macrocosm large structure comprising smaller parts or microcosms which reflect it Basilides teaches them that man is the gateway between the macrocosm and the microcosm , the greater infinity and the lesser infinity . It affirms that each human being is a reflection of the whole universe , a microcosm within the macrocosm , and that all of us live under the same cosmic laws of the Tao . On that first trip , I was seeing America as a macrocosm , and trying to break it down into smaller , easier-to-handle chunks . For us the individual is a microcosm of the social macrocosm . of The Celtic elemental system links the world in which we live to our own bodies , the macrocosm of the world linked to the microcosm of the self . This programme, for example , saw the macrocosm of world politics brought into a room shared by four people .