"Chaotic" roots of the mindset of magickal correspondences

[Trixter1]

I cannot help but notice how arbitrary many magical correspondences seem to be.

That, in turn, leads me to think in terms of the epistemology of chaos magic: whatever works, works.

What are your thoughts?

 

[OberonFromTheHills]

Correspondances are a fascinating topic when you take it from a cultural/historical perceptive.

As you mention, they seem arbitrary cause people now tend to just present plants/stone/planets/colors/ingredients as goal centered lists.

Even thought now i can do magick without thinking too much about what i'm going to use (and generally adapt with what i have on hand) i'm still excited to read about "what led people to associate x to y"

 

[HoldAll]

I don't know in which book it was but I once saw the characters from Rocky Horror Picture Show mapped onto the Tree of Life. If the author didn't just do it for shit and giggles, it wouldn't be a real innovation because his scheme still followed the traditional Hermetic Qabalah correspondences (Frank'n'furter was e.g. Tiferet, thus the Sun, yellow, etc.). A genuine innovation would be discarding the Qabalistic planetary and numerical associations altogether and develop a new orrespondence system of symbolism of your own. Some traditional correspondences are built on shaky ground anyway, for example when it comes to colours whose meaning is often culture-dependent.

You could also invent correspondences on an ad-hoc basis without the requirement of an entire set of tables as in 777. Say the ritual is about acquiring strength - according to the traditional Qabalistic system, it would probably correspond to Geburah, Mars, etc. if it's about raw power and confrontation. Instead, you might choose to channel a bull terrier as a kind of totem animal, or Wolverine from the Marvel universe. The only criterion is that such non-traditional correspondences will inspire you and make sense to you personally. If you choose an elephant instead but can't help thinking about Ganesha (who will evoke entirely different associations), it's clearly unsuitable as a totem animal for the kind of strength you wish for.

Or take pieces of music, beyond Holst's The Planets (Mars, the Bringer of War sounds much too tame, IMHO): I think everybody would be able to decide on songs for each sefirah if you rummaged in your collection a bit; you could also leave the entire seforitic system behind and build your own playlists for certain purposes. Movements or poses like in Donald Tyson's Kinesic Magic could also be an idea.

I wouldn't rearrange the old tables of correspondences though, I think there'd be too much static from tradition. Instead, I would either add new ones or create my own system which doesn't have to be complete yet but could be expanded if need be.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Meaning is not intrinsic to objects; meaning is entirely a human thing. So you are perfectly welcome to forge any new correspondences as you see fit

 

[querent k]

Correspondences (must) make sense to those who use them, and a lot of time it´s general meanings from the culture they live in. In the US green is connected to dollars, but in my part of the world symbolises hope. (Come to think of it you can also say ´´hope is pink´´ here) So yeah, it´s arbitrary all the way down

 

[crooktooth]

I don't know in which book it was but I once saw the characters from Rocky Horror Picture Show mapped onto the Tree of Life. If the author didn't just do it for shit and giggles, it wouldn't be a real innovation because his scheme still followed the traditional Hermetic Qabalah correspondences (Frank'n'furter was e.g. Tiferet, thus the Sun, yellow, etc.). A genuine innovation would be discarding the Qabalistic planetary and numerical associations altogether and develop a new orrespondence system of symbolism of your own. Some traditional correspondences are built on shaky ground anyway, for example when it comes to colours whose meaning is often culture-dependent.

This is in Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine.

From my experience correspondences should be personal. I don't care what rock the salesperson at east meets west says is good for a sore throat. I care about my personal results from my practice.

That being said from the chaos magick standpoint of whatever works, works, correspondences are only arbitrary if you let them be. If you chose to believe that the correspondences will assist in your practice then they will. Belief is a tool after all.

 

[solxyz]

Not all correspondences are equally arbitrary, and meaning is not entirely a human construction. Consider the association of the directions with the seasons. These are far from arbitrary. The east is the place where the sun rises, and as such bears a natural correspondence to all kinds of new beginnings, including the new beginning of spring. Likewise, the south is the place of greatest solar intensity, and hence a natural fit for summer, etc, etc. Or consider the correspondence of red to various hot, passionate matters, and blue to various cool, reflective ones. Again, not arbitrary. Red is the color of blood and generally of fire, while blue is the color of the sky and deep, clean water. These meanings are basically inscribed in nature.

Of course, not all correspondences are equally compelling, and once you start making large networks of correspondences there are often clusters and chains of association that could have been drawn in other ways. But these correspondences are often a more-or-less intimate part of a particular traditions, and adopting and working with a particular system of correspondences is a part of immersing yourself in a tradition, thus creating a context for that tradition to speak its riches to you.