The concept of an infinite Cosmos continues to be challenging to the imagination. Mystics and philosophers like Nicholas of Cusa and Giordano Bruno began to teach that the Cosmos was infinite, and that each star in the sky was another Sun like our own. Centuries after it was written, we began to realize that the actual physical Universe wasn’t limited to a finite set of nested spheres. The Emerald Tablet was written long ago, when our concept of the Universe was limited in scope. The Hermetic axiom reflects a belief that everything in the microcosm reflects an element of the divine plan, but it also means that changes in the microcosm also cause or reflect changes in the divine plan. But it can also represent a sort of divine blueprint, the plan by which creation occurs and the Cosmos continues to happen. In some sense, the macrocosm can be viewed as a collective of all elements of the microcosm. This doesn’t seem to leave much room for the macrocosm. In this sense, the microcosm encompasses not only your immediate world, but everything in the Universe that we can look at, predict, or attempt to explain through scientific observation. It can also encompass the comprehensible world, which would include everything that can be directly or indirectly observed through any method available to you. The microcosm encompasses you as an individual and the observable world around you. It metaphorically explains the way that the microcosm, or the physical and spiritual world which we inhabit, mirrors the macrocosm, or the larger scope of the Cosmos and even God. What does this enigmatic statement mean? It is an expression of an idea which is found across religions and spiritual traditions. 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. The most well-known saying from Hermeticism is the Hermetic axiom, “As above, so below.” This is a simplified version of a verse from the Emerald Tablet, which states: As Above, So Below: the Macrocosm and Microcosm
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