Alchemy
A historically varied practice joining material transformation, medicine, symbolism, and philosophy.
Reference
Hermetic glossary
56 concise definitions for readers of The Kybalion and Hermetic philosophy.
Analogy
A comparison used to illuminate a relationship without proving identity.
As above, so below
A modern shorthand for correspondence between levels of reality.
Astral
Relating, in esoteric systems, to a subtle or intermediary plane.
Atkinson, William Walker
New Thought author often proposed as the principal author of The Kybalion.
Caduceus
The staff of Hermes, commonly shown with intertwined serpents.
Cause
A condition or event contributing to an effect.
Corpus Hermeticum
A collection of late-antique Greek Hermetic dialogues.
Correspondence
The principle that patterns on one level may illuminate another.
Cosmos
The universe understood as an ordered whole.
Divine Mind
A concept of originating intelligence found in many metaphysical systems.
Effect
A result arising from one or more causes and conditions.
Elements
Earth, water, air, and fire as physical, philosophical, or symbolic categories.
Emerald Tablet
A short Hermetic text influential in medieval and early modern alchemy.
Esotericism
Traditions emphasizing specialized, inner, or initiatory knowledge.
Gender
In The Kybalion, a symbolic principle of complementary generative functions.
Gnosis
Direct or experiential spiritual knowledge.
Hermes Trismegistus
Legendary sage formed through the association of Hermes and Thoth.
Hermes
Greek deity associated with language, boundaries, exchange, and mediation.
Hermetica
Writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.
Hermeticism
A family of traditions connected to the Hermetica and their reception.
Initiate
A person introduced into a body of teachings or practice.
Kybalion
A 1908 text presenting seven so-called Hermetic principles.
Logos
Greek for word, reason, or ordering account.
Macrocosm
The larger ordered world, often paired with the human microcosm.
Magic
Ritual or symbolic practices intended to produce change; definitions vary by context.
Mastery
Cultivated skill or self-command, not domination over others.
Mental Alchemy
The Kybalion’s metaphor for transforming states of mind.
Mentalism
The principle that reality is fundamentally mental or mind-like.
Microcosm
A smaller world understood to reflect a larger whole.
Mind
The domain of awareness, thought, perception, and intention.
Mysticism
Practices and accounts concerning direct encounter with ultimate reality.
New Thought
A modern movement emphasizing mind, belief, healing, and constructive thought.
Nous
Greek for mind or intellect; in Hermetic texts, often divine or spiritual intellect.
Occultism
Modern currents concerned with hidden forces, correspondences, and esoteric practice.
Ouroboros
A serpent biting its tail, symbolizing cycles, unity, or renewal.
Plane
A level or domain of existence in some metaphysical systems.
Pneuma
Greek for breath or spirit.
Polarity
The principle that opposites may differ by degree within a continuum.
Prima materia
The theorized first matter or starting substance of alchemical work.
Principle
A foundational proposition or interpretive rule.
Rebirth
In Hermetic texts, a transformation of identity and understanding.
Rhythm
The principle of recurring movement, alternation, and cycle.
Rosicrucianism
An esoteric current associated with early modern manifestos and later orders.
Sacred geometry
Geometric forms interpreted through spiritual or cosmological meaning.
Seven Principles
Mentalism, Correspondence, Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause and Effect, and Gender.
Solve et coagula
An alchemical phrase meaning dissolve and recombine.
Soul
A term for the animating or enduring dimension of a person; meanings vary.
Spirit
A term for immaterial life or ultimate reality, defined differently across traditions.
Symbol
A form that carries layered meanings beyond literal description.
Theurgy
Ritual practice oriented toward divine participation or ascent.
Thoth
Egyptian deity associated with writing, knowledge, reckoning, and wisdom.
Three Initiates
The pseudonymous authorial attribution on The Kybalion.
Transmutation
Change from one state or form into another.
Vibration
The principle that phenomena involve motion, rate, or changing state.
Yogi Publication Society
The Chicago publisher that issued The Kybalion in 1908.
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