The Use of Other types of Dirt besides Graveyard dirt and "what kind of witch are you?"~~~~

Dear Ms. Q,

“You use dirt and water, as well as oils and nails, what kind of witch are you? Are there other kinds of things or dirts that you get from other places besides graves?”

I have to laugh because it seems we are back to "dirt" again,  but like in cooking, doing the "work" can require some interesting ingredients.  So here we go----

To the 2^nd question yes, there are other kinds of things and dirt’s that one can use in doing ritual or spell work, making a mojo bag or applying in a working, and I’ll get to that further down this post.

To the 1^st question, well in a way I’m a witch, but I prefer to refer to myself as a practioner of magickal workings, and I use many things that I know work, especially in terms of Folk Magic.

Some of the questions I’m  asked is in terms of sympathetic magic and spells bleed over into the use of Witchcraft, Hoodoo, Voodoo, Vaudou, Hex, Conjure, Folk and a bit of Santeria magic to the point where they meld together.  And with faith and will they do work.  Read my previous posts on the Ethics of magical workings as well as the one as why some spells don’t work.  That will give you a full idea and explanation.

But I am not a Wiccan because that is a religious practice, nor am into Voodoo as a religious practice, however I do call upon the Christian aspect of the voodoo spirits to aid me. 

Perfect example is the original Marie LaVeau, she was a voodoo practioner BUT she was also a devout Catholic, and I am also a devout Catholic, although the Psalms I refer to are usually from the New King James version which most people are familiar with as oppose to the Rheims-Douay Catholic version which many people, except for very devout and traditionalist Catholics, are not so familiar with.

Because I grew up not only in a Catholic family I also grew up in a neighborhood with people who were of different faiths, Jewish, Lutheran, Protestant, etc. and with the ladies of my Grandmother’s group they were of different faiths and cultures, but I always did see one overarching theme among them, and it unified them, and that was Faith.   And that is what did work—it did indeed work.

That is why the gathering or collecting of water, nails, dirt, herbs, bits of bone or wood from places, hair, fur, "the personals from different people" (trust me it happens),  different types of bottles and other things were just as important as putting up applesauce, jam and pickles. 

First off I want to make it clear that what I will do with this post, since this is so long, is not only am I going to post it here in my regular blog but also once completed  as a separate reference link on my pages so you don’t have to be hunting for it, and there for make it easy to reference to.

But in each there are always basic structures for your use, and it applies to all sympathetic magic, for example my posts on the different types of Waters is one.

Another thing is the different types of nails as well, coffin nails are the most popular for most magical workings, but Mrs. Washington and my Granny and the other ladies would use nails from other works sites where places had been dismantled, such as churches, a wealthy person’s home, a funeral parlor, an old jail etc.  I do remember she kept little wooden boxes all carefully labeled with the different nails, as a matter of fact, my Uncle would occasionally find the old fashion wooden spice boxes, that would have 6 or 8 drawers and when he did he’d get it for Granny especially if a house was going to be dismantled.

Mrs. Washington’s husband who was also a carpenter would also do that as well.   Her husband and my Grandpa and Uncle, both understood what the ladies were doing and didn’t argue with that fact.  They didn’t dare.

As I said, Granny and the ladies did it just as easily as putting it up along with her pickles, applesauce, peaches, jelly and tomato sauce, and it was in the basement of both my Granny’s and Mrs. Washington’s home and the other ladies homes.

Surprisingly these basements were never scary or uncomfortable, I could walk into them like I’d walk into their kitchen or front parlor, and I have no idea why, except maybe how they were constructed and warded.

My parent’s basement was the same way, but I’ve been in houses where going down into the basement just gave me what kids would call “The willies” just not at all comfortable.

But one would think that in the homes of those ladies, my Granny, the ladies and my parents, with all the magical supplies that they kept that those basements that it would have the feeling of giving “the willies” but they never did.   And why was that?  Because they also used protections and positive intent as well as regular cleansings to keep the space clear of any negativity, it was like they never let it build up, like sweeping dust bunnies out from under the bed.

So for now let’s go to Other Types of Dirt and how would they be used.  And then in another post I’m going to do an expanded review of Graveyard dirt as well as Crossroads dirt and magic. 

So let’s start with Other types of dirt, and remember if you also collect old nails from places torn down then the meaning of the dirt would also apply to the nails and even pieces of wood from those locations---so making friends with someone who does Salvage work can be pretty handy. 

OTHER TYPES OF DIRT-----

Dirt from various places are used to create amulet bags, mixes to use in spell work, and so many other things. Below is a list of the most common types of dirt and what they are used for. There are many other places to collect dirt from, the key is to use your logic and common sense, location dirt is symbolic but also brings that spirit or energy of that symbol to your work to aid it in manifesting your goal

Dirt Collected at Noon:   Any dirt collected exactly at noon is good for use in spells and charms of protection.  But it depends on what type of dirt to determine the type of protection,  from  a jail or court house to prevent trouble from the law or to protect you from troublesome people or a hospital to keep you well (although a flu shot works wonders),  a church to protect you from evil spirits.  You get the idea.

Dirt from 4 corners:  collected from the 4 corners of any location is mixed and utilized in charm bags to overcome obstacles and to open the road to success.  (this is different from dirt called upon to call the “Black Man” to make a bargain with the devil or dirt collected at 4 corners or cross roads in a cemetery)

Dirt from an Asylum---- Used in negative rituals to cause someone to be ill or mentally unbalanced. (use with caution)

 Dirt from Bank or Financial Institution:   collected from bank property is often used in money and prosperity charms and/or rituals/spells, this is a good one to use if you need a loan from a bank, or you want to do prosperity work, and be sure you are saving your money, making it grow. Collect and use this dirt to bring money into your hands or to receive payment of a long overdue debt.

Dirt from the Beach:  great for fertility and cleansing charms and rituals.  Associated with the Orisha  Yemanjá,  also known as La Sirène, or LaSiren (in Vodou), she is the Queen of the Waters, in Christianity  known as the Virgin Mary, she is the Mother from which all life comes.  This and a bit of Ocean water could be used to call upon her for assistance.

 Dirt from the Bottom of Shoes:   utilized in spells of domination and harm. (This dirt is collected from the bottom of the person you want to dominate shoes

Dirt from a Bridge---- means progress, connections, and stability. To reach a destination, overcome obstacles. Also for transitions. “Crossing over” is a euphemism for taking that journey from life to death, Or to make positive changes in one’s life.  This can have many uses in ritual.

Dirt from a Court House:  collected from outside a court house is used in spells and charms to bring victory in court cases, where you seek justice in a matter or dealing with the court system. Use this dirt for anything even remotely involving legal matters. This could include contracts, court cases, general justice, and even money that’s owed to you. If your intent would benefit from the discerning eye of the law, this is the dirt you need

Dirt from Churches:   collected from 4 different church locations can be used in cleansing spells and ritual work. Dirt from a church or chapel can be used in love work when you are working on a spouse or your marriage in general. It can be used to symbolize the house of the Holy Father to shield and guide you or to answer your prayers in any type of circumstances.   This would also apply if your client is of other faiths, you could use it from Jewish Temples, Hindu or Buddhist temples, Baptist or Pentecostal etc. These folks still practice their beliefs, still believe in God or a form of God.  

               

 Now on this it can be made more powerful in terms of protection, depending upon how many and what type of churches or temples collected from, or if for love and marriage.   So let’s break this down a bit.

                Church destroyed by lightning:   to cause lightening to strike a building or person or to cause a fire.

                Abandoned church:  To cause a person to lose faith in themselves to cause other people to lose faith in that person or to cause a person to lose their faith in their beliefs.

This gives you an idea of the religious places where you can carefully and respectfully gather dirt to aid in one’s protection depending upon ones religious belief.   Seven is also a sacred number which helps gain power for greater protection so dirt from 7 churches or 77 churches, dirt from Cathedrals are considered very powerful and dirt from the grounds of the Vatican the most powerful of all.

Educational Facility:  Whether it comes from a school yard or a college campus, this dirt is excellent for efforts involving knowledge acquisition and retention. It can also be used effectively in magic to induce study.

Dirt from your target’s (enemy) yard or driveway:   This is the same as foot track workings is used in a way that you would collect the targets foot print in the dirt to use in a spell to drive them way for instance like hot footing the person out of your life.

Enemy’s Home: (inside the home):  Granted, gathering this dirt is a bit trickier and may involve some skulking around to collect. But there’s no better way to cut your enemy off at the knees than to use dirt from his own home against him. Just an aside, though: Unless you want to cause possible harm to everyone living on that property, be very careful how you word the related spell.  (i.e. in the spell,  state that only your target is going to get hit with the spell and no one else)

Dirt from the Forest:  collected from the forest can be used in spells of protection as well as in rituals to promote communications with the spirits of that specific area.  Could be used to call upon the male Orisha Oxossi protector of hunters and forests.  But be careful.

Garden, Nursery or Flower Shop:  (This should be from a public garden but only take a small pinch of it) Often used in love spells, this dirt has the tendency to make love sprout and grow roots, bud and blossom. Unless you’re playing for keeps, though, it’s inadvisable to add this dirt to your magic.

From your own Home:  This really should be dust not dirt, as dirt can be felt dust not so much Gather this dust to protect all the occupants of your home and guarantee their safe return. The best way to accomplish this is to sprinkle a bit in every pair of shoes in the house. To ensure that someone else visits you again, sprinkle a bit in his or her shoes.

Dirt from a Hospital,  Clinic or Doctor’s office: used in spells of health, dirt from any of these locations for efforts that involve healing.  But you must keep in mind, though, 1^st no magic in the world is a substitute for medical care or prescription medications, 2^nd be certain that healing is exactly what you have in mind when you add this dirt to magic, especially if a serious illness is involved and death is a possibility for the recipient. WHY? Because healing and staying alive are two entirely different things. And sometimes death is often the best way to allow the soul to be released from unceasing pain.

Dirt from the location of where 2 dogs or 2 cats have fought:  used in spells of conflict. If use it from where 2 cats fought it will cause two women to fight.   It should not be from a Dog fighting ring, but from where two dogs met up naturally and get into conflict, same with cats.

Dirt from the Mountains: collected from the mountains is used in rituals to promote communications with spirits that reside in that specific area as well as cleansing spells.  Also could be used to call upon the male Orisha Oke. But be careful.

Dirt from a Native Americans Grave: collected from the graves of Native Americans is the perfect additive for spells and charms of protection. It can also promote a connection between you and your Native American Spirit Guide. (remember this has to be from a grave, not from a sacred Native American burial site)

Dirt from a Nightclub----For Illusion work to create something that is not, (see theater), sometimes used to create a ‘glamour’ spell.

Dirt from a Palero (Priest of Palo Mayombe):   collected from the home of a Palero is normally used in spells that involve promoting harm or conflict.

Playground---- Protection for one’s child or oneself.

Plowed field---- For fertility, to bring blessings into the home,  could be used to call the male Orisha Orisra Oko god of agriculture. To protect one's fields.

Dirt from a Police Station or Sheriffs Office:  collected from these locations can be used to create dusts which are then sprinkled on the property of those who are committing acts of crime in order to bring a swift end to the acts that they have or are committing. This can be used on neighborhood drug dealers, child molesters, illegal immigrants, thieves, and so much more.  An Alternative use for this dirt is Police Station:  Dirt from this area is often collected and sprinkled along the baseboards of the home and along the edges of its structure to keep the family safe from harm. It’s not a good idea to use this dirt if you’re involved in any sort of illegal activity, though, as it could bring the police straight to your door.

Dirt from Prisons or Jails:  collected from Prison or Jail property can be used in spells of justice as well as to keep a specific individual incarcerated or to promote the release of an individual. An alternative use for dirt from a Jail use Jail dirt to keep the police away from your door, especially if you’re prone to trouble with them. To make yourself invisible to the police and perhaps, cause them to overlook a bench warrant, add a piece of hematite to the dirt.

Dirt from a Race Track, Casino, Property of a Bookie, etc:   from any of these locations is a great additive in spells and charms of money, prosperity, and gambling.

Dirt from a Railroad track----Use to banish someone away from you in one aspect, or to protect you while traveling.  Also could be used with molding the inner and outward Self and realizing your highest potential.  Could be used to call Ogun the warrior god of  the Orisha’s, he is the patron deity of soldiers, police officers, surgeons, railroad workers, welders, body builders, or anyone employed to work with iron and steel, Like the blacksmith.

Dirt from a Rivers Edge:  correlates with Oshun, the Goddess of love and marriage, therefore, its usage pertains to love, marriage, and relationships.

Dirt from a Santero (Santerian Priest):  collected from the home of a Santero is the perfect additive for spells of protection.

Dirt from a Shipping port or travel port---- Used in protection, to bring someone home safely, especially someone who works on a ship of some sort,   on the reverse it could be used to send or banish someone far away.

Shopping Center or Mall:   These areas are always busy, employ many people, and have a reputation for attracting large amounts of cash, used in efforts to obtain gainful employment or increase your cash flow.

Theatre---To create an illusion to have someone see you differently (See Nightclub)

Town square----In rituals to help communicate with the physical world, to assist in dealing with the public.

Tunnel –use in ritual to create a pathway into your unconscious, a opening to your innermost feelings and memories.  A variation of Cave dust, but in this case to see the light and get answers.

 Dirt from the home or property of a Witch:   collected from the home or property owned by a witch is universal. It can be used in all kinds of spell work and charms in order to promote power, domination, control, harm, revenge, love, psychic abilities, consistency, opening opportunity and so much more. Do pay attention though, if the witch you’ve collected the dirt from is a black magick practitioner, you can bet that that dirt is more potent in works of a gray or darker nature. Dirt from the home of a “good witch” will be more potent in lighter and “good” works.

Dirt from the Workplace:   There are lots of uses for this sort of dirt. It works wonders when included in efforts for getting a promotion or raise. But that’s not all. It can also be used to foil a co-worker or for figuratively getting the dirt on the company, itself.

DIRT FROM THE COUNTRY----

Bull or Goat Pasture-----To increase sex in a man, sometimes the tiniest pinch is added to something where he won’t notice the taste like a cup of strong coffee.

Scarecrow underneath one---to keep undesirable attenuation away from a person.

Barren Field---tossed on a man or woman will cause them allegedly to not have children or lose interest in sex.  Tossed against a person’s front door to make them lose all their money, or sprinkled on where they walk. 

Successful harvest Field---This is the reverse of a Barren Field.

Cave---Use in ritual to help relieve stress or to do a meditation ritual to go into one’s self to find meaning. (see also Tunnel)

Desert---- in banishing works to make someone disappear

Swamp---the same as Desert only worse.

DIRT FROM THE ROOTS OF TREES----

The workings of these trees is the same as for cemetery trees but they are dealing with the Lighter positive aspect workings of those trees.

Cypress tree----the scent of the cypress tree is to give comfort during times of loss, to give protection during times of crisis, and promote long life.

Yew tree----- The yew is sacred to Hecate and therefore the ancient wisdom of the feminine and is also a symbol of the old magic.  Considered to be the most potent tree for protection against evil, magically it is a means of connecting to your ancestors, bringing dreams and Otherworld journeys. This is one of its most valuable abilities, for it provides us with the opportunity face death,

Oak tree ----helps center the mind, allowing it to focus on the task at hand and ignore distractions. Oak help promote both observation and intuition, inspires bravery, presence, leadership skills, prosperity, and strength.

Holly Tree-----Works to protect one from  spirits of the dead, if sprinkled around your house to protect from negative workings.

Uprooted  Tree:  Any uprooted tree uprooted by natures force symbolizes the blows of life, using dirt gathered from a tree uprooted is to protect oneself from being suddenly uprooted.

Many trees has positive and negative uses, making a wand or an object for ritual use depends upon the magical connotations in regards to the trees,  this would take an entire post just to list the magical workings of trees.   Something I’ll have to post at another time.

Because this list is very long,  I will continue it in Part 2.

Bright Blessings,

Ms. Q