Baneful Herbs and
Flying Ointments
Witches classify baneful herbs as those that produce death. Most herbalists list them as poisons, and warn others not to use them.
But the Witches once used them in their magical arts. Many of the fears that surround these plants are directly related to their magical powers. They are not to be played with precisely because they are powerful.
No one should let a child play with a razor-sharp knife. Similarly, none but the most experienced and knowledgeable Witches should use these herbs. They are not innocuous highs or instruments of escape from reality. They represent the dark side of Mother Nature, the realm of sleep, and coma, and death, and anyone not sufficiently prepared and tutored who uses them will be subject to her greatest wrath.
I assure you that I am not overdramatizing. Death stalks those who use such methods. The Witch, after years of experience and training, can be fairly sure of herself and her ritualistic use of baneful herbs. Others cannot.
This information is included because of its historical value, and a book on magical herbalism would not be complete without a look at the darker side of the art. No recommendations for these uses are made. Even the most harmless of them can cause severe effects in some individuals.
Belladonna (Atropa belladonna)
Once used to induce astral projection and visions, belladonna is one of the herbs nearly everybody associates with Witchcraft and magic. One of the most grisly uses the Witches made of it was to deaden pain during the Persecution. The crowds that pressed up against condemned Witches as they were being led to the pyre or scaffold nearly always contained a few other Witches. One of these would try to slip a bit of this herb to the Witch. She then swallowed it and the herb helped her drowse her way to the other world. The old Witches called it dwale or banewort, and it was a common ingredient in flying ointments. Witches also used it to deaden the pain of childbirth. It was always picked on May Eve and it is sacred to Hecate.
The priestesses in ancient Greece used this herb for divinatory practices, as did early Witches. It is thought to have been introduced into Europe in the fifteenth or sixteenth century, but was in use in the Americas for centuries prior to that time.
Southwestern Amerindian lore is filled with references to jimsonweed, as it is also known. They used it much like the old Witches did, for causing visions and to counteract spells and hexes. The plant is so virulently poisonous that the touch of some species is enough to cause dermatitis.
Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)
The magic mushroom has been used in secret rituals all over the world, and the Witches were no exception. This fungus was brewed into a tea and drunk directly before admission rituals to the Craft. It was also drunk to aid clairvoyance. Some Witches kept a fly agaric on their altars.
Hellebore (Helleborus niger)
Both the black and green varieties of hellebore were used in incenses to cause frenzy. Witches did not use such incenses but mischievous sorcerers and magicians—or herbalists who decided to pay back a few of the priests for their continual harassment—might introduce a bit of this herb into the censers during the church ceremonies and stand outside, waiting for the congregation to turn violent and unruly. This was a typical magical joke of several centuries ago.
Hellebore was also used in the flying ointments, those made to induce astral projection. The root of black hellebore, when powdered and scattered on the ground, was thought to make one invisible.
It was also used in exorcism and countermagic incenses, and the fresh herb was pressed against the forehead to stop a headache. Grecian Witches faced east and cursed while cutting it.
Hemlock (Conium maculatum)
Once used in spells to destroy sexual drives and in suicide drinks (i.e. Socrates), hemlock is still virulently poisonous and is dedicated to Hecate. It was used in flying ointments.
Hemp (Gannihis sativa)
Hemp, the old Witches’ name for marijuana, shows up in a lot of old rituals, spells, and recipes, usually of the love or divination type. One old instruction called for the Witch to burn hemp and mugwort while gazing into a crystal ball. No doubt such recipes would be effective, for marijuana has long been celebrated as a relaxant that allows the mind to slip away from everyday tensions and enter a kind of limbo between normal waking consciousness and sleep. This is very near the state many Witches need to attain prior to achieving clairvoyance.
Hemp also figures into many love spells. It was once administered in love potions, because it had the ability to relax the defenses, and makes a person more susceptible to another’s suggestions and control.
Marijuana is probably the most talked-about herb of this century. Witches have known its powers and weaknesses for many centuries. Some Witches make use of it regularly in their rites, but others will not even be in the same room with the herb. Until the 1930s, when its cultivation, sale, and use was restricted by the federal government in this country, Witches used it with some regularity in their rites. (At least one sect of Witches is known to have included marijuana in the incense they burned during their religious and magical rites.) Though many Witches continue to use it, others have turned to different methods.
The biggest danger from marijuana is that it tends to take control of the user; one is compelled to use it more and more, and thusly, become dependent upon it. This is dangerous to the magician; you must be in firm control of your life. Drug addiction is a sign of weakness.
Witches who use marijuana control their usage and generally indulge only for magical reasons. It is included in many vision incense recipes.
Henbane (Hyoscyarnus niger)
This herb was used to call up evil entities, and to induce clairvoyance. It was also used in countermagic spells, and to attract the love of a woman.
The Flying Ointment
These, then, are the major baneful herbs that were used in magic. Others, among them foxglove, aconite, and water parsnip, were also used, to a lesser extent. Many of these were combined into a single, powerful concoction: the flying ointment.
The herbs were shredded and powdered, then steeped in hog’s lard or some other fat. This ointment, when rubbed onto the body, quickened the heartbeat, increased the rate of respiration, and made the whole body turn red.
The Witches anointed themselves and then laid down, usually beside the hearth. They then flew through the air and met with other Witches, discussed their spells, and performed magical rituals.
It was important to keep the body of the Witch warm, and this was why he or she laid down by the fireplace. When the Witches told of these wonders to their torturers, the Christians believed that the physical body of the Witch flew through the air, and that it exited via the chimney that was right near where the Witch performed the anointing.
In fact, the Witches were experiencing astral projection. Their physical bodies lay inert, seemingly lifeless, while the Witch’s full consciousness traveled at will. The drugs in the flying ointments allowed the Witch to attain this state simply by applying the ointment to the body.
The mad stories of orgies, devil worship, and so on were the product of the imaginations of overzealous Christians who desired to give more justification to their mass slaughter of innocent human beings. These things did not happen.
Most of the Witches did not believe that they flew through the air in the way the Christians thought that they did. There may have been a few who did. Witches simply accepted what older, more experienced Witches passed on to them. What mattered was that the ointment worked.
Over sixty formulae for flying ointments have survived. Most are bastardizations and simply variations on a theme. The real formulas always contained a fat, to facilitate application to the body, as well as three or more of the above-named herbs. Some Witches added soot (to represent the other realm that they visited while using the ointment) and a few drops of their own blood (to make the ointment uniquely personal).
Other herbs that were often included are basil, cinquefoil, sunflower seeds, parsley, and sweet flag. These were used for their magical and symbolic powers, and not for any direct physical affect.
These ointments have been handed down to present-day Witches as Sabbat oils. These are worn when performing magical rites, especially when two or more Witches gather together to perform their mystic religious rituals.
Such oils are fine for general magical use as well. A few are given in chapter 10 under Anointing Oils.