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I decided to read this book after talking to a fascinating character at a goth club I frequent who reminded me of Gregor Samsa (post transformation) wearing an ascot. I forwardly asked what books he read, as I knew he must be a wizard with a wonderful reading list. He then told me about the Kybalion. After I realized the Kybalion was an in-depth look at the Seven Hermetic Laws that I learned about in Laurie Cabot’s Power of the Witch, I decided to check it out.

I have mixed feelings about this book, although I disliked the pretense that it was written by the mysterious ‘Three Initiates� instead of the more likely author being William Walker Atkinson, an American New Thought author and attorney. Three Initiates indeed! Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of esoteric teachings passed down in secret mystery cults from the dawn of time as much as the next person, I just also like honesty about what’s in the Kool-Aid I’m about to drink. Check this out: “With the aid of the Kybalion, one may go through any occult library anew, the Old Light from Egypt illuminating many dark pages, and many obscure subjects.� That’s a helluva ballsy claim from a book written by an attorney in the early 20th century. I can just see Brendan Fraser as the lead character in a film adaptation--or maybe Tom Hanks?

The Laws are these:
The Law of Mentalism (The All is Mind, the Universe is Mental)
The Law of Correspondance (As Above, So Below)
The Principle of Vibration (Nothing Rests, Everything is in Motion)
The Principle of Polarity (Everything is Dual)
The Principle of Rhythm (Everything Flows Out and In; Everything has Tides)
The Principle of Cause and Effect –self explanatory, I think
The Principle of Gender- Gender is in everything, everything has Masculine and Feminine Principles

I can see where much of New Age philosophy can be traced to the ideas in these laws, especially around the ‘Law of Vibration� in terms of people ‘raising their vibration� as another term for enlightenment. The Law of Mentalism also reminds me of the idea in Hinduism that Brahma dreamed the Universe into existence and that all the cycles of life, death, and rebirth are part of his dream. The fact that the author also espouses reincarnation is another indicator that these ‘Laws� are a lot of mishmashed ideas from various world religions. This is not to say that I disagree with the Laws, in fact quite the opposite, but more in how the Kybalion presents them in all manner of high-falutin�, overly woo-woo language that makes me roll my eyes.