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The Principle of Cause and Effect

“Every Cause has its Effect; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized.”

Nothing merely happens. Every effect traces to a cause, and every cause produces its effect, across many planes of causation. In Natural Law this is consequentialism: there is no free will to ignore the law without consequence — that is the limit of free will. The aim of the teaching is to rise from being an effect — pushed by moods and circumstances — to becoming a deliberate cause.

Also known as

The same law appears across traditions under different names.

  • “Karma”· Hindu & Buddhist
  • “As you sow, so shall you reap”· Christian (Galatians 6:7)
  • “Midah k'neged midah — measure for measure”· Jewish
  • “Law of the Mirror”· Hermetic / esoteric

How to apply it

  • Before reacting, ask: am I the cause here, or merely an effect of someone else's mood?
  • Trace an unwanted result back to the choice that seeded it — then change that choice.
  • Plant deliberate causes today for the harvest you want next season.

From the source

“Every Cause has its Effect; every Effect has its Cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is but a name for Law not recognized.”
— The Kybalion, Ch. II
“The Masters... rise to the plane above and become Causers instead of Effects.”
— The Kybalion, Ch. XII
“There is no free will to ignore natural law without consequence; that is the limit of free will. This is why natural law is also called consequentialism.”
— Natural Law (Mark Passio)

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