You've probably seen the phrase tattooed on a celebrity's forearm or scribbled in the margins of a fantasy novel. As above so below has become one of those catch-all mantras for the "spiritually curious," but honestly, most people are just using it as a fancy way to say everything is connected. It’s deeper than that. Much deeper.
We’re talking about a philosophy that survived the burning of libraries and the rise and fall of empires. It’s not just a cool vibe for your Instagram bio. It’s the foundational logic of Hermeticism, an ancient tradition that suggests the macrocosm—the universe, the stars, the big stuff—is a mirror of the microcosm, which is us, our cells, and our messy human lives.
If you look at the history, the phrase comes from the Tabula Smaragdina, better known as the Emerald Tablet. Legend says it was written by Hermes Trismegistus, a mythical figure who was basically a mashup of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.
The Actual Origins of the Emerald Tablet
People love to say the Emerald Tablet is thousands of years old. Maybe. But the first time we actually see the text in writing is in Arabic works from the 8th or 9th century, specifically the Kitāb sirr al-ḫalīqa (The Book of the Secret of Creation).
The specific line everyone quotes is actually a bit more wordy in the original Latin: Quod est inferius, est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius, est sicut quod est inferius. Translated roughly, it means "That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below."
It’s a bit repetitive, right? But that’s the point.
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The repetition emphasizes a perfect symmetry. It’s not saying the top and bottom are the same thing. It’s saying they operate by the same laws. Think about a fractal. You zoom in on a snowflake and see the same geometric patterns you’d see if you zoomed out. That’s the core of as above so below.
Sir Isaac Newton—yes, the gravity guy—was obsessed with this. He actually translated the Emerald Tablet himself. He wasn't just doing math; he was looking for the "prisca sapientia," the pristine knowledge that he believed ancient civilizations possessed. He spent more time on alchemy and Hermetic texts than he did on the laws of motion. He believed that if he could understand the way a chemical reacted in a beaker, he could understand how planets moved in the void.
Why Newton Was Obsessed
Newton lived in a world where science and magic weren't really separate yet. To him, the universe was a giant riddle left by a divine creator. He saw the "as above" (the celestial bodies) and the "so below" (terrestrial chemistry) as two sides of the same coin.
He wrote: "By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world."
He wasn't looking for a "get rich quick" scheme with gold. He was looking for the blueprint of reality. Most modern scientists would roll their eyes at this, but Newton’s belief in a unified set of laws is exactly what led him to discover universal gravitation. He applied the "above" to the "below."
Modern Science and the Hermetic Mirror
It’s easy to dismiss ancient mysticism as fairy tales. But then you look at a photo of a brain cell (a neuron) and compare it to a computer simulation of the large-scale structure of the universe. They look identical. It’s eerie.
Is this proof of as above so below?
Skeptics will tell you it’s just "apophenia"—the human tendency to see patterns in random data. Maybe. But physicists like Nassim Haramein have spent years arguing that the structure of the vacuum and the structure of the atom are fundamentally linked through scale-invariant geometry.
The universe is a self-organizing system.
- At the atomic level, you have a nucleus with electrons.
- At the solar system level, you have a sun with planets.
- At the galactic level, you have a black hole with stars.
Sure, the physics changes—gravity dominates at large scales while the strong force rules the small—but the pattern remains. The "above" and the "below" are communicating through the same language of geometry.
The Psychological Angle: Carl Jung’s Take
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist, took this concept and moved it inside the human mind. He didn't care as much about lead turning into gold; he cared about the "shadow" turning into the "self."
Jung believed that our internal world (the psyche) was a reflection of the external world (the collective unconscious). If you want to change your life—the "below"—you have to address the archetypes and patterns in your mind—the "above."
He called this process individuation.
He saw alchemy as a metaphor for psychological growth. When the ancients talked about "purifying the sulfur," Jung saw it as purifying the ego. This is where the phrase gets really practical for us today. If your internal world is a mess of anxiety and unresolved trauma, your external world (your relationships, your job, your health) is probably going to reflect that chaos.
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As within, so without.
Misconceptions That Kill the Meaning
The biggest mistake people make is thinking this is a one-way street. They think it just means "I can manifest things with my mind."
Manifestation culture has sort of hijacked the phrase. People think if they just think "above" thoughts, the "below" will magically provide a Tesla. But the Emerald Tablet says the relationship is reciprocal. The "below" also influences the "above."
Your actions in the physical world ripple upward.
Another big error? Thinking "below" means "evil" and "above" means "good." That’s a very Christianized, dualistic way of looking at it. In the original Hermetic context, there isn't a moral judgment. The "above" is just the subtle, the energetic, and the causal. The "below" is the gross, the material, and the effect. Neither is better. They are just different densities of the same thing.
How to Actually Use This Principle
This isn't just philosophy for the sake of philosophy. You can actually use this logic to troubleshoot your life.
Stop looking at your problems as isolated events. If you’re constantly having the same argument with different people, that’s a "below" pattern. To fix it, you have to look at the "above"—the mental blueprint or the belief system that is generating that reality.
Look at your environment. Is your room a mess? Your car? Your desk? Hermeticism would suggest your mind is likely cluttered, too. You can actually "trick" the system by cleaning the "below" (your physical space) to create clarity in the "above" (your mental state). It’s a feedback loop.
Watch the cycles. The universe works in cycles—tides, moon phases, seasons. Your life does too. Most of us fight the "winter" of our lives. We try to be in "summer" (growth, productivity) all year round. That’s not how the "above" works. If you align your energy with the natural cycles of expansion and contraction, things get a lot easier.
Specific Actionable Insights:
- Audit your "Micro" Habits: If you want to change your "Macro" life, stop obsessing over the big goal. Look at the smallest possible unit of your day. The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
- The Mirror Test: When you’re frustrated with someone else, ask yourself what "above" quality in you is being reflected in their "below" behavior. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it’s the fastest way to gain control.
- Physical-Mental Loops: If you are stuck in a mental rut, move your body. Change the physical state to force a change in the mental state. As the body moves, the mind follows.
The Emerald Tablet concludes by saying, "I have told you all I had to say concerning the operation of the Sun."
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The "Sun" here is a metaphor for the enlightened consciousness—the realization that you aren't a separate entity struggling against the world. You are a part of the world, a small mirror of the whole thing.
Stop trying to fight the reflection. Start working with the source. If you want to see a change in the world, start by refining the "below" of your own character. The universe doesn't have a choice but to reflect that change back to you. It’s the law.