Water has been a purification and cleansing agent among many religions. The early Christians used water taken directly from river or stream which was considered “living water” and did not give it any blessing; sometime during the 4th century the practice of exorcizing and blessing water for baptism was adopted. In later times it is used in Christian rituals such as baptism, protection of individuals and dwellings, and exorcism.

Charles W. LEADBEATER described in some detail the production of holy water in his book The Science of the Sacraments: “. . . the priest takes clean water (not distilled) and clean salt and then proceeds to demagnetize them, to remove from them any casual exterior influences with which they may have been permeated. . . . A similar demagnetization is performed for the salt. . . . The reason why both these substances are employed is partly for symbolical completeness and partly because they really do to some extent supplement each other, and are more effective in combination than either would be separately. The priest then charges them with spiritual power, each separately and with many earnest repetitions, and then finally and with further fervent adjurations he casts the salt into the water in the form of a cross, and, with a final blessing, the operation is finished” (1920 ed. p. 396).

P.S.H.

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