Monthly Archives: January 2018

Magickal Amber Mirror

This spell creates a small, unbreakable variation of a magick mirror. It can be used to draw your heart’s desires to you. Because it utilizes a piece of amber, it is particularly potent when it comes to affairs of the heart. Here’s how it works:

Look at the full moon through a piece of amber, holding it in your left hand and focusing on all your heart’s desires. Place this under your pillow before you go to sleep.

When you awake, you will have a potent charm. Use it to draw those desires to you. Replenish its power by repeating the ritual at subsequent full moons.

From: Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells

Romany Dreams of Desire

On a Thursday night, make a list of the qualities you desire in a romantic partner or visualize and name a specific person. Before you go to sleep that night, leave a piece of amber by your bed or under your pillow.

On Friday morning, first thing upon awakening, clutch the amber in your left hand, holding it close to your heart.

Close your eyes. Visualize your desire: make it as real and tangible as possible. Take as much time as you need.

Kiss the amber and wrap it up in a small piece of silk, wrapping or rolling toward you.

Keep this with you for seven days, carrying it by day, sleeping with it at night, beside your heart, between your breasts, wherever.

Repeat the process every morning. At the conclusion, you will have a highly charged love-drawing amulet.

Source: Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells

Juniper For Protection

There are many legends and the bible stories connected with the juniper. In a biblical story, Elijah was saved from king Ahab by sheltering under a juniper tree. A Brother’s Grimm story about a Juniper tree can be found here. Romanies say that any animal who seeks sanctuary from the hunter will be safe under a juniper tree.

Make a tea from the berries to cure nerves and indigestion. Allow about a dozen crushed berries per person, pour over them one and a half pints of boiling water and allow to draw for seven or eight minutes. Strain, and sweeten with honey.

The gypsies know juniper berries to have disinfectant qualities which are beneficial to the whole system. They rub their gums with them to promote healthy mouths- this was once an old remedy for scurvy.

More About Juniper

  • Common Names: Juniper, Gin Berry
  • Latin Name: Juniperus communis
  • Parts Used: Leaves, twigs, and berries
  • Cultivation: Juniper is a hardy shrub often used as a groundcover. Plant both male and female plants if you want berries.

Culinary Uses: Juniper is the primary flavoring in gin, but it has other culinary uses. Use a few bruised juniper berries in marinades, soups, and stews. Juniper combines well with parsley, fennel, bay, and garlic. Grill meats with a juniper branch or two on the coals; this will give the meat a rich flavor.

Magickal Uses: Juniper is used to protect against thieves, evil forces, accidents, animal attacks, ghosts, and sickness. Juniper burned as incense helps strengthen psychic powers.

Medicinal Uses: Use poultices of juniper to relieve rheumatic and arthritic pains, as well as ulcers and inflammations. Juniper is a diuretic, but it acts by irritating the kidneys, and there are other, safer means available.

  • Cautions:

Repeated use of juniper can cause kidney damage, convulsions, and personality changes. It should never be used by pregnant women.

Healthy Drinks and Juices

Here is a list of juices which are particularly good for you. Have one or more of these juices every day, if you can drink a pint, so much the better.

  • Apple Juice – A deliciously refreshing drink and good for rheumatism. Helps cure nausea.
  • Apricot Juice – Has lots of vitamin A. Will improve the general health.
  • Beetroot Juice – Will help low blood pressure, combat acidity, fight anemia and keep the blood in good condition.
  • Carrot juice – This is rich in vitamin A, is good for anemia, reduces acidity, helps fight arthritis, relieves nausea, fights mucus, cleans the blood and clears skin conditions such as acne.
  • Celery Juice – Clears the skin, relieves nausea, helps to lower high blood pressure and relieves rheumatism.
  • Cucumber Juice – Good for arthritis, high blood pressure, the skin and rheumatism.
  • Orange and Lemon Juice – Provide plenty of vitamin C and are good for colds and acidity.
  • Prune Juice – Very good tonic for the blood
  • Spinach Juice – This has a high iron content, combats acidity and clears the skin.
  • Tomato Juice – This is full of vitamin A. It will help acidity, arthritis, is a good blood cleanser and helps to fight mucus.

Blackberry Cordial

Put half a gallon of blackberries into a preserving pan with 3 tablespoons of water. Set over a slow heat stirring fairly frequently until the fruit is a pulp. Strain through a sieve or muslin bag. Measure the juice, return to the pan and to each quart add one pound of white sugar. Put 1 tablespoon each of cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg into a small muslin bag and add to the mixture. Boil for quarter of an hour stirring constantly. Remove the spices, add a wineglass of Rum or Brandy. Allow the cordial to cool then bottle and cork tightly.

Romany Pudding

Ingredients:

  • One loaf of stale wholemeal bread.
  • Hot stewed and sweetened blackberries with plenty of juice.

Slice the bread fairly thinly, removing the crusts and line the inside of a pie dish with some slices, fitting them in well and evenly. Gradually fill with hot stewed blackberries and enough juice to color all the bread in the dish. Cover the fruit with bread slices, and pour the remainder of the juice over them. Set the pie dish in a tin, place a dish or plate over the pudding and weight it down. Leave in a cool place overnight then turn out carefully. Whip some cream and decorate the pudding with it, or add a scoop of ice cream and a couple of cookies.

Gypsy Cures for Freckles

While freckles are fabulous, they haven’t always been considered the trademark of a gorgeous person. For centuries, beauty was sought in “flawless” skin and perfectly porcelain complexions. Freckled girls everywhere were constantly told they weren’t beautiful because of the dots that patterned their faces.

No more! As of late, freckles have become the must-have beauty essential. Having freckles is no longer just something you have to live with; it’s something to be desired.

If, however, you are not enjoying your freckles, here are some old Gypsy cures:

All you need is horseradish and milk. Scrape 2 tablespoons of the horseradish into a basin and pour half a pint of boiling milk over it. Don’t strain. When it is cold, use the mixture to cover the face thickly, especially any areas which may be heavily freckled. Leave to dry for half an hour, and then wash off with tepid water. Repeat at intervals of two or three days until the freckles have vanished.

Another way to discourage freckles is to gather the youngest leaves from an elm tree after rain or when the dew is on. Draw the leaves gently over the face leaving the liquid to dry on. Not only will this discourage freckles, it will also soften the skin and make it more beautiful.

Don’t worry if you are caught unawares on a lovely day and have no patent skin protection handy. All you need is a cucumber. Simply cut a slice and rub it over the face, neck and hands, leaving the juice to dry on. Not only will it give protection from sunburn it will freshen and revitalize the skin and also soften it, if left on overnight, it acts as a gentle astringent.

Horseradish – A Fiery Herb

Many people don`t enjoy their roast beef without horseradish sauce. The horseradish is a plant of Mars, the fiery planet of war, so no wonder it is hot! Plant it in your garden and unless you keep it under control it will over run everything. It stimulates the appetite and helps the liver to work well, so add it to salads whenever you can.

The Romanies knew nothing of bacteria and germs, but they knew by instinct and their own lore that horseradish had strong antiseptic qualities, so give it a regular place in your diet. Add it to mayonnaise, tomato juice and to cheese spreads.

More about horseradish:

  • Common Names: Horseradish
  • Latin Name: Armoracia rusticana
  • Parts Used: Root and leaves
  • Cultivation: Horseradish grows best in moist, rich, heavy soil with a pH of 6.8, in full sun. It is a perennial hardy to zone 5.

Culinary Uses: Horseradish is probably best known as the spicy condiment made by mixing grated fresh horseradish root with vinegar or mayonnaise. You can also add the young leaves sparingly to salads.

Magickal Uses: Sprinkle dried, powdered horseradish around your house to repel evil and negate any spells against you.

Medicinal Uses: Horseradish is one of the more potent herbal diuretics, and as such is used to treat kidney disease. It stimulates the digestion. Use it externally as a compress for neuralgia, joint stiffness, and rheumatism.

Garlic Every Day

Garlic is one of the most valuable plants that grow on earth! Everyone knows the old saying `an apple a day keeps the doctor away` The Romanies say that garlic every day keeps the doctor away. It is extremely good for the stomach and a powerful antiseptic.

Garlic belongs to the shallot family. Always rub a cut clove of garlic round the bowl before you prepare a salad. Place a clove in a lamb roast and see how delicious it will be, as well as sprinkled rosemary on top of the joint. Always when using onions, crush a clove of garlic and add it.

More about garlic:

  • Common Names: Garlic
  • Latin Name: Allium sativum
  • Parts Used: Bulbs
  • Cultivation: Plant cloves in spring or the fall for a fall harvest. Garlic likes rich, dry soil in full sun to part shade.

Culinary Uses: Garlic adds zest to every kind of food except desserts. Roast cloves whole in their skins to spread on toast. Toss a clove into soups and stews. Crush and use in Italian, French, and Asian dishes.

Magickal Uses: Garlic is used in protection, exorcism, and healing. Hang a garlic braid over your door to repel jealous people. Place a clove beneath your child’s pillow as a protection charm.

Medicinal Uses: Scientists are finding many of the old folk tales about garlic’s healing powers to be true. The active ingredient in garlic, allicin, which is produced when the bulb is crushed, has an antibacterial action similar to that of penicillin, and is in fact more effective than penicillin in treating typhus! It is also effective against staph and strep germs, yeast infections, influenza, cholera, and dysentery.

Garlic helps to lower blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and inhibits blood clotting and clogging of the arteries. It even seems to have some effectiveness in treating stomach cancer! It can be used externally to treat ringworm and threadworm.

  • Cautions:

Garlic and garlic pastes should not be applied directly to the skin, as they may cause blistering.

Protection From Gypsies

This charm is from an 1820’s book about Pow-Wows. It’s a protective spell against evil, and implies that all Gypsies were evil, which was a general belief of the time. It is included here as a curiosity, and a bit of history.

A direction for a Gypsy sentence, to be carried about the person as a protection under all circumstances.

Like unto the prophet Jonas, as a type of Christ, who was guarded for three days and three nights in the belly of a whale, thus shall the Almighty God, as a Father, guard and protect me from all evil. J. J. J.

From: Pow-Wows, or Long Lost Friend, by John George Hoffman

Subscribe
If you'd like to stay up to date on everything posted here subscribe via email:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Calendar
January 2018
M T W T F S S
« Nov   Sep »
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
Moon Phase Tracker
Be Merry

.


I think it's time to go shopping... maybe even buy some really cool stuff at my online shops!!

Stats