Updated: Nov 30, 2023
Cloves
Cloves come from the flower buds of an evergreen tree that is native to the North Moluccas Islands in Indonesia. These islands were once known as the Spice Islands, particularly Ambon, where experts believe the oldest clove tree in the world still stands. Clove is a member of the Myrtle family and is related to allspice and eucalyptus. All the cloves you purchase in the U.S. are imported and therefore not bioregional.
Clove is one of my favorite scents and I don't want to have to ever fully break-up with this spice. However, knowing it's grown far away and is not something that can thrive here, I have to take a beat whenever I am considering using it in my Witchcraft.
Magickal Uses
In Witchcraft, cloves are used for courage,confidence and in spells to stop-gossip. Some practitioners also use clove to dispel Spirits, attract love, to attain prosperity, wealth, success and money drawing, and even strengthening psychic shielding.
Clove & Climate Change
Cloves are very sensitive to climate change. They require sufficient rain during the flowering process followed by a dry season for two to three months.
Prolonged summer will increase levels of the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) in the clove tree. As a result, the stomata that allow CO2 to enter the plant will close, inhibiting photosynthesis. Excessive heat also inhibits cloves from getting water and nutrition.
On top of that, clove roots are short, meaning if it is too hot it will be difficult for the plant to get sufficient water and won't survive.
On the other hand, too much rain will accelerate production of the hormone gibberellin acid (GA), which affects plant growth. Too much of the GA hormone will turn new buds into leaves rather than flowers, leading to a sharp decline in the clove harvest.
While clove is not currently listed as endangered, it may be on its way to being
at risk. This may be especially true for the Maluku Islands where clove is native. The frequency of extreme weather events is increasing, and this holds true for the places where clove is able to grow. Without any serious policy measures to reduce emissions, the Earth's temperature is predicted to rise beyond 3 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels by 2030. Plants that live in a certain temperature range will not survive if it is too hot. Spices that require these temperatures to stay below that range, like cloves and nutmeg, are likely among of them.
The ideal temperature for cloves to grow is between 25-32 degrees Celsius with an average rainfall of 1,500mm - 3,500mm. Clove farmers are experiencing unprecedented drops in yields due to finicky growing conditions of temperatures being too hot, not enough rainfall, and too much rain. This is not how it's always been. This is new, and these small farmers who have grown clove in their families for hundreds of years are scared and unsure what to do.
At the beginning of each year, farmers anxiously wait for the next harvest. Annual clove yields are no longer certain. In a good year farmers can earn tens of millions of rupiah, but more often they can barely cover the costs of the labor needed to harvest the cloves and are struggling at times just to meet their own daily needs.
In recent years the weather has become increasingly erratic and the fluctuations are wreaking havoc on crop yields. Early summer, which is usually hot, can see sudden rainfall. Excess amounts of rain will prevent clove trees from flowering, turning the buds into leaves. If the dry season is too long, the clove plants will dry up and die. In good years farmers can harvest a ton of cloves with no problem, but in other years when conditions are unpredictable due to climate change, the yield can plummet to tens of kilograms or less.
One way we can help is to stop contributing to the demand for clove and other imported spices. A U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed that Americans have dramatically embraced spices over the past 50 years: Per capita spice consumption in 1966 was 1.2 pounds annually, while that figure more than tripled by 2015 to 3.7 pounds. Not even our parents and grandparents were using spices as much as we were.
When it comes to Witchcraft, I think about the farmers that grow my clove. I think about how the land where that clove grows is suffering. I think about how the people who grow the clove are struggling to feed themselves and their families and pay their laborers. And I ask myself why I think my desire for clove outweighs the impact my consumption of that clove has on those who live in the regions where it grows. We as consumers are simultaneously stripping these regions of their resources, while giving nothing back and doing nothing to help them survive the ravages of climate change. So I have to take a beat. I have to consider all this every time I reach for clove. I have to honor the spice I already have on hand by not wasting it, while being conscientious and intentional when deciding whether or not to purchase it again.
Alternatives to Clove
I know I've talked many times before about my process for how I break down an herb's attributes and build a custom list of correspondences that fit my own practice and what grows locally. I can't stress how vital these steps are to developing your own personalized herbal practice.
The scent of clove can only be remotely substituted by other spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice, and those are all in the same imported, climate changing boat as clove. Unfortunately, these spices are so popular and loved because they are so unique. There is nothing else that has the intoxicating aroma of clove that I can substitute it with. I have to focus instead on the Spiritual and energetic constituents that I find within clove for my magickal practice.
Clove to me is happy fiery and solar, warming and exciting. Which makes sense when you learn about its native climate and growing conditions required for it to flourish.
The scent and flavor profile of cloves include spicy, sweet, warm, aromatic, fruity, woody, floral, balsamic, minty, and peppery. That's a huge range of olfactory and palated delight. No wonder we find this spice so desirable!!
So, let's start with woods that might make good alternatives, energetically. First, we know clove comes from an evergreen, so we can look to our own local evergreens as first options. Where I live, evergreen varieties of Pine, Cedar, Fir, Spruce, Juniper and Hemlock are common, and most can be found around the U.S.
Then I consider the other parts of clove's profile. Aromatic and balsamic notes bring me to Balsam Fir, and possibly to Thuja, aka White Cedar. The warm and sweet, fruity and floral aspects brings to mind Balsam Poplar buds and flowers, something I work with closely and can't fully describe the sweet, complex aromatic notes it produces when infused into oil or tinctured.
One major traditional magickal use for clove that I personally like it for is stop gossip work. Stop gossip herbs and ingredients can also include Slippery Elm, or the more bioregional substitute of Marshmallow Root. Alum is another ingredient I personally love using in stop gossip workings. It's a mineral found and mined here in the U.S. and has the energy of 'puckering' the loose lips of anyone who dares gossip about you. I like to add chunks to spell jars, ground for herbal powders, oils and dressings for candles for this purpose. Stop Gossip work doesn't require herbs to be effective. Stop Gossip is a binding spell. It halts an action and this can be achieved in a variety of ways. Sewing a beef tongue is traditional, but a poppet or doll baby with their mouth sewed shut or stuffed full so it can't speak your name can also be done. The jawbone of an animal is another effective tool or ingredient in your spellcraft to magickally bind or control what others have to say about you. Nails, pins or thorns through any animal tongue or through a candle representing your target's mouth or tongue is an excellent spell, too. Some freezer spells can be effective for this, as can wrapping a candle inscribed with your gossiping tormentor's name with cording and burned down. Bindweed is an all-purpose herb that works for a variety of binding spells, as is any vexing vine that grows where you live. These are just some ideas and suggestions. Take these and run with them. Let them inspire you to consider what you have around you that can be used for this type of work.
Cloves for attracting wealth and prosperity is another traditional way this herb has been used. I've talked extensively about money-drawing herbs before, and alternatives for them that are bioregional. Keep in mind that one reason clove may be aligned with wealth is because like many exotic spices of antiquity, only the wealthy elite could get their hands on it or afford it. So to possess clove indicated a certain level of success had been achieved. Another possible connection to why clove is used for prosperity spells, is that it exudes Solar, happy, fiery energy, and connects to the colors of the golden Sun. All Solar herbs and plants like this will be suitable for money work, including citrusy ones like oranges and Pine. Also, green leafy plants like Alfalfa or Basil. Money is connected to the Earth element, so Earthy plants like Patchouli and Cedar are also very well aligned to this goal.
Finally, cloves are excellent at driving away hostile forces, cleansing and raising the energy of a person or space. Mint is an excellent alternative for these, and is often a natural note detected in clove. Other herbs and ingredients that can do one or all of these jobs include salt, Lemon, vinegar, Pine, Sagebrush, Rue, Rosemary, and Angelica.
Final Thoughts
Right now I have a good supply of clove, acquired before I was educated on imported spices, and will continue to sparingly use what I have for as long as I can. However, I am already working on new recipes and mixtures for my spellcraft that replaces my cloves with something new. One day I will run out, and when that day comes, I will appreciate the work I'm doing now so I can make more intentional, educated choices, and so I can connect even more to my local Land Spirits and biomes.
However you use clove, I hope this helps give you some ideas and inspiration for working with your enchanted ingredients that bring your practice more into harmony with the Land and your magick!
Love,
Blog posts are available to access free for 30-days. To access older blog posts, please purchase a subscription plan, (plans start at just $1.99/mo) that fits your needs. Thank you for supporting my work!