In this article we will tell you not only how to prepare Thursday salt, but also why you need to do it. The last Thursday of Great Lent, during Holy Week, is called Clean Thursday. It is dedicated to the Last Supper, the Easter dinner of Christ with his disciples, after which one of them betrayed him. Jesus foresaw this action. He said that the traitor would be the one who dips his hand into the solilo with him. Judas immediately reached for the plate.

In Rus', on the eve of Maundy Thursday, contaminated salt was burned and purified by fire. Mixed with rye flour or kvass grounds and wrapped in a clean linen rag. The bundle was placed in an old bast shoe, which was placed in the oven overnight. The heat heated up the mixture, charred it, and the salt acquired a black color and unusual properties.

Black salt - for health and beauty

Modern scientists have found that ash from bread, which contains about 6% of Thursday salt, enriches it with iron, sulfur, potassium, calcium, iodine, zinc, copper and others chemicals, necessary to the human body. And harmful chlorine partially evaporates during the heat treatment process. This is how salt turns from a “white poison” into a black drug.

Quaternary salt, unlike regular salt, contains almost no heavy metals, which have a destructive effect on the digestive tract and cause dysfunction of the liver and kidneys. It treats constipation, bloating (increased gas formation), and increases appetite. Hypertensive patients can consume black salt without fear; it does not increase sodium levels in the blood and does not retain water. And if this seasoning is used regularly, swelling subsides, tightness and burning in the chest goes away, and vision improves.

Since ancient times, black salt has served as an indispensable remedy against acne and acne. Returned fresh look dull, pale, flaky skin. It is enough to wash your face every morning with cool water with a pinch of Thursday medicine to make your skin young and clean. You can also take warm baths with 7 tablespoons of black salt. A week-long course of water procedures will restore good spirits, good mood, and will also remove the evil eye and damage caused.

An unusual medicine helps strengthen the immune system. If you eat a piece of rye bread sprinkled with Thursday salt on an empty stomach for 20 days, there will be no trace of persistent colds.

If black salt is mixed with natural honey in a ratio of 1 to 2, it turns out excellent remedy from periodontal disease. They massage the gums in the morning, before brushing your teeth. If you add a third of a teaspoon of Thursday salt to a tablespoon of sour cream or thick yogurt, you will get effective mask for face and neck. The skin after it is elastic and velvety.

The magical properties of Thursday salt

Except medicinal properties Salt consecrated in the church is also attributed with magical qualities. In the old days, healers advised adding it to the water in which the baby was bathed, so that the child would grow up handsome, healthy and intelligent. If a husband and wife quarreled, a small bag of black salt was placed under the pillow. Trouble struck - they poured salt into the corners of the hut. If a long separation was tormenting, they threw a pinch of the drug into the fire. They believed that the man would return soon. To make the house a full bowl, pour it into a wooden salt shaker and place it in the center dining table. It is known that Thursday salt attracts money and luck. When an angry, envious person came to visit, the treat was flavored with it. After the enemy, black salt was sprinkled on the trail.

To remove negative energy from the apartment, a special magical ritual is performed on Maundy Thursday. Freshly prepared black salt is poured into a small cloth bag. They walk around the house with him at dawn, starting from the front door. First, they stand behind the threshold, then they always step over it with their right foot, saying: “As black salt came into the apartment, so the evil misfortune is gone forever.” And they walk around the house counterclockwise, repeating the spell in front of each door.

A little magic salt is offered to the brownie to help the household in everything. It is poured into a saucer, which is “hidden” in a secluded corner in the kitchen. For example, for gas stove. A few days later, when the housewife is happy with the gift and appreciates the owner’s care, the black salt should be thrown out through the window or balcony onto the street. It cannot be washed off with water or thrown into the trash, God will punish it.

To protect the baby from the evil eye, a tiny bag of Thursday salt, literally a tablespoon, is placed in the stroller or in the pocket of the child’s outerwear. The same amulet can be worn by adults.

How to prepare black salt?

Recipes for making Thursday salt have come down from time immemorial, they have been passed down from generation to generation. Previously, salt was fired in Russian kilns, flooded with birch firewood. Nowadays, on the last Thursday of Lent, it is prepared with prayer in the oven.

Recipe No. 1. The crusts are cut off from rye bread, preferably Borodino bread (200 g). The crumb is poured with water and kneaded into a paste. 200 g of large grains are poured into it rock salt(not iodized), 2 teaspoons each of cumin and coriander. Instead of these spices, you can take mint and oregano in the same quantities. The components are thoroughly mixed and placed in a dry metal form. It is placed in an oven heated to 220 degrees. After 15 minutes, the hardened bread is broken into pieces and returned to the oven until full readiness, for about an hour. Burnt crackers are thoroughly crushed. This is black Thursday salt.

Recipe No. 2. The grounds remaining from the kvass are mixed with coarse salt. Proportions as in the first recipe. Cook in the oven until the leaven residue turns black. Grind and sift. The black salt will remain in the sieve. It is poured into glass jar and stored in the kitchen, closer to the fire.

On Easter, together with Easter cakes, this salt is blessed in the temple. Dyed eggs are eaten with Thursday salt. Tasty and very healthy.

Thursday salt- everyone has heard about it, but now few people know how to make it and what it is needed for. Prepared in the right way and applied in the right situation, it helps to cope with illness, cleanse the house, attract prosperity, ward off enemies, even make a disappeared person return! It’s easy to make, and there are a lot of possibilities, so it’s time to learn more about Thursday salt.

How to make Thursday salt?

This is exactly the product, under this name, Thursday salt- the invention of a supposedly Christian tradition. But if you look deeper into history, as well as the traditions of other peoples, it becomes clear that, how to prepare Thursday salt known to representatives of many other religions and magical schools, including those much more ancient than Christianity.

Salt, as an instrument of protection, healing, and cleansing, is present in various variations in many traditions. Something common is present in all rituals: salt acquires its magical power on a significant day, especially revered in a given tradition, often an authoritative representative of the cult (shaman, priest, priest, druid, etc.) participates in this. Thursday salt in Orthodoxy preparing for Maundy Thursday, one of holy days Holy Week. In pagan rituals, the “sanctification” of salt, that is, the process of giving it magical powers, took place on the eves of the spring and autumn equinoxes, as well as the summer solstice.

Now there are many offers and people advertising the opportunity to buy ready-made Thursday salt. It is not recommended to do this, especially with strangers. The fact is that they can inflict illnesses, curses, damage on salt and, after selling, transfer them along with the salt

In addition, salt made with one’s own hand “remembers” the owner and faithfully serves him, his home, and family. Therefore, there is only one correct answer to the question of where to get Thursday salt: make it yourself.

Black Thursday salt or Kostroma and other recipes: how to cook?

On Maundy Thursday on the eve of Easter comes the most favorable time to make black salt: large (not small Extra!) stone salt (it is not pure white, but a grayish tint) must be calcined in a stove or oven with cabbage leaves, kvass grounds or rye crackers, with “strong” herbs.

Cabbage salt

Green ones are taken cabbage leaves, separated from the cabbage, they must be chopped, mixed with salt in the desired proportions, left in the oven over low heat. If possible, you should use a stove or hearth.

Spicy salt with herbs

You can use dried herbs - Bogorodskaya (thyme), thyme, oregano, coriander, peppermint, mix with salt. You can also add here Rye bread or drunk kvass - in the end, after burning in the oven it will turn out black salt, which is traditionally prepared in Kostroma, and is often called black Kostroma salt.

The burning process is important because it allows the salt to remain in the composition. useful minerals. It is clear that this is why it is recommended to add this salt to food.

Even the ash that remains after burning salt can be used beneficially - in fact, it is activated carbon, it can be used to detoxify the body. Ash remaining from burning cabbage and useful herbs, traditionally used by healers to treat dermatological diseases.

Before the onset of Maundy Thursday (or the Spring Equinox, everyone must choose according to their religion), what kind of salt should be prepared: almost full moon large pieces chop and leave in the house, in close proximity to the fireplace (or kitchen, in modern conditions). On the Holiday, salt was previously taken to the priest, elder, or cult representative for consecration, then returned to the house so that it would protect it from any negative influence.

Application of Thursday salt

Sick people were given water with Thursday salt so that they could more easily endure the disease and recover. Salt, once it has been produced, must be used as soon as possible: its strength is maximum in the first days after creation. The next morning, at dawn, they stand at the threshold with a linen or linen bag filled with salt, and walk around all the housing counterclockwise, crossing the threshold with their right foot. You can make the rounds with prayer, you can with a conspiracy that exists a large number of. Choose the right option worth it, based on your goals and intuitive trust in the conspiracy or prayer.

The benefits of Thursday salt can hardly be overestimated. It is used in spells for the evil eye, for the treatment of various diseases, to attract health, money, and for harmony in the family.

Thursday salt for spoilage

To remove spoilage with Thursday salt, she is charmed with prayers and incantations dedicated to Nicholas the Wonderworker. It becomes a talisman, protecting the house and everyone living in it from quarrels.

Thursday salt for the evil eye

To prevent children from being jinxed, you need to add a pinch to the bathing water. To prevent your family from being jinxed by envious people, you need to sprinkle it on every corner of your apartment or house.

How else to use Thursday salt?

To prevent my husband from being taken away, and also in order to, you need to pour salt into a small bag from natural fabric and put it under the pillow.

In order for a disappeared person to return, a handful of salt must be thrown into the fire in his house.

In order for there to be money in the house, Thursday salt should be in the center of the table in a wooden saltbox.

If an unkind person comes to the house, you must definitely add salt to his treat. If an enemy comes, when he leaves, all traces of him are covered with Thursday salt.

Such salt - magical protective amulet, which you should definitely have just in case.

You can easily find existing recipes for its preparation on the Internet. The most common method is the following: salt(sometimes with the addition of kvass grounds) is burned in a stove or oven (hence another name - “black salt”). It is said that this salt must be prepared once a year - on Maundy Thursday (popularly called Maundy Thursday).

It should be noted that most of the materials devoted to “Thursday salt” are on occult Internet sites and forums, where it is reported, for example, that this salt cleanses the body, treats diseases, has “magical powers,” protects against the evil eye and “helps” in the fight with enemies. The reader is offered various ways use of “Thursday salt” in magical rituals. Sometimes it is recommended to consecrate “Thursday salt” in church along with Easter cakes and eggs before such use.

It’s no secret, of course, that “sorcerers” and “psychics” use church relics in their practice: icons, holy water... And since the preparation of “Thursday salt” is often mentioned in the same breath as Easter cakes, colored eggs and Easter, the question may arise: isn’t “Thursday salt” one of the truly church traditions, only forgotten during the years of Soviet power?

We are forced to answer this question in the negative. The fact is that the belief in the miraculous power of “Thursday salt” is one of the many pagan superstitions that arose in ancient times. It is easy to learn about this from scientific (ethnographic and church-historical) literature. Let's turn to her.

As A. Toporkov pointed out, in the folk beliefs of the Slavs, “salt is a symbol used independently and in combination with bread mainly as a talisman.

Salt, which has dissolved in food, is associated with its invisible, but extremely significant for taste sensations part, as it were, the meaning, the essence of food - its “salt” in a figurative sense. Attributing the functions of a talisman to salt is based on its material properties: salt is produced by man and belongs to the world of culture, helps preserve food and can be thrown in the face of a pest (amulet formulas like: “Salt in your eyes, a firebrand in your teeth, a pot between your cheeks” are widely known "). In the Vologda province, after giving birth, a woman was taken to a bathhouse, while the midwife rubbed her forehead with salt and said: “Just as this salt is not afraid of the eye, nor the heat, nor disgrace, nor slander, so you, the servant of God (name), are not I was afraid of neither slander nor slander” - and threw the salt backhand. In Belarus, salt was placed in the ears of a newborn during baptism to protect him from evil spirits.

According to Ukrainian belief, evil spirit afraid of salt. In the Vladimir province they thought that the devil was afraid of salt and would never approach the fire if salt was thrown into it...

In rituals associated with the birth of a child and at a wedding, salt, as a rule, was combined with bread and expressed positive meanings, protecting the bread and the house as a whole from the influence of hostile forces, and when treating bread and salt, symbolizing the establishment of friendly relations between people, it gave this relationship has a touch of heartfelt intimacy...

... Salt, like other types of food, is widely used in love magic, and due to its “saltiness” it is similar to human sweat. For example, in the Novgorod province, the bride, coming to the bathhouse, undressed and lay down on the shelf to sweat thoroughly; the godmother wiped her with a bundle of salt so that the salt became wet from sweat; she squeezed the sweaty moisture out of the salt onto the pie brought to the bathhouse, which is fed to the young man after the wedding, so that he would love his wife, and the bride herself put the salt in a pot of cabbage soup, which is treated to the groom’s relatives at the wedding dinner, so that all his relatives would love her... On the other hand , salty, like bitter, was opposed to sweet (remember the wedding custom that has survived to this day, demanding with cries of “Bitter!” that the newlyweds “sweeten” the alcohol).

Everyday handling of salt was fraught with many dangers and was regulated by a number of rules and prohibitions. Some of them are still observed not only in village life, but also in city life, although they have been relegated to half-joking signs. If salt spills, there will be a quarrel. In this case, you need to throw the salt or spit over your left shoulder three times, as if driving away the “evil spirits.” When passing a salt shaker to another person at the table, you need to laugh so as not to quarrel with him. It was not allowed to dip bread in the salt shaker, for this is what Judas did at the Last Supper, and at that moment Satan entered into him by the hand.”

So, salt, according to popular belief, can protect against hostile forces and influences. The “Thursday salt” prepared on Maundy Thursday was endowed with special powers. This is no coincidence: as T. Agapkina noted, by Maundy Thursday on folk life was tied to the performance of many different rituals designed to ensure well-being in the family and household for the entire coming year.

“Among the Eastern Slavs, Holy Thursday was almost universally called Clean Thursday. In many Russian provinces, on this day the housewife went to the nearest source - a river or stream - to get water for washing. It was necessary to go for water before sunrise, as they said, until the moment the raven bathes its crows in the river, otherwise the water would lose its healing power. The woman tried not to meet anyone along the road, and if she did, she remained completely silent. At home, a silver (and if possible, a gold) coin or ring was dipped into this water, and all households washed themselves with it in order to be healthy throughout the year and not suffer from various skin diseases (boils, scabs, abscesses, etc.), and also to live richly. The girls did this in the hope that Thursday's water would give their faces a special whiteness.

The water collected on Maundy Thursday was usually doused on the street, despite the fact that at this time of year it was still quite cold, and for children the water was slightly heated and then they were bathed in the hut... In the Vyatka province, bathhouses were heated at dawn and washed, and the remaining the first couple of days they sprinkled water on the children...

In the Russian North and Siberia, many cleansing rituals were associated with fire. On Holy Thursday, they specially went to the forest for juniper, burned it right in the hut on a stove damper or frying pan, and all the household took turns stepping over the fire to be healthy... In some places in Siberia, the so-called “wooden fire” was produced by friction. They burned him medicinal herbs, and sometimes they fumigated livestock with manure and smoke.”

Superstitious veneration of the “passionate” or “Thursday” candle was widespread among the people. They tried to bring home the candle with which they stood in the church at the service during the reading of the 12 Gospels. They believed that if the candle went out, a misfortune would happen to a person, and the one who brought the light home safely would live peacefully until next year. To protect the family and household from evil spirits, they walked around the house and yard with the “Thursday candle” and drew crosses on the ceiling beams, doors and windows with soot from this candle. Then the “Thursday candle” was kept at home. It was used in special cases, for example, given to the dying. It was also lit during summer thunderstorms and storms, believing that this way the house could be protected.

“The cleansing rites of Maundy Thursday concerned not only the person himself, but also his immediate environment, primarily his home and utensils. At dawn on this day or on the eve of it, the housewives washed and scrubbed the floors, walls, ceilings, tables and benches, cleaned the icon lamps, steamed milk dishes, shook the straw from the beds, etc.” .

Maundy Thursday, as S.V. Maksimov wrote, in popular ideas was “not just a day of Holy Week, but some special saint of God, patronizing cleanliness and tidiness. On this day, according to popular belief, even “a crow washes its crows in a puddle.” On the same basis, women consider it their duty to wash the children, and sometimes piglets, as well as clean the huts. “If you wash on Maundy Thursday,” they say, “the hut will be clean all year round”... In addition to general washing, peasants try to coincide with Maundy Thursday and the slaughter of cattle and pigs intended for festive table and for preparing for future use. This is done on the same basis as washing the hut: the saint of God, Maundy Thursday, preserves meat from spoilage, especially if you turn to him with the following short prayer: “Holy Thursday, save from worms and from every reptile and have mercy on for a long time»» .

“Among the magical actions performed on Maundy Thursday, there were many that were supposed to help eliminate domestic insects. In the Vyatka province, the housewife stripped naked before sunrise, swept the floor in the house, and then took the garbage out into the yard - certainly in one go, in order to rid the house of bedbugs and fleas. In the Kaluga province, snow was scattered on the floor for the same purpose, and in the Novgorod region, on the night of Maundy Thursday, three bugs were caught and carried far into the field: it was believed that all the “living creatures” remaining in the house would leave after them”...

Many Maundy Thursday customs were associated with animals. For example, the owners wondered about the fate of their cattle, noticing on this day before sunrise: if the cattle lies with its head towards the sunset, then this is a good sign; the one that stands or lies with its head towards the gate may disappear. “In the Vologda province, the housewife called out all the livestock one by one into an open chimney, and the owner, standing in the yard at that time, seemed to answer her, imitating the voices of domestic animals. This was done so that the cattle would not stray from the herd in the summer and would not wander through the forest. In the Vyatka province, a woman stripped naked, ran into the garden and there knocked over a pot or jug ​​on a stake. An inverted pot hanging on a stake was called the “chicken god” and, according to legend, was supposed to protect chickens from kites...

On this day, in the Russian North and Siberia, the house and household were enclosed in a magic circle. In the Vyatka province, at dawn, the owner walked around the house reading the 102nd Psalm of David - “from thieves.” In the Novgorod region, the owner would “ride around” the hut on a broomstick (and so that no one would see him): it was believed that after this, no goods would be transferred in the house for a year. In Siberia, the owner did the same thing with a poker, saying quietly: “Lord, bless. Stand up, iron tyn! In the Tobolsk province, the owner, “going around” the house on a poker, stopped three times at the window and asked: “Is everyone at home?” They answered him: “Everyone is at home, everyone.”

The preparation of some objects and substances that, according to legend, had healing powers, was timed to coincide with Holy Thursday. “At dawn on Holy Thursday, in some regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, women spun a special woolen thread. They spun it, sitting on the threshold and spinning the spindle reverse side. This thread was then used to bind the lower back and arms so that they would not hurt during the harvest. Sometimes it was also woven into braids to prevent headaches."

In some areas, peasants believed that on Maundy Thursday the Lord invisibly blesses the bread that is served for lunch that day. Therefore, crumbs and pieces of “Thursday” bread were considered to have healing powers; they were carefully collected and stored to be used during illness or to protect against “spoilage” or the “evil eye.” Pieces of “quarter” bread were also given to sick cattle. Often, “Thursday bread” meant the healthy prosphora that peasants served in churches on Maundy Thursday, and which was also considered endowed with special healing properties.

According to popular belief, along with “Thursday” salt, “Annunciation” salt also had healing properties. It was prepared in the same way, but only for the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 25 of the Old Art./April 7 of the New Art.).

Need I say that the folk customs listed above, from the point of view of Christian doctrine, are superstition, often blasphemous? The surviving pagan beliefs in many cases did not change their essence, although they were associated in the minds of the people with church holidays, events and persons of Sacred history. Likewise, the preparation of “Thursday salt,” says priest Alexy Makarov, has nothing to do with the real traditions of Orthodoxy.

Let's now talk about church practice itself. In the Trebnik there is a prayer for the consecration of salt - “Prayer over salt”. “The Church sanctifies in its prayers the most necessary product of the earth for humans - salt,” wrote Archpriest Gennady Nefedov. - Prayer over salt is one of the oldest... In the spiritual sense, salt means the saving teaching of Christ and the holy life of His preachers ( Matt. 5, 13). The New Testament Church uses salt for the bread offered as a bloodless sacrifice and blessed at all-night vigils. The Church blesses salt and how most important product nutrition". But in the liturgical books there is no indication of the need to consecrate salt on any specific day of the year. IN " reference book for clergy" by S.V. Bulgakov, we also will not find instructions for the consecration of salt either on Maundy Thursday or on Easter.

So, the popular belief in the healing power of “Thursday salt” goes back to pre-Christian mythological ideas and is in no way connected with the church “prayer over salt.” But remnants of paganism existed among the people, and, as Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev noted, “it would be strange if the interaction between the church teaching and the people went only in one direction. The clergy also could not help but experience the influence of the people (especially since in terms of the level of theological education they were often almost no different from them).” There are cases in the history of the Church when the clergy accepted the pagan beliefs of parishioners. Thus, at the beginning of the 4th century, the Council of Elvira (in Spain) with its 34th rule prohibited lighting candles in a cemetery during the day - “so as not to disturb the souls of the saints.” In the Greek Church at one time there was a rite of cursing a criminal with psalms (Psalmocatara) ... “Sometimes even the clergy is able to follow the lead of the beliefs of parishioners, thereby overstepping the Gospel and patristic commandments.” Let us make a reservation, however, that such cases are very rare, since the Church has always sharply resisted attempts to “sanctify” superstitions with its authority.

In relation to “Thursday salt”, such attempts have already happened. This is evidenced by the Council of the Hundred Heads, held during the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1551): “On Great Thursday they burn straw and call out the dead; Some neveglas [ignorant] priests put salt under the altar on Maundy Thursday and keep it there until the Seventh Thursday after Velitsa [Easter] and give that salt for healing of people and livestock.”

Professor P. V. Znamensky in the “History of the Russian Church”, in a chapter with the characteristic title “The Sad State of Enlightenment in the 16th Century,” wrote the following about that time:

“Everywhere, not only among the common people, but also in upper classes and numerous superstitions reigned in the princely family. The wife of Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich, unfortunate Solomonia, thought to get rid of infertility through healers. Vasily himself, having married Elena Glinskaya, called upon sorcerers to help him produce offspring with their spells. Ivan the Terrible also consulted with the Magi, although sometimes he brutally executed them. The people resorted to witches in all cases where ordinary human means seemed insufficient. Traditional medicine consisted entirely of spells and magic remedies. National and private disasters, failures, family discord, etc. were constantly attributed to witchcraft, and the means to eliminate them was witchcraft. The spirit of magic penetrated into the very Christianity of the people. Conspiracies received a Christian form, replacing in their appeals the names of mythical forces with the names of saints; on the other hand, some Christian prayers turned into conspiracies through the communication of magical powers to them in the popular consciousness; lists of them were worn around the neck, kept in homes as talismans, and used in witchcraft. Magicians used even sacred objects for their own purposes, for example, they cast mallow cups over prosphora,... priests... placed a child’s afterbirth on the altar for 6 weeks in the church. Various fortune-telling notebooks passed from hand to hand - Rafli, Aristotle's Gate, Six-Wing. Since the 16th century, astrological superstitions and fortune-telling came to us from the West, placed in Ostronumei, Zodei, Almanacs... The apocryphal works of the West were added to the Bulgarian, Greek and home-grown apocrypha... The bans on renounced books (in the Enlightener, Domostroy, Stoglavnik) worked poorly. Even the best shepherds of the church could not always distinguish a true book from a false one. We find apocryphal tales and references to them in the works of Metropolitan Daniel, in the collections of Metropolitan Macarius, in the definitions of Stoglav, even in Maxim the Greek. Prince Kurbsky sharply remarks about the teachers of his time that they studied not so much true scriptures as women’s nonsense and Bulgarian fables.”

And yet, under these conditions, the Council of the Hundred Heads showed enough Christian wisdom to reject a number of attempts to penetrate superstitions into the church environment, and among them was the indicated unique method of obtaining church “sanction” for “Thursday salt.” The resolution of the Council on this matter read: “The commandment is that on Holy Thursday they should not burn straw or call the dead, and priests should not put salt under the altar on Maundy Thursday, and they should not keep the days until the Seventh Thursday in Velitsa, since such is the charm of Hellenism and blasphemy heretical. And whoever does such a priest will be subject to excommunication and final eruption according to the sacred rule.”

In the 19th century cases were recorded when priests in some provinces blessed “Thursday salt” in churches. But this practice should be seen only as a concession to popular beliefs. It is possible, however, that sometimes the clergy tried to give the popular belief a Christian look. Be that as it may, “from the fact that something took place in the Russian past, it does not in any way follow that this something has been sanctified and Christianized by history and that it should be restored as an Orthodox or national shrine. Intertwined with the Tradition of the Church were many local customs and traditions that were actually alien to Orthodoxy. Often today, those pagan prejudices with which the Church has struggled for centuries are called Orthodox-Russian traditions.”

So “Thursday salt” is becoming popular again these days. At the same time, people, convinced of its miraculous power, again seek to win the Church over to their side. This causes understandable bewilderment among parishioners: “In our city there is a convent next to the church. And so on Thursday, in the last week of Lent, during the service, the nun brought salt in a plastic bag, the priest came up and read prayers. The parishioners standing nearby also took a handful of this salt from the bag, for which the abbess scolded the nun. And when on next year My sister and I came on the same day (Thursday of the last week of Lent) with the hope of also consecrating salt, but nothing of the kind happened. I asked one of the nuns about this, she replied that this was the first time she had heard about the consecration of salt, that she had never seen or heard anything like this.

So what is Thursday salt, why is it done?” asks a participant in one of the Orthodox Internet forums.

The priest rightly remarks in response: “I don’t know who elevated this salt to the rank of a special shrine (in the missal there is a prayer over salt, but this is not the consecration of the Holy Thursday salt, but simply a prayer, similar to the prayer for the blessing of livestock, sowing and vegetables). Now this custom is becoming popular in some parishes and monasteries, but this is nothing more than an unauthorized innovation. You can approach this in different ways - you can read a prayer over salt, you can bring it on a certain day for consecration, too. However, it is strange to attribute to her any special healing power or grace. The use of this salt is limited to cooking only, so it is nothing more than blessed salt from the temple.

Attributed to her healing properties remain on the conscience of the distributors of these stories. According to faith, of course, there can be healing from salt, but we have holy water and other shrines...

Thus, “Thursday salt,” according to the correct definition of Hieromonk Macarius (Markish), is a “pagan prejudice.” Its preparation and use are magical manipulations that contradict church teaching. Orthodox Christians should remember the words of the Apostle Paul, who warned against following empty deception, according to human tradition, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ (see: Col. 2:8).

Despite the fact that it is the 21st century, people still believe in miracles, adhere to signs and superstitions! So, since ancient times it has been customary to make “Thursday salt” and use the substance for personal purposes throughout the year.

Thursday salt, what is it

For those who are little familiar with the superstitions of our ancestors, Thursday salt is considered to be a substance obtained at home from ordinary salt as a result of magical spells and the addition of certain ingredients. This salt is distinguished by its “great” power, capable of working miracles!

You can prepare a magical substance only once a year, on Maundy Thursday, before the great Orthodox holiday “Easter”. After preparation, the salt is kept at home until Easter, then taken to the church, where it is consecrated, then, placing it in a fabric bag for storage, the hostess removes it from prying eyes.

The sacred product is used to cleanse homes and livestock pens from evil spirits; has miraculous properties that can raise seriously ill people to their feet; serves to protect the household and the inhabitants of the house! It is believed that, using the powers of such salt, it is quite possible to bewitch a person, remove the imposed curse and attract prosperity!

What does the magic product consist of?

Surprising but miraculous Thursday salt obtained from ordinary food products that can be found in any home! Moreover, there are quite a lot of cooking methods and everyone can choose the most suitable one for themselves.

Most often, ordinary salt, black bread, kvass starter, flour, and cabbage leaves are used in preparation. You can also put herbs that have medicinal properties.

Cooking process

Early in the morning or on Thursday night (starting at 3 a.m.), the housewife without “spectators” starts cooking, using one of the recipes:

1. IN cast iron frying pan with high sides, pour a pack of coarse salt, put it on the stove to heat, meanwhile add wheat flour (12 tbsp) and stir with a wooden spatula. During the heating process, the salt mixture begins to change from white to dark and even black. Stirring is continued throughout the entire cooking process. During this time, until the product has completely darkened, you need to have time to read the “Our Father” prayer over it three times. The dark salt mass is removed from the heat, but allowed to cool in the frying pan, only when completely cold is poured into a fabric bag.
2. 5 loaves of black bread are soaked until mushy in warm water, add half a pack of salt to the mixture and stir. Place the resulting bread mass on a baking sheet, level it and “bake” in the oven or Russian oven until dark. While the mixture is being cooked, the prayers used to prepare Thursday salt or the Lord's Prayer are read. Leave to cool and, chopping, pour into a bag.
3. Take a handful of dried medicinal herbs: lemon balm, mint, thyme, nettle, St. John's wort and everything that grows in your area and you have managed to prepare. Instead of herbs, fresh chopped leaves of white cabbage are often used. Add to them half a pack of salt and crumbs from 4 soaked loaves of black bread. Stir, pour onto a baking sheet, and bake in the oven. As soon as the mass begins to darken, take it out and, having whispered three times “Maundy Thursday, save and have mercy from worms and every reptile,” leave it to cool. Now the mass needs to be crushed and poured into a bag for storage.

The most in a simple way preparing Thursday salt is considered taking it with you to church for the morning liturgy. During the process, the product is charged with positive magical energy, after which, upon arriving home, a prayer is read over it and used if necessary!

Signs and superstitions are an integral part of social life, even though we live in the 21st century. Can be skeptical or even ignored completely folk beliefs, but it is much more interesting to understand their essence and navigate the original and fascinating folk culture. Ancient traditions are not without their own charm, so it is possible that after a while you will want to experiment for yourself. There are many ways to engage in witchcraft rituals, such as making Thursday salt and/or using it at home.

However, traditions should not be taken too lightly. Even if at first glance certain customs seem frivolous, one should not ignore the subtext that has accompanied them for a long time. Human emotions and beliefs have a colossal hidden power that tends to accumulate. Therefore, the preparation of Thursday salt and all the sacraments associated with it are not without meaning. And even self-confident atheists who decide to make Thursday salt for fun are advised to think about this step in advance and become interested in the possibilities and power of Thursday salt.

What is Thursday salt? The magic of Thursday salt
It is better to begin the study of cult phenomena with the basics and the circumstances that contributed to their appearance. Both the properties and the very name of Thursday salt are inextricably linked with church canons, interpreted by ordinary people and healers. As usually happens in such circumstances, the original rules have become so mixed up with speculation and superstition that today it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, something worthy of belief from idle fantasies. Here is some information that is certainly related to the appearance and spread of Thursday salt:
Although Thursday salt is traditionally considered an attribute of white magic, its second name is Black salt. This coloring is easy to explain chemical processes, occurring with table salt when heated strongly, in addition, the salt and auxiliary ingredients, when calcined, became colored with black ash. But the combination of fire, visible transformations and special conditions preparations made Thursday salt truly special for our ancestors and even many contemporaries.

How to make black salt correctly? Preparing Thursday salt
There are several recipes for making Thursday salt. Surely there were once more of them, but some have long been lost, and today only the most accessible and effective methods from the point of view of traditional medicine remain in demand. They are all united by one thing general rule: Black salt should be made during Holy Week (week), on the night from Wednesday to Thursday or on Thursday early in the morning. Anyone can prepare Thursday salt, but usually the mistress of the house did it and tried to do it without witnesses. In modern home conditions, it is enough to adhere to the cooking times and one of the recipes:
Any of these methods allows you to make Thursday salt on Maundy Thursday yourself no worse than experienced healers do. Salt gains magical powers through your faith, strict adherence to time, place and ingredients. However, modern science has its own explanation for the properties of Thursday salt.

Why does Thursday salt turn black? Properties of magic salt
Residents different countries and even regions within the same country prepare Thursday salt differently. But in each case it turns black and acquires a characteristic appearance and aroma. The fact is that table salt contains not only sodium chloride, but also impurities: iodine, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chromium and some others minerals. When salt is calcined, a chain of chemical reactions occurs, externally manifested in the blackening of the composition. In addition, when cooking black salt in an oven, ash is formed, which folk medicine traditionally not thrown away, but used instead activated carbon to cleanse the body.

Thus, scientific facts And traditional methods are inextricably linked by the same obvious effects. Healers have long treated skin diseases with salt and ash, and when added to food, Thursday salt gave the product spicy taste. Whether you believe in the special significance of Thursday for preparing salt is up to you, as well as what Thursday salt is needed personally in your home. But if you want to make Thursday salt correctly, then it is better to follow all the relevant rules. Keep faith in your soul, love in your heart, and common sense in your mind, and then the forces of light will be on your side.