  
Or the diary of a demented kitchen witch: Part III
October
16 - 17, 2005
WE
HAVE LIFT OFF! I've finally come up
with something that sort of resembles ink that
would do in a pinch and would be especially
good for spell casting.
I
made two attempts this weekend and here they
are ...
Wild
Walnut Ink
1 1/2 cups distilled water
1 cup walnut husks wild harvested (these were
still green)
All
I did was put the husks in the water and boil
them on the stove for about 30 minutes. It really
is incredible to see the water change from clear
to dark in a matter of minutes. After the water
cooled down I filtered the liquid through two
coffee filters. When I tried it on the page
it was pretty light but a good start and I will
definitely be doing some more experiments with
these (especially 'cause they are free!) This
one will need quite a bit more work.
And
the winner is ....
La
Bona Dea's Simple Ash Ink
 1/2 cups dried and chopped herbs
1 tablespoon powdered gum arabic (this thickens
the liquid and you could probably omit if you
were in a pickle)
1/2 cup distilled water
1 tablespoons vinegar
Here
is the idea ... select the herbs that best suit
your magical intent for the dried herbs. You
must choose dried herbs for this and it is best
if they are cut and sifted (a.k.a. 'smallish
bits').
Step
1. Take your dried herbs and char them to smithereens.
I use an old cast iron skillet and burn them
outside on my BBQ. You'll want to burn them
to the point of no return. When you think that
they are burnt enough ... burn them some more!
Mine had glowing embers they were charred so
much.
Step
2. Carefully grind the charred remains in a
mortar and pestle until they are a fine powder
(if not well charred this will not work properly).
Sift the powder through a fine sieve to remove
any larger pieces.
Step
3. Mix the charred powder with the powdered
gum arabic until well blended.
Step
4. Bring the distilled water and the vinegar
to a boil.
Step
5. Add the water to the powdered blend and mix
well.
Step
6. Strain the liquid through a very fine sieve
... do not use a coffee filter.
That's
it! How simple could that be? Now this ink is
far from perfect, but I think that if you
want to try to make your own ink from scratch
this is probably the easiest recipe you'll come
by. I love the idea of using herbs specific
to your magical intent to enhance your magical
workings. Let me know if you give this a try,
how it worked for you and if you added your
own alterations to it ... happy casting!
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