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Blót is the term for "sacrifice" in Norse paganism. A blót could be dedicated to any of the Norse gods, the spirits of the land, and to ancestors. The sacrifice involved aspects of a sacramental meal or feast.

The cognate term blōt or geblōt in Old English would have referred to comparable traditions in Anglo-Saxon paganism, and comparanda can also be reconstructed for the wider (prehistoric) Germanic Indo-European.

Etymology
The word blót is an Old Norse strong neuter noun (genitive blóts). The corresponding Old English neuter blōt (genitive blōtes) may be influenced by Old Norse; the Old English gospels have prefixed ge-blōt "sacrifice".

The reconstructed Proto-Germanic form of the noun is *blōtą "sacrifice, worship". Connected to this is the Proto-Germanic strong verb *blōtaną with descendants in Gothic blōtan, Old Norse blóta, Old English blōtan and Old High German bluozan, all of which mean "to sacrifice, offer, worship".

The word also appears in a compound attested in Old Norse as blót-hús "house of worship" and in Old High German as bluoz-hūz "temple". With a different nominative affix, the same stem is found in the Proto-Germanic noun *blōstrą "sacrifice" (attested in Gothic *blostr in guþ-blostreis "worshipper of God" and Old High German bluostar "offering, sacrifice"). This stem is thought to be connected to the Proto-Germanic verb *blōaną "to blow; to bloom, blossom", as are the words for "blood" (Proto-Germanic *blōþą) and "bloom" (Proto-Germanic *blōmô). Sophus Bugge was the first to suggest a connection between blót and the Latin flamen ( *flădmen), and both words can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European stem *bhlād- "to bubble forth; to mumble, murmur, blather".

Rites and beliefs
The verb blóta meant "to worship with sacrifice",or "to strengthen". The sacrifice usually consisted of animals, in particular pigs and horses. The meat was boiled in large cooking pits with heated stones, either indoors or outdoors. The blood was considered to contain special powers and it was sprinkled on the statues of the gods, on the walls and on the participants themselves.

It was a sacred moment when the people gathered around the steaming cauldrons to have a meal together with the gods or the Elves. The drink that was passed around was blessed and sacred as well and it was passed from participant to participant. The drink was usually beer or mead but among the nobility it could be imported wine.

The old prayer was til árs ok friðar, "for a good year and frith (peace)" They asked for fertility, good health, a good life and peace and harmony between the people and the powers.

Dates
The autumn blót was performed in the middle of October (about four weeks after the autumn equinox), the Winter Nights, indicating the beginning of winter. The great midwinter blót, or Yule, took place in the middle of January. Freyr was the most important god at the Midwinter and autumn blót, and Christmas ham (the pig was for Freyr) is still a main Christmas course in parts of Scandinavia. The Summer blót was undertaken in the middle of April (about four weeks after the spring equinox) and it was given to Odin. Then, they drank for victory in war and this blót was the starting date for Viking expeditions and wars.

For the early Anglo-Saxons, November was known as Blōtmōnaþ, as this later Old English passage points out:

Se mónaþ is nemned on Léden Novembris, and on úre geþeóde blótmónaþ, forðon úre yldran, ðá hý hǽðene wǽron, on ðam mónþe hý bleóton á, ðæt is, ðæt hý betǽhton and benémdon hyra deófolgyldum ða neát ða ðe hý woldon syllan.

Which translates:

The month is named in Latin November, and in our speech Blót-month, because our forefathers, when they were heathens, always blóted in this month, that is, that they took and devoted to their idols the cattle which they wished to offer.

Locations
A building where the blót took place was called a hov (cf. German Hof) and there are many place names derived from this in e.g. Scania, West Götaland and East Götaland. Excavations at the medieval churches of Mære in Trøndelag and at Old Uppsala provide the few exceptions where church sites are associated with earlier churches.

There were also other sacred places called Hörgr, Vé, Lund and Haug. Horgr means altar possibly consisting of a heap of stones, Lund means "grove" and Ve simply "sacred place". The Christian laws forbade worshipping at the haug or haugr meaning "mound" or "barrow".

Denmark
Lejre
The German historian Thietmar, Count of Merseburg wrote that the Daner had their main cult centre on Zealand at Lejre, where they gathered every nine years and sacrificed 99 people but also horses, dogs and hens. Archaeological excavations have indeed revealed Lejre to be of great importance and in fact the seat of the royal family dating to at least the Iron Age. There is not conclusive evidence that Lejre was the site of a main cult centre though, but excavations around lake Tissø not far to the West, have revealed an ancient hof of great importance.

Norway
Mære
Snorri Sturluson relates of a meeting between the peasants of Trøndelag and king Haakon I of Norway, a meeting which ended in a religious feud centered around the blót. Haakon was raised at the Christian English court and had returned to claim the throne of his father Harald Fairhair (the unifier of Norway) and intended to Christianize the country. In spite of the fact that the peasants had elected Haakon king at the Thing they opposed his religious ideas.

It was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bondis [freeholders] should come to the spot where the temple stood and bring with them all that they required while the festival of the sacrifice lasted. To this festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were called hlaut-vessels. Hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. The fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, Niord's and Freyja's goblets for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of many to empty the brage-goblet (1); and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance goblet.

— Hákon the Good's Saga, section 16, Sacred Texts website.
During this ceremony, the king also had to participate, although he was a Christian, and he had to drink of the mead that was offered and consecrated for Odin, Njord and Freyja. The peasants also wanted him to eat of the meat, but he only gaped over the handle of the cauldron and held a linen cloth between his mouth and the meat. The peasants were not at all satisfied with a king who would not participate fully in the blót. The King had however, been seriously humiliated and later he converted to the old faith. The tradition says that he was buried in the old ways.

Sweden
Gotland
The Gutasaga relates of the blót on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea:

Firi þan tima oc lengi eptir siþan. Troþu menn a hult. oc a hauga. wi. oc. stafgarþa. oc a haiþin guþ. blotaþu þair synnum oc dydrum sinum Oc fileþi. miþ matj oc mundgati. þet gierþu þair eptir wantro sinnj. land alt. hafþi sir hoystu blotan miþ fulki. ellar hafþi huer þriþiungr. sir. En smeri þing hafþu mindri blotan meþ fileþi. matj. Oc mungati. sum haita suþnautar. þi et þair suþu allir saman.
Before this time, and a long time thereafter, they believed in groves and barrows, sanctuaries, and sacred enclosures and in the pagan gods. This they did due to their superstition. The whole country (the althing) had the largest blót with sacrifice of people, otherwise every trithing had its blót and smaller things had smaller blót with cattle, food and drinks. They were called food-, or cooking-brethren, because they prepared the meals together.

Uppsala
Main articles: Old Uppsala and Temple at Uppsala
The German chronicler Adam of Bremen has described how it was done at the Temple at Uppsala at Old Uppsala in Sweden, ca 1070:

Thor was the most powerful god and ruled over thunder and lightning, wind and rain, sunshine and crops. He sat in the centre with a hammer (Mjolnir) in his hand, and on each side were Odin, the god of war, in full armour and Frey, the god of peace and love, attributed with an enormous erect phallus. All the pagan gods have their priests who offer them the people's sacrifices. If there is disease or famine, they sacrifice to Thor, if war to Odin and if weddings to Frey.

Every ninth year there is a blót of nine days, a common feast for everyone in Sweden. Then they sacrifice nine males of each species, even men, and the bodies are hung from the branches of a grove near the temple. No one is exempt from this blót and everyone sends gifts to the shrine, even the kings. Those who are Christian have to pay a fee not to take part in the blót.

Adam of Bremen considered this financial penalty to be very harsh.


A depiction of a Goði leading the people in sacrificing to an idol of Thor in this painting by J. L. Lund.
It is possible that the last nine-day blót was performed in 1078. The Temple at Uppsala was probably destroyed by king Ingold I in 1087. For quite some time there had been civil war between Christians and pagans every nine years, and this was the year of the last battle.

According to Snorri, there was a main blót at the Temple at Uppsala in February, the Dísablót, during which they sacrificed for peace and for the victories of the king. The blót was also performed to see how large the next harvest would be. Then the Thing of all Swedes was held and there was a grand fair, the Disting. The Disting survived Christianity, and the tradition has never been interrupted. The fair is still held every first Tuesday in February in Uppsala, even though the date has sometimes been moved within the month. In 1968, the tradition of discussing official matters was resumed.

Specific blóts
The old Norse calendar consisted of a summer half year and a winter half year, not the four seasons modern Europeans are accustomed to. The winter half of the year began in mid-to-late October, the summer half of the year began in mid-to-late April. Some blót were associated with these turning points.

Beginning of Winter half year
Winter Nights,
Haust blót "autumn sacrifice", mentioned in the Ynglinga saga and in other texts
Völsi blót: The Völsi was the penis of a stallion, and the rites surrounding it are described in Völsa þáttr. It was taken from a stallion during the autumn butchering, and it is said that the mistress of the homestead considered it to be her god, and kept it in a coffin together with linen and leeks (see also horse sacrifice). In the evening everybody gathered in the main building. The mistress presented the penis from the coffin, greeted it with a prayer, and let it pass from person to person. Everybody greeted it with the religious phrase May Mörnir receive the holy sacrifice!.
The álfablót or Elven blót was small scale and was celebrated at the homestead and led by its mistress. Not much is known about these rites, since they were surrounded by secrecy and strangers were not welcome during the time of the rituals. However, since the elves were collective powers closely connected with the ancestors some assume that it had to do with the ancestor cult and the life force of the family.
Dísablót
During winter
Yule, an important sacrifice celebrated some time after Winter solstice. When Christianity arrived in Scandinavia the yuleblót/winterblót was celebrated on 12 January (note: Date as of the previous Julian calendar. Hence it is not on January 12 in the current calendar.)
At the mid-point of the Winter half of the year
Þorrablót (Iceland)
Freyr blot (Sweden): The Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta has an account of a priestess of Freyr travelling across eastern Sweden (Uppland or Södermanland) with an image of the god in wintertime, celebrating a sacrifice for fertility.
Beginning of Summer half year
This point in time is known as First Day of Summer in modern Iceland

Dísablót
Sigrblót: the Ynglinga saga states one of the great festivals of the calendar is at sumri, þat var sigrblót "in summer, for victory".

BEGINNERS BLOOD MAGICK DO’S & DON’TS
Sep 10, 2015
Black Witch S

BLOOD IS THE MOST POWERFUL INGREDIENT IN ANY MAGICK SPELL.
BLOOD SORCERY IS ABOUT DISCOVERY OF ONE’S OWN POWER, ONE’S OWN SOPHISTICATION AND ABILITY, AND ONE’S SERVITUDE TO THE SELF. EXPERIMENT IS VITAL TO THE BLOOD SORCERER. THIS IS THE PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF THE LEFT HAND PATH.
USING BLOOD IN MAGICK
Blood Sorcery can be embraced and performed by anyone with a passion for all things visceral and an innate need for more than one has. It is not for the timid. Not only because one must injure oneself to participate, but because one must make an agreement that the work at hand is an issue of Blood and Magnetism in one form or another and all responsibility lies with the doer.

One must also be willing to accept that Blood Magick is completely self-gratifying as all of your successes will feed your starved ego, and that is a very good thing for the person that you are. This joy in the capability of the self is vital and self-feeding. It is, in my opinion, the only path to fulfillment. If needing, desiring and ultimately achieving company, lovers, children, wealth, acclaim, suc­cesses of all types makes one a stronger person, then you will become entirely self-sufficient, never having to rely on public services for support.

BLOOD MAGICK DO’S
I use blood in my magic in almost every spell:

I dress candles
In mojo bags
on voodoo dolls
In potions I make
On sigils
On my spell papers (petition papers)
On my Book of Shadows, and other personal objects
On my Altar Tools
Especially when I am using hoodoo or voodoo methods in spell casting, I use more interesting ingredients, such as parts of animals’ bodies; an individual’s possessions; and bodily fluids, especially menstrual blood, urine and semen.
ALSO:
menstral blood
Keep your blood in the fridge, and make sure it is labeled

You only need a drop or two.
If you have collected your period blood, make sure you keep it in the fridge and label it with what it is, and the date it was collected. This is especially important if you are using blood in potions to give to other people
You can add a drop or two in your lovers food or drink to keep them trapped to you and your will! This is actually an old Italian folk magick trick that has been passed down through to many various other magick traditions.
COLLECTING BLOOD
As you only need a few drops:
Use a pin to prick the top of your finger.Sometimes if you squeeze the top of your finger first, you’ll pump the blood to the surface and much easier
You can buy diabetic needles to make this easier and less painful. You can buy them in chemists or online
Dried blood flakes
Dried blood flakes

Collect period blood anyway you like – it depends on the blood flow. If its fast, then just scoop some up with a glass jar, then label the jar and store it in the fridge for later use. Sometimes you can use a lunapad to collect heaps of blood, then just pour it in the glass jar for storage in the fridge.
If you collect the blood in a container, you can spread the blood over the slide of the container before putting the container in the fridge. When the blood dries, it will turn into “blood” flakes, which I like to put inside of various spells, including mojo bags and poppets.


To anyone reading this post, I don’t believe beginners should cut themselves in any other way. Don’t use a knife. Only when you know why you need to give more, should you ever give more – and that is not for this level of magick. Infact, most left hand path practitioners will go a lifetime without needing to offer more than a few drops.


USING A BLOOD OFFERING TO A DEMON SPIRIT
Offer blood to your demon sigils and candles, as an offering for them to help you with your spell casting. Each demon has different likes and dislikes, but you can’t go wrong with pleasing a helpful demon, if you give a drop or two of your blood as a sign of commitment to the cause!



USING A BLOOD OFFERING TO A HOODOO/VOODOO SPIRIT
As an example, I will talk about the importance of knowing the spirit to which you are asking for help, and offering your own life force. When I am working Hoodoo Spells, I will often work with Ogun (Ogoun)

Ogun is the chief of the warriors, the God of War, blood, and iron, similar to the spirit of Ares in Greek mythology. He is the patron of civilization and technology. Ogun is responsible for tools of progress like farming equipment and surgeon’s knives, and commands the leaders of society, such as policeman, doctors, and the military. As such, he is mighty, powerful, and triumphal; yet, he can also be dangerous and destructive. It is Ogun who is said to have led and given power to the slaves for the Haitian Revolution of 1804. He is called upon now to help people obtain a government more responsive to their needs. In addition, he is often called upon to bring work to the unemployed.

Ogun gives strength through prophecy and magic. He is associated with locomotives, and offerings are often made to him at railroad tracks. A favorite offering to Ogun is three railroad ties. In Candomble, he is associated with St. George, the dragon slayer; in Lukumi, Santería, and Palo Mayombe, he is syncretized with St. Peter; in Voodoo, St Joseph. Ogun is one of the husbands of Erzulie and is a husband of Oshun and Oyá in Yoruba mythology.
According to legend, Ogun is a son of Yemaja (Yemayá) and Orungan. In all his incarnations Ogun is a fiery and martial spirit. He can be very aggressively masculine, but can rule the head of female, or effeminate male initiates to whom he takes a liking. He is also linked with blood, and is for this reason often called upon to heal diseases of the blood. However, because Ogun enjoys blood offerings, it is considered inadvisable to petition Ogun with a bleeding wound or while menstruating.

ROOT DOKTORS say….If the blood of the victim is put in a jug and buried at the north corner of his house, the murderer will be caught and convicted.
BLOOD MAGICK DON’TS
You would never use menstrual blood the same way that you would use a drop of blood from your finger. The blood from your period is strictly for love spells and the like, NOT hexing or cursing
Keep blood in the fridge, Don’t leave it out for bacteria to make the blood toxic to drink or use in spells that are to be consumed by the victim.
Don’t go crazy and be cutting yourself. It is unnecessary and does not achieve a better result in any way.
Don’t be using the blood of animals or things in which you were not involved with the death. EG. Don’t use the blood of road kill!
Blood sacrifice is still practiced in Haiti and Africa, as well as in parts of the United States by some practitioners of Santeria and other variant religions of African origin. There are a couple of reasons for this. One reason for animal sacrifice is economic. Hunger and poverty prevail in Haiti and parts of Africa and when an animal is sacrificed in a ritual, it is afterwards consumed by the community. Thus, the ritual also serves the purpose of building connectedness between members of the community through the power of the ritual. Another reason for blood sacrifice is the belief that the Voodoo initiate can increase their power to invoke the spirits or the dead by tasting the blood of the sacrificed animal.
FOLK LAW BLOOD USES
There are so many uses for blood according to folk law. Here are but a few:

If a woman can get a little of your blood on a piece of cloth and tie it up in a bag and wear it on her leg, she will run you crazy in nine days.
To make someone love you, take the blood out of a live pigeon and some of your blood and write your beau’s name and your name with that blood on your arm or forehead, crossing the writing of the names, and he will always love you.
If a woman wants her husband to stay away from other woman, she can do so by putting a little of her blood in his coffee, and he will never quit her.
If you want to keep your beau or husband, take two drops of blood out of your arm and put it in his coffee, and they will love you forever
Let a woman write her sweetheart’s name with some of her menstrual blood, and he will fall in love with her.
Make vegetable soup and put something red in it, like tomatoes, and a few drops of your blood, and it will make a man love you forever
Take nine drops of your menstrual blood and put into something your husband eats or drinks, preferably in his coffee, and he will never leave you.
The red-tinted waters of the sacred well of Kali in India are said to represent the menstrual blood of the goddess and people make pilgrimages there to drink this precious fluid.


BLOOD IN LOVE MAGICK
Absolutely no love spell a woman can use on a man will top using blood, in my experience. Menstrual blood, vaginal fluid, semen, urine (that is, something from your genital region) into the loved one’s food or drink, and those in which you add such fluids to a personal scent or dressing oil and wear it on your body to captivate those whose attentions you desire.

EXAMPLE OF USING BLOOD IN A LOVE RITUAL SPELL
The BWC Love Maintenance Spell

This pair of mojo bags will ensure continued sexual attraction during absences; be made by one person and given to the other as a gift, but i far prefer the of making its creation a ritual for two partners as described below:

INGREDIENTS

A small matched pair of Lodestones or 2 Lodestone grits
Magnetic Sand

A hair from each person
Anointing oil as deemed appropriate(Return to me oil)
Two red flannel mojo bags
Option

Return to me oil
Love Me Oil
Safe Travel Oil
Stay at home oil
PREPARATION

Place the Lodestones together, name them for each of you, feed them with Magnetic Sand to set them working, and anoint them with any dressing oil that relates to faithful love, like Love Me Oil.
If you are traveling apart, use Safe Travel Oil mixed with Return To Me Oil.
For extra power, anoint the stones with your conjoined semen and menstrual blood as you both say prayers for the continuation of your love over long distances.
After the stones have been dressed, gently separate them, keeping as much Magnetic Sand on them as possible, and place one in each bag with the hair from the person named.
Tie the bags shut and each of you give the other your bag.
USING THE MOJO

Each of you will keep the other’s named stone and hair while you are apart. They will draw you back together again.
When the two of you are reunited, complete the ritual by taking the Lodestones out and reuniting them.
Dress them with Stay With Me Oil and with your bodily fluids, then feed them with more Magnetic Sand.
Thereafter keep the Lodestones together in a bowl or box on your altar or under your bed, or you may bury them together in the earth in your back yard.
You can buy a ready made bag if all this is too much work. Click Here

CONCLUSION
I hope this gives you some ideas on what you can do with blood in magick. It is now up to you to do more research and find out what works best for you.

COMMENTS

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Agdistis
16:53 Jan 08 2018

Slight amendment, but very important: Ifa' says orishas don't take human blood. They take animal blood -- two-legged (birds) or four-legs -- but only when given by an initiated santer@.

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Sangomancer
05:27 Jan 10 2018

Thank you for the input. I did not write the article just posted something I had read. Maybe there is different practices in different off shoots. I see many articles talking about offerings off blood (animals), fruits, water, etc..different for each Orisha. But also have a page from a Hoodoo book talking about the spirit in mention above Ogun that says he likes blood offerings and warns people of calling upon him with a bleeding wound or while menstruating. Idk just a thought.

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Practicing Witchcraft: What You Should Know About Blood Magic
Updated on August 10, 2017
Mackenzie Sage Wright

Blood Magic
‘Blood magic’. conjures up all kinds of gothic images, doesn’t it? The very word ‘blood’ is a real attention-grabber. Combine it with words like ‘magic’, ‘ritual’, ‘spell’ or ‘rite’, and usually thoughts fly to human sacrifices on a stone altar dripping with dark red and other images that look like something straight out of a horror movie.

As usual, the fiction is much darker and more stirring than the reality of it. Yes, blood can be dangerous— both magically and mundanely. But fire can also be dangerous, no one would think to tell you not to use it to cook your meals. You just have to learn how to use it safely and properly.

The truth is, blood magic can be quite potent if you’re inclined to do it, and if you know what you’re doing. It should not be undertaken lightly, or carelessly; but it doesn’t deserve the ‘taboo’ stamp that many are quick to give it.

Using Blood in Magic and Spells
The Power of Blood
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that blood is a powerful thing. This is something that is so embedded in us that we all understand it. Fear and awe of blood goes way back to our earliest human ancestors. The sight of that bright red fluid -- whether it was coming from an enemy or friend, your prey or yourself – got immediate attention. Blood is associated with such powerful concepts that some people can’t stand the sight of it, and might faint away if presented with too much. Hemophobia is the fear of blood.

Blood is associated with death: the slain warriors on the field, the victim of violence, the hunter’s prey all lay bloody in their final state. Blood is also associated with life: it’s part of the cycle of fertility that perpetuates life. If you lost too much blood, you would grow weak and die. If your blood is tainted, you will wither.

Blood is associated with pain: you see it when you stumble and fall, have an accident, or fight. Blood is also associated with passion: when you love doing something, when you are good at it, it’s ‘in your blood’. Someone you love, particularly family members, are your ‘blood’. Blood connects you to things, or others. Even if you don’t know someone, you can empathize with them, your ‘heart bleeds for them’. Blood is passion, it’s connection, it’s raw emotion.

Blood is life. It courses through your body delivering oxygen and nutrients to every part of you. Blood is energy—when you push yourself, your heart pounds and your pulse races as your blood flows even faster. A woman bleeds during her menstrual cycle, she bleeds when her hymen breaks, there’s blood at childbirth. If you donate blood you might be saving someone’s life.

Whatever little microscopic bits are floating around in there contain the very essence for all that you are. A scientists can (illegally) clone you if they had just a drop of your blood. Your blood contains your DNA—a blueprint not just for you, but your complete ancestral line.

Something that contains this much power is naturally powerful in magic. Perhaps some would say it’s too powerful.

Blood Magic is Not Blood Sacrifice
Blood Magic: No Harm Necessary
Blood magic is not magic that involves killing people or animals in ritual sacrifice. Let’s just make that clear. We’re not talking about laying some innocent creature out on an altar or in the center of a pentagram and killing it, or wounding it. This would be all kinds of wrong, not to mention illegal, and is not at all what I mean when I talk about blood magic.

Blood magic is the use of a few drops of blood during a spell or ritual—usually your own blood, but if you are casting for someone else you could use theirs (with caution and permission, of course). Those few drops can add power to a magical working in any number of ways.
Is Blood Magic Evil?
The first thing you need to learn about blood magic is that it’s not inherently evil. Blood isn’t evil, is it? Does it make you ‘evil’ or desire to do malicious deeds just because it’s currently inside your body? If not, why do you think it would it become ‘evil’ outside of your body? Some people mistakenly think that using blood in magic is ‘dark’ or somehow only associated with malevolent intentions. This is simply not true.

The negative connotations stem back to that fear of blood I spoke about earlier: fear of our own mortality, fear of power, etc., are the kind of driving factors behind a fear of blood. Indeed, if you are hemophobic, you might want to avoid blood altogether. It’s not for everyone.

But I come from a more objective perspective. I see blood – like any object or component you would use in magic – as simply a tool. It’s a very powerful tool, but a tool nonetheless. It’s neither benevolent nor malevolent in its own right. You could use it for any number of purposes, though like any other tool it’s not advised to use it for unethical purposes.

Going back to the fire analogy—I could use fire to burn down my neighbor’s home when they piss me off. I have access to fire, which can be a very powerful destructive choice if I choose. So what stops me? The fact that I am an ethical person who has no interest in hurting others. Just because I don’t want to hurt someone with fire doesn’t mean I shouldn’t use it. By the same logic, I don’t want to hurt someone with blood magic; just because I don’t want to cause harm with it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t feel free to utilize this powerful tool.

A good implement to have for blood magic is the prickers that diabetics use to test their blood sugar.

A Little Goes a Long Way
Practicing Safe Blood Magic
Before I begin discussing ways to use blood in magic, let’s discuss ways to use it safely. First, there are a few don’ts to keep in mind:

Don’t ever take more than a few drops
Don’t ever take blood from an unwilling participant (this includes animals because they cannot give consent)
Do not smear your blood on people, let people smear blood on you, or try to exchange blood in any way; remember that many diseases can be transferred through blood
Do not ever consume blood, either directly or by putting it into a drink; aside from the fact that you can catch diseases, blood itself is toxic to human beings. More than a couple of teaspoons can cause haemochromatosis and potentially do some serious organ damage.
Don’t let others drink your blood, either directly raw or by putting it into food or drinks; this is essentially giving your power over to that person, and not in a good way.
The correct way to perform blood magic safely would be:

Sanitize the area of skin with an alcohol pad or sanitizing gel.
Sanitize a small poking implement, such as a pin.
Poke only enough to break the skin.
Squeeze out your few drops to collect for your use
Clean the wound immediately and put some antibiotic ointment on it. If it’s still bleeding, put a bandage on it.
Handle and dispose of anything that has been touched with blood with extreme caution until the end of your ritual or spell.
Disinfect surfaces (of your skin and your work space), implements and any other tools after performing blood magic.
Keep the wound clean as it heals.
If you are a woman and you prefer, you can use your menstrual blood rather than pricking yourself. You can catch menstrual blood easily with a diva cup if you need to temporarily preserve it for ritual—just don’t hang onto it very long, and all the same sanitary practices regarding care and clean-up also applies.

When (and When Not) to Use Blood Magic
I can't tell you exactly when and where blood magic is your best option, but I can tell you my reasoning: I use it only in extreme need for the most important circumstances.

I’ll use it for protection— not minor protection, such as if my co-worker is a nuisance I’m not going to use blood magic to keep her out way; but major protection, when there is a potential for serious life-changing threats (accident, crime, etc.)
I’ll use it for health and wellness—not minor issues like sore throats or skinned knees, but big health issues like disease, injuries, surgery or breaking unhealthy addictions.
I’ll use it for desperate needs—not minor things like saving money for a Disney trip, but big things like if I were on the verge of being homeless or starving I would use it to draw what I need to survive.
That’s about it. I have more rules about when to never use it:

I never use blood magic unless I’m (or the person I’m doing it on behalf of is) fully prepared to accept whatever the consequences may be (which means thinking them through very carefully).
I never use it to target other people without their permission (unless, of course, it’s deadly necessary for protection; I had no issue banishing a violent family member who refused to leave my mother’s home and threatened my life with a gun)
I never use it in love or relationship magic; bonds between people need to be naturally developed, not forced. Blood magic turns a potential bond into a chain: emotional slavery.
I never use it to gain power; if you can’t earn it naturally, you don’t deserve it and probably won’t know how to wield it.
I never use it to bring harm to anyone or anything.
I never use it for vengeance or retaliation


Spell Casting with Blood
Using Blood in Magic
Now that you know the correct way to safely use blood in magic, let’s talk about how you might put it to use. There are countless ways, actually, limited only by your imagination. But here are a few ideas to get you started.

In candle magic, mix blood drops with oil to dress and charge your candle.
Use a small drop or two to anoint and charge any talisman or amulet.
In jar or container magic, add a few drops of blood to the container.
In petition magic, smear some blood on the paper the petition is written on.
Place a drop of blood in a mojo bag before tying it up.
Alternatives to Blood
Though not entirely as powerful as blood, there are other things you can use to personalize a spell and lend it a boost: urine, saliva, semen, nail and hair clippings, for example. These are all effective options that will lend power to minor workings, or workings when blood magic wouldn't be appropriate or advised.

When you're first learning magic, it's advised that you work with these first before graduating on to blood. Take some time, experiment with these things. You'll begin to get a sense of how much putting 'part of yourself' into a spell affects your magic.

Once again, nothing is inherently good or bad—it all depends on how you choose to utilize it. So practice ‘safe magic’ and you'll be okay.