breelandwalker:Pomegranate (Punica granatum) Magical Uses: Divination Luck Wishes Wealth Fertility F
breelandwalker:Pomegranate (Punica granatum)Magical Uses:DivinationLuckWishesWealthFertilityFire MagicSacred to Persephone and CeresPomegranate is considered a lucky fruit, imbued with much magic. Eat one before making a wish to help it come true. The seeds can be eaten to increase fertility, or the dried skin carried for the same purpose. The skin can also be added to wealth or money incenses. Branches of pomegranate used as a dowsing rod can reveal concealed treasures, or when carried as a charm or hung in the home attracts money to the person. Hang the branches over the door to ward off evil. Pomegranate juice is often used as a magical ink and can be used as a blood substitute for spell or ritual work.From Cunningham:Women who wish to know how many children they will have should throw a pomegranate hard on the ground. The number of seeds which fall out indicated the number of their offspring.Pomegranates have come to be a symbol of the change of the seasons, due to their prominent role in the story of Hades and Persephone. Greek legend tells us that Persephone, daughter of Demeter (Ceres) the grain goddess, was taken to the Underworld to be the bride of Hades. She was eventually retrieved, but whilst there, she ate nothing except a few seeds from a pomegranate (sources differ on the amount, either three or six), and thus was bound to return to the Underworld for one month each year for every seed that she ate. While many traditions hold that Persephone is a happy bride and returns gladly to her husband each fall, Demeter grieves when her daughter goes away, and the world descends into cold and darkness until Persephone returns, and her mother’s joy at the reunion warms the world into spring.Practical/Medical Uses:Pomegranates are high in anti-oxidants and very tasty. The juice has become popular both as a beverage as an a dietary supplement.Folk Names: Carthage Apple, Grenadier, Malicorio, Malum Punicum, Pound Garnet, Granatum[Sources: Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2nd Ed.), Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn, 1984; Bree’s own kitchen witch wisdom] -- source link
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