From the book
The Kybalion
Three Initiates · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordFree will is the problem of self-direction within universal causation.
- In The KybalionThe author calls the opposing positions half-truths and says a person can be free in one respect and bound in another.
- In this editionFree will, determinism, freedom, and necessity are preserved.
- A place to readXII.10: … “not wish to enter into a consideration of Free Will, or Determinism, in this work, for” …
Meaning
Free will is the problem of self-direction within universal causation. XII proposes degrees of freedom and necessity according to the level from which an action is considered, while declining a full treatment of the controversy.
Use in the book
The author calls the opposing positions half-truths and says a person can be free in one respect and bound in another. Ordinary claims to do as one pleases are questioned by asking where the desires themselves arise. A master is then described as able to alter those wants.
The game and swimmer images qualify the resulting control. The player participates more knowingly than a pawn, and the swimmer directs movement more effectively than a log, but both remain within law.
Places to read
- XII Causation · Block 10… “not wish to enter into a consideration of Free Will, or Determinism, in this work, for various reasons. Among the many reasons, is the principal one that neither side of the” …
- XII Causation · Block 11… “of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little Freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They” …
- XII Causation · Block 12“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” …
- XII Causation · Block 13“But, on higher and on lower, the Law is always in operation. There is no such thing as Chance. The blind goddess has been abolished by Reason. We are able to” …
- XV Hermetic Axioms · Block 15“"The wise ones serve on the higher, but rule on the lower. They obey the laws coming from above them, But on their own plane, and those below them they rule” …
In this edition
Free will, determinism, freedom, and necessity are preserved. None is silently equated with complete independence from causes.
Reading the argument
The account establishes the book's intended practical meaning of greater freedom; it does not demonstrate an uncaused power of choice. It also leaves open how the will to change a desire is itself conditioned. That is part of the philosophical issue the chapter postpones.
Free Will
“Free Will” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: XII.10.
Determinism
“Determinism” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: XII.10.
Freedom
“Freedom” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: XII.11.
Necessity
“Necessity” — 2 occurrences in 2 text blocks: IV.4; XII.10.