A Guide to Using Dragon's Blood in Magick

The name Dragon's Blood is enough to make any pagan curious to use it. Dragon's have been a symbolic symbol in magick for ages. Dragon's Blood however, doesn't really have any thing to do with dragons. It is the resin that comes from the tree Dracaena Draco (a few other trees produce similar resins) which is mostly found in Africa, Asia and Central America. .

The word Dragon's Blood comes from the bright red resin that is secreted when the bark or branches are cut. In Ancient times it looked so similar to blood that people really did think it was dried blood of a dragon. The only way to tell the age of the tree is to count the number of branch forking occurrences and by measuring how often the tree flowers. It does not have rings like other trees and some trees are believed to be at least 700 years old.

The Draceana Draco species have a very unique shape. The trees have a large base and towards the middle section the branches are pulled together giving an almost hourglass look. This process is called a secondary thickening. From the upper middle part of the tree the branches spread out again and continue growing until it has a large umbrella like top.

In stores today you might not be buying authentic Dragon's Blood. There are actually 3 other plant genres which have trees that produce a similar resin and they don't all have the same healing and magickal properties as the resin that comes from Draceana Draco. For instance, true Dragon's Blood is a coagulant (helps stop bleeding) and the other resins that look similar are actually anti-coagulants.

Dragon's Blood ink is thought to be very powerful. The resin is made into a red ink and is used to write spells, charms, draw runes, talismans and inscribe magickal seals. This is the perfect ink to use to write a protection spell on a book, like a book of shadows, or in fire spells that require you to write something down (wish, prayer) and then burn it.

Since it has a bright red color the resin makes a beautiful dye. In china they use Dragon's Blood to dye the paper used for banners and signs made for weddings and the Chinese New Year. You can die the pages of your Book of Shadows to add extra protection to your book. You can also do this with journals. The other properties Dragon's Blood processes are protection (for anything) and banishing negative energies. It can also be used in love and sex magick. Adding a bit of Dragon's Blood to any spell is said to make it more potent.

The healing properties of Dragon's Blood makes it very useful. Externally it can help stop bleeding and heal wounds. Internally it is used for chest pains, to stop bleeding from childbirth and to help with menstrual problems.

If you have pets or children then don't do this but if not then you can sprinkle Dragon's Blood under rugs, carpets, in doorways, on windowsills, basements and anywhere in your house to increase protection from negative people or intruders. Dragon's Blood can be purchased at any herb/occult shop or online.