The furnace blazes, the iron glows. Blood burns in the hammer-arm of the blacksmith. Stubborn metal becomes malleable, open to convincing arguments from the hammer and the strong hand that wields it.

Fire, iron, and blood. This is the holy trinity of Mars, as crucial for creation as it is for destruction. While many know Mars as the Warrior, the red planet is equally the Smith. In the Smith we see the constructive side of Mars, the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to shape and re-shape our lives, our bodies, ourselves.

The Smith’s alchemical action is an especially apt metaphor for the transformation of the body. The layers of effort required to re-forge the body are quintessential martial, and there is no exercise regimen as close to the forge as Iron Palm.

Iron Palm refers to a family of limb-training methods which strengthen the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones for both defensive and offensive purposes. Many styles also emphasize the internal side, cultivating increased qi emission capacity for both striking and healing purposes.

Though there are many variations, the training almost always consists of a daily routine of hitting progressively more resilient materials. A canvas bag of bean, then stones, then metal. Though the results are dramatic, the training process is incremental, with as much attention paid to healing and perfect recovery as to anything else.

Over the years, a great number of liniments have been created for this purpose. Generally referred to as dit da jow, they are widely available and widely used for general athletic purposes well outside of the specific practice of an Iron Palm regimen.

The Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow is one of these Iron Palm formulae, but with a Sphere + Sundry twist. This Jow was created in a fully ritual manner and at a precisely elected astrological time.

Prayers to Mars the Forgemaster were intoned to bless and empower this tincture at the outset of the operation. The operators were consecrated to the red work, and the medicine vessels adorned with magic square, seal, and sigil.

The elected time seemed a spectacularly appropriate and rare moment for this work. It was the Day and Hour of Mars, with the red planet exalted in Capricorn and on the Ascendant. This powerful, earthy Mars was further supported by a trine from an exalted Moon in Taurus, and meanwhile, Jupiter in Mars-ruled Scorpio crowned the zenith (MC). Not only was Mars strong, but Mars, the Rising, Moon, and Sun were all in Earth signs in order to ensure that the planet’s iron blessings were sufficiently rooted in the very bodily goal of this creation.

After the evocations were said, the herbal and animal ingredients were sealed in their alchemical bath for 18 months.

The result, the Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow, is not only rich with the spirit and energy of this powerful Mars election, it also possesses the excellent properties bestowed by the materia of the formulation itself.

The basis for this recipe is the Iron Palm formula of Yu Cheung (1894- 1952), one of the famed Five Tigers of Canton. His iron palm feats were famously documented in the early 1900's by photographers, and though his stone-shattering exploits are too numerous to cover here, there are entire books dedicated to his training methods. Crucially, he was known not just his power of his hands, but also their sensitivity.

This formula was designed by him to cultivate both strength and softness. Protection for the hand, energy gates, and organ systems while also maximizing sensitivity and the capacity to express qi for both healing and striking purposes. Yu Cheung’s formula is the basis for this liniment, though it has been modified in small ways for reasons of both ethics and efficacy.

This liniment is designed to unblock the qi flow, activate blood movement, relax tendons and ligaments and increase bone strength.  The two types of qi this formula stimulates are wei qi or “defensive/guardian energy” and regular organ qi.  This formula activates both in harmony, and is one of the many reasons it is superior to a store-bought dit da jow.

Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow is formulated to facilitate the healing of bruises , tendons, sinews, and bones, and to reduce pain, strengthen blood vessels, reduce swelling, and mitigate blood stagnation. It also protects the meridians and mobilizes both protective and organ qi for health and vitality.

The Forgemaster’s Dit Da Jow is, of course, perfect for an Iron Limb regimen, but has a number of other uses. Both physically and energetically, it is an ideal pre- and post- workout liniment for any martial striking practice, such as boxing and kickboxing. More broadly, it can be used to ready and fortify the muscles, tendons, and joints in preparation for any athletic activity, and to facilitate the swift healing of bruises. Magically, it is appropriate for works of fortification and the cultivation of personal power.