The home bottle

My interest in oils and potions is rooted well into my childhood probably starting with the fascination
of Alice in Wonderland growing and shrinking. I was introduced to essential oils in late adolescence and my collection kept growing as well as my knowledge on how to utilize them. It took me an even longer time to realize how serious I had become about my "playtime" as I coined it. I loved being able to follow a recipe out of a remedy or magical book. There are medicinal remedies that I found in some books that I use to this day on myself and family. They simply work.

For years I had been hearing about a certain esoteric author whose works were both deep and knowledge and spiritual understanding. For a long time I felt as though my pockets weren't deep enough to reach out and grab one for my own. Well I got over my silly self and manged to score both the Viridarium Umbris and the Ars Philtron. Not at the same time, mind you, and not with out a certain amount patience and good fortune. It wasn't until I read Daniel Schulke's work did I true understand how far down the rabbit hole I had managed to wander. Actually, it was when I began to look at my practice's evolution and took a good hard look at my potion bottles.

Somewhere along the line, I had built up a line of medicinal and magical formulas  that I had decided I was not going to be without. I could tell because these bottles no longer had masking tape labels. Great thought went into what kind of bottle was I going to acquire to put this formula into. How was I going to bless it and adorn it to make the oil feel like it belonged with me. . . more accurately, the spirit behind oil. Sometimes a bottle would find me. My closest friends often times find antique or strange bottles and gather them up and send them my way saying:"We know, you know what to do with this so here."

My home bottles don't look like Daniel Schulke's and that's great. Daniel has a distinct flavor and texture that is simply unique unto himself and that is perfect. My bottles say the same thing about me. These are Nalaya's oils. Every witch finds his and her own path and learns to walk it honoring their own flavor and energy and I encourage everyone to find their own light. I will not share with you the entirety of my personal practice as far as the creation of a home bottle, but I will share with you a general skeleton so you may experiment and find your own flavor.

Purpose: when choosing  a home bottle for your potion you should consider whether it is magical or medicinal. What is the purpose of the potion? How does that purpose feel and look to you? try to find something that reflects that back at you. Sometimes the bottle finds you. Be sure it is clean and sterile before you begin any work with it with and an appropriate lid or stopper.

Trial: there are many types of trials. This is not only meant to test the quality of the bottle, but it's ability to become a home for an oil or potion that may or may not have a spirit attached to it. The integrity and strength of the bottle itself is very important. You want to make sure it will be around for a good long time if you are going to put so much energy and work into it. Daniel Schulke describes a trial by the elements of sorts. He takes his and lets the river decided the worthiness of the vessel. My process is a bit different because A) I live in a desert B) I live in a large city C) I believe that my connection to the spirits I work with is strong enough to hear in my normal atmosphere. . . which is a noisy house with three active and high spirited children who also serve as part of my bottle trial.

Blessings: After the bottle has survived the trial, blessings from both divinity and spirit attached to the oil are attained through a ritual of my own design. I encourage you to design your own. Nothing puts a personal stamp on your potions like this ritual does and I would never tell you there is a wrong way to do it.

Adornment: The adornment of this bottle is two fold. It is a reflection of both you and the spirit of the potion. As I said earlier Daniel Schulke's bottles look like Daniel Schulke works. There is no mistaking that. There are many witches whose works you can look at and immediately know whose work it is. You should find your own finger print. It should also look like something of the spirit who lives there.

Fulfillment: upon completion of your potion it gets transfered from the brew bottle to the home bottle I do this in circle.

Inhabitation: this usually occurs at the same time of fulfillment unless I am waiting for a specific timing to occur. This is when you address the spirit that has helped you create the potion in the first place is invited to "live" in the bottle and lay it's blessings upon the potion, should it be satisfactory, of course.

Final blessings:

There is no wrong way to do any of this. Be not afraid to step into the circle and dance with the spirits. Trust your instinct and knowledge of your material then fly!