overview
Charcoal is ash from burnt plants and animals. It’s the magical aftermath of shells, wood and bones that have been transformed through fire. Heat is a form of consciousness. Fire is a portal to other worlds, dimensions and states of being. Charcoal is the creation of the Sun. Anything the Sun touches for too long gets singed to blackness. It is a reflection of dark matter in the cosmos, rich with nutrients to fertilize the growth of new galaxies.
Charcoal makes me feel powerful and mysterious when it coats the palm of my hands. With charcoal, I forge communication with the building blocks of life. It’s composed primarily of carbon which is a fundamental mineral for life to exist on Earth. Black absorbs every hue on the color spectrum. This makes it like a wise elder who has seen everything and knows what is unspoken. Universal blackness is a womb from which everything comes and to which everything returns. On an existential level, the blackness of charcoal cannot be escaped.
My first time testing charcoal as a natural dye occurred on a New Moon during the liminal transition between summer and autumn. This was divine alignment because it’s a moment when the dark side of the Moon faces the Earth, embodying the same principle of the color black. The New Moon is an ideal time to set intention for new beginnings, release what no longer serves us and make positive changes for the future.
color symbolism
Charcoal is black. The word for black in Yoruba language from West Africa is dudu. It’s one of the sacred primary colors, in addition to red and white. In Yoruba color science, black encompasses the deepest blue such as indigo. Black and blue share similarities, both representing spiritual mysteries, the source of wealth and riches. Black carries the essence of the murky dimension of the womb that incubates the fetus and gives birth to new life.
Yoruba brides are wrapped in black cloth when they become pregnant, conjuring the presence of black rain clouds as they prepare to bring children into the community. This cloth is dyed with indigo to represent fertility. When it’s finished, it shines in the light like gleaming dark skin. Dogon creation stories from Mali describe our primordial ancestors, the original people on the planet, as being seeded from the stars and having skin dark as night. Black also brings chaos and destruction with its association to the shadows.
In the native language of Kemet, the Black African civilization that thrived along the Nile River in East Africa, the word for black is kem. It symbolizes the highest level of spiritual consciousness and is associated with the root chakra. 99% of the Universe is black matter. According to the laws of science, black attracts heat through its absorption of all colors while white repels heat through its reflection of all colors. This is why it is common to wear light-colored clothes during summer and dark-colored clothes during winter.
phytochemicals
Charcoal is primarily composed of mineral salts from the botanical source, including calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. These elements are often present in carbonates, such as calcium carbonate, and oxides depending on the temperature of combustion.
Potassium carbonate in charcoal is a soluble compound that can be extracted in water and was historically used to make lye. The specific compounds in charcoal vary according to the type of wood or other organic matter it was made from.
kenyan dyes
Charcoal has been traditionally used as a natural dye for kiondo baskets in Kenya. Makara is the word for charcoal in the native Kikuyu language. These baskets are handwoven bags made with sisal fiber derived from the Agave plant, which also produces a well known syrup that’s often used as a sweetener like honey. These bags are both durable and eco-friendly. When crushed and mixed in hot water, charcoal colors the plant fibers black. Only charcoal and water are used in the dye process. There is no mordant needed. In addition to sisal, charcoal can also be dyed on cotton, linen, hemp, silk and wool.
charcoal in soap
In African American homes across the South, wood ashes were used for making lye soap. These ashes could be collected from a fireplace or outdoor fire pit. Many families gathered together annually to produce large batches of soap for washing clothes, dishes, cleaning surfaces and other items around the house. It was often women who performed these tasks for the health and wellbeing of their household.
As a land-based tradition, women applied ancestral knowledge about how to maximize the potential of natural materials to sustain themselves during times of hardship and oppression. Water was filtered through the ashes to create lye, a burnable solution that served as the fundamental component of soap. This thick liquid was mixed with animal fats and cooking grease, then heated and stirred in a black iron pot over an open flame.
This wash pot is remembered by many diasporic Africans for its usefulness in both making soap and washing clothes. Some families incorporated rainwater that was captured in barrels under the roof. Traditional soapmaking in the American South reveals the importance of charcoal in Black communities and provides a testament to our survival.
charcoal for teeth
Charcoal has been used by indigenous cultures across the world who blackened their teeth to activate its cleansing and antimicrobial properties for dental health. Native cultures in Africa, India, Vietnam, Australia and the Americas all share the ancient tradition of burning wood, nuts and other parts of plants to care for their bodies. Nowadays, you can find activated charcoal on the shelves of many holistic health stores as a tooth powder and nutritional supplement.
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