• Pink Peppercorn

    Schinus molle

    Rulership:  Venus & Mars, united as one

    Number:  11

    Magickal Properties:  Protection through Coyote Medicine, Positivity, Sustained Action, Attraction of Complimentary Energies, Guidance to Divine Purpose

    As the flocks of Simurgh flew over the arid slopes of the Peruvian Andes, my seeds lit upon the ground and took root.  I flourished in these majestic highlands.  Venus blessed me with her beauty and grace and it was my beauty that initially attracted the sons and daughters of man to taste of my fruit.  My limbs, flowers, and berries are delicate and graceful.  And my aroma is quite intoxicating.  Venus was not content to keep me to herself and she called Mars to me, enticing him to lend me his powers.  For in me she saw a great will to live in a place that despite its haunting beauty was fraught with all manner of calamity.  What appears as delicate and fragile is actually, bold, strong, courageous, and active.

    And so it was that I became to have a dual purpose and nature.  This duality allows me to be a great trickster and coyote walks beside me.  Man uses me as black pepper, the piper nigrum, which truly is ruled by Mars and Mars alone.  But I fooled man, for I am not even remotely related to the piper nigrum.  Man is not the only species to be tricked by me.  The moths that love to feed upon nigrum’s branches, relish mine as well.

    Respect me and I will show you how to trick and outwit your opponents, overcome hardship, and lead you to your true calling.  My energy works by attracting, initiating and sustaining action.  I am evergreen and never rest.  I can attract to you, your most complimentary mate and inspire you to initiate contact.  Ask, and I will attract to you the memories of a time before the veil—the memories of your pre-birth desires.  And I will give you a most powerful urge to initiate down the path of their manifestation.  I will soothe your nerves, allow you to fixate on a focused goal, and give you the energy to pursue it, all at the same time.

    For mundane purposes, I can be useful as an insecticide diluted and sprayed around plants and the home.  My resins have been used to heal small ulcer-like wounds and to set bones.  My essential oil, mixed with a carrier oil and massaged into the affected area can comfort those with sore muscles and menstrual cramps. My aroma can brighten the mood and energize those who suffer melancholy.  Sprinkle my crushed berries onto food for a uniquely floral, peppery kick.

    My essential oils contain limonene which can be quite toxic to your four-legged friends and small children. Keep me far out of reach.  Never diffuse me or bring me into direct contact with household pets, infants, sensitive children, and pregnant or nursing mothers.

    Respect my strength, use me wisely and I will serve you well.

    Aromatic Description: The smell of black pepper with citrus and a hint of floral undertones.

    Warnings:  Potentially toxic to dogs, cats, children, and unborn children.  Avoid contact with eyes, inner ears, and sensitive areas.  When using any new essential oils it is wise to conduct a skin patch test on the inner forearm before extended use.  Monitor the use of all essential oils. Allergies and sensitivities can develop at any time.

    Active Compounds:

    RIa compound %

    918 α-thujene 0.1

    923 α-pinene 0.2

    931 camphene 0.3

    953 sabinene 0.2

    959 1-octen-3-ol 0.1

    968 myrcene 4.1

    976 3-octanol 0.1

    984 α-phellandrene 26.5

    997 p-cymene 3.8

    1007 limonene 8.6

    1011 β-phellandrene 12.4

    1048 terpinolene 0.1

    1091 linalool 0.5

    1132 α-campholenal 0.1

    1154 camphor 2.1

    1168 borneol 1.8

    1180 terpinen-4-ol 0.1

    1197 α-terpineol 0.1

    1238 nerol 0.2

    1286 bornyl acetate 0.4

    1282 thymol 0.5

    1329 benzyl butyrate 0.3

    1343 α-terpinyl acetate 0.8

    1371 hexyl hexanoate 0.2

    1384 1-tetradecene 0.6

    1396 β-elemene 0.3

    1443 γ-cadinene 0.4

    1452 bicyclogermacrene 4.1

    1467 germacrene A 0.3

    1475 δ-cadinene 1.9

    1497 elemol 10.8

    1509 germacrene B 0.8

    1528 spathulenol 1.4

    1547 caryophyllene oxide 0.1

    1593 1,10-di-epi-cubenol 3.8

    1611 α-eudesmol 6.1

    1648 β-eudesmol 4.2

    1656 α-cadinol 0.1

     

     

     

  • Invoking the Guardians

    It was a typical foggy morning on the moor.  The sound of the surf, blasting into the sheer cliff walls of limestone, made its way through the dense fog to Dharma’s cottage door.  It was the tiniest of cottages, and its thick stone walls were quickly warmed by the glowing fire in the hearth.  At least one fire was lit there every day in Brigid’s name.  On chill foggy mornings as this, Brigid’s flame made the cottage a warm and cozy cocoon.  Dharma could see glimpses of Jaime’ proudly parading about the meadow outside of her small window.  Her relationship with the giant, breathtaking Simurgh was still new.  Dharma didn’t yet have a firm grasp on just how to work with a familiar and had never expected one so magnificent to heed her call.  For now, she was comforted by Jaime’s presence and was enjoying their daily mental conversations.

    But on this morning, as she sipped the fragrant French espresso and savored the rich pain au chocolat, her mental conversation was taken over by a different voice.  This voice was not the blast of love and warmth that came from her familiar, Jaime’.  No, this was a kind voice, yet it had an underlying steely and steadfast resolve.

    “And so, Dharma, what do you remember about invoking the guardians?  For the past several moons, you have been asking me over and over in your mind.  Has it come to you?  What have you learned since you made your leap over the great waters and crafted a new life in a new country?”

    Dharma gazed out the window and pondered this question as Jaime’ bent her massive dragon-like head to graze a bit.  Looking back in her mind’s eye, Dharma could see that she had learned much in this regard.

    “It’s not what I had expected.  It’s not as if a luminescent form comes knocking at your door with a bottle of wine in their hands and says, “Hey, how’s it going?”  But if you lay a plate out for dinner, light a candle in a guardian’s name anointed with their favorite essence, and invite them in, they will join you in the conversations one has in one’s own mind, just as you are doing with me now,” replied Dharma.

    “And is that all one has to take into consideration?  What you have recited to me is no more information than what is offered by the proliferation of magick books that you so often complain of as being inadequate.  What is missing?”

    Dharma paused for a moment, and just as she took that one small simple moment to breath, the realization of what was missing hit her hard and fast.  It was a concept that had consumed her during the past frenzied months of traversing continents.  “It’s the veil, the veil controlled by the geldrbaryn.  When you first came to visit me the veil was so thin.  You could show me a visual of yourself and speak to me clearly in the dreamscape without hardly any symbolism.  That is how I knew clearly your identity.  You are Circe, guardian of magick and you were able to emblazon that fact clearly into my brain because the veil was so thin at that moment.”

    Circe prodded, “Think Dharma, what was it that made the veil so thin that November?”

    Dharma was on a roll now, the clear direct answer to every question she had posited on the subject was illuminated in a moment of divine awareness.  “It’s the energy!  Everything is energy, just like Tesla said.  It was in the natal chart–you, Tara, Minerva, Brigid, and Demeter–your asteroids were all transiting my natal Sun in the star chart that November day, and you all came through together into my dreamscape!”

    Circe was pleased.  “Yes, the star chart is an energy map.  When a heavenly body is merged with a guardian’s spiritual essence and is orbiting in transit of your natal planets and significant points, we—the guardians—are able to pierce the veil more easily.  The veil is thinnest at the natal Sun.  Yet there is still more to consider.”

    “Yes” Dharma beamed.  “You, Minerva, Brigid, and Demeter were all with me the day I was born.  Minerva was conjunct my sun, Brigid was conjunct my Venus, Demeter was conjunct my North Node and you were conjunct my Part of Fortune.”

    “Tara was not with you on the day that you were born, was she?  Yet she facilitated the event, she was the driver of the white van in the dreamscape–she brought us through the veil.  Why was she able to do this?” queried Circe.

    “It all goes back to energy,” Dharma exclaimed.  “All those years ago, a full 18 years in earth time—I practiced a daily devotion to Tara.  I lit incense in her name and chanted to her daily for at least a year solid.  It created a bond between us, didn’t it?  I thought it was a silly waste of time, but it created an energetic bridge between me and Tara.”

    “Yes, but it is not offerings that brought Tara close to you. What do you think it was?”

    “Respect”  boomed Dharma.  The offerings have never made sense to me.  Why would someone devoted to our well-being require offerings?  It goes against the natural order of things. But, I must say, when we make the offerings we are actively showing respect.”

    “Yes,” Circe’s voice was strong and direct.  “There is NO magick without respect, for respect is the seed for all magickal work.  And that, my dear girl, is why the geldrbaryn have worked so hard to strip this world of it.   They have distorted the concept of respect to the point that the sons and daughters of man scarcely grasp its most rudimentary forms.  There are much better ways of showing respect than giving offerings and those ways are buried in your memories, Dharma.  You thought you weren’t a witch, you thought your spell to remember didn’t work.  And what do you think now Dharma?  Are you a witch, do you remember?”