On correspondances
The idea of plants and correspondances are found i many cultures. In some places, plants were regarded as holy to a certain god, because the history of that god was somehow connected to the plant. Later the doctrine of signatures emerge, which ascribes the medicinal properties of a plant to its shape or colour. E.g., a plant with kidney-shaped leaves is used to cure kidney disease. Finally, we have the magical correspondances, which in some cases are based on the above ideas. The magical correspondances are often connected to astrology and the doctrine of the 4 (or 5) elements. Some magicians use a system based on the Kabbalah - here the elements, the astrological symbols and planets, the Tarot-cards and other ideas are placed on the geometrical symbol The Tree of Life:
The Tree of Life
There are 32 paths on the tree; 10 spheres and 22 connecting paths. The sphere of Daath is not regarded as a path. Path nr. 31 and 32 have double correspondances, the doubles are named 31bis and 32bis.
| Path nr. | Description | Correspondance | Tarotcard(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kether - the crown | Sphere of the Primum Mobile | The 4 aces |
| 2 | Chokmah - wisdom | Sphere of the Zodiac or fixed stars | The 4 twos, the Kings or Knights |
| 3 | Binah - understanding | Sphere of Saturn | The 4 threes, the Queens |
| 4 | Chesed -knowledge | Sphere of Jupiter | The 4 fours |
| 5 | Geburah - mercy | Sphere of Mars | The 4 fives |
| 6 | Tiphareth - beauty | Sphere of Sol | The 4 sixes, the Emperors or Princes |
| 7 | Netzach - victory | Sphere of Venus | The 4 sevens |
| 8 | Hod - splendour | Sphere of Mercury | The 4 eights |
| 9 | Yesod - foundation | Sphere of Luna | The 4 nines |
| 10 | Malkuth - kingdom | Sphere of the Elements | The 4 tens, The Princesses |
| 11 | Path joins 1 and 2 | Air | The Fool |
| 12 | Path joins 1 and 3 | Mercury | The Magician |
| 13 | Path joins 1 and 6 | Luna | The High Priestess |
| 14 | Path joins 2 and 3 | Venus | The Emperor |
| 15 | Path joins 2 and 6 | Aries | The Star |
| 16 | Path joins 2 and 4 | Taurus | The Hierophant |
| 17 | Path joins 3 and 6 | Gemini | The Lovers |
| 18 | Path joins 3 and 5 | Cancer | The Chariot |
| 19 | Path joins 4 and 5 | Leo | Lust |
| 20 | Path joins 4 and 6 | Virgo | The Hermit |
| 21 | Path joins 4 and 7 | Jupiter | Fortune |
| 22 | Path joins 5 and 6 | Libra | Adjustment |
| 23 | Path joins 5 and 8 | Water | The Hanged Man |
| 24 | Path joins 6 and 7 | Scorpio | Death |
| 25 | Path joins 6 and 9 | Sagittarius | Temperance |
| 26 | Path joins 6 and 8 | Capricornus | The Devil |
| 27 | Path joins 7 and 8 | Mars | The Tower |
| 28 | Path joins 7 and 9 | Aquarius | The Emperor |
| 29 | Path joins 7 and 10 | Pisces | The Moon |
| 30 | Path joins 8 and 9 | Sol | The Sun |
| 31 | Path joins 8 and 10 | Fire | The Aeon |
| 32 | Path joins 9 and 10 | Saturn | The Universe |
| 32 bis | Earth | The Princesses | |
| 31 bis | Spirit | All 22 trumps |
Apart from the aforementioned correspondances, one can in theory place all things and concepts on the Tree of Life. Such a system is practical, if you work on the astral plane or practice ritual magic. It is a method of systemizing your thoughts, ideas and experiences. A sort of spiritual map.
That is all very well, but problems arise when you read different authors. Everybody has their own interpretation of symbols and ideas, their own world as a base and a limit. There is no ultimate truth - no final correspondance to rely on. Just personal ideas and relations. In addition, many modern authors often "forget" to describe their background - they just put up lists of correspondances, without comments or mention of any sources.
Still, some ideas are archetypical, you might say. Can we not share those, make a system based on them? The answer is, in my opinion, clearly no. Although we humans can communicate with each other, we have not found a way of clearly defining such archetypes. The existing systems, such as astrology and tarot, are still open to interpretation.
Should we then drop it completely? When I decided to include correspondances, it is because they can give you some ideas as to what people have thought/felt /experienced about a certain plant. It can give you inspiration in your work of getting to know the herbs. In some cases, all authors agree on a correspondance, in other cases they can be completely in opposition. Herbs for incense are a good example of a field full of contradiction. When it comes to scents, we humans are very different. We have a certain opinion on certain scents, and we are not likely to change that. So concerning scents - you are on your own.
The western tradition aside, we find extensive correspondance-systems in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. Due to lack of knowlegde of those systems, I have not included them here.
A few comments on the individual authors:
Paul Beyerl: correspondances are from his book "The master book of herbalism". A lot comes from Culpeper, but he also includes the "new" planets in his system. He is from the Wicca tradition, but blends in other traditions in a rather confusing fashion.
Aleister Crowley : correspondances are from his "777". Numbers refers to paths on the Tree of Life. Herbs were not Crowley's speciality, but his correspondances has the advantage that he comments on them. Crowley and Culpeper are the only authors that actually argues and comments on their correspondances.
Nicholas Culpeper: Correspondances are from his "Complete Herbal", a traditional book on herbs. Culpeper was a doctor and an astrologer in 17th century England. His book is used a lot by modern magicians and witches, often blindly.
Scott Cunningham: Correspondances are from "Encyclopedia of magical herbs". Cunningham is from the Wicca-tradition. Many of his correspondances are taken directly from Culpeper. He lists both a planetary and elementary correspondance, as well as a god or goddess. He also divides herbs in masculine and feminine. I only included his planetary and elementary correspondances.
Dannie Druehyld: She has a few correspondances in "Heksens Håndbog". Most of them agree with Culpeper's.
Dave Lee: Correspondances are from his book "Magical Incenses". Lee comes from the modern chaos-magical tradition. He uses the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life, but also includes the "new" planets Uranus, Neptun and Pluto. He concentrates on the herbs used for incense.