Astrology and As above so Below

With this article I explore the context of astrology and the nature of astrology. In a way I would like to link it to the universal laws. I will begin with one of the seven hermetic principles: the principle of correspondence. Often used as the axiom “as above so below’.  This is an exploration only, I did not find the one answer, just got more clarity on both astrology and the principle of correspondence.

Concepts, Books and Technique
On my quest to understand the workings of astrology I did research. Lots of books, by the kilo sometimes. To broaden my horizon. To find out about astronomy, about the ancient astronomers that were also astrologers.
To learn the technique of astrology. To learn other concepts of life and to find meaningful or meaningless answers. So when researching Hermes Trismegistus I found out about the book ‘Kybalion, A Study of The Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece’. Download for free is possible at Gutenbergs website. Sometimes the title Kybalion doesn’t react. You can also search on the e-text number 14209. It is about seven hermetic principles and some call it the gist of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus.

The Kybalion
In the Kybalion I found one of the seven Hermetic Principles; the Principle of Correspondence, with the axiom ‘As above so below’ as part of the explanation. That above and below correspond with each other just as meaningful and meaningless are tied together. In the end the truth/enlightenment/the answer cannot be found within this concept that originates in looking at the world from duality. The axiom ‘As above, so below’ is used by astrologers and many others to prove that astrology is correct.

By the way whomever voiced that axiom a long time ago kept us in duality rather than unity, since the axiom in itself (above and below) is dual! Why this axiom applies to the world, what it means and where it comes from is a mystery. I have read stories about it, from general stories to complex theories. [1] Very nice. But not what I was looking for.

This Principle of correspondence embodies the truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life.
Author Unknown -
The Kybalion, Chapter 2

Got it? No? I will tell you again, using understandable Jack and Jill language…

Principle of Correspondence
A universal truth is something that is ALWAYS true and applies to ALL of us. The universal laws apply on different levels. For instance in the material world on a physical level. Science can measure things in length, width, height, thickness or circumference. But at the same time everything vibrates, whether you can see it or not. This entails that everything changes in every moment. I am not the same woman now, as I was five minutes ago. There may not be notable changes, but still. The only thing that is for sure is that there is change. Things move away, things get together, all to do with vibration.

A universal truth exists on all levels, also on the levels that we do not know or don’t experience with our 5 to 6 senses. There is harmony and agreement between all that exists on earth. Everything comes from the same source, no matter how you name that source. Everybody and everything is subject to the same rules. Everything is under the principle of correspondence.

Moment of Astrology
Right now I am reading ‘The moment of astrology’ by Geoffrey Cornelius. On the cover of the book it says:

The description of astrology as a divination [...] This possibility is approached here through closely examined horoscope cases, in order to describe the phenomena that actually occur when astrology comes to life, in contrast to what traditional theory tells us ought to occur.
Author Unknown -
Backcover of The moment in Astrology

I find this very interesting and will post more when I finish.

Astrology as a way to look upon ourselves or myself is a method that people will use as long as we think that we are living in duality. But then again, anything can be divination by itself. It is not just planets that can give meaning to our lives. Something gets meaning because I give meaning to it.

Astrology and I Ching and tarot perhaps belong together after all. The only difference perhaps being that the axiom ‘as above so below’, is too appropriate to astrology. It seems to fit so nicely, the planets and stars are out there, above us and we are below, hence the combination is made and symbols to interpret are born.

Conclusion?
Universal truth.
Everything in the universe connects, always and for all of us.
Next step is that planets and stars belong to the universe.
Harmony, agreement and correspondence exist for all us.
It applies to everything.
Everything in the universe vibrates and changes.
It is looking for harmony and agreement.
How can it not do so?
Planets and stars are connected to everything.
I am connected to the stars.
How?
That is still a question, it might be through universal laws.
Maybe the law of correspondence, maybe through divination.

Sources:
[1] Several websites mention ‘As above, so below’ to explain what astrology is and why it works. Here are several examples. The order is by chance.
- http://www.karmastrology.com/astwork.shtml
- http://www.astroscapes.com/
- http://www.indepthastrology.net/
- Alan Oken wrote a book called ‘As above so below’ in 1973.
- Liz Greene in her article “The Language of the unconscious’ refers to the axiom and that ‘Jung hints in the same direction’. This article is on the website http://www.mindfire.ca.
- Bernadette Brady talked at the annual AA conference in 2005 about astrology and complexity theory. She proposed that astrology has a nature rather like fractals, those beautiful ephemeral patterns of infinite complexity, putting the Hermetic axiom of “as above, so below” into the modern scientific framework of chaos theory.

Read Full Post »

Origin of ‘As above, so below’

A phrase like ‘As above, so below’ is used by writers and astrologers alike to explain why and how the world works. It seems a great concept that the visible stars in the sky are linked to life on earth. The microcosm and the macrocosm are connected. On the internet using Google I find 108 million hits for ‘As above, so below’. Together with astrology I get 858.000 hits. This interests me and I am curious. Who used these words and where do they come from?

Who is Hermes Trismegistus?
Hermes Trismegistus is good for almost 35.000 hits and seems a perfect name to investigate. But that is easier said than done. There are few sources that really tell about him or his origins. It is not sure who he really was and where he lived, much speculation also.The name of Hermes Trismegistus (Greek for ‘Hermes the thrice-greatest’) is a blending of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth.

In Hellenistic Egypt, the name of the god Hermes was given as a substitute for the Greek name of Thoth. He was the Egyptian god of the moon and of wisdom and learning, usually represented as having the head and neck of an ibis. In the Greek mythology Hermes was the messenger of the Gods. Both these gods were associated with writing and magic and after time they became more and more the same and took each others symbolism as well.[1]

In the Greek papyri an Egyptian Hermes Trismegistus is found. He is ‘a cosmic deity with whom the magician (in Egyptian style – cf. the ritual assumption of god-forms) could identify. In the Corpus Hermeticum Trismegistus is usually envisaged as a sage who lived in a remote period, conversing with the deities, though they also speak of him as a divine being … Apparently, Hermes Trismegistus was conceived as hovering between the divine and human world, which, being a mediator, was an advantage’.[2]

Hermetica
Many hits on the internet connect Hermes Trismegistus with occult sciences, such as alchemy and astrology. This association partly originates in the technical hermetic literature circulating in the Roman empire from as early as the second century. The expression “hermetically sealed” derives from the name Hermes. Appollonius of Tyana, the Pythagorian philosopher of the first century C.E. is less well known. Greek and Latin sources do not connect these two figures doctrinally, but in the Arabic Hermetic literature [...] Apollonius (in Arabic: Balinus) is often associated with Hermes. There he is depicted as the discoverer and representative of Hermes’ teachings on the secrets of creation that had been lost to the generations before him.[3] Apollonius has even been identified as Hermes himself.

Hermetica or hermetic books are ‘ancient metaphysical works dealing essentially with the idea of the complete community of all beings and objects. Authorship of the books was attributed to the Egyptian god of wisdom, Thoth, whose name was sometimes translated into Greek as Hermes Trismegistus and was therefore equated with the Greek god Hermes. The books treat of a variety of subjects, including magic, astrology, and alchemy, and were particularly influential in the 3rd century with the Neoplatonists and in France and England in the 17th century.’ [5]

The Hermetic writings can be divided into two main sections: writings on sciences, especially those of occult significance, and writings on philosophy, presenting the Hermetic doctrine and view of the world. In the scientific section a broad range of topics is covered: astrology, astronomy, alchemy, magic, geography, topography, education, worship, laws, priestly conduct, anatomy, disease, organs of the body, medicine, ophthalmology, and even gynaecology. The philosophical section is most interesting when studying Hermeticism. [6] In 1911 a text called Kybalion appeared. It is written by ‘three initiates’ and is called the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. It explains the 6 principles in the universe. [7]

Beside the wide range of Hermetic writings there are also hits on the Tabula Smargadina or Emerald Tablet. Sources as early as 500 AD report on this tablet and what it says. Legend has it that the tabula was found in a cave by Apollonius in Egypt (near Alexandria ?) in the first century AD, inscribed on a plate of emerald, held by the corpse of Hermes Trismegistus.

In other legends (told by Albertus Magnus), Alexander the Great found it (in the third century BC).[2]
This green tablet, sometimes called the tablet of Hermes, could even be one of the earliest works in alchemy in the world. I don’t think it is still around, but apparently on the tablet there were thirteen lines. The second line holds the ‘As above so below’-axioma that everyone refers to. [8,9]

The words “As above so below”
Quoted here is the version by Isaac Newton from circa 1680.
1. Tis true without lying, certain & most true.
2. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
3. And as all things have been & arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
4. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,
5. The wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
6. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
7. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
7a. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.
8. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior & inferior.
9. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.
10. Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing.
11a. So was the world created.
12. From this are & do come admirable adaptations where of the means (or process) is here in this.
13. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.
14. That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.

Sources and links:
[1] Explanation on the origins of Hermes Trismegistus was found on http://www.answers.com/topic/hermes-trismegistus#after_ad1
[2] In Tabula Smaragdina, the Emerald Table by Wim van Dungen, 2002-2006 is spoken about the legend & history of Hermes Trismegistus. This can be found at http://www.sofiatopia.org/equiaeon/emerald.htm#1a
[3] Hermes Trismegistus and Apollonius of Tyana in the writings of Baha’u’llah by Kevin Brown. http://www.mountainman.com.au/Hermes_Apollonius_Keven_Brown.htm%5D
[4] Hermes Trismegistus, the Archaic underground Tradition with quotes from the Ancient Egypt tradition and Greek accounts, as found in modern books and texts. http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/scripts/hermes.html
[5] A definition of hermetica or hermetic books can be found at http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Hermetic.html
[6] Explanation on the hermetic writings by http://students.roanoke.edu/groups/relg211/bennett/writings.html%5D
[7] Kybalion can be downloaded from http://www.gutenberg.com.
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Tablet
[9] http://www.sacred-texts.com/alc/emerald.htm

Read Full Post »