“Eat leeks in March and garlic in May, then the rest of the year, your doctor can play.”
~ Welsh saying
It’s scientific name: Allium Sativum
Originated: Central Asia, more specifically North Eastern Iran
Cultivation: 4000 years ago records show it being grown in Mesopotamia. Grows easily in warmer climates but can also be grown in colder ones with proper maintenance
In the kitchen: called an aromatic (with a pungent aroma and taste), can eat raw or cooked, a staple in many dishes and cuisines from soups and sauces to roast meats and from Asia and Europe to South America.
Historical uses have been recorded in Ancient Egypt and Greece as well as more modern uses such as being used as a medical tool in both World Wars.
Ancient Egyptians used it in embalming (garlic was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb) as well as in food and medicine. First and foremost they believed it would help them to live longer and stronger. In fact, it is said that nobles gave their slaves garlic while building the pyramids in order to keep up their strength and this rings even truer when you find out that 1 of 2 slave uprisings happened because of a lack of garlic.
Ancient Greeks ate garlic before athletic competitions for similar reasons. They also believed it could “do anything” from curing asthma to preventing the spread of smallpox (and modern science even says they were onto something.)
Garlic is associated with darkness, death, evil and the underworld in many cultures and religions. In Muslim, Hindu, Indian, Greek, Jain, Buddhist, Mesopotamian beliefs (I know this list is confusing because it is a mix of practices and culture) you can find a link to one or all prats of this association. Whether that is the origin of garlic (the Devil's footsteps or demons blood) or its association to death due to its pungent odour and its growing underground or its ability to keep negativity at bay, it’s found almost everywhere. We even see this crossover to media; what keeps vampires away? Alongside this garlic and other alliums (onions and leeks) are viewed as impure in some way and therefore in both modern and ancient practices many choose not to eat them, specifically Jain and Buddhist practices. Jain beliefs view the plants to be impure while Buddhists avoid them because of their stimulation qualities (both in the matter of creating a grounding energy as well as garlic being viewed as an aphrodisiac.)
Beyond this association with death and impurity also comes an association with protection which starts off seeming counter intuitive but when you think about it if garlic appeases chthonic deities then it would make sense that appeasing those deities would hold off on the negativity they are associated with. In Greece and Turkey (and I would think, perhaps, Italy as well) garlic is seen as a powerful force against the evil eye. So powerful so that just uttering the word may be enough (in Greece at least) and a common turn of phrase: “garlic in your eyes,” is used when something unlucky happens, akin to knock on wood or when you say something and have that, “I just jinxed myself,” thought.
There are quite a few beliefs around the protection of children and also of protection against specific entities. Depending on where you are this could be against the fae, demons or specific evil entities like Kallikantzaroi in Greece or Vampires in Europe. You may need to put garlic under your child's bed, above a door or window or wear it about your person. Check out the Familiar Territory link below for some cultural specifics.
The final use I saw in a few cultures is as an aphrodisiac. As well as possibly making you stronger and more adept at physical challenges as the Greeks and Egyptians believed it may help you in other physical ways as well. I saw this mostly specified for male virility and a few different cultures (Chinese and Danish are the ones I saw but there may be more) have some sort of ritual surrounding marriage and fertility. Both of these have the groom wearing garlic (among other things) within their clothing to help make the honeymoon "successful."
Magickal Uses
Correspondences: Hekate (and other Chthonic deities,) Mars, Fire, Masculine
Protection, Banishment, Healing, Lust, Strength, Passion, Breaking Hexes, and Purification
How to use it: hang it above your door or window, use in protection sachets, cook with it, where it on your person, give as an offering to Chthonic deities most specifically Hekate.
Mundane/ Medical Uses
Obviously used in droves in the kitchen. The memes make it clear. Betcha can't use just one clove! While often associated with Italian cooking in North America (and was once, very inappropriately, called Italian Perfume) it is also used heavily in Mediterranean and Asian cooking.
Get ready for it: anti-atherosclerotic, antimicrobial, antifungal, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiviral, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, hepato-protective, hypoglycaemic, reduces serum cholesterol, and stimulant. Check out the Healthline link below for more information and links to specific studies.
Of course this grocery list of things should be taken with a grain of salt and you should ALWAYS talk to your doctor. Garlic can affect medications and while generally considered safe may cause you discomfort.
Louis Pasteur, in 1858, found garlic to be effective even against some bacteria that was resistant to other factors. Another, more modern, source even mentions MRSA (Medically resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) (I forgot to take down the source but a quick google search shows many options to choose from.) Garlic was actually used in both World Wars as a dysentery cure and an antiseptic. And while it seems to be a very broad spectrum it somehow doesn't mess with our personal bacteria the way we know modern antibiotics do.
Some less intense uses would be as a topical treatment for pimples as well as scalp health! Who knew!?
Stay tuned for a garlic centric recipe this weekend!
Main Sources for Today's Ingredient:
Wicca Now
Familiar Territory
Healthline
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