Cotton Tea Bags, Set of 500, 3" x 5"

Drawstring closure. The bag stays shut in moving water, which matters in a bath or a bucket where a folded-over bag would simply open.

Unbleached cotton. A plain natural fiber with nothing coating it, so it will not add anything to your preparation.

Five hundred to a pack. Enough that you can use one per working and not think about it. Priced as a bulk supply rather than a boutique item.

• Quantity: 500 bags
• Size: 3 inches by 5 inches
• Material: cotton with a drawstring closure
• Sold empty, for you to fill
• Reusable if rinsed and dried thoroughly, though strongly scented or staining herbs will carry over. Many practitioners keep a bag to one purpose or treat them as single use.
• If you fill one with material sold for ritual use, the resulting liquid is for ritual use as well. Ritual herbs are not food and should not be consumed.
• Dry completely before storing. Damp cotton in a drawer goes musty quickly.

None to speak of. These are cotton bags, and we would rather say so than build a correspondence table for a piece of equipment.

What they support is old. Bath work, floor washes, and steeped herbal preparations run through Hoodoo and conjure, folk Catholicism, Espiritismo, and a great many European folk practices besides, and every one of those traditions has had to deal with the practical problem of separating plant matter from liquid. A bag is one answer to that. Muslin, cheesecloth, and a strainer are others.

If it matters to your practice, the herbs you put in the bag are where the meaning lives. Choose those with care and let the cotton be cotton.

1. Fill a bag loosely rather than packing it tight. Water needs to move through the material for anything to steep properly.
2. Pull the drawstring closed and knot it if you are putting it somewhere it will be agitated.
3. Steep in hot water, then let it cool to a workable temperature before adding to a bath or a wash.
4. Lift the bag out and squeeze it against the side of the vessel to get the last of the liquid.
5. Follow your own tradition on disposal of the used herb. Where a practice specifies where spent material goes, that instruction usually matters.

• 13 Herbs Aromatic Bath Herb: exactly the sort of loose blend these were made for.
• Hex Breaker (Rompe Zaraguey) Bath Herb: another loose bath herb that benefits from containment.
• Banishing Herbal Spell Mix: useful for packet work as well as steeping.
• Amber Bottle With Dropper, 1 oz: for storing a strained preparation afterward.
• Blessed Holy Water, 4 oz: commonly added to a bath alongside a steeped herb.

Can I reuse them?

Yes, if you rinse and dry them thoroughly. Strongly scented or staining herbs will carry over between uses, so many practitioners either keep a bag to one purpose or treat them as single use. At five hundred to a pack, single use is not extravagant.

Are they big enough for a bath?

Three by five holds a generous handful, which is plenty for a bath or a bucket wash. For a very large preparation, use two or three bags rather than overpacking one, since water needs to circulate through the herb.

Can I use them for drinking tea?

The bags themselves are plain cotton and suitable for steeping. What matters is what you put in them. Herbs sold for ritual use are not food, and we do not supply preparation or consumption guidance for them. If you want to make a drinkable tea, use ingredients sold as food from a food supplier.

Do they hold fine powders?

Not well. Cotton weave lets fine powder through, so these are best with cut and sifted herb, flowers, bark, and root pieces rather than anything ground to dust.

What else are they good for?

Plenty. Practitioners use them for sachets, mojo bag liners, dream pillows, drawer sachets, and containing herb in a floor wash bucket. The drawstring makes them more versatile than a plain open bag.