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Correspondence is a relationship between two levels of existence. The term was coined by the 18th-century theologian
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758).
Swedenborg had ...
in his ''
Arcana Cœlestia
The ''Arcana Cœlestia, quae in Scriptura Sacra seu Verbo Domini sunt, detecta'', usually abbreviated as ''Arcana Cœlestia'' (''Heavenly Mysteries'' or ''Secrets of Heaven'') or under its Latin variant, ''Arcana Cælestia'', is the first and larg ...
'' (1749–1756), ''
Heaven and Hell'' (1758) and other works.
Swedenborg
Definition
In the terminology of Swedenborg's revelation, “correspondence” is a basic relationship found between two levels of existence.
Thus, for instance, light corresponds to wisdom because wisdom enlightens the mind as light enlightens the eye. Warmth corresponds to love because love warms the mind as heat does the body. Swedenborg says that the Word (
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
) was written by God entirely according to correspondences so that within its natural laws and histories every detail describes the spiritual realities relating to God and man, these being the true subject of the Word. Swedenborg's 12-volume
Arcana Coelestia
Arcana may refer to: Music
* Arcana (American band), an American jazz band
* Arcana (Swedish band), a Swedish dark wave band
* Arcana (record label), a French classical record label
* ''Arcana'' (album), a 2001 album by Edenbridge
* ''Arcana ...
provides verse-by-verse details of the inner meaning of
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and part of
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
; the work ''Apocalypse Revealed'' does the same for the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
. The ''
Arcana Coelestia
Arcana may refer to: Music
* Arcana (American band), an American jazz band
* Arcana (Swedish band), a Swedish dark wave band
* Arcana (record label), a French classical record label
* ''Arcana'' (album), a 2001 album by Edenbridge
* ''Arcana ...
'', for example, explains how the creation and development of the human mind corresponds to the seven days of creation in Genesis.
The Ancient Word
According to Swedenborg, angels speak to each other in correspondences, and in the early days of the Golden Age people on this earth also could speak in correspondences so that they could communicate directly with the angels. They had a holy book, the Ancient Word, which was written in correspondences, and which is still used in heaven. As the human race fell into evil, the ability to understand correspondences was lost, as was most of the Ancient Word. What was preserved of the Ancient Word, according to Swedenborg, are the first eleven chapters of Genesis. In Swedenborg's view, the first seven of these chapters were copied verbatim. He also perceived references in the Bible to various books of the Ancient Church which he thought to be now lost, including the “Wars of Jehovah” (Numbers 21:14-15), “Enunciators” or “Prophetic Enunciations” (Numbers 21:27-30) and the “Book of Jashar” or “Book of the Upright” (Jeremiah 48: 45, 46; 2 Samuel 1:17, 18; Joshua 10: 12, 13).
Of note is that, according to Swedenborg, the stories from the Ancient Word were all made-up history, written in correspondences. This would also hold for the first 11 chapters of Genesis. According to Swedenborg, making up such stories was an accepted custom in churches of antiquity, and spread widely. In fact, in Swedenborg's view, the actual history recorded in the Word was chosen because it had correspondence to an internal sense. For example,
psalm 78
Psalm 78 is the 78th psalm in the biblical Book of Psalms. It is one of the 12 Psalms of Asaph and is described as a "maskil" or "contemplation". It is the second-longest Psalm, with 72 verses ( Psalm 119 has 176 verses), and the first of the th ...
tells the history of Israel, and actually says it is a parable.
When the Lord was in the world, he spoke by correspondences, and thus both spiritually and naturally at the same time. This Swedenborg thought to be apparent from the Biblical parables, in which he supposed every single expression to contain a spiritual sense. However, people of Jesus’ time only understood the natural literal level of his teaching. According to Swedenborg, correspondences were not disclosed to the primitive early Christians, because they were too simple to understand them. Thus Jesus said, “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.” (John 16:12).
Idolatry
In Swedenborg's view, the people of the Golden Age loved correspondences, and made small images to remind themselves of heavenly things. But as the human race declined into evil, and the knowledge of correspondences was almost lost, people began to worship the images themselves –in other words, they began to practice idolatry.
The Wise Men
According to Swedenborg, the knowledge of correspondences of the Ancient and Israelite Words spread widely in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. In Greece the correspondences were turned into the myths of antiquity. In Swedenborg's view there were people, notably those referred to as wise ones, diviners or magi, who still had some knowledge of correspondences until the time of the Lord's advent. This is evident from the Wise Men who came to the Lord at his birth; and this was why a star went before them, and why they brought gifts gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:1-2, 9-11). The star corresponded to knowledge from heaven, gold to celestial goodness, frankincense to spiritual goodness, and myrrh to natural goodness. According to Swedenborg, these three components are the correspondential basis for all worship.
Correspondences and Church Doctrine
In Swedenborg's view, Scripture cannot be properly understood without doctrine, and doctrines of the church should be confirmed from Scripture. True doctrine can only be known to those who are in enlightenment from the Lord, and those who are not can derive heresies from it. However, according to Swedenborg, the literal sense of Scripture does contain the Divine truth in all of its fullness and power, so that a person becomes conjoined with the Lord and his angels when reading it.
['' Swedenborg, Emanuel. Doctrine concerning the Lord, 1763 (DL). Rotch Edition. New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1907, in The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem (2012), n. 50–61., 91–97, 62–69.]
Correspondence and esotericism
Antoine Faivre
Antoine Faivre (5 June 1934 – 19 December 2021) was a French scholar of Western esotericism. Until his retirement, he held a chair in the École Pratique des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne, University Professor of Germanic studies at the Univ ...
posits four fundamental elements, necessary conditions for a document, group, or movement to be eligible for consideration by scholars as esoteric. The first one is Correspondence:
According to Riffard,
See also
*
As above, so below
"As above, so below" is a popular modern paraphrase of the second verse of the '' Emerald Tablet'' (a compact and cryptic Hermetic text first attested in a late eighth or early ninth century Arabic source), as it appears in its most widely divul ...
, a modern Hermetic maxim often understood in terms of Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondence
*
Microcosm–macrocosm analogy
The microcosm–macrocosm analogy (or, equivalently, macrocosm–microcosm analogy) refers to a historical view which posited a structural similarity between the human being (the wikt:microcosm, microcosm, i.e., the ''small order'' or the ''smal ...
, a similar view in ancient, medieval, and early modern philosophy
*
Dmuta
In Mandaeism, a dmuta ( myz, ࡃࡌࡅࡕࡀ, lit=image) or dmut is a spiritual counterpart or "mirror image" in the World of Light. People, spirits, and places are often considered to have both earthly and heavenly counterparts (''dmuta'') that ...
in Mandaeism
References
Sources
*Kingslake, B
''Inner Light. Swedenborg Explores the Spiritual Dimension'' (Appleseed 1991 Chapter 19,)
*Benz, E. ''Emanuel Swedenborg. Visionary Savant in the Age of Reason'' (Swedenborg Foundation 2002, Chapter 24)
*Trobridge, G
''Swedenborg Life and Teaching'' (Swedenborg Foundation 1976)
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Works by Emanuel Swedenborg
God in Christianity