In magick you often hear the phrase “As Above, So Below” and along those lines, the magician has their own correspondences just like the spirits do. Do you know what your correspondences are?
Let’s find out.
You Will Need:
- 1 Natal Chart
- Yourself
- Pen and Paper
First, let’s figure out your element. By looking at your astrological sign, that will give you your primary element. So for example, if you’re:
Pisces/Cancer/Scorpio = WATER
Capricorn/Taurus/Virgo = EARTH
Aquarius/Gemini/Libra = AIR
Sagittarius/Aries/Leo = FIRE
Next, go through your chart and find out which signs each of your planets falls into. Then count up the elements. For example, let’s say you are an Aquarius with a Leo Moon. Aquarius Sun counts as 1 air. Leo Moon counts as 1 fire. Etc… Do this until you have an “elemental breakdown”. While the astrological (Sun) sign is the primary element, the signs where your other planetary/celestial bodies fall make up the rest of your alignment. Which means you can be the earthy part of water, or the fire part of air. (See the Complete Book of Demonolatry for more thorough instructions on how to do this).
For your planetary correspondence, some people just use the planet/celestial body that corresponds with their astrological (sun) sign. I’m a Cancerian, for example, so my celestial correspondence is the Moon (the celestial body that rules intuition, emotion, etc…). That said, I also identify deeply with Saturn, the planet of hard work and change among other things. But that’s also because I am the earthy part of water. More of my planets are in earth astrological signs than not. My Moon is in Capricorn – the earth element whose planet is Saturn. Hopefully you’re starting to see how this works.
Now I want you to consider your directional correspondences, planetary, scents, metal, colors, dates, seasons, stones, tarot suits, and your Patron and how it all often falls together in some way. What are you instinctively drawn to for the remaining correspondences?
For Example — My Correspondences:
Astrological (Sun) Sign: Cancer (with Capricorn moon)
Element: Water or Earthy Part of Water
Direction: Northwest
Planetary: Moon and/or Saturn
Scent: Frankincense
Metal: Silver/Iron
Color: Gray/Brown
Dates: September 10-30
Season: Autumn
Tarot Suit: Cups and Pentacles
Daemonic Patron: Leviathan
Stones: Onyx and Tiger’s Eye
Right about now you may be asking yourself what you would do with these correspondences. First, not only will it help you identify Daemonic forces that you might resonate well with, but it may help you pick the right Daemonic force for the job. Remember that when working magick, it’s like cooking. You’re adding the daemonic energy + your intent/energy, and mixing it together to facilitate a particular outcome. This is why foundational magical correspondences are so important to learn. That doesn’t mean you can’t break the rules, but you should know the rules first so you can break them in meaningful ways.
So know your own correspondences and use them in your magick, too. You may find your magick far more effective as a result.
All good and everything but what if you fall hard on a cusp?
When you fall on a hard cusp, either choose the sign/element you relate to the most, or you go by the actual birthchart. Here’s the thing — your natal chart is a mathematical calculation of where the celestial bodies actually are at the moment of your birth, and will often give a DEFINITE element and sun sign based on those calculations. We’re doing this by natal chart, not just by birthdate.
This was beautiful and well written. Thank you. I too am a cancer sun with Capricorn moon ( earthy part of water) . I have been working with the Phoenix as my patron spirit as a means to attempt to balance my energies as fire is my weakest alignment. Would you be able to shed some light on the pros and cons of this approach.
It depends on the person, of course. A lot of people feel better with regular elemental balancing, or working with opposite energies to bring everything into balance. Working with fire if you have a lot of earth or air can also get your ass moving if you’re a hardcore procrastinator or someone who forever plans and never does. The only con I’ve heard about balancing is some people say it’s not their “natural state”, and some people find the elemental alignment they were born with works for them (no matter how imbalanced it is), and that anything else just messes everything up for them. For me, personally, I’m a bit low in the fire department, too, but I’m pretty balanced in the other three (with a little more earth than anything else), so I actually find working with too much fire makes me anxious, so I have to temper it a bit, otherwise I turn into a complete spaz.
Thank you. I think right up until recently I was experiencing something similar. Good to know that I took the right correction.
Stephanie, how did you figure out the scent and dates? I was able to understand how you came up with the other correspondences.
Thank you!
Nancy — I chose the incense scent I like best and the time of year I like best. If I were to choose my favorite color(s) – it would be either blue or green. I’m partial to both.