As Above – So Below

In the words of Foster Bailey:

“A symbol is an outer, visible, and tangible sign of an inner spiritual reality. If this is admitted, then behind all the outer forms of the Masonic work, latent in its rituals, and hidden behind the entire system of symbols, is some spiritual value and some definite and intended teaching which can be discovered by those whose vision can be awakened.”

When you conduct research and studies in the Masonic Arts and Hidden Mysteries you will come across the phrase “As above, so below”. By many Masons this is considered a major Masonic principle.

The origin of this phrase can be traced back to the Emerald Tablet.

The Emerald Tablet, also known as the Smaragdine Tablet is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. It was highly regarded by Islamic and European alchemists as the foundation of their art. Though attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus (“Hermes the Thrice-Greatest”), the text of the Emerald Tablet first appears in a number of early medieval Arabic sources, the oldest of which dates to the late eighth or early ninth century. The tablet itself is believed to date between 200 – 800 BC.

The opening lines of the Emerald Tablet read as follows:

“It is true without lying, certain and most true. That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.”  – (translated from Arabic text by Isaac Newton).

It should be noted that the original Arabic of the verse 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.

The phrase “as above, so below” besides in Freemasonry is widely used in tarot, astrology and alchemy, meaning that everything in the universe (macrocosm) had its image in the terrestrial world (microcosm).

Over the ages, many esoteric thinkers have come up with their own interpretations. A general consensus though is “as above, so below” is the same as the “Principle of Correspondence”. In other words, everything above (spiritual) corresponds to something material (below). Nothing exists in isolation. Matter contains spirit and vice versa.

This means that the workings of the Universe mirror life on Earth, that the heavenly bodies mirror the human body, and that human life is subject to and intertwined with the Universe at large. In a more metaphysical sense, it means that humans reflect the creator or creation, that the “lower” and “higher” planes exist in tandem with each other and if you affect one, you affect the other.

In tarot, the magician points with one hand towards the sky and with the other to the ground as depicted in the Rider–Waite tarot deck, often thought to represent the concept of “as above, so below”.

Occultists understood it in the context of Emanuel Swedenborg’s (1688–1772) doctrine of the correspondence between different planes of existence.

A more practical relationship with “as above, so below” can be found with architecture and city design based on the stars. For instance, Washington DC, where the architects were Freemasons who followed the guiding principles of the cosmos. These without any doubt would include sacred geometry. The designs of many Freemasons temples testify that sacred geometry is what exists above.

The same can be said about fractal geometry. Patterns repeating from below to above or the other way around.

A parallel can be drawn with the workings of our brain when you realise that this ‘grey matter’ has more connections than there are stars in the universe. Our brains are a universe on its own, full of secrets that our active consciousness will never know.

In modern-day Masonry we find many symbols referring to “as above, so below”.

I would like to highlight in this context three Masonic Symbols.

The square and compasses. The square (symbolising our conduct), points to below. The top of the compass (wisdom) points to above. Now place the letter G or the ‘all-seeing eye’ in the centre. As Above, So Below.

The Seal of Solomon, a six-pointed star and popular Masonic symbol, can often be mistaken for the Star of David by the untrained eye. Most Masons will recognise the symbol, but not always fully understand its significance. The diagram is a basic building block of geometry. It is 2 equilateral triangles intertwined with one diagram pointing to above and the other to below. As the Seal of Solomon has so many allegorical connotations that explain so much about life and because the symbolism within and outside of Freemasonry are multifold it deserves a separate Plancha.

The Star of David, the predecessor of the Seal of Solomon is derived in Hebrew ideology from the ground plan for creating the Kabbalistic tree of life, leading to Jacob’s ladder.

Jacob’s Ladder is depicted on first-degree tracing boards in many Lodges all over the world.

Jacob’s Ladder also called the Masonic Ladder is said to reveal a connection between heaven and earth with The Creator at the top of the ladder. Angels are seen ascending and descending. The ladder shows a hierarchical ordering of the Universe, a great chain of being, a principle of correspondence.

Walter Lesley Wilmshurst an accomplished Masonic author from the 19th century wrote:

“Indeed Life, and the ladder it climbs, are one and indissociable. The summit of both reaches to and disappears out of ken into the heavens; the base of both rests upon the earth; but these two terminals – that of spirit and that of matter – are but opposite poles of a single reality.”

To finish I would like to contribute my personal thoughts on this subject.

I believe that in the heavens (Above) a ritual is taking place all the time.  A divine drama with the building theme of making perfection out of imperfection. When, therefore, here upon earth, a ritual is enacted, symbolising that eternal process, then some of the spiritual realms above are brought down to earth. It is this mysterious unity of thought, synchronising above to below. This my brothers, is my belief, that this gives Freemasonry its magic and eternal purpose.