the higher dominating the lower planes, still nothing ever entirely escapes the Law.  The Hermetists understand the art and methods of rising above the ordinary plane of Cause and Effect, to a certain degree, and by mentally rising to a higher plane they become Causers instead of Effects.  The masses of people are carried along, obedient to environment; the wills and desires of others stronger than themselves; heredity; suggestion; and other outward causes moving them about like pawns on the Chessboard of Life.  But the Masters, rising to the plane above, dominate their moods, characters, qualities, and powers, as well as the environment surrounding them, and become Movers instead of pawns.  They help to play the game of life, instead of being played and moved about by other wills and environment.  They use the Principle instead of being its tools.  The Masters obey the Causation of the higher planes, but they help to rule on their own plane.  In this statement there is condensed a wealth of Hermetic knowledge—­let him read who can.

7.  The Principle of Gender

    “Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine
    and Feminine Principles; Gender manifests on all
    planes.”—­The Kybalion.

This Principle embodies the truth that there is gender manifested in everything—­the Masculine and Feminine Principles ever at work.  This is true not only of the Physical Plane, but of the Mental and even the Spiritual Planes.  On the Physical Plane, the Principle manifests as sex, on the higher planes it takes higher forms, but the Principle is ever the same.  No creation, physical, mental or spiritual, is possible without this Principle.  An understanding of its laws will throw light on many a subject that has perplexed the minds of men.  The Principle of Gender works ever in the direction of generation, regeneration, and creation.  Everything, and every person, contains the two Elements or Principles, or this great Principle, within it, him or her.  Every Male thing has the Female Element also; every Female contains also the Male Principle.  If you would understand the philosophy of Mental and Spiritual Creation, Generation, and Re-generation, you must understand and study this Hermetic Principle.  It contains the solution of many mysteries of Life.  We caution you that this Principle has no reference to the many base, pernicious and degrading lustful theories, teachings and practices, which are taught under fanciful titles, and which are a prostitution of the great natural principle of Gender.  Such base revivals of the ancient infamous forms of Phallicism tend to ruin mind, body and soul, and the Hermetic Philosophy has ever sounded the warning note against these degraded teachings which tend toward lust, licentiousness, and perversion of Nature’s principles.  If you seek such teachings, you must go elsewhere for them—­Hermeticism contains nothing for you along these lines.  To the pure, all things are pure; to the base, all things are base.