Amorous Herbs Love Charm

Many a witchy woman has enjoyed the fruits of long-lasting love by reciting the following charm while mixing rye and pimento into a dish shared with her object of affection. While stirring in these amorous herbs, declaim:

Rye of earth, pimento of fire 
Eaten surely lights desire. 
Serve to he whose love I crave, 
And his heart I will enslave!

Kitchen Witch Alchemy

Marigold blossoms gathered at high noon will raise your energy level. 

Lettuce juice (made in a juicer or food processor) rubbed on your temples and forehead will dispel sleeplessness. 

Holly was once believed to repel lightening.

Hazel branches make excellent wands and divining rods. Used like pendulums, they help you answer questions.

Garlic guards against evil spirits, disease and bad weather. 

Cyclamen eases the pain of grief.

Cucumber peel placed on your temple and forehead cures headaches.

Misty Moon Potion (Waxing Moon is Optimal)

If you are dreaming of true abundance, with the understanding that health is more important than wealth, you want to feel your best. You can bring this about with this potent potion:

• 3 drops vanilla oil
  
• 3 drops lavender
  
• 3 drops orange blossom essence
  
• 4 ounces pure distilled water

Pour all these into a colored glass spray bottle and shake well three times. Fifteen minutes before you retire, spray lightly on your linens, towel, and pillow case. Keep a dream journal on your nightstand so you can record details of the dreams of abundant health that will soon manifest.

Mint Money Bags (Moon in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn)

Rather than chasing money or possessions, you can simply draw them toward you with wisdom from days gone by. A tiny green pouch filled with the herbs chamomile and mint, three cinnamon sticks, one silver dollar and a green stone—peridot or a smooth mossy-colored pebble of jade—would be perfect. The untrained eye might perceive this as a bag of weeds and rocks but any kitchen witch knows this is a powerful tool for creating powerful change into your life and attracting good fortune.

Prepare your attraction pouch during a waxing moon; the strongest power would be when the sun or moon is in Taurus, Cancer or Capricorn. Hold the pouch over frankincense incense and as the smoke blesses the bag, you speak:

The moon is a silver coin; this I know.
I carry lunar magic with me everywhere I go.
Blessings upon thee and me as my abundance grows.

Carry this power pouch with you as you go about your way—to work, to the store, on your daily walks, to social events. Soon, blessings will shower down upon you. You might even receive a gift or literally find money in your path.

Kitchen Witch Alchemy

Marigold blossoms gathered at high noon will raise your energy level.

Lettuce juice (made in a juicer or food processor) rubbed on your temples and forehead will dispel sleeplessness.

Holly was once believed to repel lightening.

Hazel branches make excellent wands and divining rods. Used like pendulums, they help you answer questions.

Garlic guards against evil spirits, disease and bad weather.

Cyclamen eases the pain of grief.

Cucumber peel placed on your temple and forehead cures headaches.

Gloom Away: Lunar Levity

I don’t know about you, but I occasionally wake up on the wrong side of the bed. The best way to avoid that is to brew up this lovely aromatic spray and use it to scent your bedroom before you retire. When your linens and personal space smell sweet, your dreams are guaranteed to be the same. This custom recipe works wonders on you or anyone in your environment who might need a lift. Combine the following essential oils:

• two drops peppermint 
• two drops bergamot 
• two drops lavender
• four drops rose
• four drops neroli

Add the mixture to a quart of distilled water, and spray the air while chanting:

Gloom and doom be gone.
Welcome, sweet spirits, into this house, 
With harm to none. So mote it be.

Why Scry? Divining the Future

Scrying, the art of divining by looking into a reflective surface and receiving visions, has been used by witches, magicians, and others since pre-biblical times. The word “scry” forms the root for the English word “descry,” which means reveal or discover.

The ancients had special prophets and priestesses who engaged in foretelling the future, and it is certain they used scrying tools from various crystals. Perhaps a chunk of black obsidian was the first scrying mirror used by a Stone Age shaman. All these centuries later, we still use crystal balls made from quartz and obsidian.

It is known that Queen Elizabeth I employed Dr. John Dee, a mathematician and metaphysician, in all matters of the heavens and unseen. Dee’s assistants used a mirror of polished black obsidian, which led the next generation of magicians and psychics to prefer black mirrors. Dee and his assistants used scrying to call upon certain angels and reported hearing knocking, and even voices that sounded like an owl screeching, during sessions. The legacy of alchemist and metaphysician John Dee lives on, and modern seers such as Edgar Cayce have built on his foundation.

In addition to divining the past, present, and future, you can use scrying to contact spirit guides or to improve your skills of creative visualization. Some practitioners of scrying even use it as a gateway to the astral plane.

Although scrying tools usually have shiny surfaces, you can scry with nearly anything. Water, a mirror on the wall, a crystal sphere, a slab of rock, flames of fire, ink in a bow, or the bottom of a teacup all serve as scrying tools. You may find that smooth, neutral surfaces are less distracting and images will come through to you with less distortion. The ritual you follow when cleansing your scrying tools can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. My ritual involves cleansing my scrying tools before and after each use with rainwater that has sat through at least one day of sun and one night of moonlight. Just like with crystal balls and other sacred tools, you should polish any scrying mirrors or surfaces with a clean cotton cloth and store them in a special protective bag.