Clove
Traditional Uses
Clove is among the oldest globally traded spices. It has been used as a culinary seasoning, breath freshener, aromatic, incense ingredient, preservative spice, and component of traditional household and medicinal preparations.
Folklore
For centuries, the Maluku Islands were the world’s principal clove source, making cloves exceptionally valuable in long-distance trade. European competition for control of the spice trade dramatically reshaped clove cultivation and distribution.
Magical Associations
- Protection
- prosperity
- friendship
- courage
Core Correspondences
- Element:
- Fire
- Planet:
- Jupiter (common
- Deities:
- Jupiter/Zeus · deity
- Energy:
- Protective, warming
- Chakra:
- Root
Witchcraft Uses
- Protection sachets and bowls
- prosperity work
- incense
- candle dressing
- friendship and reconciliation work
Caution
Dried culinary cloves are not equivalent to concentrated clove essential oil. Essential oil is potent and requires proper dilution and handling.
How to Work With
Use whole dried cloves in simmer pots, protection bowls, charm bags, or incense blends. Their strong scent allows a small amount to carry a blend.
Best Time to Harvest
Harvest flower buds before they open, typically when they have developed full size and begin changing color toward pink/red.
Correspondences
Color: Deep brown, red-brown • Number: 4 is a • Tarot: Strength or Wheel • Metal: Tin, by Jupiter