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Irvine, CA (diamondrocket.com) Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - 

The magic properties of garlic might have been hijacked by horror fiction and Hollywood long ago but this powerful herb remains a potent force all on its own.  Both magically and medicinally, the beneficial properties of garlic can be summed up in one word: protection.

Magical Uses for Garlic
As is sometimes the case, the line between medicine and magic are rather blurred when it comes to garlic.  Its magical properties can go a long way to protect against many diseases.  In medieval Europe it was used against the plague.  Protection comes from its ability to absorb these diseases.  Most uses of it require the used gloves be conclusively discarded.  If you feel that you’ve come in contact with a disease, rub a raw clove on your body then throw it into running water.  A rather specific ritual against hepatitis involves wearing thirteen cloves of garlic on a cord around your neck for thirteen days.  At the end of the thirteenth day – at midnight – walk to the intersection of two streets and toss the garlic behind you and run home without looking back.

Not surprisingly, garlic can also be used as protection again misfortune and evil.  Sailors wear garlic to prevent ship wrecks and garlic powder sprinkled throughout your house can ward off evil.  When placed under children’s pillows it can provide them with protection while they sleep and garlic rubbed into cooking and storage vessels can prevent food spoilage.

Besides protecting against evil, garlic can also pluck up one’s courage.  Roman soldiers used to eat some before battle.  Though the courage may be a side effect of garlic’s intense proactive properties it brings courage nonetheless. 

Medicinal Uses for Garlic

Garlic has been used as a cure for many human ailments for thousands of years.  The Chinese have long celebrated its medicinal qualities and used it for respiratory problems and high blood pressure.  The ancient Egyptians used it to fight heart ailments, tumors, headaches, worms and bites.  It is used in a remedy sold in southern France called Four Thieves Vinegar.  The name comes from the story of four convicted criminals who were forced to bury plague victims in Marseilles.  These four never caught the plague themselves because they regularly drank a mixture of crushed garlic and vinegar.

Modern medicine is catching up with the wisdom of the ancients with regard to the curative properties of garlic.  Its uses against infection, high blood pressure, cancer, respiratory ailments and even worms and parasites are being actively studied today.

While science works to prove the benefits of garlic to itself, garlic is still used today.  Its protective abilities have long been known.  Luckily you don’t have to wait for garlic to be approved – it’s already available at farmers markets and food stores all over.  Go pick up a clove of protection anytime you want!

Resources:
Carr, Anna, et al.  Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs.  Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1987.
Cunningham, Scott.  Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.  St. Paul, MN:  Lleewellyn Publications, 2003.