Magick is most easily used to alter character traits within the witch or magician. I’ve gone on record in the past saying that self-transfiguration of any sort is the only form of magick that does not include an element of manipulation, and I, to a degree, stand by that, but one must remember that spells and charms can manifest in one’s life in completely unanticipated ways. In short, just because you’re casting a spell upon yourself doesn’t mean the outcome won’t involve other people or result in their manipulation. Nevertheless, if you’re not quite ready to risk unintended consequences by manipulating the external directly, consider creating a charm to change your perceptions.

One such charm is described here. It’s a Saturn simple charm bottle, a herbal mixture in a small bottle designed to invoke the forces of Saturn in your life. If you know anything about Saturn, you’re probably aware that it is associated with time, death, restriction, and discipline, among other things. Much of what Saturn represents will strike most people (particularly younger folks) as decidedly unpleasant, and, to a degree, that’s natural. The death association alone make Saturn abjectly terrifying within some mindsets.

Indeed, Saturn is what is called the Greater Malefic, and is paired with Mars, the Lesser Malefic; however, the term “malefic” bears some unpacking. Yes, yes, anyone with a dictionary will tell you that the word has negative connotations, as do the planets. The fact is, though - this term is very anthropocentric. Saturn represents situations and events that humans consider negative - the planet itself is neutral, as are, arguably, the associations. I think that some of the  reasons Saturn is viewed so negatively today result from rampant immaturity, to be honest. There’s really nothing I can imagine being more mature than Saturn (which sometimes is depicted as Father Time), and thus a society which lacks essential qualities such as practicality and discipline might come to despise it.

For example, Saturn symbolizes restriction. This can be pretty bad, which is likely why many Saturnian ingredients are used in spells designed to compel or control and adversary. Nevertheless, it can also be good. At times, we have to restrict ourselves in order to truly exercise our Will. In the symbol for Saturn, the basic crescent of the Moon is transformed into a scythe, as the cross of earth surmounts it - an exact reversal of the symbol for Jupiter. In both cases, the diagonal of Earth and the Moon represents the harmony of mind and matter, but in the case of Saturn, matter (Earth) takes priority in the form of the cross. The Moon’s use as a scythe in this case likely represents the fact that our minds are temporary, and all eventually pass away in the face of the physical.

This is the ultimate goal of this Saturnian charm - teaching oneself discipline via invoking the forces of the planet. This little bottle can be placed near the area where you study, slipped into a purse when you’ve got some tough “adulting” to do, etc. Remember, though, that magick will be most effective if you do your homework - don’t just make the charm and hope Saturn notices - get educated about the Greater Malefic and its qualities. Do as much research as possible.

As was the case with the Venus simple charm, I used ingredients that I had on hand. You may or may not have them available, and as always, that’s perfectly fine. This can work with any number of Saturn-related herbs, the names of which can easily be found with a little research. I’ll be talking a bit about each herb and why it has Saturnian associations, but if you’re choosing your own, please study each thoroughly and make note of any dual associations or folk meanings it may have, as these can affect things quite a bit. 

The ingredients I used are:

Kava Kava. This is associated with both Saturn and Neptune, but, of course, the Saturnian associations are older. Its Neptune correspondence likely only results from the fact that it’s psychoactive when consumed and has a slightly narcotic effect. It’s Saturn association results from it being a root and tied to the Earth - remember how in the symbol of Saturn, the cross of Earth is at the summit? Yeah.

Valerian Root. This enjoys an association with both Saturn and Venus. Thus, I also used it in my Venus simple. If this squicks you, I’m sorry, but a lot of herbs have dual associations, and you’ve sort of got to deal with it. The dual association with Venus is good here, because it introduces love into the charm, and sort of tempers the harsher aspects of Saturn.

Patchouli. It… has a Venus correspondence as well as Saturn. Yes, yes, I know this is sounding a bit bizarre, me recommending all these charms that share similar ingredients, but you can bias a herb towards one of its associations by keeping it in mind while using it. It’s association with Saturn comes from its deep, earthy smell, and yes, as I said before, the Venus association has a tempering effect.

Slippery Elm. This is almost always associated with Saturn in traditional sources. In folk magic, it is associated with curtailing gossip and malicious speech, hence why a pinch of it goes into my blogging potion. It also has a history of being used for study spells and charms. This view coincides, believe it or not, with its Saturnian correspondence insofar as both studying and holding your tongue require discipline.

Comfrey. This is a root, and that’s where the Saturn association comes from. It’s used for fidelity spells, and spells to keep you belongings from becoming lost or stolen, both requiring discipline on the part of everyone, so it’s ideal for a discipline charm.

Smoky Quartz. This is associated with Saturn due to its appearance. It looks both bright and dark, perfect for the double-edged scythe of this planet.

Lapis Lazuli. This is associated with Saturn and Venus, and I added it for much the same reason I added the patchouli.

As was the case when mixing the last charm, I used discretion as to what would be added first, second, last, etc. I admit a lot of this was practical - I ground up all the roots in the mortar first, to make things easier, but also, I chose to put the roots at the bottom of the charm in order to give it stability. It just felt right. Below are the herbs before grinding. Note: You can see my tiny scale in the corner, but I didn’t measure the ingredients for this using it - I exclusively use it to measure psychoactives for consumption.

A word about the grinding process. It’s difficult and takes some time when you’re using roots. It actually might not be worth the hassle, and some people might prefer to add the roots to the bottle whole, but I ground them as finely as possible to ensure and even mix. Some people might actually want to use a more modern grinder, but this is what I had available. Below is the ground concoction.

My advice for anyone wanting to grind roots would be to move the pestle in a circular fashion while bearing down on it. I did this, and since the above mortar is a little too full, I spilt some, but the concept is sound. I also didn’t just set there grinding - I watched a television show I’d downloaded which had always struck me as saturnian. Just an idea.

I added the roots to the bottle first, then layered the slippery elm powder. You can get slippery elm in a raw form, and it’s sort of feathery, but I only have it in powder form. I thought the use of it in the neck of the bottle made for a nice aesthetic contrast, and also sort of sealed things with proper intentions, given that slippery elm is almost exclusively association with the kinds of behavior I hope this bottle inspires.

I added the stones last so they’d be more visible and pleasing to the eye, in the neck of the bottle. Finally, on top of the mixture, I put a few drops of patchouli essential oil. Then, I sealed the bottle with gold wax, as I did with the Venus charm. The activating energy of the Sun.

 So, there you go. A Saturn charm to help a person be more disciplined. I made this one yesterday, on Saturday. I intended to post this Saturday as well, but I fell asleep. Saturday is Saturn’s day, after all! 

This is only the most recent one of these I’ve made - I’ve been experimenting with Saturn simples and the herbs involved for a long time. I’ve made oils and perfumes based on it, and even teas (albeit with different ingredients). Bottles tend to be my go-to charm, though, and you can keep this by your desk to help you study, or tuck it into your bag for the same reason. You can even make and use it for non-academic purposes, such as just exercising self-control and remembering to do things.

I do want to say that there’s side effects of Saturn workings. Really, all workings have side effects, and I actually deeply regret not mentioning them in the Venus charm post. With Saturn, though, they can be more dire. Some are good - it may keep away immature people, for example. It may also bring a lot of older people into your orbit, for better or worse. Another warning that is particularly pertinent to Tumblr, though: when working with Saturn, you may find your political beliefs and general outlook becoming more conventional and hidebound. This can take the form of intrusive thoughts, but as long as you recognize them for what they are, you’ll be fine.

Hope this was enjoyable and helpful!