As we have said, working with substances associated with the dead is one of the ways the necromancer builds up a tolerance for such things. Over time this process creates what I like to call an inoculation. This allows the death worker to do things that might otherwise cause great disturbance in the bodies of other people. A way to build up tolerance is to consecrate an apple to a dead person by taking it the grave and simply placing it down on the soil there, with the intention of later peeling and eating that apple. One of the others things that increases this power in people is grave sleeping. Something which anyone in a country like England, with an enormous history of mass burials and bones in the soil, has probably already done without knowing it! Knowing you are doing it, however, is a little more potent in a number of ways. One of them being that the spot has been marked by the name and identity of the grave-owner. For many people laying down on a grave for meditation or trance may be possible, but sleeping the whole night may be physically dangerous. For this reason we will talk here about a variety of ways to complete a rite of deep communion with a pivotal helper among the dead.
MILDRED PAYNE’S BLACK ENCHANTMENT DECK
Other than falling asleep on a grave there is also the placing of limbs into the soil of a grave to send diseases, injuries and illness away along with the body of the dead which is being turned into soil and insect food below. Despite its inclusion in harmful formulas like Goofer Dust (a baneful Hoodoo recipe) graveyard dust is not a harmful ingredient in and of itself. It is actually used in a variety of forms of sorcery in a variety of ways including healing. In a bag or sachet spell with other Jupiterian herbs for protection: The grave-dust of a soldier or one who loved you can be added to this for added potency. A pinch and a quick prayer to the spirit of the dead to add protection to your work. There is also the matter of using a grave or grave-dust during conjuration at a distance, if one cannot sleep upon the grave. Just as a grave can create a downward spiral opening to the Underworld that one can enter, they are also a two-way gateway. For this reason spirits can be conjured on a grave of a helper of yours. It doesn’t have to be the grave of the spirit being called for this to be effective. The same process can be done with a handful of grave-dust placed in a dish under the candle or urn. It can also be used for a love spell. For this you will want the grave-dust of someone who loved you gathered from over the heart of where the body is laid. You need green paper, vandal root (if you can get it), as well as the dirt. You write your name and the person's name on the paper, put the vandal root and graveyard dirt in the centre of the paper, wrap it up and leave it under your bed.
If you know who the oldest burial in the cemetery is always leave them an offering before proceeding to consecrate your apple, or to ask for grave dirt. Leave three pennies on each corner as payment for the dirt, both for them and the individual. Take the dirt back to your work space. Write your petition out, it could be to see an important omen, or to achieve an outcome, and burn the petition to ash. Mix the ash with the dirt you collected. Dress a candle and sit it in the centre of your dirt. Say your pray and state your petition. Light the candle and let it burn all the way down; Once the candle has gone out gather up the dirt and any candle that is left. To this add three pennies. Go back to the crossroads and state your petition; throw everything in the center of the crossroads. Go home and KNOW that your petition will be answered.
When it comes to the use of grave relics of any kind there is nothing better than the grave of a witch. Many areas of Britain will have a special spot where a witch of old is believed to be buried where local witches (some of them still to this day) go to renew their powers at least yearly. Canewdan has a famous example where toads are meant to gather. There are three types of graves of this kind.
A folkloric site believed to have been a witch
The grave of someone recent who was known to be a witch
A grave that you have discovered through signs and portends that is either the grave of a natural witch (ie: someone gifted who may not have understood that they were a witch) or a practicing witch unknown to history
All of these have their own strong points. The accumulated belief of others around the folkloric site is potent, especially if there are traditions in place where people honour that story by going there to renew their Virtue via connection with this person.
This being said, the definite certainty that a witch really is buried there is potent in another way, as is the special bond between you and an unknown who has called out to work with you, is potent for a third reason. If you get the chance to collect such dust it is traditionally used for enhancing your own powers, adding to your Virtue, and the ongoing process of inoculation. Over time if you continue to feed and heed them, especially if the dead witch had no progeny of their own during life, they may pass on abilities to you that you didn’t previously have.
The way I learned it the Mighty Dead refers to the condition of Mastery. Not all dead witches meet this criteria, but those who do can be some of the most powerful helpers. This Wholeness or Mastery means that the individual had died before they died in a way that was sufficient to allow them not to need to be unraveled and re-weaved in the Underworld at death. They may obtain this state through a profound connection with Place. They will still retain their full human memories and go on to become very powerful entities who can be like a local god in their capacities and knowledge. Blue tinged corpse-candles are associated with the presence of the Mighty Dead.
In both Traditional British Witchcraft and many British Romani Gypsy traditions the first of the Mighty Dead (also first witch or first Gypsy) is Cain. Cain, and/or in some traditions Tubal Cain is believed to be an incarnation of the Witch Master who forged the first mingling of Fire and Flesh. The story of his murder of his brother Abel is usually interpreted entirely differently to how The Bible sees the tale. Some traditions see Abel as part of Cain’s own being and therefore an allegory for the sacrifice of ‘the self to the self’ that occurs in initiation. For other traditions it may have a different but nonetheless heretical interpretation. In medieval folklore Cain began to be associated with the moon and the Gospel of Aradia confirms the belief that Cain resides in the moon.
This is hardly surprising as a great many traditions seem to hold with the belief that the moon is the home of the Mighty Dead and that their influence on earth waxes and wanes during the month. During the waxing there is a pushing out of power, during the waning a pull in. There is a deep intuitive connection between the dead, the moon, water. Water and blood are both associated with the moon and both of these substances are believed to form roads or vessels that help to hold or attract spirits. Both the creation of wet roads leading to a circle and the letting of blood feed spirits of the dead who require moisture. Death-water can be made by soaking grave dirt in water to create more efficient ghost-tracks leading up the place where you wish the spirit to manifest, if you wish to this could form part of the Work you will find in audio below. Naturally though, the same can be done with fats that are useful for preparing your body to speak to that person, or to include in your candle to bring them to the space. The dead are believed to thirst and hunger, especially after doing a big work of successful magic for you, and this is why feeding your familiar dead is so important. One of the things they might take an interest in is sharing an apple with you before a mirror.
