Hermetic principle 4: Polarity
“Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and 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.”—The Kybalion.
The principle of polarity shows us that spirit and matter are opposite poles of the same thing (the intermediate planes), being merely different rates of vibration. In hermetics, it is believed that the All and the Many are the same, the difference being varying degrees of mental manifestation.
In Hinduism, the creator god Brahma sprang from the cosmic golden egg, and from his own person, created both good and evil, light and dark.
The Bible also talks about polarity when it speaks on the war between the flesh and the spirit:
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” - Romans 8:6-8
We see polar opposites in other aspects of life such as hot and cold, tall and short, hard and soft, love and hate, fear and courage. For example, hot and cold are both on the scale of temperature being simply different degrees, hot being on the upper scale of temperature, and cold being on the lower end of the scale. We witness this again with the flow of electricity: for an electrical current to work you need both positive and negative charges; you need both poles.
The principle of polarity gives us a clear vision of how transmutation works. Transmutation is not changing one thing into an entirely different thing, but changing the degree of the same thing. For example, one cannot transmute fear into love, but one can transmute fear into courage, or hate into love.
When the alchemist is able to understand and use the hermetic principle of polarity, he or she will better understand their own mental state. This understanding will allow the alchemist to view his or her own mental state as matter of degree of a specific emotion, thought, or feeling. The alchemist will be able to raise or lower their vibration at will, becoming a master of his or her own vibration. This will free the alchemist from the control of others’ vibrations and ideals. The principle of polarity allows the alchemist to aid others emotionally and intellectually as they move closer to the will of the divine. The mastery of the principle of polarity gives the alchemist the ability to perform spiritual, mental, and physical alchemy in all situations.
