But let’s get something clear. The mind—also called the soul—has the power to shape your reality. Your mind is the lens through which you experience “above” and “below.” If you want to master magic, witchcraft, or even just life, you have to understand how your inner world shapes the outer one. For more insight on this, check out the main category page on How Witchcraft Works. But for now, let’s explore how this principle affects your practice and life.

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As Above, So Below, The Universe Reflects the Soul

In Hermeticism, the Principle of Correspondence means everything in the universe reflects everything else. What is true in the vast cosmos is also true inside you. It might sound complex, but it’s practical. If you understand the patterns in the universe, you’ll understand the patterns inside yourself. Align your inner world with the greater truths of the universe, and you’ll gain control over your magic, your life, and your spiritual growth.

The connection is clearer when you realize that “As Above, So Below” doesn’t just apply to the external world, but also to your soul. As within, so without. Your inner thoughts and emotions directly reflect the outer world. When you bring balance and harmony to your soul, your external life mirrors that. This is why witches focus so much on inner work like meditation, manifestation, and self-discovery. The more you align your mind or soul with universal energies, the more those energies align with your outer reality.

The symbolism of Baphomet is reconciling paradox and being at peace but also As Above, So Below. Paradox is reconciled in the Universe, and must be within ourselves too.

The Macrocosm and Microcosm Connection

When you grasp “As Above, So Below,” you understand there’s no separation between the macrocosm (the universe) and the microcosm (your soul). They reflect each other. The universe is a mirror, and so is your soul. This doesn’t mean you are God. But it does mean you can tap into universal truths by understanding your own inner workings.

For instance, in witchcraft, when a witch casts a spell, they are aligning the “above” (the greater universe) with the “below” (their inner world). By focusing their thoughts and emotions, they bring their intention into being. This is the microcosm (their soul) mirroring the macrocosm (the universe). When you realize this connection, you see how your soul and the universe interact on every level.

In witchcraft, you use rituals or symbols that correspond to universal forces. These forces mirror what’s happening inside you. It’s not about using an herb or crystal—it’s about understanding that these physical elements reflect deeper, spiritual energies. You are the bridge between the “above” and “below.” The clearer your understanding, the stronger your magic.

As Above, So Below: The Power of Correspondence

Magic is about understanding the connections between the visible and invisible worlds. The Principle of Correspondence—”As Above, So Below”—helps witches, pagans, and spiritual seekers understand how this connection works. Every object in the universe has a corresponding energy or vibration. So do you. By aligning your inner energy with the universe, you become a powerful force in shaping reality.

For example, when you meditate or perform a spell, you channel energy. If you’re focusing on healing, the energy reflects both the healing power of the universe (“above”) and your soul’s healing ability (“below”). Your soul directs that energy to manifest your desires. That’s why it’s important to train your mind and soul. The clearer and more focused you are, the more aligned you become with the universal forces at play. I see this principle a lot when I’m doing tarot readings.

In witchcraft, “As Above, So Below” is a tool to understand how to manipulate energies. You don’t have to be a master sorcerer to grasp this. It’s about observing how the universe’s patterns relate to your soul. When you recognize how the universe and your soul correspond, you can work magic more effectively and manifest what you want.

Meditation: Aligning the Inner and Outer Worlds

Meditation is key to understanding the Principle of Correspondence. It’s not just about quieting your mind. It’s about tuning into the universal frequencies that connect everything. To manifest your desires or work your magic, you need to align your inner world with the outer one. Meditation helps you tune into the deeper connections between you and the universe. When I teach new witches about meditation, I have them start with this Alpha Trigger meditation.

Through meditation, you access your inner world (the “within”) and align it with the forces of the “without.” Whether you meditate to understand metaphysical laws or strengthen your magic, the goal is the same: balance. The more balanced you become inside, the more balanced your life will be outside. This is why Hermetic principles like “As Above, So Below” are so important in witchcraft, magic, and spirituality.

Witches, pagans, and spiritual seekers understand the power of meditation. It aligns the soul with the universe. Through this alignment, you can manipulate energies to manifest your desires. The more you meditate, the more you realize that everything you do reflects the universe itself.

Why It Matters in Your Everyday Life

When you understand “As Above, So Below,” you see how much influence you have over your life. Your mind and soul are connected to the larger universe. If you feel disconnected from the universe, your inner world might be out of balance. This principle teaches that everything you see is a reflection of your inner state.

If you want to improve your life, start with your inner world. The Principle of Correspondence shows that by healing your soul, you also heal the universe around you. Master this, and life becomes easier, more aligned with your desires, and more magical. Whether you want to manifest wealth, health, or love, understanding the correspondence between your soul and the universe gives you the power to make it happen.

Conclusion

The principle “As Above, So Below” is more than just a Hermetic phrase. It’s the key to unlocking the power of the universe and your soul. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul. By aligning the two, you tap into the immense power of the cosmos. Understanding this connection is essential for anyone practicing witchcraft, metaphysics, or just looking to live more intentionally. So, dive into this principle and watch it transform your magic, spiritual growth, and life. And don’t forget—if you want to know how witchcraft works, check out the main category page for more insights into this powerful art.

The Seven Hermetic Principles: Mentalism, Correspondence (you’re on it already), Vibration, Polarity, Rhythm, Cause & Effect, Gender.

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Everything on Earth—and in the cosmos—has its own vibration. Every stone, tree, and being hums with infinite frequencies. Additionally, like-vibrations resonate and build collective consciousness. That’s not just poetic—it’s metaphysical physics.

I’ll get into how witches harness the elements soon, but come on—you know me. We’re doing history first.

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The Four Elements: Ancient Influences

Let’s be honest—Sumerian mythology didn’t exactly hand us a tidy four-element diagram. However, elemental forces still shaped their cosmic worldview. For example, the Enuma Elish tells of a universe born from a chaotic sea. So yes, water took center stage early, even if fire, earth, and air lagged behind.

– The Enuma Elish (Akkadian Cuneiform: 𒂊𒉡𒈠𒂊𒇺), often translated as “When on High,” is a Babylonian creation myth from the late second millennium BCE. Named after its opening line, it remains the only fully intact account of ancient Near Eastern cosmology.

Later thinkers, however, got more system-oriented. The ancient Greeks took these chaotic forces and said, “Let’s categorize.” Thus, fire, water, air, and earth became the standard model for explaining… well, everything. Feeling irritable? Too much fire. Can’t make a decision? Clearly an air imbalance.

Eventually, Hermeticism appeared and gave the four elements a spiritual upgrade. This tradition, pieced together from Egyptian mystery schools and Greek philosophy, absolutely adored symbolic frameworks. Hermes Trismegistus—yes, that Hermes—gets credit for highlighting the spiritual value of these elemental forces. The Hermetic Principles play a huge role in witchcraft, the four elements are naturally incorporated in them too.

Naturally, Hermetic thinkers didn’t stop there. They expanded the idea into alchemy, Kabbalah, and nearly every form of Western occultism. Because obviously, the elements are too convenient not to use for explaining soul paths, planetary magic, or Tuesday’s mood swings.

In short, the Sumerians didn’t invent elemental diagrams, but they absolutely sparked the concept. Later cultures just added drama, symbols, and fire—lots of fire.

Gnomes, Sylphs, Salamanders, Undines

I deeply respect Hermeticism—don’t get me wrong. But I suspect humanity knew about these elemental forces long before Hermes branded them. Still, Hermes Trismegistus did frame them with far more spiritual depth and philosophical flair.

In many magical traditions, especially Western occultism, people often refer to the four elements using mythic entities. So yes, you’ll see Gnomes (Earth), Sylphs (Air), Salamanders (Fire), and Undines (Water) pop up. Eventually, you’ll run into them in spell books or rituals—and probably ask, “What the heck is a Sylph?”

While the concepts are ancient, are these specific elemental beings? Not so much. Paracelsus, a 16th-century Swiss physician and alchemist, made them trendy. He didn’t invent them—but wow, did he run with the idea.

His Book on Gnomes, Sylphs, Salamanders and Undines didn’t just introduce elemental spirits—it basically became the textbook. Thanks, Paracelsus. Seriously.

The Four Elements in Witchcraft

So, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water aren’t just poetic—they’re essential. You literally can’t live without all four. Consider this: you’re made of minerals (Earth), you breathe air (obviously), you burn energy (Fire), and you’re mostly water (hello, 70% hydration).

Some practitioners also refer to a Fifth Element—not the movie. It’s Aether, or Spirit, and it ties everything together. It’s also referred to as “The Will” or “To Go”. So now, congratulations—you’ve got a metaphysical explanation for the five points of the pentagram.

In witchcraft, the elements move beyond biology. They shape your practice, your energy, your intention. That’s where the real magic begins. Here is a super-simple breakdown of elemental correspondences.

• Earth: Often associated with grounding, stability, practicality, and the physical world. It also corresponds with money, prosperity, fertility and growth among other things. Earth “rules” over jobs, employment and everything else listed here in the Tarot.
• Air: Represents communication, intellect and reasoning. It also corresponds with ideas, philosophies, justice and legal matters among other things. Air “rules” over intellectual struggles, and the conflict that arises from these things and our own truths in the Tarot.
• Fire: Symbolizes energy, passion, transformation, and the ability to ignite change. It also corresponds with inspiration, creativity, war, lust and passion among other things. Fire “rules” over careers and passions in the Tarot.
• Water: Linked to emotions, intuition, and the subconscious. It also corresponds with divine feminine energy, goddess, psychic talents and experience and dreams among other things. Water “rules” relationships of all kinds in Tarot.

When casting a spell, I often focus on one element more than the others and sometimes attempt a real equal balance of elements. A witchin’ tip from me; cascarilla (eggshell powder). Eggshell corresponds with all four elements and brings great strength to any spell.

Calling Corners and Casting Circle

I will write an entire separate article on calling corners and casting circle soon but just want to explain the elements in this concept.

The corners are the four cardinal directions and people will argue about which element corresponds best with which direction. Widely accepted: Earth (North), Air (East), Fire (South) and Water (West).

In my own practice though, Fire and Air are switched, Fire is East and Air is South. My reason for this is that the East is associated with the rising of the sun, enlightenment. As the sun rises its fire warms the earth, flowers open and everything seems to just come alive. It just makes greater sense to me.

The idea is to open a portal one at a time in each cardinal direction and call upon the corresponding element to come take its place. This is to help guard the circle and lend that energy to the work. You could also say to witness the work too.

These corners, these four directions and corresponding elements are also referred to as Guardians, sometimes Watchtowers. For these energies (and sometimes entities) a witch can conjure simple elemental energy, or elementals, angels, dragons or other spirits.

Four Elements on the Altar

In most witchcraft traditions and cultures, there are witch tools on the altar placed in the cardinal directions that correspond with these elements. See my article about altar setup to learn more.

I use a special stone ritual bowl and salt for the North (Earth), a cauldron for the East (Fire), a ritual bell for the South (Air) and a chalice for the West (Water).

In addition, while an altar has an altar candle, sometimes candles that correspond to the individual elements are also placed in those corners.

I do that too sometimes; it depends on the work I am doing.

Sometimes I move the altar to the center of the room and place markers and color coordinated candles at those markers. Again, it depends on the magic I am performing.

Choose corresponding colors for each candle, and many will carve a symbol for that element on the candle. A step further is dressing each candle with corresponding herbs and oils.

We have a lot of herbs on our site, 1 oz packets, 2 oz packets and bulk 1 lb. herbs. We also have hundreds of essential oils, different brands and bulk oils too.

In closing, you can also meditate on each element, see how it might be out of balance, too much focus or perhaps neglect.

It can also help you to understand the elements with regard to tarot suits too.

Earth for “social, family and money”, Air for “Struggles of the mental plain and communication”, Fire for “Passions and creativity” and Water for relationships, emotions and all matters of psychic talents.

Check out the Divination category and also my P.E.N.S.I. method to learn tarot easily.

This can help bring your life into a better, healthier balance. I suggest you start with this instant-alpha brainwave meditation.

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In short, sympathetic magic is harnessing the natural world around us, what is “sympathetic” to our cause. Don’t get me wrong, there are many nuances and much to consider in choosing items, ingredients etc.

We also choose correspondences that are sympathetic to our magical workings. We’ll get more into that a bit later. For now, you can safely assume that correspondence magic and sympathetic magic go hand in hand.

The law of similarity. correspondence and the law of contagion together are sympathetic magic.

Don’t let the term “contagion” frighten you. In terms of sympathetic magic it is the idea that energy (the spell) can transfer from an object to a person and vice versa. Like making a voodoo doll or a poppet for instance. Or, consider the effects of a sour jar.

“What in the world are you talking about” you ask?

Breaking Down Sympathetic Magic

Similarity, correspondence, contagion = Sympathetic Magic

We didn’t call it sympathetic magic commonly until after the publication of The Golden Bough, Frazer (an anthropologist) (1890, p. 19b) explicitly formulates two principles of magic: First, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed (contagion).

Frazer’s attempt at describing and summing up sympathetic magic would have anthropologists rolling over in their graves. It’s kind of like taking a simple thing, giving it an acronym and then continuing to add letters. While a modern attempt, witches around the world of all flavors have been performing sympathetic magic since the beginning. In the end, I find a lot of discourse over this topic seems to be splitting hairs.

Another thing that bothers me is the excessive use of the words “law of”. Laws can be bent or broken, I tend toward “principle” or even “theory”. Regardless. I have seen and done enough sympathetic magic in my life to know hands-down, it works. Especially if you train your mind, focus and will. Get proficient at it, at channeling energy.

But that’s what this part of my witchcraft blog is all about; foundational witchcraft.

Go to Learning Witchcraft (start here). If you are on mobile, the links to the training posts will be below the page. If you are on desk/laptop or pad, the links to posts will be on your left. And then on to “How Does Witchcraft Work“.

The ideas of likeness, correspondence, similarities and contagion come together to form what we now call sympathetic magic with modern understanding. Don’t get me wrong though, without specifically calling it that, we’ve been doing this since the dawn of man and magic. Even mainstream religions practice this, though most would shun the idea of calling it that. How about bread and wine representing flesh and blood?

Examples of Sympathetic Magic

A skilled and proficient witch doesn’t need sympathetic means to work magic in the moment. Magic happens all the time without it, especially when the need is critical and urgent and there is no time. But planned magical workings can carry and move considerable energy around. Sympathetic magic is also more sustainable too. Consider these three examples below.

Poppets

Some cultures call them poppets, others voodoo dolls, clay dolls, dolls of all kinds. Dolls also fall into the class of image magic which touches on much of witchcraft.

So, you make your own or choose a handy shell to start with. The first thing you do is choose a color that corresponds to the intention. Red for love, green for money, black for protection, cursing or hexing, purple for psychic work etc. Study the energy of colors and you’ll see that you are choosing a color sympathetic to your cause.

What herbs will you stuff it with (enchant everything every step of the way)? Mandrake is practically a must for doll magic, helping bring life to it. Maybe you want goldenrod for money and prosperity, my favorite though is cinquefoil (five finger grass). We offer herbs in 1 lb bulk, and also 1 oz and 2 oz packets.

Perhaps you will make the face in the likeness of the person or decorate the doll with symbols that represent yourself or the target.

Candle Magic

There are so many ways to make spell candles, and some magic more than one candle is used. Sometimes burned separately or dripped upon one another. Yet other candles are layered with different colors as they are being made for certain intentions.

We have a lot of occult books and many on books on candle magic.

Orange is a color of attraction, so a witch may choose orange to represent his or herself. Perhaps opposite of it a green spell candle is enchanted to bring prosperity and burnt near the orange candle.

Again, the practitioner is choosing candle colors for this sympathetic magic because of the color correspondences (energy) of those colors.

Sympathetic Magic with Tarot

Tarot cards are often used in magic. Think about it, dozens of cards and in tarot readings, the right ones always present. We can see and feel ourselves and the situation in those cards, for what they undeniably bring to light. Check out my Learn Tarot series starting with the P.E.N.S.I. method if you don’t like memorizing.

A spell candle on a mirror to amplify energy and a chosen card can pack quite a succinct wallop. You would choose the card sympathetic to your cause.

I always have my client choose a chime candle color whether I’m doing in-person readings at our physical shop or doing online tarot readings for clients. It already begins to tell me so much. For magical workings and longer rituals, I tend more to taper candles.

Conclusion

So, my hope is that you now have a good grasp of what sympathetic magic is, without all the desperate descriptions found online. So, when you are choosing what to work with, consider correspondences and what is sympathetic to your cause. Research, dive in and look things up.

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