The Microcosm and the Macrocosm

The second line of the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus states:

“What is below is like that which is above; and what is above is like that which is below; to accomplish the miracle of the one thing.”

Or as we commonly hear the rephrasing of this 'As Above, So Below'. This axiom adopted by the Alchemists is one of the key elements of magic. In order to aspire to something that is beyond, one must turn within, as if everything a magician needs to know is already inside and need only be rediscovered. The Macrocosm represents the outward universe and all that it encompasses, the microcosm represents all that is within, and the two are reflections of themselves.

Hence the magician must aspire to know ones own nature first, this is the ultimate goal. For if the magician endeavors to change anything outside of the self, one must start from within. In Greek thought the Microcosm and the Macrocosm was used to describe the observation that there were forms that occurred in all of nature that even to a mathematical scale were the same. Even within the absolute perfect asymmetry of nature there were recurring themes. Even in the smallest of things, down to the metaphysical level there appeared to be a concurrence. The Golden Mean and the Fibonaci Spiral are mathematical forms seen everywhere in nature. Thus everything that could be found without the body could also be represented within the body.

Christians incorporated this thought in the premise:

"The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show; neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ or, ‘Lo there!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17: 20, 21.)

Early Gnostics yearned for the Gnosis or knowledge of the Divine as experiential. One needed to touch the Divine in order to achieve true enlightenment, it was not sufficient to have ‘faith’. These things were not found in outward things but were discovered by searching within, to touch the Holy Ghost (or the modern politically corrected version Holy Spirit) that resided within.

In magic terms this is very simple. The Fool holds the items of his trade in the bag on his staff carried over his shoulder. The Magician shows the Fool that the items in the bag are all that is required to perform the magic. The High Priestess informs the Fool that the items are merely tools to stimulate the subconscious. All of these things that are sought lie within once we can pierce the veil to reveal them. The secrets of the Universe lie in the Microcosm that is the magician themselves.

“Democritus says. ‘But we know nothing really, for truth lies deep down.’”
“When Thales was asked what was difficult, he said, ‘To know one’s self.’ And what was easy, “To advise another.’” Laertius Diogenes