***Also commonly referred to as Witch’s Salt, Drive Away Salt or even Sal Negro.***

Hi there kids! I’m TK the accidental Kitchen Witch, and I’m here to lay down the knowledge upon you as to how to go about making your very own Witch’s Black Salt!  Today’s beyond awesome crafty tutorial is about a neat substance called Black salt.(Not to be confused with culinary black salt.)

Never heard of it? Don’t feel bad, Black Salt is just now making its way onto the main stream witchcraft scene. Black salt is used mainly as a serious bit of protective whammy. You can spread it about your property boundaries to banish negative energy, spirits, people, annoying neighbors, bill collectors. Really just about anybody or thing you do not want coming over for a visit. You can use it make a boundary of sorts against people you don’t like for whatever reason. Sprinkle it on your tires before making trips to protect your ride! Take it your workplace and sprinkle a bit about to claim your space by dispelling irritating co-workers from your workplace. Get them to vacant completely by placing it under their chairs or about their work-spaces. Now that we've gone over a few ways to use this magickal concoction, here is the fun part!

Step 1.

Gather up your ingredients and supplies!

Herbs **You’ll need various herbs and spices attributed with protection and banishing qualities**

Salt (I prefer a mixture of coarse and fine sea salt but you can even use rock salt or Ice cream salt to make your blend!)

Charcoal ** You can use whatever kind of charcoal you want, from the discs used for incense pictured below or even leftover charcoal from your bonfire or grill.**

Mortar and Pestle

Mixing bowl **Glass works the best but is not mandatory**

Cast iron cauldron/pot or pan

Matches or lighter

Flame resistant spoon

Photo Credit - Twisted Dragon Kreations

Step two

Mix your herbal blend and get to a ventilated area and place your cast iron container on a heat safe surface.

Step Three

Light your charcoal safely in your cast iron container!

Step Four

Slowly sprinkle your herbal concoction of protective herbs over your charcoal, making sure to not smother your charcoal.  Now you wait! You want the herbs to burn down to ashes so continue adding more until it burns down to well ashes. Keep going till you've used up all the herbal mix you've made. Now remember burned matter takes up a lot less space than it did before it was burned. You’re going to want to make a much large batch of protective herbs than you’ll think you’ll need because a huge bowl of herbs burns downs to less than a cup of ash.

Step Five

After you've given your herbs the Cajun treatment (Get it? Blackened?) You’re going to want to let them sit in a wind free area to cool off. Once it’s cool, take your trusty spoon and give the sides of your cast iron container a good scrapping into your mortar and pestle. You want to end up with tiny iron bits coming off. So feel free to really put some muscle behind your scraps!

Step Six

Once you've got all of that sooty gold in your mortar, it’s now time for the fun parts! Slowly start to grind up your ashes till your left with a silky smooth powder. You should not be able to see any particles at all.

Photo Credit - Twisted Dragon Kreations

Step Seven

Carefully put your ashes into the bowl. Now it’s time to add your salt. Now there is some debate over what type of ratio of ash to salt makes true Witches Black Salt, but I've found it really doesn't matter I go by feel. You’ll know when you've reached a good ratio. However, if you have to have an actual ratio I say go either 1 part ash or 2 parts salt or 1 part ash and three part salt.

Photo Credit - Twisted Dragon Kreations

Step Eight

Slowly mix together the salt and ash in your bowl. Make sure you take the time to mix well! Place your mixture into a pretty jar or container of your choosing until it’s time to use!  

And there you have it! A fool proof way to make Black salt! Enjoy!

Photo Credit - Twisted Dragon Kreations

**Don’t want to make your own? Check out TK’s Etsy store for her own special blend of Witches Black Salt***

Halloween Garland

By Autumn Noel

I love to involve my little one in decorating for the holidays and Sabbats, but at age two, there is only so much she can do! Here I have shown you how to make a Halloween/Samhain garland to use as decoration in your home, centered around the help of a toddler. Crafts like these usually end up decorating my little ones bedroom because let’s be honest…it isn’t the most beautiful thing in the world since it is constructed in part by a toddler. However she is very proud of her artwork, I am proud of her paint brush skills and it is a fun way to have her be involved in the festiveness of the Sabbat.

Materials:

Construction paper or cardstock in Halloween colors (I used orange, purple and green)

Washable paints in Halloween colors (I used black, purple and orange)

Paint Brushes

Lots of baby wipes!!

Stencils of Halloween shapes (I just goggled witch hat, ghost and pumpkin)

Scissors

Hole punch

Ribbon in a Halloween color (I used lime green, because it’s I what I had laying around my house!)

A little one to help

Steps:

1.) Have your little one paint an assortment of construction papers/cardstock in washable paints.  I used purple paint on green paper, black paint on orange paper and orange paint of purple paper. We painted from her highchair, where we could easily clean up the mess with babywipes.

4.) Trace your stencils onto the now dried painting, and cut them out.

5.) Hole punch two holes into each stenciled painting, set up a pattern to your liking and string the paintings onto your ribbon. 

6.) Hang the garland for your little one to admire all season long (even though you did most of the heavy lifting!) 

I hope that you have a blessed Samhain; Happy Halloween and Trick or Treat!!

-Autumn Noel