Blog Archives
Devil’s Shoestring: Powerful Herb
Devil’s Shoestring:
Powerful Herb, Witches Friend
Devils Shoe String is a remarkable herb.This herbs is not as well known as many others in witchcraft. With all magical practices there are local and regional variances in practices, these differences include herbs worked with. This herbs is common in folk magic practice.
Devils Shoesting is one of the first herbs that we started working with from the world of Conjure. At the time our interest was in hex breaking and curse breaking roots out there. There are many herbs and roots used for hex breaking and protection work. What caught our interest was how not just how the herb was used in work, but that it protected and hexed at the same time. To us this became something to look at in working with the herbs.
There are many different herbs known as Devil’s Shoe string This is common with folk names. In order to know what plant you are getting you should always ask for the botanical name. Most plants have several different folk names along with regional names. Every plant has one botanical name.
These following plants (common names and botanical names) are known as Devil’s Shoe String:
Hobble Bush (Vibrunum alnifolium)
Cramp Bark (Viburnum Opulus),
Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium),
Witches Hobble (Viburnum trilobum).
Devil’s Thongs (Cracca Virginia),
Cat’s Gut (Cracca virginiana),
Goat’s Rue (Tephrosium Virginiana)
All of the above plants can be used as Devils Shoe String in workings. Most commonly it is Hobble Bush or Vibrunum alnifolium that is used in work. These plants are excellent allies to have and work with. Their messages to us are often subtle, but when these allies have something to tell us they will find a way.
When it comes to magic and witchcraft. It is important to remember that we do not use plants in the work we do. We work with them. They give something to us, we give something back to them. They are our partners and our allies. We give them attention, they give us protection etc. If we grow them we give them life and a home. They protect us in return. When we work with plants we are working with their spirits creating spiritual bonds and friendships.
Now that you know what the plant is, you may be wondering what the magical properties are. There are several. Many of the properties of the plant are hidden within the names of the plant. The first hint is in the name Hobble Bush.
The plant is called Hobble Bush. Why? The larger branches are very easy to trip over or be “hobbled” by. The plant Hobbles so it trips up your enemies. It protects you from them. The smaller more supple vine like branches bind and twist preventing things from getting close to you as well as from
The other secret to the use in hexes or hex breaking with this plant comes in the folk name itself. Devil’s Shoestring. There are two keys in the name of the plant. The biggest one here is the word Devil. Any plant or root with the name Devil can be used to protect from hexes, hex people, and break hexes. The Devil was historically associated with hexes and curses as well as binding and tricking people. So it is an apt name.
So far we have covered the most common associations of Devil’s Shoe string: Hexes, Hexbreaking, Binding, and protection. There are many other associations as well. Luck and money are other properties to this herb. Depending on how you are using the plant, you are protected from badluck and provided with good luck and customers. It can be used to drive troublesome customers away or to invite beneficial customers. There are even uses in gambling to enhance your luck.
So in total the associations we have here are: Hexing, Hex breaking, Binding, Protection, Luck, Money, and Success.
In order to get you started working with this herb here is a simple working you can do to protect yourself and bring luck your way.
Lucky String Packet
Materials:
1 Pieces of Devil’s Shoe String chopped into seven small pieces
Yellow Paper
Green Ribbon
Black Pen
Working:
On the paper write out your petition for luck and what areas you need to increase your luck.
Place the Devils Shoe string in the paper and folk it towards you as you fold it chant
Chant:
“Devil block things sent my way
Tangled in their knots they shall stay
Blocks busted on this day
Lucky blessings flow my way”
Turn the paper towards you and fold it in half towards you again as best you can. Repeat the chant. Turn the paper towards you once more and again fold the paper in half. Repeat the chant
Take the green ribbon and begin to tie the packet together. As you begin to wrap the paper with your ribbon visualize good luck coming your way. See yourself being successful and having your needs met. Continue to recite the chant while you wrap the ribbon around the packet. When the packet seems to be full your energy tie a knot and seal the package. Carry it with you until you feel your luck has returned.
When you have well established good luck (I’d say about a month of good things happening after a run of bad luck) burn the packet and spread the ashes at the crossroads near your home. This will continue to bring good luck your way from all four corners of the world.
You can Buy Devil’s Shoe string Here: Devil’s Shoestring
Book Review: Mama D’s Practical Herbal Guidebook
My first impression of this book is that honestly its way to short. While there is all sorts of information in this book I honestly felt that it was way to short. There should have been more chapters. The author could have done so much more to not only give the book more information but also to help with those new to herbalism and herbal work in any form.
I do think that the author could have spent more time providing some resources for herbs. Places online and other resources. Some of the herbs mentioned are easy to find as they are in many culinary cabinets or they can be found in your backyard like dandelions. Knowing which herbs can be found in the wild and which herbs may need to be ordered would be very useful. There are many small and large businesses online that sell herbs.
As part of the resources I believe that some sort of image or representation of the plants in the book would have been very beneficial. Even if not every herb listed had an image but every two or three it would make things much easier. Not only would the book have had the information on the uses of the plants but it would also have information on how to identify some of the plants.
The author does list a few herbal resources. Unfortunately she also mentions quite clearly that one of the resources is no longer in business. It would have been better if a website that was still in business and still had useful information had been posted instead of one that the reader shouldn’t even bother to find as they are no longer in business.
The best thing the author does in this book is provide an excellent disclaimer. There are many herbal books on the market that cover medicinal aspects of herbs and provides home remedy instructions. However without a lot of personal study and knowledge a person can do more harm than good from trying alternatives to modern medicine. For this reason the authors disclaimer is perfect. It protects her information and explains that using these remedies is at your own discretion and risk.
One thing I really do like is how simple and direct the information is. The author organizes and presents the information provided to you by both type of ailment and herbal associations. For me this is a great way to present the information as you see the associations and uses in two different formats.
In the listings I find it a bit of a relief that the author makes note of a few of the herbs that could be problematic and explains what some of those issues are. This information is essential to anyone who has any sort of reaction to aspirin or who may use an herbal supplement longer than prescribed because its natural and not chemical. Just because its an herb doesn’t mean it wont have an effect on the body that could be negative.
I do wish that the author had provided more recipes and information on making your own. In the recipes section there are only a handful of teas and incenses covered. Incenses and teas are only one way you can work with these herbs for health and magic. I would have liked some information on adding to foods and tinctures or other workings with herbs. A few more specifics on step by step preparation would have also been useful.
In the end I am going to continue to use this small guide as a reference in my practice of magic and herbal wellness. I would like to see it expanded into a larger volume with more information on the herbs and more ways to work with them.
Forming new Products
The process of forming new Products
Today I am going to discuss the process that goes into developing each and every herbal product that we sell. I handcraft each tincture and each incense blend and over the next few weeks will be crafting oils and candles. The process that goes into crafting each of these items is the same regardless of what form the product takes. It is a mixture of intuition, research, and hearing experiences from others in crafting similar items or when working with similar oils and products. The process is intense and it does take a lot of time but I as a witch and magician learn a lot about herbs and oils through this research and am able to grow my craft so I can best benefit you my customers.
In this post I am going to discuss the importance of each part in crafting the items I sell for you here. Without any one of the aspects of this process I would not be able to ensure the quality of the products I have to my customers. These parts are also essential to how I approach my spiritual crafts and practices in general so the crossover is essential. As I grow in my craft and practice so do my skills and my abilities to provide products that serve the needs of my customers.
Research
When it comes time to develop a new product I think about what I want to make. For example when I think of oils I make a list of oils I have thought about working with and or have worked with. I also think about spells and what sort of magical oils would best work with those spells I want to help my customers cast. With the list of the oils I want to craft based on needs created I turn to books and websites. This is where the research portion really begins.
There are three Primary books I work with on my general witchcraft and magical oils, incenses, tinctures, and brews. Those books are Magical Aroma Therapy, & The complete book of Incense, Oils, and Brews both by Scott Cunningham. The last physical book I work with is the book Kitchen Witchery by Marilyn Daniels. These three books form the basis of my general occult, witchcraft, and magical herbal products.. I also have an e-book by Lady Gianne called The Magical Oil Recipe Book.
A few of my new Oils, Tinctures, and Powders have a Hoodoo Inspiration to them. This is true. I am starting to as I have mentioned on the Facebook page, this blog and our other outlets that I am starting to study and explore the practice of Hoodoo. These products that are inspired by Hoodoo have been deeply researched. I have books and websites I have looked into for herbal associations, recipes, and spells from the Hoodoo perspective.
These Hoodoo inspired products have additional prayers and charging aspects done with them. They are also prepared in a slightly different mentality as the ethics within Hoodoo vastly differs from the ethics found within most modern witchcraft traditions. So I make it my own by adding my witchy inspiration to the mix. Its the addition of herbs from a witches cabinet as well as those from Hoodoo/Rootwork/Southern Conjure that makes the products Hoodoo inspired rather than being strictly traditional Hoodoo.
After I use my book resources I start to look into the second phase of developing my products. The second phase of product development really doesn’t make any sense without the research first. The research prepares you for what you might encounter in this next phase. For me this helps temper my overwhelming inspiration and intuition at times with the research.
Personal Experiences
This second phase is one of the main reasons I have joined so many different forums and social media exchanges related to witchcraft over the years. The sharing of personal experiences for me is one of the best ways to explore experiences both that you have had and that you have and those you have read about. The sharing of personal experiences by others is also a way to prepare oneself for doing new work. Its a way of gathering insight and may provide ways of looking at things that you would not otherwise consider.
Personal experiences with herbs can also help a person develop a wider understanding of herbal spirits and practices. While there are some spiritual and magical aspects that seem to cross cultures with various herbs, other experiences are based in culture or tradition specific practices. By combing the traditional lore shared in books with personal experiences deeper relationships with herbs can develop.
At the same time new herbs and new ways of performing magic and working with herbs based on the needs can also be learned through discussions of personal experience. Through these discussions healing charms that can be carried in the pocket and may be a single herb can be learned about and simplicity can be embraced. Other applications could be learning edible and medicinal aspects to herbs as well as folk medicine and remedies that one may not have considered before.
One personal experience notes have been taken down and added to the notes from book research the final stage of the actual preparation begins. This is the stage where my witch hat gets applied and my spirit speaks through me. This is where the actual crafting of the spell and magical actions beginnings before the physical development starts. here is the mental preparation and focus.
Intuitive decisions
During the research portion I write down copies of the recipes that spark my intuition and make me think “yes this is what I want”. When I am done with the personal experience notes I gather the recipes and I put them into piles based on need and topic (all money oils together, all healing oils together etc). After a while I look at the piles. I will then take all the recipes of that need (lets work with money for example here) and compare the components in each recipe.
I’ve noticed that it is very common to have multiple recipes in a book related to needs. There are several different types of money oils I have found in each of my resources. In noticing this factor I also made a note of the exact nature of the money oil (wealth, employment, fast cash, etc). This helped me further refine my own product decisions and allowed me to start refining magical and spiritual practices to more specific needs and desires.
I make a list of the herbs and oils I find in each recipe. From there I look at my herbal correspondence lists from earlier research. These lists provide excellent resources for future development as associations are already listed and correspondences have started to become known. Through using the herbs in multiple ways I start to know them very well. After working with them in a time the knowledge becomes second nature and I just know what herbs to add to a spell or ritual.
Its at this point that I start to write down what oils and herbs are going to be used in what new product. I often look at what I already have in stock so I can continue to develop working relationships with those herbs. However I am also always looking for new herbs and minerals to add to my practice. In each new product release I am working with a new herb or mineral. The last batch added sea salt to my practice. This new batch is adding several new herbs and essential oils.
Once I have the herbs and oils decided I can start the actual blending. After making decisions based on the research and personal experience my intuition decided in the end which herbs and oils to be used for each blend. Aside from choosing the herbs and oils there is one other essential aspect to the product development with the use of my intuition. That is the actual ratios of the herbs.
Often times in practice the actual plans end up needing to be changed to an extent. The ground herbs can take up more or less space than originally planned and envisioned. In this case slight changes need to be made based on how much of an individual herb I have left as well as for occasionally looking at substitutions.
This is where the intuition and personal knowledge and experience with the herbs comes into play. The more I know an herb through experience the better I can decide what to substitute and what to add. This also for me is where being crafty can come into play as I have to let the spirits of the plants and my spirit speak to me much as artists must let their muse speak to them. The blending of herbs is an art form in its own right. Its a spiritual art that often goes unappreciated.
Once these are all placed into balance the product has been developed. I test its use myself and keep some of each batch for my own personal use. This ensures to me that the quality of the product I send out is the same quality I would use myself. If I wouldn’t use it I wont sell it. This philosophy is also why the development of herbal products is tied directly into my own personal spiritual development and magical studies. The more I study and experience the more I can provide here.
Review: The complete Book of Incenses, Oils & Brews
The complete book of Incense, Oils, & Brews is a wonderful guide to working with these practices. Like many of his other texts the author Scott Cunningham created a very useful and effective resource for working many different types of magical spells and rituals. This text works great in companion with his Aromatherapy book and his two Herbal Magic books-Herbal Magic and his Magical Herbal encyclopedia or it can be used effectively on its own as its own resource. The text provides a comprehensive list of tools you will need as well as instructions on how to make the different items found within the book.
This book is broken up into three different sections. Each section addresses a specific aspect of working with and creating incenses, oils, soaps and more. This organization makes the book ideal as a reference guide for making these powerful spiritual and magical aids. By having the three sections a beginner to incense and oil work will be able to get the most out of it while an experienced crafter will also be able to find just what they are looking for and nothing else.
The first section deals with magic basics, proportions, empowering the creations, ingredients and creating your own recipes. This is the foundational portion of the book. Here the author goes into the very basics of what you need to know in order to make the most out of thi reference guide.
The first chapter here is on magic basics. While many people interested in this text probably have a basic understanding of the practices and concepts associated with magical practice this chapter is a nice refresher. For those new to magic the information here is very basic and a great introduction for some one who wants to have practical applications right away. The chapter covers ethics, power, working for yourself and working for others. It also covers the basic magical tools that you may need in your journey within this text.
The second chapter is very brief. This chapter was included because people asked for specific proportions to the ingredients in individual recipes from an earlier edition of this book. This chapter says to use them as guidelines but also to trust your intuition and personal judgement. The importance of keeping a record of your work is stressed here as well.
The third chapter focuses on empowering your creation. After you make an incense or an oil they need to be charged for use. This chapter gives you a small ritual way to empower these new objects as well as explains why additional power is needed for the incenses, oils, and brews to be effective.
The fourth chapter is a chapter on the ingredients that you will find in some of the recipes. Here the author mentions how we can obtain the items for various recipes. The chapter also gives information about uncommon terms and ingredients that might be found within magical oils and incenses. The explanation here provides an easy guide to the ingredients listed later on in the book.
The last chapter in the first section is all about creating your own recipes. As some one who makes their own incense blends this is a chapter I refer to often to check my process. Here the author explains that you can use what you have to make things work. The guide includes thinking about the form of what you are going to make and then herbs and other associations. There is even a sample incense process given to illustrate the process involved.
The second section makes up the bulk of the book. This is where you have the recipes for the incenses, oils, brews, and other items contained in this book. This is the real reference section here. This section provides beginners with step by step recipes to work with from the beginning and allows experiences crafters and practitioners to find inspiration for their own work. The types of items covered allows every one to find something they can work with.
The section starts off with incenses. Working with incenses is one of the most common herbal and magical or spiritual practices and it covers many cultures so it makes a great starting base. In the first section of this chapter the author talks about the two different types of incenses and the benefits and issues of working with either one. He gives a step by step guide on how to make the different types of incenses. Then he starts the recipe selection. One of the key parts of this section is how the book notes which incenses shouldn’t be inhaled and or that contain dangerous ingredient so you may want to look up a substitute.
After the incenses Cunningham discusses making oils. In this section the author talks about how you can make oils and also which oils work well on their own for different purposes. The first part of this chapter is the how to and the second section covers the recipes and guides on making the oils.
After oils the author covers in this order Ointments, Inks, Tinctures, Herb Baths, Bath salts, Brews and potions, Soaps, Herbal satchels, Powders, and miscellaneous. Each section contains as the previous sections did how to make the items and why they are being used. The recipes cover many different needs allowing for a wide variety of practices and magical tools.
The last section deals with different ways you can make substitutions in your work allowing for a person to work with what is available rather than needing to get a lot of expensive new herbs and items. The author includes planetary substitutes, herbs & basic ingredients,elemental, and need based. This section allows a person to be able to make anything they want and need based on what they have in their home and maximize them to the fullest extent.
Protection Magic herb kit
Protection magic is one of the most common forms of magic out there. From shielding yourself from psychic attacks to breaking any ill will and negative energy sent your way protection magic can find a solution to the problem. Protection magic is often one of the first magical practices that a new student in magic will work with.
The herbs in this set have been gathered together to form a powerful aid of tools in protection magic. Each herb provides a unique defense in protection magic. This kit allows you to come up with your own style of protection. Find your own defense. Find your own herbal recipes for cleansing spaces, creating shields, and removing ill will.
By using this kit you will have tools provided to create incenses, smudges, tinctures or oils, magical powders, and amulets to carry on your person. The tools in this kit can be used in a myriad of different ways. This kit provides the beginner and the experiences practitioner or magic all the tools they need to create powerful herbal protection spells that are unique to them.
The herbs in this kit come from different cultures and magical traditions. Each tradition and herb providing a different skill and way to work magic. From Hoodoo to witchcraft. From shamanism to Christianity these herbs provide a series of folklore and folk magic bases which will enhance the seekers study in herbalism.
This kit contains:
Galangal Root
Dragons Blood
Frankincense
White Sage
Myrrh
Marigold
Available:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/184957592/protection-herbal-kit?
Witches Herbal Starter Kit
Many people ask what herbs witches should start working with at the beginning of their practice. With so many different herbs to choose from this herb kit provides seven different popular herbs ready for you to use in start your herbal magic and herbalism journey.
This kit contains:
White Sage
Mugwort
Dragonsblood
Lavender
Rose petals
Frankincense
Marigold
Available for sale:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/184961439/witches-herbal-starter-set?ref=shop_home_active_4