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Potions & Infusions (taken from Natural Magic by J.M. Greer)
A potion is a magically charged drink. Potions in earlier times were routinely made from a range of bizarre and noxious ingredients—powdered mummy, mashed centipedes, dried viper meat, and so on. Fortunately, the potions used in modern natural magic are more along the lines of herbal teas; this may be less exotic, but it's just as effective, and the results are generally much better tasting.
Since potions, like food, enter your body and become part of it, they offer an effective way of working magic on yourself—of focusing your awareness in particular ways, for example, or of helping you to acquire useful personal qualities and get rid of unproductive ones. Equally, though, since they become part of your body, they require more care than other preparations. Aside from the risk of poisoning if you choose the wrong ingredients, they can lead to imbalance if the same sort of potion is overused.
There are two standard ways of making a potion for magical work: infusion and maceration. Both these processes also have a role in every other kind of water magic, and so they are well worth learning early on in your training.
Infusion
If you've ever made a cup of tea, you know all you need to know about making an infusion, because that's exactly what tea is—an infusion of leaves in hot water. Any herb that's safe to take internally can be used for an infusion.
What You'll Need
The one special tool you'll need to prepare herbal infusions is a tea ball or strainer of the sort used for loose tea. You'll also need a kettle for boiling water, and a heatproof container—a ceramic coffee cup or mug is as good as anything—for the infusion to steep in.
How It's Done
Again, it's just like making tea. Bring water to a full boil on the stove. Put the herb or herbs into the strainer or tea ball, filling it no more than half full, and put it in your coffee cup or other steeping container. When the water boils, fill the cup with water and leave the herbs to steep for at least five minutes. Take the strainer or tea ball out of the water, and let the infusion cool as much as needed before use.
Infused Potion for Magical Dreamwork
Take equal parts of lavender flowers, chamomile flowers, and clary sage leaves, and make an infusion as above. Drink one cup half an hour before going to bed. As you go to sleep, hold in your mind the intention of dreaming about a particular subject, or use any other method of dreamwork induction you prefer; keep paper and a pen, or a tape recorder, by your bedside to record your dreams when you first wake from them.
Maceration
Macerations are used for the most delicate herbs and flowers, which lose much of their effect if exposed to boiling water, and for stones, which can be damaged by being heated. It's also useful when you are using water that has already been charged—for example, when you have collected dew water in the spring and want to make an herbal potion with it. Heating the water will dispel most of the charge, and so a cold maceration is a much more useful approach.
What You'll Need
All you need to prepare a maceration is a clear glass jar with a tight lid—canning jars work very well for this purpose—a sunny or moonlit windowsill, and a strainer.
How It's Done
If you've ever made sun tea, you already know how to make a magical maceration. Put the substance to be macerated into the jar, and add the water. Seal the jar and put it on the windowsill. How long you let it sit there will depend on what you're macerating— three to six hours for herbs, up to three days for stones. At the end of that time, pour the maceration through the strainer into another container. Stones lose nothing by the process—the only thing they impart to the water is a magical charge—and should be saved and used again.
Most macerations should be used within a day or so of making, as they tend to sour when kept for a longer time. If you need something to last longer, consider making an essence, as described below.
Macerated Potion for Courage
Take a piece of carnelian and prepare a water maceration as above, leaving it to steep for at least twenty-four hours; the more direct sunlight it receives, the better. Then add four borage flowers or one teaspoon of dried borage leaf, and continue to macerate in sunlight for at least three hours. Strain, and drink one cup to help banish shyness and provide courage.
Essences
Related to macerations, but even more effective as a way of handling delicate magical energies, are essences. Many people in the magical community nowadays are familiar with flower essences as a healing tool; the Bach flower remedies, first developed by Dr. Edward Bach in England in the 1 920s, have become a common and useful approach to gentle healing, especially for conditions rooted in the emotional and mental spheres. What many people don't know is that the procedure used to make flower essences is essentially magical in nature, and can be used quite effectively to make potions and other water preparations for magical use.
Essences are made by using the etheric effects of sunlight or moonlight to charge water with the subtle energies of flowers, gemstones, and other magical materials. The process is a simple, one, and well worth learning. The one limitation is that any plant material you use for an essence has to be as fresh as possible—in fact, it works best to harvest them directly into the bowl you'll use to make the essence. A delay of as little as fifteen minutes between the harvesting of the flowers and the making of the essence can cause most or all of the plant's etheric energy to leak away.
Essences are especially sensitive to the emotional state and consciousness of the person who makes them, and it's wise to attune yourself to the planetary energy of the flower or stone you're using before making the essence.
What You'll Need
The basic ingredients for an essence are the flowers, stones, or other materials to be made into the essence, pure water, and either good brandy or apple cider vinegar as a preservative. The tools and equipment you'll need include a clear glass bowl, a bottle into which the essence is to go, and a funnel.
How It's Done
Make sure all your equipment is as clean as possible before you begin, and choose a sunny day or a clear moonlit night, depending on the energy you want to use to charge the essence. If it's to contain flowers, you'll need to choose a time when the flowers are in full bloom. Stones may be put into the bowl before you add the water; flowers and other plant material should be cut or harvested from the plant and allowed to fall directly into the water. The total amount of water in the bowl should be half the volume of the bottle you'll use for the finished essence. The bowl should then be set in full sunlight or moonlight on the bare soil or grass—not on concrete or any other non-living surface—and allowed to soak up the light for around three hours. (If you have pets, they should be kept away from the bowl during this time, as they're likely to drink the water.)
When the three hours are up, take the stones, flowers, or other material out of the water, straining it if necessary, and use the funnel to pour it into the bottle, which will then be half full. Fill up the other half with brandy or apple cider vinegar as a preservative; most flower essences will start to spoil within about six hours if this step is neglected. Cap the bottle tightly and store in a cool dark place. To use the essence, take two to four drops with an eyedropper and add it to a half glass of water, and drink the result.
Essence Potion for Clairvoyance
Make an essence following the procedure given above, using quartz crystal as the material and moonlight on the night of the full moon to accomplish the charging. Add four drops to a glass of water and drink before attempting any form of clairvoyant work.
Baths
Magical baths have a very long history. From ancient times, shamans and magical practitioners in many different cultures have bathed as part of their preparation for ritual work, in plain water or in water magically charged in various ways.
Bathing in plain cold water is actually one of the best preparations for magical work, and many magicians make it a habit to do this every morning. The full process, as I was taught it, has three steps. First of all, with a soft-bristled bath brush, brush your skin all over to open the pores and increase circulation. Next, wash your whole body with a washcloth and the coldest water you can stand; finally, dry off briskly with a towel. This sort of magical bath is good for physical health, and it also cleans away the etheric traces that build up on the aura, especially in urban areas or where destructive magic has been practiced. For those under magical attack, this practice is an important source of strength and should never be omitted.
Not all magical baths are so Spartan, though! Hot water also has its place in this branch of water magic, and there are a range of techniques for charging a hot bath with magical energies. Like potions, magical baths can be used to bring about changes in the self, and they also have a valuable place in magic meant to affect the way other people perceive the magician.
The methods generally used for magical baths include the two we've already covered—infusion and maceration—and several others: bag infusion, bath salts, and bath oils.
Bag Infusion
This is another very simple method of water magic; like ordinary infusion, it's something many people have done without ever knowing they were practicing something with magical possibilities. It can be used with any herb.
What You'll Need
The important tool here is a small bag of muslin with a drawstring close, of the sort that can be found at most herbal supply shops or made in five minutes with needle and thread. Failing that, a piece of plain cotton muslin three or four inches square and a piece of string will do. A bathtub and herbs complete the kit.
How Its Done
Stuff the herbs in the bag, pull the drawstring shut and tie it in a knot you'll be able to open later; alternatively, put the herbs in the center of the square of muslin, bring the sides up around so that the herbs are kept in a pocket of cloth, and tie the string around the ends of the cloth, close up against the herbs, to hold them in. As soon as you start the bath filling, put the bag in the water and let it start steeping. By the time you get in, your bath water will have turned into weak herbal tea, which is basically the idea.
Bath for Attracting Love
Take one ounce each of rose petals, lemon balm, and lovage, and make a bag infusion as described above. If you wish, an incense of Venus can be burnt to further scent the space. Bathe, concentrating the whole time on the idea of love and your goal of attracting a lover. To finish, dry yourself off with a rose-red towel.
Bath Salts
Bath salts are one of the true luxuries of natural magic, and compounding them is an art, not merely a procedure. The best bath salts are made by combining mineral salts— a mix of equal parts Epsom salt and ordinary table salt is the standard blend—with essential oils extracted from herbs, flowers, trees, and spices. It's important to use real essential oils, rather than blended perfume oils. These latter are usually cut with solvents and other artificial ingredients; this sharply weakens their magical potential and may have health risks as well.
The process of making bath salts is easy enough; it's in the choosing and mixing of the scents that the art comes in. Aromatherapy books can be used as a resource, and some of the better ones are listed in the Bibliography.
What You'll Need
Beyond the essential oils and salts you'll be using, and a bathtub, the equipment is minimal. You'll need a spoon for mixing, and a jar with an airtight lid. None of these should be made of metal or of a porous material that will pick up scents. (If you can't find a jar without a metal lid, put a piece of plastic wrap over the mouth before screwing the lid on.) You may also need an eyedropper, although many brands of essential oil come with droppers already in place.
As far as salts, you'll need Epsom salt, which is available at drugstores and many supermarkets, and either kosher salt or naturally dried sea salt, both of which you'll find at supermarkets or specialty groceries.
How It's Done
Measure out cup each of epsom salt and table salt into the jar, and stir until they are thoroughly mixed together. Then, using an eyedropper if necessary, drop the essential oil or oils into the salts. The number of drops to use depends on the number and
potency of the oils you use, but more than 12-16 drops of all oils combined is probably overkill. As soon as you've added the oils, cover the jar and shake the mixture to help the oils disperse. Wait at least half an hour before using the salts, to give the oils time to blend and permeate the salts. Put into the bathwater just before you climb in.
Bath Salts for a Solar Ritual
A bath before a major magical working can be a valuable preparation, and many of the old books of magic require it. To prepare for an invocation of the Sun, make bath salts using the method above, using four drops each of bay laurel oil, cinnamon leaf oil (not cinnamon bark oil, which can burn your skin), and orange oil. Let stand for an hour, then add to the bathwater and bathe, concentrating on the purpose of your ritual When you finish, dry yourself, anoint yourself with a solar oil, don your magical robes, and start the ritual.
Washes
A wash is magically charged water used to rinse or cleanse an object or an area. Washes have some place in Old World traditions of natural magic, but it's in the New World that they have become a major tool of the practicing magician. In North American folk magic, washes can be used to bring magical energies to bear on anything that can handle contact with water. Floor washes (which are exactly what the term suggests, washes mopped onto the floor and left to dry) form one of the standard ways to magically charge an indoor space for any desired purpose.
All of the techniques listed above for potions and baths can also be used to make magical washes. An infusion or maceration can simply be used by itself, a bag of herbs can be put in a clean mop bucket and used to create a floor wash, and scented salts can also be added to hot water and used for a wash (although this last approach should not be used on wood, which can be discolored by the salts as they dry).
Floor Wash for Blessing a House
Take 1 ounce of angelica and make a strong infusion, steeping the root in freshly boiled water for at least 10 minutes. Wash out your mop bucket, fill it with clean water, and add the infusion. Then, using a mop that has never been used for any purpose before, mop the floors all through the house, starting at the front door and finishing in the kitchen. Let the wash dry.
Consecrating Wash for a Shewstone
"Shewstone" is the old term for a crystal ball. A common tool for clairvoyant work in Western magical traditions, it can be made more effective by cleaning it regularly with a wash. Take 1/` ounce each of clary sage, eyebright, and valerian root and make an infusion. Allow it to cool, and then use it, along with a clean white cloth, to wash the shewstone before each use. The wash should be made in small batches, and bottled and refrigerated between uses to keep it from spoiling.
Another method of making a wash draws on the magical effects of vinegar, which disperses etheric patterns. This is especially useful for banishing disruptive spirits or keeping hostile magic at bay. There are two different ways of making a magical vinegar: slowly, by maceration, or fast, by infusion. Just as with water, vinegar macerations can be made with any substance, including stones and substances already charged, while vinegar infusions only work well with herbs.
Vinegar Maceration
If you've ever made an herbal vinegar for salad dressing, you already know all there is to know about this process. If not, you're about to learn what is probably the only magical technique that can also be used to jazz up green salads. (There are good reasons why many natural magic techniques are also known as "kitchen magic.")
What You'll Need
All that's needed to make macerated vinegars is the vinegar itself—any kind will do, although wine vinegar is traditional and seems to have a stronger effect—a bottle or jar with an airtight lid, and the substances you'll use to charge the vinegar. An ounce or so of most herbs will do the job.
How It's Done
Put the substances into the bottle, pour in the vinegar until the bottle is nearly full, seal the bottle, put it away in a cupboard and leave it there for at least one month. Strain and use when you're ready. That's all there is to it.
Vinegar Infusion
Like water infusions, vinegar infusions are made by soaking herbs in hot liquid. Infused vinegars are generally not as strong magically as the macerated kind, but can be made much more quickly—a significant point when a banishing or an exorcism needs to be done as soon as possible.
What You'll Need
The requirements for infused vinegars are the same as those for macerated vinegars, with the addition of a saucepan for heating the vinegar. The bottle or jar used for the infusion needs to strong enough to hold boiling liquid without shattering; a canning jar works well.
How It's Done
Measure out enough vinegar to fill the jar to within an inch or so of the top; pour into the saucepan and heat, covered, to a steady boil. Meanwhile, crumple the herbs and put them into the jar. When the vinegar has boiled, pour it into the jar, cover, and leave to cool. A few days is normally enough to bring it to full strength.
Banishing Vinegar for Floor Washes
Take 1/2 ounce each of angelica, cinquefoil, St. John's Wort, and vervain, and make either a maceration or an infusion with vinegar, using one of the recipes above. When needed for a floor wash, add half a cup to a mop pail of clean water and, with a new mop, wash the entire floor of the house or apartment to be protected, starting with the kitchen and finishing at the front door.
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