Cunningham was born in 1956 and was the author of over twenty books. His largest body of work focused on Wiccan practice and magickal workings. He had a no nonsense attitude toward spell craft and never tried to obscure either ritual or ingredients to confuse his audience, as he himself noted many occult writers did and do. It was a sad loss when he died very young in March of 1993.
This herbal bath is from Cunningham’s The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews published by Llewellyn. The book is full of wonderful recipes beyond even what the title suggests and, as usual, Cunningham’s “use your intuition” style of instruction is prevalent throughout. To help with that, he also offers a comprehensive list of substitutions for various herbs. Substitution of ingredients, in my opinion, is one of the most useful skills any magickal practitioner can learn.
Here’s what you’ll need:
3 parts lavender
3 parts rosemary
2 parts spearmint
1 part comfrey root
1 part thyme
Wrap all of your ingredients in a square of cheesecloth, muslin or an old washcloth, tie it up tightly and then toss it into a bath of warm water. Allow the herbs to steep for about ten minutes or until you can smell their fragrance emanating from the water.
While the herbs are steeping, set up your bathroom with candles, incense, music or what ever helps you to relax. Cunningham recommends placing a mirror close to the tub and then climbing in to lie back and relax. As you take in the scent of the herbs, visualize yourself as you wish to be – both inside and out. When you formed a clear visualization, hold be mirror up and see the person you want to be. Repeat this bath as often as you feel is necessary. As a general rule, hoodoo baths are repeated for nine mornings or evenings.
Find more information on Scott Cunningham’s encyclopedic work here at the Llewellyn website. A votre santé ~
Header: French New Years postcard circa 1922
2 comments:
Congrats on HQ post number 400, Pauline! Many more to come...
Yay! And I hope so.
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