Saltpeter is a natural mineral with many uses in commerce and in magic. It is employed to preserve foods, to make powdered incense burn more evenly, and as an ingredient in Gunpowder (which is Saltpeter, Charcoal, and Sulphur.) It also has a reputation for diminishing the male sex drive when ingested, although this is not backed by scientific evidence.
Magically speaking, Saltpeter has a long, long, long history in hoodoo as an agent of magical protection in spritual baths and floor washes and as a shoe-sprinkle. Also, because it is an ingredient in Gunpowder, it is used in formulae which are hoped to produce quick ("explosive") action, such as Block-Buster. In this capacity, it can be an ingredient in love spells or money spells where fast action is required. (There are also certain "explosive" spells that call for Gunpowder as an ingredient, and if you can't find gunpowder locally, you can use Saltpeter, Sulphur, and Charcoal to mix up your own Gunpowder for use in such spells.)
Here are three recipes using Saltpeter in its protective capacity:
To shield yourself where you walk (in case folks have thrown for you), sprinkle a mix of three ingredients in your shoe. According to who tells you a recipe, the three ingredients will be any three of the following four:
Salt
Saltpeter
Red Pepper
Black Pepper
To take off jinxes and to protect yourself from attacks, pick three ingredients out of the following list and put a little in your bath water:
Salt
Saltpeter
Epsom Salts
Buffalo Ammonia
Blueing
To a bucket of warm water, add the following ingredients:
SaltPrepare this floor wash in complete silence, not talking to anyone from the time you rise until the time you complete the job. Scrub, mop, or brush from the doorway outward to the sidewalk, to keep off all evil.
Saltpeter
Your own first Urine of the day
The following documentation on saltpeter comes from "Hoodoo - Conjuration - Witchcraft - Rootwork," a 5-volume, 4766-page collection of folkloric material gathered by Harry Middleton Hyatt, primarily between 1935 and 1939.
SALTPETER - TO KEEP MATE -- Vol. 2, Pg. 961
Dere's a form of usin' saltpeter to keep yo' {mate}. Well, yo' git some saltpeter, on de first Friday of de month or de first -- well, any Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, an' yo' would place it to de fo' corners of yore house wit a wish dat chew make.
[New Orleans, LA. Informant# not noted; E6:7-E19:3 = 2839-2852]
{Placing a mineral such as Saltpeter in the four corners is a common method of laying a trick in an X pattern or quincunx.
You can read more about the uses of Saltpeter and Gunpowder in the book "Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic".
|
copyright © 1995-2003 catherine yronwode. All rights reserved.
Send your comments to: cat yronwode. |
| Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small donation to catherine yronwode for the creation and maintenance of this site. |
|
interlinked web sites, each with its own distinctive theme and look. You are currently reading HOODOO IN THEORY AND PRACTICE by cat yronwode. Here are some other LUCKY MOJO web sites you can visit: |
There are 6,000 web pages at Lucky Mojo. You can search for a single word (like mojo, hoodoo, pagan, or magick) or an exact phrase (like love spells, witchcraft supplies, or rootwork course):
OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
Yronwode Family:
www.yronwode.com, the home page for the Yronwode family
Garden of Joy Blues:
www.gardenofjoyblues.com, former hippie commune in the Missouri Ozarks
Satan Service:
www.satanservice.org, theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists