The Magic And Ritual Uses Of Anise

I recently read something that may be quite timely,and I thought I'd share it with all-or both-of my readers. Seems that Anise might be a preventative to the Avian Bird Flu that seems ready to take the world by storm. Not a cure now, mind you, but possibly-note, I said possibly-a preventative, evidently the possibility being that it serves to bolster the bodies immune system in some way that it might-again, might-serve to keep one from coming down with the nasty virus.

To those who are unawares, Anise is quite simply a plant the seeds of which have a strong licorice like aroma and flavor. In fact, most of the licorice sold in stores as a candy are actually flavored with this herb. Actual true licorice would be prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

Both anise and licorice have their uses in ritual and magic. Licorice is used to inspire lust, while Anise can be used to heighten psychic awareness. The method is quite simply, in the case of Anise, to inhale the scent of the essential oil that is derived from the seed. As no essential oil is made from licorice that I am aware of, you have to stick to the root, which I assume can be purchased in herbal stores, specially Chineese herb shops.

Some might wonder what the difference would be ritually, since the scent andf taste is so similar, and that would be a good and valid question. In my own case, I have no experience with licorice, but I do have considerable experience with Anise. Yes, it, too, inspires lust. But then that is easy enough in my case. It very definitely inspires psychic awareness. Especially when used in conjunction with a good joint of marijuana.

In fact, the ritual in which I did this utilized a crystal ball, a very small one, a blue candle, anise essential oil, a joint, and a sheet of parchment upon which I dabbed a few drops of the oil. After inhaling the scent and smoking the joint, I lit the candle, some incense, and dropped a few drops on the candle, which I also previously annointed with the oil. I then meditated by the light of the blue candle, on the old style parchment, and the crystal ball.

Before long, the anise blots on the old style parchment became like a kind of Rorshach test, and I could divine shapes in them that told me the answer to the question I had been divining. But that was only the beginning. After so long the shapes actually seemed to take on a life of their own, and they actually began to move around on the parchment. It became almost like looking at an editorial page cartoon transposed to film, with movement. It was quite bizzarre, to say the least.

Thing about it was, I was unsure as to exactly what I was looking at. Then, three days later, it hit me, out of the blue, just exactly what I was looking at. At the time the truth occurred to me, I had actually put it out of my mind somewhat, but I was waking across a bridge, in fact the bluue suspension bridge (Roebbling, I think is the name of it) that goes from Cincinnati to Covington, Ky., when it hit me. The purpose of the divination was to discover the true identity of the person or persons responsible for the murder of somebody. Incredibly, I knew one of the two people involved, and maybe the other one as well, though I could never be too certain of that second.

Now, of course, I said to myself, okay, I don't like this person, so I'm projecting my intense dislike of him onto a crime scene as a way of playing some kind of subconscous game of retribution. So I put this out of my mind. But, it turns out,(though I didn't know it at the time of the ritual) the person in question, who shall remain nameless, was exactly the type of person who would commit this specific type of crime against this specific type of victim. Voila. Unfortunately, I had and have no real evidence, so it has had to remain my secret. What am I going to tell the cops, that I saw the guilty parties on a sheet of parchment after I smoked a joint and conducted a Wiccan style ritual? And one of them just turned out to be a person I'd been having some problems with? Nothing serious, the guy was just a loudmouthed asshole and a prick. Strangely enough, however, the guy became eerily friendly almost immediately after my ritual, after I had spoken with him a couple of times. Almost like a part of him, somewhere deep down, knew that I knew. But knowledge based on divination, no matter how valid and based on comprehensive study and verification afterwards, is worthless without some kind of hard evidence to back it up. As such, I have a real problem with a lot of these phoney psychics who put themselves across as having some kind of special knowledge of some crime or mystery.

But anyway, I have strayed somewhat, from my original point, but at least perhaps it served to illustrate the validity of the magical andf ritual uses of the herb, depending on whether one would care to take my word for it. Naturally, in the case of the smoking of marijuana, I would never (ahem) under any circumstances (Ahem) encourage anybody to break the law (ahem). But there you have it, take it for what it's worth.

Fortunately, you can enjoy the benefits of the magical powers of anise with ot without the use of marijuana, or any other drug. The psychic enhancing powers of the scent is still quite powerful, and may possibly be even easier to access without marijuana, which in my case causes my mind to stray very quickly from first one thing to another.(Of course, in the case of psychic workings, that might not be all together bad)

But there are other ways to enjoy the benefits of the herb, bsides merely inhaling the scent. I enjoy making a tea out of the seeds. It is quite simple, really. Just fill a coffee filter about one third to one half way full ofthe seeds, then run about ten cups of water through your coffee maker. Of course, the more seeds you can put in your filter, the stronger and thus better the tea. Enjoy the tea by the light of the moon, especially the full moon, as you sit outside under it at night. Or simply enjoy it in the comfort and privacy of your home, as you meditate by candlelight. Either way, or both, is fine. As Samhain is fast approaching, what better way to attune with the spirits of the dead, or with the Goddess and the God, than by this brew. I used to add other ingredients. A dash of cinnammon, a couple tablespoons of ginger, a pinch of spearmint. This year, however, I think I am going to stick to pure anise tea. I might add a teaspoon of sugar per cup, but I might not even do that. Whatever the case, I strongly recommend it for a person's Samhain celebrations-or anytime for that matter.

A word of caution is advised, however. As with any herb, check with your physician before you ingest too much of it. Anise in particular can be dangerous for persons sufferring from high blood pressure. Otherwise, anise tea while meditating is an enjoyable addition to my Samhain observances.

And with what I learned about it's potential as a preventative for the contracting of the Avian Flu, Samhain couldn't come at a better time.