“As above, so below, so mote it be!”
As the witch ends her incantation, she utters the powerful phrase “as above, so below,” knowing the implications of her words reach far beyond our physical realm.
Where does the iconic phrase come from? Why does it hold so much power that modern witches adapted it for their own practices?
As Above So Below Origins
The earliest records of the phrase “as above so below” come from the Emerald Tablet, a hermetic text that was rewritten numerous times over the centuries.
The earliest version we’ve discovered is Arabic, dating to the 9th century.
Nobody knows the true author of these texts, the original language, or exactly what they originally might have said.
As years turned into centuries, they became attributed to the mythical Hermes Trismegistus, a god-like figure related to both the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Hoth.
What’s on the Emerald Tablet?
The Emerald Tablet is a cryptic, philosophical text. It describes the sun as the father and the moon as the mother, the creation of the earth, and the cycles of day and night.
Over the centuries, the writings have been interpreted in numerous ways: as an instruction manual for alchemists, as a philosophy, and as a religious text.
The second line features the saying we’re all familiar with, though modern translations tend to only use half.
Here is the best translation of the entire line, though without an understanding of the original language, we can’t be sure of the whole original meaning:
“That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracle of one only thing.”
What Does “As Above So Below” Mean?
“As above, so below” is a spiritual phrase meaning that what happens in the ethereal plane (heaven, above, metaphysical) also happens in the physical plane (here on Earth).
The two worlds always match.
Although it’s a philosophy, it may have roots in reality. As above, so below can symbolize the cosmos’s impacts on Earth. The Sun rises and sets, bringing day and night. Our yearly rotation and tilt bring changing seasons. The moon’s monthly cycle creates the tides.
It may also represent the idea that massive changes to a system create trickle-down effects, impacting even the smallest parts of that system.
Though we can’t know what the original authors meant, the complete translation offers a hint. It describes everything as connected.
In the grand scheme, everything is one. The heavens, the earth, the underworld, the spiritual realm, the physical realm, and the ethereal come together in the “miracle of one only thing.”
Modern Usage
The ancient cryptic phrase found new life in the occultist movements in the late 19th century, and from there, it became popular in New Age circles.
Today’s witches commonly use it in their incantations and rituals, as an acceptance that anything they do will have implications not only in the physical realm but in the metaphysical realm as well.
The verse reminds us of how powerful magic is because it can have far-reaching impacts well beyond what we expect or intend.
That reminder keeps witches grounded in their craft, knowing that every spell may have repercussions they never considered.
Pop Culture Usage
The association with witches and the occult makes the phrase an enticing target for horror films.
In 2014, the phrase found new life in the title of a horror movie. The As Above So Below movie used the “found footage” trope to follow a group through the catacombs beneath Paris, which transformed into the layers of Hell.
As Above So Below also appears abundantly in the music industry, with numerous album and track titles using the phrase.
Is it Evil?
The movie highlights the negative associations between occult sayings and witchcraft. When people think of “As above so below,” they aren’t always thinking about Earthly versus ethereal realms.
Instead, the phrase invokes the worst ideas about witchcraft: Above is Earth, and below is Hell– the realm of demons, monsters, and evil. When a witch utters the terrifying phrase, they’re unleashing a hell on Earth.
These false associations are rooted in witchcraft’s misogynistic history and have little basis in reality.
Although some religions consider the underworld an evil realm, not all do. Most of those associations aren’t rooted in religious texts; they come from Dante’s Divine Comedy, written in the 14th century. The Inferno portion of the Divine Comedy takes readers on a journey through fire and brimstone, an idea we now associate with Hell.
Many religions don’t have heaven or hell; instead, they have one spiritual world where all souls gather. It’s not an evil plane; it’s simply the next plane.
As above, so below isn’t about unleashing evil from the underworld; it’s about understanding that all things are connected, both in the physical and spiritual realms.
Celebrating Our Differences
Historically, we’ve associated “as above, so below” with witches and witches with evil, but the rise of new-age religions has helped society shift.
As more women explore their divine power and share their esoteric secrets in books and songs, more people realize that there was never anything evil about it.
Instead of running scared from those who worship differently than us, we’re celebrating our differences and welcoming people from any walk of life into the fold.
That’s a thing worth celebrating, and I hope this respect for each other’s differences follows the law of “as above, so below,” so the spiritual realm is filled with people who love, respect, and cherish each other as humans despite any surface-level differences.