How do magickal correspondences work?

[Holly Ariadna]

Yeah, there's your question. I'm really starting to doubt all of this. On one hand people say these things only work to help the witch concentrate and send off energy, but if it were like that, how come herbs, colors, etc. have special properties? If it's only for concentrating, that means you could basically use lavendar for a hyper-activity spell or the color black for a love spell, so why go around saying that they all have different properties?

Moreover, how do these correspondences actually WORK? I can see that lavendar, for example, is calming if you use it medically, but if you just use it in a spell, if you burn it or mix it with oil and put it on a candle?

Just my lil' thoughts of the day, I hope someone can explain it to me!

[Morgandria]

Think of them as a series of associations. Things correspond to one another because they share an association of some kind. Things correspond to an element sometimes because of thier shapes, their jobs, or the things they can hold. We then associtate these elementally-aligned items to the type of working we're doing, as a focal point.

Because we know that, persay, green or brown candles, a pentacle, a dish of salt, leaves, earth, and certain stones, oils and incense from appropriate plants all represent earth, that we can use those in certain workings - like prosperity, or growth, or grounding. You don't have to use these things, or nescessarily share the associations that are common for the item, but most people will find, especially at first, that having corresponding items helps you to focus your will and intent on the work at hand.

You can, of course, forgo the correspondances all together if you don't feel you need them to focus your spell.
-M.

[SylverStar]

It is because of the views and associations with each thing. We associate white with purity and it is probably an association we are all familiar with so it gives us focus. But if I were to tell you that in Asia Red is associated with purity...does that make the association of white any less of a focus point.

They are there to help us because they are familiar. But if you are not accostum to such associations they may not be very valid for you and you may have to make new ones.

[Faeawyn]

Well...it is supposed to work this way.....All things of the earth, have a vibrational energy. Depending on the different type of spell you're working, you would use the items that lend their energies to that spells workings. The colors of candles and such are supposed to aid in your concentration and focus. Does that help?

[Kalika]

Alot of things will only have the effect (magically speaking) that YOU believe them to have. That is one of the reasons that so many things have so many different correspondences - is because different people see them differently, and have shared their views with others, and so on and so forth.

Basically, if you don't believe that these correspondences will work, they probably won't.

As to HOW they work, its usually determined by what you associate the certain scent, color, stone, etc with - and visualizing it bringing about the desired effect. (If that makes sense)

[Holly Ariadna]

All right, but it's different for stones, isn't it? They actually have "real" properties, e.g. amethyst helps you sleep better, right?

[Kalika]

All right, but it's different for stones, isn't it? They actually have "real" properties, e.g. amethyst helps you sleep better, right?

*shrugs* It works for some, and not for others. I think they do, but if someone is a complete skeptic - that may prevent that property from being revealed. Nothings really 100%, 100% of the time magically (or if it is, its very rare!)- which is unfortunate, 'cause it would make things much easier! :)

[Holly Ariadna]

*shrugs* It works for some, and not for others. I think they do, but if someone is a complete skeptic - that may prevent that property from being revealed. Nothings really 100%, 100% of the time magically (or if it is, its very rare!)- which is unfortunate, 'cause it would make things much easier! :)

It sure would. :) I'm just a bit weird, one day I'll go around and think that all of it makes so much sense, and other days (such as today) I'll be all skeptic about everything. :p :eyebrow:

[Ben Gruagach]

Magick is more like poetry or drama than it is like science. Correspondences are part of the language we use to weave our intentions into manifestation.

Does that make sense?

The best list of correspondences you can use are the ones you've worked out yourself. If you find a particular type of cloth to be really sexy, for instance, then that type of cloth is best for you to use in love or romance types of situations. If you find that chicken soup makes you feel safe and grounded then that's the best correspondence for you, where others might feel that it reminds them of feeling powerless (like when they were a kid with mean adults forcing them to eat that soup!)

We have cultural associations that do tend to hold for most people in a particular community but again that's just a generalization. Use the associations that make sense to you. Use them consciously, purposefully, to establish the atmosphere you are trying to evoke in your magick. Don't bring in correspondences that you are unsure about, or that don't make sense to you, as that weakens your magick. Follow your gut instincts and use what feels right for you.

Even the direction correspondences vary. If you live in Australia, for instance, what sense does it make to associate south with fire (unless you happen to have a hot desert directly to the south)? In Australia, the nearest polar icecap is to the south -- the south pole. The equator, the hottest part of the globe, is to the north in Australia.

Associating west with water, for instance, makes sense in the UK where the Atlantic Ocean is the biggest body of water, and the biggest "unknown" for the longest time. On the east coast of the US and Canada, though, water might be better off associated with east. But in the end you need to use the associations that make sense to you. If you like using a set of correspondences because that's the way you were taught them, or because that's how your favoured system uses them, then stick with it -- so long as it makes sense to you. But using a particular system that doesn't make sense to you is more likely to result in muddled results because it's not all pulling in the same direction for you.

[Kalika]

It sure would. :) I'm just a bit weird, one day I'll go around and think that all of it makes so much sense, and other days (such as today) I'll be all skeptic about everything. :p :eyebrow:

:lol:

That's the fascinating (and frustrating) part of magic. Alot (almost all) is left up to your interpretation - and what someone sees as one thing, you may see as something completely different- but it may work for both of you.

[FairyMoon]

:lol:

That's the fascinating (and frustrating) part of magic. Alot (almost all) is left up to your interpretation - and what someone sees as one thing, you may see as something completely different- but it may work for both of you.
Right. That's the beauty of it. I think magickal correspondences should be called personal correspondences, becuase they only work well for you if you can personally identify with them.

[Kalika]

Right. That's the beauty of it. I think magickal correspondences should be called personal correspondences, becuase they only work well for you if you can personally identify with them.

Very true. :) Maybe we should petition for that. :lol:

[DebLipp]

Correspondences work in a number of ways:
Personal associations
Accumulated energies
"Real" energies


Personal associations have been covered at some length already. You associate something with something else. Some of these associations are very personal indeed; in Real Magic one example is that, if you ate a whole bunch of green apples as a child and got sick, you might always associate the color apple green with sickness. Many "personal" associations, though, are common to your culture (white with purity and weddings, black with death and funerals). Since your deepest emotional and psychic connections are usually through the earliest levels of the brain, associations that have been meaningful from childhood are the most important, hence the broad cultural ones are very useful.

Accumulated energies are energies that have built up over time because so many people share certain associations. For example, the Tarot. Part of how the Tarot works is that the reader is psychic and the cards don't matter; the reader builds up personal associations. But people have been reading Tarot cards for 700 years, and for all that time, people have been feeding energy into a thought form called "Tarot Cards Are Meaningful." Whenever you use Tarot cards, you tap into the energy of that thought form.

Finally, the aura holds real energy. Move your hand near to someone. Have them close their eyes. They'll know by the time you're an inch or two away from touching where your hand is. Both your energy and theirs reach beyond the limits of the physical body. Sickness, health, joy, and sorrow can be felt in the aura. This is easily understood, and easily tested. The boundaries of the physical are artificial; mana doesn't confine itself strictly to physical boundaries, it just sort of hangs out nearby.

This means that a healing plant has a healing aura. Now, with something like lavender, it's rather simple; the physical power of the plant, its soothing properties, are present in its aroma. Aroma is invisible but very physical and measurable and this doesn't require occult knowledge or belief. But beyond the physical is the auric energy; plants and stones have mana just like people do. And just as you can "touch" the personal energy of a person from a distance (and with training you can increase both distance and sensitivity), you can "touch," and use, the properties of a plant or stone.

Some people believe that the reason stones have inherent properties is because of their molecular structure, which causes the energy to move upon unique paths. I don't know about that. I do know that stones have energy and in many cases that energy is easily agreed on. I don't know anyone who could pick up hematite and decide it ISN'T grounding.

[FairyMoon]

Very true. :) Maybe we should petition for that. :lol::bigblue: I know, lol




Accumulated energies are energies that have built up over time because so many people share certain associations. For example, the Tarot. Part of how the Tarot works is that the reader is psychic and the cards don't matter; the reader builds up personal associations. But people have been reading Tarot cards for 700 years, and for all that time, people have been feeding energy into a thought form called "Tarot Cards Are Meaningful." Whenever you use Tarot cards, you tap into the energy of that thought form...

This means that a healing plant has a healing aura. Now, with something like lavender, it's rather simple; the physical power of the plant, its soothing properties, are present in its aroma. Aroma is invisible but very physical and measurable and this doesn't require occult knowledge or belief. But beyond the physical is the auric energy; plants and stones have mana just like people do. And just as you can "touch" the personal energy of a person from a distance (and with training you can increase both distance and sensitivity), you can "touch," and use, the properties of a plant or stone...

Some people believe that the reason stones have inherent properties is because of their molecular structure, which causes the energy to move upon unique paths. I don't know about that. I do know that stones have energy and in many cases that energy is easily agreed on. I don't know anyone who could pick up hematite and decide it ISN'T grounding.This is very interesting. I didn't know about all these things! But it does make sense.

[zakzekezedd]

hmmm..I think that it is probably 6 of one and half dozen of the other. Herbs, stones, crystals and even tools are a means of augmenting and adding additional force and focus to our own energies. Think of it as something a little bit like a microphone and PA system--you can stand in front of the room and speak, you can speak loudly, even shout so everyone can hear what you have to say, or you can use a microphone and PA system and speak so everyone can hear you without exhausting yourself and hurting your voice.
All things connected with Earth have a certain energy. Sometimes it is very powerful, sometimes it might be so subtle only someone very sensitive to it can detect it. Stones and crystals have their own very distinct energies, energies that have been observed and noted over centuries. Herbs have their own very distinct energies, energies that have been observed and noted over centuries. It isn't a coincidence that the most powerful healing herbs are also the most powerful protective and cleansing herbs. Of course, the argument of which came first--the medicinal use or the magical use may be another chicken or the egg debate. Still, there are good reasons why certain correspondences are so widely accepted, centuries of observation and experimentation by the "wise folk" who have gone before has bestowed certain correspondences to various things. But there is also great power in personal correspondences. Certains smells, sounds, textures, and colors have very unique significances to the individual. If perhaps the color black makes you feel safe and happy, or the scent of jasmine is repulsive to you, then you definitely need to incorporate these personal correspondences into you reference system. Experiment, learn what works best with your own energies. The traditional correspondences should be a starting point for you, but don't be afraid to let your own instincts guide you, even if it doesn't conform to the traditional teachings.
Of course, this is my own humble opinion, and right now that's worth about 1/2 cent after inflation..;)