Spells: Making Peace Dust from Foraged Flowers

Here is another wonderful idea from Jane Mortimer, who is a regular contributor to A Bad Witch's Blog - how to make Peace Dust from foraged flowers:

Trying to kick-start the witchy mojo after a lazy weekend and a half-hearted Esbat celebration, I went out in the garden to gather ingredients to make this year's batch of Peace Dust. I got through a lot of it last year making little spells to put in the Trick or Treat bags, so it needs replenishing. People who haven't got gardens could probably find things in the hedgerows or local open spaces, but I wouldn't dare go round the local park with a trug and a pair of secateurs - the park keeper would probably see it as going equipped to steal!

I snipped off a bowl full of tired-looking roses, pelargoniums and scented geraniums, plus a few of their leaves, some violet leaves, feverfew, and a few stems of wheat that grew from the bird food. All these botanicals are ruled by Venus, but I also added quite a bit of spearmint, ruled by Mercury, because the scents go so well together, and Mercury could help speed things up if the resulting mix is used for spell work. Then I sprinkled the lot with a good splash of ylang Ylang essential oil and added a handful of green cardamon pods. All of this is now hanging up in a paper bag to dry for about a week, then I'll cut out the main rose stems and put everything else in my mini food chopper to smash it to bits. A pestle and mortar doesn't cut it with this lot, trust me!

My jar should be full again soon. I call it Peace Dust because I use it to make up home protection spells, with a little incantation that goes: "Vile intent from other mortal, enter not across this portal." The dust can be sprinkled across the front doorway to stop people bringing any malevolence into the home by magickally cleansing their steps as they enter. It can also be used as incense, but it's great as pot pourri as it smells gorgeous just as it is.

It occurred to me that while everything is still verdant and quite a bit flowery outside, this is a good time to gather botanicals to dry for incense and magick, or make into oils and potions to replenish our apothecaries. It's also a good time to check the hedgerows and see how the blackberries, sloes and feral apples are doing.  I can't believe someone - probably a woman afflicted with weird gestational eating foibles - chucked a Bramley apple core out of a car window on the A12, and it's grown into a tree that produces huge apples that are quite close to a Bramley, but too sour to be an eater. They make lovely apple pies.

Jane Mortimer

Previous posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2019/12/witchy-crafts-tips-for-making.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/04/pagan-eye-flame-of-avalon-burning-for.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/05/self-seeded-flowers-nature-between.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2020/06/of-stones-and-jam-and-returning-to.html