Flying Ointment: Real?

 Witch Flying Ointment 

Fact or Fiction?

Witches’ flying ointments, known historically as unguentum venenum, “green salve,” or “witches’ salve,” were legendary preparations tied to European folklore and witch trials from the medieval period through the early modern era.

These ointments were said to enable witches to “fly” to sabbaths—often astride broomsticks—by inducing vivid hallucinations of flight, levitation, and nocturnal revels. Rather than literal physical transport, the “flight” was likely a delirious trance state caused by potent anticholinergic compounds absorbed through the skin.

Our Elder Carrie-Anne Grove has tried a prepared and self made flying ointment that were made from the original ingredients. She has had several experiences using this ancient witch potion “having used flying ointment I can attest that it does create some interesting and powerful effects, I can see why witches in the past believed that they were flying!!”

WARNING!!

THE INGREDIENTS OF TRADITIONAL FLYING OINTMENT ARE VERY TOXIC AND THEREFORE EXTREME CARE MUST BE TAKEN IF MAKING OR TRYING IT. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND TRYING IT ESPECIALLY ALONE AND WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF ANY ILL EFFECTS EXPERIENCED. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Key Historical Ingredients

The core active components were tropane-alkaloid-rich plants from the Solanaceae (nightshade) family:

•  Black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) — a primary ingredient, producing dissociation, body suspension, and visionary “flight.”

•  Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) — causing pupil dilation, delirium, and intense hallucinations.

•  Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) — linked to ecstatic visions and sleep-like stupor.

•  Jimsonweed/Datura (Datura stramonium) — adding vivid, often terrifying delusions.

Other plants occasionally appeared: hemlock, wolfsbane (aconite), poppy, or mugwort. Bases were typically animal fats (lard, rendered child fat in sensational accusations) to facilitate transdermal absorption, reducing oral toxicity while allowing alkaloids like atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine to cross mucous membranes or skin—especially “hairy” or pulse-point areas.

Fact or fiction: flying on a broomstick 

Legend has it that witches used to believe they could fly and travel riding on their broomstick. Made up ? Yes and no. We know that the flying ointment can be made and of have some powerful hallucinogenic properties and highly hypnotic. It is believed that witches used to rub the ointment on their broomstick (besom) and then place it between their legs with their exposed genitalia so that it could rapidly absorb the ointment via the blood rich thin membranes of their “lady bits” . Using the ointment in this manner could well cause hallucinations if light whilst astride their trusty besom!

Historical recipes vary wildly. A 1267 account by Theodoric of Cervia lists henbane, mandrake, hemlock, opium, and others. Giovanni Battista della Porta (16th century) included children’s fat boiled with aconite, poplar leaves, and soot. Francis Bacon attributed versions with “fat of children” from graves, wolfsbane, and cinquefoil.

These accounts often stem from inquisitorial confessions, scholarly speculation, or anti-witch propaganda, blending pharmacology with demonology.

Effects and Interpretation

Users reported sensations of soaring, attending sabbaths, or erotic/ecstatic encounters, followed by amnesia or terror. Modern pharmacology explains this as anticholinergic delirium: fragmented reality, time distortion, and out-of-body experiences mimicking shamanic soul-flight.

Some scholars debate whether such ointments were widely used or largely a myth amplified by witch-hunters to explain “flight” without conceding supernatural power. Others see them as entheogenic tools for altered states, possibly rooted in older pagan or folk practices.

Today, modern reconstructions in some pagan or entheogenic circles use safer herbs (mugwort, clary sage, wormwood) for astral or dream work, avoiding toxic nightshades due to severe risks: heart issues, coma, or death. The historical ointments remain a potent symbol of the boundary between medicine, magic, and madness—where plants dissolved the self to reveal other worlds.

Modern safe reconstructions of witches’ flying ointments focus on non-toxic, legal herbal alternatives that evoke dreamwork, lucid dreaming, astral projection, or trance states through mild sedative, visionary, or oneirogenic (dream-inducing) properties—without the deadly anticholinergic delirium of historical nightshades like henbane, belladonna, mandrake, or datura.

These contemporary versions, popular in modern paganism, witchcraft, and herbalism communities, replace toxic tropane alkaloids with safer plants traditionally associated with spirit-flight, divination, or altered consciousness. 

Common bases include olive oil, jojoba, coconut oil, or beeswax for salves; essential oils may enhance scent and subtle effects. Application is typically to pulse points, temples, soles of feet, or “third eye” area before meditation, sleep, or ritual—never ingested or applied to mucous membranes.

Key Safe Herbs in Modern Reconstructions

•  Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris): Classic for vivid/lucid dreams, astral travel, and visionary states.

•  Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium): Adds stimulating, dream-enhancing thujone (in low doses).  WARNING: toxic in high doses 

•  Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea): Promotes relaxation, euphoria, and dream clarity; often as essential oil.

•  Cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.): Magical association with power and flight; non-psychoactive but symbolic.

•  Dittany of Crete (Origanum dictamnus): Linked to shamanic flight in folklore.

•  Balm of Gilead (poplar bud): Soothing, visionary carrier.

•  Others: Bay leaves, vervain, sandalwood, lavender, or lemongrass for calming and scent.

These herbs work synergistically for mild entheogenic or oneirogenic effects via absorption, aromatherapy, and placebo/magical intent—far gentler than medieval poisons.

Example Safe Recipes

From pagan herbalists and online witchcraft sources:

1.  Simple Mugwort-Based Flying Oil (for dream/astral work):

•  Infuse dried mugwort, bay leaves, and sandalwood in jojoba or sweet almond oil (1 part herbs to 3 parts oil) for 2–4 weeks.

•  Strain; add a few drops clary sage essential oil.

•  Anoint before bed for enhanced dreams.

2.  Herbal Salve with Classic Safe Blend:

•  Melt ¼ cup beeswax + ¼ cup olive/coconut oil.

•  Stir in powdered dried herbs: mugwort, wormwood, clary sage, cinquefoil, dittany of Crete (small amounts, ~¼ tsp each).

•  Optional: benzoin powder or clove oil for preservation/scent.

•  Pour into tins; use sparingly on skin for trance or sleep rituals.

3.  Advanced Symbolic Blend (e.g., inspired by practitioners like Kelden):

•  Cinquefoil, balm of Gilead, dittany of Crete, wormwood, mugwort, clary sage.

•  Infuse in oil or make into salve; focus on magical correspondences for “flight.”

Modern versions prioritize safety: avoid toxic nightshades entirely, start with patch tests, consult herbalists if pregnant or on medications, and treat as ritual aids rather than guaranteed hallucinogens. Effects are subtle—relaxation, vivid dreams, meditative states—rooted in herbal tradition and personal gnosis rather than pharmacology of delirium.

These reconstructions honor the historical motif of boundary-crossing while adapting to contemporary ethics and legality, turning the witches’ salve into a tool for inner exploration rather than dangerous poisoning.