Is the Kybalion Hermetic?

The Kybalion is not a Hermetic text, despite its frequent claiming to be one, but is rather a text representative of New Thought. For more information on the history and development of the Kybalion, as well as its connections (or lack thereof) to Hermeticism, please read this article: http://www.jwmt.org/v3n24/chapel.html

Alternatively, please listen to this podcast over at “What Magic is This?”:

https://whatmagicisthis.com/2021/08/07/the-kybalion-with-nicholas-chapel/

Alternatively, please listen to this podcast over at “The Modern Hermeticist”:

https://themodernhermeticist.com/2021/12/26/is-the-kybalion-really-hermetic/

The different polarities mentioned in the Kybalion are nowhere to be found in the classical Hermetic texts. They are, rather, in line with a New Age movement known as New Thought, which also ties into Theosophy and a few other more recent Western esoteric traditions and philosophies. Plus, they’re not just different, but in some cases go right against and contradict the actual Hermetic stuff.

That said, the Kybalion is nothing if not a great example of marketing and self-perpetuating writing styles, and it’s because it’s so popular that people often get introduced to the word “Hermetic” or “Hermeticism” because of it—even if it’s got nothing actually meaningfully or substantially Hermetic about it.

Source: Hermetic House of Life Discord server created by Polyphanes and with permission used.