Magic Dust!

one of the unsung tools of a witch's trade.

Enchanted Powders

Magic dust or enchanted powders are usually a mix of ingredients ground into powder and infused with magical intent. Enchanted powders have several uses, one of which is to create magical barriers. Other uses include forming magic circles and being added to individual spells. Adding magic dust to a spell can act like a booster. Some powders are made for protection, some are for defense, and some are designed to work with frequencies in realms beyond the physical plane. Creating barriers with enchanted powder is my favorite, but I use them in many areas of my magic, including cooking.

If you look at a scoop of powder, you will notice that it has many tiny particles. Each one of those particles is charged with magical potential. This is what makes enchanted powder so unique and effective. The magic these powders are infused with can be spread over vast areas and distances. The particles form a net of energy that connects and bounces off all the other particles, ensuring the enchantment and intention are well distributed. This is why enchanted powder/ magic dust works so well to create barriers and magic circles.

When it comes to using powders in spell work, it boils down to intention. What is the primary directive? Are you seeking protection, deflection, or some other improvement or defense? When you decide on the intent, the creation is simple. Pick the size bottle you will use and add the same amount of powder as you do with the other spell ingredients. Remember, everything should be in balance. Seal the bottle with wax and either gift it to whoever you made it for or leave it where it won't be broken.

Powders to Keep Handy

Keeping bottles or other sized containers of enchanted powder inside your witchy chests is helpful. Ones such as salt, red brick dust, black salt or black sand. These powders have been used for decades. They are tried and true, with firm magical anchors. While salt, is usually considered a cooking ingredient more than a powder, it is ground down into tiny granules. Every kind of salt has magical protective properties and is an ideal choice for magic circles created inside. Another option that has the same purpose is eggshell powder. I also recommend keeping hot foot powder in the magic chest as well. Never know when you will need to send the company you receive in the opposite direction. Black Salt is the other one I make sure I always have a decent amount of. This is due to the time it takes to prepare. When the need to use magical dust arises, time is usually of the essence.

Creating powders such as black salt or eggshell powder is a time-consuming activity. Eggshells must be collected, washed, and dried before ground into powder and infused with magic intent. That takes a considerable amount of effort as well. Hand-grinding eggshells will take you the better half of the morning. Balck salt requires activated charcoal, which also takes time to create unless you cut corners and purchase already activated charcoal. There is nothing wrong with buying it premade, but it does lessen the personal connection with the materials. The process in which activated charcoal is created requires heating pieces of wood to high temperatures within a fire but without burning the wood directly. It is quite the operation; however, the effort builds a stronger connection between you and the material. This is just something to keep in mind. I take the time to make my powders from scratch as often as I can. I am a bit of a traditionalist that way. It is easy to find mixes already made and infused, but I feel they lose some ineffable quality when mass-produced.

Powders never take large quantities to create. The ingredients used in most of them do not expire or decay all that quickly, so they stay good in big quantities for long periods. It is worth the time and effort to make your custom mixes. They do not go “bad,” so what do you have to lose?

Ingredients and placement, why they matter

The ingredients in your powders decide how they will be used, and where you put them determines when and who they work on. Different areas of the home are meant for different kinds of powder, and this is also true for any outdoor space where you want to use enchanted powders. As I have previously covered, ingredients come with minute amounts of energy predestined for one purpose or another. There is nothing wrong with getting creative, either. Alchemy is the witch’s best friend because combinations are endless.

Choices like red peppers, cinnamon, or ginger used in powders will all help speed up the effects or provide a layer of heat. For instance, cayenne pepper in hot foot powder provides swift delivery and heat to make the intended target uncomfortable and immediately responsive. This is ideal since hot food powder is primarily used to keep an enemy or unwanted company away. Hot foot powder is most effective when placing it in or around the area where your enemy or unwanted company will be in contact with it.

This can also be said for protective powders like eggshell powder. The egg shells provide protection, but the placement of them is what makes them effective. Putting eggshell powder above windows and doors keeps out nasty or negative energy and spirits. You don’t want to put the protective powder in someone else’s home or pathway if the protection is meant for you. Likewise, you don’t want to put the powder on the floors to be walked off with. This defeats your efforts and the purpose put into the powder in the first place.

If you use magic dust for protection or defense, the best place is on your person or within your home or vehicle. When using powders for offensive measures, the best placement is near the intended target or within the spell bottle or candle to send intentions outwards. So long as you keep in mind what isn’t advisable, then the process is yours to build on and protect. Keep your custom recipes private. Safeguarding your creative ideas keeps the power they hold firm and in alignment with the purpose of creation. Some recipes have been published in grimoires and other magical books available to everyone, and they have been shared to increase the power held within them. More people using the same recipe can enhance the effects on a mass scale, but this is because of size. Mass is relative and makes all the difference.

I deliberately chose not to add too much detail on powder recipes in this post because magic is personal. Being creative and giving yourself room to grow and shine is as essential in magic as it is everywhere else in life. The same goes for placement and how to use powders. This is all relative to the individual and the purpose. There are always things to consider, like poor placement, the wrong choice of powders or ingredients, and whether using magic dust is the most effective course of action.

Barriers and Magic Circles, dust for the spirits.

So, I mentioned salt earlier in this post, and now it's time to discuss it further. Black salt is used to ward off evil spirits and can be placed on the threshold of a home or dwelling. It won't keep away the living, but it will prevent the spirits of other planes from going where they aren’t wanted. Another example of magic dust for this purpose is red brick dust. Its composition is as simple as its name, but because several different branches of religion and faith have used red brick dust for many years, it has tangible power.

Back to salt, though. Remember that salt should only be used indoors when using black salt or ordinary salt for magic circles. If casting a magic circle outside, PLEASE substitute it with eggshell powder. Salting the earth causes damage and prevents further life from taking root in that soil. Eggshell powder will not ruin the soil where you conduct your ritual or spell, allowing the circle of life to continue after you are gone. Salt has been used when working with spirits and other entities for many years. It protects you, the caster, from anything forming an attachment to you or attempting to drain you of energy or take over your autonomy.

Salt is recommended for small-circle casting, likewise with eggshell powder. It is unrealistic to lay out large amounts of powder to create a circle that will surround you and allow you enough space to move around and work within. This is more easily accomplished with chalk. Chalk can be powdered or left solid for these purposes. Use salt to create magic circles around candles or other altar items when doing work. YOU CAN USE SALT FOR LARGE CIRCLES, I am not saying this isn’t done, its just not very cost effective and a little over the top. We want to create real magic that produces results, not movie magic. Salt will be your best tool for working with most low-frequency spirits; it provides you with protection and distance from the spirit without creating massive obstacles to finding ways to accomplish your goals.

There are many different kinds of magic dust. I have listed the primary three that are used most often. I encourage you to create your own with dried herbs and spices. It is a lot of fun to be the mad scientist in your kitchen, all the while knowing you’re making something powerful that will produce results!