Garlic in Folklore, Myth and Magic

Garlic, it is synonymous with protection, vampires and the Evil Eye. It has had a place in folk magic and religion since Ancient Egypt. It has also been associated, historically, with currency, sexual health and courage. Like courage, it is available to everyone.

In order to highlight garlic's protective properties, let's spend some time in Italy. According to Vito Quattrocchi in his writings on magical Catholicism (specifically Benedicaria and The Sicilian Blade II), the plant is synonymous with Saint Michael . That being said, in Southern Italy and Sicily, garlic is Saint Michael--or it is invested with his energy. His book, Benedicaria (which I highly recommend for enthusiasts of folk magic, esoteric Christianity and faith healing), contains a procedure for imbuing a head with the Saint's power of on your altar. According to Sicilian folklore, garlic was placed at the foot of the cross to protect Jesus from demons in his "weakened state," as Quattrocchi puts it.

In an historical context, Pliny claimed that garlic was burned as a spirit during the taking of oaths. He named the plant several times in remediation and ancient medicine. It has been used around the world as an antiseptic, to dress wounds and fight off infection, well into the modern era.

On a magical level, garlic is probably best
know for its European uses. Here we have popular customs for repelling unwanted neighbors, spirits and the Evil Eye. Strings of garlic were usually hung by doorways and whole cloves or heads were placed on the windowsill. This is where the widespread link with vampires (psychic or otherwise) derives, in part.

Garlic can still be used in the magical or talismanic ways listed above. It can be incorporated into kitchen magic or protective work seamlessly. Garlic is readily available, always near us to lend a hand.

Ascended Masters: Fata Morgana

On the surface, Arthurian Legend has little to do with Italian witchcraft.  Geography aside, there is enough contrast in literature and tradition.  But what if we're discussing the King's half sister, Morgan le Fay?

     Morgan's spirit seems to be concerned with borders, oceans and transition.  For this reason, I refer to her as a spirit of transcendence.  When the Normans arrived in Italy during the 11th century, they applied her name to a famous illusion off the Straits of Messina.  These straits, it should be known, separate Sicily from mainland Italy.  In The Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, the straits are home to Scylla and Charybdis, two notorious monsters bested by Odysseus.  It is here, according to Italian folklore, that Fata Morgana keeps a home.

     As an ambiguous sorceress, Morgan was established by writers like Geoffrey of Monmouth and Sir Thomas Mallory.  According to tradition, she plotted against Arthur and stole the famous sword Excalibur.  She is also a healer, credited with curing her wounded brother and presiding over a sisterhood on the isle of Avalon.  Morgan's acts vary depending on who's (re)telling the story.

    Further back in Celtic lore we have Modron, a Welsh spirit who shares many of Morgan's kinder roles and the names of her children.  Like Jesus, Morgan is a synchretic mystic who made herself divine through associations with older spirits.  The Irish Morrigan (a warrior who can take on the form of a crow), Greece's Earth Mother Gaea and the Welsh sorceress Cerridwen have also been linked to Morgan le Fay.

     Call upon Morgan to help you attune with glamoury, enchantment, and the Great Work.  She can also teach you to appreciate synchronicity (according to Malory, she learned magic as a nun) and change.  Morgan makes an excellent mentor.  Her energy is easy to recognize.  She's likely to appear to you in many forms. 

Jesus as Magician

(Originally published December 10, 2011)

For two thousand years Jesus has been invoked to protect the home, the family and the individual. He has been nailed to your wall and worn about your neck.  He is a living spell, a Word of Power and--according to some--a magician.

     For twenty four years I avoided him.  The trouble was everyone had an opinion I was supposed to subscribe to.  Jesus is lord, Jesus is King, Jesus runs the show, etc.  I never had room to interpret him myself.  I never made time to examine the kind eyes, the liberal agenda and the obvious metaphysics of his life. He was born of a virgin, cured the blind, raised the dead and drove off spirits.  Jesus also performs the highest goal of ceremonial magicians, unleashing his divinity.

     There were also ancient claims to Jesus's mystical life.  If we're to believe an Egyptian bowl from Alexandria (evidently conceived between the 2nd century BCE  and 1AD), the first written reference to Jesus describes a magician.  Interestingly enough, an enemy of Christianity named Celsus wrote an account between the 2nd and 3rd Centuries describing Jesus as a magician who learned his skills in Egypt, where the bowl was found.

     Modern evidence suggests that Jesus is a synchronized deity based on "god men" like Horus, Mythras and Heracles.  I couldn't agree more.  Jesus has many roles.  He can help you understand the mystic's life better than most modern magicians.  He can teach you tolerance.  He can help make you aware of spirit and acknowledge your inner-divinity.   Jesus's associations are diverse: he is associated with the sun, the color white, blood, the cross and the color 3.  In Santeria, Jesus is synchronized with Obatala, the creator of human form.