Bonus Post - Oils, Powders, Inks & Wanderings

Magic spells, the tool of the witch. The way to harness energies, shape them, and direct them to "do our bidding". The words "Magic Spell" conjure up images of a crone, dressed all in black complete with pointy hat, stirring a large cauldron over an open fire (or hearth fire) while mumbling to herself and adding any number of archaic, scary sounding ingredients to the boiling pot...

OK, how many witches do you think can actually afford that big wonderful cauldron, to start with..? Have you priced those things lately..? A not-so-big one is being sold on Ebay - 17" tall, 26" diameter for $150. Or you can go here and purchase a 45 gallon capacity one for $850 - plus "special truck shipping". That size is a bit closer to the cauldron usually depicted as being used by witches to brew up their potions and create the necessary ingredients for their spells. Did you read that..?

$850

Now maybe you can afford to spend $850 on a tool (and if you can, are you in need of someone to adopt..?) but I think it's a safe assumption, that based on just that information, you aren't going to find many witches standing around one of these in today's world.

Much like the above mentioned cauldron, many of the ingredients called for in spells seem (to the beginner or uninitiated) to also be out of reach. But this isn't so. Yes, they have scary or creepy or unusual names, seeming to be stuff out a fairy tale, but these ingredients are usually listed using their "folk name". Names like "Devil's Dung" (asafetida), "Witches' Herb" (basil), and "Little Dragon" (Tarragon) can be a bit intimidating when reading a spell you wish to adapt to your use. Where in the world would one find "Tree of Enchantment"  (Willow) if it wasn't known as willow?

There's actually an awesome website called Herbal Cross Reference where you can go for many interpretations.

Ok, so, on to my point (yes, I actually have one here somewhere...) A lot of spells also call for ingredients like Four Thieves Oil or Graveyard Dirt. Or require the intent be written in a special ink, like Dragon's Blood Ink, or Dove's Blood Ink. Much like herbs, the names for these "concoctions" can be a bit misleading - you don't (usually) need dirt from a graveyard when "Graveyard Dirt" is called for, nor do you need an oil made by melting down four thieves (although....) when "Four Thieves Oil" is called for.  Also, if you do happen to find yourself in the company of a dragon, I wouldn't recommend causing him or her to bleed just so you have a liquid to use as ink - that might be a bit detrimental to one's health...

"A long history exists of using animal names as a code for various plant substances. Among the reasons for this practice was the desire to maintain secret formulas. Unfortunately, when the formulas are obtained without understanding or even knowing of the existence of the code, all sorts of misunderstandings and tragedy may follow..."
The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Magic Spells

What I am going to do here today is give a few recipes for the most frequently called for ingredients that you could probably buy somewhere, but you really should make yourself if you intend to use them. I know there are many legitimate retailers of magical items available, but how do you know which is witch (I made a funny...)? Because the website is pretty? Oh it has a pentacle on it so it must be legit. Did you go in that store..? The smell was wonderful, and all those magic books - they must be legit! Even if it is, what do you know about the witch that prepared these items? What kind of energy did they infuse them with? Were they fighting with the hubby so full of simmering resentment when they made that love oil..? What kind of love relationship will you find when you use it in your spell..? How about that Uncrossing Oil? Will you find that it has been infused with energies that may cause your result to be far different from your intent..? It is ALWAYS the better option to delay a bit (if you haven't planned ahead) and make your own, charging them with YOUR energy and YOUR intent than it is to just go buy the stuff and hope that a) it really is what it claims to be, not just scented/colored water/oil, and b) it has the correct energies & intents to accomplish what YOU are wanting do, as opposed to what the person who made it thinks it should do...

Keep in mind these are NOT the only possible recipes for these oils/powders, just the ones that I have...

Oils

Banishing Oil

Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Sulfur

Grind all ingredients to a fine powder using a pestle & mortar. Be sure to cleanse your tools between uses. Much like you don't want last night's dinner still in the pan when you cook tonight's, you don't want the last spell's energy to infuse the current working...

To make a banishing oil, cover the powder with castor oil and shake vigorously. (If the castor oil is too thick to "flow" well, add some Jojoba oil to thin it to the desired consistency)

Uncrossing Oil

Essential Oil of hyssop
Essential Oil of angelica
Essential Oil of frankincense
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Sprig of rue
Sliver of fresh garlic
A section of broken chain (from a key chain or necklace)

Add the ingredients to a jar filled with a castor oil and jojoba oil mixture (virgin olive oil also works as the base for a magical oil) The crucial ingredients are the hyssop and the chain. Add the other ingredients as desired (if you apply this mixture to yourself as part of your working, avoid exposure to excessive sunlight or tanning beds as the angelica oil will make you sensitive and likely to burn)

Magnet (or Lodestone) Oil

Place either seven or nine lodestones in a mason jar. Sprinkle them with magnetic sand. Cover the lodestones with a blend of sweet almond and jojoba oils. Close the jar and let the lodestones rest for seven days, exposed to sunlight & moonlight. Swirl the contents once a day. After seven days, strain the oil and it is ready for use (place in smaller jars for storage) 
**Feed the lodestones with magnetic sand, and they can be used to make more oil.

Courage Oil

Cinquefoil (Five-finger grass)
Gardenia Petals
Rosemary leaves

Grind together into a fine powder using pestle & mortar. Add to a blend of sunflower & jojoba oils. (You may also add High John the Conqueror root to the powder mix, or a piece of root to the oil)

Confusion Oil

Black poppy seeds
Black pepper
Asafetida
Sulfur (this can be obtained by buying wooden kitchen matches, breaking the heads off, and grinding, them removing the wood)

Grind the above into a fine powder and add to a blend of castor & jojoba oil. For malevolent spells (undertaken at your own risk and hopefully after much consideration) use baby oil or mineral oil

Attraction Oil

Grated lemon zest
Lovage
Vervain
Essential oil of lemon petigrain, melissa, may chang, or lemon verbena
Rose attar

Grind the first three ingredients using your mortar & pestle, then place them in a bottle with a lodestone chip. Cover this with sweet almond oil, the ass the essential oils drop by drop until you achieve a scent that pleases you.

Commanding Oil

For a powerful formula, combine sweet flag (calamus) and licorice to form a powder to be added to a blend of castor oil and jojoba oil. Other ingredient  combinations can be used as well... Vetiver & essential oil of bergamot. for a situation involving finances. (Oil of bergamot can cause serious pigmentation issues if applied to the skin then exposed to the sun or a tanning bed) 

Powders

Banishing Powder

Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Sulfur

Sprinkle the powder on clothing, especially shoes of anyone you want "gone", it can also be sprinkled on the ground where your target will be forced to step in or over it. You would also sprinkle this in your working area and over the candles when performing a banishing spell.

Drawing Powder

(LOL) Confectioner's Sugar

Graveyard Dust

Sometimes a rose is a rose, and Graveyard Dust is just what is says - dust (or dirt) from a graveyard. More often though, when Graveyard Dust is referred to as an ingredient in a spell, the following powder is what is being called for. For which spells do you use one and not the other? Well quite frankly, if you can't make that determination based on other spell requirements and the intention of the spell, it's time to put up the cauldron and candles and either seek out a LEGITIMATE mentor, go back to the books, or just give it up as you are going to hurt yourself or someone else if you continue trying to perform magic and harness energies without the proper knowledge...

Valerian
Patchouli
Mullein

Grind all ingredients together to form a fine powder, and use this mixture when Graveyard Dust (or Dirt) is called for.

Inks

I am including here recipes to create your own ink base, found at Make Stuff. Again, as with anything else magic related, what you put in has a big effect on what you get out. You can buy ink at most craft or hobby stores - probably even at Wal-mart or K-Mart in the office supply section, but you won't know what energies you'll be bringing to bear on you workings. No one ever said working magic was the easy way. In fact, if you want to do it "right" and be in full control of what you're doing, there is actually a lot of work involved, and you may find the more mundane options to be much easier...

Basic Permanent Black Ink:

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp gum arabic
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 tsp lamp black (buy in a tube or make by holding a plate over a lit candle)

Mix egg yolk, gum arabic and honey in a small bowl. Add lamp black to make a thick paste. Store in a jar. To use, mix a little paste with a little water to make a fluid.

Prussian Blue Ink:

Dissolve Prussian Blue (available as laundry bluing) in water. Makes a rich blue ink.

Brown Ink:

• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 4-5 teabags (or 4 tsp of loose tea)
• 1 tsp gum arabic

Pour boiling water over the tea bags in a large bowl, add gum arabic. Steep for 15 minutes. Squeeze tea bags to extract as much tannic acid as possible. Strain and allow to cool before bottling. Use with a paintbrush or quill pen, etc.

Magic inks are created by adding certain ingredients to ink. I will list here the necessary ingredients, and if relevant quantities.

Raven's Feather Ink

Burn one black feather, freely given (by a bird, not your buddy who went and plucked it), and add the ashes to ink.

Dragon's Blood Ink

Dragon's Blood (Dragon's blood, obviously, is not the actual blood of a dragon...rather, is is a plant resin and can be purchased any number of places both online & in magic stores. Mind you, for this, and most magical purposes, you want the RESIN, not an incense or other already processed form of the product.)
Alcohol (to dissolve the resin, it is not water soluble)
Essential Oil of Cinnamon

Bat's Blood Ink

Dragon's Blood
Alcohol
Essential Oil of Cinnamon
Essential Oil of Myrrh

Dove's Blood Ink

Dragon's Blood
Alcohol
Essential Oil of Bay Laurel
Essential Oil of Cinnamon
Essential Oil of Rose

Ok, I hope that cleared things up a bit for you. Being a witch and performing magic, REAL magic, not rabbit-out-of-a-hat magic is a way of life. It can be a very rewarding and fulfilling lifestyle if you have chosen to follow this path, but as I said earlier, it's not easy. There are a plethora of books, websites, groups & people that can offer you information on this subject, and very few of them agree. That doesn't mean any or all of them are wrong, just different from each other.

To follow a magical path requires effort, dedication, and a willingness to be open to all (in my opinion, anyways) in an effort to find what is right for YOU. What works for one, or even several, may not work for you. Nothing magical is set in stone. Associations vary  with situations, and what you associate with a particular thing - color, herb, stone - may be very different from what is generally accepted. That, again, doesn't make it wrong (and don't let anyone tell you it does). If you associate the color orange with peacefulness & serenity, then use of the generally accepted pink in a working you perform will not be as effective as it would if you used orange. Many people associate green with healing, but for me personally, when I envision healing energy, it is oftentimes more blue than green. That's what works for me. One of the major differences in MY workings involves the directional associations. The generally accepted associations are:

North - Earth
East - Air
South - Fire
West - Water

That makes your "set-up" look something like this:

In my head that makes no sense. With this "layout" you have elements counteracting each other rather than complimenting each other. When you are camping, and taking down your site for the last time, in an effort to make sure you leave no sparks of FIRE unattended, you bury your ashes with EARTH. Because EARTH smothers FIRE. When you are doing laundry, and your dryer is broken, you hang your wet clothes outside on a clothesline so the wind will hasten drying. Because AIR evaporates WATER.

In my head (which can actually be a bit of a scary place sometimes...) it makes much more logical sense to switch the locations of Earth and Air. Then you have a "set -up" like this:

Looking at this in a logical manner, we now make sense - back at your campsite, when you were first building your campfire, you piled a bunch of kindling into a pile, applied a spark, then gently blew on it (unless you are my hunny, then you just lit the portable torch, and held to a pile of wood until it caught...). Because AIR feeds FIRE. Without air, there is no fire. When Spring rolls around and it's time to plant the garden, you hoe the earth to soften it, place your seeds in the locations you've chosen, then water it. Because WATER feeds EARTH. Without water, the earth is barren and sere.

It seems to me that if you work your magic following the generally accepted principles in this area, you are causing friction amongst the very elements you are requesting assistance from. My magic has been much more effective since I have started using the associations that work for me which puts the elements into an arrangement where they are complimenting one another rather than working against each other...

Oh my, I do ramble on...and tend to take twists and turns I had no idea were even options when I started out...LOL. But, I'll be done for now. I hope this has helped more than hindered. I apologize for the rambling, but the elemental associations are a subject near & dear to me, and once I start, I tend to just keep going....

Disclaimer: No one involved in this blog or its contents may be held responsible for any adverse reactions arising from following any of the instructions/recipes on this list. It is the reader's personal responsibility to exercise all precautions and use his or her own discretion if following any instructions or advice from this blog.