The Seven Hermetic Principles
The Seven Hermetic Principles
TL;DR: Seven universal laws that govern how reality works - from quantum physics to ranked games to your relationships. Master these, and you've unlocked the cheat codes for life.
What This Is
The Seven Hermetic Principles are the core framework of Hermetic philosophy. They're not rules you follow - they're laws describing how the universe operates, like gravity or thermodynamics.
You can't break these laws. But you CAN work with them or against them.
Working with them = Flow, growth, success, leveling up Working against them = Struggle, frustration, stuck, hardstuck
Think of it like playing a game:
- You can try to walk through walls (fighting the game's physics)
- OR you can learn the physics and use them to move efficiently
These principles are the physics of reality itself.
Why This Matters (Gaming Edition)
You know how pro players seem to have "game sense" that silvers don't? They're not just mechanically better - they understand the patterns that govern the game.
The 7 Hermetic Principles are the patterns that govern everything.
Once you learn them, you start seeing:
- Why some strategies work and others don't
- Why you get stuck and how to get unstuck
- Why certain people succeed and others struggle
- Why your mindset determines your rank
It's like going from playing by feel to playing with conscious mastery of the game's underlying systems.
The 7 Principles: Quick Reference
1. The Principle of Mentalism
Ancient: "THE ALL IS MIND; The Universe is Mental."
Gaming Translation: Your mental build determines your raid boss.
Core Insight: Reality is shaped by consciousness. Your thoughts, beliefs, and mental state create the world you experience. Change your mind, change your reality.
Simple Example:
- Go into ranked thinking "I'm gonna lose" → You play scared → You lose
- Go into ranked thinking "I'm here to learn" → You play adaptive → You improve
Same game. Different mental state. Different outcome.
→ Deep Dive: Mentalism: The All is Mind
2. The Principle of Correspondence
Ancient: "As above, so below; as below, so above."
Gaming Translation: Lane phase mirrors teamfight mirrors life strategy.
Core Insight: Patterns repeat across all levels of reality. What's true in one domain is often true in another. Master a pattern once, recognize it everywhere.
Simple Example:
- Lane phase resource management (CS, mana, HP)
- = Life resource management (money, energy, time)
- Same pattern, different scale
→ Deep Dive: Correspondence: As Above, So Below
3. The Principle of Vibration
Ancient: "Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."
Gaming Translation: Everything moves, nothing is stuck.
Core Insight: Everything is in constant motion, including you. There's no "stuck" - only different frequencies of movement. When you feel stuck, you're just vibrating at a frequency that FEELS static.
Simple Example:
- Your rank isn't fixed - it's constantly fluctuating based on your play
- Your skill isn't static - it's always developing or decaying
- Your mood isn't permanent - it's a frequency that shifts
→ Deep Dive: Vibration: Nothing Rests
4. The Principle of Polarity
Ancient: "Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites."
Gaming Translation: Aggro and defensive plays are two sides of the same coin (risk).
Core Insight: Opposites are actually identical in nature, just different in degree. Hot and cold are both temperature. Aggressive and passive are both approaches to pressure. Master both poles to access the full spectrum.
Simple Example:
- Losing = Learning in disguise
- Strength = Weakness taken too far
- Confidence = Fear transformed
- Same energy, different expression
→ Deep Dive: Polarity: Everything is Dual
5. The Principle of Rhythm
Ancient: "Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall."
Gaming Translation: Push windows, farm mode, ranked seasons, meta shifts.
Core Insight: Everything moves in cycles. There's a time to push and a time to farm. A time to grind and a time to rest. Working WITH the rhythm = effortless. Working AGAINST it = exhausting.
Simple Example:
- You can't push 24/7 - eventually you need to reset
- You can't farm forever - eventually you need to fight
- You can't grind non-stop - eventually you need Day 7 rest
- Know the cycle, work the cycle
→ Deep Dive: Rhythm: Everything Flows
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect
Ancient: "Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law."
Gaming Translation: Your plays create your LP.
Core Insight: Nothing happens by chance. Every outcome is the result of specific causes. Control the causes, control the effects. Small causes compound into big effects over time.
Simple Example:
- Mute toxic player (cause) → Better mental (effect) → Better plays (effect) → More wins (effect)
- Over 100 games, that ONE decision = 10-20 extra wins
- Your rank isn't luck - it's accumulated causes and effects
→ Deep Dive: Cause-Effect: Your Plays Create Your LP
7. The Principle of Gender
Ancient: "Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine Principles."
Gaming Translation: Tank + DPS both needed. Balance creates power.
Core Insight: Everything has both masculine (active, assertive, directional) and feminine (receptive, intuitive, connective) energies. Wholeness requires both. Imbalance in either direction creates problems.
Simple Example:
- Too much masculine: All mechanical execution, no strategy. Bot clicking buttons.
- Too much feminine: All theory, no practice. Analysis paralysis.
- Balance: Aggressive when needed (Yang), patient when needed (Yin). Flow between both.
→ Deep Dive: Gender: Masculine & Feminine in All Things
How They Work Together
These principles aren't separate - they're aspects of the same underlying reality.
Think of it like a game's systems:
- Each system has its own rules (damage, gold, XP, vision)
- But they all interact and influence each other
- Understanding ONE system helps, but understanding how they ALL connect = mastery
Example: Climbing from Gold to Platinum
Let's see all 7 principles working together:
- Mentalism: Change belief from "I'm hardstuck Gold" to "I'm learning patterns that will take me higher"
- Correspondence: Recognize that micro-improvements in lane phase compound into macro advantages
- Vibration: Understand your rank is always fluctuating - trust the upward trend over time
- Polarity: Learn when to play aggressive (when ahead) vs defensive (when behind) - same risk stat, different expressions
- Rhythm: Know when to push ranked (fresh, focused) vs when to take a break (tilted, tired)
- Cause-Effect: Track which specific plays lead to wins - double down on those causes
- Gender: Balance mechanical execution (masculine) with strategic thinking (feminine)
Result: You don't "try harder" to climb. You work with universal principles and climbing becomes natural.
The Power of Principle-Based Thinking
Before Learning Principles (Surface-Level)
- "I lost because my team was bad"
- "I'm stuck because I have bad luck"
- "I need to grind more hours"
- Problem: Random actions, no clear path forward
After Learning Principles (Systems-Level)
- "I lost because I didn't respect the Rhythm principle - I played tilted" (Rhythm)
- "I'm stuck because my mental state creates scared plays" (Mentalism)
- "I need to work smarter, not just harder - focus on causes that create wins" (Cause-Effect)
- Solution: Targeted improvements, clear leverage points
The difference: You stop fighting symptoms and start addressing root causes.
Common Mistakes
| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Right |
|---|---|
| "I need to master all 7 at once" | Start with 1-2, let understanding deepen naturally |
| "These are separate concepts" | They're interconnected aspects of one reality |
| "I need to memorize definitions" | You need to recognize them in action |
| "This is just theory" | Every principle has immediate practical application |
| "I'll learn this when I have time" | You're already using them unconsciously - might as well be conscious |
Next Level: The Learning Path
Beginner Path (Week 1-2)
Goal: Understand each principle conceptually
- Read overview of each principle (this article ✅)
- Pick the ONE that resonates most
- Read that principle's deep dive article
- Apply it to your ranked games this week
- Notice when you see it in action
Recommended starting principles:
- Mentalism (if you struggle with mental game)
- Cause-Effect (if you want to understand your results)
- Rhythm (if you struggle with burnout/consistency)
Intermediate Path (Week 3-4)
Goal: Recognize principles in multiple life areas
- Learn all 7 principles at overview level
- Start noticing them outside gaming:
- School/work
- Relationships
- Personal projects
- Practice consciously applying 2-3 principles daily
Advanced Path (Month 2+)
Goal: Integrate principles into unconscious competence
- Principles become your default way of seeing reality
- You automatically recognize patterns across domains
- You can teach others what you've learned
- Your life reflects conscious mastery of these laws
Try It: Your First Week Challenge
This week, do this:
Day 1: Choose Your Principle
Pick ONE principle that sounds most relevant to where you are right now:
- Stuck in your head? → Mentalism
- Can't see connections? → Correspondence
- Feel stuck? → Vibration
- See things as all-or-nothing? → Polarity
- Burning out or bored? → Rhythm
- Don't understand why things happen? → Cause-Effect
- Out of balance (all grind or all chill)? → Gender
Day 2-3: Study It
- Read the deep dive article on your chosen principle
- Write down 3 examples from your life where you see it
Day 4-6: Apply It
- Consciously use that principle in your ranked games
- After each game, journal: "How did I see [principle] today?"
Day 7: Reflect
- What changed when you worked WITH the principle instead of against it?
- Pick your next principle to learn
Related Articles
Foundation:
Deep Dives (All 7 Principles):
- Mentalism: The All is Mind
- Correspondence: As Above, So Below
- Vibration: Nothing Rests
- Polarity: Everything is Dual
- Rhythm: Everything Flows
- Cause-Effect: Your Plays Create Your LP
- Gender: Masculine & Feminine
Practical Applications:
What's Next?
You've learned WHAT the 7 principles are. Now it's time to go deep.
→ Pick ONE principle and read its deep dive article.
Not sure which to start with?
- Most popular for gamers: Mentalism, Cause-Effect, Rhythm
- Most life-changing: Correspondence, Polarity, Gender
- Most immediately useful: Vibration (when stuck), Polarity (when polarized)
Last Updated: 2025-11-10 Reading Time: 12 minutes Difficulty: Beginner Category: Getting Started
"To change your circumstances, first start thinking differently. Do not wait for circumstances to change." — The Kybalion
Begin Your Journey: Choose Your First Principle →