From My Personal Grimorie: Binding Jar

I am not malicious by nature...but I am not afraid to protect myself, either. We have knowledge of magick to use to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. There's a rather worn-out saying that "A witch who cannot hex cannot heal". I look upon this type of magick as doing both.

Making magick is not something I take for granted because it's a gift. I try to only use that gift to be beneficial- and never to be malevolent.

But there are times you need to defend yourself against emotional/physical abuse or psychic attack. If you have the knowledge, then you have the power. As a practitioner, you have a duty to use the power in a way that will bring about the best solution for everyone involved in a situation...Sometimes, as a last resort, when the conflict has not and cannot be resolved any other way, you draw upon your knowledge to summon the powers of the Universe to assist you.

Creating a binding jar is not something I do lightly; I can only recall two times in the last 20 years that I've made one. The one pictured above was made the other night because, frankly, I was at a loss as to what else to do with a situation where someone I love and care about has been enduring continual harassment from a group of individuals who are posting negative, damaging, outright lies on a social media site concerning a situation. We've attempted to apply logic and reason, but the main perpetrator of this deed is especially out of control. None of us can spend endless hours policing his vicious lies and having them removed. Two weeks of this extraordinary situation, where everyone's  patience has just been tried over and over has called for extraordinary measures. I will not "blast" or banish another human being, but I will use whatever means necessary up to that to protect myself and those I love if I am in the right beyond the shadow of a doubt. This kind of magick is not for the faint-hearted, or the quick-tempered. I always use a cooling off period and examine my motivation and intention deeply before acting, and I believe you should, too.

To make a binding jar, you will need a small clean jar, a candle to seal it; a piece of paper and a pen to write your petition on; black thread; some sort of herbal hexing or binding mixture, and sea salt. In his book The Witch's Shield [pg. 166], Christoper Penczak describes the method he uses to make a binding bottle and gives an excellent over-view of the technique. I have my own which is similar but uses a few variations.

I compound my own hexing powder, which is a combination of crushed cloves, garlic, hot red pepper , frankincense, myrrh, vervain, dragon's blood  and sea salt, all in equal amounts. Depending on what it will be used for, I add other herbs with the appropriate correspondences, and if I don't have the herbs, I use the essential oils. Once I assemble all the ingredients, they are added  into my mortar, three ingredients at a time, making certain they are well ground while focusing my intention and /or reciting words of empowerment. The intention of the spell, with the names of all the parties, is written on a small piece of paper which I carefully fold away from me nine times, tying it at least  three times around with a black thread. I also seal the edge of the paper with a few drops of wax. I fill the jar a bit less than half full with sea salt, drop in the paper, and nine whole cloves, then top it off with more salt. After screwing on the lid, I charge the jar, including words of binding, and seal it shut around the edge by dripping wax from the candle. The candle can be any color you deep appropriate for the work, or white. After that you can either place the jar in the freezer to 'freeze' the actions you wish to bind, or bury it in the earth to 'ground' the binding.

Usually, before I conjure the work, I write out the binding on a separate sheet of paper so I can create the very best wording possible, and re-copy them as part of the ritual onto the actual piece of paper I will be putting into the jar of salt and herbs. I like to take my time performing the spell, because if it's worth doing, it should be done thoughtfully and in a respectful manner. I usually do the conjuration as a part of a larger ritual inside a cast circle, but, as always, I urge you to follow your own inclination to imbue the work with as much of your own personal energy as possible. You may wish to call upon a particular deity to assist you with the work ( I suggest Hecate, but you may prefer another). I do not recommend the inclusion of any demons or lower entities, because the purest form of intention for this work is to merely bind the actions of the individuals, not to cause them harm. Remember, maleficence begets maleficence, and if you send out evil, it will return to you.

copyright 2013, AmethJera