The Three Poisons: Why We Get Stuck & How to Claim our Freedom

In Buddhist wisdom, there are three main "toxins" in our hearts that keep us stuck in a loop of sadness and confusion. For a witch, these aren't just ideas—they are energies that can mess up your magic and cloud your intuition. Think of them as the "static" on your spiritual radio.

The First Poison: Greed (The Constant Craving)

• Astrological Link: The Shadow Side of Venus – When our desire for beauty and pleasure turns into an endless hunger. 

• Element: Fire that burns but does not consume. 

• Manifestation: Desire, craving, clinging, obsession. 

Greed is the serpent that coils around the heart and whispers that nothing is ever enough. That nagging feeling that you need more—more crystals, more power, or more validation—to be happy. It’s like a snake wrapped around your heart, whispering that you aren't enough as you are.

The Antidote:

Cultivate generosity.
Practice letting go.
Give something away or share your energy without expecting a "thank you."

The Second Poison: Hatred (The Sharp Sting)

• Astrological Link: The Shadow of Mars– When our drive and passion turn into aggression and "us vs. them" thinking.

• Element: Flame-touched Air

• Manifestation: Anger, aversion, resentment. 

Hatred is a predatory bird that strikes without warning. This is the anger that burns. It’s not just being mad; it’s the urge to push things away or hurt others because we feel threatened. It acts like a hawk with sharp claws, ready to strike, but it usually ends up hurting the witch holding the grudge.

The Antidote

Summon compassion. 

Choose kindness. 

Try to see the pain behind someone else’s (or your own) lashing out.

The Third Poison: Delusion (The Foggy Mind)

• Astrological Link: The Shadow of Neptune – When spiritual connection turns into escapism, denial, and "brain fog."
  

• Element: Mist (Water and Air) 
  

• Manifestation: Ignorance, confusion, denial. 

Delusion is a sleeping boar, heavy and unmoving.  This is being totally "checked out." It’s when you ignore the truth because it’s uncomfortable, or you misinterpret signs because you only see what you want to see. It’s like a heavy pig sleeping in the mud—unmoving and stuck in the dark.

The Antidote

Seek Clarity
Look for the truth.
Meditate, study, and be honest with yourself.

Spell of Purification to Release the Three Poisons 

Light a white candle and sandalwood incense. On the altar before the candle have the following items:

• small leather twine (snake) 
  
• dried bay leaf (bird) 
  
• a peanut shell (boar) 

Ground and center, then say

"Serpent of want, release your hold,

Your hunger is empty, your stories are old.

Bird of fierce fury, take flight from my chest,

Release all my anger and give me rest.

Boar of the darkness, dissolve like the dew,

Leave only that which is clear & that which is true

from fires of craving and shadows of mind

leave these three poisons and heartaches behind." 

As you speak of each poison, burn its symbol in the flame of the candle and drop it in a cauldron or fireproof bowl.  As you speak the last two lines, turn the cauldron three times counterclockwise to avert misfortune. 

By naming these shadows, you take away their power to control you. Just as the stars above—Venus, Mars, and Neptune—move through their cycles, your own inner landscape is always shifting. Mastery doesn't mean these feelings will never arise again; it means that when the serpent whispers or the fog rolls in, you’ll have the clarity to see them for what they are. Keep your altar clean and your heart open, and you’ll find that your magic becomes as steady and bright as a well-tended flame.

Astrological Plackets

Astrological Plackets 

I first learned about plackets in the mid 1990's when I obtained a copy of Ray Buckland's Advanced Candle Magick.  

Placket comes from an Old English word meaning vagina. They are simply two squares of cloth which have been sewn on three sides forming a pocket. If you are not handy with needle and thread you ca purchase paper greeting card envelopes in various colors which you can leave as they are or further decorate with drawings, collage, stencils, or ink stamps to name a few (see below) 

They are used in spells and rituals to hold certain items such as photographs, petition-papers, name-papers, affirmative prayers, or small objects  such as charms, gemstones, or dried roots while you are working towards your goal or attempting to manifest your intentions represented by whatever you place inside the placket.  When creating your placket(s) you may wish to keep color correspondences in mind and match the color of your placket to your goal. For example 

• White- Protection, healing, cleansing, blessing, all purpose.

• Yellow- Creativity, communication, compelling.

• Pink- Romance, friendship, happiness.

• Orange- Employment, activation, stimulation.

• Red- Health, passion, lust, strength, love.

• Purple- Power, success, independence, spirits.

• Brown- Friendship, law, stability, order.

• Blue- Truth, justice, mental health, wisdom, wishes.

• Green- Abundance, physical health, luck, prosperity

• Black- Banishing, binding, protection, cursing.

In terms of Astrology, you can also make use of  astral colors 

In addition, you can further decorate your placket with astrological symbols for the 10 Planets and the 12 astrological signs. This can be done by painting the symbols on your placket, embroidering them with needed and thread or sewing the symbols on them in the manner of a patch. 

For example, let us say that you wish to attract more love and romance into your life. You might craft a red placket (for love) and embroider the symbol for Venus (the planet of love and romance) in green thread. Then you would place something in the placket symbolizing your goal. Some choices may include but are not limited to the following. 

1. a photo of a specific person you wish to love you 
2. a wish list of qualities of the type of person you wish to attract 
3. a specially chosen bible verse that you have written on paper 
4. a petition paper 
5. a sigil drawn on paper 
6. a hand-drawn Magic Square 
7. a magical seal, such as a Seal of Solomon 

Next you might five-spot the item with Venus Astrological Oil (or a condition oil such as Lavender Love, or Come to Me) place the item inside your placket alone or with something else such as small piece of rose quartz, or a Queen Elizabeth Root, etc... Place the placket on your altar between two candles. On the left you might put a green candle dressed with Venus Oil and on the right an Astral Candle dressed with the corresponding Astrological Sign Oil  

For example, let us say that the specific person you want to attract is a Taurus. The astral color for Taurus is also green, so you would etch their name on a green candle and dress this with Taurus Oil. Now let us say that you don't have any specific person in mind but that you want someone who has Leo like qualities. Then you would carve the words my lover on an orange candle and dress this with Leo Oil. 

If you don't have the time, energy, or inclination to make several plackets, you may wish to simply create two: one for attracting and blessing and another for banishing and cursing. For this purpose, I suggest using a white placket for attracting and blessing and a black one for banishing and cursing. To pull in astrological energies you can sew a black circle on the white placket representing the New Moon - this placket will be for attracting and blessing. Next, you can decorate the black placket with a white circle which will be used for banishing and cursing (see photo above) 

Carolina Dean