Natural Magick & Ritual Correspondences:

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are Nature Correspondences?

2. Why do I need these things anyway?

3. Do I have to use them?

4. Am I doing Natural Magick to please a god or other spirit?

5. Am I just doing this because people used to do it in ancient times?

6. Do I have to believe in Nature Correspondences for them to work?

7. Is it necessary to "give back" to nature when using Nature correspondences?

8. Which categories (herbs, oils, incense, etc.) of Nature Correspondences make

magick work the best? Are some categories more powerful than others?

9. Once you figure out which category of Nature Correspondences to use (herbs,
oils, incense, or other) which ones do you pick within each category since there
are so many that symbolize the same thing?

10. Why would anyone use anything but Correspondences that are most likely to
work (and most available)? Why use anything but the strongest, surest (and
cheapest) materials and for that matter why bother having more than one
Correspondence for a specific purpose?

11. Do I have to incorporate a Correspondence from each of the categories you have
listed here? How many categories should I use to be successful?

12. In movies, these plant/amulet/totem Correspondences sometimes don’t work.

Why should I take it on faith that they will work for me when the people who use
them in movies are so often cast as stupid and ignorant?

13. Are there some spells/rituals that cannot be performed using Nature
Correspondences? Can you use Nature Correspondences for curses, hexes and
other workings of black magick?

14. What are Time Correspondences?

If all things are one as in the phrase, "As above, so below" or "The Microsm is equal to
the Macrosm", then doesn’t that mean that all the types of magick are one? Isn’t Natural
Magick the same as Spiritual Magick and Mental Magick if we are all supposed to be
united with gods and goddesses?

What are Nature Correspondences?

Nature Correspondences
are the tools witches and
magicians use to perform a
type of magick called
Natural Magick. Natural
Magick involves the
organization of certain of
objects and substances
from nature so that the
current of energy in the
atmosphere is in harmony
with the magician/witch’s
desires.

Nature Correspondences
can be anything natural that is not altered much from it’s original state. For example,
herbs are often used by practitioners of magick to create change through ritual workings.
Herbs can be harvested from wild settings such as forests, or fields or they can be grown
in captivity. Their power will be just as strong. The herbs can further be dried, crumbled
or pressed so that the precious oils within can be obtained or so that they can be used for
incense blends.

However, the plants (or gems, woods, etc.) still must come from nature. They must be
somehow grown (or otherwise naturally formed) in order for them to carry the
appropriate energy patterns to be useful. Herbs and the oils that come from plants will not
carry the same specific energy pattern if their scents are artificially generated in a lab.
Nature Correspondences further lose potency in magick when they are combined with
artificial colorings and
preservatives.

Why do I need these

things anyway?

At all times in our world, a

current of energy is
moving and churning
around us. Different types
and concentrations of
energy rise and fall
constantly affecting the events in our lives to one degree or another like a ship swaying
with the tide.

The purpose of using Nature Correspondences is to influence that current so that it flows
harmoniously with the energy patterns of our desires. An example to simplify: you
wouldn’t expect a ball thrown westward into the crushing eastward winds of a hurricane
to get very far. (In fact, the ball would probably end up propelled backwards into your
forehead.)

Neither would you expect a swimmer to have much success swimming against the
current of the Grand Rapids. The best swimmer with the strongest muscles and the most
advanced training wouldn’t have a prayer, and even if he did, he would have to work
pretty hard for it.

On the other hand, if you threw a ball westward into hurricane winds blowing towards the
west, your ball would go very far. Much further in fact than you could ever have thrown
it if the air was totally calm.

This is the purpose of Natural Magick and the Correspondence system that practitioners
use. The point is to supplement your workings of Mental and Spiritual Magick with
energy from outside yourself thus improving your chances of success. You also want to
make sure that the current of energy around you is not working contrary to your
intentions, something that can foil the plans of the even most advanced master.

Do I have to use them?

Absolutely not. There are

three types of magick.
Natural Magick is only one
of them, the other two
being Spiritual Magick,
and Mental Magick.

As a witch or magician,
you will most probably use
at least one of the three
methods of magick even if
your workings are mostly
religious in nature (in
which case you would be
using Spiritual Magick).
The specific practice of
your magickal tradition even if it is eclectic is entirely up to you.

Some Chaos Magicians, to name one example, use Mental Magick almost exclusively in
their magickal workings. Some will use no other correspondence than candles
(technically a Nature Correspondence because of the shape, color and action of the candle
usually corresponds to the intention of the working and comes from nature) while others
incorporate all three forms of magick including Spirit Magick through the use of
thoughtforms and other ritually created energy forms (for more information on Chaos
Magick, see Traditions of Magick, Chaos Magick). And while some Chaos Magicians do
make use of every tool at their disposal, they are not expected to.

Neither are you expected to utilize any tool that others use to accomplish similar goals.
While few witches avoid using Nature Correspondences, due in part to the long-standing
history and tradition of Natural Magick with witchcraft, many magicians prefer to stick
with Mental and Spiritual Magick. This is entirely a matter of choice.

Truthfully, magick can work without using Nature Correspondences at all, and to say
otherwise would be a flat out lie. However, history has proven time and again that
successful results through magick without some attention to nature will be harder to
accomplish for two reasons. One is that without the added energy from nature, you will
have to work longer and harder to supplement the energy that would have been added
freely with the addition of a few items from nature.

Another reason is that unless you are uncannily psychic you can never absolutely tell
what "direction" the current is traveling in. Is it moving in harmony with your desires or
is it opposing them? The power of nature is massive far beyond any energy we could
easily (or consciously) conjure up on our own. This is demonstrated by the unyielding
power of a tornado that can demolish one house in a neighborhood and leave the house
next door untouched. To expect to be able to oppose nature and always come out
victorious is naive.

So the question becomes one of statistics. If you wish to focus all your attention on
another type of magick and don’t mind reduced odds of success, then Nature
Correspondences are not essential. However, if you like to think every working should
have as high a chance of success as possible, then learning a few Nature Correspondences
would be invaluable.

You don’t have to learn all of them by any means. You will find that even one or two is
sufficient for most rituals. However, it is highly advisable that those practitioners who
wish to exclude this form of magick from their workings to at least consider checking the
Time Correspondences before beginning an important working. Even if you don’t care to
wait until the proper time of month, week, day, etc. you might want to at least want to
make sure that the current of energy is not in opposition to your intentions.

Small things like this can make a world of difference and can take a great deal of the
mystery out of why one working succeeds while another fails.

Am I doing Natural Magick to please a god or other spirit?

 Many people begin
magickal workings without
any knowledge of why
they are doing different
things. Some people
believe that the purpose of
organizing Nature
Correspondences is only to
appease certain spirits.

In some cases this is true.

Various spirits connected
to our world, do react to
and respond to the
mirrored energy patterns of
Nature Correspondences on the Astral Plane. That is, the herbs, oils, candles, etc. that we
set up here on the physical plane act as a beacon to spirits residing on the Astral Plane.
Some spirits view this practice as a communication, telling them who is open to them as
well as which physical beings are knowledgeable enough (and sometimes worthy
enough) to bother responding to.

Other spirits actually feed off of the energy rising off of lighted candles and smoldering
incense. Some spirits even feed off the mental energy that humans and animals radiate
when the fine scents of aromatherapy oils permeate the environment. (For more
information on methods of Spiritual Magick, refer to The Triad of Power: Learning The
Three Worlds Of Magick.)

All the above scenarios improve the magician’s relationship with spirits through simple
communication or in some cases by providing the spirit with something (usually energy)
that they want or require to continue their own existence. This trade off (our energy in
exchange for attention or favors) is common in Spiritual Magick and is referred to as an
offering or sacrifice.

However, there are other more fundamental reasons for using Nature Correspondences
that are as old as the practice as magick itself. Harmonizing nature’s current of energy
with the energy patterns of our desires is the primary reason for using Nature
Correspondences. Furthermore, this method of magick also provides the proper
foundation for implementing Spiritual or Mental Magick should we choose to employ
them as well.

Unfortunately too many practitioners mistakenly believe that Nature Correspondences

have no other value except in creating a sound working relationship with or sacrificial
offering to a spirit. And if they choose not to practice Spiritual Magick, they wonder why
they should bother with arranging Correspondences to please spirits they don’t care
about.
By accepting this erroneous assumption, many practitioners deny themselves a quick
source of power and success in their workings.

Am I just doing this because people used to do it in ancient times?

People in ancient times

most definitely relied on
Nature Correspondences to
improve all areas of their
lives through magick and
medicinal means. Of
course they had no access
to modern medicine and
therefore had strong
incentives to learn about
the gifts around them as
quickly as they could.
Today, we benefit from the
experiments they did
thousands of years ago to
find out what works and
what does not.

What they were learning was to identify the specific energy patterns that each herb, oil,
color, tree, etc. held and how they could use them to improve their lives whether by
ingesting them or using them in some other ritual action.

The only reason the lists of Nature Correspondences have survived all this time is
because they work. Ineffective systems (magickal or mundane) don’t last very long and
effective ones are traded, passed down and improved over time.

We use the Nature Correspondences today because of their effectiveness rather than their
antiquated charms. However, many new practitioners of magick rush to find the
Correspondences most publicized in literature and film. Most notable of these
Correspondences is the mysterious European Mandrake.

Known for its powerful protective and love inspiring properties, the Mandrake root is the
most popular herbal correspondence in pagan circles today despite the fact that is also a
deadly poison dangerous even to the touch.

However, once a witch has acquired this fabled root, is it the energy of the *herb* (and
thereby nature) that affects such powerful changes in his rituals...or is it the fact that the
witch heard it would work?
In fact the answer is probably "yes" to both questions. At the very least the Mandrake, (if
it is genuine), is doing its part. It doesn’t matter whether the witch has heard of it before
or believes in its power. It has set the current of energy to conform to the will of the
caster.

So while old spells might seem to have more appeal to modern witches and magicians
simply because they are old, Nature Correspondences don’t have to be recognized as old
in order to work. They have an energy all their own. Arranging them allows you to
harness their power and makes your task of creating change that much easier.

Do I have to believe in Nature Correspondences for them to work?

Believing in something in
order for it to work would
make the usage, Mental
Magick. There are some
forms of Mental Magick
that require props from
nature. However, workings
of pure Natural Magick do
not require your belief any
more than a prescription
antibiotic requires you to
believe in it for it to
effectively treat an
infection. (This may help,
but then again this is the
cross over contribution of
Mental Magick rather than
a requirement for Natural
Magick.)

The energy in Nature Correspondences (when they are used for Natural Magick) comes
from energy outside of you. You might be arranging the proper balance for your working
by setting things up, but your personal energy is not responsible for changing the current
of energy.

The object or substance you have taken from nature is directly responsible for the
changing energy currents. It does not matter what you believe. The same amount of
energy will be released from the herb, oil, candle or whatever you use.

The only added benefit of "believing" is that your working will have the cross over
contributions of Mental Magick (in fact believing your spell/ritual will work is a working
of Mental Magick in and of itself).
Your confidence will make the working that much smoother and easier with the power
from inside you available to complement the power from outside of you. What better
combination could you ask for?

Is it necessary to "give back" to nature when using Nature Correspondences. I have

seen spells that insist you have to ask permission before you harvest and that you
have to give back before your magick can work.

I’ll answer the second

question first with another
question: Who are you
going to ask? And, if you
do ask, who is going to
answer for permission?
That’s probably far too
cynical, but I have heard
people state hard and fast
that this is the only way
you can harvest herbs,
plants, trees, etc. from
nature. You have to ask
Her first.

Let me first say, I don’t think this is altogether a bad practice. It fosters respect for our
environment that is sorely lacking in today’s generation. However, I think a more
universal concept might be to, rather than ask nature/the goddess/the deity/the
universe/etc. for permission is to consider preserving the balance that the universe works
so hard at maintaining.

This balance may involve "giving back" as in planting a tree where it can grow strong or
even sprinkling seeds after harvesting an herb from the wild.

A group of Wiccan witches I know always take a vial of consecrated water with them
when they harvest in the wild. After they take what they need, they pour the water over
the plants that remain so that they can grow stronger. All such practices are up to you.
You don’t have to give back, but remember that nature exacts a high price when her body
is thrown out of balance. Just look at the price we are paying for the ever dwindling Rain
Forests being cut down and left to burn. The medicines and treatments we could have
found there will soon be gone, and once they are, nature will never give them back to us.

So don’t worry about giving back if it seems hokey to you. Just make sure that your
presence is not disrupting the balance. Listen to the lessons of our Native American
brothers and sisters. Don’t take more than you need, and don’t pollute an outdoor area
with litter. If you notice a wild area is starting to get over harvested by you or others,
choose another.
This way, you can make sure that you and those that come after you will have access to
those resources for many years to come.

*A final note: It is theoretically possible to give too much back. I mention this only
because it emphasizes the concept of balance. Nature is unconcerned with quantity.
She already has enough, and too much of a good thing will destroy the very balance
she holds dear just as easily as too little.

Especially in this day and age, it probably is not possible to give so much back that
nature is thrown out balance. You could conceivably go on a rampage and spend a
hundred billion dollars planting trees on every square inch of dry ground on the
planet. But then nature would be forced out of balance and would no doubt respond
with massive hurricane that would wipe ninety percent of them out, thus restoring
her equilibrium and negating your original plant to "help".

However, that kind of extreme undertaking is not only unlikely but humorous. The
contributions we could add to nature would probably never even come close to
pushing her out of balance, but the question should still be asked anytime we try to
"give back". Are we preserving balance or threatening it?

Truly, in all things dealing with magick, we need to think "balance" rather than
"excess". The two are not the same and one will bring peace while the other will
bring only ruin.

Which categories (herbs, oils, incense, etc.) of Nature Correspondences make

magick work the best? Are some categories more powerful than others?

A very good question.

One that most
practitioners of magick
would love for there to be
a good answer to.
Unfortunately like every
art form, the truth is
subjective.

Various cultures around

the world view Nature
Correspondences in
different ways so
different spells and
rituals will reflect this disparity. Most practitioners of magick use what has been
historically used by their culture in the past and also what is most convenient. Herbs, oils,
incense, candles (for their shape, color and symbolic manifestation), wood from trees,
flowers, and many others are convenient to acquire and use. They can all be used quite
effectively to set the proper stage for magick.

Correspondences that have been altered or added to the least will be the most effective
because they carry the strongest natural energy patterns. As Nature Correspondences are
altered with chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, etc., they lose the vital energies that
make them so powerful. Subsequently, fresh cut plants, harvested by the practitioner
herself, will have the best chance of succeeding in a work of magick if for no other
reason that she knows for a fact what has gone into growing the plants. Nothing hidden or
surprising goes into them.

Plants grown by the practitioner who uses them can also benefit from the increased power
that the practitioner feeds the plant from her own personal energy. Talking to plants,
praying or chanting incantations over them daily, and simply tending to them with love
all make the final products far more powerful for use in magick.

Of course most of us cannot grow everything we require for magick and when you
simply cannot grow your own resources, those produced by reliable, organic producers
are a close second to home grown products.

In sum, the best thing that the beginning practitioner can do is to study spells written by
others to get a feel for how others have approached nature’s system before.

You can use a single

Correspondence from one
category (ex. mugwort, an
herb) or many from more
than one category. It is true
that the more you
incorporate into your
workings, the better your
chances of succeeding will
be, however, don‘t drive
yourself crazy trying to use
all of them. Three to five
physical Nature
Correspondences (not
including Time
Correspondences,
discussed further in a later
question) should be more
than enough to set the
current in your favor no matter how serious or difficult your task is. Even one is often
enough with the additional ones being added for security rather than necessity.

Herbs, plants and trees are grown in the earth and imprinted with their corresponding
energy signature through their DNA. Anything grown (and hopefully healthy--avoid sick,
dead or dying plants as their energy will be far less and sometimes even counter to the
energy of healthy plants) will have strong powers of influence over your environment.
Furthermore, products that are derived from healthy herbal and plant essences are also
highly useful in magick. For example though oils and incenses seem to have been altered
dramatically from their original herbal forms, the processes used do not seriously affect
their energy patterns and little or no chemical additives are necessary, they retain nearly
all of their original potency.

Crystals are also a very

strong source of energy as
they are also "grown" from
in nature though not the
same way plants or other
living organisms are
grown. Crystals are thought
by some to give off
energies that are far
stronger than any other
Nature Correspondence
hence their extensive use in
healing rituals and Chakra
Alignments.

When it comes to
establishing your
foundation for magick, you can’t beat the power of crystals. They are inexpensive and
easy to use with their mere presence doing most of the balancing work.

When working on your own without a pre-written spell to refer to, try to stick with one or
two Correspondences from no more than five categories (preferably three especially in
the beginning if you are just starting out--perhaps an herb, an oil, and a gemstone). Your
environment can only get so stable and after that, you may want to consider adding one
or both of the other two forms of magick (Spiritual or Mental Magick) to give your
working the added push it needs to succeed. With practice you will quickly decide
exactly which Nature Correspondences (and how many) you work best with.

Once you figure out which category of Nature Correspondences to use (herbs, oils,
incense, or other) which ones do you pick within each category since there are so
many that symbolize the same thing?
This comes with study and
research. The more you
look at different lists of
Nature Correspondences,
the more you will notice
that different people from
all over the world say the
same things about the
some of the same
Correspondences. For
example, in the category of
herbs, there are several
herbs that magickally (not
necessarily medicinally)
signify healing. From one
list it says that Adder’s
tongue, Allspice,
Amaranth, Angelica, Bay
Leaves, Lemon Balm,
Balm of Gilead, Barley,
Cinnamon, Eucalyptus,
Fennel, Fern, Goat’s Rue,
Golden Seal, Heather and
many others all can be
used in magickal workings
to heal.

Which one do you use?

This question is tricky

because it has two
answers. One is that you use the one that practice and experience has told you works the
best in your environment (what works at stabilizing the energy currents in an
environment halfway across the world may not work as well in your area and vise versa).
However, you also need to be able to find and afford your resources.

This knowledge, however, does not necessarily have to come from trial and error. For the
most part, this work has already been done for you through others performing magick and
writing down what has worked for them.

As previously stated, scholars of esoteric knowledge have compiled many listings of

Correspondences that may or may not agree with what others have written. What you can
be certain of is that the more you see a Correspondence repeated in several lists, the more
common it is. Correspondences only become popular if they work and the more you see
them, the more likely that example is to work for you in your area as well as being
available and affordable.
Roses, for example are recorded on almost every herbal Correspondence listing available.
The reason is that roses are highly effective in magick. This is one correspondence you
can almost bank on being compatible with ritual workings in your area.

So keep your eyes open to different sources of information and experiment, experiment,
experiment! Many Categories of Correspondences are available from this source so that
you can learn about and maintain a working reference to both the common and obscure
examples. However, there is also a listing of the most Common Correspondences used in
magick today and throughout the ages. These are not only the most likely to work in
magick, but they are also the easiest (and usually the most inexpensive) to find.

Why would anyone use anything but Correspondences that are most likely to work
(and most available)? Why use anything but the strongest, surest (and cheapest)
materials and for that matter why bother having more than one Correspondence for
a specific purpose?

Various rituals require exotic and sometimes expensive ingredients for a number of
reasons, but the simplest reason is illustrated by William Shakespeare when he said, "If
this be magic, then let it be an art form."

Over the centuries, different people have expressed their art form in different ways. Their
culture and times all played a large role in how they picked their correspondences.
Magick has many objective faces, however, it is essentially a subjective art. When
someone creates the recipe for certain spell, personal preference, result-experimentation
and geographic location all play a major part in determining what correspondences will
be used.

For the most part, it is not necessary to concern yourself with using exactly what
someone else uses, unless you are deliberately experimenting with different spells from
different time periods or cultures. Just make sure that the Correspondence you choose is
known for it's effectiveness or you know from your own experimentation that it is attuned
to your particular ritual intention.

Most magicians and witches will only bother with exotic ingredients when the results
they seek through magick are highly unlikely to occur by chance and therefore are
considered difficult. Such "hard spells" often require more time, effort and
experimentations in order to be successful. Just keep one point in mind. What you lack in
one are of the three forms of magick (Mental, Spiritual, or Natural) you can make up for
in another. If you find yourself feeling insecure about your abilities with Mental Magick,
then you can easily justify experimenting with more exotic ingredients. This decision is
entirely up to you. Sometimes more exotic (and more expensive) is better, however this is
the exception to the rule rather than the rule of thumb.
Do I have to incorporate a Correspondence from each of the categories you have
listed here? How many categories should I use to be successful?

Like any other art form,

magickal workings have
different degrees of impact. You
can use no Natural Magick
Correspondences at all, and
your magick may still work. In
fact depending on your
knowledge and experience, you
may need no other tools than
your own mind (which means
your workings would fall under
the heading of Mental Magick).
Some witches and magicians are
very skilled at this. However, most of us are not so overconfident that we ignore details
that might increase the possibility of success in our workings.

If you are a beginner working without a reference (a spell or ritual written by someone
else) then try to incorporate no more than one or two Correspondences from no more than
three categories until you gain more experience (ex. an herb, an oil, and a candle).

If you start out with too many, you will be unable to determine which ones are working
for you and which ones are not. As you become more advanced, you should add as many
as you feel you need to stimulate the appropriate energy currents.

Whatever you do, don’t pick a Correspondence just because it is the only one you can
find. Research to find out which Correspondences have been used with success by others.
For a list of common and effective Plant Correspondences, see Common
Correspondences.

In movies, these plant/amulet/totem Correspondences sometimes don’t work. Why

should I take it on faith that they will work for me when the people who use them in
movies are so often cast as stupid and ignorant?
 Many times, characters
depicted in literature and
film are seen as ignorant
and stupid for utilizing
different folk remedies and
pagan ritual
correspondences (instead
of mainstream Judeo-
Christian artifacts and
incantations) to prevent
misfortune and ward off
evil. A prime example is
the old pagan peasant who
uses garlic
(*unsuccessfully*) to ward
off a vampire. Of course
throughout the course of
the story, the hero quickly
discovers that the evil
spirit (in this case, the
vampire) is too powerful
for such heretical non-
sense, and the only real
way to destroy the enemy
is through the power of
some mainstream religious archetype, in most cases, Jesus Christ.

We, as enlightened pagans, have to look at spiritual and auspicious conditions from a
more broad standpoint than the rest of mainstream society. In fact, all religious faiths
from Wicca to the Native American faiths to Christianity and others exert a powerful
force on the physical world as well as the spiritual ones.

While I have no doubt that Spirit Magick is a potent and powerful solution to unpleasant
supernatural phenomenon, Nature Magick is also extremely powerful and quite often
serves as a necessary foundation for successful ritual workings.

Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that people writing movie scripts and books for everyday
people are rarely educated enough in the alternative religions to understand how and why
anything in magick works. Often they rely on the widely accepted premise that only
Judeo-Christian archetypes (or even ones created solely for the purpose of the story) can
protect people from the evil and destructive forces in the universe. (There are some
refreshing exceptions, but they are unfortunately rare.)

And, while it is true that the Judeo-Christian god is an extremely powerful and protective
force (many pagans also invoke him for protective and healing rituals), he is not the only
one available to purify, exorcise and battle disruptive entities. Nature (through the use of
Nature Correspondences for Natural Magick), other spirits, as well as the will of a witch
or magician can perform feats similar to that of YHVH (Jehovah), the Judeo-Christian
god (or simply "God").

The problem lies in the

fact that pagans are in the
minority compared to more
mainstream deities such as
Jehovah, Jesus, and Allah.
Movies and books are
rarely written or marketed
for the minority in a
capitalist nation.
Publishers and film
producers are far more
concerned with writing
stories that have
widespread financial
appeal than writing what is
historically accurate and
perhaps losing their
audience (not to mention
their money).

And of course there are

also many instances when magickal workings among real pagans seem to fail. While they
never really fail (all magick works, though sometimes it does not create changes that are
visible to us or the changes we had in mind), we may mistakenly assume that our efforts
have been in vain if we don’t see results. Thus the premises that pagan rituals are
ineffective is that much easier to believe.

Of course in many works of fiction, pagan deities are regarded as being less powerful
than mainstream deities which isn’t surprising since we do not live in a predominantly
pagan society.

However as soon as we see the motives behind Hollywood story telling, a different
perspective becomes clear. It only stands to reason that people raised in one culture
would promote their beliefs through their story telling, and just because one group
(though the group we call Hollywood is very convincing at times) portrays their religious
beliefs in a certain way does not mean the rest of the world is bound by them.

Literature and film have so much impact on our psyches that we assume they must be
correct in nearly all their interpretations. Sometimes we have a hard time believing that
people with so much insight and creativity could be so uninformed.
It is unfortunate that the same works of art that inspire us to practice magick don’t teach
us the proper ways to maximize our effectiveness. In fact the "rules" of most stories in
popular literature today exist to support the plot rather than reflect how energy really
moves in our universe.

Fortunately, if we recognize the inconsistencies inherent in our culture, we are that much
further towards mastering magick as well as our imaginations. We can filter out the bad
information and still retain the inspirations these works of art can provide.

And while it is tempting to insult mainstream writers for their lack of knowledge with the
occult, it is hardly fair to blame the lay person for his or her ignorance when so many
students of magick are also unaware of the principles by which our universe is bound.

The bottom line is not to take popular literature too seriously. It was not written to teach
you magick nor was it written to reflect the way the world works, only one person’s
interpretation of it. If writers are inspired by true premises, then history will judge them,
and their premises will withstand criticism through the years. If the story is just for
entertainment’s sake, then it will fade.

In short, embrace the parts of art that inspire you and ignore the rest. There may be a true
lesson to be learned...then again, it may be just a story.

Are there some spells/rituals that cannot be performed using Nature

Correspondences? Can you use Nature Correspondences for curses, hexes and other
workings of black magick?

To answer this question,

the spirit of nature must be
first discussed in greater
detail. For starters, nature’s
foremost goal is balance.
Everything that happens in
natures involves the efforts
of nature to compensate for
excesses. When
imbalances occur, nature
watches closely and
resolves them in her own
time to regain her
equilibrium.

Regaining equilibrium
sometimes involves
violence as we see when a
volcano destroys wildlife
with tons of fiery liquid rock. After seeing such destruction of plants, animals and even
human lives, we wonder how this can ever be seen as restoration of balance.

Then, if we stick around for a few months we observe the land coming back to life with
vital nutrients from deep under the ground’s surface providing fresh green ecosystems for
thousands of creatures. Where once only concrete and nutrient-poor soil lay, fresh,
nutrient-rich soil lays ready to house new life.

This brings us back to the question of whether Natural Magick can be used for any
(specifically harmful) spells. Many practitioners assume and teach that Nature
Correspondences cannot be used for negative intentions.

This is only partially true. You can curse someone using Nature Correspondences, but
since the action will probably be against nature’s balance, the majority of the energy for
the working will have to come from either yourself, another group of magicians, or a
spirit.

The reason for this is because negative intentions rarely restore balance. More often they
compromise it and thus are not as effective as they would be if you were to use them for
protection.

That is not so say that you can’t use them to curse or hex someone. There are a few
Nature Correspondences that have almost no beneficial attributes except for defensive
magick, however they still only set the stage.

They alter the current of energy around the witch or magician so that it does not run
contrary to the harmful magick he or she casts.

Thus, if you tried to use a sprinkling of wormwood oil to curse an enemy and no other
form of magick, you would be less likely to have success. In this case you would need to
"force" the issue with either Spiritual Magick or Mental Magick.

On the other hand, if your working were somehow necessary to restore balance (and I
mention this only hypothetically because it is very unlikely that this would happen) then
simply using a Nature Correspondence to cause harm would be effective on its own.

The reason for this

difference between the two
examples, cursing and
protection, is that almost
all actions of protection
maintain balance. While
there are a few exceptions
(like a murderer using
magick to protect himself
from getting caught),
protection opposes actions that cause sudden change. Cursing, on the other hand, causes
sudden and disruptive changes that cry out to be remedied. It is nature that will inevitably
have to repair the damage one way or another, and therefore all devices of nature will be
less likely to actively support harmful endeavors.

So, while nature will accept sudden and violent changes like the earlier example of the
volcano, they must be warranted as the result of accumulated imbalances. This is
definitely something to think about before engaging in harmful magick.

If your actions are habitually harmful, you may become the imbalance that nature has to
violently attack in order to restore her symmetry. It won’t necessarily happen every time.
People do get away with black magick sometimes and as much as we hate it, there is
nothing we can do about it. On the other hand, while some negative actions may not have
immediate backlash, habitually negative ones always do.

What are Time Correspondences?

The term "Time Correspondence" refers to

the time frames when various magickal
intentions are most likely to be successful.
There are many different ways to correlate
magickal workings with time. Descriptions
of the most common Time
Correspondences are listed below. Click
on the links to read a description of how to
use each of them for your workings.

Moon Cycle:

Historically, the cycle of the moon has

been the most important Time
Correspondence, and you may see
references to its affects even in non-
esoteric settings. For example, the word
"Lunatic" is derived from the word Luna--the Latin word for moon--as it has been
illustrated time and again that mentally-ill humans and animals react more forcibly during
different phases of the moon.

Whenever you see that a theorem or principle of magick has been accepted and embraced
by mainstream society, pay close attention to it. Such crossovers of information from the
esoteric to everyday scientific circles are rare and when they happen, there can only be
one reason: They are both valid and practical.

Remember that scientists don’t want to be connected with what their colleagues might
consider non-scientific flights of fancy. And yet, psychologists and psychiatrists still
know enough through experience to take extra precautions in hospitals during different
phases of the moon, even though some of their most difficult patients have no idea what
phase the moon is in when they act out.

Fortunately, coordinating magickal workings with the proper phase of the moon is one of
the simplest Time Correspondences to follow with a full half of the month being
available for each type of intention (usually the waxing or waning phases are all that need
to be adhered to).

Zodiac Sign The Moon Is Traveling Through:

Next to the proper phase of the moon, the sign of the zodiac through which the moon is
traveling is the most helpful in planning the appropriate times for magick.

Again, mainstream society’s acceptance of this system is no accident. Farmers consider

the calendar showing the zodiac signs for each day in the Farmer’s Almanac before
planting their crops because they know from experience that their returns will be much
better if they do so.

Workings of magick respond similarly to coordination with lunar zodiac signs and again
the system is not difficult to learn or work with.

Note: Two definitions that all practitioners of magick should be aware of when using the
lunar zodiacal system are Void of Course and Via Combusta. These are both times when
magick should NOT be performed unless you are very advanced and you have a very
good reason. Historically, these are erratic times when magick has been known to go
haywire. Even if you choose not to incorporate any other Nature or Time
Correspondences in your workings, I strongly urge anyone practicing magick to
purchase a Farmer’s Almanac that lists these times to avoid disastrous failures or even
reversals of your magickal intentions.

Planetary Hour:

After the phase of the moon and the lunar zodiacal calendar, the planetary hour holds the
most weight in magick. Each hour of the day corresponds to a different planetary satellite
including: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These seven
celestial bodies are also referred to as "The Seven Stars" because when the system of the
planetary hours and the days of the week were developed, they were thought to be the
only bodies in our solar system. (See also The Seven Great Powers of Magick for more
information.)

(NOTE: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as well as the other smaller bodies in our solar
system are considered the "modern planets" because they were discovered after the late
eighteenth century--discovered in 1781, 1846 and 1930 respectively--well after much of
the astrological systems of magick were developed. Thus they are not included in the
planetary hour system used by most practitioners of magick today.)
Each of these Seven Stars rules different characteristics and as with the zodiac signs of
the moon, coordinating ritual intentions with them makes magick more likely to succeed.

This is the last of the three major Time Correspondences. If you are just starting out and
you decide to use this system, the above three are probably all you need to concern
yourself with. Many practitioners choose only to use the phase of the moon and this is
fine, however, I strongly urge all serious practitioners of magick to learn and monitor the
other two systems for times when the energy current will run against your magickal
intentions.

(These times will not necessarily be frequent, but they do occur. For example trying to
perform a love spell during the hour of Mars or while the moon is traveling through the
sign of Capricorn. These two times would be particularly bad for love spells and thus you
might find yourself wondering what it is about you that is keeping your magick from
working. In this, feel free to experiment to see how closely you need to follow the
system. You may find that your strengths in Mental and Spirit Magick make following it
closely unnecessary.

The additional Time Correspondences listed below will contribute only a marginal power
to your workings and may not be worth your time to try and incorporate them as well.

In any event, if you find you can’t use all the three listed above either because you can’t
get the proper charts (for the last two--you won’t need one for the moon phase) or
because you don’t have time to wait for the proper time to come, then use whichever ones
you can, remembering that the moon is most commonly considered to be most important
followed immediately by the lunar zodiacal calendar and then by the planetary hour.

Day Of The Week:

This Time Correspondence involves coordinating your magickal intentions with the days
of the week which were also named for each of the Seven Stars mentioned above for the
planetary hour. Sunday (Sun), Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Mars), Wednesday (Mercury),
Thursday (Jupiter), Friday (Venus), and Saturday (Saturn). Coordinating spell and ritual
intentions with the attributes of these seven celestial bodies is thought to increase the
likelihood of success.

However, while this Time Correspondence is highly publicized, especially in modern

witchcraft, there are many flaws with it that make it quite frustrating to incorporate into
magickal workings.

For one thing, the system of planetary Correspondence is already accounted for with the
planetary hour. It does not need to be repeated with the day of the week.

Furthermore, the day should already have been designated by the sign of the zodiac
through which the moon is traveling (a more far more potent system). Even if you
decided to be extremely thorough and include both systems to "cover all your bases" you
would have a difficult time because the two systems are rarely compatible.

For example, the moon takes approximately 2 and 1/2 days to travel though each sign of
the zodiac. Say you wanted to perform a spell for healing, and you chose Taurus as your
zodiac sign because this sign is strongly associated with healing. You have only 2 and 1/2
days (maybe 5 if you are lucky and the sign happens to appear twice in the same month)
out of the whole month to work your spell. In order for you to coordinate your day of the
week with the day of the month you would have to be lucky enough for your 2 and 1/2
days to fall on a Friday, (ruled by Venus, it is the day of the week most strongly
associated with healing).

In 1999, only three of the 12 months of the entire year showed a Taurus Friday: May,
June and July. This means that this spell for healing could only be performed using both
systems on three occasions out of the whole year.

You don’t want to have your movements so limited that you feel like walking away from
magick altogether. Of course you could perform the spell using only the days of the
week, but history as well as my own experience has taught me that this system is far less
reliable than the lunar zodiacal system. It is not used around the globe for planting or
tending to crops because it lacks potency.

Even so, using the day of the week alone is definitely easier to do especially in the
beginning of magickal study because you don’t require any special charts and you have a
full one seventh of the month to work your spell where as with the lunar zodiacal system
your time ranges from 1/12 (2 and 1/2 days) to at most 1/6 (5 days) of the month, only
slightly more then the day of the week system.

There are a few occasions when the day of the week system can be used as a substitute as
when it simply is not possible to use the lunar zodiacal system. If you can’t get a listing
of the signs the moon travels through, then the days of the week will add a little
additional power to your ritual intention.

Again try to at least get a listing of the Void of Course and Via Combusta times. Even if
you choose not to use the lunar zodiacal system, always make sure to be aware of these
two erratic times to avoid problems.

In the end choose either the day of the week or the sign of the zodiac that the moon is
traveling through. DO NOT try to do both. You might get lucky once in awhile, but more
likely, you will probably drive yourself crazy.
Time Of Day:

The time of day used in magick does not refer to the planetary hour but instead typically
refers to one of the four cardinal times of the day: dawn, noon, sunset and midnight.
These Correspondences are sometimes used in specific spells, however, when crafting
your own spells, you may wish to avoid this system and focus on the more potent one
mentioned previously unless you have a definite significance you wish to symbolize with
one of the aforementioned time spots.

Seasons Of Year (Zodiac Sign The Sun Is Traveling Through):

This system is used primarily for celebration (the four Greater Sabbats and four Lesser
Sabbats) though ritual intentions are often coordinated with the appropriate seasons to
bring about changes with long range benefits meant to last for at least the whole season or
year.

Further Notes on Time Correspondences:

To a beginner just starting out, all the above

information may seem overwhelming. In fact
it's not as long as you keep things organized
and remember to keep good notes. If you
decide to work with Nature Correspondences,
a spell template can help you to master the
practice of coordinating all types including
those used for time frames.

Again, like all other Correspondences, you are

not required to incorporate time frames into
your workings. Magick can still work without
it. On the other hand, performing magick at
the wrong time is the single most common
reason for failure. Even if you only follow the
cycle of the moon, your magick will have a
far better chance of success than if you had
used no time correspondence at all. If you
have the time and the knowledge to
incorporate multiple Time Correspondences,
by all means do so. It doesn’t cost anything
and it may greatly improve your chances of
success.

However...and I can’t stress this point enough,

you will undoubtedly encounter situations
when you need to practice magick during
times that do not correspond to your
intentions harmoniously. In these situations, you should never give up on magick
(especially in an emergency) simply because it is the wrong time of month, day, year, etc.

Use what Time Correspondences you can but don’t allow them to hold you back.
Sometimes we have no choice but to push forward with magick even if we have no
supplies and the time is all wrong. In situations when the timing is wrong you can offset
the problem by increasing the number of physical Correspondences from nature. You
might, for example use extra herbs, stones, flowers, trees, etc. to increase the probability
of success. After all magick is a probability game that the scientists have not figured out
yet. You can also greatly improve your chances of success by using one (or both) of the
other two types of magick (Spiritual and Mental Magick).

If one "ace in the hole" (i.e. the correct moon cycle) is not available then use another
source of power. Ideally magick is most likely to be successful if all our "ducks are in a
row" and all our Correspondences are in perfect alignment. However, this is neither
necessary nor practical for every working though you will no doubt come across some
that are especially difficult and thus require more preparation. Such endeavors are
precisely why master magicians and witches write down what works for them. This way
when they must repeat their success in the future, they do not have to start all over again
by trial and error.

Experiment and practice until you find the timings that work best for you. Again
remember to consider geography (what works in one place or with one group may require
adjustment for another) as it can greatly affect your results.

If all things are one as in the phrase, "As above, so below" or "The Microsm is
equal to the Macrosm", then doesn’t that mean that all the types of magick are one?
Isn’t Natural Magick the same as Spiritual Magick and Mental Magick if we are all
supposed to be united with gods and goddesses?

A more advanced question, but

fortunately the answer is not so difficult
that it would confuse the novice reading
this.

Many philosophers and occultists alike

have embraced the idea that all gods are
one, that people are one with the gods
(and all other spirits for that matter), and
that all living creatures are part of the
same source (the universe). There are
many ways to illustrate this concept of
universal oneness. Everyone you know,
everything you see is really one or part
of the same source.
Whichever way you look at it, the concept can confuse a rather simple though often
misunderstood system of categorizing the three methods of magick.

It is true that we might be one with the universe (although I stress the word "might", for
those of you who have not yet decided for yourselves which theology is right for you),
but we still maintain our separation (as many lonely individuals will quickly attest to).

We are not "united" every day of our lives with everyone and everything else around us.
The fact is that we are operating on a physical plane, and while the philosophical and
esoteric arguments may lean towards the reality of total union of all things (and therefore
all forms of magick) with the universe, these are not practical for our everyday needs.

We still must exist separately in the world in which we live, and especially for the
beginner, lessons in magick should focus on the practical side with as few confusing
concepts as possible. Spirits do not seem to have the same identity as a bottle of
sandalwood oil nor do I feel entirely at one with the willow tree in my back yard.

This whole concept is too deep for many people to digest, and since the philosophical
aspects of magick are more likely to develop with time and experience, I urge anyone
who has difficulty with the question to let it sit in the back of your mind for awhile. Study
and experience will eventually provide an answer more enriching than any I could
illustrate here.

So in answer to the question, "Are all forms of magick one?", the truth is that they
probably are. But then that doesn’t really help the average magician when she needs to
get something done.