Herbal Vinegars for Magick
A book on magickal powders and herbal blends would not be complete without mention of magickal vinegar. The use of vinegar in magick, cooking, healing, and housework dates back over 10,000 years. Its name today, “vinegar,” is a French derivative of “sour wine.” Vinegar is made from converting any natural sugar (from corn, fruits such as apples and grapes, coconuts, grains like barley and rice, and even potatoes) that is turned into alcohol and then fermented again by adding yeast, where the alcohol is converted to acetic acid. The acidic content of any vinegar varies by type and brand. Most of us buy vinegar rather than making it ourselves, adding additional ingredients for food or magick. When purchasing vinegar to use in magickal applications for banishing (like four thieves vinegar), read the label to choose the brand with the highest acidic content. In your herbal work you may learn about the “mother of vinegar.” This is a type of apple cider vinegar that has a significant number of health benefits, including the prevention of cancer, reduction of heartburn, lowering blood pressure and blood glucose levels, weight loss, and even stopping the pain and spread of shingles. Mother of vinegar is identified by the thick strands of sediment lying on the bottom of the bottle. This kind of organic, raw, unpasteurized vinegar is the healer’s choice. Vinegar can also remove some pesticides and bacterial growth from fresh produce and be used as a cleaning agent for countertops and windows and even as a hair cleanser and conditioner.
Raw herbs work best in making your own herbal vinegar; however, you can also add magickal powders as well. Wash and dry your chosen herbs and place them in a glass quart canning jar or another glass jar of your choice. Empower the vinegar and warm it. Pour the warm vinegar into the jar filled with your herbs. If you are using a canning jar, place a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth, as the metal lid will react with the vinegar. Label the vinegar with all of the ingredients you used, along with the date you prepared the formula. Be sure to clearly mark if the vinegar is poisonous—you would not want to serve vinegar with horseradish, hot peppers, and grave dirt to dinner guests. Store the vinegar in a dark place for the amount of time you choose (usually two to four weeks). Strain the herbs out of the vinegar and recap the jar for use whenever you need it. I make my magickal vinegar in bulk, so I buy the vinegar in plastic gallon jugs. I warm the container in the sun, then add my herbs and other ingredients. I use an indelible marker and write directly on the plastic all the ingredients, the date, and the unique astrological associations I used such as a dark moon or Mars trine Mercury (to stop gossip).
In magick, vinegar is a balancer and a banisher, removing negativity and assisting in restoring equilibrium in any situation. The herbs or powders you use in your vinegar heighten the focus of the blend. Four thieves vinegar (also called Marseilles vinegar) is a medieval mixture concocted for healing purposes and is one of the most common magickal vinegars used in enchantments. The Marseilles vinegar was supposedly employed by a family of thieves, four brothers, created by their mother so that they could go into plague-infested houses to steal property and remove valuables from the dead bodies. The historical era is debatable, with some indicating the timeframe was the thirteenth century, others the fifteenth century, and even reports from the eighteenth century. As the plague in Europe lasted over six hundred years in one form or another, it is hard to pinpoint when the legend first filtered into public knowledge. The story indicates that due to the vinegar, the thieves did not sicken and die.21 The ingredients included clove, rosemary, sage, garlic, rue, lavender, and camphor steeped in vinegar.22 Other formulas included lemon and cinnamon. The thieves soaked a cloth in the mixture and wore the cloth over their noses and mouths. When they were caught by French police, they were offered a reduced sentence if they divulged the secret ingredients of the Marseilles recipe. Since that time the magickal community has developed a host of four thieves vinegar formulas that are offered in printed form or sold in bottles in New Age, Hoodoo, and general magickal shops, and it is considered the go-to blend to rid oneself of negative circumstances and people. The most powerful four thieves vinegar I ever made was on August 25, 2005, during Hurricane Katrina. My formula consisted of rosemary, sage, garlic, lavender, clove, wild rue, hot peppers, lemon slices, and grave dirt.
The shelf life of vinegar is almost indefinite, depending largely upon the preparation and ingredients used. Magickal vinegar is an excellent defensive tool and can be sprinkled or used in bottle magick. Here are a few examples:
Pour one tablespoon of magickal vinegar into bathwater for protection.
Sprinkle on the foot tracks of an individual to encourage them to leave you alone. Do this on any day in the planetary hour of Mars.
Pour on the ground in front of a depraved neighbor’s home. You can also pour on a corner of their legal property if you can’t get close to the door. A banishment charm should be intoned. This is best done on the dark of the moon.
In the planetary hour of Mars, add the person’s name, written three times, to a small bottle of magickal vinegar. Cap tightly. Bury off your property in the hour of Saturn. Place a stone on top of the place where you buried the bottle. This is a symbol of constraint so that they cannot rise from the spell or escape from the banishing energy. Best done on the dark of the moon.
Soak small squares of cloth in the herbal vinegar and allow them to dry. Use the material for banishing packets or sachets to ward off sickness and promote healing.
Food vinegars, those that you have made that are safe to ingest, are used to ward off psychic vampirism; dilute one teaspoon vinegar in a glass of water and drink. It is currently advised by the medical community that you do not drink straight vinegar as it can erode tooth enamel and damage the esophagus over time.
Pure, unprocessed apple cider vinegar can be used in a spiritual bath (2–4 cups) to destroy negativity or break a curse. It opens the pores and is thought to help in general systemic detoxification.
Salts for Magick and Enchantment
I use salt as a primary carrier for many cleansing and banishing magickal powders. Not only can it be employed to convey the powder, but it can also be boosted with essential oils for bath salts and tub teas. In Braucherei/Pow-Wow, it is generally known that to stop the energy of something, you write the name of the person or event on a piece of paper and put it in the freezer; this stalls the action. To encourage people to be more friendly, you put their name in a sugar bowl. To banish an illness, problem, or individual, you use salt.
Over the years I have created several salt powder compounds for a variety of issues. These compounds can be sprinkled on the ground or rubbed in the hands, placed in poppets (or place poppets directly in the mixture), sprinkled around candles, etc.
Here is a list of salts, along with how I have used them:
Dead Sea Salt: This is my go-to general salt for all banishings and healings. When you need fast enchantment, rub the salt in your hands or on your body, particularly at the base of the back of the neck to break all negativity coming toward you. You can mix the salt with herbal blends to clean out cauldrons or scrub stone altar tops. A salt herb bag can be carried in the purse or pocket and massaged unobtrusively when in the company of negative people. Place the mixture with banishing herbs in a tub tea packet or white cotton conjuring bag and drop in holy water to be used for a spiritual cleansing. Add orange peel powder, chamomile, and peppermint to break bad debt. Adding baking soda and sea salt to the bath is thought to cleanse the auric field.
Gray Sea Salt: Use to break glamouries, remove lies, and change inaccurate perceptions.
Pink Sea Salt: Also known as Himalayan pink sea salt, this is employed to dissolve hatred and unhappiness, remove the pain of a cheating lover, or clear the way to new love. Add spearmint, rosemary, and rose petals to promote wisdom in love choices.
Black Sea Salt: (not the kind mixed with soot, the naturally black salt) Use for all manner of psychic cleansings, for removing gh
osts and personal fears, and for breaking addiction work. To remove ghosts from an area, place vinegar in an open glass surrounded with larkspur, white sage, and black sea salt.
Traditional Soot Black Salt: In the 1980s I learned to make what they called witches’ black salt, which was used to banish (and sometimes curse) negative energies or people who have harmed you. The blend is messy to make and use due to the activated charcoal base to which salt and other ingredients are added. If it goes gray, you have too much salt in the mixture. Additives include seven cemetery grave dirt (dirt collected from seven different cemeteries), nettles, and sometimes thorns from rose bushes. The blend was prepared on a dark moon on a Saturday, between 12 midnight and 3:00 a.m. or in the hour of Mars or Saturn. Best if done when the moon is in Scorpio. All ingredients are finely ground, then mixed with the activated charcoal. This traditional blend should not be used in soaps or bath salts.
Empowered herbal salts make excellent gifts for magickal friends, especially if you use appealing containers with attractive labels. A general tub tea recipe uses 16 ounces of sea salt and 20–30 drops of a body-safe essential oil. The tub teas can also include magickal powders and herbal blends as long as you have researched the safety of the herbs in regard to medical issues. Essential oils can cause problems with sensitive skin. Be sure to research the essential oil before using it in a tub tea recipe. You should also consult your physician on any essential oils that you use because they can affect individuals with high blood pressure or who are pregnant.
Sacred Spirit Mound
The last exercise/project in this chapter concentrates on blending with the natural spirits in your area. First, take a Spirit Walk and collect as many plants as possible, telling them that you wish to perform a sacred ritual to honor the area, protect what is there, and blend with the spirits of the place. Take as long as you like with your Spirit Walk. You may also find unique stones, unusual leaves, feathers, etc. You will also want to collect nine stones; large or small, this is up to you. You will use them as your sacred circle. Save everything until dawn the following day.
As the sun rises, cast a magick circle and bless the area with an honoring herbal mixture and herbal water (as salt water kills plants). The herbal water can contain cleansing herbs such as lavender and rosemary. The choice is entirely up to you. Do the sea of potential exercise, then stand facing east, holding your right hand so that your palm faces the rising sun. Give the morning greeting adapted from the research of G. Storms in his book Anglo-Saxon Magic:
Eastwards I stand
For favors I pray
From Goddess Divine
And Lord of the Day.
Earth lends her power
And breath sends the spell
Day’s end will reveal
That all will be well.
State your intent: that you wish to create a sacred mound to honor the area, protect the native plants and animals to your best ability, and blend with the nature spirits of the place.
Dig a hole and place all the items you have collected. You can add any other charms, sigils, trinkets, or objects that you desire. When you are finished, cover the hole and create a small mound. Encircle the mound with nine stones from the area. Seal the working by drawing an equal-armed cross on top of the mound. You can flatten the top of the mound a little if you like so that you can place a candle or lantern there in the days to come. Sit back, relax, and do the sea of potential exercise again, asking that you become one with the spirit of the place. Pay particular attention to any animals or insects that are present during the entire process, as they have messages for you. When you close your eyes, you may see animal eyes in your mind. These are the sacred eyes of Spirit. You may feel incredibly uplifted, at peace, or filled with gentle love; that is nature accepting your request of bonding.
When you are finished with your meditation, thank the place and the spirits and intone a verbal blessing for them.
Be sure to visit your sacred mound often; the spirits will be waiting for you. Bring gifts of flowers, water in a drought, and prayers of love and compassion. The more you work with the spirit mound, the greater the spiritual gifts.
Should you have to move from the area, it is imperative that you visit your sacred spirit mound and indicate why you must go. Leave the mound with a blessing and a gift. When you get to your new home or area, create another sacred spirit mound. You can actually link this mound with the one you left at the old property using the link, sync, and sink technique.
The Chi of Conversation
Every conversation has its own energy, its own pattern, its own chi. In my book MindLight I explored the power of your mind in magick and everyday activities. Over time I have learned to listen to the conversations of people and the communication patterns of nature. When we speak to each other, you and I, we usually don’t think about the pattern of the conversation. We acknowledge the topic or theme, syncing with each other to make the process enjoyable (hopefully) and desiring (in many cases) to be “in tune” with each other. This feeling of attunement becomes chemical as our emotional responses activate a subconscious energy exchange. Most people don’t consider the vast array of energies at play when we speak to each other. We concentrate only on the feelings and then the words. Yes, people talk with feelings first (in most cases), and the formulation of chosen words erupts or floats serenely to the surface, depending on those emotions. This entire combination forms a pattern of energy— what I call the chi of conversation.
I’d like you to think for a moment about a recent positive conversation. Think about how you felt. Reflect on the “pattern” of that conversation. If you could equate the exchange in another form, what would you choose? A color? An aroma? A sound? A thing of nature? Free associate on the mental images that arise from thinking about the discussion, and write down your mental pictures. After a few moments reflect on what you put on the paper.
Now, let’s do the same thing with a recent argument or disagreement (or, if you are lucky enough not to have had one, an unpleasant exchange that you remember). It, too, had a pattern, and because you remember it, the pattern is still living! It may be slowly disintegrating, but because you can recall it, the conversation still has its own chi. Write down, as you did before, mental images that you associate with that unfortunate communication. All these mental pictures combined with your feelings are keeping the chi of that conversation alive, and they are (like glue or a nasty, smelly cord) continuing to keep you connected to that person.
In martial arts there is a hand motion that disrupts an individual’s chi—a quick fluttering of the hands over the solar plexus area of the opponent that momentarily disrupts a person’s energy bodies. This disorientation actually weakens the physical body for a slight window of time. You can cause this same disruption (by various means) in the chi of a conversation. Fluttering your hand over your face as if you are hot, rubbing the palms in a circular motion, concentrating on sinking the water element sigil into their third eye, or moving your hand back and forth in front of you if you are seated at a table are quick methods of chi disruption. All these actions should be subtle. (And you thought those ladies with ornate fans were just having hot flashes.)
Because we have several physical ordinary choices we can make to disrupt or end a conversation, we don’t usually think about the energy of the conversation lingering other than in our minds. We can change the subject, we can walk away, or we can punch the person in the nose (not advised). Regardless of the closure we choose in an antagonistic arena, we forget that the chi of that conversation still lives. The pattern is alive, continuing to undulate and move between any two people (or more). It never occurs to most of us to consciously consider the dismantling of that energy other than therapy (where you are carrying all that negative crap on your back like a sack of rotten potatoes years after the initial event took place) or possibly saying “I’m sorry.” However, an insincere apology does not carry enou
gh power to displace the original chi of the event.
Let me put it another way: sometimes we are so focused on our hurt feelings that we don’t realize the continuing pain is reactivated in our memories because the pattern of the initial event lives on in us and around us. It has attached itself to our energy bodies and, like a leech, it just keeps sucking us dry. This is complicated by our own minds and emotions that have created a perception cocoon around the chi of the conversation. This filtered housing coats the initial negative experience to distance ourselves from the pain; unfortunately, this rationalization makes the stupid thing stronger. Every excuse we make strengthens the original pattern.
The word coupled with the emotion carried upon the breath of life is the pattern of making.
When humans speak aloud, they activate the five elements in and around themselves. Always. Every time. For good or for ill. The power of the word cannot be ignored. Every time you open your mouth and speak, you birth.
The moment you acknowledge the existence of the pattern and your role in the creation of it (no matter how minimal), you have power over it and can quickly and efficiently destroy it and simultaneously dissolve the tentacles of attachment to you.
For one week, I would like you to try the following in every conversation:
Listen more than you speak.
Observe while listening or speaking.
Whenever a conversation turns negative, change the subject.
Analyze the pattern of the conversation.
End every conversation on a positive note.
Write down your observations about each day. If any conversation feels negative, at the end of the day dispose of the verbal interchange by agreeing within yourself that you will dismantle it. Visualize the conversation as a net of collected lights, and dissolve the net. As the net dissolves, the lights flicker, dwindle, and go out. When your mind is clear, you have removed the chi of the conversation. To help in this process, you can rub Dead Sea salt (or any of the salt formulas listed in the previous discussion) in your hands as you let go of the negative energy in your mind. Thank the salt, indicating that you are grateful that the conversation no longer affects you, and put the salt in the garbage. If you wish to use a bit more powerful working, mix rose thorns with Dead Sea salt and pour this mixture onto a piece of paper. Envision your feelings and the memory of the conversation sinking into the paper. Call on the animal spirits of the Raven and the Wolf. Roll up the paper and burn it, saying as many times at it takes to mentally let go:
The Witching Hour Page 21