Yes, vegetables can be magickal, too. Sure, they are not as fun as tasty herbs or as artistic as drawing runes in your mashed potatoes. But isn't it nice to know that your grocer's vegetable bins contain magickal items? A kitchen witch shouldn't be caught without knowing their lore and magickal uses....
Choose a vegetable below to find out more about it:
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Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus)
Lore: Ancient Greek myth states that an angry god turned a beautiful woman into the first artichoke because he was jealous of her looks. The artichoke originated in the Mediterranean region. The ancient Romans enjoyed them as a luxury food, preserving them in brine or vinegar.
Magickal Uses: Protection, growth, and safety, associated with Mars and the Fire element. A member of the thistle family, the artichoke is associated with protection because of it's sharp outer points and prickly inside. (Return to Top)
Cabbage
Lore: People who feared Friday the 13th at one time placed cabbage leaves on their foreheads to ward off evil spirits. Cabbage was so valued in ancient Greece that officials passed a law in 621 BCE that proscribed the death penalty for anyone caught stealing cabbages. The ancient Greeks also thought that eating a head of cabbage everyday would cure insanity and nervous conditions.
Magickal Uses: Protection and money, associated with the Moon and the Water element. Serve cabbage on the night of the Full Moon, and after magickal/spiritual rituals. Cabbage can also be eaten to internalize protection. Green cabbage is good for money-drawing. (Return to Top)
Celery
Lore: Celery has long been known as an aphrodisiac. Ancient Roman women ate celery to increase their sexual appetites. Celery soup was a favorite dish at Madame de Pompadour's salon for just this purpose. Modern science has found that cooked celery emits a type of pheromone, the sex-attracting chemical secreted by humans and animals.
Magical Uses: Sex, peace, psychic awareness, , grounding and weight loss, associated with Mercury and the Fire element. Make a celery soup, visualizing that your sexual appetites will increase. Or use a different visualization with raw or cooked celery to soothe and bring peace. Use celery seed as a seasoning to strengthen psychic awareness. (Return to Top)
Chile
Lore: Chile pepper were cultivated in Mexico 9,000 years ago. The Aztecs used chile peppers in exorcism rituals. Chile peppers were recently banned from one state's prison system because the burning vegetable can be used as a weapon. The Spanish conquistadors were repelled in some parts of South America by the smoke of burning chiles. In modern-day New Mexico, some people burn the core of a red bell pepper on Friday nights to ward off evil from harmful humans.
Magickal Uses: Protection, associated with planet Mars, the Greek God Ares, and the Fire element. Add jalapeno, cayenne, or bell peppers to guard against negative energies.
The various colors of peppers have different associations:
Cucumber(Cucumus sativus)
Lore: Fresh cucumbers were once placed under a stricken woman's nose to help her recover from "the vapors". In Africa, the Nuer sometimes consecrate a small wild cucumber and sacrifice it in place of a treasured ox during ceremonies.
Magickal Uses: Peace and healing, associated with the Moon and the Water element. Add cucumbers to your diet when peace is desired. Peel and eat a raw cucumber for quick relief from stress. Eat while ill to encourage healing. (Return to Top)
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Lore: Lettuce was sacred to the god Min in ancient Egypt; it was commonly placed in tombs and offered to Him. Min, a phallic god, ruled over vegetation of all kinds. He liked lettuce because of its greenness and milky sap (produced when the core is squeezed). Lettuce was naturally related to the act of procreation and to fertility. Wild lettuce contains opiates and the juice was once drunk to bring on a natural sleep. (Common iceberg lettuce contains virtually no opiates.)
Magickal Uses: Peace, relaxation, money, and celibacy, associated with the Moon and the Water element. Eat lettuce while visualizing peace and tranquillity. Add lettuce to money attracting diets. The god Min not withstanding, lettuce is also eaten to cool sexual desire. (Return to Top)
Olive (Olea europanae)
Lore: The olive was sacred to Aten and Ra in ancient Egypt; Minerva, Apollo and Juno in Rome; Athena and Aristaeus in Greece; Brahma in the Middle East. Olive oil, in high demand in ancient times, actually led to the downfall of Greece. Farmers began growing olives almost exclusively, ignoring food crops. So Greece had to rely on imported food. When import lines were cut, Greeks suffered. Olive oil was used in as a base for scented oils used in religious rituals.
Magickal Uses: Spirituality, health, peace, and sex, associated with the Sun and Air element. Add olives or olive oil for spirituality-awakening diets. Olives are good snacks after rituals. Olives can also be eaten for peace and to reduce stress. (Return to Top)
Onion (Allium cepa)
Lore: Chicago was named for the local Native American's term for the wild onions growing in the area. In ancient Egypt, onions were included in charms to keep ghosts away from children. At winter solstice in ancient Egypt, revellers wore onions around their necks. Onions, bread, and beer made up the basic ancient Egyptian diet. In the 1700's, English herbalist Gerarde prescribed the use of onions in weight-loss diets. Halved onions have been kept in the kitchen to absorb evil.
Magickal Uses: Protection and weight loss, associated with Mars and the Fire element. In general onion are eaten to boost protective armor, which is created by the energy flow of the body. The sharper the taste, the more effective the onion will be. (Return to Top)
Pumpkin
Lore: According to early American legend, if half a pumpkin is left exposed in the kitchen, negative energies will arrive to spoil the cooking. Pumpkins are carved in the United states on Halloween to scare away evil. Pumpkins can be a part of Wiccan Samhain celebrations as symbols of the fruitfulness of the earth. Pumpkins are also symbols of the Mother Goddess.
Magickal Uses: Add pumpkin dishes to health diets. Eat the seeds after roasting them, or enjoy pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread. It is also a money-attractant. (Return to Top)
Tomato
Lore: Known as zictomatl to the Aztecs, the tomato is an ancient food. But it was only introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Europeans at first thought it was poisonous because its leaves, flowers, and fruit were similar to those of the nightshade family.
Magickal Uses: Health, money, love, and protection, associated with Venus and the Water element. Tomatoes can be used in a variety of ways: tomato sauce, tomato juice, pizza, etc. (Return to Top)