- Botanical Name
- Punica granatum
Pomegranate
Details
The pomegranate is a deciduous shrub of the Lythraceae family whose fruit is full of juicy seeds. Wikipedia says it originated across the Caucasus and the Iranian plateau and was first domesticated by ancient Iranians about 5,000 years ago. Cunningham calls it masculine, with Mercury and fire, gives the deities Persephone and Ceres, and lists divination, fertility, wealth, luck and wishes. He says the seeds are eaten, and the skin carried, to increase fertility, a wish should be made before eating the fruit, a branch finds hidden wealth, and branches over doorways guard against evil. Kynes records its use by Assyrians, Greeks and Romans as a symbol of fertility, and of death and rebirth in the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The American Herbal Products Association records allergic and other hazards, set out in the safety notes.
Caution
Cunningham marks the root and stem of pomegranate X, meaning not recommended for internal use. The American Herbal Products Association says pomegranate fruit husk is not for use in pregnancy except under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner, not for use in the early stages of diarrhoea or dysentery, and not for use in excess of 14 days. It reports allergic reactions to the fruit, including anaphylaxis, and says that in the normal dose range a decoction of the husk has caused nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, dizziness, tinnitus and tremors, and that overdose has been associated with vertigo, headache, blurred vision and, in severe cases, death from respiratory paralysis.
Correspondences
- Elements
- Earth, Fire
- Celestial Bodies
- Mercury, Saturn, Venus
- Zodiac Signs
- Gemini, Scorpio, Virgo
- Colours
- No colours recorded.
- Deities
- Persephone (Greek; also called Kore), Ceres (Roman), Adonis (Greek), Aphrodite (Greek), Apollo (Greek), Astarte (Canaanite & Phoenician; also called Ashtart, Ashtoreth), Attis (Anatolian), Baal (Canaanite & Phoenician; also called Hadad), Bacchus (Roman; also called Liber), Cybele (Anatolian), Demeter (Greek), Dionysus (Greek; also called Dionysos), Hades (Greek), Hera (Greek), Hermes (Greek), Inanna (Sumerian), Ishtar (Akkadian & Babylonian), Juno (Roman), Mercury (Roman), Pluto (Roman; also called Dis Pater), Sekhmet (Egyptian; also called Sakhmet), Mithra (Persian; also called Mithras)
Folk Names
- Carthage Apple
- Grenadier
- Malicorio
- Malum Punicum
- Pound Garnet
Categories
- Abundance
- Divination
- Fertility
- Funeral Rites
- Grief Work
- Hope
- Luck
- Lust
- Manifestation
- Prosperity
- Protection
- Psychic Work
- Renewal
- Sex
- Sexuality
- Transformation
- Wealth
- Wisdom
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded.
Forms
Flower
Kynes sells a flower essence.
References
Fruit
Cunningham has the fruit eaten after a wish is made, and its juice used as a blood substitute or magical ink. Kynes sells the fruit and its juice, and has a whole fruit held in meditation through difficult transitions or placed on the altar to honour the dead. The American Herbal Products Association records allergic reactions to it.
Caution
The American Herbal Products Association says allergic reactions to pomegranate fruit, including anaphylaxis, have been reported.
Oil
Kynes sells pomegranate oil.
References
Peel
Cunningham has the skin carried for fertility and the dried skin added to wealth and money incenses. The American Herbal Products Association lists the fruit husk as its part and records hazards of it.
Caution
The American Herbal Products Association says pomegranate fruit husk is not for use in pregnancy except under the supervision of a qualified healthcare practitioner, and not for use in excess of 14 days.
Seed
Stem
Cunningham says a branch of pomegranate discovers concealed wealth or attracts money, and branches hung over doorways guard against evil. He marks the root and stem X.
Caution
Cunningham marks the root and stem of pomegranate X, meaning not recommended for internal use.
References
References
Notes
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate"; p. 266.
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, pp. 715-716.
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Wikipedia, under "Pomegranate."
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, pp. 715-716.
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Gardner and McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association's, p. 715.
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Kynes, Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate".
- Cunningham, Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical, under "Pomegranate"; p. 266.
Bibliography
- Cunningham, Scott. Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. 2nd ed. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2012. (EPUB.)
1 6 10 12 14 - Gardner, Zoë, and Michael McGuffin, eds. American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013. (PDF.)
2 7 11 - Kynes, Sandra. The Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants: History, Folklore, Correspondences, and Spells. Woodbury, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2024. (EPUB.)
3 5 8 9 13 - Wikipedia, under "Pomegranate." Accessed October 23, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pomegranate&oldid=1381321574. Open the Source (opens in a new tab)
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