Making Your Own Herbal Paper

 

Materials

You will need several sheets of typing paper, a bowl, hot water, a

fork, two kitchen twoels, a metal screen, a wooden frame, a stapler,

a rolling pin, and two tablespoons of ground herbs of your choice.

 

Procedure

1. Tear several sheets of paper into pieces the size of a penny or

smaller.

2. Place the pieces in a bowl and cover with hot water.

3. Stir to make sure all of the paper is wet.

4. Let stand overnight.

5. The next day, tear the paper into pieces as small as possible and

then stir with a fork for several minutes. (You now have made pulp.)

This can also be done in a food processor if you don't mind adding

the mechanical energies, but like any magical tool, you are better

off doing it by hand. As you stir, add in the ground herbs. They

need to be ground or finely chopped so that they don't create flaws

in the paper. Experiment with various herbs, keeping in mind thier

magical qualities. The pulp should remain a thick mush in texture.

If this is part of a spell working, chant or focus on your purpose

as you do this.

6. Prepare a metal screen (like those used in windows or screen

doors) by stapling screen to a wood picture frame. You can use a

small window screen if you like. The dimensions can vary, but it

should be larger than you want the finished paper.

7. Smooth out an even layer of pulp (approx. 1/8 inch thick) onto

the screen by hand.

8. Let the water drain for a couple of minutes.

9. Flip your screen over so that your paper pops out onto a clean

kitchen towel.

10. Cover the paper with another kitchen towel so that you have

a "sandwich" of paper between the two towels.

11. Use the rolling pin to press out more water and flatten the

paper.

12. Carefully peel off the top towel. Turn the wet paper over onto

either a smooth counter top or on a piece of glass (you can use a

window for this) paper side down, and then carefully peel off the

remaining towel.

13. Let the paper dry overnight or longer.

14. If you want to smooth the paper for writing on, spray the dried

paper with a fine mist of water. Place a clean smooth rag over the

damp paper and iron it with a slightly warm iron until the paper is

dry.

 

You can use your paper for gifts, for spell work, for stationery or

just for plain fun! Enjoy!