operation of the law of average but both

the average and the single toss come under the law of cause and effect and if we were able to examine into the preceding causes it would be clearly seen that it was simply impossible for the dye to fall other than it did under the same circumstances and at the same time given the same causes the same results will follow there is always a cause and a because to every event nothing ever happens without a cause or rather a chain of causes some confusion has arisen in the minds of persons considering this principle from the fact

that they were unable to explain how one thing could cause another thing that is be the creator of the second thing as a matter of fact no thing ever causes or creates another thing cause and effect deals merely with events an event is that which comes arrives or happens as a result or consequent of some preceding event no event creates another event but is merely a preceding link in the great orderly chain of events flowing from the creative energy of the all there is a continuity between all events precedent consequent and subsequent there is also

a relation existing between everything that has gone before and everything that follows a stone is dislodged from a mountainside and crashes through a roof of a cottage in the valley below at first sight we regard this as a chance effect but when we examine the matter we find a great chain of causes behind it in the first place there was the rain which softened the earth supporting the stone and which allowed it to fall then back of that was the influence of the sun other rains etc which gradually disintegrated the piece of rock from a

larger piece then there were causes which led to the formation of the mountain and its upheaval by convulsions of nature and so on at infinitum then we might follow up the causes behind the rain etc then we might consider the existence of the roof in short we would soon find ourselves involved in a mesh of cause and effect from which we would soon strive to extricate ourselves just as a man has two parents and four grandparents and eight great-grandparents and sixteen great-great-grandparents and so on until when say 40 generations are calculated the numbers of ancestors

run into many millions so it is with the number of causes behind even the most trifling event or phenomena such as the passage of a tiny speck of suit before your eye it is not an easy matter to trace the bit of suit back to the early period of the world's history when it formed a part of a massive tree trunk which was afterward converted into coal and so on until as the speck of suit it now passes before your vision on its way to other adventures and a mighty chain of events causes and effects

brought it to its present condition and the later is but one of the chain of events which will go to produce other events hundreds of years from now one of these series of events rising from the tiny bit of suit was the writing of these lines which caused the typesetter to perform certain work the proofreader to do likewise and which will arouse certain thoughts in your mind and that of others which in turn will affect others and so on and on and on beyond the ability of man to think further and all from the passage

of a tiny bit of suit all of which shows the relativity and association of things and the further fact that there is no great there is no small in the mind that causeth all stop to think a moment if a certain man had not met a certain maid away back in the dim period of the stone age you who are now reading these lines would not be here and if perhaps the same couple had failed to meet we who now write these lines would not be here we who now write these lines would not now

be here and the very act of writing on our part and the act of reading on yours will affect not only the respective lives of yourself and ourselves that will also have a direct or indirect effect upon many other people now living and who will live in the ages to come every thought we think every act we perform has its direct and indirect results which fit into the great chain of cause and effect we do not wish to enter into a consideration of free will or determinism in this work for various reasons among the many

reasons is the principle one that neither side of the controversy is entirely right in fact both sides are partially right according to the hermetic teachings the principle of polarity shows that both are but half truths the opposing poles of truth the teachings are that a man may be both free and yet bound by necessity depending upon the meaning of the terms and the height of truth from which the matter is examined the ancient writers expressed the matter thus the further the creation is from the center the more it is bound the nearer the center it

reaches the nearer free is it the majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity environment etc and manifest very little freedom they are swayed by the opinions customs and thoughts of the outside world and also by their emotions feelings moods etc they manifest no mastery worthy of the name they indignantly repudiate this assertion saying why i certainly am free to act and do as i please i do just what i want to do but they fail to explain once arise the want to and as i please what makes them want to do

one thing in preference to another what makes them please to do this and not to do that is there no because to their pleasing and wanting the master can change these pleases and wants into others at the opposite end of the mental pole he is able to will to will instead of to will because some feeling mood emotion or environmental suggestion arouses a tendency or desire within him to do so the majority of people are carried along like the falling stone obedient to environment outside influences and internal moods desires etc not to speak of these

desires and wills of others stronger than themselves heredity environment and suggestion carrying them along without resistance on their part or the exercise of will moved like the pawns on the checkerboard of life they play their parts and are laid aside after the game is over but the masters knowing the rules of the game rise above the plane of material life and placing themselves in touch with the higher powers of their nature dominate their own moods characters qualities and polarity as well as the environment surrounding them and thus become movers in the game instead of pawns

causes instead of effects the masters do not escape the causation of the higher planes but fall in with the higher laws and thus master circumstances on the lower plane they thus form a conscious part of the law instead of being mere blind instruments while they serve on the higher planes they rule on the material plane but on higher and on lower the law is always in operation there is no such thing as chance the blind goddess has been abolished by reason we are able to see now with eyes made clear by knowledge that everything is

governed by universal law that the infinite number of laws are but manifestations of the one great law the law which is the all it is true indeed that not a sparrow drops unnoticed by the mind of the all that even the hairs in our head are numbered as the scriptures have said there is nothing outside of law nothing that happens contrary to it and yet do not make the mistake of supposing that man is but a blind automaton far from that the hermetic teachings are that man may use law to overcome laws and that the

higher will always prevail against the lower until at last he has reached the stage in which he seeks refuge in the law itself and laughs the phenomenal laws to scorn are you able to grasp the inner meaning of this chapter 13 gender gender is in everything everything has its masculine and feminine principles gender manifests on all planes the kabulian the great seventh hermetic principle the principle of gender embodies the truth that there is gender manifested in everything that the masculine and feminine principles are ever-present and active in all phases of phenomena on each and every

plane of life at this point we think it well to call your attention to the fact that gender in its hermetic sense and sex in the ordinarily accepted use of the term are not the same the word gender is derived from the latin root meaning to beget to procreate to generate to create to produce a moment's consideration will show you that the word has a much broader and more general meaning than the term sex the latter referring to the physical distinctions between male and female living things sex is merely a manifestation of gender on a

certain plane of the great physical plane the plane of organic life we wish to impress this distinction upon your minds for the reason that certain writers who have acquired a smattering of the hermetic philosophy have sought to identify this seventh hermetic principle with wild and fanciful and often reprehensible theories and teachings regarding sex the office of gender is solely that of creating producing generating etc and its manifestations are visible on every plane of the phenomena it is somewhat difficult to produce proofs of this along scientific lines for the reason that science has not as yet

recognized this principle as of universal application but still some proofs are forthcoming from scientific sources in the first place we find a distinct manifestation of the principle of gender among the corpuscles ions or electrons which constitute the basis of matter as science now knows the latter and which by forming certain combinations from the atom which until lately was regarded as final and indivisible the latest word of science is that the atom is composed of a multitude of corpuscles electrons or ions the various names being applied by different authorities revolving around each other and vibrating at

a high degree and intensity but the accompanying statement is made that the formation of the atom is really due to the clustering of negative corpuscles around a positive one the positive corpuscles seeming to exert a certain influence upon the negative corpuscles causing the latter to assume certain combinations and thus create or generate an atom this is in line with the most ancient hermetic teachings which have always identified the masculine principle of gender with the positive and the feminine with the negative poles of electricity so called now a word at this point regarding this identification the

public mind has formed an entirely erroneous impression regarding the qualities of the so-called negative pole of electrified or magnetized matter the terms positive and negative are very wrongly applied to this phenomenon by science the word positive means something real and strong as compared with a negative unreality or weakness nothing is further from the real facts of electrical phenomenon the so-called negative pole of the battery is really the pole in and by which the generation or production of new forms and energies is manifested there is nothing negative about it the best scientific authorities now use the

word cathode in place of negative the word cathode coming from the greek root meaning descent the path of generation etc from the cathode pole emerged the swarm of electrons or corpuscles from the same pole emerge those wonderful rays which have revolutionized scientific conceptions during the past decade the cathode pole is the mother of all of the strange phenomena which have rendered useless the old textbooks and which have caused many long accepted theories to be relegated to the scrap pile of scientific speculation the cathode or negative pole is the mother principle of electrical phenomena and of

the finest forms of matter as yet known to science so you see we are justified in refusing to use the term negative in our consideration of the subject and insisting upon substituting the word feminine for the old term the facts of the case bear us out in this without taking the hermetic teachings into consideration and so we shall use the word feminine in the place of negative in speaking of that pole of activity the latest scientific teachings are that the creative corpuscles or electrons are feminine science says they are composed of negative electricity we say

they are composed of feminine energy a feminine corpuscle becomes detached from or rather leaves a masculine corpuscle and starts on a new career it actively seeks a union with a masculine corpuscle being urged thereto by the natural impulse to create new forms of matter or energy one writer goes so far as to use the term it at once seeks of its own volition a union etc this detachment and uniting form the basis of the greater part of the activities of the chemical world when the feminine corpuscle unites with the masculine corpuscle a certain process is

begun the feminine particles vibrate rapidly under the influence of the masculine energy and circle rapidly around the ladder the result is the birth of a new atom this new atom is really composed of a union of the masculine and feminine electrons or corpuscles but when the union is formed the atom is a separate thing having certain properties but no longer manifesting the property of free electricity the process of detachment or separation of the feminine electrons is called ionization these electrons or corpuscles are the most active workers in nature's field arising from their unions or combinations

manifest the varied phenomena of light heat electricity magnetism attraction repulsion chemical affinity and the reverse and similar phenomena and all this arises from the operation of the principle of gender on the plane of energy the part of the masculine principle seems to be that of directing a certain inherent energy toward the feminine principle and thus starting into activity the creative processes but the feminine principle is the only one always doing the act of creative work and this is so on all planes and yet each principle is incapable of operative energy without the assistance of the

other in some of the forms of life the two principles are combined in one organism for that matter everything in the organic world manifests both genders there was always the masculine present in the feminine form and the feminine form present in the masculine the hermetic teachings include much regarding the operation of the two principles of gender in the production and manifestation of various forms of energy etc but we do not deem it expedient to go into detail regarding the same at this point because we are unable to back up the same with scientific proof for

the reason that science has not yet progressed thus far but the example we have given you of the phenomena of the electrons or corpuscles will show you that science is on the right path and will also give you a general idea of the underlying principles some leading scientific investigators have announced their belief that in the formation of crystals there was to be found something that corresponded to sex activity which is another straw showing the direction the scientific winds are blowing and each year will bring other facts to corroborate the correctness of the hermetic principle of

gender it will be found that gender is in constant operation and manifestation in the field of inorganic matter and in the field of energy or force electricity is now generally regarded as the something into which all other forms of energy seem to melt or dissolve the electrical theory of the universe is the latest scientific doctrine and is growing rapidly in popularity and general acceptance and it thus follows that if we are able to discover in the phenomena of electricity even at the very root and source of its manifestations a clear and unmistakable evidence of the

presence of gender and its activities we are justified in asking you to believe that science at last has offered proofs of the existence in all universal phenomena of that great hermetic principle the principle of gender it is not necessary to take up your time with the well-known phenomena of the attraction and repulsion of the atoms chemical affinity the loves and hates of the atomic particles the attraction or cohesion between the molecules of matter these facts are too well known to need extended comment from us but have you ever considered that all of these things are

manifestations of the gender principle can you not see that the phenomena is on all fours with that of the corpuscles or electrons and more than this can you not see the reasonableness of the hermetic teachings which assert that the very law of gravitation that strange attraction by reason of which all particles and bodies of matter in the universe tend toward each other is but another manifestation of the principle of gender which operates in the direction of attracting the masculine to the feminine energies and vice versa we cannot offer you scientific proof of this at this

time but examine the phenomena in the light of the hermetic teachings on the subject and see if you have not a better working hypothesis than any offered by physical science submit all physical phenomena to the test and you will discern the principle of gender ever in evidence let us now pass on to a consideration of the operation of the principle on the mental plane many interesting features are there awaiting examination chapter 14 mental gender students of psychology who have followed the modern trend of thought along the lines of mental phenomena are struck by the persistence

of the dual mind idea which has manifested itself so strongly during the past 10 or 15 years and which has given rise to a number of plausible theories regarding the nature and constitution of these two minds the late thompson j hudson attained great popularity in 1893 by advancing his well-known theory of the objective and subjective minds which he held existed in every individual other writers have attracted almost equal attention by the theories regarding the conscious and subconscious minds the voluntary and involuntary minds the active and passive minds etc etc the theories of the various writers

differ from each other but there remains the underlying principle of the duality of mind the student of the hermetic philosophy is tempted to smile when he reads and hears of these many new theories regarding the duality of mind each school adhering tenaciously to its own pet theories and each claiming to have discovered the truth the student turns back the pages of occult history and away back in the dim beginnings of occult teachings he finds references to the ancient hermetic doctrine of the principle of gender on the mental plane the manifestation of mental gender and examining

further he finds that the ancient philosophy took cognizance of the phenomenon of the dual mind and accounted for it by the theory of mental gender this idea of mental gender may be explained in a few words to students who are familiar with the modern theories just alluded to the masculine principle of mind corresponds to the so-called objective mind conscious mind voluntary mind active mind etc and the feminine principle of mind corresponds to the so-called subjective mind subconscious mind involuntary mind passive mind etc of course the hermetic teachings do not agree with the many modern theories

regarding the nature of these two phases of mind nor does it admit many of the facts claimed for the two respective aspects some of the said theories and claims being very far-fetched and incapable of standing the test of experiment and demonstration we point to the phases of agreement merely for the purpose of helping the student to assimilate his previously acquired knowledge with the teachings of the hermetic philosophy students of hudson will notice the statement at the beginning of his second chapter of the law of psychic phenomena that the mystic jargon of the hermetic philosophers discloses

the same general idea i.e the duality of mind if dr hudson had taken the time and trouble to decipher a little of the mystic jargon of the hermetic philosophy he might have received much light upon the subject of the dual mind but then perhaps his most interesting work might not have been written let us now consider the hermetic teachings regarding mental gender the hermetic teachers impart their instruction regarding this subject by bidding their students examine the report of their consciousness regarding their self the students are bitten to turn their attention inward upon the self dwelling

within reach each student is led to see that his consciousness gives him first a report of the existence of his self the report is i am this at first seems to be the final words from the consciousness but a little further examination discloses the fact that this i am may be separated or split into two distinct parts or aspects which while working in unison and in conjunction yet nevertheless may be separated in consciousness while at first there seems to be only an i existing a more careful and closer examination reveals the fact that there exists

an i and a me these mental twins differ in their characteristics and nature and an examination of their nature and the phenomena arising from the same will throw much light upon many of the problems of mental influence let us begin with the consideration of the me which is usually mistaken for the eye by the student until he presses the inquiry a little further back into the recesses of consciousness a man thinks of his self in its aspect of me as being composed of certain feelings tastes likes dislikes habits peculiar ties characteristics etc all of which

go to make up his personality or the self known to himself and others he knows that these emotions and feelings change are born and die away are subject to the principle of rhythm and the principle of polarity which take him from one extreme of feeling to another he also thinks of the me as being certain knowledge gathered together in his mind and thus forming a part of himself this is the me of a man but we have proceeded too hastily the me of many men may be said to consist largely of their consciousness of the

body and their physical appetites etc their consciousness being largely bound up with their bodily nature they practically live there some men even go so far as to regard their personal apparel as part of their me and actually seem to consider it a part of themselves a writer has humorously said that men consist of three parts soul body and clothes these clothes conscious people would lose their personality if divested of their clothing by savages upon the occasion of a shipwreck but even many who are not so closely bound up with the idea of personal arraignment stick

closely to the consciousness of their bodies being their me they cannot conceive of a self independent of the body their mind seems to them to be practically a something belonging to their body which in many cases it is indeed but as man rises in the scale of consciousness he is able to distinguish me from his idea of body and is able to think of his body as belonging to the mental part of him but even then he is very apt to identify the me entirely with the mental states feelings etc which he feels to exist

within him he is very apt to consider these internal states as identical with himself instead of there being simply things produced by some part of his mentality and existing within him of him and in him but still not himself he sees that he may change these internal states of feelings by all effort of will and that he may produce a feeling or state of an exactly opposite nature in the same way and yet the same me exists and so after a while he is able to set aside these various mental states emotions feelings habits qualities

characteristics and other personal mental belongings he is able to set them aside in the not me collection of curiosities and encumbrances as well as valuable possessions this requires much mental concentration and power of mental analysis on the part of the student but still the task is possible for the advanced student and even those not so far advanced are able to see in the imagination how the process may be performed after this laying aside process has been performed the student will find himself in conscious possession of a self which may be considered in its i and

me dual aspects the me will be felt to be a something mental in which thoughts ideas emotions feelings and other mental states may be produced it may be considered as the mental womb as the ancients styled it capable of generating mental offspring it reports to the consciousness as a me with latent powers of creation and generation of mental progeny of all sorts and kinds its powers of creative energy are felt to be enormous but still it seems to be conscious that it must receive some form of energy from either its eye companion or else from

some other eye air it is able to bring into being its mental creations this consciousness brings with it a realization of an enormous capacity for mental work and creative ability but the student soon finds that this is not all that he finds within his inner consciousness he finds that there exists a mental something which is able to will that the me act along certain creative lines and which is also able to stand aside and witness the mental creation this part of himself he is taught to call his i he is able to rest in its

consciousness at will he finds there is not a consciousness of an ability to generate and actively create in the sense of the gradual process attendant upon mental operations but rather a sense and consciousness of an ability to project an energy from the eye to the me a process of willing that the mental creation begin and proceed he also finds that the eye is able to stand aside and witness the operations of the me's mental creation and generation there is this dual aspect in the mind of every person the eye represents the masculine principle of mental

gender the me represents the female principle the eye represents the aspect of being the me the aspect of becoming you will notice that the principle of correspondence operates on this plane just as it does upon the great plain upon which the creation of universes is performed the two are similar in kind although vastly different in degree as above so below as below so above these aspects of mind the masculine and feminine principles the i and the me considered in connection with the well-known mental and psychic phenomena give the master key to these dimly known regions

of mental operation and manifestation the principle of mental gender gives the truth underlying the whole field of the phenomena of mental influence etc the tendency of the feminine principle is always in the direction of receiving impressions while the tendency of the masculine principle is always in the direction of giving out or expressing the feminine principle has a much more varied field of operation than has the masculine principle the feminine principle conducts the work of generating new thoughts concepts ideas including the work of the imagination the masculine principle contents itself with the work of the will

in its varied phases and yet without the active aid of the will of the masculine principle the feminine principle is apt to rest content with generating mental images which are the result of impressions received from outside instead of producing original mental creations persons who can give continued attention and thought to a subject actively employ both of the mental principles the feminine in the work of the mental generation and the masculine will in stimulating and energizing the creative portion of the mind the majority of persons really employ the masculine principle but little and are content to

live according to the thoughts and ideas instilled into the me from the eye of other minds but it is not our purpose to dwell upon this phase of the subject which may be studied from any good textbook upon psychology with the key that we have given you regarding mental gender the student of psychic phenomena is aware of the wonderful phenomena classified under the head of telepathy thought transference mental influence suggestion hypnotism etc many have sought for an explanation of these varied phases of phenomena under the theories of the various dual mind teachers and in a

measure they are right for there is clearly a manifestation of two distinct phases of mental activity but if such students will consider these dual minds in the light of the hermetic teachings regarding vibrations and mental gender they will see that the long sought for key is at hand in the phenomena of telepathy it is seen how the vibratory energy of the masculine principle is projected toward the feminine principle of another person and the latter takes the seed thought and allows it to develop into maturity in the same way suggestion and hypnotism operates the masculine principle

of the person giving the suggestions directs a stream of vibratory energy or willpower toward the feminine principle of the other person and the latter accepting it makes it its own and acts and thinks accordingly an idea thus lodged into the mind of another person grows and develops and in time is regarded as the rightful mental offspring of the individual whereas it is in reality like the cuckoo egg placed in the sparrow's nest where it destroys the rightful offspring and makes itself at home the normal method is for the masculine and feminine principles in a person's

mind to coordinate and act harmoniously in conjunction with each other but unfortunately the masculine principle in the average person is too lazy to act the display of willpower is too slight and the consequence is that such persons are ruled almost entirely by the minds and wills of other persons whom they allow to do their thinking and willing for them how few original thoughts or original actions are performed by the average person are not the majority of persons mere shadows and echoes of others having stronger wills or minds than themselves the trouble is that the average

person dwells almost altogether in his me consciousness and does not realize that he has such a thing as an eye he is polarized in his feminine principle of mind and the masculine principle in which his lodge the will is allowed to remain inactive and not employed the strong men and women of the world invariably manifest the masculine principle of will and their strength depends materially upon this fact instead of living upon the impressions made upon their minds by others they dominate their own minds by their will obtaining the kind of mental images desired and moreover

dominate the minds of others likewise in the same manner look at the strong people how they managed to implant their seed thoughts in the minds of the masses of the people thus causing the latter to think thoughts in accordance with the desires and wills of the strong individuals this is why the masses of people are such sheep-like creatures never originating an idea of their own nor using their own powers of mental activity the manifestation of mental gender may be noticed all around us in everyday life the magnetic persons are those who are able to use

the masculine principle in the way of impressing their ideas upon others the actor who makes people weep or cry as he wills is employing this principle and so is the successful orator statesman preacher writer or other people who are before the public attention the peculiar influence exerted by some people over others is due to the manifestation of mental gender along the vibrational lines above indicated in this principle lies the secret of personal magnetism personal influence fascination etc as well as the phenomena generally grouped under the name of hypnotism the student who has familiarized himself with

the phenomena generally spoken of as psychic will have discovered the important part played in the said phenomena by that force which science has styled suggestion by which term is meant the process or method whereby an idea is transferred to or impressed upon the mind of another causing the second mind to act in accordance therewith a correct understanding of suggestion is necessary in order to intelligently comprehend the varied physical phenomena which suggestion underlies but still more is a knowledge of vibration and mental gender necessary for the student of suggestion for the whole principle of suggestion depends

upon the principle of mental gender and vibration it is customary for the writers and teachings of suggestion to explain that it is the objective or voluntary mind which make the mental impression or suggestion upon the subjective or involuntary mind but they do not describe the process or give us any analogy in nature whereby we may more readily comprehend the idea but if you will think of the matter in the light of the hermetic teachings you will be able to see that the energizing of the feminine principle by the vibratory energy of the masculine principle is

in accordance to the universal laws of nature and that the natural world affords countless analogies whereby the principle may be understood in fact the hermetic teachings show that the very creation of the universe follows the same law and that in all creative manifestations upon the planes of the spiritual the mental and the physical there is always in operation this principle of gender this manifestation of the masculine and the feminine principles as above so below as below so above and more than this when the principle of mental gender is once grasped and understood the varied phenomena

of psychology at once becomes capable of intelligent classification and study instead of being very much in the dark the principle works out in practice because it is based upon the immutable universal laws of life we shall not enter into an extended discussion of or description of the varied phenomena of mental influence or psychic activity there are many books many of them quite good which have been written and published on this subject of late years the main facts stated in these various books are correct although the several writers have attempted to explain the phenomena by various

pet theories of their own the student may acquaint himself with these matters and by using the theory of mental gender he will be able to bring order out of the chaos of conflicting theory and teachings and may moreover readily make himself a master of the subject if he be so inclined the purpose of this work is not to give an extended account of psychic phenomena but rather to give the student a master key whereby he may unlock the many doors leading into the parts of the temple of knowledge which he may wish to explore we

feel that in this consideration of the teachings of the kabbalian one may find an explanation which will serve to clear away many perplexing difficulties a key that will unlock many doors what is the use of going into detail regarding all of the many features of psychic phenomena and mental science provided we place in the hands of the student the means whereby he may acquaint himself fully regarding any phase of the subject which may interest him with the aid of the kabulian one may go through any occult library anew the old light from egypt illuminating many

dark pages and obscure subjects that is the purpose of this book we do not come expounding a new philosophy but rather furnishing the outlines of a great world-old teaching which will make clear the teachings of others which will serve as a great reconciler of differing theories and opposing doctrines chapter 15. hermetic axioms the possession of knowledge unless accompanied by a manifestation and expression in action is like the hoarding of precious metals a vain and foolish thing knowledge like wealth is intended for use the law of use is universal and he who violates it suffers by

reason of his conflict with natural forces the cabalion the hermetic teachings while always having been kept securely locked up in the minds of the fortunate possessors thereof for reasons which we have already stated were never intended to be merely stored away and secreted the law of use is dwelt upon in the teachings as you may see by reference to the above quotation from the kabulian which states it forcibly knowledge without use and expression is a vain thing bringing no good to its possessor or to the race beware of mental miserliness and express it into action

that which you have learned study the axioms and aphorisms but practice them also we give below some of the more important hermetic axioms from the cabalion with a few comments added to each make these your own and practice and use them for they are not really your own until you have used them to change your mood or mental state change your vibration the cabalion one may change his mental vibrations by an effort of will in the direction of deliberately fixing the attention upon a more desirable state will directs the attention and attention changes the vibration

cultivate the art of attention by means of the will and you have solved the secret of the mastery of moods and mental states to destroy an undesirable rate of mental vibration put into operation the principle of polarity and concentrate upon the opposite pole to that which you desire to suppress kill out the undesirable by changing its polarity the caballian this is one of the most important of the hermetic formulas it is based upon true scientific principles we have shown you that a mental state and its opposite were merely the two pulls of one thing and

that by mental transmutation the polarity might be reversed this principle is known to modern psychologists who apply it to the breaking up of undesirable habits by biting their students concentrate upon the opposite quality if you are possessed of fear do not waste time trying to kill out fear but instead cultivate the quality of courage and the fear will disappear some writers have expressed this idea most forcibly by using the illustration of the dark room you do not have to shovel out or sweep out the darkness but by merely opening the shutters and letting in the

light the darkness has disappeared to kill out a negative quality concentrate upon the positive pole of that same quality and the vibrations will gradually change from negative to positive until finally you will become polarized on the positive pole instead of the negative the reverse is also true as many have found out to their sorrow when they have allowed themselves to vibrate too constantly on the negative pole of things by changing your polarity you may master your moods change your mental states remake your disposition and build up character much of the mental mastery of the advanced

hermetics is due to this application of polarity which is one of the important aspects of mental transmutation remember the hermetic axiom quoted previously which says mind as well as metals and elements may be transmuted from state to state degree to degree condition to condition pole to pole vibration to vibration the caballion mastery of polarization is the mastery of the fundamental principles of mental transmutation or mental alchemy for unless one acquires the art of changing his own polarity he will be unable to affect his environment an understanding of this principle will enable one to change his

own polarity as well as that of others if he will but devote the time care study and practice necessary to master the art the principle is true but the results obtained depend upon the persistent patience and practice of the student rhythm may be neutralized by an application of the art of polarization [Music] the kabulian as we have explained in previous chapters the hermitis hold that the principle of rhythm manifests on the mental plane as well as on the physical plane and that the bewildering succession of moods feelings emotions and other mental states are due to

the backward and forward swing of the mental pendulum which carries us from one extreme of feeling to the other the hermitis also teach that the law of neutralization enables one to a great extent to overcome the operation of rhythm in consciousness as we have explained there is a higher plane of consciousness as well as the ordinary lower plane and the master by rising mentally to the higher plane causes the swing of the mental pendulum to manifest on the lower plane and he dwelling on his higher plane escapes the consciousness of the swing backward this is

affected by polarizing on the higher self and thus raising the mental vibrations of the ego above those of the ordinary plane of consciousness it is akin to rising above a thing and allowing it to pass beneath you the advanced hermitis polarizes himself at the positive pole of his being the i am pole rather than the pull of personality and by refusing and denying the operation of rhythm raises himself above its plane of consciousness and standing firm in his statement of being he allows the pendulum to swing back on the lower plane without changing his polarity

this is accomplished by all individuals who have attained any degree of self-mastery whether they understand the law or not such persons simply refuse to allow themselves to be swung back by the pendulum of mood and emotion and by steadfastly affirming the superiority they remain polarized on the positive pole the master of course attains a far greater degree of proficiency because he understands the law which he is overcoming by a higher law and by the use of his will he attains a degree of poise and mental steadfastness almost impossible of belief on the part of those

who allow themselves to be swung backward and forward by the mental pendulum of moods and feelings remember always however that you do not really destroy the principle of rhythm for that is indestructible you simply overcome one law by counterbalancing it with another and thus maintain an equilibrium the laws of balance and counterbalance are in operation on the mental as well as on the physical planes and an understanding of these laws enables one to seem to overthrow laws whereas he is merely exerting a counterbalance nothing escapes the principle of cause and effect but there are many

planes of causation and one may use the laws of the higher to overcome the laws of the lower the cabalion by an understanding of the practice of polarization the hermitis rise to a higher plane of causation and thus counterbalance the laws of the lower planes of causation by rising above the plane of ordinary causes they become themselves in a degree causes instead of being merely caused by being able to master their own moods and feelings and by being able to neutralize rhythm as we have already explained they are able to escape a great part of

the operations of cause and effect on the ordinary plane the masses of people are carried along obedient to their environment the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves the effects of inherited tendencies the suggestions of those about them and other outward causes which tend to move them about on the chessboard of life like mere pawns by rising above these influencing causes the advanced hermitists seek a higher plane of mental action and by dominating their moods emotions impulses and feelings they create for themselves new characters qualities and powers by which they overcome their ordinary environment

and thus become practically players instead of mere pawns such people help to play the game of life understandingly instead of being moved about this way and that way by stronger influences and powers and wills they use the principle of cause and effect instead of being used by it of course even the highest are subject to the principle as it manifests on the higher planes but on the lower planes of activity they are masters instead of slaves as the kabulian says the wise ones serve on the higher but rule on the lower they obey the laws

coming from above them but on their own plane and those below them they rule and give orders and yet in doing so they form a part of the principle instead of opposing it the wise man falls in with the law and by understanding its movements he operates it instead of being its blind slave just as does the skilled swimmer turned this way in that way going and coming as he will instead of being as the log which is carried here and there so is the wise man as compared to the ordinary man and yet both

swimmer and log wise man and fool are subject to law he who understands this is well on the road to mastery the cabalion in conclusion let us again call your attention to the hermetic true hermetic transmutation is a mental art the caballian in the above axiom the hermitis teach that the great work of influencing one's environment is accomplished by mental power the universe being holy mental it follows that it may be ruled only by mentality and in this truth is to be found an explanation of all the phenomena and manifestations of the various mental powers

which are attracting so much attention and study in these earlier years of the 20th century back of and under the teachings of the various cults and schools remains ever constant the principle of the mental substance of the universe if the universe be mental in its substantial nature then it follows that mental transmutation must change the conditions and phenomena of the universe if the universe is mental then mind must be the highest power affecting its phenomena if this be understood then all the so-called miracles and wonder workings are seen plainly for what they are the all

is mind the universe is mental the cabalion you