“As above, so below” is a hermetic maxim which has been revived by aristocratic occultists since its inception.
A form of the phrase was carved into the Emerald Tablet in the 8th or 9th century. And/or it was created in 36,000 B.C. by everyone’s favorite Atlantean Priest-King, Thoth. Whatever it really is, it’s mysteriously challenging to understand.
This proverb/adage/saying/byword/precept/principle/axiom may have been used nefariously against the masses throughout time. Though, no proverb is a virgin to using people’s belief/trust/reliance/confidence/optimism/acceptance/conviction against them. For some odd reason, I feel like the founding fathers would’ve been all about this adage.
BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?! I searched everywhere for the meaning, and started thinking that I had to go into super-psychic mode to be able to find it.
Sadly, I didn’t have time to go into super-psychic mode, so I did the next best thing—looked up others describing the moment they actualized their meaning of the principle:
“When I first heard of the Emerald Tablets in 2001, I searched for their validity. I couldn’t find any, so I never read them. Then in 2013, when my spine grew across the inky black nothingness, I unintentionally rose. I saw the filmy illumination (same experience). The alpha and omega points resemble the sun in the sky when you communicate in joy with it…
…what happened, man? Why am I immortal? Our ideas are bound together. I am not my body or my ideas. When you transmute your fear, the spirit can enter you. I didn't know who the spirit was or that it was there until after the veil collapsed (like an oriental fan). It folded away into the center revealing this inner sun, it sealed back up with a black diamond shape when I reacted and thoughts started to flood back. It was a black rhombus shape when my thoughts reappeared.”
-Something someone said 8 years ago on a message board.
I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just one of those things that means something different to everyone. I’ll understand it soon enough.
🔺🫣 🔻
As above so below is a mathematical statement, it basically says that the structure of the "higher things" is categorically isomorphic to the "lower things" or, more succinctly, it is an equation that explains the fractal correspondence across different scales of reality.
Since each level has other levels within, you get something like
As "as above so below" above, so "as above so below" below, etc etc all the way down like russian nesting dolls.