The Kybalion of 1908: book, authors, name

The book you are working with has its own history. It is younger than the legend, and more interesting than it may seem.

Chicago, 1908

The Kybalion was published in 1908 by the Yogi Publication Society in Chicago. The authors did not give their names. The book is signed "Three Initiates". This course uses the text of the 1912 edition.

The book appeared in the setting of the New Thought movement. This movement was strong in the United States around 1900. Its central idea was that the mind shapes our experience of life. You will hear echoes of this in the Kybalion.

Who wrote it?

It is widely assumed that the main author was William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932), a prolific writer of the New Thought movement who published many books under different names. Some researchers think that other people were involved as well. The question has not been settled. The authors chose to remain anonymous, and so they have remained.

Old teaching or new book?

The Kybalion says that it explains an old teaching that was passed on by word of mouth. Researchers point out that the seven principles, in the form the Kybalion presents them, cannot be found in the older Hermetic writings. The book brings Hermetic ideas together with the thinking of its own time, including the science of around 1900. When the Kybalion speaks of vibration, for example, it refers to the physics of that period.

The name

The Kybalion itself says that the exact meaning of the word was lost centuries ago. Its origin is unknown.

One possibility is often mentioned. The word sounds similar to Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition. The Hebrew word qabbalah means "that which is received", or "tradition". This fits the way the Kybalion describes itself: as a teaching received and passed on. This is an assumption, not a proven fact. It is also possible that the authors chose a name that simply sounded old and mysterious.

How we hold this

The value of a teaching does not depend on its age. The question in this course is not "Is it ancient?" The question is: "Does this way of looking help me see more clearly?"