In a number of Wiccan Traditions Salt is used to represent Earth, and it has triggered one of the most common questions I have been asked: “How does salt represent Earth”. Following this would be “Doesn’t salt come from the sea?” and one example of a jokingly made statement: “Can I use Chicken-Salt?”.
Earth the Element.
When we think of the elements be think of the Periodic table from our time in school, and the four elements used in Wicca, though archaic, are not too far from this table of elements. We need to remember, that when these elements were thought of science was in its infancy, what we have new terms for now, were described in an alternative fashion.
Earth = Solid, Water = Liquid, Air = Gas. They represent the states the elements from the periodic table can be in. Fire = Heat and Heat is the catalyst. Heat a solid, it becomes Liquid, continue to heat and it becomes a Gas, remove the heat and the processes reverses from Air to Earth (Gaseous to Solid).
Salt is a “crystalline” solid. Crystalline means: having the structure and form of a crystal.
Sea Salt or Rock Salt?
If we take the previous example as the only requirement we can use both. Both are solid, and Earth represents solid physical matter.
However, some people wish to take more correspondences and take things that step further. In saying that, in a pinch, grabbing the salt off the herb rack (that you use in cooking) is perfectly fine to use, by the previous example of Salt as a Solid (not to mention personal experience with practical application).
So Sea Salt pretty much sums the type of Salt, and Rock salt, though slightly more ambiguous, once read makes sense also. Instead of attempting to summarise myself I will use a quote and throw in a picture of a Rock Salt mine: “In deep-shaft mining, or conventional mining, tunnels are dug underground to reach the salt leftover from ancient sea beds, which is then mined like any other mineral. This primarily results in rock salt. The purest salt, however, is harvested through solar evaporation. In warm regions with low rates of precipitation, salt is harvested once a year from shallow ponds and pools evaporated by the sun during the summer. Salt produced in this fashion, called “sea salt,” is a common ingredient in cooking and cosmetics.” – (Where does salt come from – Ask.com, http://www.ask.com/question/where-does-salt-come-from)\
Sea Salt spends more time in water, which is not that element of Earth. While Rock Salt is mined from underground, within the element of Earth, from ancient sea-beds. This is the main argument again “Sea-Salt” is the fact Rock salt is more Element specific. If we take the side of Rock Salt and look further into Elementals for correspondence, we can liken the Gnomes to mines and caverns within the Earth. If the user held a belief in Elementals, an underground mine would be an excellent place for Earth elements to congregate, while a pond or the “Sea” would be a perfect place for Undines to exert their influence. Pushing belief one step further, that crystals (crystalline solids) can store “energy”, the energy of the Elementals, of the Element, would be imbued within them. Though Rock Salt was once in the sea, it is now within the Earth surrounded by that element. Sea-salt was recently evaporated from salt-water, recently being surrounded by the element of Water.
Once again, if you only have one type of salt, cant afford or in any other way purchase any other form… as long as it is a Solid it represents Earth. However, if you are going to go out of your way to purchase salt more applicable to the “correspondences”, purchase Rock-Salt.
A History of Salt Use
Though my professors, seeing this would’ve killed me, but here is a Wikipedia Reference (check out the references that Wikipedia offer for further details on the subjects).
“Salt has long held an important place in religion and culture. At the time of Brahmanic sacrifices, in Hittite rituals and during festivals held by Semites and Greeks at the time of the new moon, salt was thrown into a fire where it produced crackling noises. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans invoked their gods with offerings of salt and water and some people think this to be the origin of Holy Water in the Christian faith. In Aztec mythology, Huixtocihuatl was a fertility goddess who presided over salt and salt water.
In one of the hadiths recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said that: “Salt is the master of your food. God sent down four blessings from the sky – fire, water, iron and salt”. Salt is considered to be a very auspicious substance in Hinduism and is used in particular religious ceremonies like house-warmings and weddings. In Jainism, devotees lay an offering of raw rice with a pinch of salt before a deity to signify their devotion and salt is sprinkled on a person’s cremated remains before the ashes are buried. Salt is believed to ward off evil spirits in Buddhist tradition, and when returning home from a funeral, a pinch of salt is thrown over the left shoulder as this prevents evil spirits from entering the house. In Shinto, salt is used for ritual purification of locations and people (harae, specifically shubatsu), and small piles of salt are placed in dishes by the entrance of establishments for the two-fold purposes of warding off evil and attracting patrons.
In the Hebrew Bible, there are thirty-five verses which mention salt. One of these is the story of Lot’s wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:26) as they were destroyed. When the judge Abimelech destroyed the city of Shechem, he is said to have “sown salt on it,” probably as a curse on anyone who would re-inhabit it (Judges 9:45). The Book of Job contains the first mention of salt as a condiment. “Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?” (Job 6:6). In the New Testament, six verses mention salt. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus referred to his followers as the “salt of the earth”. The apostle Paul also encouraged Christians to “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). Salt is mandatory in the rite of the Tridentine Mass. Salt is used in the third item (which includes an Exorcism) of the Celtic Consecration (cf. Gallican Rite) that is employed in the consecration of a church. Salt may be added to the water “where it is customary” in the Roman Catholic rite of Holy water.
In Judaism, it is recommended to have either a salty bread or to add salt to the bread if this bread is unsalted when doing Kiddush for Shabbat. It is customary to spread some salt over the bread or to dip the bread in a little salt when passing the bread around the table after the Kiddush. To preserve the covenant between their people and God, Jews dip the Sabbath bread in salt. In Wicca, salt is symbolic of the element Earth. It is also believed to cleanse an area of harmful or negative energies. A dish of salt and a dish of water are almost always present on an altar, and salt is used in a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies.” (Salt – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt#Usage_in_religion)
Finally…
We see from this Why Salt, Which Salt and What is Salt used for. The History of salt in ritual and religious works is large, and that plus the other reasons I mentioned are why I choose to use Salt (even table salt, blessed and consecrated of cause).
If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to leave a comment. I would like to also hear your personal beliefs and your reasons for using and usages of salt or your reasons for not using it.
Wiccan Witchcraft 