Parchment paper

Write it down and it becomes real: the petition paper is the simplest and most widely used spell in American folk magick.

Origin & Traditional Use

True parchment is animal skin scraped and dried for writing, the material of medieval books and charters; parchment-style paper imitates its look and weight. In the craft it carries name-papers, petitions, talismans, seals and Book of Shadows pages. Light paper folds and rolls easily for packets and bottles; heavy paper is better for seals and pages that will be kept.

Uses by Tradition

Hoodoo & Rootwork

• Name-papers: a full name is written three times, turned, and crossed with the intention, then folded towards you to draw or away to send off.
• Packets and mojo bags: herbs and curios are folded into a small square and dressed with oil.
• Honey and vinegar jars: a petition is rolled and dropped into a jar of honey to sweeten or vinegar to sour.

Ceremonial & Occult Magick

• Seals and talismans: planetary seals and pentacles are drawn in coloured ink at the correct day and hour.
• Grimoire pages: the heavy sheets are used to copy rituals and correspondences into a personal book.

Witchcraft & Folk Magick

• Burning wishes: a wish written on a strip is burned in a cauldron and the ash given to the wind.

A Simple Working

• Cut or use a small sheet of light parchment.
• Write your full name three times, one line under the other.
• Turn the paper a quarter turn and write your wish across your name three times, joined up if you can.
• Dab a drop of oil on each corner and in the centre.
• Fold the paper towards you, turning it each time, until it is small.
• Keep it under a green chime candle while it burns, then carry it with you.

Pairs Well With

• Dragon’s Blood ink: for power and protection petitions.
• Dove’s Blood ink: for love and peace petitions.
• A velveteen drawstring bag: to carry folded petitions.
• A cast iron cauldron: to burn petitions safely.

Lore & History

Pliny the Elder, citing Varro, tells that parchment was developed at Pergamon after Egypt stopped exporting papyrus to the city’s library, and the Latin pergamena, from which ‘parchment’ comes, means ‘of Pergamon’. Historians think animal-skin writing surfaces are older than this story, but the name stuck. In Southern hoodoo the brown paper bag was the everyday petition paper long before parchment became the norm.

What You Receive

Parchment-style paper. Light weight: 2″ x 2 1/2″ in packs of 12, 3″ x 4″ in packs of 12, and 8 1/2″ x 11″ in packs of 5 or 25. Heavy weight: 8 1/2″ x 11″ in packs of 5, 25 or 250.