Witches' Black Salt

WITCHES BLACK SALT

Protection • Banishing • Cleansing

Black Salt has a long association with protection and banishing in modern witchcraft and folk-magic practice.

Dark, coarse and deliberately uninviting, it is used in workings intended to establish boundaries, clear unwanted energy and keep certain things firmly on the other side of the door.

It is not a salt for seasoning.

This one has other work to do.

WHAT IS BLACK SALT?

Witches Black Salt is traditionally made by combining salt with blackening ingredients such as charcoal or ash. Recipes vary between practitioners, with some adding herbs or other ingredients according to the intended working.

The black colour is significant within magical symbolism, commonly associated with protection, banishment, absorption and the removal of what is unwanted.

Black Salt is particularly suited to workings where the intention is simple:

Keep out.
Clear away.
Do not return.

HOW IT IS USED

PROTECTION

Use Black Salt to mark the boundaries of a home, altar or ritual space.

A small line across a threshold, around a working space or beside an entrance can be used as a symbolic protective boundary.

BANISHING

Black Salt is commonly used in banishing workings where something unwanted is being deliberately removed.

Create a circle or boundary of salt around the area being worked, concentrate on what is to be released, and sweep the salt away when the working is complete.

The act of removing the salt is part of the ritual: what has been cast out does not remain sitting at the threshold.

CLEANSING

Use Black Salt as part of a cleansing ritual for objects or spaces that feel heavy, unwanted or out of place.

Place the salt around an object rather than directly onto delicate materials, leave it for the duration of the working, then remove and dispose of it.

Follow with ordinary physical cleaning where appropriate.

The Dark Apothecary has always approved of both kinds of cleansing.

SPELL WORK

Black Salt can be incorporated into protection jars, banishing workings, spell bags and altar arrangements.

Use alongside herbs, candles, crystals or other ingredients chosen for the particular intention of the working.

There is no need to use a great deal.

Black Salt is about boundaries, not decoration.

A WORD OF CAUTION

Black Salt is a ritual ingredient and should not be consumed.

Keep away from food, children and animals. It can stain porous surfaces and fabrics, so use with care and avoid placing it directly onto materials that may be damaged.

Dispose of used salt appropriately rather than returning it to food preparation areas or containers.

FROM THE DARK APOTHECARY

Salt has always been useful for drawing a line.

This is simply the darker version.

Use it when you are protecting a space, closing a door, clearing something out or making it very clear where the boundary lies.

Some things are welcome.
Some things are not.

I think “It is not a salt for seasoning. This one has other work to do.” is much more us than the previous playful language. It has that slightly dry, dark humour without becoming twee.