charcoal...

[whiporwill-o]

it has been forever since i've posted anything in here, and i'm very sorry for that (school has been my first priority for the past year and a quarter). i still lurk occasionally, but tonight i have a question:

is there any use in spells for charcoal? i mean besides the obvious "you burn things with it, duh!" i know that it has medicinal properties because of its absorption abilities and its also used to purify water, can these properties of absorption and purification be transferred into spellcraft? i've tried checking my books and the internet, but cannot find anything other than its use for burning incense.

thanks heart  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Absolutely, sure! why shouldn't they? The connections you make with the tools you use, and what they symbolise for you, are what they contribute to the spell.  

[whiporwill-o]

Sanguina Cruenta

Absolutely, sure! why shouldn't they? The connections you make with the tools you use, and what they symbolise for you, are what they contribute to the spell.

thank you 3nodding i have been tinkering with this idea of using powdered charcoal, salt, and clove or sage as type of space cleanser/negativity absorber. i imagine i would just keep it in small bowls or something similar (to keep everything from turning black) and place them in room corners.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

The salt puts me off a little, not sure why. But there you go. The idea sounds pretty good. I associate charcoal with absorbtion myself.  

[whiporwill-o]

Sanguina Cruenta

The salt puts me off a little, not sure why. But there you go. The idea sounds pretty good. I associate charcoal with absorbtion myself.

my reason for wanting to add salt, sea salt actually, is mostly just to make it more visually appealing (since it will be sitting out) without taking away from its purpose.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

whiporwill-o

Sanguina Cruenta

The salt puts me off a little, not sure why. But there you go. The idea sounds pretty good. I associate charcoal with absorbtion myself.

my reason for wanting to add salt, sea salt actually, is mostly just to make it more visually appealing (since it will be sitting out) without taking away from its purpose.

Salt on top or salt below?  

[whiporwill-o]

Sanguina Cruenta

whiporwill-o

Sanguina Cruenta

The salt puts me off a little, not sure why. But there you go. The idea sounds pretty good. I associate charcoal with absorbtion myself.

my reason for wanting to add salt, sea salt actually, is mostly just to make it more visually appealing (since it will be sitting out) without taking away from its purpose.

Salt on top or salt below?

honestly haven't gotten that far in my thought process sweatdrop what would you recommend, if i were to even use salt at all.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

whiporwill-o

honestly haven't gotten that far in my thought process sweatdrop what would you recommend, if i were to even use salt at all.

Well, I was thinking, if you had a dish of sand with a piece of charcoal and some herbs on it, it would look quite nice. I don't know why the salt doesn't sit right with me, so maybe you can disregard that - but you know people do use it for blessing areas and stuff, so it can be relevant anyway, it's just up to you.

I would probably use something more keyed to absorbancy like the sand, or maybe sawdust.  

[whiporwill-o]

Sanguina Cruenta

whiporwill-o

honestly haven't gotten that far in my thought process sweatdrop what would you recommend, if i were to even use salt at all.

Well, I was thinking, if you had a dish of sand with a piece of charcoal and some herbs on it, it would look quite nice. I don't know why the salt doesn't sit right with me, so maybe you can disregard that - but you know people do use it for blessing areas and stuff, so it can be relevant anyway, it's just up to you.

I would probably use something more keyed to absorbancy like the sand, or maybe sawdust.

hmm, i hadn't actually thought about sand (or sawdust for that matter, lol). since i've moved away from the beach sand is harder for me to come by, all we have up here is dirt, lol. that's a good idea though, i'll have to look into it. thanks heart  

[kyndryana3]

I can see salt used to pull negativity out (it pulls moisture from the air), and I use salt for purification, so for me that would work.

I love the idea of using charcoal for this....what kind were you planning on using? I can see a whole lot of opportunities making your own charcoal and using different types of wood for different end applications!

I also think of rice for absorption (I think because I have always put rice in my salt shaker to keep the salt from clumping), but also plenty (especially for keeping food on the table). I've used rice in a kitchen blessing bowl.

Random thought on charcoal: I also think of digestive aid when I think of charcoal after watching a program on how certain monkeys in the wild will seek it out and eat it to calm an upset stomach.  

[Morgandria]

Activated charcoal is just carbon, and there's already precedent for using it magically; There's a type of salt, black salt, that's already got carbon in it - it's basically salt that's been used to scrub out a cast-iron cauldron. It's really sort of more greyish, salt-and-pepper looking if you make your own; commercial sources often dye theirs with ink or other pigments. I recommend making your own or buying it from someone who does - either by cleaning a cauldron out with some salt, or crushing some charcoal into it.

Because there's iron and salt in the mix, black salt is considered highly repellent. You can use it in different ways to keep something away from you, or to make something leave an area.  

[whiporwill-o]

kyndryana3

I love the idea of using charcoal for this....what kind were you planning on using? I can see a whole lot of opportunities making your own charcoal and using different types of wood for different end applications!

i plan on using wood charcoal, but i haven't planned out what wood yet. as i mentioned earlier, this is idea is still in early stages. i wanted to make sure it would even make sense before dedicating a lot of time to it. 3nodding  

[whiporwill-o]

Morgandria

Activated charcoal is just carbon, and there's already precedent for using it magically; There's a type of salt, black salt, that's already got carbon in it - it's basically salt that's been used to scrub out a cast-iron cauldron. It's really sort of more greyish, salt-and-pepper looking if you make your own; commercial sources often dye theirs with ink or other pigments. I recommend making your own or buying it from someone who does - either by cleaning a cauldron out with some salt, or crushing some charcoal into it.

Because there's iron and salt in the mix, black salt is considered highly repellent. You can use it in different ways to keep something away from you, or to make something leave an area.

thank you. i've heard of black salt and have been wanting to make my own for a while now, i just always forget to look up exactly what the process consists of. i don't have anyone to teach me these things, so i have to do a lot of reading when i can.  

[Esiris]

I like the uses discussed- but I also like the idea of charcoal as being a "transforming" substance.  

[whiporwill-o]

Esiris

I like the uses discussed- but I also like the idea of charcoal as being a "transforming" substance.

transforming substance?