As Above, So Below

 Many people, including myself, have misinterpreted the saying.

As it appears in its most widely divulged medieval Latin translation:

Quod est superius est sicut quod inferius, et quod inferius est sicut quod est superius.

That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above.

It may be noted that the original Arabic of the verse in the Emerald Tablet itself does not mention that what is above and what is below are “as” or “like” each other, but rather that they are “from” each other:

Arabic: إن الأعلى من الأسفل والأسفل من الأعلى

English translation of the Arabic: That which is above is from that which is below, and that which is below is from that which is above.