The past months were spent crafting and filling another row of Teufelskunst seed boxes. This year’s regular series included again a variety of new and old witch herb classics, while the recent “Black Flowers” edition, which was finalized this week, holds again a little treasury of extravagant, black or near black flowering plants as well as some vegetables with black fruits. Below are a few impressions of the final boxes. All remaining black flowers boxes will be shipped on the 15th of July. Please watch your email inboxes (and spam folders) for shipping notifications.
Black Flowers Seed Boxes, edition of 11, July 2019
Black Flowers Seed Boxes, edition of 11, July 2019
In follow to the wonderful feedback and many emails received after the last boxes had been sold, I spent the past weeks crafting and researching what would become the content of the next row of wooden seed boxes, these being numbers 31-36.
This time my focus was drawn towards magical herbs, which can be found on a blooming summer meadow and are traditionally used on the summer solstice. Many of these herbs are sown in April and May, hence the timing. Some annuals, such as poppies, you may be able to harvest already this summer, if sown now.
Besides this I wanted to include some new venific herbs, to accompany the well-known nightshades and popular poison plants. In my search my attention was drawn to the spurge, more precisely the caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris). Earlier I had been asked for spurge to use in a martial incense recipe and had trouble finding the right type. By chance I came across references pointing to the caper spurge with its poisonous milky sap, prominent size and auspicious shape. The plant seems to have been well known in Germany. It would be planted near one’s home as a protection against curses and it was used to break the spells of other witches. It was also thought to ward of moles and is hence also known as mole plant in English language.
Besides this I included the wild relative of the candle larkspur, named field or rocket larkspur (Consolida regalis), with its lovely deep blue flowers. The flowers are used in protection spells and the herb is planted to protect the home, similar to the closely related delphinium. The rocket larkspur is unfortunately in decline due to intensified agriculture. Another reason, to include it here.
A threatened herb with strong healing attributes is the lovely centaury (Centaurium erythraea). It has been attributed a plethora of benific properties and is rare to find in the wild these days. I am thus happy to have found a supplier of seeds for this rare healing herb. Another old and perhaps forgotten about healing herb of antiquity, which is now experiencing a renaissance is the wood betony (Stachys officinalis). Likewise the motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) was a popular healing herb in medieval times until interest in the plant declined. It makes for a nice background plant with other purple and pink flowering herbs and interesting addition to the ‘witch’s garden’.
In selecting the herbs I also paid attention to the 13 plants described in Harold Roth’s book “The Witching Herbs” (signed copies available here) and thus included seeds for each.
Altogether there are now seeds for over 50 different sorcerous benific and venific herbs contained in one box. The box itself is pyrographed stained and varnished by hand. The sigil on the box is the “Sigillum Major” or “Greater Sowing Seal”. It includes references to the work with plants, crossroad symbolism etc. and is also used as the official logo for Teufelskunst. The sigil inside the box is called “Sigillum Minor” or “Lesser Sowing Seal” and is an abbreviated form of the former, traceable in one stroke of a line. Each box is numbered on the bottom.
Printed sowing instructions in tabular form are included with each box. For detailed information on each herb please visit my plant blog.
Update: The boxes are sold. You can still e-mail me for the complete list of seeds contained in this series at info@teufelskunst.com. I will work on 4 more boxes this spring to round up the number before the summer solstice. Than that’s it for a while.
The latest seed boxes have been sold and shipped. I received much more inquiries than expected and will get back to each individually. Please bare with me if this takes a few more days. I have also started preparations for the next boxes, these being #31-36. It will take a couple of weeks to complete these. My plan is to have them ready in time for mid-spring – for sowing all those herbs that like it warm. The other seeds that come with the box can be sown in autumn or given the artificial cold treatment in the fridge.
About the boxes: they contain seeds from at least 44 different venific and benific ‘witch’ herbs. The boxes are pyrographed with the “Sigillum Major” or “Greater Sowing Seal”, which you also see as the official logo of Teufelskunst. The boxes are then stained and varnished. Following this, hundreds of little paper bags are labeled and filled with the seeds, which I partly gather by myself and partly purchase from other places. I usually spend at least 40 hours on four of these boxes. It is a tedious but also rewarding process, which gives me the chance to connect deeper with the herbs and it also empties the mind and brings new inspiration. I also learn how the seed for each herb looks and what it requires to break its dormancy. It is my hope that the content of these boxes will bring joy to others and aid them in their own studies.
Please write to me at info@teufelskunst.com if you wish to reserve one in the future!
The boxes contain seeds from at least 44 different venific and benific ‘witch’ herbs. The boxes are pyrographed with the “sigilum major” or “greater sowing seal”, stained and varnished. Then hundreds of little paper bags are labeled and filled with the seeds, which I partly gather by myself and partly purchase from other places. I usually spend at least 40 hours on four of these boxes. It is a tedious but also rewarding process, which gives me the chance to connect deeper with the herbs and it also empties the mind and brings new inspiration. It is my hope that the content of these boxes will bring joy to others and aid them in their own studies.
Update: the boxes are sold. Please write to me at info@teufelskunst.com if you wish to reserve one in the future!
Blessed under the cold moon of the eleventh November night, these hand-made rosaries by Soth Arts are a special offer to followers of Teufelskunst. They consist of 58 black and 8 ebony wooden beads and carry one bronze amulet cast by our blacksmith. Please note, each amulet is a little different from the other since small variations are part of the manufacturing process.
The crossroad seal on the amulet is also called “Sigillum Major” or “greater seed sowing seal”, as it is both rooted in the work with plants as well as the rituals performed at different crossroads. A closer look reveals the horned cross or witches’ stang and a non-human eye at its center, underlining the magician’s connection to the wild and untamed world. The rosary and amulet should thus be worn hidden from the mundane eyes of man. It may as such be employed as an empowering tool for the witch as well as a protection amulet against the “evil eye” and the manipulative efforts of other people. It can also be utilized when ritually working with the spirits and guardians of plants and trees.
The rosaries’ inherent numerology reveals the numbers 8, 55, 58 and 66. The following are evocative aspects connected to these numbers, which through prayer and ritual can be linked with the rosaries (gematrical associations taken from Sepher Sephiroth):
8 The entrance, threshold number of the sephirah Hod and the qlipha Samael
55 Ornament 5 + 5 = 10 10 = number of the sephira Malkuth and the qlipha Nahemoth
58 Secret Wisdom 5 + 8 = 13 13 = number of the descendants of the Qayinite bloodline (sometimes referred to as “mighty dead”)
66 The Mystic number of the Qliphoth and of the Great work The Lord thy God (is a consuming Fire) [Deut. iv. 24] 6 + 6 = 12 12 = number of the Zodiac and their respective qliphotic adversaries
Within a religious context the rosarium = “crown of roses” or “garland of roses” is the name of a prayer used in the Catholic church and also applies to the string of prayer beads used for counting the component prayers. A similar purpose is found with the so-called witches’ ladder, which consists of threads, hair or feathers tied by a peculiar number of knots into which are whispered spells.
The Teufelskunst rosaries are supplied as a lasting magical talisman to those, who feel a deeper connection with the work presented here. An empowering herbal blend to be used as an incense or for infusing an ablution bath is included with your purchase.
