Cosmic Sympathy: The Philosophy & Application of Astrological Correspondences.
Public Talk as part of Nightlight Astrology Speaker Series. Feb 11, 2024.
Have you ever wondered why cell phones break during Mercury retrograde? Why you had so many dental problems during your Saturn return? Why your Cancer friend likes to take saline baths with their shell collection?
Cosmic sympathy is the Stoic belief that everything in the universe is an expression of one or more of the astrological deities on dramatically different scales. We call these connections “correspondences,” “sympatheia,” or “rulerships.” Mars rules things like knives, scars, and hot peppers; Venus rules jewelry, botany, pomegranates, and cats. Correspondences are more than just metaphors; they’re foundational to the astrological worldview, a kind of animism that ensouls the world and provides an access point to connecting with the cosmos that’s concrete rather than primarily abstract or symbolic.
In this talk, I give a brief overview of cosmic sympathy and its hybrid origins in the Stoic and Hermetic traditions, analyze some examples with participants to see how these connections can illuminate the deeper meaning of planets and signs, and discuss how the concept can be the grounds for an entire cosmology that reframes the universe as a living, interconnected body. We also touch on some contemporary echoes of this idea by drawing connections to the standard model of particle physics, and the phenomenon of "spooky action at a distance." Attendees will walk away with a clear idea of how to work with correspondences in natal astrology (for themselves or with clients), as well as practical knowledge of how to apply the theory as part of a spiritual, therapeutic, ritual, or magical practice.