These honey tips come to us from Mike:
NEVER give honey to a child under 5. The enzymes used to digest and create honey from the bees also carry a bit of bacteria that a child’s system is unable to metabolize.
Honey as well as other sweetener products have been added to cough medicines to basically dehydrate any bacteria that may get into the bottle upon opening it. Because of the high concentration of fructose, bacteria tend to die inside the jars of these items, rendering them to a deactivated form.
If honey gets all granulated on the side of the jar, simply run it under hot water which will allow it to melt to a syrupy consistency once again.
Not too long ago, one reader asked a question about a “witch’s bottle”. Bryan wrote to me to share the following:
I read the “Witch’s Bottle” discussion under “Ask Witch Hazel”. I did one of those many years ago (during an altercation, no less). I once asked Vinnie from Spellbound about witch’s bottles and he’s done one himself. It’s described in “Buckland’s Complete Book Of Witchcraft” by Ray Buckland. Here’s the section from the book that discusses witch’s bottles:
It is possible for the nicest person to have enemies. Some people may be jealous of you; misunderstand you; just dislike the way you do your hair! Many people have said to me: “I don’t need protection. I don’t have any enemies.” But there are the above-type “enemies” that you wouldn’t even know about. They may well be as sweet as pie to you, to your face, but be bitterly jealous, or whatever, behind your back. How do you protect yourself against their negativity? How do you protect yourself in case some warped individual decides to work magick against you? You don’t want to hurt them, but you certainly want to protect yourself.
The best way is with a “Witch’s Bottle”. This is an ancient defense, known throughout folklore. It is made on an individual basis. The idea is to protect yourself and, at the same time, send back whatever is being at you. You should never be the originator of harm, nor seek revenge, but you certainly can protect yourself.
To make a Witch’s Bottle, take a regular jar such as a 6 oz. instant-coffee jar. Half fill it with sharp objects: broken glass, old razor blades, rusty nails and screws, pins, needles, etc. When the jar is half filled with these objects, urinate in it to fill it. If a woman is preparing her bottle, she should also try to get some menstrual blood into it. Now put the top on the jar and seal it with tape. It should then be buried in the ground, at least twelve inches deep, in an isolated spot where it can remain undisturbed. If you live in a city, then it will be worth a trip out of town to find some remote spot to bury it.
So long as the bottle remains buried and unbroken, it will protect you from any evil directed against you. This applies whether the evil is directed by an individual or by a group of people. Not only will it protect you, but it will also reflect back that evil on the sender(s). So the more s/he tries to harm you, the more s/he will be harmed her/himself.
Such a bottle should last almost indefinitely, but to be on the safe side I’d suggest redoing the ritual once a year. With the present rate of housing development you never know when your bottle may be dug up or inadvertently smashed.
So that’s what Ray Buckland wrote about witch’s bottles. Vinnie did only one and said it was enough for him. I did a second one after I saw some of the soil washed away on top of the first(definitely dig deep enough!) but haven’t done any others, although I might just start meditating on it to “refresh” it. I did do a ritual before I went and buried it. I used a Snapple bottle. No, we’re not pulling a silly joke here; yes we actually did this!
Questions, comments? Drop me a line at
witchhazel@morbidoutlook.com.
