Sigil Craft from the Magically Crass

Well, that's...another thing you could do, I suppose.

  Ah, body-art, that lovely thing we all did as kids...

  Well, who knew you could use that fiddle-fuckery in magic. 

  What I'm talking about is mehndi, or basically using a paste made from the Lawsonia Inermis plant to stain your skin with a temporary tattoo. The reason I bring this up, and I especially, is because henna could be used to apply sigils to one's body. I've been toying with it myself, so this chapter is prone to some change (Don't worry, it's not someone hijacking my computer, just me sucking at getting all of the facts first~!).

  First, let's get an understanding of what henna is.

  Henna is...well, dried, ground up leaves from the 'Henna' plant, Lawson-you know what, I already said it, what other plant have I mentioned thus far? Ahem. Anyway. Henna is ground up leaf junk. Though it's very hard to form nice, intricate patterns with leaf junk, so drying, grinding, sifting, and repeating yields the best result - A fine, diluted lime-colored powder. 
  This powder is then mixed with, well, water, tea, lemon juice, really any fluid that could turn it to a paste. I'll state which ones affect it how when the henna plants I've decided to grow yield fruit. Uh, leaves?
  Now that it's usable, it's stuck in/on an object that can be used to apply it (anything from a stick, to a syringe, to a cloth or hair dye bottle.) and then applied to the skin. It's thought that applying heat during this stage darkens the resulting stain, either by way of holding your arm in warm air or safely above a pan on the stove, preferably with some cloves in (so you're not just smelling gas flame) or one mentioned later on. Once the henna is dry, it's often sealed with a mixture of citrus and sugar, though I've found that equal parts lime juice, lemon juice, and sugar seems to work pretty darn well.  
  At this point, you leave it on as long as you can tolerate it. I'm not kidding. If it helps soothe your mind, you can put some saran/cling/clear/plastic wrap on top of the design and blow on it such that it sticks to the juice/henna. Don't push it down, unless you want to walk around with a dark red-brown blob on your arm, which you get to explain. Aside from that, the longer it is left alone, the darker the resulting stain will be.
  When you can no longer tolerate feeling like a sexy turkey, marinating for Thanksgiving, go ahead and rip out of your plastic wrap cocoon and use a - preferably discarded - butterknife to scrape off the henna. The drier it is, the easier it will be and the more will come off. If bits and pieces simply refuse to come off, a nice warm shower will help. Do dry yourself off though.
  And get dressed, it's...weather, this time of year.
  Speaking of warm, at this point it'd be smart to rub coconut oil, or some other plant-based oil (not vegetable oil, please, you're a sexy, marinating turkey, not a sexy, fried chicken...oh man I'm making myself hungry. [*Teacher-san pauses, grabbing a cup of tea before continuing]) on the design, mostly to take care of the skin under it and make sure it has plenty of nutrients and such to make its proteins, which henna-stain binds to best. Wipe off the excess oil after a few moments.
  Afterwards, if you don't want to roast yourself over a pan like a pretty pot belly piggie, and you prefer cold showers, you can apply a menthol-based topical ointment (off of the top of my head, most things like Icy Hot, Vick's Vaporub or Bengay[DoneThemGotTheTShirt-...Where'd my ticket to heaven go?) to the design. This is personally what I do. Especially since I do not know how to hold my entire torso over an open flame without a tribe of very annoyed, very hungry goblins, or maybe some kind of Unseelie elf, roasting me alive. 

  Now...what the hell does a plant lesson have to do with magic? Well, henna has a few...interesting properties associated with it. On one hand, it's rich red-based color is in-line with survival, passion, strength, and other 'red' associations, although it's more stable and grounded than, say, the crimson red resulting from a horrible burn. 
  Henna is also associated with rites of passage, from birth to death, to the ritual of Cleopatra Selene's Ladies dancing themselves unconscious as her designs were revealed. Similarly, henna brought ladies together when they lived behind veils, requested that they show their bodies and even accentuate them when they were normally asked to stay modest. Henna parties were called to bring together women of a town, be it to spread the word and reveal truths behind a previously obscured situation, or when they needed to contact spirits. 
  In Morocco especially, henna is used protectively, and can even be thought of a similar to praying, as different patterns have different meanings to them. Still today, throughout the world, henna protects in various manners. It's used in some wedding ceremonies,  where it's said that a good, dark stain on the hands and feet of the bride is a sign of good luck for the couple. Again, in Morocco, some women will seek out a Hannaya during their seventh month of pregnancy, requesting that certain symbols are painted upon their ankle and surrounded with a corresponding amulet to protect the mother and child through birth.
  Henna is also seen as transformative, due to literally changing the skin upon which it sits. Some view it as relating to beauty, as it was often used to make one feel beautiful.  If you ask me, henna also has properties of camouflage, and if applied properly, even mimicry. For example, sufficiently large eyes on one's palms can trick people and animals alike, even if only for a moment or subconsciously. 

  Now, again, how the hell can we use this plant in magic?

  Well, remember how a lot of activating your sigils involved destroying them? Yep. We're complicating shit further.

  As henna stays on the skin, it starts as an orangish-stain, darkens over two to three days or so, then remains...however the hell long it'll remain, depending on how often you put it back, go back over it while it's still there, and how long you left it on in the first place, before it begins to fade as bits and pieces of your skin naturally exfoliate off. No biggie...

  Though, what's a similar process that starts as nothing, gets 'more', holds on for a while, then fades? 

...

  Oh, that's right, the moon. I'm not going to say that the sigils just charge themselves. Honestly, it's closer to a crystal - they seem to passively charge off of the energy from the person who's wearing them. Though what I will say is there are distinct stages to a henna tattoo.
  The 'new' stage is your bare skin...you know you. Or at least you would know you, I hope, I don't want to trigger any mid-life crises. The 'waxing' stage, per say, is when the sigil begins charging up. The 'full' stage, at it's darkest, seems to either be when it first starts working, or when it's hitting an 'idle' state to figure out what to even do with the energy. As it 'wanes', or begins to fade, that energy disperses out and about. Naturally though, if you keep darkening it again and keep it 'full', or close as you can, then it will eventually end up full no matter what and start 'leaking' energy, tinted with your intent, so it's really just your flavor of tea. 

With that, 'till next time. See ya, witchlings.

 Notes-

  Do not, and I repeat do not use black henna without knowing what is in it. There are two forms of 'black henna', which like 'neutral henna', isn't actually henna but rather different plants given the same treatment. Safe black 'henna' is indigo, which leaves more of an...indigo stain. Didn't think I had to say that. Dangerous black 'henna' is henna mixed with p-paraphenylenediamine, or PPD for short. PPD can cause chemical burns and allergic reactions if worn for more than 2-3 days, but I wouldn't risk it at all if I were you. If you're not sure if a 'black henna' has PPD in it or not, don't even tempt fate. 
  Indigo itself can also cause a 'reaction' of sorts, though it's much more minor and less limb-threatening. If you have sensitive skin or an allergy to indigo, you may become very itchy and have some irritated skin. In this case, if you're still looking for a darker alternative to the red-brown of henna, Jagua can be used instead. And is much, much less finnicky than indigo, which apparently does not like oxygen. The only catch? You can't scrape off jagua, you're supposed to just leave it on until it's bone-dry, then gently wash it off.