Saltpetre powder (potassium nitrate)
Price range: $3.25 through $18.64
The mineral salt of fast-burning incense · Available in 3 sizes
Saltpetre, the mineral salt of gunpowder, used in hoodoo to cool desire and to bind, and to give incense a fast, bright burn.
Quick Uses
- Incense: add a small amount to loose incense and charcoal so it catches and burns quickly.
- Ritual fire: use it in flash and fire effects for dramatic ritual.
- Fidelity: add it to a working meant to cool a partner’s desire for others and keep them from straying.
- Protection: add a pinch to protection packets and mojo bags, as some older formulas do.
How to Use It
Witchcraft & Folk Magick
- Added in small amounts to loose incense and charcoal to make it catch and burn quickly.
- Used in flash and fire effects for dramatic ritual.
Hoodoo & Rootwork
- Folk practice holds that saltpetre cools a man’s lust, and it is used in workings to keep a partner from straying.
- Added to protection packets and mojo bags in some older formulas.
Demonology & Black Magick
- Used in binding and domination work, where cooling and controlling a target’s desire is the aim.
A Simple Working
- Write the person’s full name on a slip of paper.
- Lay a pinch of saltpetre and a pinch of camphor on the name.
- Fold the paper away from you, then fold it again.
- Place it in a small jar and fill it with water.
- Seal the jar and put it in the freezer.
- Leave it there for as long as you want the passion cooled.
Pairs Well With
- Camphor: the other classic cooling ingredient.
- Licorice root: a traditional root for domination and control.
- Calamus root: added to control and command work.
- Self-lighting charcoal: for incense blends with a pinch of saltpetre.
What You Receive
Saltpetre powder, available in 1 oz, 4 oz and 1 lb.
Origin & Lore
Saltpetre is potassium nitrate, a white mineral salt once scraped from cave walls, cellars and manure heaps. It was used to cure and colour meat, to make gunpowder and fireworks, and as a fertiliser.
Saltpetre is the ingredient that gives gunpowder its bang, and Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of life are credited with that discovery.
Long-standing rumours in armies, prisons and boarding schools claimed saltpetre was slipped into food to curb desire, which is likely where the Hoodoo reputation took hold. Early medieval Arabic writers called it “Chinese snow”.
Did You Know?
Traditional black powder is roughly 75 percent saltpetre, with charcoal and sulphur making up the rest.
| Weight | N/A |
|---|---|
| Size | 1 oz, 4 oz, 1 lb |
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