Understanding the history and origins of spell correspondences reveals this concept derives from ancient beliefs in the inherent, divine power of certain natural substances, objects and symbols. A correspondence is likeness that one thing shares with another, which makes them appear as if they share a connection. For example, Thinking in terms of
These include a great variety of plants and herbs, colours, metals, celestial planets, and other objects fashioned for magical purposes, such as religious icons, effigies and fetishes, texts and images. Even certain animals are ascribed magical properties. We shall call this intriguing and diverse array of ‘things’ used in occult practices, as 'materia magica', which is Latin for magical materials.
What sets a magical material apart from non-magical material, is its ability to correspond with the things of the subjective human realm of experience, where magic, emotions and imagination take place. While the concept of correspondences is an esoteric form of knowledge, i.e., it's not openly or commonly practiced, except by a small number of people who specialise in esoterica; it is indeed, wholly understandable, and not especially difficult to grasp by non-practitioners of magic. In fact, understanding spell correspondences might be a very enriching and affirming way to interact with the natural world, benefitting everyone, especially artists, thinkers and scientists, in the pursuit of self-knowledge, wisdom and philosophical meaning.
In philosophical terms, spell correspondences are a way of experiencing ‘qualia’ which refers to the subjective phenomenal properties of experience.
Learning spell correspondences follows a deeply personal and subjective relationship with the material world. While the method of arriving at a correspondence can be taught and passed on, the correspondence must be confirmed by the practitioner based on their experience and intuition.
Understanding Qualia
In philosophy, qualia refer to the subjective, phenomenal properties of experience, the "what it is like" aspect. For example, the warmth of the sun, the scent of lavender, or the taste of a lemon are not just physical experiences but also deeply personal, coloured by individual perception and emotion. Two people might experience the same stimulus (e.g., a bright red colour) but interpret and feel it differently.
Qualia emphasise that experience isn’t purely objective or external; it is filtered through personal consciousness, which gives rise to the unique sensations, emotions, and thoughts that define our inner worlds.
Spell Correspondences as a Form of Experiencing Qualia
Spell correspondences operate on the premise that natural elements (herbs, crystals, colours, symbols, etc.) carry inherent meanings or energies that resonate with specific intentions or outcomes in magical practice. But these correspondences aren’t merely objective properties; they rely heavily on subjective interpretation. Much like qualia, the magic practitioner attributes meaning to these elements based on personal perception, tradition, intuition, and cultural context.
The colour red may correspond to love and passion, but what this feels like or means in spellwork depends on the individual's unique relationship with the colour, how it evokes emotions or memories, and the sensations it stirs within them. Lavender may correspond to peace and relaxation in spells, but the way its scent interacts with the practitioner’s sensory experience can bring about different feelings or mental states depending on the context of use.
These correspondences are not rigid or universal laws, they are interpreted through the practitioner’s qualia, the subjective experience of those elements, which imbue them with symbolic power. Magical thinking, in this sense, becomes a way to engage with the world in terms of qualia, understanding the deeper, personal significance behind external elements.
Magical Thinking: Creating Meaning through Qualia
Magical thinking is the process by which practitioners of magic create meaning and connection between themselves and the world. It involves the symbolic association of external elements, like herbs, crystals, planetary influences, for example, with internal states, desires, or intentions. This is where the concept of qualia is critical. Practitioners often interact with these elements through their sensory experiences, what they see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, and draw personal meaning from these interactions, thereby linking their inner world (emotions, experiences, intentions) to the outer world (physical objects, natural phenomena).
Take a rose quartz crystal. This pale pink stone is often associated with love and emotional healing. But its magical power is not just in its material composition; it lies in how you feel when you hold it: the cool touch, the smooth surface, and the soft pink hue evokes specific emotions and connections within your psyche. Burning sage may correspond to purification or protection, but the smoke’s scent, the act of smudging, and the physical sensations it creates connect the practitioner to feelings of safety, clarity, or calm.
As the practitioner, your qualia, how you subjectively experience sage’s aroma, sight, and touch, imbues your ritual with real meaning and power.
This process of connecting the internal (subjective experience) and the external (the physical elements) mirrors how qualia define our interaction with the world.
In magical thinking, you are actively reading the world through your senses, interpreting it symbolically, and assigning meaning to your experiences. In this way, spell correspondences are expressions of qualia, as they rely on subjective experience to unlock their significance and power.
Magical Thinking as an Extension of Qualia
One of the fundamental aspects of magical thinking is that it sees the world as interconnected and imbued with meaning. Where a strictly empirical, scientific approach may strip objects and experiences of subjective interpretation, magic restores and emphasises the qualitative, personal, and emotional aspects of experience, which is where qualia come in. Magical thinking treats these subjective, inner experiences as just as real and powerful as the external, material properties of things.
When a practitioner deduces correspondences, they are not just learning objective properties about an object (e.g., “rose quartz is composed of silicon dioxide”), they are feeling out its subjective properties, its softness, its association with love, how it emotionally affects them. These experiences are part of the practitioner’s qualia and shape how they perceive the object’s magical potential.
Magical thinking, therefore, can be seen as an active engagement with qualia. It’s a process where the practitioner draws connections between the outer world and their inner world of subjective experience, making meaning where there might not be any in a purely objective, scientific view.
Qualia and Creating Meaning in the Natural World
In everyday life, the natural world can seem neutral or devoid of inherent meaning from a purely scientific viewpoint. Trees are trees, rocks are rocks, and colours are wavelengths of light. But through the lens of magical thinking, each element of the natural world becomes imbued with meaning and significance, which are experienced subjectively. The world, in this view, is alive with symbolism, emotion, and connection.
This is much like how qualia shape our perception of everyday experiences. Without qualia, the world would seem devoid of personal meaning. But our perception of it, how a blue sky makes us feel, how a particular piece of music resonates emotionally, or how we connect a scent to a memory—turns the mundane into the meaningful.
Similarly, in magical thinking, correspondences help practitioners create meaningful connections between the seen and unseen, between their inner feelings and perceptions and the external world. The act of working with these correspondences is a way of shaping and interacting with the world through the lens of qualia, experiencing the universe as full of emotional, sensory, and symbolic significance.
Spell Correspondences, Magical Thinking, and Qualia
Spell correspondences and magical thinking rely on a profound engagement with subjective experience. They are, in many ways, an extension of qualia. As practitioners of magic we engage with the world not just through objective, physical facts, but through how things feel, smell, sound, taste, and resonate emotionally and symbolically.
Magical thinking thus becomes a way of structuring and deepening one's relationship with the world, where the subjective qualities of objects and experiences (their qualia) give rise to symbolic and magical meaning. Just as qualia define what it is like to have a conscious experience, correspondences define what it is like to interact with the world magically, turning everyday elements into carriers of personal and symbolic power.