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As Above So Below as It Was Then Again It Will

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Popular Neo-Hermetic proverb

"As above, so below" is a popular modern paraphrase of the second poesy of the Emerald Tablet (a compact and cryptic Hermetic text outset attested in a late eighth or early on ninth century Arabic source),[ane] equally it appears in its most widely divulged medieval Latin translation:[ii]

Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius.

That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is beneath is like to that which is above.

The paraphrase is peculiar to this Latin version, and does not render the original Arabic, which reads "from" rather than "like to".

Following its use by prominent mod occultists such as Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891, co-founder of the Theosophical Order) and the anonymous writer of the Kybalion (often taken to be William W. Atkinson, 1862–1932, a pioneer of the New Thought motility), the paraphrase started to take on a life of its own, condign an ofttimes cited motto in New Historic period circles.[iii]

Scholarly interpretations [edit]

Robert Fludd 1.gif

Amid historians of philosophy and scientific discipline, the verse is ofttimes understood every bit a reference to the supposed effects of angelic mechanics upon terrestrial events. This would include the effects of the Sun upon the modify of seasons, or those of the Moon upon the tides, but also more elaborate astrological effects.[iv]

Co-ordinate to another common interpretation,[five] the verse refers to the structural similarities (or 'correspondences') between the macrocosm (from Greek makros kosmos, "the great world"; the universe as a whole, understood every bit a great living being) and the microcosm (from Greek mikros kosmos, "the small earth"; the human being, understood every bit a miniature universe).[6] This type of view is found in many philosophical systems world-wide,[7] the almost relevant here being aboriginal Greek and Hellenistic philosophy, where notable proponents included Anaximander (c. 610 – c. 546 BCE),[8] Plato (c. 428 or 424 – c. 348 BCE),[9] the Hippocratic authors (late 5th or early 4th century BCE and onwards),[ten] and the Stoics (3rd century BCE and onwards).[eleven]

Occultist interpretations [edit]

Helena P. Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled (1877) [edit]

The occultists who were responsible for the popularization of the paraphrase generally understood it in the context of Emanuel Swedenborg's (1688–1772) doctrine of the correspondence between different planes of existence, a strongly elaborated version of the classical macrocosm–microcosm analogy. This interpretation was pioneered past Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891),[12] whose works contain some of the earliest occurrences of the phrase as an independent axiom. By and large writing from a perennialist perspective, Blavatsky associated the phrase with a number of historically unrelated thought systems such as Pythagoreanism, Kabbalah and Buddhism.[xiii]

From Blavatsky'south Isis Unveiled (1877):

His [sc. Swedenborg's] doctrine of correspondence, or Hermetic symbolism, is that of Pythagoras and of the kabalists—"as in a higher place, then below." It is also that of the Buddhist philosophers, who, in their nonetheless more abstract metaphysics, inverting the usual mode of definition given past our erudite scholars, call the invisible types the only reality, and everything else the effects of the causes, or visible prototypes—illusions.[fourteen]

In that location is no prominent graphic symbol in all the annals of sacred or profane history whose image we cannot find in the half-fictitious and half-real traditions of bygone religions and mythologies. Every bit the star, glimmering at an immeasurable altitude above our heads, in the boundless immensity of the sky, reflects itself in the smooth waters of a lake, so does the imagery of men of the antediluvian ages reflect itself in the periods we tin can comprehend in an historical retrospect. "As above, then it is beneath. That which has been, volition return over again. Every bit in heaven, then on earth."[15]

The spirit of a mineral, found, or fauna, may begin to form here, and reach its final development millions of ages hereafter, on other planets, known or unknown, visible or invisible to astronomers. For, who is able to controvert the theory previously suggested, that the world itself will, like the living creatures to which it has given nativity, ultimately, and after passing through its own stage of death and dissolution, become an etherealized astral planet ? "Every bit above, and so below;" harmony is the great law of nature.[xvi]

The Kybalion (1908) [edit]

Though retaining the interpretation of the phrase in terms of Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondence, it was somewhat more closely associated with the philosophical mentalism (the primacy of mind equally the agile cause of things) of the ancient Greek Hermetica by the anonymous author of the Kybalion (1908, '3 Initiates', perhaps William Westward. Atkinson, 1862–1932).[17] What follows are some literal quotes from the volume:

2. The Principle of Correspondence.

"As above, and then below; every bit below, so above"– The Kybalion.

This Principle embodies the truth that there is ever a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The sometime Hermetic precept ran in these words: "As in a higher place, so beneath; as below, and then higher up." [...] This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the fabric, mental, and spiritual universe– it is an Universal Police. [...] Only as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables human being to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, and so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Human to reason intelligently from the Known to the Unknown. [...][eighteen]

The Planes of Correspondence.

"As in a higher place, and so beneath; equally below, and then above."—The Kybalion.

The swell Second Hermetic Principle embodies the truth that there is a harmony, understanding, and correspondence between the several planes of Manifestation, Life and Being. This truth is a truth because all that is included in the Universe emanates from the same source, and the same laws, principles, and characteristics utilise to each unit, or combination of units of activity, as each manifests its own phenomena upon its own plane. [...][19]

[...] The erstwhile Hermetic precept, "As to a higher place so below," may exist pressed into service at this point. Let u.s.a. try to get a glimpse of the workings on higher planes past examining those on our own. The Principle of Correspondence must utilise to this equally well every bit to other problems. Allow us run into! On his own aeroplane of existence, how does Man create? Well, first, he may create past making something out of outside materials. Simply this will not exercise, for there are no materials outside of THE ALL with which information technology may create. Well, then, secondly, Man pro-creates or reproduces his kind by the process of bearing, which is self-multiplication accomplished past transferring a portion of his substance to his offspring. Only this will not do, because THE ALL cannot transfer or decrease a portion of itself, nor tin can information technology reproduce or multiply itself— in the outset place there would be a taking abroad, and in the 2nd case a multiplication or add-on to THE ALL, both thoughts beingness an absurdity. Is there no third manner in which MAN creates? Yes, there is—he CREATES MENTALLY! And in so doing he uses no exterior materials, nor does he reproduce himself, and all the same his Spirit pervades the Mental Cosmos. Following the Principle of Correspondence, we are justified in considering that THE ALL creates the Universe MENTALLY, in a manner alike to the process whereby Human being creates Mental Images. [...][20]

[...] The student will, of course, realize that the illustrations given above are necessarily imperfect and inadequate, for they stand for the creation of mental images in finite minds, while the Universe is a creation of Infinite Mind—and the divergence between the two poles separates them. And yet it is merely a affair of degree—the same Principle is in operation—the Principle of Correspondence manifests in each—"As above, and then Below; as Below, so in a higher place." And, in the degree that Man realizes the beingness of the Indwelling Spirit immanent within his beingness, and then will he rise in the spiritual scale of life. This is what spiritual development means—the recognition, realization, and manifestation of the Spirit within us. Try to think this concluding definition—that of spiritual development. Information technology contains the Truth of True Faith.[21]

Difference from the original Arabic [edit]

It may exist noted that the original Arabic of the poesy in the Emerald Tablet itself does not mention that what is above and what is below are "as" or "like" each other, but rather that they are "from" each other:

Standard arabic:[22] إن الأعلى من الأسفل والأسفل من الأعلى

Latin translation past Hugo of Santalla:[23] Superiora de inferioribus, inferiora de superioribus

English translation of the Arabic:[24] That which is in a higher place is from that which is beneath, and that which is below is from that which is above.

In popular culture [edit]

The phrase has also been adopted as a title for various works of art:

  • Every bit Above, So Below (motion-picture show), a 2014 found-footage horror pic
  • As Above, Then Beneath (Forced Entry album), 1991
  • As Higher up, And then Beneath (Angel Witch album), 2012
  • Every bit Above So Beneath (Azure Ray EP), 2012
  • Every bit Higher up, So Below (Stonefield album), 2016
  • Every bit In a higher place, Then Below, a 1998 studio anthology by Barry Adamson
  • Equally Above Then Below, a 2011 studio album by singer Anthony David
  • As Above So Below, a 2020 studio album by rapper Vinnie Paz
  • "As Above, So Below", a song from the Klaxons' debut album Myths of the Almost Future
  • "As Above, So Below", a song from the Tom Tom Club's debut album Tom Tom Gild
  • "As Above, So Below", a song from The Comsat Angels' album Land
  • "As In a higher place, And then Below", a song from Behemoth's anthology Zos Kia Cultus
  • "As Above, So Below", a song from Yngwie Malmsteen'due south debut album Rising Force
  • "As In a higher place, And so Below", a song from In This Moment's anthology Mother
  • "As Higher up, And so Below", a rails from the soundtrack of the 2021 film, Zack Snyder'due south Justice League

See too [edit]

  • Correspondence (philosophical doctrine upheld by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688–1772)
  • Emerald Tablet
  • Helena P. Blavatsky (1831–1891)
  • Hermetica (the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus)
  • The Kybalion and its likely writer, William W. Atkinson (1862–1932)

References [edit]

  1. ^ In pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana's Sirr al-khalīqa or The Hole-and-corner of Cosmos; meet Kraus 1942–1943, vol. II, pp. 274–275; Weisser 1980, p. 54.
  2. ^ Steele & Vocaliser 1928, p. 42/486 (English), p. 48/492 (Latin). For other medieval translations, meet Emerald Tablet.
  3. ^ On the use of the paraphrase past Blavatsky, cf. Prophet 2018, pp. 87, 91. On the identification of the author of the Kybalion as William Westward. Atkinson, run across Deslippe 2011, pp. 18–19; Smoley 2018, pp. ix–xxv; Horowitz 2019, p. 195. On the popularity of the Kybalion in New Age circles, cf. Horowitz 2019, pp. 193–194.
  4. ^ Principe 2013, p. 198; Van Gijsen 2006.
  5. ^ Steele & Singer 1928, p. 42/486; Principe 2013, p. 32.
  6. ^ On the macrocosm and the microcosm in general, come across, e.g., Conger 1922; Allers 1944; Barkan 1975.
  7. ^ Encounter, e.g., Götze 1923; Duchesne-Guillemin 1956.
  8. ^ Run into, due east.g., Allers 1944.
  9. ^ See particularly Olerud 1951.
  10. ^ See especially Kranz 1938.
  11. ^ Run across Hahm 1977, 63ff.
  12. ^ Cf. Prophet 2018, p. 91.
  13. ^ On the syncretic nature of Blavatsky'due south reception of Hermetic ideas, meet Prophet 2018, p. 87 et passim.
  14. ^ Blavatsky 1877, vol. one, p. 306 (emphasis in original).
  15. ^ Blavatsky 1877, vol. 1, p. 35 (accent in original).
  16. ^ Blavatsky 1877, vol. 1, p. 330.
  17. ^ On the relation between the Kybalion and the ancient Greek Hermetica, see Horowitz 2019, pp. 193–198; cf. as well Chapel 2013. On the identification of the author of the Kybalion as William W. Atkinson, see Deslippe 2011, pp. xviii–nineteen; Chapel 2013, Smoley 2018, pp. nine–xxv; Horowitz 2019, p. 195.
  18. ^ Three Initiates 1908, pp. 28–30.
  19. ^ Iii Initiates 1908, pp. 113–114.
  20. ^ Three Initiates 1908, pp. 68–69 (all capitals in original).
  21. ^ Three Initiates 1908, pp. 99–100.
  22. ^ This poesy is identical in the earliest version (from pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana'due south Sirr al-khalīqa or The Secret of Cosmos) and in the slightly later version quoted past Jabir ibn Hayyan. Come across Weisser 1979, p. 524; Zirnis 1979, p. ninety.
  23. ^ Hudry 1997–1999, p. 152.
  24. ^ Holmyard 1923. (translation of the version quoted by Jabir ibn Hayyan)

Works cited:

  • Allers, Rudolf (1944). "Microcosmus: From Anaximandros to Paracelsus". Traditio. 2: 319–407. doi:10.1017/S0362152900017219. JSTOR 27830052.
  • Barkan, Leonard (1975). Nature's Work of Art: The Human being Body as Image of the World. London/New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN9780300016949.
  • Blavatsky, Helena P. (1877). Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology. Vol. one–2. New York: J. W. Bouton.
  • Chapel, Nicholas E. (2013). "The Kybalion's New Clothes: An Early 20th Century Text's Dubious Clan with Hermeticism". Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition. iii (24).
  • Conger, George Perrigo (1922). Theories of Macrocosms and Microcosms in the History of Philosophy. New York: Columbia Academy Press. ISBN9781290429832.
  • Deslippe, Philip (2011). The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. ISBN978-1585428748.
  • Duchesne-Guillemin, Jacques (1956). "Persische weisheit in griechischem gewande?". Harvard Theological Review. 49 (two): 115–122. doi:10.1017/S0017816000028169. JSTOR 1508803.
  • Götze, Albrecht (1923). "Persische Weisheit in griechischem Gewande: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Mikrokosmos-Idee". Zeitschrift für Indologie und Iranistik. 2: 60–98, 167–177.
  • Hahm, David E. (1977). The Origins of Stoic Cosmology. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. ISBN978-0814202531.
  • Holmyard, Eric J. (1923). "The Emerald Tabular array". Nature. 122 (2814): 525–526. Bibcode:1923Natur.112..525H. doi:10.1038/112525a0.
  • Horowitz, Mitch (2019). "The New Historic period and Gnosticism: Terms of Commonality". Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies. 4 (2): 191–215. doi:10.1163/2451859X-12340073. S2CID 214533789.
  • Hudry, Françoise (1997–1999). "Le De secretis nature du Ps. Apollonius de Tyane, traduction latine par Hugues de Santalla du Kitæb sirr al-halîqa". Chrysopoeia. half-dozen: i–154.
  • Kranz, Walther (1938). "Kosmos und Mensch in der Vorstellung frühen Griechentums". Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse. 2 (seven): 121–161. OCLC 905422149.
  • Kraus, Paul (1942–1943). Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans 50'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. ISBN9783487091150. OCLC 468740510.
  • Olerud, Anders (1951). Fifty'idée de macrocosmos et de microcosmos dans le 'Timée' de Platon: Étude de mythologie comparée. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell. OCLC 680524865.
  • Principe, Lawrence M. (2013). The Secrets of Abracadabra. Chicago: The Academy of Chicago Printing. ISBN978-0226103792.
  • Prophet, Erin (2018). "Hermetic Influences on the Evolutionary Organization of Helena Blavatsky'south Theosophy". Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies. three (1): 84–111. doi:10.1163/2451859X-12340050.
  • Smoley, Richard (2018). The Kybalion: Centenary Edition. New York: Tarcher/Penguin. ISBN9780143131687.
  • Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1928). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Regal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:ten.1177/003591572802100361. PMC2101974. PMID 19986273.
  • Iii Initiates (1908). The Kybalion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece. Chicago: The Yogi Publication Society.
  • Van Gijsen, Annelies (2006). "Astrology I: Introduction". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Lexicon of Gnosis and Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 109–110. ISBN9789004152311.
  • Weisser, Ursula (1979). Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung und die Darstellung der Natur (Buch der Ursachen) von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Standard arabic Science. OCLC 13597803.
  • Weisser, Ursula (1980). Spies, Otto (ed.). Das "Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung" von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana. Berlin: De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110866933. ISBN978-3-xi-086693-iii.
  • Zirnis, Peter (1979). The Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Unpublished PhD diss.). New York Academy.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_above,_so_below

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