How Much Do You Use Correspondences?

[SpiritTalker]

Just for discussion, I'd like to hear if or how much folks use Elemental, Planetary, Weekday, Moon Phase or other like-to-like correspondences in your Crafting? Do you go by the book or use personal correspondences? What are you using to connect your spell effort to the desired outcome? Has your approached changed over time? Inquiring minds wanna know...Care to share? Thanks for contributing.

[casnarl]

I actually saw on this site that dragons blood was good for adding strength/potency to the spell and as someone who gets anxious about things I cannot see, it definitely helps me to believe more. If I feel like incense is needed I'll use it as incense or else I'll just have the little container open next to my candles. I also always have my rose quartz nearby just 'cause it makes me happy.

As I've mentioned Friday is the only day I'm home alone so if I'm doing something big it's on a Friday, and other days of the week I'll maybe just write some stuff down before bed.

There's only been one full moon since I started, but I do plan to incorporate the moon more as I believe it had a very positive effect this last Thursday/Friday.

I'd be very interested in hearing what more experienced folk use!

[barker]

Anything that I know I love... including astrology when the universe is "happy." I hesistate to trust angels, nature spirits these days they can fall pretty bad and leave one with guilt... innocent guilt... hmm.

[Arianna]

The only correspondence I worry about are days of the week, moon phase, which zodiac sign the moon is in, and moon void of course.
I try to find the best timing if a spell can wait but if its urgent (or I'm super impatient lol) I'll do it anyway. I think your intention and energy overrides timing. The only think I'm wary about is moon void of course. I'll never do spell work during that time (knowingly).

[SpiritTalker]

Usually I'll schedule a spell simply by the Moon phase. Ive never really gotten on with plants as a whole, but do connect thru scent, so i use just a few fragrant plants like cinnamon, mint & rose for their associated multi- properties & ignore elemental relationships. I'm crazy about stones of all kinds but my workhorse stones are red jasper, shungite and smokey quartz. I do sometimes try to match the form of the spell to the element related to the goal. For example if Water is the relevant element then the form of spell I will use will be a tea-potion, Fire/candle or cooking, Earth/stroking stone or grid, Air/word-sigil, finger-maze, mandala. Often the form speaks to me more than the element.

[barker]

I am trying to find the correspondence for "fun" in my universe/mind... in order to loose a bit of weight. Ra has been teaching fun but he has been very dangerous, to himself to. Any ideas for safe fun? Hope this is not too off-topic...

[edit: all the astrology is pointing to hard work... not that I have any sense of that right at this time.]

[nightshroud]

im trying to find correspondences for confidence and strength

[barker]

Definately yoga for that, nightshroud... Being doin' that myself. FIRE BREATH while doing any pose, suggest mountain, cobra or warrior... will make the whole thing "absolute"...

[Firebird]

When designing a ritual, I try to work in as many correspondences as possible. Recently we did sap moon. Which is all about the rising up of energy. The quickening gives way to the energy reaching for the air from deep within the winters sleeping earth. We meditated on this phenomenon and going through a visual of our own energy rising up. Also made an incense to encapsulate this energy utilizing 3 different saps (or resins) and lavender for the air element we have just stepped into at Imbolc and some lemongrass es oil to bind it.
Songs stories and poems will frequently play a part, though I couldn't find a sap rising song

We meet on the weekend closest to the moon/holiday, and for that reason cannot use the planetary correspondence, but I do try to NOT work during a void of course moon, if we can help it, (thanks for pointing that out @Arianna)...makes for a challenging and difficult flow within ritual.
Bb, FF

[SpiritTalker]

im trying to find correspondences for confidence and strength

Off the top of my head:

Sunday- abundant confidence
Sun deities: Apollo, Athena, Horus, Bast
colors: gold, olive green, chartreuse
Plants: cedar for confidence, fennel for strength
Stones: tiger eye, garnet

[nightshroud]

okay thanks I may look into this
I know Apollo from an anime I watched

[EveningWithAstaroth]

When younger and first starting out with the craft, I began by reading a couple (three the exact number) books on witchcraft 2 of them more witchcraft based, and the other was one or two books by Silver Raven Wolf- funny I counted those two as one.

The witchcraft books themselves did not put too too much emphasis on any correspondences although I am certain they did list a few. The silver raven wolf books seemed to put more stock into a very dependent usage of such techniques as circle casting, correct correspondences etc.

So I tell you this to show what I grew up on while young and first learning of the craft. The very first witchcraft book I had for myself unfortunately was stolen from me when I left it in a small bird watching cabin I would used to go to hang out at and read. It was on my neighbors property and he was real.... ahem. Essentially if he saw me trying to follow the path outback to go read quietly he would scream "Witch"! at me, and holler at me it was his property. I wasn't destroying anything. Tried being rational and explaining I simply enjoyed reading there.

At any rate when I had finally moved into a new place and became settled enough to begin attempts at seriously practicing my chosen worship rituals and rites, I experimented with a few self written starter spells. I began with sigil magic. I loved using petitions and sigils and would try and keep them simple. I did use much correspondence at first being inexperienced with properly writing sigils and indeed symbols of my own. So say I wanted to attempt a love spell I would use perhaps a symbolic representation of Vesta- the astrological symbol rather of vesta. I would write the symbol in red- passion love etc etc drivel... I would even get the correct candle colors, and if I could not find the colors I needed I would use any color candle but then draw the name of a love goddess onto the candle, or a vesta symbol or even a heart.

All of these spells ended up as total duds, utterly ineffective, even when they were not loved based, I started to really lose faith in magic at that point. None of my spells would work but I had had very successful spells in the past.

I did not know what the problem was. Years later I have begun magic practice again to the best of my ability, and I could not be more happy with what I do and how I do it, because I now do things the way I actually want to do them, I do not do things anymore simply because someone else says you don't have to do it this way but... here is a practice list of correspondences, moon phases, herbal meanings, to get you started.

These days, I play by my rules. Why? Well it is simple! I do not like the symbol of vesta, it isn't a personal preference of mine these days, I felt awful about doing things this way then, and therefore of course the spells were then duds. I did not feel good or proud of my work, but awful about it.

I felt scripted, and entirely non-free and at sixteen I had quite enough limitations imposed upon me already.

Now when I write sigils I have better results. And I write them out and make them myself. Granted I am currently trying my hand at the standard Chaos magician recipes for sigil writing, but I use my own designs, and do plan very much so to improvise.

I do not often use correspondences as I work my magic differently than a Wiccan. Sometimes I only use my belief and faith alone to cast a quick on the go spell. Using my own belief in magic, and that it indeed will work enables me to create from thin air, create from chaos ordered result, and work magic in a way that makes me feel entirely free and unhindered by a society that from the start has only wished to domesticate me.

The only correspondences I use these days are the ones I dictate to use in my magic work. A red rose to another may mean love. To me a red rose is a very personal thing. I often use rose not in spell work anyway, but rather for divination efforts. I have found anointing myself with rose water prepared myself with flowers I have tended to myself helps at times during readings for others to connect me to others when rubbed on my forehead, and to strengthen the spiritual connection between people.

Rose is love indeed in my own personal description- Red rose is a way people connect.

I work my magic workings with the faith that if I determine that Oak wood will help me in a wealth drawing spell- it will. By intent.