7 Hermetic Principles That Will Change Your Life

Thousands of years ago, a figurehead named Hermes Trismegistus established the Hermetic Principles in a series of letters called the Corpus Hermetica. It is based on spiritual and philosophical beliefs governing the Universe, which the ancient people of Greece, Egypt, and India applied in their life.

While these 5,000-year-old teachings were once considered heresy and blasphemy, Hermes’ ideas on embracing a positive life continue to influence modern-day philosophy. “The Kybalion” explains in detail how the Hermetic Principles imbibe the actual philosophy of the Law of Attraction. Here are some ways these teachings can change your life.

Here Are 7 Hermetic Principles That Will Change Your Life

1. The Principle of Mentalism

Everything we see, hear, feel and touch in the Universe belongs to “The All.” It is this complex, indescribable, infinite, and living presence that gives everything a purpose, a function, and a reason.

To be attuned with The All is to be attuned with your consciousness because, as the teaching goes, “The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental.” It is this field of energy from which the Universe emanates and you are a part of it.

You raise your consciousness for The All by seeking awareness and enlightenment on your purpose in life.
You acknowledge the reality around you and choose how you live based on these realities.
Use your thoughts, emotions, and knowledge to improve yourself and create the kind of story by which you want your life to be remembered.
The level of awareness you develop from your mind becomes the power you gain to make conscious choices.

The Principle of Mentalism shapes your cognition, intuition, and reason. It’s having the wisdom to understand that what you do in your life manifests not just on the physical level but also on the spiritual level. When you apply these principles, you usually take time for self-assessment and reflection. Will the kind of stories you make of your life encourage productivity, creativity, and progressiveness? Does this bring more positive clarity or divisiveness? Do your thoughts make you feel empowered or the victim?

2. The Principle of Correspondence

The Universe consists of several planes or realms. Since it originates from the one source – The All – these planes must always align, harmonize, and correspond. The teaching under this principle states, “As above, so below; as below, so above.” It refers to the connection between the mental (mind), physical (body), and spiritual (beliefs) planes. So, it follows that your existence must also align with these planes.

This basically means that whatever you perceive in your head must always correspond and relate to the reality of the world around you.
What’s in your inner world will always mirror what’s in your outside world, and vice versa.
The “above” may relate to the values and beliefs that shape your mental and spiritual being.
The “below” may refer to the mind and body that feel the emotions and sensations.

Something you strongly believe in stirs up feelings within yourself so you develop sentiments, concerns and sensitivity for various human conditions. How you act and respond to these conditions must always be in accordance with what you think, believe, and feel.

This principle also means that aligning your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs may help you process new perspectives, develop ways to address new feelings, and form new habits. Doing this may entail shifting to a new consciousness or acceptance of who you are.

3. The Principle of Vibration

The Universe is one big ball of energy. It’s in constant movement. It is always changing and vibrating. If there is no movement, there is no life. If there is no life, there is no Universe. But the manifestations of these vibrations depend on the frequency. Those that vibrate at a higher and faster rate exist on the topmost part of your plane.

This teaching precludes that you can actually change or control your vibration.
All your senses convey these frequencies and waves; the most powerful ones come from your mind.
So, what you’ll keep focusing on will resonate or vibrate even more.
This is where the Law of Attraction based on its foundation.

The Principle of Vibration also states, “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.” It emphasizes that nothing in this world is static or permanent. Even the table by the corner of your bedroom can be in a constant state of motion because it’s filled with molecules that move around in its own space. So, over time, that table can deteriorate and become useless.

Now, applying this principle in your life is about accepting endings, losses, and sorrows. However, it might comfort you to realize that these will also come to pass as the Universe keeps vibrating.

4. The Principle of Polarity

This principle carries the same teachings as the Chinese philosophy in that everything has a Yin and a Yang, a negative or a positive, a light and a dark, or a polar opposite. So, it follows that love cannot exist without hate, or war cannot exist without peace, as the true nature of things is duality, where the extremes are always dependent on each other.

These dualities also exist to certain degrees in your life. The teaching states, “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.” Gaining a better understanding of this teaching allows you to transmit one polarity that is stronger than the other.

As with the principle of vibration, you can control the degree of polarity you welcome in your world.
As everything comes in waves, you can increase one and lose the other as well.
This also implies that you are free to choose to love more and hate less, or to embrace more happiness than sadness. You can choose to have more positive thoughts than negative reactions.

Understanding the nature of duality and polarity also allows you to see the limitations in these differences. Thus, by adopting these Hermetic Principles, you can show more compassion for those who may be behaving the opposite of what you believe in.

5. The Principle of Rhythm

The polarities in the Universe has a rhythm so you experience shifts in your circumstances. Like a pendulum, your life can swing from positive to negative. You become a witness to both happiness and sadness or success and failures over and over again.

This teaching states, “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.” According to this aspect of the Hermetic Principles, you cannot avoid the effects of this principle because it’s how the natural order of things flow.

This rhythm keeps going whether or not you notice it. But you may also change the rhythm to neutralize and bring the balance back in your life, especially if circumstances have become so overwhelming.

For instance, you may be struggling with grief and pain because of a broken relationship.
So, you immerse yourself in different coping mechanisms in the hopes of healing from this pain.
At some point, however, you’ll actually reach the culmination of this cycle.
Once that happens, your rhythm will naturally swing back to the other side, where you’re free of the grief or pain.
One day, you’ll just wake up feeling that you’re ready to get back to dating again.

If you are currently at the lowest point in our life because of problems with money, this principle will help you see that you cannot let discouragement and failures become baggage. Rather, it’s what you need to go through to get to the next cycle.

6. The Principle of Cause and Effect

The idea that some things happen by “chance” and for no reason at all is not in line with the Hermetic Principles. When everything has to correspond and align, then the things that happen in your life will always have a meaning and an explanation. These reasons might not be evident to you for now but a cause and effect will always exist in the Universe.

The teaching states, “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.” This is similar to Newton’s Law that says, “For every action, there is a corresponding reaction.”

If you’re aware that your thoughts, words, and actions have consequences, you’ll be more careful about making choices. If you know that things don’t spring from luck, you’ll be better in control of what you want to happen in your life.

So, you create goals and objectives, or come up with a plan. You choose to practice and persevere. You do your homework to develop and improve yourself. By focusing on goals and applying this principle, you rise above choices that may have otherwise not turned out right.

7. The Principle of Gender

As with the Principle of Polarity, this teaching from the Hermetic Principles emphasizes another duality. The Universe is both male and female; it has both masculine and feminine qualities. However, this doesn’t just speak of the physical aspects of gender. It also covers the mental and spiritual aspects of being a male or female.

The teaching says, “Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes.” This means that all beings possess equal parts of male and female consciousness.

Masculinity pertains to conquests, assertiveness, reasoning, and energies that are driven to progress.
Femininity pertains to feelings, responsiveness, acceptance, and energies that are driven to nurture and protect.
If there’s too much of one type of energy in your life, you will feel the imbalance.
When you’re in tune to both energies, then you can achieve a state of completeness and satisfaction.

This principle is also about creating and giving birth. When the masculine and feminine energies in all your planes correspond, you can bring about actions that can result in your success.

Final Thoughts On The Hermetic Principles That Will Change Your Life

The seven Hermetic Principles works best if applied together. The more you are mindful of the teachings, the more you will integrate them in your life.

With repeated thoughts, words, and actions that imbibe the principles, you will slowly see a positive difference within yourself. Once you’ve reached this inner sense of greatness and contentment, it will easily manifest in what’s around you.