Table of correspondences
Encyclopedia
A table of correspondences is a table
or list of objects, beings, or concepts thought to be linked through supernatural
connections. Tables of correspondences appear in modern books on magic
and the occult
. They are provided as reference tools in creating spells and casting magic circle
s. At its most basic, a table of correspondences can be a simple list of colors with their spheres of influence. A complicated table or set of tables can grow to book-length and co-ordinate deities
, spirit
s, and symbols from religions and mythologies around the world. The Wikipedia article on the four humours contains a table of correspondences based on ancient Greek medicine.
. Examples of the theory of interconnectedness in Western culture
include the concept of macrocosm and microcosm
in the philosophy
of the followers of Plato
, expressed in Hermeticism
by the aphorism, "as above, so below"; the doctrine of signatures
advocated in the Renaissance by Paracelsus
; the Jewish mystical practice of Kabbalah
, which Renaissance
humanists
attempted to Christianize; and the doctrine of correspondence
in the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg
.
Lists of correspondences are very old and are not limited to books on spellcasting. Gnostic
books in the Nag Hammadi Library
contain lists of aeons and archons (good and evil beings), correlating them to different virtues and vices. The First Book of Enoch
lists fallen angel
s and their spheres of influence. Medieval grimoires included lists of correspondences.
Magic underwent a revival in the Renaissance partly due to its association with Neoplatonism
. In 1531 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
published his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which contained many lists of correspondences. Francis Barrett
's The Magus
, or Celestial Intelligencer (1801, frequently reprinted) repeated many of Agrippa's lists.
Table (information)
A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...
or list of objects, beings, or concepts thought to be linked through supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
connections. Tables of correspondences appear in modern books on magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
and the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
. They are provided as reference tools in creating spells and casting magic circle
Magic circle
A magic circle is circle or sphere of space marked out by practitioners of many branches of ritual magic, which they generally believe will contain energy and form a sacred space, or will provide them a form of magical protection, or both. It may be marked physically, drawn in salt or chalk, for...
s. At its most basic, a table of correspondences can be a simple list of colors with their spheres of influence. A complicated table or set of tables can grow to book-length and co-ordinate deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
, spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s, and symbols from religions and mythologies around the world. The Wikipedia article on the four humours contains a table of correspondences based on ancient Greek medicine.
History
The belief that apparently unconnected things share a mystical connection is common to most cultures; it is one of the principles of sympathetic magic identified by anthropologist James George Frazer in The Golden BoughThe Golden Bough
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...
. Examples of the theory of interconnectedness in Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
include the concept of macrocosm and microcosm
Macrocosm and microcosm
Macrocosm and microcosm is an ancient Greek Neo-Platonic schema of seeing the same patterns reproduced in all levels of the cosmos, from the largest scale all the way down to the smallest scale...
in the philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of the followers of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, expressed in Hermeticism
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
by the aphorism, "as above, so below"; the doctrine of signatures
Doctrine of signatures
The doctrine of signatures is a philosophy shared by herbalists from the time of Dioscurides and Galen. This doctrine states that herbs that resemble various parts of the body can be used to treat ailments of that part of the body. Examples include the plants liverwort; snakeroot, an antidote for...
advocated in the Renaissance by Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
; the Jewish mystical practice of Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
, which Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
humanists
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
attempted to Christianize; and the doctrine of correspondence
Correspondence (theology)
In theology, correspondence is the relationship between spiritual and natural realities, or between mental and physical realities.- Correspondence and esotericism :Pierre A...
in the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
.
Lists of correspondences are very old and are not limited to books on spellcasting. Gnostic
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
books in the Nag Hammadi Library
Nag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
contain lists of aeons and archons (good and evil beings), correlating them to different virtues and vices. The First Book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
lists fallen angel
Fallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
s and their spheres of influence. Medieval grimoires included lists of correspondences.
Magic underwent a revival in the Renaissance partly due to its association with Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
. In 1531 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim was a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer, and alchemist.-Life:Agrippa was born in Cologne in 1486...
published his Three Books of Occult Philosophy, which contained many lists of correspondences. Francis Barrett
Francis Barrett (occultist)
Francis Barrett was an English occultist.Barrett, an Englishman, claimed himself to be a student of chemistry, metaphysics, and natural occult philosophy...
's The Magus
The Magus (handbook)
The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer is a handbook of the occult and ceremonial magic compiled by Francis Barrett and published in 1801. Much of the material was actually collected by Barrett from older occult handbooks, as he hints in the preface:...
, or Celestial Intelligencer (1801, frequently reprinted) repeated many of Agrippa's lists.
Organization
A common organizing principle for tables of correspondence is number.- Two: the binary concepts of Yin and YangYin and yangIn Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
, black and white, left and right, etc. - Four: the Western classical elementClassical elementMany philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
s, the four directions, the suits of the Minor ArcanaMinor Arcana|thumb|[[King of Swords]] card from a Minor Arcana deckThe Minor Arcana of occult or divinatory tarot refers to the portion of a Tarot deck that consists of 56 cards. The Minor Arcana are roughly similar to the cards found in a common deck of playing cards...
in TarotTarotThe tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
decks (also number of court cards in each suit), magical weapons, the canonical gospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s, etc. - Seven: the planets, the Seven-day weekSeven-day weekThe seven-day week is used by the majority of the world and is the international standard as specified in ISO 8601.- Origins :The origin of the seven-day week is the religious significance that was placed on the seventh day by ancient cultures, including the Babylonian civilization and the Jewish...
, the archangelArchangelAn archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
s, etc. - Ten: the sefirot of the Tree of LifeTree of LifeThe tree of life in the Book of Genesis is a tree planted by God in midst of the Garden of Eden , whose fruit gives everlasting life, i.e. immortality. Together with the tree of life, God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . According to some scholars, however, these are in fact...
of the Hebrew KabbalahKabbalahKabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
and the Ten CommandmentsTen CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, the number of pips in each Tarot suit - Twelve: the months of the year, the signs of the zodiacZodiacIn astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the twelve OlympiansTwelve OlympiansThe Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon , in Greek mythology, were the principal deities of the Greek pantheon, residing atop Mount Olympus. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades were siblings. Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis were children of Zeus...
, etc. - Twenty-two: the number of major arcana (counting The Fool) in Tarot; the number of paths in the Tree of Life; the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet
- Seventy-two: the ShemhamphoraschShemhamphoraschThe Shemhamphorasch is a corruption of the Hebrew term , which was used in tannaitic times to refer to the Tetragrammaton. In early Kabbalah the term was used to designate sometimes a seventy-two Letter name for God, and sometimes a forty two Letter name...
, numbers of angels, goeticGoetiarefers to a practice which includes the invocation of angels or the evocation of demons, and usage of the term in English largely derives from the 17th century grimoire The Lesser Key of Solomon, which features an Ars Goetia as its first section...
demons, psalms, subdivisions of the 36 zodiacal deaconates