Correspondence

Definition

The second of the seven Hermetic Principles in The Kybalion (1908) — "As above, so below; as below, so above" — stating that patterns repeat across all scales of existence, making the inner psychological world a mirror of the outer reality and vice versa.

Deep Understanding

Rooted in the second line of the Emerald Tablet attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, where what is below is said to be like what is above, Correspondence is the most widely quoted Hermetic axiom. Read as a principle, it holds that the universe operates through fractal patterns: the structure of an atom mirrors a solar system, the dynamics of a cell mirror an ecosystem, and the landscape of your psyche mirrors the landscape of your life.

For the Gnostic practitioner, this principle functions as a diagnostic tool. External reality is not random — it is a reflection of internal states. A chaotic environment mirrors a chaotic psyche. A relationship pattern that keeps repeating reveals an unhealed internal split. Financial scarcity reflects a consciousness of scarcity.

Jung found in this principle a precursor to his concept of synchronicity — meaningful coincidences that reveal the hidden connection between inner psychic states and outer events. When you change your inner state, your outer reality rearranges to correspond. This is not mystical wishful thinking — it is the fundamental operating logic of a mental universe.

Primary sources

• Three Initiates, The Kybalion (Yogi Publication Society, 1908; 1912 printing), ch. II: the Principle of Correspondence, the second of seven, with its above-and-below formula. Open-access copy
• The Emerald Tablet, trans. Isaac Newton (Keynes MS 28, c. 1680; The Chymistry of Isaac Newton, Indiana University): its second sentence, the lower like the upper and the upper like the lower. Open-access copy
• C. G. Jung, Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, ch. III (Forerunners of the Idea of Synchronicity), in The Interpretation of Nature and the Psyche, trans. R. F. C. Hull (Pantheon Books, 1955): the old doctrine of correspondence and sympathy as a forerunner. Catalogue record

In Practice

Choose one area of your outer life that feels stuck or painful. Instead of trying to fix the external situation, ask: what inner state is this mirroring? Do not judge the answer. Simply see the reflection. The outer will shift when the inner does — this is law, not hope.

Stefan's Alkimia. (2026, October 4). Correspondence. Pleroma Guide. https://pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/correspondence

Stefan's Alkimia. “Correspondence.” Pleroma Guide, 4 Oct. 2026, pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/correspondence.

Stefan's Alkimia. “Correspondence.” Pleroma Guide. April 2, 2026. Last modified October 4, 2026. https://pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/correspondence.

@online{alkimia2026correspondence,
  author = {{Stefan's Alkimia}},
  title = {{Correspondence}},
  organization = {{Pleroma Guide}},
  date = {2026-04-02},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Last modified 2026-10-04},
  url = {https://pleroma.guide/en/lexicon/correspondence},
  langid = {english}
}