Charcoal in Witchcraft

Charcoal has been an essential tool in Witcraft since the early Pagans. You can not be a proper Witch without charcoal in your tool chest. It has many magickal and physical uses that any Witch can easily learn and utilize; it can make the difference in a spell’s overall results or a pendant’s durability. You may already be using charcoal, but are you using it to its fullest potential? If you are not sure, do not fret; we will be discussing just how useful charcoal is and what you can do to further learn the wonders of charcoal. Continue reading to get a glimpse of what else charcoal can be used for in hopes of learning to use it as such or even creating new uses unique to your spells and practice.

Charcoal correspondences will help boost its magickal properties. Charcoal is unique in one of its correspondences: the Elements. Charcoal is associated with Earth, Air, and Fire. Its connection to Earth comes from it being made naturally in nature with wood; the Air connection is due to it being porous, weighing little, and its ability to produce smoke; and of course, it is connected to Fire with it being able to burn and maintain fire easily and being able to produce energy because of it.

The remaining charcoal correspondences are as follows:

The art of making charcoal is not difficult, so long as you have the right tools for it. You will need hardwood in small pieces, a metal barrel with a lid, kindling, and fire-safe gloves. You will need a high-temperature fire to be able to burn the hardwood properly into charcoal. When you get a fire started in the barrel, layer the hardwood pieces, only adding another layer when the current layer is consumed by flames. With all the layers set, place the lid on the barrel and let it burn for at least 24 hours. After 24 hours, check that the hardwood has finished smoldering and burning. You can let it burn longer if needed, and once the flames are completely out, you can store the homemade charcoal in a container to protect it from moisture.

Charcoal was first used by Witches to make ink for their grimoires. Grimoire ink would be made by grinding charcoal into a fine powder and mixing it with water and vinegar to make it a smooth texture to write with. Sticks of charcoal were also used for drawing and drawing warding sigils for protection rituals. Charcoal ash was also mixed with salt to create “black salt” that would be used to absorb negative energies and keep away misfortune and illnesses.

Charcoal has been used for medicine for centuries, dating back further than the Ancient Egyptians. In ancient times, it was used to prevent infection from setting into wounds by pressing charcoal to them and wrapping it tightly with a bandage. Egyptians and Native Americans would add ground-up charcoal to water or milk to create a cure-all drink. Charcoal was believed to heal numerous ailments like seizures, infection, epilepsy, and more. Charcoal, though, is not a cure-all object, but it did not stop people of ancient times from believing so, especially to cure stomach upsets and aid in digestive health. Several decades later, doctors discovered that charcoal has a natural counteract to poisons. Ingesting charcoal will nullify poisons and either completely prevent the effects of the poison from occurring or make the effects less painful. By the 1800s, activated charcoal had become a major staple in medicinal

practices.

Today, Witches have developed other uses for charcoal while still maintaining the practices of old. These modern uses of charcoal take inspiration from ancient ones to keep its practiced uses mixed with a modern take that will make it stronger or safer to use by modern Witches. These new uses are not the only way to use charcoal in modern practices; you can take the ones we will be discussing and use them as inspiration for what you can use charcoal to benefit you the most. Who knows, you may even develop new uses for charcoal never seen or used.

Charcoal is still used for drawing sigils, as the connection to multiple elements will charge the sigils for better magick guidance. Charcoal is also still the go-to for writing spells in grimoires.

Black salt is another long-time use for coal that is still popular amongst modern Witches.

Black salt still maintains its essential use of absorbing negative energies by being sprinkled over entrances to prevent negative energies from entering or in rooms to cleanse homes before a spell is performed. A new addition to using black salt comes in using it in magickal satchels. In addition to satchels, it will help boost the user's energy and prevent them from being swayed by outside forces. Black salt can also be used to represent the Fire element in elemental jars and spells or boost energy to a Witch’s Fire altar.

In the Cosmic form of Witchcraft, charcoal is used to align with Saturn and Jupiter for specific spells revolving around justice and cleansing. The charcoal will make you feel like you can accomplish anything and that your energy will span as far as the night sky. Charcoal can also be used to make your presence seem to vanish or disappear, like how black holes can make objects disappear faster than the blink of an eye.

Charcoal has become a modern staple in beauty tools. By using charcoal face masks and bathing with charcoal soaps or bath salts, you can feel all the negative energies being absorbed out of your body and taken down the drain with the leaving water. Its varying beauty masks include peeling masks, mud masks, cotton masks, and bubbling masks. Charcoal masks are designed to clear out pores of bacteria, sweat, and dirt to prevent blackheads and acne. The charcoal used in bath salts and soaps is a special type of activated charcoal; it is often mixed with other safe ingredients that will cleanse the skin without being a danger if you accidentally ingest it.

Now, there are many ways to use charcoal—you just need to be careful about what type of charcoal you use, so you are not using one that will instead harm your spells. Artists’ charcoal can be used to replace charcoal in sigil making but cannot be used in cleansing spells or beauty magick as ingesting it can be harmful. Grilling charcoal should not be used as a substitute for naturally made charcoal as it is mixed with gasoline and other lighting fluids that can be harmful to ingest or get on your skin.

After its discovery as an essential tool against poisoning, charcoal remains essential in modern medicinal practices. If it is known how much poison a person has ingested, hospitals will have patients drink liquified charcoal so that the toxins are absorbed and can be passed safely through the body. This method has expanded to helping those who have ingested a high amount of alcohol to prevent alcohol poisoning and having their stomachs painfully pumped.

Thus, activated charcoal is the go-to tool if you are trying to find something to calm your stomach and ease any digestive issues you or a loved one may be experiencing. The only charcoal you should be using in at-home care is one purchased directly from a pharmacy, as it is made of the same to consume charcoal and other helpful additives. You should not consume charcoal straight from the fire if you are making charcoal at home. Equally, you should not consume charcoal used for grilling as they often contain lighting fluid or other chemicals that make it easy to catch fire but are extremely poisonous to the human body when consumed.

Charcoal is easy to obtain and make, meaning that you can have a steady supply at the ready without worrying about restocking or not being able to get more for future spells. Not only is it easy to obtain, but charcoal is also simple for any Witch to learn to use, whether you’re a beginner or have been in practice for many years. You will not feel overwhelmed using charcoal. Instead, you will feel at ease as it is practically second nature for Witches to use charcoal. Charcoal also does not need to be cleansed before use, so you can use it fresh from production or purchase with no negative energies getting in your way. Now that you know how easy it is to use charcoal, start using it more with no fear. Happy casting!