Doing Uncrossings Rituals---Part 3---the recipes~~~

Dear Ms. Q,

"Can you provide a list of herbs and such for the bath and oil?"  "What or how do you make yours?"

There are many formula’s for the Uncrossing herbs for the 13 herb Uncrossing bath, much of it depends on what grew near a practitioners home or in their garden, and it also depended on where you lived, if it was a dry type of country it would be one type of herbs, a swampish country like Florida, Louisiana other types of herbs or in a rain forest country like the coasts of Washington State, or Oregon other types of herbs, but many of them come from the southern states, as well has having been introduced by the Ancients into Europe.

The Ancient Romans were great ones for collecting information as well as herbs from various localities and introducing them into their new “colonies” where the rule of Ancient Rome had spread, as well as discovering new things as well and incorporating them.   After they had left or been banished from their “colonies” or had been incorporated into the populace, the knowledge of these herbs for medicinal and cooking purposes was preserved by Monks in monasteries as well as the Craft Folk in villages,  and either written down or passed down by word of mouth.  

When people began to immigrate to America they brought over seeds of those same plants as well as the knowledge of their use.  Slaves would see the various herbs being grown and would learn of their use, and in time through trial and error would find what worked in folk magic.

Now thanks to the internet and mail order those herbs are available no matter where you live, but I’m sure in other countries outside of the United States there are herbs or traditional oil combinations that developed for a ritual to send back the evil that bedevils a person, to break the condition they are in and to heal them, the basic principles are the same, sometimes the ingredients are just a bit different.

But one ingredient in both Jewish and Christian literature and also is known in the middle east is the cleansing attributes of Hyssop, no matter what in a 3 or 7 or 13 herb bath, oil, incense or powder mixture, Hyssop Must be the first ingredient to be put into it, followed by Rue, followed by salt, the others for their properties of cleansing, protection and re-focusing.

Hyssop is an herbaceous plant native to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and the region surrounding the Caspian Sea. Due to its properties as an antiseptic, cough reliever, and expectorant, it is commonly used as an aromatic herb and medicinal plant and has been in use since classical antiquity.

According to Chaeremon the Stoic, Hyssop was  used for purgation (religious purification) in Egypt, where the priests used to eat it with bread in order to purify this type of food and make it suitable for their austere diet, frankly that must have been rough.  But it was an effective medicinal plant as it has soothing, expectorant, and cough suppressant properties.  It is also drought tolerant and should do well in dry climates in one’s garden, bee’s love it and create rich, flavorful honey with it.

But one has to be careful with using it because of its high concentrations of thujone and chemicals that stimulate the central nervous system that can provoke epileptic reactions when taken in high enough doses. The oil of hyssop can cause seizures and even low doses (2–3 drops) can cause convulsions in children.  So keep this oil away from youngsters.

The second herb that should be used is Rue, this is a tough herb, Rue is a hardy, evergreen, somewhat shrubby plant, is a native of Southern Europe, it emits a powerful, disagreeable odor and have an exceedingly bitter, acrid and nauseous taste. Rue is one of our oldest garden plants, cultivated for its use medicinally, having, together with other herbs like hyssop, been introduced by the Ancient Romans to England and other countries , but it is not found in a wild state except rarely on the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire.

It is cultivated as a medicinal herb, as a condiment, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent.  Which is why my Grandma would plant it near the front and back doors of her home, my Uncle use to tease me when I was a child and say it would keep vampires away.  It is also known as Herb of Grace.   Cat’s don’t seem to like it.

It does have some negative effects on the body. Large doses can cause violent gastric pain, vomiting, systemic complications, and death.   Exposure to common rue, or herbal preparations derived from it, can cause severe phytophotodermatitis which results in burn-like blisters on the skin, which is why my Grandmother always insisted that I wear long sleeves, gloves and long pants when gathering it.  One time I forgot and the blisters it caused that summer was very painful.

Now I list these two herbs because no matter what all the Ladies in my Grandmother’s group made sure they grew these two herbs in their gardens, because they had many magical uses and uncrossing baths is one of them.

There are many herbs to choose from in putting together a 13 herb uncrossing bath, I have them listed here along with symbols for what use they are.

The symbols are (p) = Protective (c) = Cleansing (r) = Refocusing aka healing

Not all of these herbs are readily available, some I would even question using in a bath, maybe as an oil or powder but one has to choose carefully taking into account skin sensitivity.

Absinthe (p)

African Ginger (r)

Agrimony (p, c)

Ague Weed (Boneset) (p)

Angelica (p, c, r)

Anise (r)

Ash Leaves (p, c)

Bay (p)

Benzoin gum (r)

Bitter Root (Gentian) (p)

 Black Pepper (p)

Blood Root (p)

Brimstone (Sulfur) (p, c) do not use in a bath

Broom Tops (c)

Clover (c, r)

Cloves (p)

Curry (p)

Devils Shoestring (p) not in a bath

Dill (r)

Dog's Grass (p, c)

Dragon's Blood (p, c)

Elder (p)

Five Finger Grass (p, c, r)

Flax (Linseed Oil) (r)  better as an oil

Fennel (p, r)

Frankincense (p, r) incense only or powder

Geranium (p, c, r)

Hawthorne (p, c)

High John (Jalap) (p, r)

Holy (Blessed) Thistle (p, r) not a bath

Huckleberry (p, r)

Hyacinth (c)

Hyssop (p, c)

Lavender (p, c)

Lemon Balm ( c, r)  Lemon peel and Lemon juice will do the same

Lilac (c)

Lotus (p, r)

Low John (Galangal) (p, r)

Marjoram (c, r)

Mint (r)  I believe it is referring to peppermint, as spearmint was used in money spells

Mistletoe (p, c, r) not in a bath

Mugwort (p, r)

Myrrh (p,r)    as an oil or incense

Nettle (c, r) not in a bath

Pine Bark (p) needles work just as well but should be washed in cold water before making an infusion

Rue (p, r)

Rose (r) white  rose petals is preferred

Rosemary (p, c, r)

Sage (r, p)

Sloe Bark/Berries (c)  This supposed to be a common plum

Spikenard (p, r)

Tormentil (p, r)

Unicorn Root (p, r)

Valerian (p)

Verbena (p, c)

Vertivert (p, c)

Woodruff (p)

Wormwood (r)

Using Castor Oil as the carrier in oil blends has a cleansing property as well as banishing. Never use the natural castor bean, always buy commercially made for medicinal use Castor Oil, the reason is the castor bean itself is extremely poisonous.

As you can see the choice is formidable as one is starting out, but as you get to know the properties of each herb and where it can be used then it’s made easier.   Some of these herbs can be grown in pots or if you are lucky to have a back yard then in a garden.  

Sage, Rue, lavender, lilac, hyssop, marjoram, hyacinth, geranium, clover, dill can be grown,  some can be purchased in one’s grocery store, and that would include sage, marjoram, dill, Bay, anise, clove.

With what I have just listed by including salt, you’d have your herb bath.  Other ingredients for the oil, incense and powder have included black pepper or black crushed pepper corns, a Broken Chain, Cayenne Pepper, Sugar, Crab Shell Powder, Beef Gall, Chicken Feathers, the practitioner's bath or wash water.   It can get very exotic and strange to one’s mind.

But it all depends upon what the practitioner has learned, been taught or has seen what works best, and again according to the area where they were raised.

My Grandmother would make an herb bath of Salt,  Hyssop, Rue, Rosemary, Pine needles, basil, lavender, white rose petals, sage, bay leaves, marjoram, geranium, cloves, and for really tough cases she’d add a pinch of the ashes from  burned Palm leaves given out on Palm Sunday from the year before.

[We had this tradition each year at midnight of Ash Wednesday—when it turned from Fat Tuesday to Ash Wednesday we’d burn the Palm leaves that we had received the year before on Palm Sunday,  we’d all go to my Grandma’s house and she’d collect all our palm leaves and burn them in this small metal pot and she’d collect and put the ashes into a special jar, because each Palm Sunday we’d hold onto those palm leaves for an entire year, and then the next Palm Sunday we’d receive new ones and hold onto those for a year]

That is what she’d put into her herb packets for the 13 herb bath.    Each lady in her group had their own individual combination, I never knew what they were, but for each one it worked.

Now the oil used to dress your candles can be made using natural herbs finally ground suspended in a base of Castor Oil.   Some people would add Jojoba oil because it does not go rancid as it is really a liquid wax, but in my grandmother’s day Castor Oil, (known to be a purgative on its own) was used for Uncrossing and Banishing recipes but when combined with herbs was NOT taken internally. 

One thing that was added which seemed to be something that developed independently when comparing it with the different ladies in Granny’s group was adding a broken chain, in a way nothing was ever wasted, it could have different uses.   Now this would be a small chain, like ones from old bath tub plugs, or a broken necklace chain, there would be these tiny chains to hold individual keys but from use they’d break,  so a broken chain was never wasted or throw away.

The uncrossing oil my Grandmother would make would be put into a “master bottle”  she would first put into the master bottle a  small length of broken chain, then she would grind up each individual herb and it would be a total of 13 herbs , but when she used a resin she would put the resin into double paper bag and then pound it to get any powder or tiny fragments,

The dry herbs she would use were hyssop, rue, black pepper, sage, salt, rosemary, lemon balm or dried lemon peel, myrrh, frankincense, geranium, lavender, pine needles, bay leaves.

So the Uncrossing oil would consist of

1 cup Castor oil

 1/2 tbsp Hyssop

 1/2 tbsp Rue

  1/2 tbsp Salt

1/2 tbsp geranium

1/2 tbsp lavender

1/2 tbsp bay leaves

  1 pinch Lemon Balm or dried ground lemon peel

  1 pinch Black Pepper

  1 pinch Sage

  1 pinch Myrrh

   1 pinch Frankincense

   and 1 small length of broken chain

The oil would be put first into the right size jar, Granny loved the canning jars or mason jars.  Then the chain, the ground up herbs, then resins and finally the chain into the jar with the Castor oil.

Then she’d seal the jar and shake it until the herbs are thoroughly mixed.   She shake the jar  once a day than a week before using it.  

If she was making it for someone else or to have it in an easy to handle bottle, she’d pour the oil from the master bottle into a very small bottle, but using cheese cloth to strain the herbs and chain while pouring, then she’d put the herbs and chain back into the master bottle

For the Uncrossing Incense it was the same mixture and amounts but no Castor Oil and no broken chain to be burned but she would keep a separate broken chain in the box where she’d keep the incense and she’d add a pinch of sulfur to add to the “power”  

To do it, again she’d grind up each herb, combine them together, keeping the broken chain in the box  and  Burn on self-igniting charcoal blocks such as Three Kings, it may give off a little or a lot of smoke it depends on the dryness of the herbs and the amount of resin.

For the Uncrossing Powder this was what Grandma made to roll freestanding candles in or would sprinkle across the front and back doorway of the Crossed person’s home, sometimes if it could be done it would be secretly sprinkled across the walk way of the home of the person who did the Crossing. 

 

The herb mixture would be ground up and put into a base of Cornstarch, ( some people use unscented talcum powder as a base)  and depending upon how much you want Granny told me it was 1 of Cornstarch to 1/2 each of the herbs and several pinches of the resin of Myrrh, and Frankincense, dry powdered sulfur could be added if it was to sprinkle across the person who did the Crossing but not if you’re going to be using it on candles so sulfur would always be added at the time you would need it for that. 

 If you’re going to use the powder to roll candles in then grind as fine as possible Devils Shoestring or if you are not able to get sulfur (aka Brimstone) or are reluctant to use sulfur you can substitute Devil Shoestring instead.

She would grind the herbs as fine as possible, stopping from time to time to sift out any coarse herbs from the fine, pouring the fine into its box and continue grinding the coarse pieces.  Once they are powdered as much as possible, combine them together and then mix them into the powder base and keep in a box with a small broken chain.

Now this is if you want to make your own, but you can purchase the herbal bath, the oil, incense and powder from any reputable metaphysical shop.

I provide these recipes for your information.

In my next section on Uncrossing I will give you suggestions as to how to tell if you have been unknowingly Crossed, so that you can do the Uncrossing ritual.

But if you feel that something is not right and you don’t have time to make a 13 herb bath you can do a simple cleansing bath by combining Hyssop, Rue and salt into a muslin bag and have it either soak into your tub water and immerse yourself in it or if you are pressed for time hang the bag under your shower head and stand under it as the shower sprays onto you and just say “Cleans me with Hyssop Oh Lord that I may be clean and the whitest snow”.    This is only good for quick cleansings and uncrossings and it’s just temporary until you can prepare for a complete uncrossing ritual.

Blessings to you,

Ms. Q