THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC | FOLK | HOODOO

oil recipes

To: alt.lucky.w,alt.occult.methods,alt.magick.tyagi
From: catherine yronwode 
Subject: Re: oil recipes
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2002 01:25:29 GMT

young one  wrote:
> 
>  Joseph B. Wilson  wrote:

> > young one  wrote:

> > > what's a good book for oil recipes? 
> > > or even a url would be nice.

> > Here's my recommendations:
> > The anointing or dressing oils used in spells are easily made.  
> > Their name usually indicates their purpose.  You can develop your 
> > own formulas by selecting ingredients directly related to your 
> > purpose .

> > Take about a quarter of a  cup  total of the herbs in your formula 
> > and put half of that amount in the top of a double boiler.  Pour 
> > in a little more than enough light vegetable oil such as almond 
> > oil, sunflower oil or grape seed oil to cover them, and then 
> > simmer them under very low heat for two hours. Strain the oil 
> > through cheesecloth squeezing as much of it out of the herbs as 
> > you can, and discard the spent herbs.  Put the other half of the 
> > quantity of herbs in the top of the double boiler and pour the 
> > strained oil on them and simmer for another two hours.  Again 
> > strain the oil through a cheesecloth and store in a dark glass 
> > bottle in a cool place. It is good to have a little bit of the 
> > herb left in the oil.  If you are making an oil for a negative 
> purpose, use mineral oil instead of vegetable oil.

I would onbly add that some herbs are too delicate to simmer that long
and are better handled by merely letting them soak in cold oil for a
(longer) amount of time. One of the best Black Tobacco Oils i ever got
was made by soaking black Latakia tobacco in Almond oil for FIFTEEN
YEARS. It was AWESOME. 

And that brings up another concept: stock oils. The Black Tobacco Oil i
mentioned above was constantly renewed and depleted by the man who made
it, much as one might use sourdough starter in making bread. When i got
a supply of it from him, i continued to treat it in the same way, as a
"starter" for the making of more Black Tobacco oil. I have been working
with it for three years now, taking some out to use, adding more tobacco
and oil as i use it. 

This method of working with oils is generally only employed with the
"brown" oils -- Tobacco, John the Conqueror, Lodestone, etc. It is not a
very good method for use with the florals or light-green herbal oils. 

As for mineral oil, yes, as Joseph points out, it is generally used for
negative formulae, in part because such formular often are based around
mineral and mineral-salt ingredients, such as suplhur. 

One notable exception to the "mineral oil for nagativity" rule is
Lodestone Oil a.k.a. Magnet Oil. Lodestone is a mineral and thus it
works best in a base of mineral oil, but it is used for attraction and
the drawing of luck in money and love affairs. 

> > Look at the traditional use or purpose of herbs in such places as
> > http://www.luckymojo.com/mojocatherbs.html and
> > http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodooataglance.html

Or buy my new book "Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic," which lists 500 herbs
and their traditional magical ascriptions in the hoodoo tradition. :-) 

Or go to the web page i maintain on "Recipes for Potions Used in
Spellcasting" -- at
 http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/occultism/magic/spells/recipes.html
for a bunch of formulae contributed by numerous authors working in
several different magical traditions. 

(Seriously, thanks for the mention, Joseph!). 

> > I know this doesn't tell you specifically what to put together to 
> > make a specific oil, but I don't work that way. I kinda like to 
> > keep my specific recipies to myself.

I keep my recipes private, too. The items i have placed online on that
collaborative "Recipes" web page i mentioned above are protected by
copyright. They also represent a deliberate and very difficult choice on
my part to let some of my treasured recipes be seen, without
relnquishing my copyrights to them. I did this as a matter of mental
self-discipline, simply because it was *difficult* for me to do it.
Having done it, to the extent that i did, i stopped. I shall not be
putting further recipes online. I am not sure i gained anything from the
exercise... and i have had so much trouble from people plagiarizing my
material from my other web pages, that i have become unsure that the web
has much of a future as a method of communication. 

> thanks for that. after my initial post of this, i saw some of the 
> offerings at cat's site. i'll try your methods for any recipes that 
> i may get. the method sounds a bit like brewing beer :)

I agree. Making oils for magical use is a lot like cooking or brewing.
And making Four Thieves Vinegar is a lot like making salad dressing!  

cat yronwode 

Hoodoo in Theory and Practice -- http://www.luckymojo.com/hoodoo.html

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races