HERB - Four Thieves Vinegar

[lilinah@grin.net]

Greetings, Herbalistees:

This topic came up in a previous thread. I offered to post whatever 
recipes i could find. I scanned through over two dozen formularies 
and spell books. I didn't find quite as many recipes as i thought i 
would.

There are a few more books lurking about my home, and i'll try to 
check them too. If i find any more recipes, i'll post them.

NOTE: Stuff in [square brackets] are my notes

---------------------
I.
p. 54, Mastering Herbalism, by Paul Huson, 1974

"Four Thieves Vinegar
      "A Marseille remedy against the plague dating from 1722, Four 
Thieves Vinegar has continued to enjoy a reputation among herbalists 
as a mildly antiseptic but highly aromatic lotion. Supposedly once 
employed as a safeguard by four robbers who made a profession of 
plundering the plague dead, it smells a little bit like rather exotic 
salad dressing as you will see if you try it.

"Take 1/4 ounce each of:
Calamus root
Cinnamon
Ground cloves
Ground nutmeg
Lavender
Mint
Rosemary
Rue
Sage
Wormwood

"Place the garlic with 2 garlic heads, sliced, in a glass or ceramic 
container, and add 1 quart cider vinegar. Cover closely and keep at a 
warm temperature for 5 days. Strain, and add 1/4 ounce powdered 
camphor before bottling for use."

---------------------
II.
p. 40, Herman Slater, Magickal Formulary Spellbook I, Magickal Childe 
Publishing, Inc., 1981

"Four Thieves Vinegar
High John
Vetavert
Adam and Eve
Low John or Black Pepper
Red Wine Vinegar"
[there are no further directions or remarks.]

MY NOTES:
*     High John is also called High John the Conqueror, or John the 
Conqueror root. It is Jalap root (Ipomoea jalapa). Often Morning 
Glory root is substituted because it's cheaper.
*     Vetavert [sic] is also spelled Vetivert or Vetiver. Another 
name for it is Khus Khus grass
*     Adam and Eve are roots, i forget from which plant
*     Low John is any of several roots or rhizomes. Galangal (Alpinia 
galanga) is one and is commonly used in Southeast Asian cooking. In 
Indonesia it is called Laos, in Thailand it is called Kha. Low John 
(whatever root or rhizome) may also be sold as Chewing John or 
African Ju Ju  or Beth root.

p. 28, Herman Slater, Magickal Formulary Spellbook II, Magickal 
Childe Publishing, Inc., 1986

"Four Thieves Vinegar: allegedly introduced to this country [USA] by 
Marie Laveau, the unrivaled High Priestess of American Voodoo, this 
vinegar-based herbal potion is said to drive enemies away from your 
door. Sprinkle a bit on your front doorstep, or on the doorstep of 
someone you do not like."

---------------------
III.
Ray T. Malbrough, _Charms Spells & Formulas_, Llewellyn Publications, 1986

p. 99  -
"To Cause Your Enemy to Leave
"Take a small jar. Write your enemy's name 9 times on a small piece 
of paper and put this in the jar. Fill the jar with Four Thieves 
Vinegar and throw it into a river"

p. 132 -
"Four Thieves Vinegar is used as a hexing agent. The name of the 
person you wish to curse is written on a piece of paper. The paper is 
soaked in Four Thieves Vinegar. The paper is allowed to dry and then 
is burned. It is the ashes of this paper you use in your ritual. Four 
Thieves Vinegar can be sprinkled on an enemy's door step to break up 
their home.

"To a gallon of strong cider vinegar add a handful of the following: 
rosemary, wormwood, lavender, rue, sage, and mint. Add 1 ounce of 
powdered camphor gum. Tightly close the container with the vinegar 
and herbs in it. Place this container in a pan of water and heat 
until the water begins to boil. Always shake this mixture before 
heating. Heat daily for 4 days. Strain the herbs from the liquid, 
bottle and keep tightly closed."

[To make it look more like a recipe]

1 gallon of strong cider vinegar
a handful of each of the following:
                rosemary
                wormwood
                lavender
                rue
                sage
                mint
1 ounce of powdered camphor gum

[In a heat-proof container that can hold one gallon, place all 
ingredients] Tightly close the container with the vinegar and herbs 
in it. Place this container in a pan of water and heat until the 
water [not vinegar] begins to boil. [Remove from fire and let cool.]

Always shake this mixture before heating. Heat daily for 4 days. 
Strain the herbs from the liquid, bottle and keep tightly closed."

[I have measured what my hand will hold: about 1/4 cup of rice or 
raisins. I might be able to hold a bit more herbal matter (i have 
very small hands). How much can your hand hold? In addition, make 
sure you use *natural* camphor, not synthetic camphor or mothballs.]

---------------------

I have been unable to find where i got the next two lists of 
ingredients i found in one of my notebooks:

Gather the following:

thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender

- or -

rosemary, wormwood, lavender, mint, bay, rue, sage [differs in the 
addition of bay]

Place a total of 2 cups of herbs in a gallon of cider vinegar. Soak 
herbs in a warm place for 2 weeks, shaking gently from time to time. 
Then strain out the herbs and either add several whole garlic cloves 
or dissolve a little natural camphor in the vinegar.

---------------------

Hope you find this interesting.

Anahita Gauri al-shazhiya bint-Karim al-hakim al-Fassi
============================================================================
Go to http://lists.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.