Blood

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

Among the Germanic tribes (such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norsemen), blood was used during the sacrifices, the Blóts. The blood was considered to have the power of its originator and after the butchering the blood was sprinkled on the walls, on the statues of the gods and on the participants themselves. This act of sprinkling blood was called bleodsian in Old English and the terminology was borrowed by the Roman Catholic Church becoming to bless and blessing. The Hittite word for blood, ishar was a cognate to words for "oath" and "bond". The Ancient Greeks believed that the blood of the Gods, ichor, was a mineral that was poisonous to mortals.

In witchcraft, blood is considered a very powerful ingredient and used in various ways. It is said to be able to bind an item or tool to the owner and also give power to a certain charm or curse.

Menstrual Blood

Menstrual blood has also been associated with human binding, so to say, meaning binding someone to you.In some traditions menstrual blood was considered to have fertility powers and was used in either poppets to aid it life or put into the soil at a foot of a baby plant to give it strenght to grow.

Drawing Blood

In folklore it said that if a witch has placed a curse apon another, the person must scratch witches brow until it bleed and the curse would then be broken.