As Above, So Below
The excitement at the dinner table filled our corner of the restaurant with palpable enthusiasm. Our daughter was finally home from a fourteen-month armed service overseas tour; as we celebrated having her safely with us, the topic of conversation turned to magick, science, music, human behavior, signs, omens, and the construction of this book. The age range of our guests spanned from seventeen to seventy-eight years, and several had never, ever sat with a magickal family before, let alone heard the myriad of topics bouncing over the top of steak, seafood, and salad, and me waving a steak knife at the height of my dissertation of magick and the quantum world. It was not that I had discovered something new—but that I was myself perceiving things differently. At my enthusiasm, my daughter smiled and said, “Mother, please put the knife down. You’re scaring people.” Hmm . . . no wonder our waitress didn’t seem to be anywhere about. Humor ran high at her statement with numerous giggles and a loud guffaw or two, and the conversation continued with gusto!
Mixing magick, the real world (whatever that may be), and spirituality together is not an easy task for anyone. Every individual who tries to brew these three volatile states together will have their own unique hurdles to overcome. The restaurant scene is a prime example of how juggling disparate yet possibly synchronistic energies applies to everyday life—in this instance, time, place, present, experience, people, emotions, learning, science, love, magick, knowledge, and focus can actually create a fun-filled, harmonious moment even with that ubiquitous observer (the waitress) to enliven the pot. The table, devoid of the human presence, could not have created it.
In the first three parts (or lessons), we covered preparation, the journey, and the partnership of science and magick through a spiritual pathway, culminating in exercises and discussions on cultivating your spiritual garden. In this lesson we move from the raised beds of the astral to the earthly bed of Mother Nature. By learning to mix her bounty in a spiritual way through physical practice, we embrace our abilities to manifest our desires. Since herbal tables and information can be a bit boring, I chose instead to fertilize your interest with a lesson on magickal powders and herbal blends.
Unveiling the Mystery of Magickal
Powders and Herbal Blends
An herbal blend is usually a high-quality mix of herbs chosen for their color, magickal properties, scent, and texture that sometimes contains fragrance or essential additives. These blends are used directly as offerings to the gods, in gris-gris bags, to stuff poppets and dream pillows, for enchanted potpourri, as a centerpiece decoration in ritual, or scattered around empowered candles. A magickal powder is a ground herbal formula that often contains essential oil blends and other additives that are not necessarily natural, and it is used to activate items or energies in spellwork and ritual. As the formulation of each is extremely close in detail, we’ll cover the intricacies of the powder with the understanding that the technique of creating each is much the same, although powder instructions are more detailed.
Magickal Powders
Research into magickal powders uncovers a compendium of recipes that differ from area to area, state to state, and country to country. Ingredients are also influenced by individual teachers and practitioners as they learn and grow in their chosen craft. In quality powders, scent is a factor for both magickal correspondences as well as aromatic purposes, which we’ll cover a little further on. Although magickal powders are not commonly found in New Age stores (other than the occasional Fairy Dust or Angel Powder, which is usually body glitter) or modern Wiccan practices, you will find them in Witchcraft grimoires (Herman Slater was a great proponent of powders and handmade incense) as well as much older material. They are extremely popular in Voudon and Santeria (which are religions) and Hoodoo (which is a magickal system vast in its array of practitioners).
There are basically three types of magickal powders:
• Those with a fine base talc, sometimes colored. If not made by yourself, these mass-produced formulas contain little herb and a lot of talc. You also have no clue how old it is, which is an important factor in magick, or who made it.
• Those that include finely ground powders from an herbal supplier. The drawback here, as with the one above, is that very fine powder is not lung friendly, but—more important in magickal work—you have no idea what you are getting. From my experience, these powders have not retained their scent or texture: important factors in magickal herbal work. And, too, as with the first type of powder, you have no idea how old the powder is when you receive it.
• The third category of powder is handground, which is therefore coarser in nature, retains its scent, and you know exactly what you put in there. These powders are prepared with a mortar and pestle, though some magickal practitioners grind the largest pieces with a coffee grinder and then use a mortar and pestle to finish the magick, as the hand movement and the chanting does much to enhance the powder. If color is desired, diamond glitter (used in soap-making products and gel candles) can add that “flash of Spirit” and merge with your color correspondence rather than colored talc (which is fairly messy). The practical rule here is to put color in powders you don’t care who sees and keep color or glitter out of those powders that will be used in public. This third category, usually made personally by the magickal practitioner also contains a variety of unnatural or unusual elements (see “additives” on page 130).
Of the three, magickally speaking, the last type of powder is considered the most powerful of the enchanted formulas. The choice to use a magickal powder is an extremely economical one. Powders cost less to make, do not waste our natural resources, are easy to store, simple to use, can be mixed easily with many magickal practices, and lend well to secrecy, which is a high priority if you are looking at magick as a science governed by quantum physics—the less observers, the better! As great quantities of herb are not needed by the practitioner, when shopping for ingredients one can choose the higher-priced organics, which usually carry a better scent and are of better quality. Too, making magickal powders can be a fun lesson in teaching students because not only is the student able to take something home with them, they learn quickly the properties and correspondences of the herbs, can grasp the importance of the ceremony chosen, and can experience a wide range of magickal techniques in creating one simple formula, culminating in the spiritual lesson “as above, so below.” Most importantly, students learn that the powder is an alchemical pattern in itself that can be enhanced by the spiritual practices used in its creation and become a powerhouse in their personal magick.
Basic Supplies for Magickal Powders
Glass bowls for mixing (metal is thought to magickally taint the powder). You will need at least two—one for the raw herb mixture and one for the finished powder. Clear bowls work well because you can see what you are doing through the entire process.
Wooden spoons. Some practitioners use special spoons hand-carved with magickal sigils.
Mortar and pestle. The size depends on the number of ingredients and how large a batch you choose to make.
Mallet for crushing raw resins such as frankincense, myrrh, and dragon’s blood, as well as some of the tougher roots: Solomon’s seal, angelica, etc.
Essential oils . Only 2–3 drops are used for small batches of powder (12–14 for larger batches); be careful of overpowering the natural aroma of the blend. The oil can be added to the raw herb mixture or massaged in with the fingers when the grinding process is completed. If a particular ingredient is not available in herbal form, many times an essential oil may be added in minute amounts. Not only does this round out the magickal pattern of the formula, the oil also heightens the aromatic properties of the mixture, which can affect the performance of the practitioner in positive ways. As a result many current blends contain both herbals and oils in an effort to capture the totality of magickal essence.
Measuring spoons.
Bolline. This is a magickal knife designed specifically for cutting herbs.
Safety mask. Myrrh, especially, can cause lung problems and many of the powders emit dust while grinding.
Raw herbs of your choice.
Additives such as ground gems, stones, feathers, shells, and bones; ashes of a petition or photo, graveyard dirt, saltpeter (careful, this is highly flammable), iron dust, rust, and glitter; shredded and pulverized paper money, newsprint, pictures of saints, parchment talismans, rune stones, and tarot cards; dirt from a bank, a jail, a successful corporation, your job, or the property of someone who has been trying to hurt you; scrapings from a car, gravestone, church, or statuary—the list is almost endless. Basically, if you can get it small enough, it can go in the powder!
Storage. Although glass jars are best for storage, heavy plastic can be used. The shelf life of a magickal powder is approximately six months in glass and four in plastic, or a year if you use a food sealer.
Choosing Your Ingredients
The number of ingredients in any magickal powder varies—however, a good recipe is thought to measure the totality of the whole, always factoring to “one.” Much like the Eye of Horus, which is an ancient Egyptian mathematical formula for measuring parts of herbs, so, too, the magickal powder is also a numeric pattern that should always equal one of the measurements (dry or liquid). For example, if you used eight herbs, you may wish to use eight 1⁄8 teaspoons of each herb, thus equaling 8⁄8 or one whole; or, if you wish to follow the older formulas, seven 1⁄8 teaspoons of seven herbs with the last 1⁄8 dedicated to Spirit, which could be an unusual ingredient such as ashes or powdered stone.
Powders, like perfumes and essential magickal oils, are sometimes mixed by “notes”—taking the language from music, which is also mathematical in nature and therefore a numeric matrix and a series of magickal patterns in its own right. Powders and oils blended in this manner include base notes, heart notes, and top notes. This type of formulation separates the spellwork into three different areas, much like the function of the zodiac signs, where the base of the formula is like the fixed signs—a platform that holds the matrix together and gives a primary undercurrent of strength both in magick and in scent. The base note speaks of the main magickal desire (love, money, health, happiness, protection, exorcism, etc.), the heart note is the energy spark that motivates the powder (the cardinal signs of the zodiac), and the top note is the blending agent that holds the formula together, much like the mutable signs. The analogy of powders and perfumery is not complete, as essential oils do react differently (scent wise) in overall formulary than powders, and what might be considered a heart note in perfumery/essential oil blending may very well be a base note in magickal powders.
The base notes of the powder are the aromatic drumbeat of the mixture and often carry the fixative properties of the formula. They are not necessarily the largest portion of the mixture because many can totally overpower the entire design. This part of the powder is often strong and full-bodied. As in perfumery (but not exactly like it), base notes in powders include many of the magickal woods and bark (sandalwood, cedar, pine, bergamot); the resins (frankincense, copal, dragon’s blood); roots such as orris; highly aromatic leaves such as bay, patchouli, lavender, and white ceremonial sage; and beans (tonka beans have a strong vanilla aroma [be careful, they are considered poisonous] and of course the vanilla bean [the price of which has gone far out of sensibility]). As with all ingredients in any enchanted powder, much of the base magickally corresponds to a specific intent, such as banishment, exorcism, drawing love and friends, money, success, happiness, healing, etc. One or more base notes can be chosen—the number is up to the practitioner.
The heart note in a powder (sometimes called middle notes or Coeur notes in perfumery) specifically concentrates on the movement of the formula. This part of the recipe can be associated with the cardinal signs, the signs of activation and new beginnings, and therefore is fine-tuned to the specific function of the powder as well as its capability of energy activation. These herbs include cinnamon, vervain, galangal, ginger, cypress, black pepper, red pepper, some florals, clove, nutmeg, geranium, etc. Fire element herbs are often the most popular if it is felt a great deal of power is needed; air is second.
The top note of the powder is the blending agent. It ensures that all magickal correspondences work smoothly together. Basil is a major favorite here; also lemon, orange, mint, chamomile, rosemary, juniper berry, myrrh resin, and benzoin. Again, much like perfumery, but not exactly the same.
The deity or spirits served during the process of making a magickal powder are also important to the overall construction of the formula. In Afro-Caribbean structures (Voodoo and Santeria), the ingredients used are considered to be owned by the spirits and have no planetary associations at all (though again, the knowledge of the practitioner can negate this statement). The herbs are categorized as sweet or bitter, which have nothing to do with taste but rather with the properties and characteristics of the plant. The bitter herbs are used to remove evil, negativity, bad luck, etc., where the sweet herbs bring in the money, prosperity, love, luck, health, etc. Yet, in the European mixtures,4 the planetary associations of the plant replace the cultural spirits and taboos of the Afro-Caribbean counterparts.
Some practitioners also add an additional herbal fixative to the powder (over the base note to ensure longevity), such as ground orris root (iris root), which strengthens the aromatic properties of the herbs and holds the essential oils (if used). Oak moss has much the same function.
Preparation
The more spiritually enhanced the environment in which the powder is prepared (type of ceremony chosen, cleanliness of materials, the absence of negative people, etc.), the more likely the powder will function at its full magickal capacity. I’ve learned that from the moment the grinding and mixing process has begun, the powder reacts better later if you move into the alpha state through chanting or whispering magick. Again, the ceremony involved in the creation of the magickal powder depends upon the practitioner and can be highly specialized based upon their magico-religious beliefs, cultural background, and prior training.
A powder is considered “good” if it is handground with a mortar and pestle in a ritual environment according to the signs and the phase of the moon. Powders to draw things toward you should be mixed at the new and waxing moons. Powders for banishment and protection should be ground during the waxing moon. Powders for exorcism should be prepared during the dark of the moon. This is fairly standard with just about every occult teaching; however, the moon in the signs actually has just as much influence (or more, depending on how into astrology your teacher may be) on the overall formula. Quick tips? Here goes!
Aries: Beginnings, attack, and new experiences—the true pioneer. (Cardinal)
Taurus: Stability, investment, and long-term effects on things you value. (Fixed? Boy, is it ever!)
Gemini: Movement and intelligence (but not necessarily wisdom), communication. (Mutable)
Cancer: Emotional issues, psychism to some degree and the “roots” of an issue; women’s mysteries, moon magick, and things that are associated with your legacy. (Cardinal)
Leo: Loyalty, children, talent, and gambling. (No kidding, Leos may be “fixed”—but true Leos are very good at “chance.”)
Virgo: Analysis, solutions, stealth magick, occult mastery, and animal magick. (Mutable, but they are cold and calculating, no doubt about it.)
Libra: Artistic, socialization (on a lighter scale), and partnership magick. (Just be careful: a true Libra can’t make a choice to save their soul because they want to be fair at all costs.) (Cardinal)
Scorpio: Perfect for investigation, general occult, sex, death, and other people’s money. (Fixed)
Sagittarius: Legal issues, foreign affairs, publishing, and—no kidding—one-night stands. (Mutable)
Capricorn: Business, entrepreneurship, investment, authority, and dealing with older people and “rules.” (Cardinal)
Those individuals who are well-traveled or cross-trained in several magickal faiths tend to add a wide spectrum of variety in herbals, oils, and instructions relating to the grinding, conjuring, and use of magickal powders, and may perform one type of ceremony for a particular type of powder and a completely different ceremony for another. You can tell the length and breadth of an individual’s herbal/ powders training by the variety of herbals used in their formulas. Although recipes and instructions for use are sometimes freely given, the activation procedures at the creation of the vehicle are held under a thick cloak of mystique—considered near and dear to the heart of the practitioner. Chants, charms, songs, or dances intricate to the creation are not usually shared with the general public. This could be due to oaths taken at the onset of the learning environment or responsibilities previously agreed upon in a magickal religion or order. The activation by the creator is only half of the magick; the true magick lies within the individual who utilizes the powder.
Feeding the Powder
It is believed that powders, like other magickal vehicles, such as rune stones, sigils, and vèvès, must be “fed” to be activated. Feeding is commonly done in liquid form, with white rum as the most popular, followed by bourbon, perfume (brands differ between Voudon Santeria, and Wicca), sometimes White Lightening (which is a grain alcohol once popular in Appalachia), magickal sprays (a combination of vodka or perfumer’s alcohol, distilled water, essential oils, and an emulsifier, which allows the oil to bond with the liquid formula), and finally spring water, although other substances are known to be used for specific recipes, such as perishable floral waters. The liquid is sprayed onto the powder at least three times, sometimes seven, eight, or nine times, depending upon the original purpose of the powder. When a powder is “fed” also differs. Some magickal workers feed their powders as a last step in the ceremonial process before the powder is actually used in magick or handed over to the client, friend, or circle member. Others believe that the person who actually does the magickal application is responsible for feeding the formula, thereby bonding their energy (their desire) to the powder so that it can work at its fullest potential. You may wish to use the magickal powder conjuration, written below, when activating your formula.
Magickal Powder Conjuration
This very simple conjuration invokes the mindset of “as above, so below,” the power of one standing between the cycle of the moon and sun as they travel across the heavens and therefore create a magick circle around the earth, the premise of bringing equally opposing energies together to work in tandem, the idea of a quantum physics pattern in the spoken word, the rippling flow of all energy, and the affirmation (faith or belief) that the practitioner is knowledgeable and filled with the power to change.
“Rising sun and setting moon
Pattern spoken, Witch’s rune.
Rising moon and setting sun
Gold and silver move as one.
As above and so below
Just to think can make it so!”
Using Your Magickal Powder
Once activated, the magickal powder has a compendium of uses, including sprinkling on poppets, conjuring bags, spell candles, altars, sachets, magick pillows, or corn dollies. Powders are scattered in the footsteps of an individual, across where they walk, or even under the sick bed. Many powders (if the ingredients are known) can be added to your favorite incense or thrown into the hearth fire or religious bonfire. Powders can also be offered to Spirit or deity in small bowls or placed at the quarter and cross-quarters of a circle to enhance elemental alignment, or be mixed directly into holy water and magickal inks (you can strain the mixture, but it isn’t necessary).
Too, powders are known to be extremely useful when conjuring the dead or exorcising nasty spirits. An exorcism powder of this nature normally includes angelica, salt (negative things hate salt), eggshells, and lilac fragrance placed on a mirror. Some recipes for ghostbusting include mothballs, but these are highly toxic to children and pets and not recommended for the family magickal cabinet. Recipes for conjuring the dead almost always contain wormwood, which is considered toxic by the FDA and therefore should be handled with care.
Finally, magickal powder recipes can easily be turned into loose incense (though watch those toxic herbs). This can be accomplished by several methods:
• Place a small amount of powder directly on a charcoal tab (made for incense).
• Mixing a small amount of charcoal tab directly in the powder; burning on a tab is then not needed.
• Mixing a base wood treated with a saltpeter and water formula, left to dry, and then added to the powder (this is messy and painstaking). No charcoal required.
• Blending the powder with Makko and water and fashioning into a cone. Also messy.
A Bit o’ Fire Magick—One Technique, Three Variations
The following exercise(s) incorporates one pillar candle in the color you desire (white is good for the first time if you are unsure of the color); paper; a magickal powder mixture of your making (prepared as previously discussed); the choice of a magickal sigil, symbol, or words that focuses on your desire; a stylus for carving a design on your candle; incense; a fire-safe cauldron; and a magickal oil for dressing the pillar. I have provided two additional designs for you to choose from, one for success in life that incorporates the star, and one for money magick with a basket theme. Both are variations of Pennsylvania Dutch quilting designs; however, you will be required to create a sigil of your own that will work in tandem with those I have provided.
Write your desire on a plain piece of paper. In a magick circle, bless all tools, including the stylus that you will use to carve the candle. Take the first letter of each word of your written desire and transfer that letter to scratch paper. Once you have all the letters, move them around in a pleasing design where all the letters somehow connect. As you create your sigil, keep in mind your desire. If you become frustrated in any way, acknowledge where that frustration is really coming from—is it the issue at hand? Is it something else? Mentally note your feelings and move on.
Using the stylus, transfer your sigil to the surface of the candle. Carving a candle is easy if you keep in mind that the procedure isn’t going to be done in five minutes or less and that pressing hard will destroy the candle. Draw the initial design lightly on the candle, then go back over small areas, a bit at a time, until you reach the groove level you desire. This literally can take hours, depending on how exotic your design might be. Take your time. As you work, allow this to be a relaxing experience. Listen to pleasing music if you like. Add a chant to positively reinforce your work when your mind begins to wander or your brain attempts to spin out negative scenarios or unhappy emotions surface as you are working out your problem. The candle is a solution-oriented vehicle and your actions, thoughts, and emotions should support that. This exercise is also excellent to train students in the longevity of a focused working. As you work, use a soft cloth to buff the edges of your design. This will remove excess wax bits and raise a nice sheen to the work; it is also a mental cleansing and refining process. Allow the energy to flow in a pleasing way. Do not be frustrated if the stylus slips—incorporate that into the design, just as you smooth the mistakes in life into the mastery of your overall self.
Next, choose one of the designs (or a different one) on page 140 to add to your own sigil.
Carefully link this design to your own, which may take several hours to complete. In this case, it takes as long as it takes, and if you need to take a break, that won’t deter from the overall working. When your candle is finished, buff the surface one last time, then place the pillar in the center of your altar until the correct moon phase or other timing vehicle you wish to use moves into place. You may want to cover your candle with a white or black cloth in the meantime; also, don’t let anyone handle the pillar and if you think this is a possibility, wrap the candle in the cloth and store it in a safe place. Theoretically, you have already begun the magick and worked several hours on your candle in preparation for the lighting ceremony, which takes little time to perform. Having someone else touch the candle brings a wild card into the working, and this is also a sign that, for good or ill, the person who handled the pillar will somehow be involved in the solution-oriented result.
When you are ready to light the candle, the standard magickal procedures apply, including creating sacred space or casting a circle, calling the quarters (if you desire), grounding and centering, etc.
Here we are going to incorporate the stylus you used to originally carve the candle as your magickal wand. Dot the stylus tip with a bit of magickal oil. Envision the stylus glowing with power. With the stylus tip pointing outward, cast a magick circle, walking clockwise around the altar or desk, saying, “I conjure thee, O circle of art, to be for me a place of love, trust, peace, and joy, where no negativity can enter herein. A place of perfection where my words will manifest and my desires will be met! So mote it be!” Tap the other end of the stylus on the desk or altar (not the point) four times to seal the circle. Slowly rub your magickal powder into the design that you carved while holding the candle over the cauldron (so you don’t make a mess). When you are satisfied with the results, lightly dot the design with magickal oil (not too much) and say firmly, “Creature of wax and wick, pattern of sigil and shape! By air and fire, water and earth, I conjure thee to come to birth! The shape is made, the words begun, by power of stars and moon and sun, my will take form, success is won, as I do say it shall be done!” Light the candle on the word “done.” With the light of the candle, draw an invoking pentagram over the altar, specifically the cauldron. Place the candle in the cauldron. Imagine the design you carved and any words you wrote taking shape, coalescing and lifting off the candle in a pattern of beautiful pulsating light, moving up and to the right and out into the universe to capture your need. Don’t forget to release the circle.
Allow the candle to burn completely. When the candle is finished, place some of the powder and some of the wax in a small bag. Dot this bag with magickal oil and tie it shut. Add an empowered lodestone or crystal to boost the power. Carry it with you until you receive your desire. If the request is of a large nature, you can burn a single white or yellow votive candle each night for seven nights, or every Sunday. Place the bag by the candle while it burns. Envision a golden net springing from the bag and capturing your desire. When your desire is met, cleanse the lodestone and crystal, then burn the bag and contents, thanking the gods.
These sigils are variations of Pennsylvania Dutch quilting designs: the left
one is for money magick with a basket theme; the right one, which
incorporates the star, is for success in life.
How to Make Magickal Potpourri
and Fine Herbal Blends
Like powders, magickal potpourri and herbal blends are considered best if they are high in fragrance, bright in color, and the ingredients are chosen for the magickal intent. Unlike magickal powders, potpourri and herbal blends should be aged in dark glass jars (amber or cobalt work well) to ensure the overall scent permeates throughout the mixture. The equipment is much the same: Large glass or wooden bowls (powders don’t need such big containers), wooden spoons, glass measuring cup, fragrance or essential oils (with a separate dropper for each oil), the herbs, and the dark jars for aging and storage. Most magickal blend mixes have seven, nine, or eleven different ingredients (not including the oils); however, I have made (depending upon the situation) extremely complicated blends, including a twenty-one-herb recipe that also includes several oils. This super blend is used for ceremonial services.
Like powders, making magickal blends and potpourri lend themselves well to the lesson environment—teaching the student the properties of the herbs, magickal correspondences, and introducing them to the raw texture and aroma of the ingredients. Because blends and potpourri should be aged, they can be made well ahead of a particular ceremony, sabbat, etc., and incorporated into a group project night. Herbs are cheaper purchased by the pound; however, if ordering your supplies on the ’net, keep in mind that “c/s” means cut and sifted, “w” means whole, and “p” means powdered. You don’t want powdered herbs for this type of project. You might also go for the higher-end pricing, choosing either organics or the better quality herb as cut and color are much better. A magickal blend can truly be enchanted eye candy in a ritual setting, especially if it is placed in a clear glass bowl or jar with a variety of gemstones accented by candlelight, or scattered around a favorite ritual statue. Wax talismans in a variety of colors and shapes can also give your potpourri an interesting magickal twist, especially if made by yourself or a magickal person for the purpose intended.
How to Blend the Blends
Measure and mix the heavier roots, barks, and spices first, adding the lighter ingredients, such as florals and leaves, second. Weigh this mixture and calculate 20 percent of that weight. This is the amount of your chosen fixative (orris root and oak moss are excellent—orris root is heavier) you will use to hold the scent of the herbs and the essentials or fragrance you choose to add. Mix the fixative thoroughly with your blend. Finally, add your essential blend (better to make the blend first rather than experimenting on the mixture) a few drops at a time until you attain the aromatic scent you desire. Pour the finished potpourri into the glass jars, cap tightly, and shake. The blend should age four to six weeks. Remember to shake the blend at least once a week to dispense the aroma throughout the herbs.
There is only one exception to this process and that is if you plan to activate the blend before you age it. As with powders, the activation can include bourbon, white rum, magickal sprays, or scented waters—even highly aromatic black coffee is sometimes used. This activation requires an extra step: spread the herbal blend on a screen. Spray lightly and allow it to dry thoroughly before you place it in the jar. If the blend is still wet when stored, the herbs will most likely rot.
Herbal blend formulas are also a great way to empower and store various gems, stones, shells, and metal talismans. If you don’t want to put the stones through the mix, place them in the bottom of the jar first.
Herbal Blend Recipes
Dreamer's Delight for enhancing psychism, meditation, peaceful dreams, and for reducing nightmares.
5 ounces lavender flowers (element of air)
4 ounces prime rosebuds
2 ounces blue malva flowers (water)
1 ounce rosemary (fire)
3 ounces whole cloves (fire)
3 ounces catnip (water)
1 ounce yucca root (water)
1 ounce orris root (water)
Essential oils/fragrance: lavender and violet (choose the balance you prefer—easy on the lavender to enhance the violet, or use lavender and sage
Blue diamond glitter can be used as an enhancement
1⁄2 pound crystal points (these you will use again after you have dispensed with the blend)
Ceremonial Blend is a cleansing/success mixture used to entice good spirits.
4 ounces dried orange peels (better if you dry these yourself, they will retain more of their aroma)
4 ounces dried lemon peels (again, better if you dry these yourself)
4 ounces calendula (marigold); again, from your own garden they will be brighter than purchased by a supplier
3 ounces German chamomile (high grade)
2 ounces lemon verbena (whole leaves, if possible)
1 ounce orris root
1 ounce white beans
3 ounces frankincense, pounded to release aroma
20 drops lemon or lemon verbena oil
Amber chunks (these you will wish to reuse, as amber is extremely expensive)
Optional: Gold glitter
Optional: Spray with white rum and allow to dry before storing
Goddess of the Glen for personal empowerment, esbats, and prayers to deity. Nice to use for prayers and petitions involving children and animals.
3 ounces high-grade rosebuds
3 ounces angel wings
3 ounces patchouli
2 ounces hibiscus petals
1 ounce lavender
2 ounces cedar shavings
Essential oil: Patchouli or rose geranium
Optional: 1⁄2 pound moonstones
Cauldron-Simmering Potpourri
Originally designed to restore moisture in the air for wood-burning homes, these special blends mix the magick of earth, air, fire, and water in an extremely pleasing way and are perfect for solitary or group cauldron magick. They are excellent, too, to fill your kitchen or dining room with fragrant aroma on a late winter afternoon or brisk fall evening. Not all herbals lend themselves well to simmering potpourri (some are downright stinky), so be sure you test your latest wonderment before you whip up a batch of strange-smelling stuff that permeates the house for days (I did this—ahem. The comment from my children was, “Well! You can certainly tell a Witch lives here!”) Simmering potpourri/blend mixes releases their aroma through steaming water. If you put them on the stove without the water they’ll burn, and if you let the mess go dry over the heat you’ll ruin your pot (okay, so I’ve done this, too). You can boil these blends directly on the stove in an old pot filled with water, in a cauldron over an outdoor fire, in a fire-safe bowl over a candle (such as a tea candle), or in electric potpourri burners made for this purpose. You can throw the mixture right in the pot loose with the water or immerse a white cotton bag stuffed with the mix and tied securely in the water. In a pinch I’ve even used a coffee filter twisted at the top (hey, it worked). For an extra sweet zest at the time of use you can add fresh fruit, such as apple slices and sliced citrus, to the bubbling brew!
Herbals that lend themselves well to simmering blends are:
Allspice
Anise
Apple slices (dried)
Bay leaf
Caraway seed
Cardamom
Cedar chips
Cinnamon sticks
Citrus fruits
Cloves
Coriander seed
Deerstongue
Eucalyptus
Fennel seed
Ginger root
Galangal (only a little)
Juniper berries
Lavender
Lemon verbena
Nutmeg
Mint
Rosemary
Sage
Sandalwood (red or white)
Tonka beans
Vanilla beans
Wintergreen
Woodruff
Fixatives for simmering potpourri blends include orris (some people like to powder it—I don’t, but it is hard to find it cut and sifted from suppliers) and dried apple pieces and dried citrus peels, although they are added to the mixture differently than with the normal herbal potpourri blend. Again, the apple and citrus works better if you have dried them yourself, both aromatically and magickally. Set your fixatives aside and add your essential oils only to the fixative mixture, not the simmering blend (fragrance isn’t a great idea because not all fragrances burn as well as they naturally smell—again, the voice of experience). Age the fixative for three days in a glass jar before adding your simmering potpourri mixture. Shake well. This type of herbal blend is ready for simmering about four days after the potpourri is added to the fixative. It will, however, last longer. Keep tightly sealed until use.
Festival Formulas
Samhain
1 cup star anise
1 cup allspice (whole)
1 cup orange peel (use to hold fragrance)
1⁄4 cup orris root (use to hold fragrance)
1 cup woodruff
1 cup juniper berries
1 cup whole mace
1 cup whole cloves
7 cinnamon sticks
3 cups rosehips (scented or unscented,
they are sold both ways)
3 handfuls bay leaves
Throw a sliced “live” apple in the pot when simmering for an increased autumn note, or use an apple fragrance on the fixative mix of your choice or a very small amount of patchouli essential oil (or both if you are brave). Excellent to simmer in the west quarter at your Samhain party or masked ball.
Abundant Yule
I have used this recipe every year for the past seventeen years to keep my house smelling “holiday-tyme,” keep the money flowing in, and keep the happiness as high as it can be.
11⁄2 cups orange peel—use this as your fixative with pine (only a little bit) essential oil
1⁄2 cup cardamom pods
13 cinnamon sticks (one for each lunar month)
1 cup dried apple slices
1⁄2 cup mace
1⁄4 cup allspice
1⁄4 cup cloves
1⁄2 cup sandalwood
1⁄8 cup wintergreen
11 tonka beans (for mastery over your finances)
When ready to boil, add sliced fresh oranges with cloves stuck in the rinds. For more pizzazz, add just a hint of ginger root.
Essential oils of choice would be lemon, sweet orange, or tangerine (or a combination of all three). My family prefers tangerine since when they were small and money was tight, I always made sure to put tangerines in their stockings because when I was small and money was tight, my parents always put tangerines in my Yule stockings. It’s a family tradition—what can I say? Eat enough spaghetti dinners when you are young and struggling and you’ll totally understand the significance.
Beltane Florals
That lusty month of May! It’s here, it’s here . . . that shocking time of year when Witches and Pagans always find a creative soul in the bunch to build the Maypole. Always. Never fails. I’ve been running Pagan events for over twenty years, and always find someone eager to construct the Maypole. It’s just not a task people run away from. Go figure.
1 cup lavender (for peace and cleansing)
2 cups fragrant rosebuds (purchase the highest
quality possible; for love and secrets)
1 cup orange peel (use as the fixative)
1 cup oak moss (for stability)
1 vanilla bean (to bring future riches)
1⁄4 cup allspice
5 cinnamon sticks (for movement)
1⁄4 cup mint (for money)
Lilac or magnolia fragrance (check your brand on a test batch, as fragrances tend to smell differently when subjected to heat); rose could also be used.
Simmering summer solstice
This one is really nice if you have an outdoor cookout, or place it in the center of the circle in a simmering cauldron.
1 cup cinnamon sticks
1 cup orange peel (again, best if you dry these yourself)
1 cup grapefruit peel
1⁄2 cup allspice
3 cups of prime lemon verbena (careful when you order this one)
11⁄2 cups orange peel
1⁄3 cup cloves
1⁄2 cup ginger root
1 vanilla bean
How to Make Incense Prayer Papers
Victorian prayer papers, as their name implies, are shaped strips of paper used to make petitions and wishes to deity. As they smolder, the essential oil aroma drifts about the sacred area. To make your own prayer papers, you will need:
3 tablespoons saltpeter
3 cups boiling spring water
Essential oils—20–24 drops total
Paper shapes or strips—blotter or high rag content
Glass bowl
Steel spoon
Clothespins
Wire rack or screen
Newspaper
Dissolve saltpeter in boiling water. Cool in heat-resistant glass bowl (do not use plastic, wood, or metal). Say a cleansing prayer over the mixture. Add the essential oil blend of your choice. Empower the mixture for your specific desire by stirring slowly with a steel spoon in a clockwise direction, and then in a figure-eight motion. Cut blotter paper or card stock into pleasing shapes about the size of your palm. If you plan to use colored paper, check first to make sure the dye holds. Dip paper shapes in the scented water and hang to dry with clothespins on a wire rack or flat on an old window screen and set on newspaper. The excess liquid will drip onto the newspaper. Allow to dry. If your paper curls, simply place on a flat surface after the drying process is complete and press with a few heavy books. The best storage is a glass jar, but plastic bags will work for short periods of time. Dispose of any excess liquid carefully. Remove the newspaper immediately from your home and remember that saltpeter is a burning agent. Do not set it near an open flame, including burning candles or cigarettes. Papers will light, then smolder—they do not continue to flame like flash paper. If your papers were stored in plastic, you may wish to set them out in the open air a few hours before use to ensure dryness.
To use the papers, you will need:
A fire-safe burn bowl
Pen and ink
Prayer paper(s)
White candle or colored intention candle
Holy water
Lighter or matches
Magickal oil for dressing the candle
Write your desire directly on the prayer paper along with any sigils that you feel match your intention. With the prayer paper, draw a figure-eight or other magickal symbol in the air, concentrating on your desire. Dress the candle with chosen magickal oil and once again draw the figure eight in the air with the candle. Wrap the paper around the unlit candle and repeat the figure-eight motion. Say “Three times is the charm” and snap your fingers over the candle/paper. Unwrap the paper and place it on the altar. Put the candle in a fire-safe holder. Light the candle. Sprinkle the holy water in a large circle that encompasses the prayer paper, the candle, and the fire-safe dish. Seal by knocking on the altar top three times. Hold the prayer paper to your heart chakra, slowly move the paper out from your body, then say, “From me to thee, from heart to fire, from paper to fulfilled desire . . . I make it so!” Light one edge of the prayer paper and drop it into the burn bowl. Blow softly once onto the paper to instill the holy breath. The paper will flame and then continue to smolder until all the paper turns to ash. Allow the candle to burn completely. The ceremony is done! Scatter the ashes of the cooled petition outside to the winds. Note: This ceremony can be used in conjunction with any other magick, spellwork, rite, or ritual.
Walking with Spirits
The belief in saints, spirits, deities, archetypes, gods, goddesses, and assorted higher beings is often integral to the life of the magickal practitioner. They are rainbow bridges from the third dimension into the mysteries of all the others (however many there may be). In the following exercise I purposefully chose a spirit outside of the Wiccan religion so that the practitioner learns to walk in many worlds, not just one. Sometimes this is very hard for students to do, and they mentally and physically recoil at the idea of using a belief system (or a portion of one) to which they know little. This type of knee-jerk reaction is to assume that something “bad” will happen to them should they look outside the confines of their own belief system. Granted, the rule still applies of not calling up what you can’t put down; however, there is enough information here on this particular “spirit” to meet the needs of the practitioner, and I chose an energy that specifically works well with priests and priestesses in general, regardless of your culture. Absolutely complicated, steeped truly in mystery, and utterly harmonic in form, the Voodoo vèvès are an exciting magickal vehicle to master.
Ayzian Working for Success
Ayzian is a Voudon lwa (spirit). She is not a goddess but is an energy in her own right—a cohesion of past primitive belief, symbology, and the collective unconscious of the business world and the priesthood.
Ayzian design for success.
Ayzian is the protector and teacher of all initiates and is one of the first lwa to be called in many Voudon ceremonies. Her main “color” is white, with silver as a secondary. Every line in the design has meaning, every form an exciting correlation to quantum physics. Study the design completely, taking your own notes on how you believe it works. When you are ready, draw the design yourself on paper, or paint it on wood or clay. The time it takes to re-create the design is a way for you to imbue yourself with the preparation of receiving your intended desire.
Offerings to this spirit include coconut, palm fronds (her symbol), white beans, calamus herb, white grapes, spring water, white grapes, beer, perfume, and silver and pure white objects. Her altar cloth should always be white. Candles can be white or silver. Clear spring water should accompany any offering. Keep in mind that once you give something to a lwa, it cannot be taken back. It belongs to that spirit forever. Fresh food should remain on the altar for only twenty-four hours. Offerings can be placed outside with petitions inserted in them and left to deteriorate in their own time. Vèvès are one way of contacting a specific lwa. Each lwa has his or her own specific pattern that must be activated to work. These patterns are based on the harmonics of sound and energy. In this spell the vèvè is activated twice: first to begin the vibratory pattern, and then, once the candle and the offerings are placed, to meld the energies of the vèvè to the offerings that represent your desire.
To begin, sprinkle the four directions of the paper from left to right and top to bottom with holy water. Activate the vèvè using a rattle to trace the pattern. The sound of the rattle following the lines brings the pattern to life. Next place your offerings at any of the star points. The top star point is reserved for your white or silver candle. Place your written petition under the fire-safe candleholder. Don’t forget to dab the candle with magickal oil and sprinkle a bit of magickal powder on the candle and a bit on the design.
Before melding the energies, give thanks to your ancestors and say your favorite prayer or invocation. Ask that Spirit meld with your higher self and that your actions result in the greatest good. Light the candle. Trace the pattern of the vèvè again, beginning where Spirit leads your hand and continuing until you feel energized and full of power. Then blow three times on the vèvè (do not blow out the candle) to instill holy breath. Seal with three shakes of the rattle. Thank the lwa and what you consider to be the Great Spirit. You are finished. Allow the candle to burn completely.
The spirit of Ayzian wants you to succeed in the marketplace. She absolutely loves the busy, upbeat energy of buying and selling. If you treat her well, she will respond accordingly. I have experienced her power from exceptionally high bids on eBay, to large sales when I really needed them on my website, to finding money to pay unexpected medical bills. Much luck in your partnership with this amazing lwa!
Summary
The exercises in this section included analyzing the data given on magickal powders and herbal blends and considering their import for using the physical gifts of this dimension to create positive, spiritual changes in the life of the practitioner. Here we discussed the dynamics of the tools and how they can be used. Only a few recipes were given—just enough to support the application but not an overabundance, so the focus is kept. From learning to create prayer papers for deity and then stepping outside the normal confines of Wicca, we learn to acknowledge and implement various occult teachings without fear of reprisal, as long as we do the appropriate research. In the next part we will dig further into the rich soil of the universe.
4. For example, where German Americana met head-on with Southern folklore—a form of Hoodoo found commonly in West Virginia and southern Pennsylvania, next to the Appalachian Mountains.