How to Make Black Salt: A Step-by-Step Witch's Guide

• Make black salt by mixing together ashes, sea salt, black pepper, and activated charcoal.
• For added potency, burn protective herbs and add them to your ashes.
• Use black salt to protect your home, banish negativity, or create protection spell jars.
• Discard black salt by burying it, tossing it into the wind, or throwing it into flowing water.

Making Black Salt

Gather ashes from incense or a previous ritual. If you don’t have any ashes, grab a fireproof container, like a mini cauldron or incense burner. Then, light some incense and burn it down to ash. While it’s burning, add protective herbs like rosemary, sage, pennyroyal, lavender, lemongrass, or hyssop to make your ashes more potent. You can use any ashes, but ashes created during spell work are usually the most potent. Some people like to add a slip of paper with their intention on it while the ashes are burning. You might write, “protection,” or “banish negativity.”

Pour the ashes into a bowl. With a clean spoon, scrape all of the ashes into your mixing container. Then, grind them down into a fine dust. As you do this, focus on your intention to create protective black salt. A mortar and pestle is best for grinding your ashes. If you don’t have one, use the round part of a spoon. Ashes are used for purification and banishing.

Add 2 parts sea salt to 1 part ashes. Just eyeball the mixture because the measurements don’t need to be perfect. Then, stir the salt into the ash until it’s thoroughly mixed. At this point, the salt mixture will be grey. Sea salt is ideal for black salt because it’s purer and more natural. You can also use kosher salt if that’s all you have. In folk magic, salt is well-known for its protective and purification properties.

Mix in black pepper. Black pepper is used for protection and banishing, so it’ll make your black salt more powerful. Add a few spoonfuls of black pepper to your salt, and then stir the mixture until it’s well-blended. As an alternative, use shavings from your cast iron cauldron or pan because iron also has strong protective qualities. To easily incorporate cast iron, burn your incense in your cauldron and stir the ashes in the cauldron before adding them to your salt.

Add activated charcoal until your salt looks black. Charcoal has cleansing properties, and it’ll make your witch’s salt turn black. Sprinkle the activated charcoal into your mortar or bowl a little at a time. Stir to combine the ingredients, and keep adding charcoal until you’re happy with the shade of black.

Focus on your intention as you mix the black salt. As you work, infuse your black salt with energy by thinking about your desire. In your mind, direct your energy into the black salt so it carries your intention. You might even say a spell over the salt. Here’s a simple spell you can use: “Witch's salt made by me/Protect me from negativity/Keep me safe all day and night/Banish darkness from this site/Remove all those who would harm me/As I will, so mote it be.” Pray over your black salt if you want help from your chosen deity.

Pour the black salt into a glass jar for storage. Any jar will work—even an old jar that you’ve washed. Screw on the lid to create an airtight seal. Then, store your black salt until you’re ready to use it. Since jars can hold onto energy, it’s a good idea to purify it by wafting incense or sage smoke over it. Black salt doesn’t expire.

Using Black Salt

Sprinkle black salt along your threshold and windows for protection. The main use for black salt is protection. To keep negativity out of your home, create a thin line of salt just outside of your front door. For extra protection, place a line of salt along each windowsill, as well. As another option, sprinkle the black salt along your property line. According to folk magic, black salt can even keep unwanted people out of your home.

Sprinkle the black salt on the floor and sweep it out to purify your space. Black salt is a great way to purify your space since it banishes negativity. To get started, walk around your space, using your fingers to drizzle the salt over your floor. You don’t need a ton of salt to do this—just a pinch here and there. Then, sweep up the salt while imagining that you’re sweeping away negativity with it.

Make a protection spell jar. Start your spell by layering the black salt along the bottom of your jar. Then, add protective herbs, like rosemary, sage, chamomile, basil, thyme, peppermint, or lemongrass. Next, add protective crystals, such as tourmaline, obsidian, or clear quartz. Finally, add some white salt or crushed egg shells for protection and purification. Close your protection jar with a lid or cork. Any jar will work, but small cork jars are perfect for spell jars! Place your protection jar somewhere you can see it or carry it with you. You could even place one in your car to put a layer of protection over it.

Banish bad dreams by sprinkling black salt under your bed. Keep the nightmares away with a light dusting of black salt. The salt will absorb any negativity that comes your way, helping you get a peaceful night’s sleep. As another option, put the salt in a bowl so it’s easier to clean up. Make a sweet dreams spell bag by adding black salt to a sachet and blessing it. Then, sleep with your spell bag under your pillow.

Mix black salt into water and use it as a protection spray. Start by filling a spray bottle with fresh water. Then, add a few scoops of your black salt, screw on the lid, and shake the bottle to dissolve it. Spritz your water around your home to banish negativity and protect your space. You can even spray people and objects with your black salt spray to remove any negativity and cleanse them.

Disposing of Black Salt

Bury used or excess salt. After your spell, it’s important to discard the salt properly because it’s likely infused with negative energy now. One option is to seal the salt in a jar and bury it. Many people prefer to bury the salt away from their home, like in a nearby forest. You can also bury witch’s salt at a crossroads or in a cemetery. Put the salt in a container before you bury it so you don’t harm the soil and plants. Salt kills plants.

Scatter the salt in the wind. Since the wind can blow negativity away from you, this is a great way to discard a small amount of salt. All you need to do is stand outside in the open and face the direction the wind is blowing. Then, toss your salt up into the air and let a gust carry it off.

Sprinkle the salt in a body of moving water. Water can also carry away the negativity absorbed by your salt. Generally, a river or stream will work best for getting rid of black salt. Simply stand on the shore and toss your salt into the water so it’ll flow away. Don’t have access to a river or stream? Flushing your salt down the toilet counts as putting it in moving water.