Category Archives: Herbal Magic
I: Intuition
Intuition
One of the first things most books on witchcraft and spiritual practices say is to trust your intuition. If something feels right then do it. If something doesn’t feel right than it probably isn’t. If you feel like there is something you need to do or really should be doing than you probably should be doing those things. These feelings of something needing to be done, and of something feeling right or off are ways that our intuition comes to us and manifests in our world.
There are many different ways that a person can trust and develop a sense of their intuition. When a person learns to trust their intuition they can really have the world at their feet. By trusting and working with your intuition a person will essentially “never be guided wrong”. Your intuition is really your highest self talking to your conscious mind and telling you basically what needs to be done at that moment. Our intuition is also one of the many ways that our spirit guides can contact us.
Learning to develop a sense of your intuition is typically one of the first things that witches and pagans do. By developing their intuition a person can better understand messages sent from their Gods and spirits. It also helps them to better connect to the spiritual forces and energetic needs going on. By developing a sense of your intuition you also develop a sense of what works and will simply “know” how to work the ritual on that day for that reason. This is our spirit and ourselves working as one, and when this state is reached one really has become a witch if they practice witchcraft and aware of the spiritual nature of reality if they are not a witch.
For me I have only really recently started to work with my intuition. For years I knew I had a strong intuition and sense of energetic flows. I could read energy and see auras. I was especially sensitive to emotional energy. For me understanding my intuition and its strength was a scary process. My readings when I did them were so strong and accurate I scared myself from doing my own readings and for reading for others. Its only been recently I have realized that this intuition is a gift rather than a curse so I am actively working on recognizing my strengths and listening to my intuition.
The very first time I realized that my intuition would guide me in my magical and spiritual spells was when I created an incense I use in all my reiki and healing work sessions. When I created that first incense I didn’t know what I was making. I just grabbed the herbs I had that dealt with healing energies. I laid those herbs on the floor in front of me and I started to just grab and mix the herbs as seemed right. I don’t remember making measurements or anything along those lines. I just knew that the incense was right. I remembered to write down what I put in the incense so I could try and make it again but aside from that no record was made.
The healing incense that I sell in Mystic Echoes was inspired by and is an offshoot of that original healing incense blend. The core is the same, but there were other factors that personalized the other incense so they are not exactly the same but they are related. The tincture blend is also related. The core is the same with some modifications in both situations to be more generic than the original purely intuitive blend. You can buy those items Tincture & Incense blend
One of the many ways I have started to recognize my intuition has been in casting spells when it seems to be the right time. In the past I have felt a desire to cast a spell or thought that maybe a spell would help deal with this, and never done the work. I never really trusted myself to just do the right thing. In this sense I didn’t trust my intuition to basically tell me what I needed to do for that spell. Now I am being more active in my spell casting. I work my magic when it seems right and when it feels right.
The key way I am developing my intuition when it comes to my magical practices and my spirituality now though is through the development of products for Mystic Echoes and the writing of the exercises and content on the Seeker Sight blog that I also run. By working on both projects I am listening to my inner truths and knowledge and my intuition is guiding me.
With the products I develop for Mystic Echoes I have a concept in mind that I want to work with. I do some research. For example if I were to develop a hex breaker product or products I would look up herbs and items that correspond with hex breaking. I would then just let my intuition look over the list and decide what to use for items. In many cases it also depends on what I currently have available to work with.
I test all of those products as well. So by developing the products I am developing my spirituality, my intuition, my magical practices, and my knowledge of herbs. The herbs seem to work together because I trust that they will work together. My intuition guided me and will continue to guide me in my craft and practices.
I am not sure exactly how I define my intuition. I would call it an inner sense of knowing. I would say that for me my intuition is a combination of things I know within myself and messages and content sent to me through guides, ancestors, and maybe the divine. I don’t necessarily know the difference between which intuitive thoughts and practices are from guides and which is from deep within me. I just know that when I listen to my intuition things seem to work out in the end. When I don’t listen to my intuition things don’t always work out, or I will be tested in the same way or manner until I do listen to my intuition and then do something about it.
Pagan Blog Project: Galangal Root
Also called:It is also known as Low John the Conqueror, Chewing John, Galanga, China Root, India Root, East India Catarrh Root, Lesser Galangal, Rhizoma Galangae, Gargaut, Colic Root, and Kaempferia Galanga.
Galangal Root has many different uses. Like many different herbs different traditions have different associations and uses of the herb. This herb like many others has multiple properties and associations thought it is commonly used for only one or two of those items.
There are uses in protection magic, legal aid, hex breaking, lust, health, money, and psychic powers are all properties of Galangal Root. Most often in Hoodoo the herb is applied to legal and court case working as well as hex breaking. Occasionally wish granting is also associated with this herb.
Common applications in Hoodoo include chewing the herb and spitting it out with a specific intention to make the spell work. This can be done infront of court houses for legal aid. You can also chew on the root while thinking about your wish or desire and then spit it out when chewed completely to have your wish granted.
By wrapping a bill around the root you can and use that charm to bring money to you. You can also burn incenses of the scrapped and ground root for similar properties. Other charms include carrying the root in mojo bags for protection and hex breaking.
Available: For sale:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/165790691/galangal-root?ref=shop_home_active_16
Sources:
Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs: by Scott Cunningham
http://www.themagickalcat.com/Articles.asp?ID=242
Psychic and spiritual development herbal kit
In spiritual development one of the first things people often develop are some sort of psychic senses. These skills are developed through meditations, energy work, and other exercises often outlined in texts. Many times psychic development is also the first step in developing the skills to practice other forms of magic.
There are many tools to aid in psychic development. There are many different herbs that can be worked with to create incenses, powders, tinctures, and other charms and tools to help one strengthen their psychic senses. The herbs in this kit have been hand chosen to help the novice psychic create incenses and other tools to open the paths to the psychic and spiritual realms.
The herbs in this kit can also aid in astral travel and spirit work outside of the physical body. These techniques are other forms of psychic development and psychic work. These herbs can also aid in shamanic trance work. By aiding in all forms of psychic work from divination to meditation, to astral travel and trance work these herbs also work as powerful aids in spiritual development.
By working on and developing your skills psychically you can develop relationships with spirits. You can interact with spirits and Gods. Through these psychic skills and spiritual developments your connection with the universe around you and the mysteries will grow and you will become a more complete and whole person.
This kit contains:
Marigold
Star Anise Seeds
Mugwort
Spearmint
Ginkgo Leaf
Available:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/184961904/psychic-spiritual-development-herbal?ref=related-0
Pagan Blog Project: C is for Crafting Protection Salt
Witchcraft is a craft and a practice. As a witch I spend a lot of time crafting different incenses for rituals and for spells. I also spend time crafting spells and rituals. There are many different types of items that can be crafted and built. Today we are going to talk about an item I call protection salt.
Protection salt is in some ways related to Black Salt. The idea behind protection salt is that it will protect your house and home as well as defend your home. Protection salt works both to keep spirits and negative forces away but it also works to cause harm to those spirits and forces that would wish you harm.
Protection salt is really easy to craft and it is very effective. There are very few items used in the recipe and it takes little to no time to craft the items yourself. It takes little to no time and is one of the most effective items I have crafted in recent history.
Materials:
Blender/grinder
Bottle or container
Sea salt 9 table spoons
Dragons blood 3 table spoons
Nettle leaf 3 table spoons
White sage 3 table spoons
Dragon Fire protection tincture 1 1/2 table spoons
Wand or athame to stir
Process:
Measure out the sea salt. Put the sea salt in the grinder
Measure out the Nettle leaf. Add it to the grinder. Mix with your wand or athame
Add the white sage and mix with your wand or athame.
Add the last dry herb (the dragons blood) and mix with the wand or the athame.
Cover the grinder/blender and mix them into a fine powder.
Stir the mixture with your wand or athame.
Call upon the arch angel Michel and the dragons of protection to fill the salt with their power.
Direct Michel power and the dragons power into the salt mixture. Blend with your athame or wand.
Finally add in the Dragons Fire tincture. Feel even more Dragon energy and sacred protection energy filling the blender.
Once more blend the mixture.
As it blends focus on protection and defense of your home, office, or even car. See the mixture radiating both protective and defensive energy.
Bottle the mixture in a bottle or container and label it.
Use:
Sprinkle the mixture on all the windowsills and under all the doors in your home. Sprinkle the mixture on the floors in every room, on your porch, on your steps, and in your drive way. This seals the protection around the building and within the building.
The tinctures addition to the mixture allows the salt to stick better to the windowsills, doors and steps.
Items mentioned:
Available: https://www.etsy.com/listing/161383786/dragon-fire-protection-tincture?ref=shop_home_feat_2
Available: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163604756/powdered-dragons-blood-resin?ref=shop_home_active_11
Available: https://www.etsy.com/listing/161392601/white-sage?
Good luck on crafting your own Protection Salt. If you have any questions feel free to ask me. I will more than gladly help you understand why I used the items I used and how they work as a combination,
RootWork:Using the Folk Magick of the Black America for Love, Money, and Success
Rootwork: Using the Folk Magick of Black America for Love, Money, and Success is a very short and concise book. The author clearly wanted to provide a short and easy to read introduction to the practice of Hoodoo. The author wanted to provide a book where the individuals reading could come away feeling at least on a surface level familiar with the topic of Hoodoo and what Hoodoo was.
The short book covers history, the practice, and provides some simple spells and recipes that a novice could use to start their practice. The book is divided up into three parts. Each of the sections of the book provided insightful information but could have been more in depth.
The first part of the book covers the basics which includes the history and some of the basic cultural influences that have made Hoodoo what it is today. This section also defines what Hoodoo is and how it is different from the religion and spirituality of Voodoo. The section also does a basic introduction into the beliefs behind Hoodoo or Rootwork into why this system works. With any folk magic tradition it is essential to understand the culture and the history of the culture the magic system comes from. Without these understandings the practical aspects of the system become useless and one will never really understand what the system has to provide.
The first chapter in the book covers what Hoodoo is as a practice. This is probably one of the most essential chapters in this book. Here the author illustrates why Hoodoo is actually a different system than voodoo. It is also here that we begin to understand the role that Hoodoo played within the slave communities during the years that the slave trade existed. The author also barely covers how the practice managed to survive and adapt. This is also where we see how important herbs played in the roles of the lives of the African Americans historically.
The second chapter covers the history of Hoodoo. Here we see why the practice basically disappeared thanks to regulations in the US regarding slaves and congregations. This chapter also explains why there are various regional differences in southern and central America as well as within the Caribbean Islands that you will not find in the United States tradition of Hoodoo. This is due to the culture of those regions and how easily the slaves were able to adapt their native practices to that of the practices of the slave owners. The author’s main point in these illustrations is that Hoodoo arose out of the slave trade and it is important that we never forget that Hoodoo was and is the connection African Americans have to their native ancestral tribal practices.
Here the author explains that Hollywood has bee one of the biggest contributors to the misunderstanding of hoodoo as a magical practice rather than a religious practice. It is thanks to Hollywood that Hoodoo is seen as an evil practice rather than a rich system of healing spells and life work. While it is true they had spells and practices to harm others and defend the family, Hoodoo originated as a healing system as the slaves could not afford traditional medical care.
The author also illustrates within the chapter the reasons that a person may practice Hoodoo. Given the origins of the tradition and the terrible history of slavery it is a solid question. The authors answers are simple. The author provides 5 simple reasons that any one of African descent may want to practice or learn Hoodoo. The two reasons I found most inspiring are to connect to your ancestors log dead and for spiritual and personal growth and empowerment.
The third chapter and final portion of part one is about how Hoodoo works. Before going into the basic techniques and practices of Hoodoo one should have a basic understanding of the beliefs associated with this tradition. The six commonly held beliefs of Hoodoo Rootworkers forms the basis of how the tradition works. A perfect way to end the first part of the book.
The second part of the book provides some insight as to what the practice of Hoodoo may entail. This section of the book is aptly titled “Elements of Rootwork”. This section of the book is not meant to be a practicum or how to. This is a section that talks about the practices you will find in the how to section. A few of the techniques and practices have some exercises on how to perform that particular practice or use that skill. Overall the segment of the book was designed to introduce you to the basic skills and practices you may find a Hoodoo or a Rootworker engaging in.
The fourth chapter in this book starts off the elements section. For those who are familiar with European systems of magic you may be surprised to find a chapter on the elements and how the elemental forces of earth, air, fire, and water, are used in Hoodoo. This chapter covers how each element has a specific type of magical act that may be used as well as the properties of that element. The concepts here are new and useful to those coming from a European background looking for other ways they can work with the elemental forces of magic.
The fifth chapter in the book covers talismans and charms. Out of all the practices associated with Hoodoo the practices of talismans and charms is probably the most thought of and common one. Here the author goes into some of the traditional Hoodoo charms and talismans that many people are not familiar with covering the use of herbs as talismans by themselves as well as covering the use of human and animal parts. There is also a section on how to most effectively place the talisman or charm for its effect called “laying a trick”.
The sixth chapter in this book covers spirits of the dead. The chapter begins by discussing the types of spirits of the dead that one can experience and meet. The book then goes on to how to honor them and provides a few different examples on how one can communicate with them.
The last chapter in this section covers the various forms of divination that a Hoodoo practitioner may engage in. There are many different methods of divination. The author here explains why divination is engaged in prior to spell and ritual work. The majority of this chapter covers how to perform divination using simple day to day playing cards.
The final section of the book is the one that I was most eagerly interested as a reader which was the selection of spells and recipes to try. The final section of this book is what brings the book from an informative book about the history, practices, and tradition into a practical handbook.
The eighth chapter of this book focuses on what one needs to know before one can actually practice or use the spells and rituals outlined in the following chapters. This very short chapter is essential as it provides a few guidelines to using the spells effectively.
The remaining three chapters are made up of spells and rituals that are written in a step by step manner making them easy to use. Each of the spells contains a list of materials that are required followed by a list of actions and steps to take. Some of the spells have ingredients or actions mentioned earlier in the elemental magic section, but when combined the spells provide useful tools for creating a basic practice.
To end the author provides a selection of providers for spell and ritual supplies. Combined with the spells earlier and the techniques outlined throughout the book this final touch creates a useful handbook for any one to use. Together with the spells the providers and the authors make Hoodoo accessible in the 21st century to a wider selection of people than ever before.