Original Magic: The Rituals and Initiations of the Persian Magi - Michael M. Hughes 2018

Correspondences
Appendix

Every book of practical magic seems to need a table of correspondences. But let me suggest that the most powerful and useful correspondences are those already embedded in your consciousness. When adding fire energy to a spell, your favorite hot sauce may make more sense than a difficult-to-find plant cited in a medieval magical text. Be creative, follow your intuition, and don’t be afraid to build your own table of correspondences.

The exception is when there is historical documentation of a particular correspondence. The statue of Hermes on my altar gets cassia (cinnamon) incense because it is noted as an offering to him in the Greek Magical Papyri.

Also note that some items have paradoxical or contradictory associations: for example, a black candle can represent African American power or fertility and regeneration as well the traditional dark or negative linkages found in many traditions. Magic embraces paradox.

Correspondences

Herbs and Resins

Abre Camino: Road-opener, removing obstacles, power.

Angelica: “Archangel root,” feminine, guardian, protection, healing.

Asafoetida: Banish evil (and everyone else with its pungent stench).

Basil: Goddess (especially holy basil or tulsi), healing, protection.

Bay leaf: Offering to Hekate and Apollo, banishing negative energy, luck in situations that require physical strength.

Cinnamon: Offering to Hermes/Mercury, to “heat up” or “sweeten” a spell, as incense to purify a space.

Copal: One of the “dynamic duo” of incense—multipurpose clearing of negative energy, creating sacred space, energizing space, attracting good spirits and repelling negative entities, sanctifying and consecrating, elevating mood and altering consciousness.

Dragon’s blood: Protection, cleansing of negative spirits.

Frankincense: The other (along with copal) of the “dynamic duo” of incense. Multipurpose cleansing and purification, sanctifying and consecrating, elevating the energy of a space, attracting benevolent spirits while repelling negative spirits, mood lifting, consciousness shifting, common offering to deities.

Garlic: Repelling negative psychic energy (think vampires), Mars, Hekate, protection.

High John the Conqueror: Often carried as a talisman or added to mojo bags. Power, luck, “masculine” energy.

Hyssop: Purification, blessing, protection. My go-to magical oil, especially for protection and sanctification.

Jezebel root: For protection of sex workers.

Mint: Cleansing and purification, burned with frankincense to generate visions.

Mugwort: Psychic energy and dreaming, protection from psychic negativity, burned as incense to sanctify and purify space.

Myrrh: Protection, cleansing, healing. Very similar in most respects to frankincense, and may be combined with it for a synergistic effect. Good for banishing negativity and creating sacred space.

Red pepper: Repellent, to “heat up” or energize a spell, keep someone away.

Rosemary: Aphrodite, protection (especially when planted near front door), purification (when burnt as incense or used in a bath).

Rue: Protection, cleansing.

Sage: Cleaning, protection, feminine energy and power.

Solomon’s seal: Protection, decision making, wisdom.

Rocks, Minerals, and Crystals

Antigreed, capitalism: Pyrite (fool’s gold).

Attract energy: Lodestone.

Binding and banishing: Jet, obsidian.

Capture and hold energy: Quartz (all varieties).

Goddess: Moonstone, selenite.

Grounding: All crystals, especially salt, hematite, lodestone, petrified wood, and quartz.

Hekate: Moonstone, selenite.

Justice: Bloodstone, hematite, selenite.

Peace: Amethyst, celestine, jade, obsidian, selenite.

Protection: Amethyst, black tourmaline, fire agate, obsidian.

Reproductive rights: Moonstone, selenite.

Salt: Deep cleansing, powerful protection, purification.

Curios

Animal teeth, bones, hair, etc.: Energies and qualities of the particular animal.

Feathers: Elemental air, swiftness and flight, energies and qualities of specific birds.

Mercury (Liberty) dime: For mojo bag, protection, general good luck, liberty.

Colors (Candles)

Black: Black power, Africa, darkness, shadow, negativity, hiding something.

Blue: Peace, pacifism, water, healing.

Brown: Court cases, legal issues, humility, animals.

Green: Plants, earth, money, abundance.

Pink: Sexuality, femininity, friendship, nonsexual love.

Rainbow: LGBTQ+ “rainbow flag,” humanity in all its colors and variations.

Red: Mars, blood, heat, passion, warfare, love.

White: Purity, cleanliness, sterility. As it contains all other colors within it, it can substitute for other colors when necessary.

Yellow/Gold: Sun, fire, attraction, positivity, intellect, wealth.

Moon Phases

Waxing (increasing) moon: spells for attraction, growth, increase.

Full moon: Revelation, power, shining a light on a subject, peace, justice.

Waning (decreasing) moon: Decrease, sending things away, binding, banishing, and release spells.

New (dark) moon: Binding, obscuring, halting, negativity, regeneration, rest.

Correspondences for the Centering Ritual

Before me: Future, infinity, beings yet to come, choice, open road.

Behind me: Past, the dead, ancestors, choices I have made, consequences.

On my right: Father, sun, light, active, giving, beginnings.

On my left: Mother, moon, receptive, taking.

Above me: Angels, planets, stars, infinity.

Below me: Rocks, magma, fire, crystals, the dead.

As outside me: Everything external.

So within me: Soul, spirit, imagination, daimon, muse, deepest self, divinity.