Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Cumin is a spicy herb used in many cuisines around the world.  It has a distinctive odor that always makes me feel warm inside.  There’s a sense of stepping into an Indian or Central American home for me when I catch a whiff of it.  I always imagine the family matriarch cooking something truly delicious.

Cumin is also a potent magickal herb not only in hoodoo but in other disciplines.  Hoodoos use cumin for two very specific issues: protection of property and spousal fidelity.  Cumin seeds and salt, mixed in equal proportions, are sprinkle on the earth while walking backward around the perimeter of one’s property to keep evil at bay.  To keep your mate faithful, simply sprinkle cumin seeds under your shared bed and, that same evening, feed them bread you have baked with cumin seeds in it.  Cumin is also an additive to mojo bags for happy marriages.

Wiccan’s use cumin as a protection against theft, ringing homes, cars and what-have-you with cumin seeds for the purpose.  Old wives in Medieval Germany baked cumin seeds into bread to keep it from being stolen by wood sprites.  A small packet of cumin was sewn into wedding gowns by old wives in Italy to keep the evil eye off a girl on her big day.

Along the same lines, cumin is carried in pocket or purse to encourage peace of mind while away from home.  Cumin is also steeped in wine for seven days.  The wine is then strained into a decanter and offered for drinking to encourage lust.

A final old wives’ tale about cumin, as quoted by Scott Cunningham, is that a person who hopes to grow a successful crop for magickal use must swear and curse as they sow the seeds.  Without this step, the result will be useless for anything but cooking.  As we all know, though, that in itself is decidedly magickal.

Header: Gather Ye Rosebuds by John William Waterhouse c 1909