Five Witches Herbs Everyone Must Have or Grow!

Greetings My Witchy Reader,

Especially this time of year, the end of spring and the beginning of the growing season there are so many herbs and plants, flowers, grasses, vegetables, fruits, trees, that a witch can plant to add to her magickal apothecary, but to get by with the basics and sometimes you only need the very basic of ingredients, the following five herbs will do for the majority of what you need:


Rosemary:  This heavily scented, strong, resinous, and long lasting herb, lasting even long after it has been dried is probably, if I had to choose one all around, all purpose herb, the one that will do the most magickal jobs, than any other herb in the cupboard. It has the ability to bring about pleasant memories, to change unpleasant memories into less harmful ones and it can neutralize bad memories from the past. Keeping it around can do this, smelling it, and burning it daily can eliminate unhappy connections to those who hurt you in the past.

In Medieval times it was burnt with juniper in sick rooms to purify the air and during this time it was hung around the neck to protect against the plague and a twig worn around the neck would protect against the evil eye.

There is even lovers lore around rosemary which says a man unable to appreciate the smell of rosemary is unable to give true love to a woman and that rosemary attracts good faeries yet hanging it over a baby's crib it prevents faeries from stealing infants!

Cinquefoil:

This plant also called witches five fingered grass is known for it's many magickal drawing properties of love, money, protection, health and wisdom and is considered a mercury herb as it grows along the ground and is often known as a commonly called name as butter cups. It is an herb which is dried and can be burnt and carried in a pouch and can be boiled in a potion, it has many uses. It is found along waysides and fields and along roadways and is a common weed but is a jewel for a witch.

Always have cinquefoil on hand as it can do most of what you need and it's ability is stronger than most herbs.

Rose:  Has both love and protection and is considered a portal to another realm to the dream, astral plain. Regardless of color any rose plant, not just the flower but the plant and the thorns have this power and even the roots of the rose has this ability, as well as the oil and the water infused from this plant.

Sage:   A plant that is clean and sacred and has a divine energy and vibration. That when burned cleanses and eliminates frenetic, low level vibrational energies from an area, or room. There are many types of sages that can be used, some cleanse unwanted energies, some raise vibrational energies, some are good for culinary purposes, knowing the right sages for the proper reasons make all the difference in the world for your purposes.

Yet most important of all, all sages do not do the same thing as all other sages!! So NO, whereas from California to New England there are appx 47 types of sages or salvias with many varieties of these and several of them are called white sages. To assume any sage called white sage can be burned and used to eliminate unwanted energies and have it be effective is foolish. This is not the case. The sage pictured below is not a sage known for cleansing space of unwanted energies. If your sage bundle looks like this, and you did not know there are 900 species of sages in the world .  .  .  then you need to find someone that knows about sage, like the Witches of Enchantments!

Thyme:  This herb will bring in the faerie energies, especially where it grows wild. It brings in courage and for the Greeks it provided bravery, a pillow stuffed with thyme prevents nightmares and promotes positive and happy dreams, and wearing a sprig of thyme in your hair will make you more approachable!

Also used for courage, banishing negativity, purifying, cleansing, happiness, healing, love, prosperity, protection and divination. There are many types of thyme and a thyme garden can be difficult to establish but once it is set, if you are in the right environment it will grow and be very beautiful with the different textures and colors.

All of the above herbs have so much more magickal properties than simply the ones listed but there is always more than what is listed, always more than meets the eye. These five are a wonderful start to your dried or living herbal garden or herbal stock.

Have you Found the Magick Today? Ms. Faith


Live, Laugh and Always Love




© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Five Magickal Witch Salts to Make and To Use !!

Greetings My Witchy Reader,


The most well known of the magickal witch salts is the black witches ritual salt and of course the white sea salt used to purify and protect and used in so many rituals and protective spells.

But there are other witch salts one can make and use and you can make these yourself and use them in various ways in your magickal practice. The reason this is a timely discussion is many of the ingredients that are used are flowers and plant materials that are now in abundance in your gardens.

The first and most famous of salts is the famous witches black salt. I disagree with those who simply mix black pepper in with salt, as that is a culinary mixture as far as I am concerned. But you need to do what you choose. I, use black salt for the protective purposes is has had for centuries and it has traditionally been sea salt or kosher salt mixed with charred iron scrapping from a cast iron cauldron. Which is what I use today, when making my won black salt. When purchasing black salt it should at least be carbon mixed with salt.

You may use charcoal and grind the salt up with it in a mortar and pestle or cook the salt with the cauldron and scrap  the residue in the bottom until it gets black. Adding a bit of charcoal helps the process along. Reminding it that heat and protection is it's purpose by getting it hot is very effective I find.

You can use this as a boundary along doorways to keep out those whom you feel are harmful, and any negative energies cannot find their way across this barrier of protection. Brick dust works the same way. I used to use brick dust often but my source became tainted so I now work with the black salt. You need to use what feels right for you. If any ingredient or supply causes you to feel ill at ease when using it, don't question why simply move onto something that seems to work better. The source of an ingredient, should you be aware of the source, is also important to the witch practitioner as all energies are considered when working magick.

Now onto some of the more unusual and fun salts! Such as red salt! So pretty and useful for passion, love, lust and also for bringing energy and excitement into your life. Especially if you have been down in the "dumps" or need a emotional or spiritual "pick me up" red salt can do this. First to make it.

Place sea salt or kosher salt (which will be the base for all of the recipes) in the mortar and pestle, no heat for this one, as we do not want it to get black. And grind it going deosil (clockwise) with paprika and if you desire a spicy touch to the situation (though keep in mind NONE of these salts are to be ingested in any fashion!!) you can add some cayenne pepper, the dried powdered variety. You may add some red food color (powdered is ideal) but if you have to add another form of food coloring, use the gel, very little at a time and mix well, so it does not clump and ruin the mixture. A bit of garnet powder can also be added and then this salt can be used by placing around a flaming red candle and placing stones of love drawing properties in the salt. Even a bowl of the salt near your bed will help drawn wanted energies to you. And could increase the libido, if desired.

Blue Witches Salt

The next witches salt is blue salt. The color of the salts is the magickal property, more so than really any of the herbs, and there is no essential oils being added so do not think this is some kind of herbal bath salt/oil type of thing happening here!! No, color is a magickal system, in and of itself. I am using some plants, flowers and herbs, for instance for this beautiful blue salt, I use blue iris and  other blue blossoms that are blooming in my garden from lilac and violet, and grind them up in a mortar and pestle. The blue salt then can have a pinch or two of blue food color and can be used for spells that I need protection  against the evil eye, harmful things said against me, communication and for spells strengthening the words I use and also court cases and eloquence. Blue is for the throat chakra and any magick to do with speech and persuasion and even manipulation using the tongue.

Green Witches Salt:

Next we can use green witches salt, made by grinding dried green herbs, the favorites being rosemary, dill, mints and your simple everyday witches green herbs into salt and mixing well. We can use this for abundance, wealth as well as physical health and anything having to do with the physical world. Abundance, fertility, growth, and sustenance. You can use your imagination as to how you may choose to  use it, but again even as you put it together and may say to  yourself, "Hmmm, all of these ingredients are edible, maybe I could cook with it and slide all of this over into kitchen witchery, do not do so. Keep the witches salts separate and the kitchen witchery separate.

These salts are used primarily as a strong protective, banishing and or drawing substance into your world. Magickal work done with food is more subtle and gentle and you do not want such strong energies entering your physical body. Having them around the house is fine, in the room is fine.

For instance we have a bowl of sea salt with rusted nails on the floor next to the front door of the store, most would not even notice and it is for protection. Even in a pinch I would never be tempted to use that salt to season my lunch!!

Orange Witches Salt:


You can even make a mixture of orange witches salt for change and reversal of your current situation and to bring about needed change of what is going on in your world. Orange can be made by finely shredding orange peel, only the peel, no pith, and chopping it finely and grinding it with the salt, adding any orange blossoms from flowers, or a few drops of orange food color but again keep the mixture as dry as possible. After every drop the mixture must be mixed thoroughly so there are no clumps. Even though above the blue salt is used in court cases, where you would be dealing with a judge and or jury, interestingly enough, any other legal matters, or any dealings with attorneys, the orange salt is the best colored salt to use. The color orange syncs up with legal energies and also give you extra protection against any nefarious energies that may be directed at you from any unscrupulous attorneys, and that is so often the case these days. :/

If you find yourself heading to a meeting where you will be sitting down with an attorney, perhaps one for the 'other side', have a small zip lock bag of the orange salt in your pocket, or in your billfold, even laying flat under your foot in your shoe. It will keep you protected.

Hindsight is always 20/20 so you know now!! Go prepared and all of these salts can help in so many ways and they are easy to make at home. Sea salt and or kosher salt is cheapest at the supermarket and all of the ingredients are very in-expensive and work really well.

After you make your salt, store it in a dry, sealed container. I like glass, but something where it will not get moist and keep it in a cool, dark place and use it whenever you need that extra ooomph to your magickal day!!



Have You Found the Magick Today?!    Ms. Faith

© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Ways to Cleanse your Sacred Space before Casting A Circle

Greetings My Witchy Reader,

This discussion is likely to be more brief than some, but I hope you find the content of interest also.  Many are aware of the basics of casting a circle, but there is the opportunity to prepare the area for the circle casting and ritual beforehand by 'cleansing' are ritual area.

Now, this is more necessary, for lack of a better word, if the circle is being cast in an area where other mundane things are normally done on a regular basis. In other words if you do not have a dedicated, consecrated ritual room, and you cast your circles in the kitchen or living room or your bedroom or even on your back deck, then clearing the area beforehand is helpful to set the vibrational energy and prepare it to be raised with the circle casting and ritual work.

Many have heard of the fairly common practice of using the besom, or witches broom for sweeping the air around the circle before casting the circle to cleanse any unwanted energies away. It is typical to start at the north and sweep around the circle in a deosil direction, or clockwise going to the east, then south and then west and ending back in the north again. This is done holding the broom high, then again in same direction, all the way around at mid level and then for a last, third time, holding the broom just above the floor. While going around, be sure to be "sweeping" with the business end of the broom.

Going around with the besom has been a traditional way to cleanse the energy for decades. Yet there are other ways to cleanse the energy and interestingly they all pretty much involve some form of utilizing the elements.

Where the besom uses the air element, another way to use the air element is to use a bell. Now, before I go on, make sure the sound of the bell is pleasing to your ear. Each of us hears sounds, tones, musical notes and keys in our own special way. That is why some can sing and some better than others, and some not at all. So a bell that might have a discordant sound to your ear will be very ineffective and not helpful in any magickal way.  Always, always, ring the bell before buying and I personally would never buy a bell on line or without hearing it first.

Then when you have the bell you love the sound of, you can, again, start over the altar and ring the bell, then go to the north and move deosil and ring the bell at each watchtower. The vibrations will carry the unwanted energies away. Again this is done before the circle casting.

Another method to cleanse the area to prepare it for ritual work is smudge. You can use desert sage which will cleanse and eliminate unwanted energies but no need to use too much of this, just a small amount around the circle. After going around the circle it is nice to follow up with a White Sage blessing sage. We use a sage grown in southern California, it is not the culinary cooking sage so common in southern New England. One needs to be careful and aware as many varieties of sage has the common name of 'white sage' but not all 'white sages' are the same.

A more unusual method for cleansing the circle area for ritual before the ceremony starts is to spend a half an hour or so, silently chalking sacred symbols and sigils around the circles perimeter making sure the symbols are around a 9 foot diameter, so they would be out 4 and a half feet from the center of the circle. The 9 foot circle is traditional and we can go into that in another discussion. But chalk, using white chalk, symbols that are meaningful to you or your coven. Be they astrological symbols, runes, magickal symbols, pagans symbols, Egyptian, Celtic, religious, any symbols that are spiritually significant to you. By being silent while chalking these symbols you are allowing the symbols to speak and their power is banishing unwanted energies, as had been one of their purposes and responsibilities throughout history.

Another way to clear the circle of negative and or unwanted energies is to use the element of fire. Light a large pillar candle and when the flame is burning strong and solid, start in the north and walk slowly around the circle and envision the energy of the flame blasting out from the center of the circle, you may visualize the center of the working altar as your center if you would like and the energy going past you and the lit candle and flowing out and pushing all unwanted energy out and away as you slowly walk around going deosil until you come full circle to the north again. Repeat this two additional times.

Should the candle flame flare up, spin, dip, twist or do anything unusual, try your best to keep your focus and continue the circuit around the circle. You may walk around with the flame three times, just as you walk three times with the broom.

Yet, another way to cleanse or bless in this fashion the area of the ritual circle before casting the circle is with your hands and your inner spiritual energy. Stand before the altar, center, close eyes if you choose, and become quiet and balanced. Rub hands together, then clap sharply three times and turn and hold hands, palms out towards the north and walking slowly deosil around the circle and feel your energy absorb the unwanted energy into your hands and feel it swirl and flow into your body and then send it back out again directly and sharply and keep a fine tuned sense of your inner energy so you can tell that all unwanted energy has been expelled from the circles area.

One last method I will leave you with, but know there are many more and more yet that you can come up with, for magick is only what you create, as long as you follow the art and science and it works, well then! That makes it so! 

This last method is a method for creating a cleansed area for a ritual area that can be done the night or day before or even several hours and that is by drawing a circle around the ritual area with a heavy border of salt. Laying down a boundary line of salt, and leaving it for several hours causes unwanted energies and entities to vacate and creates a neutral area. This neutralized energy can now be energized and 'charged' by using incense or blessing sage either before casting a circle or during the casting of the ritual circle.

All of these methods are possible ways to honor and take notice of the ritual area before the ritual begins and a period of preparation time is important. During this time, one starts to transform the mind and spirit and energy of the body into a place of ritual trance getting ready for the ceremony.

Simple chores like setting up the altar, getting the incense ready, the water, perhaps choosing the music, cleansing the area before the ritual, all of these things help get one in the proper mood for a fulfilling spiritual experience.

Remember if you want magick in your life, a little, a lot it is all up to you. No one will make it happen, it is waiting for you to make it happen in your life, so start, now. in some way even a small way.  Make the magick happen today!!



Live, Laugh and Always Love  Ms. Faith

© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Back to Basics- The Cauldron

Gundestrup Celtic Cauldron Replica - original c. 1st or 2nd century BCE

Good Evening Magickal Reader,

In this back to basics discussion it would be easy to simply have you go out and buy a cauldron, a small cast iron one to burn charcoal in and then burn dried herbs, resins and powdered incenses. Yet, the cauldron in magickal witch lore goes back thousands of years to at least the Gundestrup Celtic Cauldron which was created in the first or second century BCE - Before the Common Era (before the year 0) and was absolutely a magickal vessel simply by the depictions inscribed around it's entire surface.

In ancient mythology from Wales, Scotland, the Netherlands, to the far east to ancient Chinese lore cauldrons have a long and reputed magickal legend and one of the strongest magickal powers the cauldron contains, in just about every culture it is found in, is transformation.

In truth, so many objects had dual purposes in ancient times, a practical purposes and a magickal purposes in legend and lore, from the swords that could defend and could also denote the natural ruler or a good man as opposed to a coward or one not worthy.  A bow that would only shoot straight for one who was worthy or kingly,  but it could also hunt.  The Hebrew hoshen (Priestly Breastplate) was part of the priestly garments in ancient Judah but the breastplate itself contained twelve semi precious to precious stones inlaid which in addition to representing the twelve tribes of Israel also each had specific magickal qualities, as the same stones, crystals and minerals are thought to have magickal properties to this day.

I truly believe this, as I believe in magick. Not simply because I know it to be true as I have seen it manifest as I have set it forth to, time and time again, but it is a comfort also to know that the same magickal/spiritual beliefs that ancient cultures, races and peoples have believed for thousands and thousands of years. History is filled with things that did not work, and ideas that fell short quickly going out of vogue. If magick did not work, then it would not be here in any fashion 3,000 years later.

Back to the cauldron. The Cauldron, like any pot you put on heat add liquid to, and add ingredients to, the heat and the water vapors combine to transform anything you have put into the pot.  It will break down the hardness, the fibrous, the raw,  the crunchy, chunky, rough and stringy and to cook it over a long period of time, it will break down and become softer, or smoother, or more tender and flavors will meld and combine one changed flavor,  "marry" is the culinary term and this is what the cauldron does in all ways it is used, physically and metaphorically.  It transforms,  changing one base material which when exposed to friction/heat and so becomes something else. Well the cauldron is also a huge metaphor for ourselves, our bodies in our body, mind and spirit, and how our life experiences transform us, and who we are on the other side, and that other side can be tomorrow, and again next week, or next year.

So, is our bodies the cauldron, our lives themselves, our very thoughts, our actions, our reactions. Our choices, our decisions, .  .  .  yes, we can say our body is the skin of the cauldron, the air outside is the world, and what we put into the cauldron is everything that affects us and that we deal with, that we bring in and process on any level. So what we put into the cauldron includes all from actual food and drink, to thoughts, words, deeds, boundaries we set, what we allow, our fears, our triumphs, our joys, our sorrows, everything, and what do we ladle out after it is done?

Now, mind you and this is very important, I am not telling you, and won't tell you what to put into your cauldron. That is up to you and even those experiences and circumstances you would not have chosen consciously for yourself, know your soul chose those experiences. All of the days and experiences you go through go into your cauldron and you mix it up and the person that comes out once the mixture is done brewing is what you "make of it".

Oh! Did you want everything to go smoothly now that you have an idea of how things really work!!?? Hahahah, allow me a moment to cackle!! Sorry, but no witchling, actually it tends to go in the opposite direction, sorry to say. The more you are aware of the ways and means the more challenging the universe becomes. Kind of like finally finding the perfect road to where you really, really need to get to! It is a perfect road, straight, smooth, recently paved and flat and not a bump on the surface!

You fuel up the car, pack everything up and head out on your way. But what would normally take a day or two to get there, well you run into a terrible storm on your way. A large tree falls across  your path and you have to wait a day for the utility crews to come and clear it (as there is no other way to go once you have started and are this far along on your chosen path, roadway) then after the road is clear again, and you start off again, then you have some digestive upset from that diner food you ate last night, and are forced to make many stops along the way.  Many people would say, throwing hands up in the air "It isn't meant to be!, the signs are telling me to turn back! Bad omens!!"  No, not at all!! A bad omen would be your car not starting in your driveway the morning you were setting off!  No, the Universe is simply testing you.

Are you serious about this path? Really? Because you will get what you desire so very badly, but remember you only get the amount payback in relation to the amount of effort you put into it. So, maybe you need to prove to the universe and to yourself how serious you really are!! DO your magick!! Or whatever else you desire to do! Do not let anything sway you or set you aside!

Many tell me they do not get to spend as much time practicing magick as they would like, then do more.  Some say they have so many magickal books that they have to read, then take a book right now, open it and start reading it. And mark your calendar with various magickal things you want to do, on different days and on each month mark a new book you will start.

Everyone benefits from having a special magickal calendar not only to follow their moons and Sabbats but to also jot down when to do a cleansing banishing spell, when to charge crystals under the full moon, when to do a love spell, or a money spell or .  .  .  you get my point. Fill your calendar even with one additional magickal thing a week, or if you are ambitious a day, and soon it will be a way of life not something you do, but the way you live.

Do not bemoan the unfortunate or uncomfortable, or unhappy experiences you find in your cauldron, learn what you can from them and hopefully you allow them to make you softer and gentler and not harder, bitter or tougher.  So challenging times, the most difficult and life changing will transform us, sadly it seems more so than happy and joyous occasions, but we can assist in our transformation if we are aware of the possibility of each and every occasion having that possibility.

So pay close attention and allow the moments, the magickal of each day and for each magickal moment you create to help transform you into the magickal person you desire to be.

In the past year I have gone through a lot of change and transformation, and have come to a place, wiser, much more intuitive,  and where I am always sure with my clients as to my psychic ability from over 30 years of having psychic experiences,  over the past year I have come to know I am very accurate as to my psychic insight into my life and now I believe it much more readily.  Someone tried to make me question my ability a year ago, but after all shook out that really awful, negative person is not in my life and my magick is, and I am the winner in every possible way, and so very happy and fulfilled with all the love, light and happiness I find myself surrounded with.

Sometimes you may find yourself walking alone but that is okay also. The only things I will not walk along with is hate, regret, anger, bitterness, fear, hurt or any negative emotions.  I simply do not have room for that inside. My cauldron stirs and stirs and I will only accept love and light to come out of it. That doesn't mean being walked over, taken advantage of or being a push over, if anything it means being a stronger person and holding others accountable for for their participation in your life! Yes, hmmmmm, think about that!! That is right any who are in your life, if you are an adult, and a magickal person, are in your life because you allow them to be, no matter who they are. That is your choice. Be good with it. Or change it. As simple as that. And sometimes the change is within you and sometimes the change is how you allow them to participate in your life, but you always have the control. Always. That is the work of your cauldron, YOU are the only one stirring it. No one ever else gets to touch the stirring stick,

There is more magick, more alchemy, more  magickal and spiritual manifestation in this work than in any spell you can cast. This sounds advanced, because it is. I introduce it as a basic concept because it is. You start with it in the beginning and you never stop working it. Ever.

So look around, look within, and see what it is you are adding and how you are stirring and what you plan to have come out when this stew is ready. Then plan what your next batch will be.


Live, Laugh and Always Love!!

© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.