Part 7 – The Hermetic Principles

From the Buddha’s Middle Way of compassion and clarity, we now turn westward, into the ancient deserts of Egypt and the schools of Alexandria. Here, another stream of wisdom arose, clothed in the language of mystery and symbol: the Hermetic teachings.

Where the Dharma speaks of suffering and its cessation, Hermeticism speaks of cosmic laws and the hidden correspondences between mind, spirit, and matter. The Buddha taught the path to liberation; Hermes Trismegistus revealed the principles by which the universe itself unfolds.

Thus, we step from the practical medicine of the Dharma into the universal philosophy of the Hermetic principles—another doorway into the One Truth.

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Part 7 – The Hermetic Principles

From the sands of ancient Egypt and the intellectual flowering of Alexandria arose the timeless teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus—the “Thrice-Great Hermes.” Gathered in the Corpus Hermeticum and later crystallized in the Kybalion, these principles offer not religion, but universal law: the hidden mechanics by which the cosmos operates.

They are seven in number:

1. The Principle of Mentalism
   “All is Mind; the Universe is Mental.”
   Reality itself is shaped by the Great Mind. Thought is not a by-product of matter; matter itself is crystallized thought. To change your world, begin with the inner mind.

2. The Principle of Correspondence
   “As above, so below; as within, so without.”
   The microcosm reflects the macrocosm. The patterns of the stars mirror the patterns of our own inner being. Harmony comes from recognizing these reflections.

3. The Principle of Vibration
   “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”
   From the atoms to galaxies, all existence is in motion. By raising or lowering vibration—through thought, sound, breath, or will—we alter our reality.

4. The Principle of Polarity
   “Everything is dual; everything has poles.”
   Light and darkness, heat and cold, joy and sorrow. Opposites are not enemies but extremes of the same continuum. Mastery lies in learning to shift along these poles.

5. The Principle of Rhythm
   “Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides.”
   Life moves in cycles—seasons, breaths, heartbeats, the rise and fall of civilizations. By understanding rhythm, we ride the waves rather than drown in them.

6. The Principle of Cause and Effect
   “Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause.”
   Nothing happens by chance. Fate is the visible thread of unseen causes. By becoming conscious of causes, we transcend blind reaction.

7. The Principle of Gender
   “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine.”
   Not merely biological, but cosmic—active and receptive, expansive and nurturing. Balance of these forces births creation itself.

Together, these seven principles form a map of reality. Where Buddhism teaches liberation from suffering, Hermeticism teaches mastery of the laws of manifestation. One frees us from illusion; the other reveals how illusion itself is woven.

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