The Magic Of Yuletide Spices

The magic of Yuletide spices

yuletide spices rachel patterson

There are certain spices that we seem to associate with Yule such as ginger, cloves and cinnamon. They taste fantastic and appear in lots of holiday recipes. But did you know they all come packing a huge magical punch?

Use them in your decorations to work spells around the house, add them to your food for festive magic. And pop them in your usual spell working witch bottles, medicine pouches and incense blends.

Cinnamon

(Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cinnamomum verum)

Such a fabulous scent and flavour packing a powerful punch of energy, cinnamon is made from the dried bark of the branches of the tree.

Burn cinnamon as an incense or add to your recipes to bring focus and concentration this will also bring about a deeper spiritual connection and boost your psychic abilities.

Add cinnamon to sachets and pouches or meals to bring about love and success. I often add a pinch of powdered cinnamon to any spell work that needs an extra boost of power. That cinnamon power punch also gives you the strength and courage to make necessary changes in your life.

Tie a bundle of cinnamon with a black or red ribbon and hang it in your hallway to bring protection, love and success to your household.

Wear a dab or two of cinnamon oil when you go on a date for added oh la la. (Might be an idea to dilute with a carrier oil first if your skin is sensitive).

Cinnamon Magical Properties:

Success, healing, power, psychic powers, protection, love, focus, lust, spirituality, changes

Ruling planet – Sun

Element – Fire

Gender – Masculine

Clove

(Eugenia carophyllus, Syzygium aromaticum, Caryophyllus aromaticus)

One of my favourite scents and flavours, cloves are gown on a small evergreen tree, they are the beginnings of the seeds that form just after the flowers.

Add cloves to incense to clear negative energy and increase the spiritual energy in your home.

Use clove oil as a love blessing or add a couple of drops to cider, mead or wine and share with friends to bring your friendship closer. If you want to keep harmony amongst a group of people charge a number of cloves with peace and friendship and then give one to each person to keep with them or bake a big apple pie studded with cloves to share with everyone. If you want to attract a lover cloves can be carried on you for that purpose too.

Keep a clove in your purse or wallet to attract abundance. I think the idea of cloves being for prosperity came about when they were an extremely expensive spice.

Hang a pouch of cloves above your door to stop gossip and bring about protection to those within your home.

Clove Magical Properties:

Love, money, exorcism, clarity, protection, abundance, repels negativity, prevents gossip, stress relief, truth

Ruling planet – Jupiter

Element – Fire

Gender – Masculine

Ginger

(Zingiber officinale)

Ginger is the rhizome from the Zingiber officinale plant, the root can be used fresh (peel it first) or dried and used as powder.

Sliced root ginger dropped into hot water with a splash of honey and a sprinkling of cinnamon makes a delicious drink.

In some parts of the world it was traditional to chew raw ginger then spit it onto a diseased are of the body to cure the illness. Don’t they know it’s rude to spit?

Ginger does have huge healing properties not just medicinally but also magically so add it to healing pouches, witches bottles and incense blends.

Ginger also packs a spicy punch so add it to magical workings to boost the energy and can also be used to speed things up and bring about a successful outcome. Eat some ginger before your spell work to increase your magical power. In fact, you can add it to any recipe to boost the magical intent.

Ginger has a history of being used in love and passion spells so for that romantic meal spice it up with a hit of ginger.

Make a simple ginger oil by infusing root ginger into base oil and then anoint your purse or wallet with the oil to keep money coming in.

Folklore says that growing a ginger plant from the root placed in water in your home will attract good health and prosperity.

Hang a piece of root ginger over your doorway to bring protection to your house and sprinkled powdered ginger around your property to keep trouble out.

Ginger Magical Properties:

Healing, power, love, passion, success, prosperity, protection

Ruling planet – Mars

Element – Fire

Gender – Masculine

Nutmeg

(Myristica fragrans)

Nutmeg hails from a tall tree with smooth greyish bark that flowers three times a year. It takes nine years before the tree produces its first crop. The nutmeg we are familiar with is the seed which is covered by an outer shell that we know as mace, they are separated and then dried.

Carry nutmeg with you for good luck and to attract money to you. A whole nutmeg makes an excellent good luck charm.

Sprinkle nutmeg (powdered not lots of whole ones…) around your property to protect against negative energy.

Keep a whole nutmeg under your bed to ensure that fidelity in your relationship stays solid.

Nutmeg is sometimes used in place of High John the Conqueror in spell work.

Nutmeg Magical Properties:

Money, luck, fidelity, protection

Ruling planet – Jupiter

Element – Fire

Gender – Masculine

Star Anise

(Illicum verum)

An ancient herb, the star shape seeds of Star Anise come from an evergreen shrub and the seedpods are picked just before the fruit ripens and are dried in the sun. The star shape of the seed lends itself to all sorts of magical correspondences and representations. They have a delicious aniseed aroma and taste.

Place star anise in the corner of each room in your home to bring luck. Keep a whole star anise on your altar to help keep a spiritual connection. Place a star anise beneath your pillow to induce prophetic dreams and also to help you sleep.

Burn star anise as an incense to purify and protect your home and also to help increase your psychic powers or wear one in an amulet or pouch to provide psychic protection and keep away evil.

Make a sachet of star anise and bay to pop into your bath water to purify and cleanse your aura and energies.

It is also a good herb to use in New Moon rituals and spell work along with New Moon recipe dishes.