There are many documented examples of traditional blood staunching charms that were used by Charmers, Pellars and Folk Witches alike here in both the British and Celtic isles. There is also a plethora of examples that come from our Pennsylvanian Dutch Cousins, over the waters in America. One example of this would be from the small Pennsylvanian Dutch folk magic book called “The Long-Hidden Friend”.
Such charms were used by local wise folk in order to stop bleeding after an injury, nosebleed or complications after childbirth. Especially in days where one could not always afford to go to a qualified doctor or travel the many miles to one who lived in a distant town or city.

As with other magical ‘traits’ it is sometimes thought that traditional blood staunching skills are not a learnt skill but are instead inherited through older family members. Similar beliefs are apparently held by the Romany Gypsies regarding their own version of healing or laying hands skills. Whether or not this is true, that blood staunching is inherited and cannot be learned is very much up for debate. I personally hold no opinion either way but do note that as well as myself being naturally adept in the art of blood staunching skills, my maternal grandmother also was too. But this does not mean that a person cannot dedicate to learning the skills. Let me know your thoughts on inherited versus learnt occult skills in the comments below or over on the private Facebook group.

When researching older blood staunching charms, one thing is very apparent, and that is the use of Christian faith and sympathetic magic within the charm wording. The reason for this is obvious, and that is no matter where witchcraft occurs, it will always draw inspiration from the culture, politics and the religions surrounding it. It is a neo-pagan myth that all witchcraft and folk ways are ‘Pagan’ in origin. Witchcraft and folk ways have no denominations, only that which the Witch draws upon in influence of their own practice. In my case, this is Celtic and Norse Paganism, for others it may be Christianity, Islam, or perhaps even agnosticism or no direct faith at all!

Below are some interesting blood staunching charms that have been taken from John George Hohman’s “The Long-Hidden Friend” (Published by Troy books, foreword by Gemma Gary).

Within the first two charms on the above picture of page 30 of the Long Hidden-Friend, we can see two spoken charms with very clear influences of Christian energies in order to stop the flow of blood. The third comes across as a bit of a placebo technique…

After all, most instances of blood staunching are likely to be scraped knees of children, mild to moderate nose bleeds or cut fingers from kitchen work. If you were to instinctively apply pressure and perhaps a cloth or plaster to the source of bleeding, then count back from fifty… then yes, the chances are that by the time you get down to three, the bleeding would have stopped. So perhaps nothing so special there.

The third charm seems to call upon the power of nature, especially water from sacred wells (which were both sacred to Christians and Pagans alike). The photo does not supply the last line, so I shall copy it here as an example:

“I walk through a green forest.
There I find three wells, cool and cold.
The first is called courage,
The second is called good,
And the third is called stop the blood”.

(Page 30 & 31, The Long-Hidden Friend)

Growing up, the version of a traditional Anglo Irish blood staunching charm I was taught invoked the power of the Virgin Mary and the fact that she safely bore the son of God into the world. Being now a Witch who identifies more with indigenous influences of spirituality, mainly that of Druidry, I have adapted the older family version of this blood staunching charm and made it less religious, and a little more sacred feminine in general.

Below are both versions, the traditional, followed by my own adaptation.

“The Virgin Mary’s blood stopped for nine months long.
She birthed the baby Jesus and bled again.
Then her bleeding settled, and she was as new.
So too shall this bleeding settle and cease to flow out of the body.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen”

~ Old family working.

“The lady’s blood stopped for nine months long.
She birthed and then bled again.
Then her bleeding settled, and she was as new.
So too shall this bleeding cease to flow out of the body, and
you shall be made anew.
So shall it be”

~ My own re-working, 2016(?)

Blood staunching is a folk worker skill that seems to be not spoken about in any great detail within modern circles, it seems to be one of the unsung skills of the occult world, and instead gives way to other forms of healing, such as healing hands, reiki, herbal medicinal skills, doula (both birth and end of life care) etc.
Yet it is a skill that is so valid and important. I often wonder if it is one of those unpopular skills because so many people do not believe in it, and then when you can demonstrate its effectiveness you’re eyed with suspicion!

Ironically enough, one such incident happened between my husband and I in 2018. We had recently had our first child together and she was very ill in and a patient at a well-known Children’s hospital in the North of England. She ended up being a patient for months, and as her parents, we, of course, stayed with her in the parents’ accommodation. A mixture of heat, stress, high blood pressure and hospital air conditioning was causing my husband to have some pretty nasty nose bleeds. I had offered several times to help him, but he politely and dubiously declined each time; taking my affirmation of being able to blood staunch with a huge dose of salt. Eventually though, my husband had a nosebleed that was reluctant to stop and was heavy in flow, so he begrudgingly allowed me to use my skill to help him.
I removed the wadge of bloody tissue from his face and asked him to relax on the bed with his hands by his side. I then sat on the edge of the bed, gently pinched the top of his nose and mentally recited my version of the above charm three times. As I did this, I didn’t wait for the blood to stop, or hope of all hopes that it would, I had complete faith that it had already stopped as soon as I touched the nose, and I think that it is this innate faith element, both faith in my own gifts and faith in the energies I call upon, which propels the working to work.
I think the whole process of gently holding the nose and mentally reciting the charm took perhaps thirty seconds at most. As I opened my eyes and gently let go of the nose, the bleeding had stopped.

To say my husband was surprised was a little bit of an understatement! He was utterly dumbfounded, impressed and a little sheepish at not believing me in the first place. Needless to say, he now believes me entirely lol.

I have to be honest and say two things here…

The first is that I am not often called upon to use my skill of blood staunching. It’s a gift that is best not overused, especially in small cuts and scrapes, and this is because the bleeding process is important! It cleans a wound and helps healing occur. Blood staunching is really only supposed to be used when all other traditional methods fail.

Secondly, I am not one hundred percent sure how this skill works, it is not an occult tool I could confidently teach the mechanics of, because for me at least, the skill is entirely intuitive. It’s something I just ‘ken’ (my family refer to their folk ways as the ‘Kenning’. Stemming from an old Scots Gaelic word meaning to know or understand). On the rare occasion I do this practice, it is not like Reiki, a skill I was taught and had to practice over time, instead, I instinctively go into an almost shamanic or trance like state and do what it is I need to do.
I find this both interesting and incredibly frustrating, especially when folks ask me the how’s, why’s and mechanics, because I can’t really answer them.

However, where I may not know of a way of teaching or passing this skill, it is worth noting this Manx custom mentioned below.

Perhaps there are other folk workers out there who are more in the know than I am, and are able to teach this skill, or perhaps some of you reading this may be able to go away and experiment and formulate a way that works for you? Please ley me know, I would love to hear more!

In the meantime….

From the time, mists, and distance between us, blessings from me to you.