Making Magic Ink for Paper Talismans

I ran into this wikiHow about making ink out of teabags, and I thought how nice it would be to make some for writing symbols on paper talismans.

Of course I'm not happy with just making normal tea ink. So I added some bay leaf and star anise and lemon peel and rose petals into the brew. Those sort of happy, positive, love-and-light magic herbs.

It ended up smelling so sweet I could imagine rainbows and stars coming out of the tea. Using it as ink is quite a bitch though. It's not very "clingy" on the material I used, which is the back part of a document suited for my spell, and the stupid "ink" keeps feathering out on the paper. Using a nib pen is also another matter. I didn't realize those things need some mad skills to write with.

My talisman ended up the size of a hanky because my tea-ink writing skills are useless on anything pocket-sized.

It must be noted that this stuff isn't something you could keep indefinitely. Just a week in storage and it already grew molds.

So I'm back to tea-stained papers and my magical Parker jotter. I'm never probably going to use a nib pen again until I learn some calligraphy, which is sort of in my to-do list and is up there with sending surprise letters  to friends written on parchment sealed with wax and sent through a pigeon the post office like the good ol'days.

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Sweet Concoction

The cider vinegar and honey mixture is an age-old concoction used as a medicinal base, called oxymel, as well as a refreshing drink when mixed with water.

I always use Bragg's Cider Vinegar and some cheap, locally-made honey sold in Tanduay bottles because the imported ones are so expensive. I found that there is actually a ready-made mixture from Wescobee being sold at some posh grocery stores, which I intend to try some day.

It's well-known for it's numerous benefits from curing arthritis to increasing the immune system (by helping the body's alkaline/acid balance). Personally I use it as a remedy for moderate cough and cold and sometimes as a ritual drink. I like the taste by itself but occasionally I have fun with it by mixing it with calamansi, fresh oregano, or mint. When using fresh herbs, I would steep the crushed herbs in a glass of hot water for a few minutes, then adding the honey-vinegar mixture in as a sweetener. My friend, the herbal witch Eric swears by putting some small garlic into the jar of the honey-vinegar mixture to give it flavor, and putting a teaspoon or two of the mixture in a glass of fruit juice.

Even with no colds, no coughs, or no arthritis, it's still nice to have a jar of this mixture around. It lasts long, and it can be a healthier alternative when you're craving for calories.

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New Year's Eve Witchery

While mother and sister were busy preparing dinner for media noche, I busied myself as well with new year's eve chores of the pagany sort. I was able to do a lot of stuff with my old stock of cinnamon and clove and half a dozen oranges.

Our house was filled with the sugary-sweet smell of citrus and spice as I made some old-fashioned glühwein (mulled wine) as first libation to the spirits for the year. I first got a taste of glühwein when I visited a German-themed Christmas market some weeks ago at the Mall of Asia. I found it quite odd-tasting at first but have gotten to like it after a few sips. My glühwein happily ended up tasting just as good as the one sold at the Christmas market. I decided that this shall be my official cool-season ritual drink.

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

At the Christkindlmarkt. December 9, 2012

Kin-gyo, my mecha-servitor, brought me a lot of good things during the year. So instead of making a new one I just decided to upgrade my favorite money-maker. It's gotten a lot heavier now with all the coins I've been feeding it with. I replaced the batteries and the old speaker magnets with more powerful ones I bought from the home depot. I placed an orgonite disk at the center of the plate and placed the maneki-neko on top of it. I washed everything with an infusion of oregano, cinnamon, clove and orange peel steeped in warm mineral water. Now my ultra pimped maneki-neko is fresh for the year ahead.

Witching you a happy new year.

I made an anointing oil for Oshun as mini-libations for my weekly devotion. Unfortunately my lazy habit of not taking notes of the measurements kicked in and now I have totally forgotten the proportion of the ingredients. The recipe is quite simple though:

• orange rind
• cinnamon
• clove
• turmeric
• nutmeg

I would have included some sunflower seeds and a few drops of honey but I'd like to keep the number of ingredients to five, just because it's a sacred number to Oshun.

Steep all of the stuff in canola or sunflower oil (I used canola) and shake daily for two weeks, drain, and it should end up being golden-yellow with a subtle citrusy scent.

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