Magical Substitutions of Ingredients
If you have a spell and you don’t have all the ingredients, you may be able to swap out one thing for another. Check this list of Magical Substitutions to see if you can substitute your hard-to-find item with something easier to obtain.
Considering the Purpose
Make sure you research your substitutions to make sure they really are what you’re looking for and listen to your own intuition. Herbs can be used for different purposes and it’s a good idea to thoroughly research the herb you’re trying to substitute to determine its purpose in the spell and then thoroughly research potential substitutes for true compatibility.
You can’t just swap out one thing for another without really considering its purpose.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, find out the planetary correspondence of the item you’re looking to substitute and visit that planet’s page as a starting point. Ingredients that correspond to the same planet carry similar energies and can sometimes be used for the same purpose in a spell.
As already mentioned, you must understand the reason for the ingredient in the spell before you make a substitution.
A Table of Possible Magical Substitutions
Keep in mind that these substitutions are for magic and spellwork only and should not be relied upon for healing or culinary use.
| Ingredient | Possible Substitutes |
|---|---|
| Acacia | Gum Arabic (Is made from acacia) |
| Aconite | Tobacco |
| Allspice | Cassia, Cinnamon, Cloves, Mace, Nutmeg |
| Ambergris | Cypress and Patchouli |
| Asafetida | garlic, onion, neem, gum ammonium |
| Bergamot | grapefruit |
| Balm of Gilead | Rose, gum mastic |
| Belladona | Rose, Tomato |
| Baneful Herbs (Any) | Tobacco |
| Benzoin | Gum Arabic, Gum Mastic |
| Blood | Copal, Bloodroot sap, Pokeweed berry juice, Dragon’s Blood |
| Bluestone | Bluing balls |
| Cachana | Angelica |
| Camphor | Eucalyptus, Lavender |
| Carnation | Rose combined with cinnamon |
| Cassia | Cinnamon |
| Cadar | Sandalwood |
| Cinnabar | Dragon’s Blood |
| Cinquefoil | Clover, trefoil |
| Citron | Orange and Lemon Peels combined |
| Cloves | Nutmeg, Mace |
| Clover | Cinquefoil |
| Copal | Frankincense, cedar |
| Cowbane | Tobacco |
| Crystals (Any) | Quartz Crystal |
| Cypress | Juniper, Pine |
| Deer’s Tongue | Tonka, Woodruff, Vanilla |
| Dittany of Crete | Gum Mastic |
| Dragon’s Blood | Blend together Frankincense and Red Sandalwood |
| Eucalyptus | Camphor and Lavender |
| Euphorbium | Tobacco |
| Flowers (Any) | Rose |
| Galangal | Ginger root |
| Grains of Paradise | Black Pepper |
| Gum Arabic | Frankincense, Gum Mastic |
| Gum Ammoniac | Asafetida |
| Gum Bdellium | Copal, Pine, Dragon’s Blood |
| Gum Resin (Any) | Frankincense, Copal |
| Hellebore | Tobacco, Nettles |
| Hemlock | Tobacco |
| Hemp | Nutmeg, Damiana, Star Anise, Bay Laurel |
| Henbane | Tobacco |
| Herb (any) | Rosemary |
| Hyssop | Lavender, Anise |
| Ivy | Cinquefoil |
| Jasmine | Rose |
| Juniper | Pine, Cedar |
| Labdanum | Hibiscus |
| Lavender | Rose |
| Lemongrass | Lemon peel, pelargonium, lemon verbena |
| Lemon Verbena | Lemon grass, lemon peel |
| Lady’s Slipper | Valerian, California Poppy, Passion Flower, Lemon Balm, Skullcap |
| Mace | Nutmeg |
| Mandrake | Tobacco, Mayapple |
| Mercury | Aluminum |
| Mint (any) | Sage |
| Mistletoe | Mint, Sage |
| Mugwort | Wormwood, Southernwood |
| Nightshade | Tobacco, Tomato |
| Nutmeg | Mace, Cinnamon, Pelargonium |
| Oakmoss | Patchouli |
| Orange | Tangerine, Pelargonium |
| Orange Flowers | Orange Peel |
| Patchouli | Oak Moss |
| Peppermint | Spearmint |
| Pepperwort | Rue, Grains of Paradise, Black Pepper |
| Pine | Juniper |
| Pine Resin | Frankincense, Copal |
| Rose | Yarrow, Rose Geranium, Rose Attar |
| Geranium | Rose |
| Ruby | Garnet |
| Rue | Rosemary + a dash of Black Pepper |
| Saffron | Orange Peel |
| Sandalwood | Cedar |
| Sarsparilla | Sassafrass |
| Sassafrass | Sarsparilla |
| Spearmint | Peppermint |
| Sulfur | Clubmoss, Asafatida, Tobacco |
| Thyme | Rosemary |
| Tobacco | Bay Laurel |
| Tonka Bean | Dear Tongue, Woodruff, Vanilla Bean |
| Topaz | Citrine |
| Trefoil | Cinquefoil |
| Vetivert | Calamus |
| Vanilla | Woodruff, Deer Tongue, Tonka |
| Valerian | Asafetida |
| Willow | Poplar |
| Wolfsbane | Tobacco |
| Wood Aloe | Sandalwood, Ambergris |
| Woodruff | Vanilla, Deer Tongue |
| Wormwood | Mugwort |
| Yarrow | Rose |
| Yew | Tobacco |
Would you like to expand your spell book further?
Read all of our other Spell work posts here.
Receive them in your email each Thursday here.
Source: https://witchipedia.com/
