We’ve all been there, curious, and getting deeper into exploring the wonders and potential of magic. As you gather ingredients for your spells, you might wonder why black for protection, or basil for prosperity? You might consider spell correspondences as the Achilles heal of modern magic. How you resolve the issue can either make or break your relationship with magic. It can be the difference between magic that works and magic that doesn’t.
A great variety of material objects you’ll come across in the craft, such as herbs and plants, crystals, elements and symbols, can be used magically. The symbolic associations we form between these materials, intentions and ideals we strive for, are the backbone of a meaningful magical practice. It will be obvious to you why some of these are associated with certain rituals, such as rose for love and oak for strength or wisdom. In other instances, a correspondence you read online or in a book, won’t be obvious, or it simply won’t make sense to you.
Spell craft: as easy as baking a cake?
In our material reality, we are accustomed to seeking out facts as the building blocks for any meaningful or reliable practice. To bake our favourite cake, we need to know the right ingredients (brown or white sugar?), measurements (how much sugar to add?), the correct oven temperature and length of time it needs to bake in the oven. These are all facts that have been carefully worked out by the author of the recipe. If we follow their recipe word-for-word, then our cake is guaranteed to come out looking perfect and tasting delicious, every time.
Wouldn’t it be great if crafting a spell followed the same rules as baking a cake? Just follow the recipe and instructions, and you get consistently, reliable results every time. But if crafting a spell isn’t like baking a cake, then how do spells work?
On the surface, it seems spells should conform to the rules of material reality, just like a baking. To craft a spell, you need ingredients; you carry out a set of actions and hope for a pleasing result. You consult your spell book and it reads ‘add basil for prosperity.’ At this point, something happens in your mind which doesn’t happen when you’re following a cake recipe… you ask, why does basil give us prosperity? If you’re a natural questioner, you might easily lose faith in the spell until you have come up with a satisfying answer to this question. If you already get how the author relates basil to prosperity, and you agree with this correspondence, you continue with your spell in confidence that this author ‘s prosperity spell is the right one for you.
Where can I find the tried and tested recipe?
In our age of fast and easy information, you will come across plenty of content online and in books which repeat spell correspondences, but rarely (if ever) will you find disclosure of the methods or primary sources that created this information, explaining how the herb or crystal came to acquire this meaning or that symbolism.
The main problem with spell correspondences you read online or in books, is that they are presented as facts. A spell correspondence isn’t a fact; you might consider it an untruth which also isn’t a lie! It’s your personal interpretation of a quality you experience from the herb or crystal. Sound complicated? Well, it kind of is!
Let’s take a closer look at the difference between a fact and a spell correspondence:
A ‘fact’ is the product of the scientific method: ‘water boils at 100°C at sea level’, for example. The boiling temperature of water is verifiable and holds true regardless of who observes it, or their personal beliefs.
A spell correspondence, on the other hand, is the agreement between an idea (red rose for love) and your subjective reality (a red rose is a symbol of love in my world). How about a black candle for a protection spell? For this spell to work, you need to be in agreement that the colour black is associated with negativity, and that a black candle represents your intention to protect your energy. Based on your experience of light and dark, and your own intuition, you might feel that while black corresponds with negativity, a white candle offers more powerful protection. In many traditions, light (good) is used to combat darkness (evil). Therefore, a white candle more explicitly corresponds with protection. A black candle, on the other hand, might be more appropriate for channelling or absorbing your own negative emotion or intention.
So I have to make it up as I go along? Eyeball it?
Hopefully, it is becoming apparent that forming meaningful spell correspondences relies not just on facts, but, importantly, on your subjective experience of facts and the ideals you’re striving for with your spell work. As magical practitioners, we have to be comfortable and skilled in shifting our mindset between the objective realm of matter (material reality) and the subjective realm of symbols (imagination), to deftly weave connections between objects and ideas, and create meaning where there wouldn’t otherwise be any, to achieve our magical aims.
A spell correspondence contributes to the phenomenon of ‘personal gnosis.’ This can be defined as ‘a spiritual belief that is gained through personal experience or intuition’. The problem occurs when personal gnosis is mistaken for an objective truth: a fact that is true independent of the person who has the experience or holds the belief.
Ok, now I'm beginning to understand
If you are just starting out on your magic and witchcraft journey, you will come across much misleading information about spells and correspondences. A popularly cited magic book is Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (1985). Cunningham’s encyclopedia presents a compendium of well-known plants associated with magic and folklore. To convince the reader of its veracity, he presents the information as occult knowledge which has been kept out of the mainstream. Cunningham writes of herbs that ‘much of their magic still lies in the shadow of secrecy’. He expounds the trope of a forgotten magical past, ‘when our ancestors knew that plants had mysterious, magical powers.’ By falling back on these cliches, Cunningham is able to convince readers that his spell correspondences are factual, without disclosing why his entry for basil necessarily corresponds with the Fire element and the planet Mars. Cunningham’s encyclopedia sets a precedent for presenting correspondences as facts, which is best avoided if you want to stay on the right side of magical thinking.
Forming spell correspondences is a powerful magical art form that should be taught and practiced. It is a form of conscientious magical thinking that creates a change in your subjective experience through spell work, and shifts your emotional or psychological state in line with the spell’s intention. When we approach spell correspondences as material facts, we are cheated out of the true power and transformative potential of magic and spell craft.