Opoponax is referred to in countless magickal texts, but there is confusion about what plant it originally was. The Opoponax currently in use is the resin, or dried sap of Comiphora guidotti, a close relative of Myrrh. In fact, Opopanax is often called "Sweet Myrrh" although it's difficult to get sweeter than Myrrh.
Grimoire type magick is where Opoponax gets most attention, and I wonder if it is not mostly because of the occult and exotic-sounding name! Compared to its sister Myrrh, Opopanax is indeed a darker color, and is deeper, darker, more "occult" smelling. It's cool bitter sweetness easily assigns it to the rule of the planet Saturn, especially in regard to its correspondence with Binah.
The below correspondences are vis Cunningham, Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs in plain text, C.L. Zalewski, Herbs in Magic and Alchemy in brackets, and my own interpretations in parenthesis. In this case, Cunningham nor Zalewski reference Opoponax. These are my best guesses.
Gender: (Feminine)
Element: (Water, Earth)
Planet: (Saturn, Mars)
Zodiac: (Capricorn, Scorpio)
Grimoire type magick is where Opoponax gets most attention, and I wonder if it is not mostly because of the occult and exotic-sounding name! Compared to its sister Myrrh, Opopanax is indeed a darker color, and is deeper, darker, more "occult" smelling. It's cool bitter sweetness easily assigns it to the rule of the planet Saturn, especially in regard to its correspondence with Binah.
The below correspondences are vis Cunningham, Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs in plain text, C.L. Zalewski, Herbs in Magic and Alchemy in brackets, and my own interpretations in parenthesis. In this case, Cunningham nor Zalewski reference Opoponax. These are my best guesses.
Gender: (Feminine)
Element: (Water, Earth)
Planet: (Saturn, Mars)
Zodiac: (Capricorn, Scorpio)