Principle of Correspondence
From MagickBook
Contents |
Definition
The most common form of this principle is "As above, so below. As below, so above." [1]. This citation from the famous hermetic manual "The Kybalion" is one of the most often repeated aphorism of Western Magick and Mysticism.
The formal definition of the Principle of Correspondence is that since the Universe is a system that mirrors itself at different levels, then what happens in the greater scale of things happens also in the lower scale of things.
The microcosm is an image of the macrocosm, and vice versa. There is an inherent relationship between the two, a relationship that it is not causal, but based on the fact that both are an expression of a common "oneness" or underlying awareness. The hermeticists called that awareness "The All".
Applications
Generalities
Correspondences are at the heart of Magick, divination and almost all symbolic systems in the world. Its main application is the possibility of connecting to apparently dissimilar concepts by means of an attached quality whose form they share. These are called "Correspondence relationships".
Common examples are (from Astrology), the "connective" nature of the element air and its relationship with expression and learning and the sign of Gemini, which also has those qualities. By further application, the planet Mercury personifies that concept in the form of the talker, writer, teacher, etc. In this example we have created a correspondence relationship between a classical element, a sign of the zodiac and a planet. They are different things, but partake of the same underlying symbolism, expressed by each one in their particular way, in accordance to their essential nature.
The example above shows how concepts can be "chained". Each link in the chain leads to the next (the element to the sign, the sign to the planet), and in the end form a closed system (by transitive property, the planet leads back to the element). This is extremely useful in the study of every symbolic system in the magickal arts.
Divination
Divination is a special application of the Principle of Correspondence. The basic idea is that by allowing the Universe a controlled degree of freedom, the diviner is capable of interpreting a set of symbols and translating that interpretation into the life and particular questions of the consultant.
In Tarot, for example, the symbols are a deck of Tarot cards. The consultant shuffles and asks, the Tarotist interprets and translates the resulting pattern as laid out in the spread of cards. It works because there is a relationship between the order and pattern of the cards (in this case, "what is below" or the microcosm), and the greater scheme of the events in the life of the consultant ("what is above" or the macrocosm). Since "As above, so below", the cards naturally fall in a way that is possible for the skilled reader to understand the pattern and translate that into a message to help the consultant. The "randomness" or the degree of freedom we are allowing is the very act of shuffling the cards.
In Astrology, on the other hand, the symbols are planets, signs, houses and a lot of mathematical points in space and time. These form the macrocosm, "above". The freedom/randomness in a natal chart are the coordinates of the birth, and the date and time of birth. By carefully analyzing the set of symbols in a chart diagram, the Astrologer "translates" the pattern of the sky into a useful interpretation for the consultant, who is the microcosm, the "below" in this example. The relationship of similarity is between the life of the consultant and the figures on the sky.
In both cases there is no causation: there is no determinism. You do not do something because Mars is in Scorpio, you do it because you want, or because you allow it to happen. But because the Universe is such a cool system, it happens that your action and the fact that Mars enters Scorpio are synchronized. By the same token, you do not face a judge just because in your spread the relevant card was Justice. But as it happens, you already are "set up" to face that judge, so the card is simply a sign of the Universe showing you the path you have chosen... Examples can continue ad infinitum.
