To Bless Waters, Oils or Herbs for Magical Use

This is a simple rite intended to bless waters, oils, and herbs for magical use. It can use used on components that you intend to use right away or that you intend to store for future use. (If you are collecting and storing any type of water from outdoors—such as storm water, river water, or water which has sat in the open for any period of time, please research and take the appropriate steps to kill any bacteria so that nothing unwanted grows in your water.) To begin, collect the materials you wish to bless in a small container or bowl along with a candle, some salt, and a bit of iron[1].  Put the salt and iron in a separate small bowl on your workspace and place the candle near the material to be bless so that the light of the candle shines over it.

Place your dominant hand on the bowl of materials and the other hand on the bowl of salt and iron, saying:

By salt and by steel, by flame and by breath,
I hold the key, I walk the path.
Spirits near and far, seen and unseen,
Please, watch and ward this work between.

Take a deep breath and blow over the materials gently, thinking of this as the breath of life, then pick up the candle and pass it over the materials to imitate the sun rising. Say:

Awake! Ye gift of earth and sky!
Be clean, by clear, by witch’s eye!

To bless water, stir it with the pointer finger of your dominant hand, saying:

By tears, by stream, by dewy kiss,
By rain and well and morning’s mist,

Ye now are blessed, in witch’s name,
To cleanse, to heal to hold the flame.

To bless oil, hold the bottle in both hands, warming it. Say:

Sun and seed, and root below,
Elixir which in dark did grow,
Ye now are charged with sacred fire,
To feed the craft and wake desire.

To bless herbs for teas, charms, or spell ingredients, breath gently over the bowl of herbs and say:

By leaf and bloom, by thorn and bark,
Gathered in field, in forest, in park.
I name thee name, with purpose dressed.
Be charm, by sure, be spell, be blessed.

Take a moment to work with your newly blessed items and their spirits, to give them their purpose and any instructions you want to give. If you are blessing items for future use, take the time to label them clearly. Then, when you are ready to leave your working space, wrap up by blowing out the candle and saying:

It is done as I have said,
By breath and will, by heart and head.
Candle out! The work is through!
Spirits kind, I thank and shoo!

[1] Any bit of iron will suffice here. I use a forged iron amulet that I wear as part of my practice, but an iron nail, key, pin or even iron ore pellets will work just fine.