Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients: A Wiccan Guide to Spellcasting by Lexa Rosean, Enrique Urrutia (Photographer)

From the Publisher

Bringing the art and magick of casting spells to the masses, Lexa Rosean is the new face of Wicca. In The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients she provides beginner and experienced practitioners of spellcasting with a quick, easy, and accurate guide to the magickal powers and properties of herbs, spices, flowers, vegetables, fruits, metals, and colors -- more than 500 ingredients in all.

With this info at your fingertips, you can craft spells for specific desires or needs -- whether it's love, luck, fertility, or even next month's rent! Written with passion for the craft and a deep understanding of the needs of modern-day Wiccans, The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients is an indispensable addition to every occult library and an essential reference for all with the gift of magick.

Library Journal

In her eighth book, CosmoGirl astrology advisor Rosean (Supermarket Sorceress: Spells, Charms, and Enchantments That You Can Make from Supermarket Ingredients) lists 600 A-to-Z entries that offer the "magickal" properties of various herbs, spices, flowers, vegetables, fruits, elements, and colors ranging from rain and air to pie and marzipan; from emerald and amber to hair and nails. Ruler, type, and form are provided for each (e.g., "Apple:" Venus; fruit; whole, seed, stem, oil), and information on their properties and usage in spell-casting follows. Ros an instructs the reader on how to personalize spells as well as locate the ingredients. The introduction covers the basic elements that can be useful in spells: altars, candles, incense, oils, offerings, bags, and the moon cycle. She concludes with a list of tables that organize ingredients by spell types and include "Love," "Wealth," "Success," "Beauty," "Creativity," "Fertility," "Stress Reduction," "Wisdom," "Travel," and "Health." Bottom Line Though intriguing, this book doesn't quite live up to its "Encyclopedia" moniker owing to the brevity of the entries, many of which offer up just a taste of information, leaving the reader wanting more. Public libraries catering to patrons with interest in the subject may consider purchasing it for their circulating rather than reference collections.-Nancy Almand, Fresno Cty. P.L., Orange Cove, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Read an Excerpt

The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients

Paraview Pocket Books

Chapter One: A

Acacia

Ruler: Zeus, Obatala, Ra, Bast, solar deities

Type: plant

Magickal Form: oil, bark, branch, flower

Sitting under an acacia tree or burning the dried flowers brings wisdom and insight. The oil extracted from the plant is considered holy and used for purification and anointing. It is especially powerful when attempting to contact the dead and should be rubbed into white candles and not worn on the body while attempting such work. For personal anointing, mix with other oils (like musk or camellia) to cut and then it is said to bring happiness.

Acorn

RULER: Jupiter

TYPE: tree nut

MAGICKAL FORM: dried

Wisdom and prosperity are the main properties of the acorn. It is a symbol of great luck and fortune. Witches gather acorns and add them to autumn equinox altars to invoke nurturing and safekeeping during the coming winter months. On a full moon or a Thursday during a waxing moon, wrap a dollar bill over an acorn. Make sure the pyramid symbol of the dollar bill is facing outside. Then carry the dollar bill in your wallet to attract money and help you to handle your finances wisely.

Adam and Eve Roots

RULER: Venus

TYPE: plant

MAGICKAL FORM: root

The round root is Eve and the oblong root is Adam. Bind these two roots together with red string and place them on a love altar or sew them up in a red cloth bag and carry as a talisman for love attraction. Gay males will want two Adams and lesbians will want two Eves. Carry to conjure a new love or to keep an ongoing relationship happy. Rub the bodily fluids of each member of a couple into his/her respective root to prevent cheating and ensure fidelity in the relationship.

Agate

RULER: Venus

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: various colors

An emotional healing stone, the agate is carried to summon courage. Wear blue agate for protection. Carry pink agate to solve love problems. Green agate brings good luck and prosperity. Hold the stone between your hands to improve the balance and create more harmony in your life. The agate, along with most gemstones, is used in healing rites.

Air

RULER: east

TYPE: element

MAGICKAL FORM: incense, wind

Each of the four directions is ruled by an element. The east is associated with air and represents thought and imagination. All burning of incense is an invocation to the spirits of air. Wind is also used in ritual to carry or receive messages. This is done by shouting wishes or requests into a strong wind or releasing requests written on small squares of parchment paper into an eastern wind.

Alfalfa

RULER: Venus

TYPE: herb

MAGICKAL FORM: seeds, sprouts

Eat alfalfa sprouts to increase your income. It is especially helpful in obtaining loans or monies owed you. Sprinkle the seeds in prosperity rituals during waxing moons and keep some in kitchens during waning moons to ward off poverty. Eat alfalfa on Fridays for love.

Allspice

RULER: Jupiter

TYPE: spice

MAGICKAL FORM: whole berries, powder

Add this all-around winning ingredient to any success formula to increase chances of beating out the competition. Carry the whole berries in the pocket to improve your chances on interviews or winning clients. Sprinkle the powder across a place of business or dust the hands when you want to succeed. Allspice is especially effective when cooked in water in a double boiler to fill a room with its scent. Doing so opens the brain centers to greater achievement and creates a happy, efficient work environment.

Aloe

RULER: Moon

TYPE: plant

MAGICKAL FORM: juice, leaf

Keeping an aloe plant is said to ward off evil and accidents. Of course, when accidents do occur, it is a very handy plant to have around the house. The healing properties of the aloe are legendary. Open the leaves and apply to cuts and burns. The cooling effects drive away hot energy and can also calm down angry and heated emotions. When dried and hung above the doorway, aloe drives away evil. Ingest aloe juice for health and longevity. Rub into the body on a full moon for sexual stamina and allure.

Altar

RULER: various

TYPE: various

MAGICKAL FORM: focal point for magick

Witches set up altars before casting their magick circles. A traditional altar holds representations of the four elements: cauldron of incense (air), red candle (fire), bowl of water (water), bowl of salt (earth). God and goddess statues are placed in the center surrounded by seasonal flowers, a black candle, and a white candle. Needed also are a pentacle for blessing food and a libation bowl for offerings. This is the most basic setup, although altars become more elaborate for specific ceremonies. Ceremonial altars can be quite elaborate with specific requirements for type of wood, measurements, and shape. Improvisational altars can be created on a shelf, nightstand, or table. Use any magickal images that inspire you. Money or success altars should include coins and grain offerings. Love altars can include pictures of loved ones, red, pink, or white flowers, and honey or sugar cubes. Healing altars should have crystals, yellow and white candles, and any images you associate with healing or a photograph of the person who needs healing. The altar can be a permanent fixture or resting place for a deity you worship or a temporary structure that is dismantled once a ritual has been completed and the magickal energy has been raised.

Amazonite

RULER: Moon, Diana

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: rounded stone

A stone of female power and intuitiveness, this green stone is similar to jade. Unlike jade, which is said to be fickle, Amazonite is the stone of truth. When carried, it improves your character and self-esteem. Hold the stone up to the light of a full moon to charge and then place on an altar or table during divination. It will increase your clairvoyant ability and bring more clarity to your psychic work. The stone is also the best choice to use for emotional healings for women or for men to bring forth the positive aspect of their feminine sides.

Amber

RULER: Sun

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: resin, gemstone, essential oil

This golden gemstone is a favorite among witches and is beaded together in a necklace with jet. This special necklace symbolizes the power of the goddess and is worn only by the high priestess of the coven. Wear or carry amber for protection and success. A stone that contains a beetle or fly trapped within its center is said to bring fame. Add the resin to prosperity formulas and wear the oil for protection or to empower your magickal path. Men may wear this oil to attract lovers.

Ambergris

RULER: Venus, Neptune

TYPE: animal extract

MAGICKAL FORM: real or synthetic oil

This prized oil is derived from the sperm whale and most difficult to obtain, but there are some good chemical compound substitutes. Use ambergris for love, sex, lust, and, believe it or not, spiritual elevation. This makes it one of the best oils for tantric sex. Rub on red yoni and phallus candles, mix the oil with musk crystals to stir passions, or wear the oil on pulse points to increase spiritual awareness and sexual attraction.

Amethyst

RULER: Jupiter, Neptune

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: raw cut crystal

This stone is more powerful when unpolished. It should be given to or carried by mourners to bring them comfort in their time of loss. Place the stone by the bedside of terminal patients to help them transition from this world into the next. Amethyst is also very useful in breaking a bad habit. The stone is especially effective in curing alcohol addiction. Soak in a tub with three of the gemstones and then carry one in your pocket to strengthen your resolve to stay away from negative influences. A carried stone also helps alleviate stress.

Ammonia

RULER: dark Moon

TYPE: chemical

MAGICKAL FORM: liquid

Always use ammonia in small amounts, as it is a baneful compound. Use it in cursing magic and also to remove hexes. A few drops added to the bathwater will remove the most stubborn of hexes. Scrub down floors and walls with ammonia diluted in water to remove evil spirits from a dwelling.

Anchovies

RULER: sea goddesses

TYPE: fish

MAGICKAL FORM: whole, paste

Legend holds that anchovies bond together to create the hair of mermaids. These tiny fish attract beauty and hold the power of seduction. Eat them or carry them in a tin to attract beautiful women or to make yourself more beautiful. Spread the paste with the thumb on a cracker and feed to another to seduce.

Angelica

RULER: Sun

TYPE: herb

MAGICKAL FORM: root

Burn the powdered root when you want to invoke angels. Angelica is a healing herb. Mix in bathwater to promote good health. It also removes hexes. Sprinkle around the house to ward off evil or dry dust the body to remove a curse. Angelica is also considered lucky, so rub the root between your palms when you gamble or pick your lottery numbers.

Angels

RULER: air

TYPE: ethereal beings

MAGICKAL FORM: signatures

Judeo-Christian and Islamic lore are full of angel magick. Ceremonial magick includes many rituals and invocations to summon their presence. The Enochian alphabet is the language of angels and sigils are drawn with these letters to invoke specific angels. The four archangels are invoked in the LBR (Lesser Banishing Ritual) for protection. Blending Wicca and ceremonial magick, these four angels are each assigned a quarter to guard: Raphael in the east, Gabriel in the west, Michael in the south, and Uriel in the north.

Anise

RULER: Jupiter

TYPE: herb

MAGICKAL FORM: seeds, root, extract

Chewing on raw licorice root curbs the appetite and is a great (and healthy) tool for weight loss. Rub the oil into red or white candles for weight-loss spells. Add anise seed to love formulas to curb the sexual appetites of a cheating lover. Combine with cumin and rub on male or female figure candles to keep a lover faithful. Use licorice whips to control and harness energy. Tie a knot in the whip as you say a few words about your issue (example: can't focus, need better grades, want a lover). Press your thumb and middle finger over the knot and repeat your issue three times and then eat the whip to focus and harness your energy. For love matters use red whips. For all other matters, use black ones.

Apache Tear

RULER: earth and warrior goddesses

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: polished drops or tears

Legend says these tears, a form of black obsidian and volcanic glass, were formed by Apache women crying over the loss of all the warriors who fought for their land. Use the stone to rectify karmic situations, especially those having to do with land ownership. Scatter a handful of the black tears over a property in ownership dispute. The rightful owner will achieve victory (without tears). Carry the stone for luck and to bring forgiveness and settle grievances between enemies.

Apple

RULER: Venus

TYPE: fruit

MAGICKAL FORM: whole, seed, stem, oil

The forbidden fruit yields much power. Cut it in half horizontal to the stem to reveal the sacred witches' pentagram. Apples are a food of love. Offer a bite to a prospective lover. If he or she accepts, you will begin a love affair. Twist the stem of an apple while calling out the letters of the alphabet. The letter you call out as the stem breaks will be the first letter of the name of your true love. Rub apple oil or fragrance on red candles to bring true love. Leave an offering of an apple under a tree for Venus and make a request for love. Red apples are for love, golden apples for fame and popularity, and green apples for prosperity.

Apricot

RULER: Sun

TYPE: fruit

MAGICKAL FORM: flesh, pit, dried, raw

Eat raw apricot for energy and rejuvenation. Consume the dried fruit to increase your life span. Dry the pits and add them to ouanga bags or poppets (voodoo dolls) for healing. The pit can also be ground to a powder and added to healing incense recipes. Finally, use the apricot in love spells to heal and reunite a couple whose relationship is on the rocks.

Aquamarine

RULER: Neptune

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: cut and polished

Carry this stone for protection when traveling on water or flying through the air over water. The blue of this stone influences the elements of both water (color of the ocean) and air (color of the sky). It is believed to prevent drowning and suffocating, bring inner peace, and reveal the mysteries of the deep. Meditation upon this stone can help open the creative unconscious. Carry or hold when inspiration is needed or to calm unreasonable fears. The stone should be cleansed with pure seawater to optimize its powers.

Arabic Gum

RULER: Mercury

TYPE: plant resin

MAGICKAL FORM: gum or powder

Add gum resin to loose incense formulas as a fixative and to raise spiritual consciousness. Burn or sprinkle the powder during rituals where requests or prayers are being made to deities. Arabic gum increases the chances of delivering messages and opens the psychic channels. It is also great for doing channeling work.

Arrowroot

RULER: Mars

TYPE: plant

MAGICKAL FORM: powder

Native Americans named this starch arrowroot because it was used to cure poison arrow wounds. Use in magickal recipes to heal a heart broken by one of Cupid's arrows. Sprinkle the powder in the four corners of a nursery to protect an infant. Dust your body to change your destiny, as arrowroot is said to avert Arachne, the weaver of fate.

Artichoke

RULER: Mars

TYPE: vegetable

MAGICKAL FORM: heart, leaves

As a member of the thistle family, artichokes carry armor and are eaten to ward off danger. Use them in rituals to get to the heart of a matter. Slowly work your way through the delicacy, peeling the leaves until you are at its core. Visualize the problem you are trying to sort out as you strip the leaves away. When you arrive at the heart, imagine your problem being solved at its very core. Roman artichokes stimulate the energy glands and increase sexual and physical stamina.

Arugula

RULER: Mars

TYPE: plant

MAGICKAL FORM: salad greens

The nutty peppery taste of arugula combined with its dark green color is said to bring cleverness in financial matters to those who consume it. Eat some on Tuesdays during a waxing moon to gain insight into your investments. The ancient Romans ate arugula as an aphrodisiac. Eat it with tomatoes to improve your sex life.

Asafoetida

RULER: Kali

TYPE: spice

MAGICKAL FORM: powder

This powerful-smelling spice is often used like garlic in East Indian cooking. It has protective powers much like garlic. Eat it to ward off evil. Sprinkle the powder around a property to protect it from thieves. Wearing asafoetida is said to cure homosexuality. Of course, the wearing of this scent will turn off just about everyone no matter what his or her sexual orientation.

Ash

RULER: Sun, Neptune

TYPE: plant

MAGICKAL FORM: leaves, bark, tree

In Medieval England and Ireland the ash tree was believed to repel snakes, remove warts, and protect children from witchcraft. Ancient Norse mythology describes the ash as the World Tree Yggdrassil. This tree is also sacred to sea gods. Carry the bark as a talisman when you are traveling across water. The ash tree is one of the sacred trees of the Druids and consecrating a branch of ash for use as a sacred wand will help to channel and reveal their ancient mysteries.

Ashes

RULER: fire, air

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: residue from something that is burned

The religious and magickal uses of ash include weather magic, healing, divination, acknowledgment of mortality and immortality, resurrection, mourning, purification, repentance, sorrow, protection, the conquering of fear, remembrance, fertility, and luck. Ash also represents the intellect, memory, new clarity, and vision. The best known spiritual rite using ash is the burning of the sacred palm to obtain ashes to mark the forehead on Ash Wednesday. Witches burn paper or herbal talismans to unlock their energy and work with the ash to bring about magickal transformation.

Asparagus

RULER: Zeus, Jupiter, Mars

TYPE: vegetable

MAGICKAL FORM: steamed

Eat this phallic vegetable for power, protection, prosperity, and sexual stamina. For best results, always consume the tops first and work your way down to the stem. In prosperity spells, it is best to work with a green dipping sauce that has a basil or cilantro base. For sex, use hollandaise or a white cream sauce. With a Parmesan or Romano cheese topping asparagus provides protection.

Aventurine

RULER: Jupiter

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: round

Excitement and adventure are the two main vibrations of this gemstone. Hold and warm the stone between your hands while making a travel or dream vacation wish. Add this gem to money and job rituals to bring more success. Aventurine is also a healing stone used to calm the nerves and create balance in the physical body.

Avocado

RULER: Venus

TYPE: vegetable

MAGICKAL FORM: meat, skin, pit

Many facial and anti-aging treatments contain avocado, which is a favorite beauty enhancer. Avocado softens and relaxes your skin when spread as a paste. Eat it for beauty and relaxation and serve it to calm down a potential lover and put him or her at ease. Dry the skin and crush it into a fine powder for adding to glamour incense formulas. Grow a plant from a pit to increase your physical attraction.

Azalea

RULER: Pluto, Persephone

TYPE: flower

MAGICKAL FORM: fresh

This flower is poisonous and has been used to commit suicide. It brings knowledge of the beyond and is a reminder of Persephone's departure into the underworld. Cut flowers placed on an altar will aid the emotional journey into the abyss and reveal knowledge of what lies behind death. Meditation on this flower growing in a garden connects us with the preciousness of life.

Azurite

RULER: Venus

TYPE: mineral

MAGICKAL FORM: deep blue clusters

Give this stone to someone you think is lying. It will encourage him or her to tell the truth. A great gem for honesty in love relationships and when meditated upon, it will help those involved see things from the other's perspective. Azurite is great to use when patience is required or when you are attempting to transform a relationship.

Copyright 2005 by Lexa Rosean

Continues...

---

Excerpted from The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients by Lexa Rosean Copyright © 2005 by Lexa Rosean.
Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---