Substitutions

Substitutions are one of those things that come up often in herbal magick. Not only are they sometimes mandatory but they are encouraged. When you find a printed recipe somewhere sometimes a few of the ingredients are hard to find or you just don't have any. There's no need to slavishly follow recipes. Not only that but trying to keep every herb out there in stock at all times will most likely drive you mad (and in the soup line at the homeless shelter if you aren't careful). It's better to have a good basic stock while getting those rarer herbs when the chances come about. Just look at the herb you a missing. Say your making a protection incense that calls for dragons blood but you happen to be fresh out. Reach for an herb with similar characteristics (leaf for leaf, resin for resin, ext) and add that instead. Also some herbs are poisonous and therefor not the best choice for use in magick.

Also at times you may come across an older recipe (from middle ages perhaps) that has an ingredient not so appealing today. During the middle ages blood was a common binder of incense. For obvious reasons not the best choice. Adding something along the lines of egg whites would do the same thing.

A quick note. Rosemary can safely be used for any herb, Rose for any flower, Frankincense of copal for any resin, and tobacco for any poisonous herb.

Check the next page for a listing of specific magickal goals ad herbs and oils that correspond.

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