Flying Ointment
Flying, hag riding or soul flight: the process of leaving one’s body and walking as a shadow, a whisp or ghost, climbing through keyholes and flying within all manners of beasts. In Polish and Slavic culture the Zmora and sometimes Kikimora were sometimes described as the soul of a living witch flying through the countryside as a piece of straw or strand of hair. How a witch goes about this is as personal as how they like their tea or ritual sacrifice. Flying ointments though are often mentioned in the same breath as witch flight, in the same paragraphs and sentences.
These rich, herbed salves are applied to the insides of the wrists, the base of the throat and often the third eye to help the witch leave her physical or First Body behind. Sometimes they were spread of brooms, and other instruments of flight. While belladonna, henbane or mandrake are often used in British formulas, the herbs described in the Polish tradition were very different:
Rozchodnik/Stonecrops - Sedum
Boże Drzewko/Lad’s Love - Artemisia abrotanum
Piołun/Common wormwood - Artemisia absinthium
Bez Czarny/Elder - Sambucus nigra
These plants were cooked in lard and fats, patiently and reverently watched until ready for use. Careful measurements, careful storage and careful application were needed, respect and gravity always demanded.
After all, witch flight is no joking manner.
