Sympathetic magic helps us create more focused magical practice by working with the natural connections that exist throughout the universe. This system allows us to amplify our intentions, strengthen our spells and create change in our lives.
The concept of sympathetic magic was first formally described by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer in his work “The Golden Bough.” he described how sympathetic magic can work in two ways.
Firstly, there is the idea that ‘like attracts like’ . This means that we can draw certain magical energies into our spells by the careful choice of the tools and ingredients we use. For example, if we want to create more love and harmony in our lives we can use colours such as red and pink and symbols such as hearts and roses as these things are ‘connected’ to the idea of love in our culture and consciousness.
Secondly, is the idea that magic can work through direct connection. This is why we like to visit the homes of famous people. The idea is that the energy within these things is ‘contagious’ so we hope a little of their magic might rub off on us.
Here a bit more about how these ideas work.
The Law of Similarity
The Law of Similarity operates on the principle that an effect resembles its cause. This means we can influence outcomes by creating symbolic representations of what we want to achieve.
When you light a green candle for money magic, you’re using the Law of Similarity. The green colour represents abundance and growth, creating a symbolic link to prosperity. Similarly, when we carve symbols into candles, create vision boards, or use crystals chosen for their colour properties, we’re working with this fundamental principle.
This law explains why colour correspondences work so well in magic. Red candles might represent passion or courage in Western traditions, whilst white could symbolise purity in some cultures and mourning in others. Purple often connects to spirituality, though different traditions may associate it with royalty or transformation instead. These symbolic links develop through cultural experience and personal association rather than universal law.
The Law of Similarity also explains why we use herbs with specific shapes or properties. Walnuts were once thought to strengthen the brain because of their resemblance to brain tissue. Heart-shaped leaves might be chosen for love spells. Plants with golden flowers could represent wealth and success.
The Law of Contagion
The law of contagion teaches us that objects which have been in contact retain an energetic connection. This principle explains why personal belongings hold such significance in our magical practice and daily lives.
This explains our emotional attachment to meaningful objects. Those lucky pants you wore during a sporting event carry the energy of your success. Your grandmother’s cookbook holds more than recipes – it contains her love and the warmth of family gatherings. We instinctively understand that objects absorb and retain the energy of experiences and emotions.
Quantum Connections
Modern physics offers an interesting parallel to sympathetic magic principles. Einstein famously called quantum entanglement “spooky action at a distance” in 1947. He described how particles that have been in contact continue to affect each other instantaneously regardless of the distance between them. While quantum entanglement operates at the subatomic level, it demonstrates that the universe contains mysterious connections that transcend our everyday understanding of space and time.
This scientific principle mirrors what witches have always known about magical connections. Just as entangled particles remain connected across vast distances, objects and people that have shared contact retain energetic links that can be activated through focused intention.
The parallel isn’t exact – quantum mechanics operates under specific conditions that don’t directly apply to sympathetic magic. However, the existence of such phenomena in nature suggests that connection and influence at a distance aren’t impossible, just poorly understood by current science.
Working with Sympathetic Magic
Understanding these principles can strengthen your magical practice. When you choose tools and ingredients for spells, consider both similarity and contagion. A prosperity spell might use gold coins (similarity – gold represents wealth) combined with a piece of jewellery you wore during a financial success (contagion – it carries that successful energy).
Personal items create strong contagious connections for self-directed magic. Clothing you’ve worn during happy times, jewellery that makes you feel confident, or tools you’ve used in previous successful spells all carry your personal energy signature.
Timing can enhance sympathetic magic. Creating something during a meaningful moment – like making a protection charm during a thunderstorm – imbues it with that specific energy. The charm becomes connected to the power you felt in that moment.
Environmental connections also matter in sympathetic magic. Water collected from a sacred spring carries the energy of that place. Soil from your garden holds the vibration of your home. Sand from a beach where you felt particularly peaceful retains that tranquil quality.
Practical Applications
Sympathetic magic appears in countless forms across magical traditions. Candle magic combines both laws – choosing candle colours for their symbolic meaning (similarity) whilst carving them with personal symbols (contagion).
Vision boards use similarity by displaying images of desired outcomes, strengthened by adding personal writing or meaningful objects. Even simple acts like keeping lucky charms work through contagion.
Sympathetic Manifestation Spell
This spell combines both laws of sympathetic magic to help manifest your desires into reality.
What you need
- Green candle (for growth and manifestation)
- Small piece of paper
- Pen or pencil
- Object representing your desire (photo of dream house, coins for money, small heart for love, etc.)
- Bay leaf
- Small glass jar with lid
- Matches or lighter (or LED candle as alternative)
What to do
- Begin by cleansing your space with sound – ring a bell or clap your hands loudly to clear any stagnant energy
- Light your green candle or switch on your LED candle, taking a moment to feel its warm energy
- Hold your symbolic object in your hands and spend a few minutes focusing clearly on what you want to manifest
- Write your desire on the paper using present tense, as if it has already happened in your life
- Fold the paper towards you three times to draw in energy
- Hold the bay leaf between your palms and speak your intention aloud three times with conviction
- Place your folded paper, bay leaf and symbolic item in the jar, feeling the energy of your intention settling into the container
- Seal the jar firmly whilst visualising your desire as already achieved and feeling grateful for its manifestation
- Hold the sealed jar near the candle flame or LED light, allowing the energy to charge your spell
- Speak these words with feeling: “Sympathy and contagion brings my desire to me. As I will it, so it shall be.”
- Place the jar somewhere you’ll see it daily, letting it remind you of your intention until your manifestation appears
- Take action every day, even if just in tiny steps, to bring your manifestation into being
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Blessed be
Eva x