Recipes: Teas, Simples, Washes and Philters for Witches

There are many different sources for divination teas, philters, simples, and washes. These are added to magickal workings in some instances and actually are the magickal workings at other times. Any time you combine two or more types of magick into one ritual you are building that much more power to be able to send out with the spell.

The following is a list of tried and true recipes that we have enjoyed in the past.

Clairvoyance Philter
Source: Scott Cunningham

Ingredients:
3 parts rose petals
1 part cinnamon
1 part nutmeg
1 part bay
1 part mugwort

Directions:
Put these in a cauldron or pot and pour boiling water over them. Allow them to steep for several minutes, use the scent of the brew to improve your psychic awareness by inhaling the scented steam; you may even drink a bit of the brew to assist you in this. Then lie down and allow the visions to wash over you. Allowing the steam to continue rising and continue to help with the visions.

Psychic Tea
Source: Cunningham

Ingredients:
3 part rose petals
2 parts yarrow
1 part cinnamon

Directions:
Put these in a cauldron pot and pour boiling water over them. Allow them to steep for several minutes, then strain and drink it to assist you with divination and scrying.

Here are a few other recipes, which we have picked up over the years, which have proved helpful. They require 8 ounces of boiling water and the following herbs depending upon the result you are seeking. First, add the chosen herb to your cup or mug, bring the water to a boil on the stove top, then, and add it to your cup or mug. Let it steep for ten minutes and strain out the herbs. You may chose to sweeten teas with the old standard sweeteners of brown sugar, clover honey, orange honey, or you may use ordinary honey if you wish.

(For washes used externally, you may store the concoction in a glass jar in your refrigerator for a few days up to a week. Experiment and see, which works best for you.)

Agrimony: Brew and use as a wash for areas of the body which need healing as it is an excellent anti-inflammatory. Used in conjunction with healing spells work wonders.

Chamomile: Brew and use as a wash to draw good luck.

Cinquefoil: Brew and use as a wash to clear away hexes and curses of all kinds.

Eyebright: Brew and anoint eyelids and temples to enhance clairvoyant visions.

Hibiscus Flowers: Brew and drink to improve divination.

High John the Conqueror: Brew and use as a wash before gambling to increase luck.

Horehound: Brew and drink to increase mental acuity and processing speed. (Author’s Note: Do not use this if you are already physically tired and have to drive after your mental tasks are completed. This tea will make your mind race and allow you to achieve success over complex mental problems, but it causes a side effect of extreme exhaustion and can be unsafe to drive after using.)

Jasmine Flowers: Brew as a tea and drink to draw prosperity. Drinking also assists with bringing psychic dreams.

Kava Kava: Brew and drink as an aid for astral travel and psychic visions.

Mugwort: Brew and drink for clairvoyance.

Passion Flower: Brew and use as a wash to draw in peace and to erase stress.

Peppermint: Brew and drink as an aid to peaceful sleep and divinatory dreams.

Rosemary: Brew and mix with two tablespoons of baking soda and applied it to the scalp as a baldness preventative. (Spiritwind reported that after using this mixture for a few weeks he began to see new growth on the top of his head where he had been losing hair for years.) Leave on overnight and then rinse the next morning. Brew as a wash to cleanse your hands before spell work.

Skullcap: Brew and drink as a cure for insomnia and to bring peaceful sleep.

Vervain: Brew and drink to increase creativity.

Yarrow: Brew as a tea and drink to improve psychic powers.

 

Witches’ Tools: The Danger in Edibles

Just a quick note: There are hundreds of herbs and plants used in magick. Each have their own properties, strengths and uses. Herbal magick is some of the simplest magick there is, however, it is also some of the most deadly! A simple mistake can cost you or a loved one their health or even their life if used improperly.

Before you begin to work with unfamiliar herbs remember the Do or Die Rule. Before making an herbal tea for any purpose, to drink or add to baths, or even as a wash, until you have had sufficient experience to learn the exceptions, it is safest when making any thing which is to to be taken internally or which may come in contact the skin, to stop and think: “Does it need to be boiled or steeped?”

If it is root or bark it must be boiled,
If it is leaves or flowers it must steep.

I know for those of you who have been creating your own herbal remedies, infusions, teas, etc. for years, this may seem like I am treating you like an idiot, but I would much rather someone be offended, than dead. Some people have never heard this rule and may need to know. Of course, doing your own research before using any new herbs is always the best choice. As I said, there are exceptions to every rule, after all.

Safety first!