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 Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:16 am
It hit me the other day...
Sodium chloride (NaCl), known to most as salt, is used for ritual purification. Some prefer sea salt, others just use regular table salt.
Then it hit me - another material that might be a suitable substance to use: Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCo3), colloquially known as baking soda.
Baking soda is commonly used in cleaning. It sanitizes and removes odors and greases. And it has a sodium molecule. So, what do you think? Would sodium bicarbonate be a viable substitute for salt?
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 8:23 am
0.o good question
i have no idea. i haven't really been able to preform a spell or ritual yet.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 10:19 am
Considering that the ritual use of 'salt' predates our modern understanding of chemistry I would venture that it is perfectly fine to use any readily available 'salt' which has similar properties to Sodium Chloride.
I looked up ancient ritual uses for salt and the key properties have always been to purify and preserve so any culinary salt would, in my opinion, be useable. Some Wiccan literature I scared up expressed a preference for Sea Salt, which would have additional useful associations but, for simple circles, I see no reason why you couldn't use any non-poisonous salt.
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 5:56 pm
I've seen people talking about using salt and sea-salt, but never baking soda. razz
But since baking soda contains sodium (making it close to table salt), and since it's commonly used for cleaning and removing odors, I don't see why it couldn't serve essentially the same purpose. razz
...On that tack, people use lemon juice to clean things, so could lemon juice also work for a ritual cleansing? Or what if you waved a Swiffer over the object you wanted cleansed? Or used laundry soap? I mean, just because something's new shouldn't make it any less effective. Salt was also a newfangled discovery once upon a time, after all. wink
Or... what if you invoked Mr. Clean in a ritual? (No, seriously. I mean, why not?)
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 6:07 pm
Many, many things can be used in ritual, LOL.
I heard about a ritual to invoke the Inner Child, once.
To call the East they blew bubbles with those wand-in-a-bottle things kids have.
To call the West I think there was some mayhem with Water Balloons.
For North there were Mud Pies and South there was some marshmallow toasting.
Center was Group Hug!
Lots of things may be done in ritual - it is all in what you are trying to accomplish! blaugh
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Posted: Tue Jun 02, 2009 9:26 pm
I like to believe that anything can be a ritual... you just have to add your energy into it wink
But Mr. Clean... I dunno, maybe it's too charged with banality for my own taste xp I like to use regular salt because it's... a classic? I dunno, maybe if I use something more mundane I will not be able to concentrate properly... mostly because of the giggles xd
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Posted: Wed Jun 03, 2009 2:52 am
Invoking Mr. Clean sounds like something right out of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," where there was a God of Television, among other modern things. Perhaps if the worshipper was obsessively neat....... lol
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 10:13 am
Sure, why not?
The pseudo-medieval stasis that some people corner themselves into makes no sense to me.
Another thing that gets me are the people who seem to think that if it isn't a pretty shiny rock, it's worthless.
Some people say that stones have certain properties based on their colors alone, yet consider colored glass worthless. Why? If it's color, then for all intents and purposes you should be able to use crayons and construction paper.
Another thing is that people are happy to believe that pretty shiny rocks are magical, but won't consider that some ordinary, unpolished, and unadorned rock might be of any value. Really, why not? What makes a piece of basalt less magical than a piece of obsidian?
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 3:49 pm
Yanueh Sure, why not? The pseudo-medieval stasis that some people corner themselves into makes no sense to me. Can I quote you? Seriously, there are pagans who corner themselves into historical eras earlier than the medieval, using what bits and pieces still exist to fashion some semblance of a whole cloth. In addition, I would point out that "tradition" is a loaded word in the pagan community, regularly being used to justify never changing, evolving, adapting. With me, you're singing to the choir, LOL, as I am of the opinion that the Gods and Goddesses have evolved right along with us rather than staying in their neat little boxes for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. I'm sure it will come up in some depth as discussions progress, if not right here. If I might venture, though, I suspect that people aren't always comfortable with having to construct their own worldview. It is so much easier to get that 'religion in a box' all packaged off the shelf. Ah, yes, pretty rocks. New Age stores are full of them. I don't indulge in those but I have been known to bring a stone home from an important place I have visited.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:47 pm
Yanueh Sure, why not? The pseudo-medieval stasis that some people corner themselves into makes no sense to me. Another thing that gets me are the people who seem to think that if it isn't a pretty shiny rock, it's worthless. Some people say that stones have certain properties based on their colors alone, yet consider colored glass worthless. Why? If it's color, then for all intents and purposes you should be able to use crayons and construction paper. Another thing is that people are happy to believe that pretty shiny rocks are magical, but won't consider that some ordinary, unpolished, and unadorned rock might be of any value. Really, why not? What makes a piece of basalt less magical than a piece of obsidian?
But, what it ties into is vibrations when dealing with color. I'm pretty sure it lies in the vibrations given off by what is forming the agate (For example, the minerals that make purple quartz purple (amethyst) are not going to be present in clear quartz) just since colors themselves are made of vibrations.
Glass would not hold the natural minerals that color it the way it is, nor does it have the vibrations of any set stone, so it is weaker and will not function well when used in ritual, spells, or carrying around in general. To my understanding, anyway, I could be wrong.
Though, that is just for crystal work. I'm sure colors themselves do have their own magickal properties (if not, why would people look for certain-colored candles?), and the use of crayons and paper in ritual would do fine :3
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 5:34 pm
That was... interesting. Now, could somebody define "vibration?" Quote: Glass would not hold the natural minerals that color it the way it is, nor does it have the vibrations of any set stone, so it is weaker and will not function well when used in ritual, spells, or carrying around in general. To my understanding, anyway, I could be wrong. Natural minerals are exactly what they use to add color to glass - often the very same minerals that give gemstones their color. Here's one person who seems to think glass is quite useful: Quote: GLASS You may be surprised to see glass on this list, but glass is regarded as a 'highly programmable' stone. It is worth keeping in mind that the colour of the glass may also be significant. [In what way do you wish to work with] your pendulum? Each and every colour has a vibration and it is believed that these vibrations can have a healing effect upon us. A brief guide to colours and their properties can be found elsewhere on this site. It is also interesting to note that glass is formed from re-constituted quartz, and is said to help raise healing energy vibrations.
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