Red brick dust is used in practices like Hoodoo, voodoo and Santeria (and others I’m sure) for the purpose of keeping out negative entities and is mainly used to protect your home. In essence, red brick dust is used to create a protective barrier around your home. And the idea behind this is that red bricks are used to create a barrier from the outside world that would protect you from the elements. But there’s a lot more that could be added to this story.
So how do you make red brick dust?
Well… crush up some bricks. However many people will add things to their dust, like crushed rocks, red herbs etc. but that might take away from what makes red brick dust work.
Process of making red brick dust:
- A red brick. It’s preferable that you don’t just head to the store and buy a red brick. Generally you’ll want to find a brick that was once part of a wall or building. Allowing that brick to have time spent as a barrier and shielding from the elements. If you go about finding your brick this way, be sure to cleanse it first. However if finding a brick isn’t possible for you, then one from the store is just fine.
- Something to break apart the brick like a hammer and or a chisel, and to just start chipping away at the brick until you end up with small chunks.
- Take the small chunks and start to grind them up, you can do this with a rock, tapping away at it with a hammer, however you see fit
- If you have small enough pieces but it’s quite dust yet, you can grind it into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle. However i don’t know what would to to your specific mortar so just be aware that grinding up bricks in it may cause some damage
- After you have it into a fine powder, or “dust” just bottle it and you’re good to go
But what about red brick dusts practical uses?
- You can use it like people would use salt, and create a solid line across doorways. And in some places like New Orleans, you might still find shops that still practice this. You can also use it on things like windows or chimneys, stairs, doorways, any entrance way really.
- Some will mix the dust with water and wash down their front porches and driveway. Effectively extending the barrier that would otherwise just encompass your house.
- You could also mix your dust with herbs and other ingredients in a spell jar or warding bag for the purposes of protection.
In the aspect of “why red brick dust works” most would assume it works because red bricks were used to build buildings. which is what would create the spiritual barrier. As well as intent, as that’s just how magic seems to work. But that might not be the predominant reason as to why it works. I took a scientific approach looking at red brick dust, and I may have just found out what makes red brick dust actually work.
Red brick dust is commonly made of :
- Silica
- Alumina
- Lime
- Iron Oxide
- Magnesium oxide
Iron and spiritual entities:
The main factor for me being Iron Oxide, though there is only a small amount of it in the bricks, they might just be enough to do the trick
As I’m sure you’ve heard of before, iron repels spirits. But why?
Well for a spirit to operate in the material plane, they have to use our energy. That’s why around paranormal activity, you see batteries dying so fast and cold spots strewn about the area. Because spirits are using that energy, to do things like move objects or make themselves visible to the naked eye.
Well guess what? Iron is a great conductor for heat and electricity, and can disperse or ground the energy from an entity. That being said, an entity without energy isn’t much of an entity at all, now it it?
You also see this around old graveyards, they’ll be surrounded by wrought iron fencing to prevent the spirits from leaving the grounds.
- Lime is known for its ability to store thermal energy at over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Lime will also store roughly 80% of that heat as Chemical energy
- Silica acts as an insulator, having very little thermal conductivity and no electrical conductivity.
- Alumina has a high thermal conductivity and high electrical insulation
- Magnesia high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity. Used as an electrical insulator. A contributing factor may also be its high reflectivity.
After putting all of these together, we basically have an energetic battery/ storage system. The iron oxide, alumina and magnesia acting as conductors for heat and/or energy. Lime acting as the storage unit. Silica, Alumina and Magnesia as electrical and/ or thermal insulators, and the possible factor of Magnesia’s reflectivity. You may even say that it acts as an energy trap.
Putting this in conjunction with the memory/ intent of the red bricks being used to build walls, or “barriers” (assuming my theory is correct) the line of red brick dust acts as a spiritual barrier for entities, and as/if they try to cross the barrier, their energy will be stored inside of the red brick dust making them weaker and weaker. Making it Harder to cross the barrier the longer they try.
Now I am in no way saying my theory is correct. That’s for you to decide. However I believe that magic is just science that we do not yet understand. So in applying science to magic, we may be able to slowly understand why it works. And if we can understand why and how magic works, then we can be the pioneers of a new age of magic that far exceeds our predecessors.
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School Of Hidden Magic 