Spiritual Use of Turpentine in Hoodoo and Witchcraft

Victorian turpentine bottle for old witchcraft

I have posted in the past about the use of giving one's bedding a spiritual cleansing from time to time. I recently was laundering my pillows in the same load of laundry as some turpentine-soaked rags, with the result that the pillows emerged from the wash reeking of turpentine.

From a magical perspective, this may not be a bad thing. Turpentine is used in old-time hoodoo rituals for purposes such as uncrossing, protection and sometimes as a feed for mojo bags. Its solvent powers and strong odor do indeed suggest a powerful spiritual cleansing agent, and it is still used in some modern day cleaning products on a purely practical level for these same reasons.

Old time medicines sometimes included turpentine as a thing to drink, in small doses. A book from the 1850s, The Domestic Medicine Chest, recommends giving it to children in a dose of one teaspoon for killing tapeworm. Relatedly, in old time hoodoo cures for "live things" turpentine might be made into a tea along with other herbs and drunk down by the victim. There were also old time hoodoo "pills" made to cure conjure, such as one recipe of powdered silver and dragon's blood resin, moistened with turpentine and formed into pills which the conjured person swallowed in order to cure their ailment.

If one suspected that cursed items had been placed or buried on their property by enemies, sprinkling the grounds with a mixture of turpentine and black oak bark infusion was said to draw up the items so that they could be found. To kill the power of any conjured items, turpentine and salt mixed together could be sprinkled over them.

Turpentine is also said to chase away the power of conjure from inflicting one's body or home in the first place. Pouring a bit of turpentine into dishes in the four corners of a room (or, if one doesn't have to worry about damage to paint or carpets, poured directly onto the ground in each corner) is said to protect against conjure. One of Hyatt's informants advised rubbing turpentine directly onto one's body as a form of protection -- allegedly one's enemies "couldn’t do you nothin’ -- dey couldn’t stand you, dey wouldn’t have nothing to do with you." One supposes the strong odor alone might drive people away, but some people actually enjoy the scent of it -- Demeter Fragrances offers perfume, soap and room fragrances that smell like turpentine.

Another interesting use of turpentine is in this breakup formula, doubtless chosen because of its power to dissolve oils, varnishes, etc.: to break up a couple, one could sprinkle on their porch a mixture of grave dirt, turpentine, salt and sulfur. Many older breakup formulas contain ingredients found in uncrossing formulas, and there may be a supposition that the relationship is held together by witchcraft to begin with.

Perfume, Cologne, and Its Use In Hoodoo

The original recipe for cologne was reputedly given to St. Elizabeth of Hungary by an angel -- the concoction was known as "Hungary Water" and was used primarily as a medicine, rather than just a mere fragrance. Charles Godfrey Leland remarked that it therefore was appropriate hoodoo practitioners would use such a substance for feeding their conjure bags and other talismans. The term cologne actually comes from a later preparation, Cologne Water (named for the German city.) The original Cologne Water is a spirit-citrus perfume launched in 1709 by Giovanni Maria Farina (1685–1766), an Italian perfume maker from Santa Maria Maggiore Valle Vigezzo, Italy. In 1708, Farina wrote to his brother Jean Baptiste: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain". He named his fragrance Cologne Water, in honour of his new hometown. The Original Cologne Water composed by Farina was used on...

The Intranquil Spirit

(EDIT: Up to date information about the Intranquil Sprit can be found in my book The Intranquil Spirit , available on Amazon. This post has some incomplete information which is clarified in the book.) The Intranquility spell is, unfortunately, the first resort of many a rejected lover. In some ways it makes sense -- the more unhappy and forlorn one is about a breakup, the better this idea of making the other partner feel just as much so starts to sound. Unfortunately, this spell is often not well suited to a case. The purpose of the standard Intranquility spell is to have the person be tormented by the spirit until they make contact with you, or whomever the spell is being cast for. This means that if a person is already in good contact with their ex OR if they're one of those people who cannot restrain themselves from initiating contact, then this already is probably not the right spell for that case. If you've had an Intranquility spell cast and you make contac...

13 Herb Bath for Curse Removal

13 Herb Bath for curse removal can be made from from any 13 uncrossing and purification herbs. For example, if I needed to fix a batch of 13 herb bath right now based on what I've got in the house, I could mix bay leaves, rue, mint, rosemary, wood betony, sage, verbena, angelica root, white rose petals, lemongrass, lemon peel, agrimony and arnica, and it would suffice well. Other herbs like hyssop, pine needles, juniper leaves, boldo, eucalyptus leaves, mullein, basil, lavender, or marshmallow leaves would be good to use too. By no means complete, here is a list of just a few herbs said to remove a curse or jinx that you can use to make your own 13 Herbs bath: Agrimony Alkanet Angelica Arnica Basil Bay leaves Black Pepper Blessed Thistle Boldo Cayenne Pepper Chives Eucalyptus Garlic Hyssop John the Conqueror Juniper Lavender Lemon Lemongrass Lime Marshmallow leaves Mint Mullein Onion Pine Rosemary Rue Sage Sandalwood Verbena White Rose Petals ...

Mother Bombie's Witch's Bottle for Curse Removal and Spell Reversing

The witch bottle is a very old spell device. Its purpose is to draw in and trap harmful intentions directed at its owner. Folk magic contends that the witch bottle protects against evil spirits and magical attack, and counteracts spells cast by witches. Mother Bombie's Book of Witchcraft contains the following recipe for constructing a witch's bottle: To Make the Witch’s Bottle Which shall cure of all sorceries done against ye You must have a bottle which sealeth with a cork or wooden plug, in which you shall place the following: A quart of your own water shall be taken and boiled with a paring from each toenail, and with some of your hair, for fire will burn away all evils, and as the water reduces so shall your trouble. Put thereto sulfur, XII nails made from iron, and VIII pins of brass. Add also a heart that has been shaped and cut from from leather or cloth, which you shall pierce with one more nail or pin, for that is the heart of the evil doer who m...

Best Days of the Month for Magical Workings - Old Time Grimoire Magic for Successful Witchcraft

There is always a fascination among witchcraft practitioners with the art of timing -- the belief that performing a spell at a particular hour or day will give the spell an edge, such as the Planetary Hours and their derivative the Voodoo Hours used to decide when a magical working will be performed. Naturally, there are also beliefs about the best days to perform spells. This listing comes from a Renaissance era grimoire, but which contains spells that date back to Greco-Roman era. (The book is for sale with the translation The Book of Oberon, though you can read the direct transcription for free via Esoteric Archives. ) This is using standard calendar dates, so 1 is the 1st of the month, 31 is the 31st of the month, etc. Good to begin all manner of things For hate and enchantment against enemies "Right naught" -- don't plan for magical work on this day To enchant and conjure wicked spirits For invisibility, and enchant against enemies For works that regard theft an...

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