Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences Read online

  r

  n

  A bout the A uthor

  Sandra Kynes describes herself as an explorer o f Celtic history,

  myth, and magic. H er curiosity has taken her to live in New York

  City, Europe, England, and New England. Sandra’s inq uisitiveness has led her to investigate the roots o f her beliefs and to integrate her spiritual path with everyday life. In addition to writing, she is a yoga instructor in coastal Maine and loves connecting with the natural world through hiking and ocean kayaking. V isit her website at www.kynes.net.

  Llewellyn Publications

  Woodbury, M innesota

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  D edication

  This book is lovingly dedicated to my mother,

  who follow ed a very different spiritual path but always respected

  mine.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  Chapter O ne: Issues, Intentions, and Powers

  Chapter Two: The Plant Kingdom

  Chapter Three: The Mineral Kingdom

  Chapter Four: The Anim al Kingdom

  Chapter Five: Deities and O ther Beings

  Chapter Six: Astrological and Tim e Reckoning

  Chapter Seven: M iscellaneous

  Appendix: Guide to Plants

  Bibliography

  Acknow ledgm ents

  I want to thank the many people who over the years have shared

  and pooled knowledge with me to create m eaningful ritual. In

  particular: Sarah, Paul, and Shannon, who continually offer encouragem ent. I also want to thank Llewellyn editor Elysia Gallo for her guidance as well as for being my sounding board. And, of

  course, family m em bers Lyle Koehnlein and Jessica Weiser, who

  are so supportive even when I go in several directions at once.

  IN T R O D U C T IO N

  over time by the repeated use o f som ething, stepping off the

  beaten path to explore different approaches is when m agic really

  The first question you may have about this book is: Why another

  happens. For a time I was basing my personal divination on

  one on magical correspondences? After all, there are already a

  color sym bolism ; however, the colors I used had to com e from

  num ber o f such books, plus many others that contain lists and

  feathers. At this point I d o n ’t rem em ber why feathers had to be

  tables, so why this one? First o f all, I wanted to correlate as

  the source o f colors, but it was im portant to m e at the time. A

  much inform ation as possible and present it in a way that is well

  few weeks after em barking on this avian adventure, I was amazed

  organized, straightforward, and easy to use. Second, my aim is to

  not only by how many feathers I began to find but also at the

  move away from the idea o f rote tables and into the concept o f a

  range o f colors. Out o f the blue (no pun intended), a friend giftweb where the correspondences we use are not only associated ed me with several brilliant feathers from her parrot. I felt that

  with an intention but also with each other. I will go into detail

  magic was definitely afoot or, shall we say, on the wing.

  about these later in this introduction.

  Integrating my spirituality with everyday life has always been

  Personally, I am fascinated with correspondences because they

  im portant to me, and the use o f magical correspondences has

  are fundam ental to how I view the world. There are connections

  helped. T h is was especially true years ago when I worked in the

  everywhere; nothing exists in isolation, and everything is asso corporate world, and it was necessary to avoid straying too far ciated with som ething else. W hen I w as in school I loved courses

  from the proverbial broom closet. T h is d id n ’t completely deter

  in world history because they illustrated how civilizations (and

  me, but I had to keep things discreet. W hen I was working toall they entail) held obvious, as well as obscure, connections ward a new position, I kept a small ivy plant on my desk to clear

  with each other like threads in a tapestry.

  away negative energy. I placed it on a turquoise saucer because it

  Often when I find connections I like to use them in ways that

  is a color that attracts prosperity. To increase the odds in my

  help me interact with the world around me. T h is has been the

  favor I also secreted a piece o f red-banded agate under the ivy

  basis o f several o f my books— one o f which is Change at Hand.

  leaves and moved the plant to the north corner o f my desk to

  To me there were obvious connections between palmistry and remaintain my intentions for success.

  flexology, which I com bined into a method o f energy work based

  Getting a prom otion w asn ’t the only time I relied on magical

  on the four elements. It was a natural flow o f associations that fit

  correspondences to aid me in office spellwork. For a brief time

  together well. Actually, using connections and associations is

  there was an extremely negative person in the company, and I

  fundam ental to how we all think.

  had to erect energy barriers. I hid another crystal under the

  When it com es to magical correspondences, I found that using

  leaves o f the ivy plant on my desk— this tim e a clear qua
rtz point

  different ones from time to tim e provides a way to fine-tune ritto avert negativity— and I hung a bracelet-sized ring o f blue-lace uals and especially spells. W hile it is true that power is built up

  agate beads on my bulletin board to calm and ground the energy

  An entire book could be filled with correspondences for just

  in my space. Although I had limited room on my desk, I put a

  plants or deities, but then it would be limited and less useful.

  m oon-snail seashell and a black-tourm aline bear figurine for pro­

  Com ing from a Celtic background and practice, I wanted to intection next to the ivy plant. It worked so well that a colleague clude som e o f the heroes and heroines from this rich mythology;

  com m ented on how I seemed to have fallen off Mr. Negative's

  however, to keep things balanced I would need to include Norse,

  radar.

  Greek, Roman, and many others, too, but there sim ply w asn’t

  Because there were only sm atterings o f magical corresponenough space. Balance was a huge factor in deciding what to indences here and there in books at that time, I began to compile clude, and with very few exceptions you will find that each item

  my own findings. I would not go so far as to call it a grimoire,

  listed as a correspondence has its own entry and associated

  but it became a repository o f ideas. These scribblings were the

  correspondences. Following the thread o f one correspondence

  beginning o f the book you hold in your hands. In addition to my

  may lead you to new discoveries that enhance your intentions.

  own findings, I gathered material from the books listed in the

  For example, if you notice goldfinch under the entry for Com bibliography. This thought brings me to the word complete, and m unication, and it resonates with you, you might look up the

  som e ideas about for whom this book is intended.

  entry for goldfinch. If you do, you will find that this bird is also

  Despite the title, com piling a reference for magical corresponassociated with the power o f the voice and family, which might dences could easily fill a num ber o f books, so I had to figure out

  help you fine-tune your magical intent. For this reason I chose to

  where to draw the line while covering a lot o f ground. Because of

  include items with correspondences that linked with others to

  this, I have tried to focus on things that seem to be used most

  help you m aintain focus while w idening your scope. Instead of

  frequently in ritual and spellwork, and so this book is for general

  listing as many anim als, deities, or plants as possible, my aim

  Pagans and W iccans rather than for practitioners o f high or cerewas to include those that furthered the concept o f creating a web m onial m agic or those who dabble on the darker side. W hile I

  o f correspondences to support magical intention.

  d id n ’t feel that m onsters and generally destructive critters had a

  Balance and space dictated the length o f som e entries such as

  place here, I also did not want to present a fuzzy-bunny, glitter-

  those for amethyst, Isis, wolf, and several others. In these cases

  and-unicorns version o f Paganism. My aim was to be practical.

  there were so many correspondences that I limited them to the

  And while there are many more mythical creatures and magical

  m ost prevalent. Also, while I wanted to include a few Afro-

  beings, I chose ones based on the frequency with which I was

  Caribbean deities, I was out o f my depth in determ ining major

  finding correspondences for them in my sources. I thought this

  deities from orishas and loas, as well as out o f space to do them

  was a relevant indication o f their popularity for ritual and magic

  justice. Likewise, the celebrations I included were based on genwork.

  eral relevancy for m odern Pagans. In addition, the middle ground

  I sought will not please Kabbalists, as the num bers included in

  associations because they draw us m ore closely to a profound

  the book range from 1 to 13. I thought 13 would be a good sym sense o f where we belong in this world. U sing correspondences bolic num ber to end with. After all, there are 13 annual full

  weaves together our ideas, beliefs, and energy, and provides a

  m oons, and it is the traditional num ber o f m em bers in a coven. I

  deeper psychological m eaning to our rituals and spellwork as we

  realized that I could not please everyone nor could one book

  unite individuality with larger purpose.

  contain detailed inform ation for all specialties. W hile I don’t

  Correspondences function like keys that com bine to unlock

  think there’s such a thing as an "average” W iccan or Pagan, I do

  and tap into energies that aid us in putting forward our intenbelieve that there is a middle ground that touches many people tions. The use o f correspondences em bodies both physical and

  who will find this book a helpful addition to their library.

  sym bolic energy and provides the m eans for uniting the seen

  This book is intended as a com panion to the many others on

  and unseen worlds by organizing interrelated aspects o f things.

  ritual and m agic work. It is also intended to encourage individual

  In his book The M agician’s Com panion, Bill W hitcom b noted that

  exploration. Become fam iliar with the deities, plants, and other

  magic uses the “ relationship between consciousness (knowing),

  things that interest you, such as the Tarot or Celtic ogham, and

  information (being), and energy (doing),” and when working

  you will find many reasons behind the interrelationship o f correwith sym bols "different attributions can be considered as expresspondences. You will probably also forge new ones that hold sions o fth e spirits o fth o se sym bols."!

  special m eaning for you.

  W hile the use o f correspondences has been called sympathetic

  magic, why it works is fundam ental; as Pagan author Isaac

  W H Y W E USE

  Bonewits noted: the power o f one thing can be used through

  M A G IC A L C O R R E S P O N D E N C E S

  som ething else connected or associated with it because our

  It has been frequently noted that magical correspondences help

  brains function through association.^ Let’s take a look at why the

  us focus intent and direct energy, but I have always thought that

  use o f correspondences is basic hum an nature.

  it is a little more com plex than this and that our use o f them

  It is our nature because our brains identify and process inforoperates on a deeper level. As Pagans we often speak about the mation by association. According to cognitive scientist and proweb o f life, and when we think o f the interconnection among fessor Michael Dawson, this idea goes back to Aristotle’s law of

  magical correspondences as a web, we find that it provides a

  association by contiguity, which can be sum m ed up as: a sso cistructure upon which we can weave our intentions.

  ations connect ideas that form patterns that, in turn, create new

  In one capacity, correspondences serve as links to the past

  associations. One way these links are created occurs when two

  that allow us to connect with ancient myths and deities as well as

  stim uli reach the brain at the sam e tim e, or one directly after the

  the folklore handed down from not-so-distant centuries. For all

  other— they will become associated in the person’s m in d
.! Links

  our modern-day sophistication, we find relevance in these

  that are m eaningful form stronger associations. For example, the

  sm ell o f pine can bring a flood o f winter holiday m em ories about

  family, food, and pleasant events.

  Figure 2 : T h e interrelatio n ship s o f co rresp o n d e n ce s

  The brain also creates links, according to author Peter Atkins,

  when it receives input and tries to fit any new information into a

  Figure l : T h e intention “ love” and several co rresp o n d e n ce s

  pattern o f association with the data it already has. T h is happens

  because our brains organize and store information as patterns of

  association.* These patterns operate on many levels— emotional,

  mental, social, and spiritual. As new information is received, the

  brain links it with existing patterns, expanding its web o f a sso ciations.

  This brings us full circle to the concept o f a web. In books, it's

  much easier to present inform ation in table form , which, of

  course, is very linear. However, we can bring correspondences to

  life by thinking in term s o f a web. Doing so allows us not only to

  expand the links o f attributes, but it also allows us to personalize

  the way we use magical correspondences. Figure l illustrates

  several different types o f correspondences (element, color,

  direction, goddess, etc.) and their links with the intention “ love.”

  link with rose was not shown in figure 2 to avoid making that

  With the web approach, we look for different types o f correillustration too confusing.)

  spondences that not only link with the intention but also link

  Another approach to using the concept o f a web is to draw one

  with each other. The interrelationships am ong the corresponas illustrated in figure 2 to sym bolize the correspondences with dences for the intention "love” shown in figure i are illustrated in

  which you want to work. Keep in m ind that we don’t need, nor

  figure 2 along with a few additions.

  are we always able to work with, specific physical things. How ­

  U sing m ultiple correspondences can amplify intention, but

  ever, sym bols hold a great deal o f power, and they function well