Witch Tip Wednesday 7.18.18
The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword: Enchanted Inks
So, you made a book of magic, you gilded the edges, and you’re ready to fill it. While the variety of pens and pencils and colors they come in has been a boon for witches, if you want to take your magical book to the next level, then magical inks are the way to go.
Not only are they an awesome project to work with and to add depth and make a statement in your book; magical and handmade inks are a simple way of adding a huge magical boost to a working.
Now, a lot of modern witch craft if it even specified to use a certain color, it doesn’t specify the ink. Again, I’m down for ease of use and witching on the go, but if you’ve got the time and really want to tip the scales, use a corresponding ink.
Used for sealing pacts, written spells, or adding gravitas to a petition, enchanted inks are generally a blend of sacred resins and herbs blended together. They can be used simply with only a few words, or adding another magical level to sigils or ritual. Some people even use these inks to draw on themselves as the ink can stain for a day or more to carry more witchcraft through the day.
Just as people choose specific candles or oils for their workings, there’s a history of putting as much care in choosing which ink to use as these modern witchcraft practices.
A note on “blood”: There isn’t actual blood required for these recipes. Due to secret codes and lost references, some may assume bat’s blood or dove’s blood ink require actual animal sacrifice, but much like the animal misnomers covered in my Shakespearean Herb name post, this is just a code for blood resins.
Dragon’s blood ink is a wonderful place to start, because honestly, the other blood inks can be easily tinkered and altered off the base of this type. Used for general magical need, workings dealing with courage, strength, power, and luck.
Dragons blood resin is used as a general magical booster. Something that increases spiritual resonance similar to how some people use asafoetida to add an extra boost or how others will use crystals to add extra power.
🐉Gum arabica (acacia gum)
🐉Optional: cinnamon essential oil
Grind the resins as finely as possible (equal parts is a good place to start) and once it’s ground as finely as possible, start to add alcohol drop by drop until it reaches proper consistency to use with a fountain or dip pen.
Bottle and label this and give a shake before use!
Used for love magic, blessings, friendship and relationships in general.
🕊Cinnamon essential oil***
🕊Rose essential oil/tincture***
🕊Bay Laurel essential oil***
Used for baneful magic. Hexes, curses, bad luck, domination, and commanding, or for lifting hexes curses and other baneful workings.
Just as a note, as this is adding yet another component to baneful work, just take caution when using because it’s yet another moving part to something you already should be cautious about. Last thing you want is your own working splintering off and affecting you or others inadvertently.
Label this one especially, because you don’t want to try and protect someone and accidentally hex them by mixing up your inks.
There are other enchanted inks like Butterfly Blood Ink which can get rather pricey as saffron is a key ingredient. Or natural dyes that can be mixed to create different colored inks like color changing butterfly pea flower.
Lampblack ink made with candle soot, oak iron ink made with oak galls and iron infused liquid was the original black ink used in illuminated texts and grimiores. You can experiment and look up recipes, but find what works for you!
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After a time, alcohol may dissolve and thicken the ink. Add additional alcohol until it reaches the proper consistency.
*If you are using a high percentage alcohol like I mention in my tinctures post, you can let this sit for a few days to allow the alcohol to dissolve as much resin as possible. If not using a high proof, then strain it through a coffee filter or fine piece of cloth to remove debris.
**Gum Arabica, also known as acacia gum or resin from the acacia tree is added as a thickening agent which helps the consistency of the ink be usable. Without a thickening agent, it will be hard to write with and more or less like painting with water colors.
***If essential oils aren’t a viable option, I suggest making a concentrated tincture with the herbs required, and feel free to add additional herbs you connect with your purposes to this. Use the tincture instead of plain alcohol to make the ink. (See the above mentioned tincture post for details.)
