WHAT ARE CORRESPONDENCES?
The Interconnectedness of Energy
Herbs. Gemstones. Oils. Colors. We witches turn to ingredients and tools like these to achieve
our desired effect when creating a spell.
Unfortunately, we often take the correspondences they represent at face-value. We pull from a table online or
out of a spell book and cast our spell without paying much attention to the
representation behind the ingredients we use.
Then, when the spell backfires, we wonder why.
Correspondence is the concept that unlike objects and ideas
are connected on a metaphysical or subconscious level, their energies tied in a
way that magic workers can exploit to bring about their personal intent. As humans, we like to create patterns. We see faces in everyday objects and link
events together regardless of whether they’re actually connected. These
same connections often appear in mundane life and even the most ordinary of
people use them. Whether it’s pink and
blue as binary gender concepts or the rabbit as a symbol of fertility and sex, these
ideas root themselves in our unconscious and shape the way we think – for better
or for worse.
In witchcraft, we use these correspondences to manipulate
the energy of the world around us. We
perform spells that align with the time of day or phase of the moon, selecting
ingredients ranging from herbs to gemstones that we perceive will strengthen
the energies we want to use. We create
love spells around pink and red with rose oil and rose quartz. We make calming blue sleep sachets with
chamomile and lavender. Oftentimes, we
pull these correspondences from a correspondence table – an esoteric reference list
of items and their magical uses cataloged for our convenience. Have you ever noticed, however, that every correspondence table differs? Pull up five different lists and check what
allspice is used for. If you only see a
few correspondences, you’ll notice that they often vary. Alternatively, you’ll get a long list of just
about every use under the sun – and moon.
How do you determine what’s real?
What are the actual
correspondences?
WHERE DID THE CONCEPT OF CORRESPONDENCES COME FROM?
A Short History of Correlation
From the dawn of time, humans have created correspondences
between nature and our own needs. The
evolution of folk medicine and correspondences is largely owed to something we
currently call sympathetic magic. Meaning
“alike” or “similar to,” sympathetic magic is defined as imitation and
correspondence. This is where we develop
concepts like yellow meaning sun or bay leaf meaning protection. But where did sympathetic magic come from?
From literally every
culture throughout history.
As I mentioned before, humans love to create patterns out of
unlike objects and ideas. We’ve been
doing this since we could see stars and create tools. Folk medicine and divine intervention were
our first forms of science. As we have
crossed continents and developed independent cultures, we’ve created a wide
array of correspondences specific to each magical and folk practice. Judaism has the Kabbalah, which was stolen and
Christianized in the Renaissance; Gnostic books focus on good and evil beings,
creating correspondences between them and the virtues and vices. Indian Aurvedic healthcare manuals feature
correspondences and Chinese traditional medicine heavily relies on correlations
as well.
Dating back to the first century, the doctrine of signatures
is one of our earliest recorded methods of correspondences. The core of this theory is visual: Herbs that
look like certain parts of the body can be used to heal and treat said parts. This is where we get ideas like walnuts being
good for the brain and beet juice being good for blood. During the Renaissance, Swiss physician Paracelsus
strongly advocated for the use of the doctrine of signatures and, through the
sixteenth century, this theory played a large role in the creation and knowledge
of Western medicine.
Unfortunately, the doctrine of signatures was largely the cause
of many deaths and is now considered pseudoscience – for good reason. One such example is Aristolochia clematitis, commonly known as European birthwort. Because the plant resembled a uterus, the
doctrine of signatures held that it would be helpful during
childbirth. After birth, this plant
would be consumed to encourage the placenta to expel. Unfortunately, birthwort contains a lethal
toxin called aristolochic acid, which is highly carcinogentic and damages the
kidneys. Throughout history, Aristolochia clematitis has been the unfortunate cause of many deaths, often from renal failure. If you’ve ever wondered why this toxic plant
is known as birthwort, the doctrine of signatures is your answer.
Other correspondence theories popped up during the 17th
and 18th centuries, including theologian and scientist Emanuel
Swedenborg’s theory of correspondences from his 1744 Regnum Animale. None had
quite enough sticking power as the lasting basis for correspondences today.
HOW DO CORRESPONDENCES WORK?
Hermeticism and Other Theories
All Hermetic theory and writing hails from Hermes Trismegistus, an entity seen as
the syncretism of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. Hermeticism claims three great wisdoms: Alchemy,
the study of the reconstitution of various matter; astrology, the study of the
metaphorical and spiritual value of the movement of planets and stars; and theurgy,
the study of the subconscious, the spiritual realm and the entities that
inhabit that plane. We can already see
that we’re linking common items from alchemy with the planets and stars of
astrology with the subconscious and entities of theurgy.
Additionally, the Principle of Correspondence is a core
aphorism within Hermeticism. This
principle is present through nearly every spiritual and religious sect. As a witch, you’ve likely heard it: “As
above, so below.” The Principle of
Correspondence asserts a macrocosm and microcosm of the universe – that is, the
concept that each singular part of the universe is a reflection of the greater
whole. Hermeticism purports that three
planes exist: The physical plane, where the mundane occurs; the mental plane,
the lens through which we process all other planes and where things must exist
first; and the spiritual or subconscious plane, the “otherness” of the
universe. These planes are ordered, so
that the physical plane is below and the spiritual or subconscious plane is
above. As above, so below. As below, so
above. Each item, each entity, each part
is a reflection of that same part, entity or item on the other planes. Whatever happens on any one level happens on
all other levels.
If you’d like a more detailed description, I talk about the Principle of Correspondence in depth here.
In Hermeticism, energy is the vibration everything exhibits
as it inhabits the three planes. It has
to vibrate because these planes are just a degree off from one another. By vibrating, it exists in all three
locations at once. For the physical, its
existence is exactly as we see it. For
the mental, its existence is how we perceive it.
But what about the subconscious or spiritual?
The traits the item possesses are how it exists on the
higher plane. This is the core of Hermetic
correspondence.
This still leaves room for interpretation, of course. How exactly do correspondences work? How do they come about? Three major schools of thought exist on this
topic.
The first is that magic is akin to science. Every item you use, every word or symbol, the
timing and deities, are ingredients that have to be performed or utilized in
the correct order to produce the desired event.
This assumes that all items have their own independent and fixed powers,
separate from our own personal gnosis, our own experiences. Through this method, there is a “right” and a
“wrong” way of performing a spell.
A second theory believes that correspondences are merely
associations that we don’t necessarily have to have when performing magic. In this school of thought, we have all the
power we already need and any correlations are transitory, meaning we can
change them at will. All correspondences
are personal gnosis and can be manipulated
or thrown away when no longer needed. Theoretically,
you could cast a spell with just intent and energy work alone by this method.
The final theory is an amalgamation of the two prior
ones. Correspondences are aids, whose
energy is primarily stable within THE ALL yet also manipulated by our own
beliefs and experiences. In this method,
correspondences and your personal magic are partners, creating an easier flow
of energy to your target goal. Your
intent is necessary but, as humans, difficult to enact by sheer will
alone. The tools and ingredients you use
have only slightly mutable energy based on the belief of the majority and your
own personal beliefs, but aren’t enough on their own to create any real
change. Balance is the key to this
school of thought.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN CORRESPONDENCES
Weening Yourself from Charts and Tables
When we use a table we’ve pulled up online,
we often have little idea where those correspondences come from. This lack of understanding, I feel, creates a
gap in our ability to utilize the energy the item exhibits. It becomes a toss-up as to whether our
magical workings will actually, well, work.
Correspondences become most effective when we have researched, studied,
utilized and experienced in a way that crosses various systems of thought. In this, we create the most specific
correspondence that fits our cultural, scientific, historical and personal
world views.
I would suggest starting a journal or keeping electronic
notes. Having a record of your research
and experiences will make it far easier in the end to create your own
correspondence charts.
Science
Your first stop on the correspondence creation check-list
should be the science behind the item.
Look up what gemstones are made out of and how they’re formed. Find the chemical composition of the herb you
want to use and what that means in the most literal of terms. You’ll find that many herbs and oils have
actual scientific uses. For example, the
bay leaf has narcotic properties because it contains eucalyptol, a sedative
that can produce slightly hallucinogenic effects. This is why the oracles of Apollo would use
this herb to obtain visions.
History and Lore
The next step is to dive into the object’s history. Find out where the herb originates and the
mythology around it. What was it
originally used for? Where is it present
in the lore? For example, let’s look at
the story of Daphne and Apollo. Shot
with an arrow of love, Apollo relentlessly pursued the nymph until she finally
begged her father to help her. She was
transformed into bay laurel to protect her, but Apollo’s love for her kept him vigilant. This is why we associate bay both with
protection and Apollo.
Culture
Most resources available are written by Westerners for Western
culture. This isn’t to say that you
should dive into a culture you don’t understand and steal their meaning; quite
the contrary, you should look at your own local culture and see what the item,
timing or color is being used for in your society. Here in the US, we often associate green with
money because our currency is printed in green.
However, in other countries, colors like red or gold are associated with currency. Red often symbolizes strength or love here,
but you may find that it represents life and fertility or death and mourning
where you live. Look at the people
around you and see what correspondences you find that are unique to your region
or city.
Personal Associations
Up to this point, we’ve kept our feet firmly planted in the
physical and mental. Science evokes the
physical, while history, lore and culture focus on the mental. The reality is that correspondences traverse
all three planes. Once you have done
your due diligence in research, it’s time to turn to the subconscious or
spiritual plane. Here, you have two
methods of creating correspondences. The
first is by feeling the energy of the object.
You can do this through energy work or meditation, or by astral travel
or hedge-crossing to see its subconscious or metaphysical counterparts. The second way is to simply start using
it. Pick a gemstone up and carry it with
you that day. What happens? Start adding a certain edible herb to your
food. Does it change anything? By both
sensing the intrinsic energy of the item and using it regularly, we can begin
to form our own personal associations.
Combine these with the other three methods and your correspondence chart
should be strong, personalized and ready for use!
CONCLUSIONS
A Few Final Notes
In all that has been written here, I don’t want to downplay
the use of quick online or book-based correspondence charts for the new
witch. Performing spells and using
ingredients is how we learn. It is more
than okay to pull up a chart on your phone and try something out while you’re
still formulating your own system!
A few words of caution as you create your own charts, however: Avoid violating the integrity of the
systems listed above. It’s easy to get
caught up in forcing correlations that don’t exist. As always, we humans like patterns and often
create them by fitting everything into tiny boxes. The problem is that these things don’t often
fit and are instead crammed. Correspondences that are forced violate the
essence of correspondences in the first place.
It’s also easy to fall into a trap where you utilize every single correspondence possible,
feeling that the multiple connections will strengthen your energy or open the
path for better flow. This isn’t
necessarily the case. We can easily be
overwhelmed by attempting to perform a spell with 20 ingredients at the correct
moon phase, astrological sign, season, day of the week, hour and so forth. Instead, find what calls to you and use what
works best. You’ll find that your magic
is more effective if you don’t feel pressured.
Finally, if you disagree with a correspondence in a
scientific, historical or cultural context, don’t fret. You still have your own personal experiences
to contend with. If you have a large
conflict of suggested correlations, try to understand why that may be. Look for possible gaps in your research,
cultural context you might not have thought of or your own experiences with the
item. When in doubt, go with your
instincts.
As with all things witchcraft, creating your own
correspondence chart takes time. Don’t
try to rush it in one evening, one month or even a year. Through experience, you’ll connect with a set
of herbs, gemstones, oils and more that you’ll find you regularly come back
to. This will be the basis for most of
your spell work. As your craft grows, so
will your chart. Be patient. It’s worth it!
Further Reading
The Pagan Grove: Creating Magickal CorrespondencesEasy Spellcraft: Creating your own Magickal Correspondences.
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