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Baneful

Blacmist~/paganpath

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"This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and hemlocks...Stand like Druids of old."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Deep in societies history lies a legend...

Flying ointments refer to a salve that witches of old would use to Astral travel. Sabbats and witches celebrations were not easily accessible in those days. While some believed it was all done in the mind, others believe that witches could fly by this practice. Perhaps there were some people who actually saw the Astral body of a witch floating by?

The "ointment" would consist of certain herbs (some listed below) and some sort of fat, some old books say witches used "The fat of children", no doubt fictional writers with a wild imagination started this. It most likely was the fat of an animal. The Christians of that time had to find a way to justify the killings of witches and this was one way they did that.

Ancient witches would rub the ointment into their skin and lye down by a fire, the ointment reportedly would turn their skin red and radiate heat energy. Witches would then Astral travel to Sabbats and secret meetings with other witches. There are reports that the witches that Astral traveled would be able to see everything that was actually happening in the place where the meetings were "physically" being held.

There are over 60 recipes for flying ointments, which contain some of these herbs, most recipes have been altered in some way though.

The Banefuls

Belladonna = Also known as deadly nightshade, Belladonna is a source of the poisonous drug atropine. In minute quantities, atropine, in the form of a sulfate, is used to dilate the pupils of the eye, to relieve pain, to diminish secretions, and to relieve spasms. In greater quantities, it was used to kill. Belladonna was believed to have been used in flying potions.

Cinquefoil = In folklore, cinquefoil was used in flying potions. Found in many old recipes & Grimores.

Deadly Nightshade = Deadly nightshade was ingested by those who wished to foresee the future.

Foxglove = Many of the common names of this plant pertain to its toxic nature (Witches' glove, Dead Man's Bells, Bloody Fingers). Foxglove belongs to the Figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) and the whole plant is toxic. It contains various cardiac glycosides.

Foxglove also went by the names Goblin's Gloves (in Wales), Throttle-wort, Thimble Flower, Finger Flower, Ireland it was also known as Fairy Cap, Lunsmore, and the Great Herb. Foxglove was also considered dear to faeries. If a plant was harmed, the faeries would bring retribution.

Hemlock= Hemlock is an extremely poisonous cousin of parsley. The juice from hemlock's tiny white flowers was believed to be used to make men impotent.

"The plant was an ingredient in many Witches' Ointments.... According to German folk tradition, the hemlock was home to a toad, which lived beneath it and sucked up its poisons.

Hemp = Hemp was used in many old spells and Incense. I do not consider this plant poisonous, and believe it is quite a magical plant when the female flowers are smoked. Mother earth gave us this plant for a reason. Not to mention what we could do with the fibers and just about every other part of this plant. We could feed and cloth the world.(end rant).

Mandrake = Another plant with a narcotic effect, mandrake or the mandragore (Mandragora officinarum L.) was thought to be a potentially lethal herb to harvest from the earth. For this reason, great caution was used in gathering these magical roots. Many people believed that the mandrake shrieked when harvested and that anyone hearing the piercing cry would die. The root of the mandrake resembles a phallus or a human torso, and for this reason was believed to have occult powers. In some areas of Europe, possession of the root was punishable by death. The crushed root was purported to have caused hallucinations followed by a death-like trance and sleep. The root was also said to have caused insanity and was believed to have been used in flying potions Mandrake root makes a powerful addition to any "Binding spell" and works as a great "Witches" protector.

DO NOT INGEST ANY ABOVE HERBS
~ Written and compiled by Barbara Morris 1999

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Flying Ointments

Flying ointment, also known as witches' flying ointment, green ointment, magic salve and lycanthropic ointment, is a hallucinogenic ointment said to be used by witches in the Early Modern period (first described by Johannes Hartlieb in 1456).

The ointment contains a fatty base and various herbal extracts, usually including solanaceous herbs that contain the alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine and scopolamine. The herbs' essential oils are extracted when heated in the base. These oils are poisonous when ingested; when applied to the skin, the alkaloids are absorbed more slowly into the body. Typical ingredients in alleged recipes include hemlock (Conium spp.), deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), wolfsbane (Aconitum spp.), and henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), usually in a base of animal fat.

Flying Ointments

Witch Talk

What can kill can cure.
No Mistletoe, No luck!
Faerie Folks are in old Oaks.
Be silent as the sacred Oak!
More in the garden grows, than the witch knows.
Where Rosemary grows, the missus is master.
Where the Yarrow grows, there is one who knows...
If ye would herbal magic make, be sure the spell in rhyme be spake.

Dark Moon Magic

Something wicked this way grows...

"Flowers bloom as black as night
Removing color from your sight
Nightmarish vines block your way
Thorns reach out to catch their prey
And by the pricking of your thumbs
Realize that their poison numbs
From frightful blooms, rank odors seep
Bats and beasties fly and creep
'Cross this evil land, ill winds blow
Despite the darkness, mushrooms glow
All will rot and decompose
For something wicked this way grows..."

MockBeth (the Scottish Gardening Manual)