Witch 101 - Contagion, Investment, Anointing, Attribution

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Hey, this sounds weird! It certainly does, then again, so do a lot of concepts having to do with the use of ingredients in 'magical items' or 'potions' or 'spells'. I'm going to make as clear as possible the way I see these terms and their application to witchcraft. Attribution: what properties or principles do you associate, correspond or attribute to an item. The item can be stones (gems or otherwise), herbs, oils, fruits, wood species, animal products (you had best not be saying 'ewwwww' if you are sitting on a leather sofa or wearing leather shoes), fabrics, minerals, water (usually gathered from specific sites), etc. This is a point of occasionally heated debate. There are multitudes of opinions and likely a least half that many charts to give you options. Now, if you are working from the position of a ritual tradition, you're best advised to take your list from that tradition so that everyone in the group 'gets it'. Otherwise, pick the one that feels to you like it comes the closest to your interpretation of an ingredient until you finalize your own. Keep Notes! On notes, I will be telling you over and over to keep them. At some point I will even do a lesson on a Book of Shadows, Grimore, whatever name you put on it. I don't care if the notes are in a spiral notebook, a three-ring binder or on a thumb drive, please, just keep good notes on anything you do. Go back and review them at intervals. Make observations on what happened or did not happen. Eventually it will become very valuable to you. On this one, trust me. Investment: putting the base ingredient with its Attributes decided into the potion, spell or item. Here is where you are starting to put the ingredient to the use you've decided on with the intention of causing an effect. You are Investing the properties of the ingredient in your work, your energy, a tool, a potion. Incorporation: I see this as different than investment in a subtle way. For Incorporation you are not binding the ingredient to all the other components used, blending the combined Attributes into a new whole that is hopefully stronger and more stable than the separate ingredients. The last two terms in this lesson are variations on a theme. They are more aimed toward use of a completed item or the passing of 'power' from one item to another. This often happens with potions, oils, waters, etc., but is not limited to them. Anointing: coating, dropping, wiping, dripping, dusting, washing, sprinkling, rubbing an Incorporated Magical substance in, on, over an item to Invest it with the properties of the anointing substance. Okay, that was lots of words going in knots, right? Anyway, let's say you make an oil with interesting properties from crystals and herbs. You want those properties to be part of your Magic Wand (no snickering out there). You decide which method of putting said oil on said stick you wish to use, then focus on what you are trying to accomplish and put the oil on the wood, the wood in the oil or whatever. You can anoint people with a protective mixture; you can anoint your home with a cleansing mix, etc. By that act you have now transferred the Attributes of the combined ingredients to the item or person. I hope it gives you the results you were looking for. (Note: some spices - like chili peppers - can blister the skin and mouth and ah - whatever you put it on - Use Your Brain First Please. Promising your honey a night of hot passion should not include hot peppers in the massage oil.) Contagion: an interesting concept in magic, not so much in medicine. Yes, this does go back to basic Contact Spreading of something. In this case we are using it to spread an Attribute. It also can mean that if an item was used previously for a specific purpose that the use is now permanently attached to the item. Example: I personally know a woman who went to the convent of St. Brigit in Ireland after the fire known as Brigit's Forge was rekindled. She went to visit and lit a candle from the flame. Now, you know you can not keep a lit candle on the plane - right- so the principle of Contagion kicks in. That candle was touched by Brigit's flame. Lit or not it carries the properties. Once she was back in the States, she held a ritual and relit that candle. Using it she lit one for each of the participants of the ritual. We each now had candles of Brigit's Fire by Contagion. I continue to keep track of which candles I've lit in my home with Brigit's Fire and pass it along to those who need a dose. There you have it. Some Basic principles, terms, concepts, what have you. More lessons will come as they find their way to the keyboard.