It’s my birthday, so today I’m posting some birthday correspondences – gems, flowers, colors. You can also check out our information about the astrological signs. These can be used as taglocks or correspondences in spells, or to tap into seasonal energies. The cool thing about the flower correspondences, for example, is that they all bloom in their corresponding months. Isn’t that cool?
Correspondances
So, lots of incense falls under the category of “herbs” in magical workings, just that the method of use is burning, specifically. I see the difference as one of purpose as well. In my opinion, incense, whether resins, herbs, woods, are used to set the overall intention and ‘mood’ of the ritual or spell. “Herbs” are more the functional part of the ritual or spell. You may have a different distinction, or none at all.
Here are some of the incenses that I currently have in stock, and their purposes:
Benzoin – Purification, Prosperity
Chocolate – Love, Romance, Grounding, Prosperity
Cinnamon – Spirituality, Success, Healing, Protection, Power, Psychic Powers, Love, Lust
Sympathetic magic can also be referred to as representational magic. It is basically, using one thing in place of another, or as a representation of the target of your magic. Poppets are a sympathetic representation of a person. Candles are a representation of the element of fire. It is like a shorthand of our magical intent, using representations of the energies and targets of our spells.
There are many symbols which can be made or used to symbolize your target or intent in magic. These could be as simple as sketching a rune on a candle, or creating a bindrune, or using an image of a shield in a protection working. You might create a money bowl to draw money, using currency bills and coins, herbs that represent abundance and prosperity, a drawing oil with gold flakes in it. These are all symbols of the magic that you want to manifest.
First a disclaimer: Nothing is required in Witchcraft. You don’t need big extensive piles of supplies or tools, you just need (to be) a witch. That being said, physical representations of your intent can help aid you in your magic. That doesn’t mean that you should go out and spend $$$ on witchcraft tools and supplies. It means you look around and find those symbols, those associations, that mean something to you and help you to accomplish your goals. You use only what you find you need to make your magic work.
So, I recently got a wild idea and started posting some beginning wicca/witchcraft info here. I know it can be hard to find reliable beginner information that you can relate to. Personally, it is probably because of the great YouTube videos that I have been watching at work. (Check out Hearthwitch and The Witch of Wonderlust if you get a chance.) So, I hope that my writing is a voice that you can relate to as you find your own path.
Personally, I follow an eclectic Wiccan-based path, with some differences to traditional Wiccan teachings. I don’t know if anyone would be interested in me posting things regarding that (ie. Elements – I assign Air to the North, not Earth; Sabbats – I follow a Demeter/Persephone Hellenic focused Wheel of the Year), and encouragement for you to create your own practice and traditions that work for you..
Let me hear from you, if you would be interested or think this would be helpful. Hey, also let me know if you have non-traditional practices that you want to talk about.
Numerology is another good foundational subject. This is starting information for spellwork, tarot, and other divination. You may have a slightly different perspective on some of the numbers, but this gives you a place to start exploring that. Do you have a favorite number? Do you notice number patterns in your life – either recurring numbers or numbers that just seem ‘cool’?
While I will sometimes use numerology, for me it is an ancillary system, to be used in conjuction with other information. I notice patterns a lot, because that’s how my brain works, but primarily I use numerology to help me understand the tarot.
Most numerology has you reducing a quantity to its base number – adding its digits together over and over until you get a single digit or one of the ‘special’ numbers. Example: April 12, 2023 = 4+12+2023 → 4+1+2+2+0+2+3 → 14 → 1+4 = 5
Color correspondences are very good foundational knowledge. This is starting information for Candle Magic, Chakra Work, Stones, and more. You may have a slightly different perspective on some of the colors, but this gives you a place to start exploring that. What colors are your favorite? Least favorite? Why? What do these colors traditionally represent?
That being said, these are correspondences that I am comfortable with, but are influenced by my personal beliefs and my culture in North America/the US (such as money magic being green, but is also prosperity, as it is the color of new growth).
or ’13 Reasons Air should be in the North’
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by Mike Nichols
copyright 1989 by Mike Nichols
(fondly dedicated to Kathy Whitworth)
INTRODUCTION
It all started 20 years ago. I was 16 years old then, and a recent initiate to the religion of Wicca. Like most neophytes, I was eager to begin work on my Book of Shadows, the traditional manuscript liturgical book kept by most practicing Witches. I copied down rituals, spells, recipes, poems, and tables of correspondences from every source I could lay hands on. Those generally fell into two broad categories: published works, such as the many books available on Witchcraft and magic; and unpublished works, mainly other Witches’ Books of Shadows.
Twenty years ago, most of us were “traditional” enough to copy everything by hand. (Today, photocopying and even computer modem transfers are becoming de rigueur.) Always, we were admonished to copy “every dot and comma”, making an exact transcription of the original, since any variation in the ceremony might cause major problems for the magician. Seldom, if ever, did anyone pause to consider where these rituals came from in the first place, or who composed them. Most of us, alas, did not know and did not care. It was enough just to follow the rubrics and do the rituals as prescribed.
But something brought me to an abrupt halt in my copying frenzy. I had dutifully copied rituals from different sources, and suddenly realized they contained conflicting elements. I found myself comparing the two versions, wondering which one was “right”, “correct”, “authentic”, “original”, “older”, etc. This gave rise to the more general questions about where a ritual came from in the first place. Who created it? Was it created by one person or many? Was it ever altered in transmission? If so, was it by accident or intent? Do we know? Is there ever any way to find out? How did a particular ritual get into a Coven’s Book of Shadows? From another, older, Book of Shadows? Or from a published source? If so, where did the author of the published work get it?
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