The idea of sympathetic magick is that when something is done to one thing a sympathetic reaction will happen in another thing. The term sympathetic magic was first coined in the book the golden bough.

 

Frazier was concerned with cataloging the magical beliefs of people that he viewed as being more primitive in their beliefs. He did such a good job of cataloging that his work became a staple among the magical communities. The work falls short however in the fact that he did not believe in magic himself and didn't look at the natural extensions of sympathetic magic.

Law of contagion: Once together always together. This law provides a link between a piece and the whole, as well as providing a link between things that have been kept in proximity. This magic allows a caster who has one thing that is a piece of another thing to act upon it.

For this law to have any meaning then the physical world must have some significance to the spiritual world. The reason for this is that if the physical world and the spiritual world were not to have any contact then acting upon an object by means of magic could not happen.

 

Additionally, if acting upon something were to have any effect on something that used to be connected to it, then the physical connection must serve as the basis for the spiritual one.

When using the law of contagion it is important to take something that is a definite part of the original. In other words it is not good enough to place something on something else to consider them connected. The piece taken must have been with, or a part of, the whole for a significant period of time. If this is not done then the connection may be too tenuous for any useful purpose.

Contagious magic is best used in conjunction with other forms of magic as it allows the contagion connection to build upon connections made by other forms of magic. Pressing human hair into a clay doll that is designed to imitate the subject of a magic spell would be a good example of this. The human hair provides a spiritual link but does not necessarily provide a good mental model for working upon. The model provides a physical model to work upon.

The law of contagion can be useful even when you are not working on another person. It is often suggested that tarot cards be placed near their owner while they sleep. The reason for this is that the continued proximity allows for the reader to form a link with their cards. So long as the reader is the one to use the cards they will gain a stronger impression from the cards because of this.

Law of similarity: One thing that imitates another can act upon the other. Like produces like. This law is useful for use in magic without other links. The law of similarity makes use of the symbol and image recognition that the human brain takes to naturally.

This law is another in a long series of magical forms that are hard wired into the human brain. Humans naturally form mental links between similar things. It is therefore quite easy to use this mental link to form a spiritual link between similar forms.

Primarily this law serves to establish a mental framework to place links from one object to another. The spell caster takes an object that is similar to his target and spiritually superimposes it upon the actual object. Once established, a spiritual link from the object to the model will remain for use. The form allows for the spiritual link to be fine tuned to specific physical portions of the target.
In ancient demon exorcisms it was often useful to create an image of the offending demon to attack. The creation of the object and its destruction were not enough on their own. A link between the model and the target had to be established in such a way that the target could be attacked by attacking the model.

This law is similar to the law of signatures, however there are important differences. The law of signatures in alchemy is designed to help the alchemist identify things that can be used for alchemical purposes. The law of similarity however is designed to allow the spell caster to form new links between similar objects.

Law of vessels: A suitable object may be used to house the essence of another thing. A spiritual force may choose to take up residence in something that it chooses as a suitable vessel for its presence. This vessel is not required for the existence of the spiritual presence. It serves simply as a home.

This law is a natural extension of sympathetic magic. The original presentation of these laws in the golden bough did not take into account that the magic that was being catalogued might in actuality work. The law of vessels might therefore be considered to be on the flip side of the coin from the law of similarity. Instead of a caster creating an object to act upon a subject, the subject chooses to use an object that the caster created in order to interact with the caster.
In ancient cultures images were created of gods. The purpose of these idols was not to act upon the god, but to allow the god to more comfortably accept the offerings of their worshipers. These ancient worshipers did not simply work with their deities like some might today. They actually worshiped them and treated them with honor and respect.

Though on the surface this does not sound like it would be a directly useful law it does lend itself to a few important applications. The crafter of the items can use them to communicate with forces outside of themselves. They can also invite protective essences into objects similar in purpose to gargoyles. They can even use items to house their own essence when such a vessel proves useful.

The concept of inviting communion with essences through idols is not a new one, but not all good ideas need to be new. The benefits to the caster are obvious, however there are also benefits to the essences that take up residence in the vessel. If the vessel is a deity, then they can be more directly given offerings and other such luxury items for example.

Protective talismans and guardians such as gargoyles are common the world round. At the dawn of history the Sumerians used carvings of Imdugud birds to protect their doorways. Gargoyles were used to protect Christian holy temples. Fu dogs are still used to this day to protect the entrances of homes. It is in the nature of some entities to act as protectors in the same way that it is in the nature of cats to hunt small mice. The statue that they choose to use to house their essence is simply a comfortable place to call home.

Using a vessel to house your own essence is simple. All that it requires is an appropriate image and the ability to form a link between yourself and the image. Once this is accomplished the vessel can be used to house your presence continually. The uses depend on the situation, but to use another Sumerian example, the vessel can be used to give continual worship and service to the vessel of a god.

Law of substitution: One thing can replace or transfer a property to its equivalent. This law extends the scope of the other laws by allowing physical objects to transfer purely insubstantial properties between one another. In essence what this law does is it allows a spiritual property of one thing to be transplanted to something that is able to house it.
By transferring the sins of the group to an animal they can be carried away. Traditionally this animal is called a scapegoat, but other substitutes have been found by other cultures for various purposes throughout recorded history. What is important in each case is that the vessel for the substituted property be appropriate for the intended use.


Associative magic In many cases it is thought that a thing can become magical, or spiritually enhanced, by associating with something that is already magical. A quantity of water can be added to holy water and the whole of the water will remain holy. A quantity of water can be taken away and the water in each portion is holy. To create holy water one uses prayer or ritual to associate water with a god.

At first associative magic seems totally invalid. After all couldn’t you simply associate an entire ocean with a god by pouring water into that ocean? This form of magic has no conservation of magic laws. In other words there is no limit to how many things can become magical from one small source of magic.

The explanation comes when you examine the nature of most root sources of magic. The enchanter or artificer might create the root artifact by virtue of associating it with a god. Since holy water is the example we are using then the god has no reason to grant even a small portion of their power on an item used by a nonbeliever.

This brings up another interesting point about associative magic. As more associations are made the primary source grows more powerful. Off hand I can think of two reasons that this would be. The first recognizes that the primary source is associated with a god. If a god’s attention is drawn to items connected to a single source then it seems reasonable that the god would grant the source item more power. The second explanation rejects divine intervention. In essence this explanation postulates that everyone who has an item connected to a source item is actually giving the source item power through the association rather than the other way around. If this second explanation works then an item only draws from a source item at first and thereafter it is actually the holder of the item that gives it the power it has.

This second explanation would make the power of a magical item nontransferable. In other words an artifact could not be given to someone new, as the original association would not be there for him or her. I try to shy away from this explanation, as it seems like a contrived way to go into denial as to the existence of supernatural beings.

In ancient Babylon a form of associative magic was used in exorcisms. The Babylonians knew that the ancient Sumerians before them had incantations that could be used to exorcise demons. They then created talismans that were associated to the original incantations. These talismans often had illegible texts on them as the artificers of those items were often illiterate. The talismans weren’t meant to be read, but rather they were meant to have innate power.

This was made possible by several of the forms of sympathetic magic. In some cases a magical item gives its ability to another item by the power of the law of contagion. In other instances the law of substitution is more important in its ability to allow the transfer of properties from one thing to another.
Associative magic is magic for the masses. It is not all that difficult to get a holy relic, but it is difficult to create one completely from scratch.

 

You don’t need to read to create an association, and you only need a rudimentary understanding of the spiritual significance of the item to make use of it.