“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.

This Principle embodies the truth that “everything is dual”; “everything has two poles”; “everything has its pair of opposites,” all of which were old Hermetic axioms. It explains the old paradoxes, that have perplexed so many, which have been stated as follows: “Thesis and antithesis are identical in nature, but different in degree”; “opposites are the same, differing only in degree”; “the pairs of opposites may be reconciled”; “extremes meet”; “everything is and isn't, at the same time”; “all truths are but half-truths”; “every truth is half-alse”; “there are two sides to everything,” etc., etc., etc. It explains that in everything there are two poles, or opposite aspects, and that “opposites” are really only the two extremes of the same thing, with many varying degrees between them To illustrate: Heat and Cold, although “opposites,” are really the same thing, the differences consisting merely of degrees of the same thing. Look at your thermometer and see if you can discover where “heat” terminates and “cold” begins! There is no such thing as “absolute heat” or “absolute cold”–the two terms “heat” and “cold” simply indicate varying degrees of the same thing, and that “same thing” which manifests as “heat” and “cold” is merely a form, variety, and rate of Vibration. So “heat” and “cold” are simply the “two poles” of that which we call “Heat”–and the phenomena attendant thereupon are manifestations of the Principle of Polarity. The same principle manifests in the case of “Light and Darkness,” which are the same thing, the difference consisting of varying degrees between the two poles of the phenomena. Where does “darkness” leave off, and “light” begin?

What is the difference between “Large and Small”? Between “Hard and Soft”? Between “Black and White”?

Between “Sharp and Dull”? Between “Noise and Quiet”? Between “High and Low”? Between “Positive and Negative”? The Principle of Polarity explains these paradoxes, and no other Principle can supersede it. The same Principle operates on the Mental Plane. Let us take a radical and extreme example that of “Love and Hate,” two mental states apparently totally different. And yet there are degrees of Hate and degrees of Love, and a middle point in which we use the terms “Like or Dislike,” which shade into each other so gradually that sometimes we are at a loss to know whether we “like” or “dislike” or “neither.” And all are simply degrees of the same thing, as you will see if you will but think a moment. And, more than this (and considered of more importance by the Hermetists), it is possible to change the vibrations of Hate to the vibrations of Love, in one's own mind, and in the minds of others. Many of you, who read these lines, have had personal experiences of the involuntary rapid transition from Love to Hate, and the reverse, in your own case and that of others. And you will therefore realize the possibility of this being accomplished by the use of the Will, by means of the Hermetic formulas. “Good and Evil” are but the poles of the same thing, and the Hermetist understands the art of transmuting Evil into Good, by means of an application of the Principle of Polarity. In short, the “Art of Polarization” becomes a phase of “Mental Alchemy” known and practiced by the ancient and modern Hermetic Masters. An understanding of the Principle will enable one to change his own Polarity, as well as that of others, if he will devote the time and study necessary to master the art.

How many opposites can we think off? Here's a partial list: .


. Is there anything in life that has only one side? Can you know know left without right; hard without soft; or beauty without ugliness? Think of all those things that, at first glance, seem to us to be so different. Are they actually different, or do they, like wet and dry, meet and blend somewhere in the middle?Where does night end end and day begin? Is there a dividing line hiding somewhere between high and low? When hot meets cold, how does one become the other? Are these things really different or are they merely opposites poles of the same thing? In the world of duality nothing is as it appears to be. It always contains its opposite -- an opposite that is often not perceived. Is any man completely masculine? Is any woman completely feminine? Where is big without little? Where is up without down? Are all truths actually only partial truths? Is anything ever complete, or is there always more to every story? What about all those things you are so sure about? Are you certain that you know the whole truth? Imaginary Train Ride ... Multiple Points of View: Let's look at the concept of perspective (one's point of view) for a moment and see if truth could have poles -- to see if there could be more than one version of something that already appears to be the complete truth. For example, from how many points of view can can you see something as simple as a dot of light? You look at the dot and say, "One! I see it plainly right here in front of me. It's a dot of light and only a dot of light." Well is it? There are usually several different mental points of view (beliefs about something) that give the same thing (or event) several different meanings, and there are countless different physical perspectives (different places from which to look at a physical object) Lets take a physical ride and see what differences one's viewing position can have upon the perception of something that seems to be a simple dot of light. . A Not-So-Simple Train Ride: Imagine yourself riding in the caboose (the last car) of a train with two friends. You are lying on the floor looking up when you notice a dot of light above you. You point to the dot and say to your friend who is sitting with his (her) back against the side of the train car, "What's that?" He looks to where you are pointing and says it's a vertical line with a dot moving up and down from one end to the other. At first you think he's crazy because you see only a dot, but he sounds so sure of himself that you roll over to him, sit up beside him, and look at the dot from his perspective. Sure enough, you see the line and the dot just as he just described it to you. Now let's add a second line and dot to our imaginary journey. Pretend that you and your friend are now sitting at the side of the railcar looking at two vertical lines, each line with a dot in it that is moving up and down along the line from one end of the line to the other. Your curiosity inspires you to move back to the place on the floor where you were lying when you saw the first dot of light. You look again at the two lines. The one you first noticed, looks like the dot you saw before, but the other one looks like a horizontal line with a dot in it. The dot appears to be moving along the line, first toward one side of the rail car and then toward the other in a rhythmic pattern. You wonder, how a vertical line could became a horizontal line? You move back the the side of the car and look again. From there, you see the image as two vertical lines and the two dots. Meanwhile, your other friend, has been standing looking out back of the train watching the scenery. You call to him, and as he turns, you point to the two lines you ask, "What do you see?" He says, "I see a circle with a dot moving around the circle. Beneath the circle there's a straight, virtical line with a dot moving up and down along the line. "How can that be?" you say. "We see only two vertical lines." After a moment, you both get up and go the the back of the car and from there you see exactly what you friend described. At this point, you hear the sound of the engineer's whistle and feel the train slowing down. All three of you look out the window wondering what caused the change of speed. The circle, the line and the two moving dots are temporarily out of mind, as you focus on what's outside the train. Although you don't see anything out there worth blowing a whistle for, you soon begin to notice that, as the railcar moves, what you see inside the car stays pretty much the same, but the view outside is a dynamic, ever-changing picture. You also notice that the rate at which the exterior scene changes is directly proportional to the speed of the train. Try as you may to grab and hold onto a pleasing scene, it's unreachable, intangible, un-grabable, and almost unreal as it fades into the distance only to be replaced by still another scene. The scene outside appears to you as an ever flowing cycle which seems to have neither a beginning nor an end. At least, there's no beginning or end anywhere in sight. The scenery you've past is gone and no longer visible. You wonder if it's still there. That which lies ahead is equally as un-seeable. The saying of a famous philosopher pops into your mind. You don't remember her name, but you do remember her words: "When I finally got there, I realized there was no there there." You know that she was talking about a state of being and not something physical, but just for a moment, you wonder if what lies ahead of you along the railroad tracks will be there when you get there. And since it, too, is continually moving and changing, you know that when you do get there it will be different from what it is right now. At the moment, the only outside-the-train-scene that is visible to you is the scene that's right-here right-now, and that too, is continually changing. As the train rolls along the tracks, you look out and see a field in which a boy, sitting on a haystack, is waving at the train. You wave back and then wonder what the circle, the line, and two moving dots might look like from the perspective of someone watching the train go by. To the boy, the outside-scene is not moving past him. It's more static, like the scene you are seeing inside the train. From the boy's perspective, the train, the dot, the line and the circle would all appear to be moving. To an observer watching the train go by, the vertical line is not a line at all. It's as if the dot were riding a wave. Those who know mathematics would say it's making a perfect sine curve as it moves along above the tracks. And the circle is not a circle either. It appears to be a spiral, like the coils of a stretched spring. One could even take the analogy further by viewing the two dots from off the Earth, but we won't go there, because I'm sure you've already gotten the message. After you've gotten off the train and are walking away, you notice that your perspective of the scene around you is still changing. The change is occurring much more slowly, but nonetheless, it's still changing. Then it occurs to you that it's always been like that, it's that way now, and in all likelihood, it willalways continue to be that way. You realize that everything in the entire physical world can be seen from dozens, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of different points of view. And what about one's mental perspective? Could that too, have multiple points of view? Perhaps the Law of Correspondence could assist us in looking onto our minds, both personally and collectively. There are multitudes of colors, shapes, and directions. Perhaps in our mental universe, too, there are multiple perceptions and countless planes of being, for it has been said: "In my fathers house, there are many mansions" (Jesus) "Everything is mental; the Universe is a mental creation of the All." (Hermes) If these quotations are true, then each perception, each plane, each mansion may very well have its own unique interpretation and application of The Seven Principles of Hermes. . Applying the Law: From this broader view of life, the inevitable question arises: Who can say with anything but ignorance or arrogance, "I'm right. You're wrong. My way is the one and only way." The next time someone tells you the he/she know better than you what's right for you, or that he/she know what God wants you to do, you can smile and say, "No thank you. I walk my own path. I walk in the light of the truth which bows to no authority other than itself."