Pepper Magick and Lore

• Ruler: Mars
• Type: Spice
• Magickal Form: ground, whole

Heat producing and fiery chili pepper makes a great lust ingredient. Add to coconut and chocolate to turn up the flames of desire. Place a circle of red peppercorns around a photograph of your lover to keep others away from him or her.

Pepper is also used for war and separation spells. Sprinkle white pepper in the corners of a room to overcome anger and dissension. Black pepper and peppercorns can hurt others or give protection. Black pepper mixed with salt and sulfur gets rid of someone you don’t want around.

Cayenne pepper makes a good boundary, and can be used to seal a sacred circle protecting those inside the circle from negative or harmful energies.

• See also: Peppercorns and Binding Agreements

One of the oldest and simplest spells in hoodoo is to throw ground black pepper and salt after departing witches or unpleasant people, to prevent them from returning. Sweeping the mixture out after them with a broom makes the trick stronger.

More Pepper Lore

It is bad luck to spill pepper because this will start a fight. The way to remedy this is by putting sugar on the spilled pepper, and leaving it there until it’s cleaned up.

It’s also bad luck to hand pepper to someone. it means you will have an argument with them. Alternatively, if you wish to create problems between a couple, you might be able to organize a situation whereby they hand each other some pepper, in which case, the argument is something you might want.

To prevent something nasty from happening, knock on wood while reciting “peppar, peppar, ta i trä” so they’re not jinxed. It means, “Pepper, pepper, touch wood.”

Sources:

• The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients
• Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic