Sam Wise

Gif originally posted by roobaloo on Tumblr

I crafted this powder to be an all-purpose spell ingredient for any situation where I need to remove a negative influence – whether that’s breaking a hex or curse, banishing a spirit or energy, or just laying down some extra protection. It’s extremely versatile – you can add it to your candle spells, use it to make your circle for ritual, or use it as a floor sweep. I intentionally included a combination of cleansing, protective, and empowering herbs – not only will the negativity be removed, but power over the situation will be returned to you or the person you’re doing your spell for.

Note: This recipe draws heavily from American folk magic traditions, especially the ones in the South, where I live. This is my personal recipe based on traditions that have been taught to me by the Southern folk witches in my life, plus some additional herbs that I picked for their correspondences. That’s why it’s a little bit different from more European-based spells! 

This powder includes nine magical substances. Nine is the number of completion and fulfillment, and because of that it’s sometimes also associated with endings. It’s also a very strong number, magically speaking. If you do not have access to all of these substances, any one of them will work on its own, as will any combination of these. However, I wanted this powder to pack enough punch for heavy-duty curse breaking, which is why I included so many. 

Ingredients and Correspondences 

I recommend adding these substances in the order they’re listed here. Think of it as layering their energies for maximum strength in the final product.

1. garlic powder (undoes negative magic and removes negative energy; also mildly protective)
2. clove (returns power over the situation to the one(s) it was taken from)
3. peppermint (removes blocks and enables the flow of positive energy)
4. rosemary (clears negative energy, drives away unwanted spirits, and purifies the energy surrounding the situation)
5. lavender (brings peace, surrounds the person or situation with a gentle and soothing energy, and aids in healing from past harm)
6. salt (clears away blocks, removes negative energy, banishes all unwanted spirits, and dissolves harmful psychic ties)
7. poke root (removes all unwanted energies and connections, even those that have deep roots)
8. red brick dust (EXTREMELY protective, keeps any negative magic that has been done against you from coming back and taking hold again)
9. dragon’s blood (provides an extra boost of power to all the other ingredients; also strongly cleansing and protective on its own)

Note: Most of these should be easy to come by, especially if you have an established witchcraft practice, but I recognize that not everyone will have the last three on hand. Here are some alternatives:

• You can substitute cayenne pepper for poke root. Note that cayenne has a different energy – rather than being purely cleansing, cayenne also agitates people and makes them uncomfortable in order to motivate them to change. This can make it a helpful addition for return-to-sender workings or any spells where you’re trying to sever a connection with a harmful person.
• You can double the rosemary as a substitute for red brick dust. Charge it with the intention listed above for brick dust, in addition to the one listed for rosemary.
• You can substitute cinnamon for dragon’s blood. Charge it with the intention listed above for dragon’s blood.

Combining the Ingredients:

• The proportions of each ingredient depend on how big of a batch you’re making. If you use one tablespoon of each component, you’ll have just enough to fill an old spice jar. However much you make, make sure you include equal proportions of each ingredient!
• Add the ingredients one at a time, charging each one for its specific purpose in this recipe (see above). Traditionally in Southern folk magic you’d pray over each ingredient, but I chose instead to charge each one with my own energy and intention.
• Once you’ve added all nine ingredients to the powder, stir counterclockwise to mix them together. In magic, counterclockwise is the direction of sending things away.
• Once everything is mixed together, charge the powder to remove any and all negative magic, and and all harmful people, spirits, and/or energies, and any and all toxic connections from any person or situation on whom the powder is used. This intention is general enough that it allows you some flexibility in how you use the powder in the future!
• Again, traditionally you would pray or recite a Psalm here. Psalm 37 would be appropriate. I personally am not comfortable using Bible verses in my craft, and I know a lot of other witches aren’t either, but for the sake of education and transparency I thought I’d mention it.
• Store the powder in a used (cleaned out!) spice jar, a mason jar, or some other airtight container. It is now fully charged and can be used for any situation that needs some powerful cleansing/banishing!

References:

Unfortunately, since this recipe is mainly based on oral traditions that were taught to me, I can’t point you to a single book and say, “Here’s where I got my information!” That being said, here are some resources for anyone who wants to learn more about the correspondences listed in this post:

• A Green Witch’s Cupboard by Deborah J. Martin (a great beginner’s guide to plant correspondences; includes medicinal, culinary, and magical uses for common herbs)
• The Witchipedia (a free, online resources that makes it easy to look up correspondences – like Wikipedia, its entries are monitored and edited, so the info is generally of high quality)
• A good blog post about the use of red brick dust in American folk magic(This blog was specifically written from the Hoodoo perspective. Although I do not practice Hoodoo, the symbolism and correspondence is very similar.) (For more info on the use of brick dust in magic, check here and here)