Krampus Night: A Simmer Pot & Spell Kit
Krampus Night: A Simmer Pot & Spell Kit
For Banishing, Reckoning, Shadow Work & Protection
Before Saint Nicholas comes with his gifts, somebody has to clean house, and in the Alps that job falls to Krampus.
On the night of December 5th, Krampusnacht, he comes stomping through the snow with horns curling, chains dragging, and bells clanging at his back. He carries a bundle of birch switches called the ruten, and he's there for a reckoning. In the old stories, the children who'd been good got sweets from Saint Nicholas the next morning. The ones who hadn't got a swat of the switch, a lump of coal, or a ride in the basket on Krampus's back. Even today, the Krampus runs still roar through Alpine villages, with men in shaggy furs and carved masks shaking bells loud enough to scare off anything that doesn't belong. He's close kin to Frau Perchta's wild crew, too. They're the dark, rough spirits of the winter nights who make sure the old year's mess doesn't follow anybody into the new one.
This simmer pot calls on that same rough, honest magic. It isn't sweet or gentle, it’s for the things that need to go, like the bad habits, the hangers-on, the gossip, and the weight you're done carrying. Do this one first, and then your house is clean and ready for the blessings to come in.
What's in the pot, and why:
Birch bark: for the ruten, the switch that drives out what doesn't belong
Lapsang souchong tea: for the scent of coal and chimney smoke
Juniper berries: for the old Alpine protection smoke
Black peppercorns: to send off what's unwelcome
Bay leaves: to write on what you're done carrying
Rosemary: for cleansing
Dried apple: for the bite that's been earned
Cloves: for binding gossip and ill intent
The working: Ring the bell over the pot before you begin, and again when you're finished. Krampus's bells announce the reckoning. Write what you're done carrying on the bay leaves and drop them in. Stir counterclockwise while you speak the charm on your card, and let the pot take what's wrong and leave what's right. Once it's cooled, carry the water out past your property line and pour it away from your house. Don't look back.
Inside your kit:
One Krampus Night simmer blend in a sealed pouch
A bell for announcing the reckoning
An illustrated instruction card with the charm and ritual
Handmade by Primitive Witchery Brews in Kingsport, Tennessee.
