Mardi: Herbal-Wise

Peaches are by and large considered a mild climate fruit.  In the U.S. they are particularly associated with the South where peach pie and peach cobbler are staples at holiday tables.  Not surprisingly, peach trees figure into hoodoo root work.  They also have ties to Far Eastern and Wiccan magick as well.

In hoodoo, the dried leaves of peach trees are ground down and used to make an oil that is said to help students do well in school and particularly on tests.  Adding dried verbena and sage increases the power of this dressing oil which can be used as a hand wash or to anoint things like pencils, books and other tools of the scholar’s trade.

Wiccans believe that peaches can encourage attraction;  offering a the fruit or a dish made with it – with intention of course – to a potential love interest of either sex can start a romance.  Scott Cunningham notes that the fruit can also be eaten to gain wisdom.

In China, peach tree branches are used in rituals of exorcism.  Chinese children once wore peach pits on necklaces to protect them from demon possession.  In Japan, eating peaches is thought to increase fertility and peach branches were used as divining rods.  Carrying a piece of peach bark was thought to increase longevity and possibly make one immortal.

What ever their use, the fruit of the peach is a treat at any time of the year, particularly if you live somewhere where growing them means a well-kept and spacious greenhouse at your disposal.  Bonne chance ~

Header: Orchard with Peach Trees in Blossom by Vincent van Gogh