As above, so below
- As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul. Hermes Trismegistus
- As above, so below. Hermes Trismegistus
- As above, so below; as below so above. The Kybalion
- 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. Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus
- On earth, as it is in heaven
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best – as above, so below.
Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:10. - The world has forgotten, in its concern with Left and Right, that there is an Above and Below. Glen Drake
.
“As above, so below” is an ancient Hermetic principle
- [“As above, so below” is a phrase that] comes from a Hermetic text known as the Emerald Tablet. The Hermetic texts are almost 2000 years old and have been incredibly influential in occult, philosophical and religious views of the world throughout that period. In Western Europe, they gained prominence in the Renaissance, when large numbers of intellectual works were introduced and reintroduced to the area after the Middle Ages. Catherine Beyer
.
“As above, so below” means there is correspondence between the physical and spiritual realms
- “As above, so below; as below, so above.” […] This principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life. The Kybalion
- Whatever happens on any level of reality (physical, emotional, or mental) also happens on every other level. Hermetic Principle
- The second of the seven Universal Laws tells us “As above, so below; as below, so above”. This means that there is “harmony, agreement and correspondence” between the physical, mental and spiritual realms. There is no separation since everything in the Universe, including you, originates from the One Source. The same pattern is expressed on all planes of existence from the smallest electron to the largest star and vice versa. All is One. The Ancient Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi was referring to this great Law of Correspondence in the inscription “Know thyself and thou shalt know all the mysteries of the gods and the Universe”. Tania Kotsos
- The nature of the physical universe (which is an appearance or illusion) contains clues, both true and false, to nature of the spiritual realm (ultimate reality). Anthony Lambert
.
The principle “As above, so below” allows us to know the known from the unknown
- A knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Hermetic Principle
- [The principle “As above, so below”] embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: “As above, so below; as below, so above.” And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secret of Nature. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and spiritual universe — it is an Universal Law. The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. Its use even tore aside the Veil of Isis to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Just as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. Studying the monad, he understands the archangel. The Kybalion
- This Principle [is] one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view the Unknown. The Kybalion
- This Law embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. “As above, so below; as below, so above.” Grasping this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secret of Nature. There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them we are able to understand much that would otherwise is unknown to us. Stephen Metcalfe-Davies
.
The physical realm (the world) reflects the spiritual realm
- In Hermeticism, the phrase “As above, so below” can be taken to indicate that earthly matters reflect the operation of the astral plane. Wikipedia
- This also reflects the idea of the universe being composed of multiple realms (such as the physical and the spiritual) and that things that happen in one reflect upon the other. Catherine Beyer
- The physical world can tell us about the spiritual world. Anthony Lambert
.
The physical realm is an illusion pointing to reality
- The plethora of phenomena we call nature and civilization holds no more reality than a theatrical play. They serve a purpose as carriers, but they are not essential in and by themselves. Bernardo Kastrup
.
The microcosm reflects the macrocosm
- The phrase expresses the concept of microcosm and macrocosm: that smaller systems – particularly the human body – are miniature versions of the larger universe. By understanding these smaller systems, you can understand the larger, and vice versa. Catherine Beyer
.
Creation is a reflection of the nature of God (the ultimate reality)…
- The created world, below, is depicted as a reflection of God, above. They are the same yet mirror opposites. By understanding the image in the mirror you can learn about the original. Catherine Beyer
- God’s nature is dimly reflected in the nature of his creation, and that’s something we ought to expect if God is the Creator. When we begin by saying that “God’s nature is reflected in…” we are first acknowledging that our observations of the temporal, material world can only give us limited information about an eternal, immaterial God. J. Warner
- In this creation we can assume many things in nature exist not just for their own sake—as wonderful and “very good” as they are (Genesis 1:31)—but to be an analogy of ultimate reality, to illustrate his glory. Ryan Hawkins
- What is here [the phenomenal world], the same is there [in Brahman]; and what is there, the same is here. Katha Upanishad 2.1.10
- God doesn’t reveal his grand design. He reveals Himself. Frederick Buechner
- …since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…. Romans 1:19-20
.
…just as an artist’s creations reflect the nature of the artist
- I was an artist for many years before I became a detective, and my experience as a “creator” taught me something important. All of my “creations” reflected my nature in one way or another. People who knew me could look at my art and say, “That looks like something Jim created.” Some limited aspect of my nature was consistently reflected in my creations. If this is also the case for God, there might be some evidence “reflected” in his creation that points to his nature as well. For this reason, I’ve started to change my language and use another collection of imperfect illustrations to explain the Trinity. While they may be equally unsatisfying, I find them to be a better starting point for my discussions related to our triune God. J. Warner
- In Art, [the artist] reveals himself and not his objects. Rabindranath Tagore
- An artist reveals his naked soul in his work. Ayn Rand
- In every work of art, the artist himself is present. Christian Morgenstern
- Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures. Henry Ward Beecher
- The only original part in a work of art is the infusion of the artist’s own character,. Austin O’Malley
- A great artist does not put paint on canvas, he puts himself on canvas. Jacob Lawrence
- Every good painter paints what he is. Jackson Pollock
.
God (ultimate reality) is illustrated in nature
- All nature is a vast symbolism: Every material fact has sheathed within it a spiritual truth. Edwin Powell Hubble
- God organized nature in certain ways to teach us about who he is. Ryan Hawkins
- See God illustrated in nature. And when you do so, you don’t have to think that you’re summoning something up on our own. You instead can know that you’re digging into glories in nature that God purposefully put there to show us himself. Ryan Hawkins
.
Life and all of existence is a metaphor pointing to the ultimate nature of reality
- A metaphorical world isn’t a less real place; on the contrary! It is a world where only essential meanings are ultimately true. Bernardo Kastrup
- It is no wonder that nature, simply by being what it is, would provide suitable metaphorical images – nightly dreams, nature is a metaphor for itself. Bernardo Kastrup
- When we keep trying to find a literal essence behind the metaphor – be it the discrete interventions of space brothers from the Pleiades or the chance throw of the Neo-Darwinists’ dice – we become blind to its underlying, ineffable, essential meaning. Bernardo Kastrup
- There is no literal shortcut to whatever it is that the metaphor of life is trying to convey. There is no literal truth. Bernardo Kastrup
- The metaphor is the only way to the answers, if only we have patience and pay attention. Look around: what is life trying to say? Bernardo Kastrup
- Life and all of existence are a metaphor for something of crucial importance – yet unspeakable and non-literal. Bernardo Kastrup
- It is reasonable to state that the purpose of existence has a lot to do with our observing and trying to make sense of the underlying meaning of the metaphor of life, both at an intellectual and an intuitive level. Bernardo Kastrup
- Nature is a metaphor for itself. Bernardo Kastrup
.
Life is a dream full of symbols pointing to a deeper meaning
- We must look upon life in the same way that many people look upon their nightly dreams: when they wake up, they don’t attribute literal truth to the dream they just had. To do so would be tantamount to closing one’s eyes to what the dream was trying to convey. Instead, they ask themselves: ‘what did it really mean?’ Bernardo Kastrup
- All of reality is a metaphor for an ineffable truth, it is no wonder that nature, simply by being what it is, would provide suitable metaphorical images – nightly dreams
- There is something formless yet complete That existed before heaven and earth. How still! How empty! Dependent on nothing, unchanging, All pervading, unfailing. One may think of it as the mother of all things under heaven. I do not know its name, But I call it “Meaning.”’ Hong Zicheng
- The meaning of it all is unfolding right under our noses, all the time, but we can’t see it. Bernardo Kastrup
- In a metaphorical world, all the images of consensus reality are symbols, not literal facts. Goethe knew this, for he wrote in Faust: ‘All that doth pass away Is but a symbol’. The indescribable is done – or reveals itself – through the transitory symbols of life. Bernardo Kastrup
.
Life is the divine mind trying to figure itself out
- In a sense, we have been deputized by mind at large to look back at itself and try to make something out of what we see. Bernardo Kastrup
- All phenomena are suggesting something about the nature of mind. Bernardo Kastrup
- Mind at large, through us and other living beings, must try to find its way to this ultimate topology: a cosmic sphere of mind whose mirrored internal surfaces enable every thought and every experience in all existence to be recursively self-reflected. And, even if it reaches that stage, it would still be left with the challenge of interpreting its own metaphor for itself. If it somehow succeeds, it will know what it is and what is going on. While it doesn’t, we are left with struggle and mystery. Bernardo Kastrup
