Witches' Dust

[covenrochester]

Drawings of Serpents from a Book of Natural History

As far as is possible, Witches prefer to use natural objects and substances in their magical arts. The use of essential oils in magic was almost unheard of 100 years ago, as were things like incense sticks, "crystals," and herbs grown in far away places. Up until the 21st century, my old Witch Mother was still finding almost everything she needed for magic in the forests around her house. Out she would go of an evening into the woods, using her Stang as a walking stick and wearing her black cloak for warmth and her witches' brooch for protection.

Witches of the past (and some of the present) often put their recipes in a kind of code or symbolic language, usually as a matter of protection, from the authorities, crazed churchfolk, and witchhunters. In modern days, we can add protection from legions of fakes and pretenders.

When we were taught the recipe for Witches' Dust, it was given in code. One was to kill four snakes or serpents: "One in the water, one by a fire, one in a tree, and one in the byre" [1]. When the snakes were killed, their heads were to be chopped off, dried well, then powdered. The four powders were combined to make Witches' Dust.

[1] byre = barn

It sounds rather disgusting and grisly. But the recipe does not mean what it says. The four **S**nakes or **S**erpents are symbolic of four natural substances that start with the letter S. The reference to the snake or serpent heads is to the SHAPE of the heads, themselves, which are shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The recipe is therefore made of a spoonful each of four natural substances, each of which begins with the letter S. From the little rhyme, one also knows that each substance must be related to one of the four elements. Once your Witch Mother or Witch Father tells them to you, you will never forget them.

Witches' Dust is a general purpose magical ingredient. It can be used to either to bless or to curse. A pinch of it was sometimes rolled into pellets with wax and, depending on the intention, with the hair of certain common animals such as cat, dog, pig, cow, goat, or horse. And then the pellet would be cast at a person or onto a property to cast a spell. If you read historical tales of witchery from the 17th century onward, you will occasionally find mention of these "Witch Balls," as they came to be known. You will find mention of them in stories from New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, and the Ozark regions. Sometimes one Witch would make a bunch of a certain kind and pass them out to other members of the Coven to use.

You cannot learn this from books or from people who learned from books. You must learn from Witches who were taught by other Witches, and who were taught by Witches before them.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester