So, as a continuation of my new little chain of posts on black magick, I’m going to be talking about the substance known as black salt. This is a common element of many curses and charms, but is also protective and can be used for white magickal purposes with ease.
What is Black Salt?
Black salt is, well, salt with things that are black added. It is not the same as culinary black salt which is rock salt with activated charcoal added to it: in witchcraft, black salt usually has black pepper, crushed charcoal and sometimes dyes or other black things added. Crushed shells or rocks are also pretty popular.
My own black salt uses a mixture of crushed charcoal and pepper, but the wood I get the charcoal from varies depending on the usage. Just for general usages, however, I tend to use oak or eucalyptus because it makes good charcoal for small-scale production.
If you want your salt to be especially good for curses and black magick, add a few crushed chili seeds or a little sulphur.
If you want your salt to be especially good for protection and white magick, add some iron scrapings or a little cinnamon.
Witchy Uses for Black Salt
Black salt is protective. It’s not just black magick that can benefit from the inclusion of black salt! It’s a powerful protective charm that absorbs negative energies and curses into itself and will rid you of their harmful influence. Sprinkle it around the doors and windows of your house, and no negative powers will be able to get inside. Replace it often, every fortnight or so. Carry a phial of it around with you to protect you on the go, and rub some into your skin if you are under the influence of black magick.
Black salt is reflective. If you wish to not simply nullify or absorb negative energy but to actively reflect it back upon those who cast it, rub the salt into your door and window frames and on the four point of your bed, whilst reciting a spell that energy shall return upon those who sent it. Make the spell up yourself for the greatest power!
Black salt is potent. Black salt can of course be used for cursing, and in doing so it add an element of darkness to any spell. It is also good for increasing the potency of curses, especially curses involved in repulsion, repelling, or driving people out of places. Sprinkle it over somewhere that they regularly visit or live in to make them want to leave that place, or use it in any spell designed to banish a person or thing from your life or to keep a thing or person away from you. It also makes a good addition to hot foot powder, and often forms a basic ingredient of goofer dust from hoodoo.
Black salt is symbolic. It symbolises dark or new moons, eclipses, and waning moons. It also symbolises the Crone of Wicca, and the Morrígna of Celtic lore. It is used to represent many things, including war, strife and conflict, and Order turning to Chaos (which is not, in and of itself, necessarily a bad or “evil” thing).
Black salt is spiritual. It can be used to greatly increase the strength of trances, and is also a very useful method preventing those same trances from summoning negative spirits that may harm your absent body. It can also be sprinkled over ground that you wish to purify before you perform rituals or sabbat work, especially when they are related to Samhain, Mabon, Yule or Imbolc (the “dark” sabbats because they form the Winter and Autumn set).
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Black salt is excellent to use in conjunction with sage smoke-cleansing, as the sage will purify and drive away negativity and the black salt will absorb what is left.
Learn to be meditative in every situation. Instead of actively trying to block out and ignore negative energy. Let it pass through you, passively. Bad things will happen. Negative energy will find you. But it is up to you, to let it come and go.
Watch your candles closely and learn to read them to help you with your practice.
The Flame
A strong flame: It means that your energies are raised. There is a lot of power behind your spell and little to no resistance. Indicates that all your power and energy is focused on your manifestation. This is a good sign. If a candle shaped into a figure is used and has a strong flame it means that whoever it represents is either angry, winning, or using authority over another. When their are two figures the candle with the higher flame has authority over the other person.
A weak flame: Indicates that the magick you cast is facing a heavy opposition and is a sign that you may need to recast your spell in order to overcome the opposing force. On a figure candle this may indicate that the representative may be loosing a battle or an argument.
A jumping flame: This indicates strong emotions. There may also be some sort of resistance against you. Maybe close your circle and bring your mind back to focus before continuing. It may also mean an explosion of energy. When two figure candles are being used it often means that an energetic or a heated argument is taking place between them.
A noisy candle: Indicates a conversation. It may may that a spirit is trying to send you a message or get in contact with you. The louder the noises get the more urgent communication must be.
The flame catches something on fire: Someone one may be using malicious magick against you.
A clean even burning candle: Means your spell and manifestations are likely to come true.
Fast Burn: The results of your spell will happen quickly.
Flickering Flame: If there is no breeze then it means a spirit is near by. If it is a devotional flame it means you were able to get in contact with your deity.
Cannot blow the flame out: A spirit may not be finished its conversation with you or you did not complete a spell. The spirit needs to complete its work, something may be may in the works that you do not want to interrupt.
A flame goes out while burning: This means the spirits cannot help you and the answer you seek is already determined.
The Smoke
Black smoke/soot: Your energy and magick is being blocked. Negative energy is being sent your way, whether as a curse or hex. You may soon be faced with tough challenges and a hard road ahead of you.
Smoke wafts towards you: It means your call will likely be answered or your spell has been cast successfully. You will get results quickly.
Smoke wafts away from you: You must work harder in order for your calls to be answered.
Watch the direction the smoke wafts: East – Something powerful is assisting you, North – You are ready to begin your ritual and get results, South – The spell will be successful, West – A powerful interference from an outside force.
Smoking Candle: Negative energy is being burned away.
The Wax
When a candle leaves wax residue: Your spell may need to be repeated.
Look for symbols in the candle wax, like reading tea leaves.
I would add to look for these after a) trimming the wick of any candle used to a short length above the wax, and b) only if the candle is being burned in a room with no drafts, no errant temperature changes, and over the length of the spell being cast. Otherwise, the mundane reasonings for any of these would far outweigh the eldritch.
For many years of my life I thought one came down with a mood just as one comes down with a cold. But slowly I learned that moods are a product of purposeful unconsciousness and can be rectified by the very consciousness one worked so hard to evade.
Working with dreams is a complex subject about which entire volumes have been written. (For example, please see Robert A. Johnson’s earlier book, Inner Work.) However, if you watch your dreams, sincerely try to relate to them, and follow four basic steps, they will give you an accurate illustration of what is happening in your inner life. These steps are: Write down your dream and make associations to each key image. What meanings can you give the images in your dreams? Connect dream images to inner dynamics. What emotional or spiritual parts of yourself do the dream images represent? Interpret. Put together steps 1 and 2 to arrive at the dream’s meaning for you. Ritualize the dream to give it reality. Create a meaningful personal ritual to “dream the dream on” or to bring its potential into the world.
It is safe to assume that every character in your dreams is a “lost” faculty and would broaden your character if it were rightly incorporated into your consciousness.
Nurse The Soul 