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Audiobook edition · 3 h 49 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your thoughts belong to the same order as the turning planets?
The Kybalion presents seven principles that, according to its teachings, govern both the mind and the universe. Published in 1908 under the name Three Initiates, this compact work of Hermetic philosophy claims to pass on the wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus, a figure of Egyptian and Greek tradition.
Its central idea is that the universe is mental. From there, the book explores correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause and effect, and gender. Each principle brings a short explanation and a hint of practical use. The tone is a teacher’s invitation to examine your thoughts within a larger, ordered world.
What you’ll discover
- Mind at the center Explore the book’s central claim that mind is the starting point for understanding the universe.
- Links between great and small Consider Correspondence, the proposed connection between different scales and planes of existence.
- A different view of opposites Follow Polarity’s teaching that apparent opposites are degrees of the same thing.
- The pull of rhythm Examine a teaching that sees tides, swings, rises, and falls throughout existence.
- Toward mental mastery Discover how the book connects its universal principles with the practice of working with your mind.
Who will love it
Readers who love esoteric ideas, ancient symbols like the Pyramids and the Philosopher's Stone, and short lessons linking mind, physics and moods. It also suits those curious about mental self-mastery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Seven principles offer a master key
- Change rests on an unchanging mind
- A mental universe still has laws
- Different levels share the same laws
- Attention can retune a mental state
- Move toward the opposite feeling
- Stand above swings and automatic reactions
- The will directs creative thought
- Test the principles in daily life
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Philosophy & IdeasFree shelf
The Kybalion
by Three Initiates · 1908
Seven short laws, from mind to rhythm, promise a master key to your moods and to the universe.
Challenging2–5 hours to read20 languages
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“As above, so below; as below, so above.”
In short
Have you ever noticed how your mood rises and falls without any reason you can name? A short book from the early twentieth century says the swing has a cause, and that you can learn to stand above it.
The Kybalion at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h 10 min1 h 40 min fast, 2 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 30,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1908by Three Initiates
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Hermes carries a secret teaching out of Egypt
The book claims a very old source. Its authors say the hidden wisdom of many nations flowed out of ancient Egypt, the home of the Pyramids and the Sphinx. They name one man as the root of it all, Hermes Trismegistus, the Master of Masters.
After his death the Egyptians made him the god Thoth, and the Greeks made him Hermes, god of wisdom. The word hermetic, which now means sealed, still carries his name because his followers kept their teachings closed.
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Details
- First published
- 1908
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 25 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Three Initiates. The Kybalion. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kybalion.
Three Initiates. (2026). The Kybalion. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kybalion (Original work published 1908)
Three Initiates. The Kybalion. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kybalion.
@book{threeinitiates2026kybalion,
author = {Three Initiates},
title = {The Kybalion},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-kybalion},
note = {First published 1908}
}
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What is The Kybalion about?
It sets out seven Hermetic principles, mentalism, correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause and effect, and gender. Together they claim that the universe is mental and that a trained person can master moods and circumstances.
Who was Hermes Trismegistus?
The book treats him as a sage of ancient Egypt, the Master of Masters, later turned into the god Thoth. His name means thrice great. Historians see him as a legendary figure linked to Hermetic writings.
What does as above, so below mean?
It is the Principle of Correspondence. The laws that act on one level of life match those on others, so a person can reason from what is known to what is not.
The author
Three Initiates
Pseudonymous esoteric writers
The Kybalion is credited to the Three Initiates, a pen name. It is commonly linked to the American writer William Walker Atkinson, who died in 1932 and wrote many books in the New Thought and mind-power movement of the early twentieth century. The book itself shows a world interested in psychic science, new physics and ancient wisdom.
“As above, so below; as below, so above.”
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