The Aspergillum

"Thou shalt then make unto thyself a sprinkler of vervain, fennel, provinca, sage, valerian, mint [majorana], garden-basil, and rosemary,5gathered in the day and hour of Mercury, the moon being in her increase. Then cut a handle with a single stroke from a virgin branch of hazel; the length should be three spans.6 Bind together these herbs with a thread spun by a young maiden, and engrave upon the handle on the one side the characters..."

-Key of Solomon, Book II Chapter XI


The first magical tool (celestial implement) needed on my journey is the Aspergillum, or Holy Water Sprinkler. This is the foundation of all tools and, along with the Holy Water, can be used to bless and consecrate any other tools or working space for any magical ritual. In other words, this is where the base of the pyramid begins for me.

So, to do this, I needed: 1. a proper branch, 2. proper herbs and 3. virgin-spun thread.

I ordered a 1. virgin-cut branch from a trusted Solomonic practiioner in Costa Rica, which was cut in the day or hour of Mercury. I then ordered the 2. appropriate (above) vervain, fennel, valerian from Alchemy-Works.com, which is a great resource for harder-to-find herbs. The others (mint, sage, garden-basil and rosemary) I obtained from the local grocery store/organic food place. Finally, I ordered the virgin-spun thread from Solomonic mage and author Aaron Leitch on his page DocSolomons.com. I highly recommend this page for anyone needing holy water, virgin-spun thread.

I waited until the Day and Hour of Mercury, and did the following steps (these are short-hand notes of what I was to do, so please ask me or look to the KoS for more information:


*Dip thy hands in water and Sprinkle over the sticks, with devotion.
*Trace these Key of Solomon characters on the stick:

*Gather all of the herbs from boxes and line them up on a plate.
*Because the incense was flicked by initial holy water hands, censor is good.
*Go outside, w/ Aspergillum stick, lightly sand it and charge it with devotion (Raph)
*When charged, go back inside and bind the herbs with virgin-spun thread
* Light cense and bless the stick (w/herbs on it) w/ devotion
*Engrave aspergillum with characters.


I hope to use this with daily meditation/room clearing, and of course before any ritual work or scrying.