Illustration PJ 2011, Salt, upper left Black Hunza Stone Salt, upper right Hawaiian Sea Salt, lower left refined modern tablet salt and lower right Pink Himalayan Salt.
Few elements have had a longer importance in human cultures as regular table salt, both mined stone salt and sea salt has been the prime tool for preserving foods and adding flavor even long before recorded history. Salt also played an important role in many religions and faiths, it was considered one of the prime elements in the European medieval alchemy and therefore essential for the making of the philosophers stone. In Christianity salt is also a religious symbol. Salt is a symbol of the sanctity of Jesus, as a preserving value of his sanctity and, protection it is used to make holy water and also the more powerful exorcised water in the Roman Catholic Church. Salt is also used to make protective circles like described in My First Exorcism by Rev. Alaina Damewood.
Salt as a sign of bad omens. According to some recollections salt was spilled by Judas Iscariot at the last supper, and since then is seen as a sign of omen and bad luck. If you spilled salt you could avert your bad luck by tossing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder, which was thought to be the devils side. By doing this one would advert any evils that the devils lurking at your left side had in store for you.
In Norse mythology they thought that the gods came from a salty ice-block as the cow, Auðumbla brought Búri the first god in Norse mythology, grandfather of Odin, out of the salty ice block over the course of four days. In general, other than its role as part of Norse creation myths salt had little importance other than a tool used to preserve and condition foods, though later Christianity brought in a lot of their beliefs in salt.
In Hawaii and Samoa sea salt is used for protection both by placing salt in each of the four corners of the house and by poring salt on the door threshold to prevent any spirits from crossing into ones home.
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Hmmm very interesting didn't know that the Roman Catholic Church put salt in the Holy Water, I knew about the throwing over the shoulder and uses for salt protection ie: putting on the threshold of the house and the window ledges for protection.Cool Thanx
ReplyDeleteMary
Thank you very much bringing deeper clarity into the topic of pagan use of salt and the difference between black and white witchcraft.
ReplyDeleteI have learned a lot from you comment and, that is what life is all about. We always keep learning. Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding this
All comments are appreciated. -Gary
Interesting! I also read that salt in white, and therefore pure, hence why it was used to purify places. Also I heard mention here in Hawaii that salt was used because of a different purpose.
ReplyDeleteMadame Pele, goddess of the volcano, was buffeted only by her sister Namakaokaha'i, goddess of the ocean. It is said where there is an imbalance on land (Pele's domain), you bring something of her rival/sister to offset the imbalance, bringing it back to balance. Also I heard the opposite is true too... people bringing containers of dirt on long voyages for 'good luck'.
Also, Salt can be perverted for use of black and dark magick. In Spanish speaking countries, witches both good and bad can imbue salt with high levels of dark energy and then toss the salt onto someone else's property and the salt will then act as a grenade of dark energy that will explode when the salt can no longer keep it neutralized and spread it everywhere on the property. This is what's known as a Salacion or Salamiento (Salation Spell) a curse usually used to hex a business so that it will fail. There are a dozen different ways of doing this, some include sacrificed animals, others using Vinegar or black pepper. The one constant is the use of something sour like salt to curse someone. One thing I would like to point out : there is a difference between Dark Magick and Black Magick. Dark Magick can be good, bad, or neutral. For instance, talking to or working with the dead is Dark magick because the energy of death is dark. That is neither evil or good, it depends on how the person uses it. When God punished the Egyptians with plagues that was Dark Magick, it doesnt mean he is evil simply he was being wrathful when is also dark. Witches of all faiths acknowledge that light and dark, yin and yang, wrath and peace, are all a part of being alive. There is nothing bad with being Dark as long as you dont go overboard. Also, several witches that serve Nyx are Dark not because they are wrathful but because the Night itself is Dark. Nothing bad about that at all. So Darkness can be good. Now Black Magick is a totally different story. The Black Arts or Forbidden Arts are all a perversion of dark energy for sinister uses. Black Magick is pure evil. That's what Satanists use.
ReplyDeleteIn the Hebrew Bible, thirty-five verses mention salt,[100] one of which being the story of Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When the judge Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have "sown salt on it," probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it (Judges 9:45). The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. "Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?" (Job 6:6)[100]
ReplyDeleteIn the New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the "salt of the earth". The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to "let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6).[100]
Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass.[101] Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican Rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary" in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.[101]
In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush.[102] To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt.[103]
In one of the Hadith recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that: "Salt is the master of your food. God sent down four blessings from the sky – fire, water, iron and salt".[104]
Salt is considered to be a very auspicious substance in Hinduism and is used in particular religious ceremonies like housewarmings and weddings.[104] In Jainism, devotees offer raw rice and a pinch of salt before a deity to signify their devotion and it is sprinkled on a person's cremated remains before the ashes are buried.[105]
In Wicca, salt is symbolic of the element Earth. It is also believed to cleanse an area of harmful or negative energies. A dish of salt and a dish of water are almost always present on an altar. The salt is mixed with the water to consecrate it, in effect producing holy water. This mixture is used in a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies.[106]
In the native Japanese religion Shinto, salt is used for ritual purification of locations and people (harae, specifically shubatsu), such as in sumo wrestling, and small piles of salt called morijio (盛り塩?, pile of salt) or shiobana (塩花?, salt flowers) are placed in dishes by the entrance of establishments for the two-fold purposes of warding off evil and attracting patrons.[107]
In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water.[108]
The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans invoked their gods with offerings of salt and water. Some think this to be the origin of Holy Water in the Christian faith.