“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” Carl Sagan
“You are made of light and sound. Let your light shine.” Grace Mary Power [1]
It all started as a conversation [2] on the qualities and power of sound as a creative force: initiating (“In the beginning was the Word,” Big Bang, etc.) and sustaining (the sacred AUM, the Naad, the cosmic music); communicating ideas and emotions (voice, speech, frequencies, music); transforming and healing (mantras, affirmations, all the wholistic modalities involving sound frequencies); capable of destroying; ever moving, ever present.
The natural flow of this conversation led us to talk about cosmogony and cosmology. Different cultures, traditions and theories were mentioned.
Among them the phrase, “as above, so below” was repeated several times.
Since this precise expression has become an adage used time and again in written and spoken form, I found it necessary to follow the thread of its translations, in order to clarify its profound meaning. We all agreed that words are capable of casting spells, and repeated long enough can produce or reinforce particular mindset and belief system.
The Hermetic text, arguably dated 9,600 BC, written on one of the tablets authored by Thoth the Atlantean or the way he was later known Hermes Trismegistus, actually came to us first in Arabic from the late 8th – early 9th century. The subsequent Latin and English translations of the text are as follows:
Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius. [3]
That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above. [4]
The original Arabic text states:
That what is above is from what is below and what is below is from what is above. [5]
The translation and interpretation of emerald Tablet VII done by Doreal:
Know Ye, O man, that far in the space-time, Infinity itself shall pass into change. Here ye and list to the voice of wisdom: know that ALL is of ALL evermore. In all space, there is only One wisdom. Though seeming divided, it is One in the One. All that exists comes forth from the Light, and the Light comes forth from All. [6]
To me, those little twitches in the translation/interpretation are very significant in conveying different meaning, as well as indicative of the changing times in which they were made and released in the public space. I find that the original transcript in Arabic and also Doreal’s interpretation are the closest to my understanding about the Universe.
The Latin translation establishes a hierarchy: there is a superior and inferior, which are alike. The later English one focuses on positioning – above and below. We already have established hierarchies, now we are told that the superior is above and the inferior is below. Yes, it states again that they are alike, but it never indicates that they are the same. Plus, in both the duality is obvious: there is something that is above and another that is below; one superior and one inferior. They are separate. Same meaning implies the contemporary phrase, ‘as above, so below’.
The Arabic transcript talks about both sides to be made from each other. They are made of the same stuff. They are the same, regardless if they seem to be above or below, superior or inferior or whatever our limited senses and conditioned minds tend to perceive them to be. They also interrelate. The creative potential is the characteristic of the whole, in which one creates the other and vice versa. There is a whole in which this constant co-creation is at play. In Doreal’s words, “ALL is of ALL evermore.”
Quite similar is when interpreting the also very popular Taoist yin-yang symbol. Are we going to see it as inseparable, but contradictory opposites or as a whole – a One, perpetually created and recreated by the interplay of two complimentary forces, which together are three and two, and one again? The difference in the elucidation has far from only linguistic and philosophical reach, as well as consequences.
It is amazing how some of the tenets of the Darwinian theory about the evolution through natural selection have shaped our thinking beyond biology, paleontology, or evolutional psychology. Scarcity mentality; competition as a way of life; survival as a state of being; reproduction as main motivator of romantic relationships, have been embedded in the mass subconsciousness triggering subsequent actions and multitude of adverse reactions. Poverty, contention, deception and manipulation, aggression, attack on liberties, wars, are being justified and passed on as a ‘normal’ part of life or ‘just’ human nature.
What would the world be if we change our perspective? What if we not just see, but also feel ourselves and each other, as well as all the plants and animals; the air, the soil and the bodies of water; Mother Nature, planets and stars; all made of the same ‘stuff’, all One? All interdependent and in perfect harmony according to the natural law. Living in cooperation and cocreation. Nurturing and complimenting each other. Taking as much as we need and sharing in the abundance. Thriving. All made of love. What if? If not now, when?
Notes:
- Power Grace M. Energy and human form, Medium Network (2022). https://medium.com/new-earth-consciousness/you-are-made-of-light-and-sound-175fb97f128b
2. This conversation took place in the discussion group of Experience Korean Culture through Film, a class offered by Mago Academy and still ongoing.
3. Translation available at:
https://latin.stackexchange.com/questions/15713/shorter-translation-of-as-above-so-below
4. Wikipedia, As above, so below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_above,_so_below
5. Holmyard, Eric J. “The Emerald Table” (1923), Nature 112.
6. Inut-Florin Moraru The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean, translation & interpretation by Doreal (1925).