Salaryman Blues

A bit of salt. Seems like an inconsequential thing, right? Well, sure, now it is. But once upon a time it was one of the most sought after seasoning you could care to name, and it's so primally wired into us that one of the basic taste receptors on the human tongue is dedicated to it. Also, according to many cultures, it is a powerful ward against magic and evil spirits. Let's break down why that may be, and what some "practical" (or as practical as you can get with ghost-hunting) uses may be.

So, even early on, salt had alot in the way of signifigance to civilization. We discovered that it was necessary for human survival and that salt in various applications sped up healing/purification processes, so that established it's symbolism as an element of life or vitality. But then again, it came primarily from the sea, establishing it's connection to that vast, primal power. Also needed for it's refinement (at least ast first) tended to be sunlight or flame, establishing it's covenant (yeah, I'm busting out some poetic license here, give me a break while I'm riffing :P) with those sources of life and energy. Also, it was used as one of the earliest forms of food preservative and...well, body preservative in fruneral rites, so that links it with death. It's also mentioned quite a bit in various religious texts and called for as a component of many of their common rituals, such as the sanctifying of holy water.

So we have alot of competing imagery, but one fact remains above all, that salt was/is an important substance. As far as it's usage in a spiritually protective substance sense, it supposed causes vampires to have to stop and count the number of grains dropped, and is also used to expel/create protective rings from demonic/ghostly entities. Depending on the sources, it can also drain/nullify minor magical effects or curses.

Okay then, end analysis time: what do I think? Well, I figure of all the good luck charms/things I could carry with me, a baggie of salt is not that bad an idea. It's cheap, and could potentially double as a low-tech form of mace. If I had my druthers, I'd probably use kosher salt evaporated out of holy water, or salt from the Dead Sea, but considering that I place it's actual usefulness fairly low on the "likely-o-meter", I can just head to Fred Meyer and pick up some regular kosher salt instead. Here's hoping I never get myself in a jam that actually requires it, though...