HERMETIC PRINCIPLES

”He who grasps the mental nature of the Universe is well advanced on the Path of Mystery” The Kybalion, The Three Initiates

Hermeticism is based on the belief in a Single transcendent Mind. Everything that exists in the Universe is a part of that Transcendent mind. According to hermetic teaching, everything acts according to the law of analogy, because everything is one Higher Consciousness.
"Hermetic axiom" from The Emerald Tablet states that "as above, so below." This means that the same principles & laws that govern the Universe also apply to the individual human being & by understanding the universal truths that govern the Universe, we can gain a deeper understanding of ourselves & our place in the world. This belief in the interconnectedness of all things refers to the idea that everything in the universe is linked & interdependent. Everything, from the smallest particle to the largest galaxy, is connected in some way & the actions of one thing can affect other things in the Universe. This belief is based on the idea that the Universe is a single, unified whole. Hermetic philosophy as the doctrine of the higher universal laws came to the occult traditions of various peoples from Ancient Egypt, in particular in Chaldean astronomy, ancient Greek philosophy, Persian magic & alchemy. The founder of this doctrine is considered one of the great mystics of Egypt, the Master of Masters, the father of Occult wisdom, the founder of Astrology, Alchemy & the Tarot system, revered as the God of wisdom Thoth – Hermes Trismegistus.
The hermetic tradition represents a Gnosticism, which is the name for a variety of ancient religious ideas & systems dating back to the 1st & 2nd centuries A.D. The teaching that Man is a divine spirit trapped within the material universe, is what we today call Gnosticism.
Hermeticism is a school of systems & ideas that focuses on the pursuit of Gnosis – the pursuit of empirical knowledge pertaining to spiritual mysteries.
Hermeticism is an esoteric system, but not the only one. Esoteric means “inner teaching”.
Occultism means that which is hidden & is both the study of the invisible world like Spirits &/or hidden influences & the hidden system of thought. The word refers to any practice involving either the study of occult subject matters like magic, divination, astrology, spiritism/demonology or pagan practices during christian domination including some folk magic but also some less than savoury practices such as ritual sacrifice, blood magic etc.
Hermeticism is studied by esoteric groups & they also practice occultism. Much of this relies on altered states of consciousness. People relying on altered states of consciousness to communicate directly with the Divine are Mystics.
Hermes Trismegistus established the Hermetic Principles in a series of letters called the Corpus Hermetica.
“The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the Magic Key before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple fly open.”—The Kybalion.
Kybalion is a collection of the main hermetic principles which are transmitted from the Teacher to his student. Knowing these principles, the Universal Laws, shall open your insights to the deeper spiritual nature of reality. There are no clear roots about their origin, as the complete creation is based on those principles, so their existence precedes the act of creation. But Hermes Trismegistus was one to define them in such a clear & simple way.
The Three Initiates who wrote the Kybalion wished to remain anonymous.

The Seven Hermetic Principles, upon which the entire Hermetic Philosophy is based, are as follows:

1. The principle of mentalism.

The all is mind, the Universe is mental.

The Universe itself is a mental creation. God, or the mental All, creates life through thought. Man is able to create the Universe in his own mind. The same laws apply everywhere – the laws of reason.

Very similar to the Law of Attraction, which states that our thoughts create our reality.

Using this law, we have the power to determine the circumstances around you us. According to Hermetic philosophy, everything in the universe is mentally created. Everything that exists was created by a thought.

The changes that happen on this plane in our mind go on to become our reality.

2.  The principle of correspondence

As above so below, as below so above.

As within so without, as without so within.

According to this principle, the world around us is a manifestation of our inner world. Eventually, our inner thoughts, whether on a conscious or subconscious level, become our external circumstances.

The various methods of manifestation are based on this Hermetic principle as they’re techniques that train our focus & thoughts that then go on to become our reality.

3. The principle of Vibration: Nothing rests, everything moves, everything vibrates.

Everything in the universe is vibrating, nothing is absolutely still. We actually live in an ocean of movement & this is the great secret of life. We are always moving towards something & it is always moving towards us, it is action & attraction. Vibrations of the same frequency resonate with each other, so energy attracts similar energy. Everything is energy, including our thoughts. Our thoughts are vibrations that we send out into the Universe. As we focus, our vibrations become stronger & more intense. Our thoughts are cosmic waves of energy that permeate time & space. So, consistently focusing on a particular thought or idea attracts similar vibrations.

Thoughts, feelings & impulses are our vibrational states. Our physical body is a collection of systems that vibrate at the same frequency & health indicates the harmony of the body's vibration.

It’s important to work on raising our vibration in order to manifest positive things in our life.

Always focus on what you want instead of what you don't want. If you're not feeling well, listen to what you're thinking & think of something nice.

4. The principle of polarity.

Everything is dual, everything has two poles 

& everything has it's pair of opposites.

Like & 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.'

Everything has two poles, everything has its opposite; close & opposite beings are similar; opposites are identical in nature, but differ in degree; extremes touch, any truth is a half-truth; all paradoxes can be smoothed out.

Everything in the Universe has its opposite. There is no inner part of a room without an outer part. There is no cold without heat. Where there is a top, there is a bottom. There is always a right side & a left, a back & a front. If there is good, there is bad. The law of polarity says not only that everything has its opposite, it says equality & opposites. If there are three meters from floor to ceiling, then there will also be three meters from ceiling to floor. If the distance from A to B is 600 kilometers, then the distance from B to A will also be 600 kilometers. If there was no darkness, would we know what light is? Life would be impossible without the opposite poles. Therefore, there will never be a victory of good over evil. It can't be otherwise. If something bad happens in your life, there must be something good in it.

Good & evil are relative. If a fox gets into a chicken coop & eats a chicken, it will be bad for the chicken, but it will be good for the fox, otherwise the fox will not survive. Good for one person always turns into evil for another & vice versa.

Put simply, the principle of polarity means that all opposites are really the same thing. They are different ends of the same pole. The only difference between the two ends of the pole is vibration. Put into practice, this principle encourages you to shift your vibration towards the more positive end of the spectrum to better your relationship with it.

Understanding the principle of polarity & the relationship of opposites is the key to solving our everyday problems & conflicts.

Look for something good in people & situations. If you find it in a person, say a compliment, people love compliments & positive ideas in your mind will make you feel better. What you focus on, you multiply in your life.

5. The Principle of Rhythm: everything flows out & in. Everything has it's tides. All things rise & fall.

This principle is similar to Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion, which states that “For every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction.” Everything in the Universe will eventually even itself out, which leads to an ebb & flow.

Everything is made up of tides. Everything goes up & everything goes down. The pendulum oscillation is present in everything. Left deviation equals right deviation. Rhythm is compensation.

Everything is subject to rhythmic vibrations between the two poles. This is the cycle of a pendulum-left swings are equal to right swings. For everything there is a beginning & an end, & for every action there is a counteraction. The universe, planets, people & civilizations are born, rise to the top, decline & perish. Our feelings, our relationships with others, are also subject to ebbs & flows.

In a person's life, every recurring event that does not depend on his will can turn into it's own special rhythm. This rhythm can be either positive or negative.

Every event triggers your emotional response. Change your usual reaction to the opposite. You may not be able to overcome this rhythm on the first attempt, but you should not give up.

The law of compensation says: "What you possess strictly corresponds to what you lack" & means that everyone is born with the same number or range of things that they are capable of owning (wealth, family, benefits, happiness, health & so on). The only difference is how they are distributed.

Everyone has something given, but something is missing. It is impossible to have everything – " who is unlucky in cards, is lucky in love."

The law of rhythm says that everything has its natural cycle. Everything moves back &  forth, flows in & out, sways back & forth, there is an ebb & flow. Night follows day, life revives itself. We all have a good time & a bad one, nothing stays the same. Changes are permanent. Knowing that everything passes is a great wisdom about the flow of life & change. This law regulates the movement of the planets in their orbits & also manifests itself in the mineral & vegetable kingdoms. Men & women can observe this law through their mental, physical & emotional states. The law of rhythm is universal. It can be observed in the example of sunrise & sunset of the Sun & Moon, the tides of the sea, the coming & going times. You can't feel good all the time, no one can.

When you feel low in your mood & energy & everything goes against your plan, know that things will get better. A good time will definitely come, think about it.

Mastering this principle is learning how to center yourself so that you don’t consciously or subconsciously act to counter an emotion, causing the pendulum to swing wildly from one side to the other. This leads to a state of inner peace in which your foundation is strong & you can remain unbothered by circumstances around you.

6. The Principle of Cause & Effect.

Every cause has its effect, every effect has its cause.

The Universe is governed by laws, meaning nothing happens without reason. You may not be able to directly pinpoint a specific cause for a certain effect because the cause may happen on different planes of existence, but every action has a ripple effect that leads to a consequence.

Each of our actions must have a cause & effect & so on ad infinitum – the result is a constant, endless cycle of causation. Each of us is interested in the result. Your physical health, relationships, respect & income can all be cause & effect. It is necessary to focus on the causes & then the consequences will not be long in coming. Be careful what you think about. This is how this law works. For example, a bad mood is an effect of a certain cause. Understanding these Hermetic principles allows you to exact power over your mind so that you can get yourself out of a bad mood, while mastering them instead makes you the cause instead of the effect, allowing you to avoid bad moods altogether.

It is important to remember that everything we need & desire is in a common fund of nature. For everything that is given, you need to give something (according to the laws of polarity or rhythm already known to us). We pay for everything: for our lives, for pleasure, knowledge, wealth, even for the air we breathe. The Universe does not know such a currency as money, there are completely different things that have value.

Constantly think & act based on what you want. What you send to the Universe is returned. Say nice things to each person, treat everyone with respect & it will all come back. Never worry about what you're going to get, just focus on what you can give.

7. The Principle of Gender.

Gender is in everything. Everything has it's masculine & feminine principles.

In Hermeticism, the principle of gender is not necessarily about the physical body. Instead, it’s referring to the qualities of masculinity & femininity which create balance in the world.

The law of gender manifests itself in all things, both male & female. It is this law that governs what we know as creation. The word "creation" is often misused because nothing is actually being created. All new things are the result of changing something, into something else. The law manifests itself in the animal kingdom as the difference of the gender. It also manifests itself in the mineral & plant kingdom. Without the principle of dualism, male & female principles in things, there can be no difference in potentials, continuation of movement, regeneration. This law indicates that everything in nature is masculine & feminine. Both of them are necessary for existence. All seeds have an incubation period, before their manifestation. In other words, after choosing a goal or creating an image in your head, a certain amount of time must pass before this image manifests in the physical world.

All things embody both masculine & feminine energies & learning how to be open to & balance those energies within yourself can bring you to a higher state of consciousness that is simultaneously powerful & thoughtful.

The Hermetic philosophy states that there are 3 parts of wisdom in the whole universe.
Alchemy. The mysteries that exist in the living world. It is an investigation of how the spiritual constitution & material existence can change forms.
Astrology. The movement of planets influences us & they have metaphorical values.
Theurgy. The art of compelling or persuading divine powers.

Hermetic philosophy recognizes reincarnation.

“When the ears of the student are ready to hear, then cometh the lips to fill them with Wisdom.”
Any student of Hermeticism would study first the 7 liberal arts:
History
Logic
Rhetoric
Arithmetic, Numbers & Numerology
Geometry, Numbers in Space, sacred geometry
Music, Numbers in Time, harmonics & waveform dynamics
Astrology, Numbers in Time & Space, Cymatics
After mastering the Liberal Arts & after having become a free man, the elect that is, the best & the brightest, would be initiated & move on to study the Royal Art: Alchemy.