Tag: correspondences

More Thoughts on Correspondences

Can it be said that the value a system of correspondences is equal to its consistency?

For example, in most modern hermetic systems gods from different pantheons are grouped by their characteristics. According to Thelemic correspondences, Hermes, Thoth, and Odin may not be the same god but they all serve the same purpose in their pantheon and the same place on the tree of life. In essence, they share characteristics.

From a certain point of view that can be seen as true. All of those gods have aspects as magicians, messengers, and seers. But this breaks down with any close examination. While it can be said that any god can have greater and lesser traits, it’s not hard to argue that Odin’s greater traits are leadership and war, while neither Hermes nor Thoth share those traits in a greater or lesser form.

So when trying to group gods from disparate pantheons together, you’re bound to have inconsistencies.  I would even put forth that the larger a system of correspondences the more likely and extreme the inconsistencies.

But at what point does the system break? Is it the number of inconsistencies or the proximity of the inconsistencies to the core of the system? And, is the fault of the system that it is unable to internalize and explain inconsistencies, or the fault of the magus? Is the only way to have a totally consistent system of correspondences to build one yourself? Would it be useful, because a faultless system would by its nature be limited? Or, would a self-created system at least have faults that the magus can internalize?

And if you have a totally self-created system of correspondences, how do you ever work with other magi?

A follower Asked

“Regarding your post, “A New Path” (http://scrollofthoth.tumblr.com/post/23588181603/a-new-path),


I was wondering if you could go more in detail about the ideas behind this. Specifically, I was wondering which parts of the Qabalah you think are useful/real enough to be kept. I was intrigued by the post and considered doing something similar.”

I believe that all paths to the divine are valid, as long as they do not denigrate another. So if Qabalah works for you, and you can incorporate it into a world view that does not preclude others, go for it. Qabalah, however, does not work for me. It’s just the way my mind works. Being based on Judea-Christian concepts, it will always carry that baggage for me. It is a system that points to a single creator God, which doesn’t sit well in my world view. It doesn’t make it lesser, it just makes it not for me.

As to what from Qabalah should be salvaged, that’s all a matter of what you are trying to purge the system of. I think that all magikal practices benefit from a system of correspondences. It facilitates what chaos magi call “sleight of mind”. The theory goes that the conscious mind does not perform magick well because it is shackled by the perception of what it believes is reality. The sub-conscious mind, however, does not have these limitations. If a magus can influence his sub-conscious mind, then they will get better results. Unfortunately, the sub-conscious mind does not work on a direct 1=1 basis. It works symbolically. Essentially a system of correspondences is a related group of symbols that you can imprint on the sub-conscious using gnosis.

Red = Love, 7 = Lucky, Mars = War, are all basic correspondences. But the more indirect you can make correlations the better it works. There is a down side to this. As some magi spend so much time developing a system they believe capable of containing all meanings, they fail to get on with doing the magick.

For me, a good rule has been, come up with a desired effect, and then build a system of correspondences around it. Stop when you think you have gone far enough to perform the working. Add it to your existing system and move on.

So far I have found that having correspondences for scents, colors, planets, gods, and a few higher concepts, like eschaton, have been enough for me. I find no need to add tarot cards or astrology, yet. I think if you build your own system based on need to perform magick rather than need to know the system, it helps prevent over doing it. You should also stop when you feel like you are forcing something into the system that doesn’t belong. Like when certain hermeticists equate Odin with Hermes. Do they seem like the same type of god to you? Nope, me neither.

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