Supermarket Magic: Creating Spells, Brews, Potions and Powders From Everyday Ingredients (9 page)

• 1 tablespoon chamomile

• 1 tablespoon ginger

• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

First, grate the orange peel and dry it out in a low

oven (200 degrees) for only a few minutes. Be careful not

to burn it. Allow it to cool. Then, place all ingredients

except cornstarch into a mortar and grind them to pow-

der with the pestle. When the herbs have been powdered,

stir in the cornstarch and charge the mixture for harmony

and peace; in your mind’s eye, see the power of the pow-

der dissolving any negativity and replacing it with gold-

flecked white light wherever it is sprinkled and feel hopeful, relaxed and calm as you charge the blend. It is now

Harmony 87

ready to be used as a body powder, ingredient for a charm

bag, or in one of the following spell ideas.

Powder Spells

Peace Potpourri

A good idea to bring peace to a room is to sprinkle either of the powders into a bowl and then place a favorite potpourri over the powder in the bowl. The room will smell

good and radiate peaceful energy. This should be replaced

monthly.

Plants of Harmony

You can add either of the powders (since they aren’t poi-

sonous) to the soil of your houseplants to infuse them and thus, the room they are in with harmonious vibrations. I

wouldn’t use more than a tablespoon of the powder per

plant. When you water the plant, the powder will be ab-

sorbed into the plant and this will infuse the whole plant with its power. The plant will then become like a magic

charm and its aura will radiate enough of the energy to

alter the feel of the room.

Foods

Food alters body chemistry. This is a fact. To anyone that doubts this I would say, “Have three cups of coffee and

some chocolate covered espresso beans then see how you

feel.” As previously stated, the less processed the food is; the better it is for you. Everything that you eat is ab-88 Chapter 5

sorbed and/or used by your body in some way. There are

many people with unknown food allergies and they can

be unfortunate victims of radical mood shifts due to reac-

tions to what they are eating. This of course would have

a negative affect of your sense of peace and harmony. So,

food is a tricky area and it should be approached cau-

tiously when using it for magical reasons. One person’s

delicacy is another’s hospital stay.

Having said that, there are some foods that are

known to induce a more peaceful state of being and a

relaxed mind that, unless you are allergic, can be used

whenever you wish. My personal favorite is chocolate.

Although chocolate is primarily used as an aphrodisiac, it also an excellent mood-shifting food to bring relaxation

and a sense of peace as long as it is used in the proper

manner. If you wish to use chocolate, please find the best quality chocolate you can with the highest cacao content

(the active ingredient) and use it with a magical intention.

Don’t just eat a candy bar or drink a mocha while typing

(as I am doing right now) and expect much of a change.

You might feel a bit better, but a more profound shift will occur if you make your magical use of chocolate into a

small ritual.

Secret Potion of Delicate Harmony

What is this mystic secret elixir? It’s hot cocoa. Aren’t

I dramatic? I couldn’t help myself. But, I’m serious. If

you put the proper intention and effort into it; you can

Harmony 89

turn ordinary hot cocoa into a strong relaxation-inducer.

There is a bit of caffeine in chocolate, but it is balanced out by the tryptophan in the chocolate and also in the

milk; tryptophan is an amino acid which has an effect of

drowsiness and relaxation, since it helps create serotonin and melatonin in the body. Both are natural chemicals

that have a calming effect. Like I said before, use the best quality cocoa you can find. If possible, use unsweetened

chocolate powder and add sugar on your own. This will

create a stronger blend than prepackaged hot cocoa mix.

The most effective method is to charge the choco-

late, the sugar and the milk separately for relaxation and harmony, then warm the milk on the stove slowly. As the

milk is warming, mix the sugar and chocolate together

and then gently stir the mixture into the warming milk.

I am not going to give precise measurements here as hot

cocoa, like coffee, is a highly personal affair where people vary greatly in preference. Some people like really sweet; some like extra chocolate, and others prefer a thin cocoa.

I will leave it to personal preference and experimentation.

After the drink has been prepared, pour it into a fa-

vorite mug or cup and sit in a comfortable place and enjoy the cocoa. It is very helpful while sipping the cocoa, to do a grounding exercise such as visualizing that you grow

spiritual roots into the ground and that all your frustra-

tions and any negativity are pulled out of you through the roots and reabsorbed into the earth.

90 Chapter 5

A ‘Healthy Food’ Alternative for Harmony

If cocoa is not your thing, or if you simply want another

method to create a peaceful state, here is a healthful salad.

Lettuce has many relaxing properties. Indeed, the hearts

of lettuce are gently sleep-inducing if eaten. The follow-

ing recipe is a nice blend of flavors that will have a relaxing effect.

Harmony Salad

• 1 part romaine lettuce

• 1 part iceberg lettuce

• 1 part red-leaf lettuce

• ½ cup grated zucchini

• ¼ cup cheese of your choice

• 1 Avocado, diced

Shred and mix the lettuce with the zucchini, cheese

and avocado then, top with the following dressing.

Harmony Vinaigrette

• 3 parts olive oil

• 1 part apple cider vinegar

• 2 pinches salt

• Dash pepper

Harmony 91

Place all ingredients into a jar with a tight-fitting lid

and shake all ingredients together until well mixed. Pour

over the salad and stir the salad a bit before eating. If

desired, you could use some of the Four Thieves’ Vinegar

from Chapter 4 on page TK in place of the plain cider

vinegar called for in this recipe. Just don’t use a store-

bought Four Thieves’ Vinegar in food as some have ined-

ible ingredients.

Food is a wonderful means of changing the body and

mind; drawing it/them away from harm and disorder and

helping it/them to return to a state of balance. I love food and it is one of my favorite methods of creating change.

Of all the methods of bringing peace and harmony out-

lined here, food is the best for inducing a personal inner change. Each of the magical practices presented however,

have their own plusses and minuses and you will probably

develop personal affinities for one or two methods over

another. Remember that harmony and peace are gentle

magical intentions; no force required. If the environment

is too heavy with negativity, you should probably cleanse

the area first in order to create a “blank” space that you can then fill with peaceful energy. This will create a stronger sense of peace and harmony.

Shopping List

Here’s a list of peace and harmony ingredients to use in

the spells and recipes in this chapter.

92 Chapter 5

❏ Apple

❏ Cornstarch

❏ Orange

❏ Apple cider

❏ Ginger

❏ Pepper

vinegar

(black)

❏ Avocado

❏ Honey

❏ Salt

❏ Chamomile tea ❏ Lettuce

❏ Sugar

(iceberg,

red-leaf, and

romaine)

❏ Cheese

❏ Milk

❏ White candle

❏ Cocoa powder ❏ Olive oil

❏ Zucchini

(unsweetened)

healing is a fantastic magical practice. It really is awe-

inspiring to magically heal someone of illness or

speed the healing of injury. The Witches’ theory of illness is that illness is caused by imbalance. This seems to be

confirmed to some degree by modern science since it is

now believed that chemical imbalances in the brain can

create mental disorders and that other bodily imbalances

create blockages, illnesses and disorders; everything from depression to gall bladder issues to certain cancers, etc.

Witches are taught in the practice of magical healing that we are sending energy to heal the Astral Body which then

filters down to the physical body and helps it to heal itself.

The body alone is an incredibly wonderful organ-

ism that continually heals itself everyday. New cells are

born every minute of the day. Old cells wither and die

93

94 Chapter 6

and make room for the new. We filter out all of the waste

and excess and renew ourselves constantly. When it is

overwhelmed by too great an amount of illness however,

it cannot battle back from it alone and needs our assis-

tance to become whole once more. That’s where modern

medicine and our own practice of magical healing come

in; no matter what practice (modern medicine or healing

magic) is employed, it works by empowering the body’s

own healing abilities to restore itself. Sometimes, in harsh cases (such as chemotherapy) modern medicine employs

destructive means in order to destroy the illness and then the body is allowed to resume its own restoration process.

For the most part,
magical
healing methods involve only the restorative techniques to allow the body to return to a state of wholeness. These are the ones recom-

mended and practiced by myself and anyone else I know.

It must also be stated that magical healing is not a sub-

stitute for modern medical attention (or vice versa, for

that matter); they should each be used for their respective good points and also, for each to offset what the other

one lacks. Witches have never had a disdain for conven-

tional medicine; we use what works! We use magic AND

science together with the understanding that magic IS

a science in itself and that each is a part of the greater whole. The colors I use in magical healing are white, for

universal energy to be sent wherever it needs to go, such

as when the actual cause of the illness may be unknown;

light blue, as specific healing energy, sent to an injured

Healing 95

body part or when the cause of the illness is known (like

the flu) and red-orange as energy for critical healing, sent for severe illnesses and to help mend broken bones or

wounds. There are many magical means to speed heal-

ing; from brews and potions to magic oils to special foods and luckily, a large portion of the ingredients we need are readily available at the grocery store.

Brews

Healing; what a fabulous use of a Witches’ brew! As I said before, a bubbling cauldron filled with some magical elixir is for me, extremely satisfying, not that you have to use a cauldron of course; you could use a regular kitchen pot.

There are several recipes that are easily made and used

to either promote general good health, restore strength

during illness, or even brews designed to remove specific

ailments. This first, is a potion that may be brewed and

drunk regularly to maintain and strengthen general good

health.

Good Health Potion

Honey is a magical substance; lemon is connected to the

lunar energy and is purifying, ginger is good for diges-

tion and tea contains many healthful properties which all

come together in a fabulous, vitalizing combination!

• 1 tablespoon honey

• ½ lemon

96 Chapter 6

• 1 tiny pinch ginger

• 1 tea bag

• 2 cups water

Heat the water and brew the tea in your preferred

manner, such as a teapot. Next, pour some of the brewed

tea into a cup and squeeze the juice of the lemon half

through a small sieve (to avoid seeds) into the cup and

add the honey and a tiny pinch of ginger. Seriously tiny;

just a whisper as ginger can be overpowering, then stir.

Finally, holding your hands over the cup of tea, will your energy into the brew; concentrating your desire for good

health into the liquid and drink it in good health.

Healing Potion

The herbs in this recipe not only impart their nutritional and physical properties into this potion which aid overall health, but also, their magical healing properties as well.

• 2 tablespoons rosemary

• 2 tablespoons spearmint

• 1 teaspoon sage

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• ½ lemon

• 1 tablespoon honey

• 2 cups water

Healing 97

Heat the water just below the boiling point (the bub-

bles appear at the bottom of the pot), then remove from

heat. Add the herbs, cover and remove from heat. Cool

for ten to thirteen minutes and then strain into a cup.

Add the tablespoon of honey to the cup and squeeze in

the juice of half a lemon. Hold the cup of liquid in both

hands and send your energy into the potion along with

your desire for healing. To use: slowly sip the potion and visualize yourself in a strong, healthy state of being. Repeat daily as desired.