as above, so below

Meaning

Phrase

• What happens on a higher level of reality also happens on lower levels; the microcosm and macrocosm behave alike.

Origin

• The concept was first laid out in the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus: "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."