As Above, So Below

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The Magician displaying the Hermetic concept of "as above, so below." It is thought that the modern Tarot may be based on The Book of Thoth.

Hermes Trismegistus's axiom, "As Above, So Below" is a key metaphysical concept that is captured in various forms in addition to Hermes' Emerald Tablet.

These words circulate throughout occult and magical circles, and they come from Hermetic texts. The concept was first laid out in The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, in the words "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing."^[1]

In accordance with the various levels of reality: physical, mental, and spiritual, this relates that what happens on any level happens on every other. This is however more often used in the sense of the microcosm and the macrocosm. The microcosm is oneself, and the macrocosm is the universe. The macrocosm is as the microcosm, and vice versa; within each lies the other, and through understanding one (usually the microcosm) you can understand the other.^[2]

[edit] See Also

• Emerald Tablet
• Balance
• The Law of Attraction
• The Doctrine of Signatures
• Macrocosm and Microcosm
• Kybalion
• The Magician Tarot Card
• Lord's Prayer

[edit] Notes

1. ^ (Scully p. 321)
2. ^ (Garstin p. 35)

[edit] References