The Principle of Cause and Effect, also known as causation, is the sixth Hermetic Principle as stated by The Kybalion.
Causation is explained through the following quote.
“Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.”
— The Kybalion
This principle is easy to understand, but its implications when taken to their logical conclusions can be eye-opening.
In this article, you will learn how to use cause and effect for your own reality creation pursuits.
Causation and Science
The scientific method, which is the backbone of all major breakthroughs, would not exist if it were not for the principle of cause and effect.
For science to work we need a universe with consistent laws.
The scientist, through a series of assumptions, tests and analyses aims to uncover these laws.
Newton would not have discovered the secrets of gravitation if apples fell from the tree one day but decided to fly to the sky the next.
Maxwell wouldn’t have uncovered the secrets of electromagnetism if the charge of electrons changed from negative to positive overnight.
The Universe is run by law.
There must have been some architect who designed these laws; what the Hermetics refer to as The ALL.
The Principle of Cause and Effect is simply the logical conclusion of this idea.
Every effect is the result of some cause.
If we can understand what causes create what effects, we can shape our destiny.
Consider this.
What’s the difference between a novice pool player and a worldclass champion?
The champion understands the game at a spiritual level.
Their brain understands the causation of the game at a much higher level than the novice.
By simply looking at how the balls are arranged on the table, they can perform complex mental calculations to discern the outcome of different shots.
The novice has not put in the reps.
They have a poor understanding of cause and effect in relation to the game.
There is no such thing as Chance – The Principle of Cause And Effect
“A careful examination will show that what we call “Chance” is merely an expression relating to obscure causes; causes that we cannot perceive; causes that we cannot understand.”
— The Kybalion
Certain words are used to help us make sense of our world.
One of the most common being ‘luck’ or ‘chance’.
When someone wins the lottery draw we say they were lucky.
If your favorite team has been on a winning streak and they are about to play the final game, you might say they have a good chance of winning.
When you analyze this situation further, you will discover that every outcome and every effect is the result of some cause.
We use luck and chance to explain the complex cause-and-effect relationships we cannot understand.
An intelligent being with more awareness of the unseen variables would be able to tell you exactly what the outcome will be.
This is because everything follows law, but we don’t understand many of these laws.
Take for instance the rolling of dice.
One might say the outcome is dependent on chance.
“But when the matter is closely examined, it is seen that there is no chance whatsoever about the fall of the dice. Each time a die falls, and displays a certain number, it obeys a law as infallible as that which governs the revolution of the planets around the sun. Back of the fall of the die are causes, or chains of causes, running back further than the mind can follow.”
The final result of how the die lands might be based on an infinite sum of variables including:
- The strength of the throw
- The direction and rotation of the throw
- The force of the wind
- The friction of the ground
Even smaller, seemingly unseen variables like what the person who rolled the die was thinking before rolling could impact the outcome.
The chain of causation runs very far, all the way to the origin of the universe.
The Long Line Of Causation
Consider this interesting observation.
For you to exist, you needed to have two parents.
For them to exist, they needed two parents, which gives you four grandparents.
Continue and you will see you have eight great grandparents!
This geometric series progresses through the generations.
At some point you will see you have millions of ancestors.
Here is the interesting part.
“If a certain man had not met a certain maid, away back in the dim period of the Stone Age — you who are now reading these lines would not now be here.”
— The Kybalion
It takes only one change in the line of causation for you not to exist.
Clearly, each one of us is a unique miracle.
The amount of work needed to create one human is mind-boggling.
This example also highlights another important fact of causation.
Nothing is ever created by one event.
It takes a series of causes and effects before the current manifestation can be seen.
“No event ‘creates’ another event, but is merely a preceding link in the great orderly chain of events flowing from the creative energy of THE ALL.”
— The Kybalion
This is why many teachers of mental science implore us to guard our mind by not entertaining negative thoughts.
This is because you don’t know what chain of causation may be created by your negative thoughts.
A negative thought today may have its physical reality manifested in two years.
How To Use The Principle of Cause And Effect
The law of cause and effect does not discredit the idea of free will.
Certain causes which you were not privy to will definitely affect your thinking and decisions.
But as humans, we have the ability to decide which direction we want to shape our thinking.
Through a change in thinking we can redirect the line of causation along different paths.
This process takes a level of awareness that’s lacking in most people.
“The majority of people are carried along like the falling stone, obedient to environment, outside influences and internal moods, desires, etc., not to speak of the desires and wills of others stronger than themselves, heredity, environment, and suggestion, carrying them along without resistence on their part, or the exercise of the Will. Moved like the pawns on the checkerboard of life, they play their parts and are laid aside after the game is over. But the Masters, knowing the rules of the game, rise above the plane of material life, and placing themselves in touch with the higher powers of their nature, dominate their own moods, characters, qualities, and polarity, as well as the environment surrounding them and thus become Movers in the game, instead of Pawns — Causes instead of Effects. The Masters do not escape the Causation of the higher planes, but fall in with the higher laws, and thus master circumstances on the lower plane. They thus form a conscious part of the Law, instead of being mere blind instruments. While they Serve on the Higher Planes, they Rule on the Material Plane.”
— The Kybalion
Cause and effect is at work on all planes of correspondence.
On the material plane a cause might take years to manifest into an effect.
Let’s say you dream of being a millionaire.
From the first inception of the thought to the final realization, a time period of several years might pass.
However, on a higher plane, like the spiritual domain of dreaming,
The manifestation occurs rapidly because you conceive the idea while lucid.
Each plane follows the same rules highlighting the universality of the principle of causation.
Through the law of correspondence there is a relationship between the higher planes and the lower ones.
The events of the higher planes create effects on the lower planes.
“As above, so below.”
This is why occultists spend so much time in the astral planes.
What happens in higher dimensions will have an effect on the lower planes.
This is why manifestation is so effective.
When one uses mental exercises like affirmations, visualizations and SATS, they operate on a higher mental plane.
If they are persistent in their exercise, they will see an effect on the lower physical plane.
This tends to happen through strange synchronicities as they walk through the bridge of incidents.
If all this talk of the astral planes seems out there,
You could still use the principle of cause and effect on the physical plane in a very practical manner.
Simply observe people who have something you desire.
Let’s say it’s making money from a personal brand on YouTube.
Study several of these people and try to see what causes they had in common to create the effect of a successful YouTube channel.
Perhaps they all had viral videos.
Maybe they all use YouTube ads.
To create a similar result, simply recreate what they have done with your own twist.
Your chances of success will go up as you understand and implement more causes.
Just like the master pool player, you must study the game if you wish to have amazing results.
Do this, and you will be one step closer to living and dying well.