Magic Chore Whoring and the paradox of war water

Calendula oil, four thieves vinegar,  gardenia oil, rose water.
From left to right.

As I have been making my way through the Elements and working with their Guardians, I have found Magic Chore Whore list shifting. Now that the sizzle, bubble and hiss part of the transition from fire to water has subsided into a nice warm simmer, I have settled into brewing some of my favorite items which include things like war water, rose water, four thieves vinegar, and new on the list: gardenia and calendula oil. Well, no war water brewing is necessary right now. I have a nice jar of starter sitting in the fridge so it's the other things that I am preoccupied with. I am also preoccupied with the idea of where am I gonna get fresh Jacaranda flowers from this season. I have dried and I will use it if I have to but I prefer the fresh blossom for brewing. ( yes, I have plans to plant my own frakking Jacaranda tree so this won't be a question any more.)


Yes I know, and yes I did hear the gasp when I mentioned war water. War water most popularly used as a cursing item, is not exactly what you think it is, or even when I thought it was when I first ran across it several years ago. I did a bunch of asking around and reading on the subject and became very frustrated that all seemed to be finding was curse mentions. I was relieved of my frustrations after an email conversation with the lovely Judika Illes. My first contact with war water was in a vision during my training of a ritual to invoke the blessings and protection of Krom into soldiers who were being deployed to war. I saw the ritual very clearly being performed by Krom himself on a soldier he favored. This person is not known to me, but I was very honored to be 'there' to witness the blessing. What Judika said about the war water was that the formula predates Hoo Doo and was used by a people who viewed Aries/ Mars as more than a blood thirsty hostile God. He was a father, he was an excellent provider and even better protector. I am sure there were as many aspects to this divine persona as humans tend to have multiplied up to the level of divinity. When I first ran into the war water use outside the cursing arena, I did indeed scratch my head while Krom looked at me with a twinkle in his eye that begged me to go on a digging expedition. Anyway, this is me digressing. . .


Krom and Aries/ Mars are in no way related to each other. Different Gods, different personalities and energies. They do share attributes such as protection and providence for their devotees. It makes sense now to me that Krom would show me that there is more to war water than scratching on the surface would reveal. He also made it very clear that there is a difference in formula depending on what you have in mind for this brew, but the starter brew is always the same: one really rusty nail in a jar of water to create a muddy red base: iron water. That spoke to me on another level. In my tradition, we hold iron in high regard. Our bodies carry enough iron to create a nail, an iron pentacle meditation/ trance working is used to clear and balance our mind body spirit relationships. Iron in my mind's eye is completely relevant to the human condition. Without it, we become ill and die. It made no sense to me when I began doing homework on it that it was solely for cursing. I had learned and had kept closely in my head the adage: curse and cure often times grow on the same vine. It had to be true with this as well. So off to play in the wicked garden I went.


Years later, I still use war water blessings. I use it on my thresholds to protect my family and guests. During troublesome times I have snuck it into my washer while laundry is going ( a few drops in the water will do it) I also use it around the perimeter of my house at the quarters to not just protect my household but I ask for the blessings of providence. To date, I have yet to use it as a curse materia, but I have used it in many other things including my bath water.

war water starter is best stored in refrigerator.
If it grows mold, just throw the whole thing away
and start from scratch.

War water starter


1 iron nail
sterilized jar with tight lid
water


place the nail in the jar, add water, replace lid, put in fridge and wait. It will take time to get a nice red muddy water and it's important to occasionally shake the jar. 


Blessings add ins:
once you have a nice muddy base it's time to mix your water in a separate jar.  
3 TBS war water/ cup of water.
patchouli
oak moss
1 balm of gilead pod
3 drops pine essential oil
3 drops of patchouli ess. oil
3 drop of cinnamon ess. oil


shake it up and ask of the Gods to bless it however you see fit. You can use this right off the bat, but aging it increases potency.


Now back to my water themed magic chore whoring!