Salt

[pt_tangles]

In thinking of the circle mixture, I found myself wondering about salt. Sea salt and earth salt have different properties, don't they? Do they cross over in certain respects, or would it be more like Kitchen Sage and White Sage where the only real similarity is the name? Or is it a question of personal correspondences?

--Phae

Comments

[elf]

Sea salt has iodine, and trace bits of many other elements not present in earth salt. (Earth salt gets trace elements, but it's just not exposed to quite as *many* of them.)

The core composition is still NaCl; unlike plants called "sage" which may have no connection, sea salt & earth salt are both "salt." (Unlike, say, "smelling salts" or "epsom salts" or other chemical salts which are not Sodium Chloride.)

For most purposes, they're the same. I'd probably use sea salt more for purification, and earth salt more for warding or banishing, but both of those could change depending on the exact purpose. And I can't think of any normal ritual use where I'd fret if I had one but not the other.

[pt_tangles]

I am not really worried. More just curious, since I hadn't really thought about salt like that before. I am interested to see if different types of salt work better in different types of magical work (like how different types - grind/color/origin/etc - are better for different dishes when cooking).

I suppose I will have to try it out and see. :)

--Phae

[blackthornglade.livejournal.com]

Elf explained it pretty well. They've got some smaller side uses that are different, but the *basics* are mostly similar. I prefer sea salt but am not put out when I have to use earth salt. For me, whether it's refined or "raw" makes more of a difference than whether it's sea or earth.

Though, I suppose, you *could* pull on the elemental associations of water and earth in addition to it's particular properties.

I've done that with some salt from the Dead Sea.

[pt_tangles]

That's anothing thing I was wondering about. I use refined salt for cooking, but when I for magical purposes, I prefer to grind down coarse crystals myself.

I don't really think about why, it just seems like a good idea. Perhaps I ought to spend some more time thinking about the whys ;)

--Phae

[sine-silverwing.livejournal.com]

Salt that is currently mined (I assume that's what you mean by "earth salt"?) was once sea salt. My understanding is that ALL salt is sea salt; it's only a question of how long it's been since it was wet. So I don't see any way or any reason to distinguish between them in magic or ritual. But YMMV, of course.

As far as that goes, salt mined from under the Mediterranean (if there is anyone doing such mining--unlikely and expensive) would be the most primordial... the Med floats on top of several miles of salt left behind by the evaporation of older seas.

Same might apply to Avery Island Louisiana... it's an upthrust of nearly pure ancient salt that pushes up through the modern earth. The owners of the authentic Tabasco company claim that's why their product can't be reproduced anywhere else: the local hot peppers are too unique, and the salt allegedly has a flavor all its own.

[pjvj.livejournal.com]

>>>The owners of the authentic Tabasco company claim that's why their product can't be reproduced anywhere else: the local hot peppers are too unique, and the salt allegedly has a flavor all its own.<<<

Fascinating. Thank you for that tidbit.

[sine-silverwing.livejournal.com]

:) I watch Food TV when Court TV is showing fiction. The oddest stuff shows up there...

[pt_tangles]

I had no idea that earth salt came from the ocean too, though, I suppose it makes sense. I read an essay written by a friend of mine not too long ago, and that was also on my mind when I started thinking about 'kinds' of salt.

http://www.members.shaw.ca/alwaysinthekitchen/frontburner.html

I haven't really gotten my hands on a wide collection of salts, yet. But I am interested in seeing how many varieties I can find. A lot of folks buy dead sea salt, and I am interested to see if it is any different than regular sea salt (which is what I currently use).

--Phae

[sine-silverwing.livejournal.com]

http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_gourmet_reference.asp

[pt_tangles]

That was a cool site! Thanks for the link ;)

--Phae