Graveyard dust. It
sounds a bit creepy, right?Who in their right mind goes around scooping up
soil out of cemeteries?
Well, believe it
or not, a lot of people. The use of graveyard dust is common in many magical
traditions. It is considered exceptionally powerful because of its associations
with the dead and their proximity to the spirit world.
Victim,
Healer or Perpetrator?
In many forms of
folk magic, the person who’s
inside
the grave is significant. Dust from the grave of someone who loved you should
be used in love spells, while dust from the burial site of a wicked person
might be incorporated into curses and other malevolent workings. Dust from a
lawyer’s grave can turn a court case your way, and soil from a detective or
police officer may help catch a rapist. The dirt from a midwife’s grave lends
spiritual aid during childbirth. Who knows, a little dust from a doctor’s grave
could cure what ails you.
In other words,
the dust from the grave is a physical correspondence with the traits of the
person buried beneath it. And the closer the dirt was to the corpse, the more
potent it is considered to be. The dust can be enhanced by combining it with
moss scraped from the grave. Or mix it with herbs, nails, a magnet, sulfur,
shedded snack skins, red or black pepper, or chimney soot, depending on how you
will be using the mixture.
Here is how
Nicholas Orenda, a sixth-generation witch in my upcoming novel,
Song
of the Ancients, approached his graveyard visit. Granted, he took a bit
more than dust from the grave.
Chapter 29: Graveyard Dust
Nicholas pulled off the
gravel road in the dwindling twilight, stopping at a rickety barbed-wire fence
blocking the cemetery entrance. He unlatched the post, scraping the gate across
the snowy ground and dropping it where the road’s edge fell off into the ice-crusted
ditch.
He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a
handful of pennies, scattering them in the snow. “Alms for the dead,” he muttered. Somewhere behind him, a coyote howled
a solitary note, and was answered by a chorus of voices from the dark woods.
Ahead, dull grey tombstones poked up from the
earth at odd angles like rows of crooked teeth. Half-way into the cemetery a
dark mound protruded above the snow.
Opening the trunk, Nicholas removed a
flashlight, shovel, crowbar, and a small hatchet, dropping them into a burlap
sack. He tucked the sack under his arm and headed to the new grave, his boots
crunching to the ground as they broke through the icy film on the top of the
snow.
The burial mound was soft and the digging
went quickly. While he pitched shovel
after shovel of dirt over his shoulder, his mind returned to the idea of
bonding with Samantha. A blood bond would be the strongest, although any bodily
fluid would work. Blood could have the added benefit of tying them
telepathically. Of course submitting freely, of her own will, would allow him
to avoid resorting to dark magic and help keep his soul intact. Oops, too late, he thought, looking at
the pile growing pile of dirt.
Why would someone sneak into
a cemetery and bury a body? He could think of a number of mundane reasons, but
why would a witch do so? Unless they
defiled the body in some way and didn’t want anyone to know. His hole grew
deeper and his unease increased.
Only three feet down his
shovel hit something firmer than the soft soil, connecting with a muffled thud. Digging carefully down one side,
he cleared a space to stand beside the box. He removed the crowbar from his
sack and pried the coffin nails from one side, muttering softly. “Coffin nails,
familiars of maggot and worms and unsavory creatures of the kind. Do my
bidding, my evil works, when I so command.” Blowing on the nails, he pocketed
them and opened the lid.
He held his breath and shone
the flashlight on the body, a young woman, barely past her teens. Her hands had
been folded across her body, and Nicholas could make out, in the flashlight’s
beam, several places on her right arm where jagged chunks of flesh were
missing.
Something had chewed on this
girl. He fervently hoped she had died first.
Nicholas scrambled out of
the hole, brushing the soil off his shirt and pants with shaky hands. He closed
his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he picked
up the ax and the burlap sack, and dropped back into the grave.
Working quickly, he lopped
off the corpse’s left hand and dropped it into the sack. Closing the lid on the casket quietly, he
gathered his tools and climbed out of the grave.
Nicholas gave a quick look around to be sure
no prying eyes were watching before shoveling the dirt back onto the coffin.
For one moment longer he stood by the mound.
Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a silver dime and dropped the on
the grave.
Satisfied, he ran his fingers over the mound
to erase his footprints and scattered a few dry leaves on top. He looked around
one last time to be sure he’d forgotten nothing, then hurried back to the car,
holding the sack at arm’s length.
Dumping everything into the trunk, he drove
out the gate without stopping.
* * * * *
Collecting
Graveyard Dust
No matter whose
grave you choose to collect dust from, it’s important to do so in a respectful
and honorable manner. Graveyard dust must be purchased, through a contract with
the spirit of the person buried there. There are as many approaches to buying
graveyard dust as there are ways of using it, but here is one technique:
Supplies to Take:
* Trowel
* cloth or plastic
bag
* tobacco and
small bottle of whiskey (like the airline bottles)
* a mercury (silver)
dime
* 9 pennies
* tea light in its
container, and lighter/matches
* paper and pen
* Small pot of
flowers
Waning
Moon at Midnight
Some people say to
visit the cemetery on the dark or waning moon at midnight for malevolent spells,
or on the full moon for love and healing workings. I say let the rules of your
cemetery be your guide. If you can enter the premises at night, then go after
dark. If the cemetery closes at dusk, go before it closes. Honor the law.
Have all of your
supplies in your sack and flowers in hand. At the gate of the cemetery, leave
your 9 pennies in honor of the spirit who owns and guards all graveyards. Ask
for his permission and protection while you do your work, and then enter.
Start in the
center of the cemetery, walking by candlelight. Reach out with your thoughts
and talk to the spirits of the graveyard. Tell them the magickal work you want
to accomplish, and ask who among them will assist you. Wait for a ‘tug’ leading
you in the right direction, and proceed slowly to the grave that calls to you.
When you get there, place the candle on the grave and sit on top of it to
meditate/pray with that spirit for a bit. Ask for permission and assistance,
and if you get an affirmative answer, begin to buy the dirt.
Proper
Payment
Take the graveyard
dust from the appropriate area: over the head or feet for spells of persuasion,
or if you want them to move in a certain direction; from the heart area for
love. Cut out a small plug of sod, dig down about six inches for dirt, and put
it in your sack or plastic bag. Then drop the silver dime into the hole in
payment for the dirt, thanking the spirit and saying, “As I have paid you in
silver, so shall you pay me in labor.”
Add
a bit of tobacco or whiskey (you may ask the spirit if it has a preference)
into the hole and replace the plug of soil.
Write down the
name, birth and death dates of the grave on a piece of paper and include it in the
bag. Hold the bag in your hands and ask the spirit a last time to help you.
Leave the candle (if it’s in a fireproof container), to burn on the headstone,
and place the flowers on the grave.
Leave the grave
knowing you have the spirit’s assistance, Walk slowly and don’t look back.
Thank all the spirits at the gate, and when you are outside, spin around three
times before you leave, to confuse and detach any entities who may want to
hitchhike home with you.
At home, spread
the dirt out on a piece of foil to thoroughly dry, and then sift out any roots
or rocks.
Store the dust
with the name paper, and the moon phase when it was gathered. Every time you
use it, call the spirit by name and command it to assist in your work,
referring to the contract you made in the cemetery.
Shake
Out Your Shoes
Graveyard dust can be used for
foot-track
magic, a form of sorcery in which one hurts or poisons a victim through the
feet (ie, the graveyard dust mixture is sprinkled in the shoes of the victim,
or on a path where the victim will walk). However, spells of revenge or
retribution tend to have serious ethical considerations, and will almost always
backfire on the user. Instead, consider methods of mediation and enlightenment
to achieve your goals. One example, a graveyard dust spell for a fair
inheritance, is posted on my website,
www.writerSandy.com.
%2Bto%2Bbe%2Breleased%2Bon%2B9-30-09%2Bby%2BThe%2BWild%2BRose%2BPress.jpg)
