Clever Cloves

You can see why Clove has been a valued medicinal herb for thousands of years, tracing back as early as 266 B.C. in the Far East.

And now that we know the full range of Cloves benefits...let's get back to those Holidays!

Traditional Clove Oranges and Clove Apple Pomanders

Is there anyone who hasn't, at some point in their life, made or been given one of these wonderful aromatic treats? They're easy to make, and only require a piece of citrus fruit, usually orange (you can use an apple as well), about 2 ounces of whole Cloves per a regular sized orange, and patience. From then on it's easy...just push in the Cloves all over the surface of the fruit, puncturing the skin. You want the entire surface to be covered in Cloves, with no gaps. Consider wearing a thimble for this job, or even piercing the fruit with a needle or small nail and then inserting the Clove into the ready-made hole. Dust your pomander with a fixative such as orris root to set the fragrance. You can even add another layer of scent by dusting them with a mixture of ½ orris root and ½ cinnamon. When completed, take your pomander(s) and let them dry in a dark, well ventilated area for about 4 weeks. When the fruit is completely dry, you can run a ribbon through it with a large needle for hanging, or set them in a bowl for decoration and aromatherapy. Any citrus fruit will make perfect pomanders with subtly different scents, try using lemons or limes as well.

Gardening with Clove

Clove is a non-hardy, evergreen tree that grows from 15-30 feet in height. While it will do fine in ordinary soil with full sun or part shade, don't get your hopes up unless you live in a warm, wet, tropical climate. Which is unfortunate, as the entire tree is wonderfully aromatic and attractive as well, with long glossy green leaves, and large oblong berries. The Clove bud we use is actually the unopened flower bud. I'll be planting one right next to that sandalwood tree in my imaginary dream garden!

Magical Use

GENDER: Masculine
PLANET: Jupiter, Uranus
ELEMENT: Fire

Clove has quite a varied list of magical properties. Here are just a few:

• Clove can be burned as an incense to cleanse and drive away negative energies, and to draw prosperity in the form of riches.
• Clove burned as
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