Third Lunation: Waning Moon Cycle
Days 16–28
Making Magical Inks
Magical Purpose: Making inks for use with the Key of Solomon.
We will be continuing with the Key of Solomon in earnest, and at this point we will use magical inks. You can certainly purchase magical inks in a variety of colors, but you will find that the magical work you do is much more layered, intimate, and potent when you hand-make many of the components of the spells you create.
Blue Ink
What you’ll need:
• 4 tablespoons liquid bluing
• 2 tablespoons denatured alcohol
• 3 drops iodine
• Corn syrup (as needed for thickening)
• Pinch of salt
• A small bottle/jar with a tight-fitting lid (empty baby food jars, cleaned and delabeled, can serve nicely)
Pour the liquid bluing into a jar or small bottle that you can seal with a lid. Mix in the denatured alcohol and iodine. Add just a bit of corn syrup until you get a thicker consistency. Test the ink periodically, using your quill pen, to see if the consistency is right for you. Close the lid and shake the bottle to mix the ingredients well. Add a pinch of salt to help preserve the ink. Close the lid and shake it until well mixed. Because this ink has corn syrup in it, know that it may attract insects. So keep the lid tightly affixed, and you might also want to keep it in the refrigerator until you use it.
Black Ink
What you’ll need:
• 1 small bottle of lamp black
• Gum arabic
• Ceramic mortar and pestle
• Glass bowl
• Blender/food processor
• Hand mixer
• Distilled water (for thinning)
• A few drops of iodine
• A few drops of patchouli essential oil
(optional)
• A small bottle/jar with a tight-fitting lid (empty baby food jars, cleaned and delabeled, can serve nicely)
Mix equal parts lamp black and gum arabic together with a ceramic mortar and pestle in a glass bowl. A larger one that has smooth sides is preferred. As you add the ingredients, expect that the lamp black and gum arabic may not want to combine right away, and it may take up to an hour to combine them. Keep adding lamp black little by little until you have what looks like a paste that resembles tar. Once the paste is smooth, put it in a blender or food processor. Turn it on and add distilled water, just a little bit at a time, until the mixture has an ink consistency. It is best to keep the consistency thicker rather than too thin.
A Word to the Wise: Make sure you thoroughly clean your blender/food processor after mixing the lamp black and gum arabic, or perhaps designate a separate smaller food processor for projects like this. Lamp black can be hazardous to your health if ingested. Consider also mixing this next stage of the ink in a glass bowl with a traditional hand blender. But again, make sure that you really clean the bowl and the mixer blades after you use them, particularly if you plan to use the hand mixer and bowl for food preparation later.
Experiment with the ink, using your quill pen to dab it and write something partway through the blending process. If the ink still seems too thick for your writing preference, turn on the blender and add more distilled water until it is the consistency you prefer. Add a few drops of iodine to the mixture to help preserve it. For added strength, put in a few drops of patchouli essential oil. Bottle the ink once you’re done.
Red Ink
What you’ll need:
• 1 part powdered dragon’s blood resin
• 1 part logwood, powdered or chips (or powdered beet juice)
• 15 parts isopropyl rubbing alcohol
• 1 part gum arabic, ground
• A strainer (such as doubled-up cheesecloth
or a coffee filter)
• A few drops cinnamon or myrrh essential oil (optional)
• Small bottle/jar with tight fitting lid (empty baby food jars, cleaned and de-labeled, can serve nicely)
The procedure is simple. Mix the dragon’s blood resin and logwood with the gum arabic. Add the alcohol just a little bit at a time, until all the powder is dissolved completely. This might take some time, so keep track of the process. Once the resins are dissolved, filter the liquid through the strainer. For extra zing, add a few drops of cinnamon or myrrh essential oil (or both) to the liquid and shake to mix thoroughly. Bottle this right away in a jar with a tight lid.
Green Ink
What you’ll need:
• Large bunches of fresh green leaves (your choice, but herbs add elemental/essential power)
• A small saucepan
• Water
• A bowl
• A strainer (such as doubled-up cheesecloth
or a coffee filter)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• Corn syrup (as needed for thickening)
• A small bottle/jar with a tight-fitting lid (empty baby food jars, cleaned and delabeled, can serve nicely)
• Cucumber essential oil (optional)
Choose fresh green leaves that have intense, jewel-like colors. You can use herbs for this, but remember that your herbal mixture may have a specific scent, which may be counterproductive to certain magical workings, depending on their aims. But really, you can choose any fresh green-leafed plant from the garden that calls to you. Avoid using baleful or poisonous herbs such as hemlock, henbane, etc.
Finely chop the leaves and place them in a small saucepan. Use a lot of leaves to really fill the pan, at least halfway. Tamp the leaves down and then fill the saucepan with just enough water to cover the plants. Bring the mixture to a boil on the stovetop, then reduce the heat and let simmer for fifteen minutes.
Strain out the leaves with doubled-up cheesecloth or a coffee filter, allowing the colored ink to flow into a bowl. Add the salt and white vinegar to the ink to help preserve color and reduce molding. You can add some corn syrup to this later if you feel the ink is too watery. For extra power, add a few drops of cucumber essential oil to the mixture. Pour the ink into a glass jar and secure the lid.
If you add corn syrup, know that it may attract insects. So keep the lid tightly affixed, and you might also want to keep it in the refrigerator until you use it.
Yellow Ink
What you’ll need:
• 1 part dried, powdered turmeric
• 1 part isopropyl alcohol, at least 90%
(for thinning)
• 2 small bottles/jars with tight-fitting lids (empty baby food jars, cleaned and delabeled, can serve nicely)
• A marble (for mixing)
• A strainer (such as doubled-up cheesecloth
or a coffee filter)
• Corn syrup (as needed for thickening)
• A few drops lemongrass essential oil (optional)
Turmeric can have a distinct and pungent scent, so you might try to find some that has been sitting around for a while. Mix the turmeric with the alcohol in a small jar. Put the marble in the bottle, then close the lid and shake until thoroughly mixed. Allow the mixture to rest undisturbed for a couple hours. To get all the lumps out, pour the mixture through the strainer, allowing the ink to strain through to a second jar.
Add corn syrup little by little to this mixture if the ink seems too watery. To this, you may optionally add several drops of lemongrass essential oil. Because this ink has corn syrup in it, know that it may attract insects. So keep the lid tightly affixed, and you might also want to keep it in the refrigerator until you use it.
Purple Ink
What you’ll need:
• Mesh strainer
• A bowl
• 1 cup blackberries (or the freshest undiluted blackberry juice you can find)
• A pestle or a broad metal serving spoon
• ½ teaspoon white vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Water (for thinning)
• A small bottle/jar with a tight-fitting lid (empty baby food jars, cleaned and delabeled, can serve nicely)
Hold a strainer over the bowl and mash all of the berries using a pestle or a broad metal serving spoon. Allow the juice to drip into the bowl below. Continue mashing until only pulp is left in the strainer. Add the vinegar and salt to the berry juice. If the juice mixture is not thin enough for using as ink, add a tiny bit of water. Bottle this and store safely away in the fridge, as this ink may attract insects.
Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter
Magical Purpose: Learning about and charging with power a pentacle of protection.
What you’ll need:
• A printed copy of the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter (see illustration). It would be convenient to print this pentacle from your color printer (if you own one) in blue ink. If not, you will have a chance to retrace the image with your own blue ink.
Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter
• 4 blue votive candles or tealights
• Jupiter Incense and Oil
• Blue ink (you have either already made this or purchased it)
• A feather quill pen
• Your circle-casting tools
Information about the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter:
• The four names on each arm of the central cross are Seraph, Kerub, Ariel, and Tharsis, who are rulers of the four elements (at least as described in Mathers’s Key of Solomon).
• In addition, along the border we find this phrase: “They pierced my hands and my feet, I may tell all my bones.”
Continuing with the theme of karma and protection from the sometimes harmful effects of ripening conditions, you will work with the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter, which can keep you from harmful circumstances and situations. Of course, the magic of this pentacle is not a talismanic shield against all danger. It is one piece of a entire plan that requires your active participation.
Magic can help to produce and fortify particular patterns of energy. If you align yourself with those energy patterns, you can experience the benefits of the magic. But magic can only be helpful if you take actions that are in alignment with the pattern. Therefore, if you are seeking to avoid harm, you would be wise to take an active role in positioning yourself away from potentially harmful situations and people, as reasonably as is possible.
For this working, start by finding the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter online and printing it out in blue ink (if that is available for you). Before you print it out, be sure to match the pentacle you find online with the one printed in this book.
Magical Letters of Jupiter
Cast a circle in the hour of Jupiter (refer to the planetary hours charts in days 11–12 of the second lunation). Light the four blue candles and place them at the four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north. Light the Jupiter Incense and re-trace the circle with its burning smoke. Anoint yourself just above the genital area with Jupiter Oil, tracing (as best you can) the magical letters of Jupiter:
Using the blue ink and the feather quill, retrace the images of the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter. While you do this, concentrate, imagining that your activity is imbuing the pentacle with spiritual power and your intention to avert harm.
Close your circle and be sure to extinguish the blue votive candles.
Jupiter Pentacle Candle Image Transfer
What you’ll need:
• 1 blue pillar candle
• White tissue paper (the kind for wrapping gifts)
• Regular printer paper
• A computer printer
• A blow dryer
• Scissors
• Wax paper (the kind you use in the kitchen)
Over the next couple of days, get the materials together to transfer the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter to a blue pillar candle.
There is always a magical or spiritual purpose for each activity you will try along this journey. The magical purpose of inscribing (or transferring images to) candles is simple. In earth-based spiritual practices, the basis of magical work is always about three key components: energy, alignment, and working within the maxim of “as above, so below.” In the case of candle magic, we are working with all three components by energizing your intention with the element of fire; aligning color, form, and image (the candle and the pentacle itself); and working to produce a magical result in your life (manifestation of any kind represents the “so below” part of the magical maxim), starting with a spiritual working (the “as above” part of the maxim). That’s why you will commonly find basic magical candle work, such as today’s working, across Wiccan practices and traditions.
As was discussed on days 18–19 of the last lunation, here are the basic steps to transfer the image:
• Print the image of the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter onto the white tissue paper using the highest-quality print setting you have on your printer.
• Remember to first attach the tissue paper to regular computer paper so it doesn’t shred and ruin your printer.
• Make sure the printed pentacle is sized correctly for your pillar candle. If it is too big or too small, you can resize it, or find a different-sized candle.
• Trim the tissue paper image so that it is very close to the pentacle borders.
• Place the trimmed pentacle (image facing out, away from the wax) on the candle surface. Wrap tightly with wax paper.
• Use the blow dryer on the hottest setting, blowing hot air onto the wax paper for several minutes until the wax paper looks shiny across the pentacle image.
• Wait a minute for the wax to settle and harden, then remove the wax paper.
The Spell of the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter
Magical Purpose: A spell to create a field of goodness.
What you’ll need:
• Small piece of paper
• Blue pillar candle with the image transfer
• The Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter you retraced
on days 20–21
• Jupiter Incense and Oil
• Your circle-casting tools
• Hand-copied magical letters of Jupiter (as found in days 20–21 of this lunation)
On the hour of Jupiter, cast your magic circle. Copy the magical letters of Jupiter onto a small piece of paper and set this aside. Place your altar pentacle (the five-pointed star, not the Pentacle of Jupiter) at the center of your altar, and place the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter atop. Use the middle finger of your right hand to trace the outer circle of the Jupiter pentacle with Jupiter Oil.
Consecrate the candle with your blessed water and salt by dabbing it around the sides. While doing so, say:
I consecrate thee with the elements of water and earth.
Place the pillar candle atop the oil-smeared Jupiter pentacle. Sprinkle a circle of (unlit) Jupiter Incense around the base of the candle. Smear the perimeter of the Jupiter pentacle image that is on the blue candle using Jupiter Oil.
In your thurible (or any fireproof dish), burn the paper containing the magical letters of Jupiter. Mix the ashes with a small quantity of the Jupiter Oil. Set this aside for a moment.
Sprinkle Jupiter Incense on your incense burner and cense the candle, blessing it with the elements of fire and air. While doing so, say:
I consecrate thee with the elements of fire and air.
Light the candle now and hold your hands around the flickering flame. Be careful not to burn your hands or catch your sleeves in the flames! Say:
I consecrate thee in the names of the Great Mother and the Horned One.
Hold your arms in the Mother magical pass and say:
Cast round me a ring of protection, a guardian and rampart that shall preserve me from harm that may come.
Dissolve and decay, O you of darkness.
Anoint yourself with Jupiter Oil mixed with the ashes of the burned magical letters of Jupiter. Dab a bit at the root chakra (between the anus and genitals). Then say:
Dissolve and decay, O you who seekest harm.
Dab yourself with the Jupiter Oil/ash mixture at the solar plexus chakra. Say:
Dissolve and decay, O you who hides in shadow.
Dab yourself with the Jupiter Oil/ash mixture at the heart chakra. Say:
Dissolve and decay, O you of wicked intent.
Dab yourself with the Jupiter Oil/ash mixture at the third-eye chakra, between your brows.
Take the pillar candle now to each of the four quarters, starting in the east and moving clockwise (south, west, north, and ending in the east again). Hold the candle up at each quarter of the circle, and draw a banishing earth pentagram with the candle.
Place the candle back on the pentacle. Sit nearby and gaze into the candle flame, imagining that you are protected by a formless field of goodness.
Extinguish the candle and close the circle.
Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter and Action
Magical Purpose: Bringing focused attention to action.
It has become a cliché in New Age circles (and even among the general public) to say that “things happen for a reason.” And, in fact, if you live your life searching for reasons that connect events, that may be an unwise use of your life energies. The search is much less important than actually living your life.
Actively taking part in your life is what leads you to empowerment. Other paths (including those that endorse spending time searching for meaning) may seem tempting and intriguing, but ultimately they do not lead to an empowered, satisfying existence. At the end of your life, when you look back on the experience, it seems unlikely that you might muse, “If only I could have understood more.” More than likely, if you haven’t been an active participant in your life, you may look back musing, “If only I had taken more chances or seized the moment.”
Witches, as they mature, realize that it matters little if occurrences have special meanings attached to them. What is most important is how you meet each moment as it arises. Are you prepared to act in whatever way is necessary? Or are you going to act in ways that further entrench habit patterns that ultimately inhibit your alignment and create fodder for harmful circumstances to arise at a later time?
For the next days, try the following exercises in only three domains of your life: listening, eating, and working. The purpose is to clear your daily actions of harmful activity that has its origins in habit thoughts which feed our resistance to facing the requisites of each moment. Thus, these exercises are meant to activate the power of the Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter.
To begin, make sure you have the blessed Sixth Pentacle of Jupiter with you as you go about your day. During the first hour of Jupiter each day, take out the pentacle and trace the outer circle of it with your right index finger three times, going clockwise around its perimeter. While you do so, say:
Dissolve and decay, O you of darkness;
Dissolve and decay, O you who seekest harm;
Dissolve and decay, O you who hides in shadow;
Dissolve and decay, O you of wicked intent.
Once you have done this, engage in one of the following whole-body activities. Try to do all three exercises daily.
• Whole-body listening: listening to another person using the whole body as an instrument. Notice the difference in the speaker as you give them full-body awareness.
• Whole-body eating: approaching meals with complete awareness and attention. Notice how your eating habits change when you focus your attention on where the food is in your mouth, how it tastes, and where it is as it passes down the esophagus moment by moment.
• Whole-body work: Approach your work each day with full-body awareness of each task and the components of the tasks. Where are your hands, feet, stomach, torso, neck, and head as you do each task? Maintain full attention to each component of your work until the task has been completed. Notice how your perception of time lessens as your attention soaks into each passing moment.