A Wiccan Bible - Exploring the Mysteries of the Craft from Birth to Summerland

Liber ab Nomen (Book of Name)^27

the union of sky and Earth in your bath. Making sure that your water is at a safe tem-

perature, enter and relax. Feel the water pulling from you all the cares of your world.

After you have soaked, unplug the drain but do not exit the tub. Instead, stand and

watch the water travel down the drain, bringing with it anything that you do not want to

take with you from your bath. Then step from the tub and remember the symbolism of

those first few steps.

There are two additional ways to use these recipes. If you do not have a bathtub,

use the herb pouch as a scrub in the shower. If you want to be extra sure not to mess the

tub, you can use my preferred method.

First, boil the ingredients in water over the stove or ritual fire. Then allow to cool,

strain, and set aside for when needed. The fancy word for this is infusion. The term

basically means tea, but as the word tea implies that a mixture is to be consumed, the

term infusion is used to insure that no one makes a potentially fatal mistake. Some

things were just never intended to be on the inside of the human body.

Initiation Bath

2 parts Rosemary

1 part Sandalwood chips (powder will make a mess)

Used in the lustral bath prior to Self-Dedication and Rites of Initiation.

Divination Bath (Simple)

2 parts Rose

1 part Yarrow

This blend is intended for the lustral bath prior to Rites of Divination. However, even

if a ritual is to be conducted for a purpose other than divination, if a Seer is used to

divine the disposition of the gods at the end of the rite, this or the other given recipe

for a divination should be used in the bath water of the Seer.

Divination Bath (Better)

3 parts Damiana

2 parts Thyme

2 parts Yarrow

1 part Rose

1 part Nutmeg

1 part Cinnamon (if you are brave)

I have had no problem with this recipe, and it seems to provide a much better result

than the simple version. However, putting cinnamon in the bath is not generally a very

good idea. I have heard that this can set mucus membranes on fire and act as a general

skin irritant. Maybe I just have particularly tough mucus membranes. Everyone should

be careful with this one, but women should be extra careful for obvious reasons.

g WB Chap 0.p65 27 7/11/2003, 5:47 PM