Substituting Herbs for Spells

Greetings @EternalIndigo,

I’m firmly in the school of thought that the caster can adjust spells to better work for them and their situation- including what ingredients they have/don’t have available!

When it comes to making spell substitutions, there’s a great discussion here about Substitutions in Spellwork and lots of helpful advice in the Magical Substitutions Guide on Spells8.

As a very quick summary of substituting, the goal is to find the purpose of the ingredient as it is being used in the spell (whether it’s for its magickal properties, fragrance, texture, medicinal properties, etc.) and then substitute it with something that corresponds with that same property.


Spells8 has several printable pages for substitutes (herbs, oils, and fragrances- all of which can be found on the Magical Substitutions Guide Page) that supply the following:

  • Sandalwood → (fragrance) Cedarwood or Patchouli, (herbal) Frankincense
  • Dragons Blood → (fragrance) Balsam Fir with Cinnamon
  • Patchouli → (fragrance) Vetiver with Rose or Jasmine, (herbal) Oak Moss

Additionally, Siofra kindly gave some great universal substitutes, and you could also check with a Book of Correspondences for more ingredient-specific switches :open_book:


You can also attempt the oil without these ingredients or substitute with other things that correspond with prosperity for you. I personally believe that anything you craft with the intention of being prosperous will carry that magickal intent :sparkles:

Good luck, happy crafting, and blessed be!

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