====== Ginger ======
<div #singlebox>
---- dataentry herbs----
latin_names: Zingiber officinale
folk_names: African Ginger
gender_tags: Masculine
planet_tags: Mars
element_tags: Fire
deity_tags: 
effect_tags: Love, Money, Success, Power, Courage, Physical Energy, Magical Energy, Sex
part_tags: fresh root, essential oil
----
</div>

<ifauth @user>
===== Magical Uses =====

Eating ginger before performing spells will lend them power, since you have been "heated up" by the ginger. This is especially true of love spells, in which ginger is much-used.

Whole ginger roots are planted and grown to attract money, or the powdered root is sprinkled into pockets or onto money for this purpose.

Ginger is also used in success spells, or to ensure the success of a magical operation.

In the Pacific the Dobu islanders make much use of ginger in their magic. They chew it and spit it at the "seat" of an illness to cure it, and also spit chewed ginger at an oncoming storm, while at sea, to halt it.

===== Aromatherapy =====

The scent of fresh ginger (or the essential oil) may surprise those who have only encountered the spice in its dried, powdered form. Many grocery stores offer fresh ginger in the produce section. Culinary ginger is even grown on a commercial scale in the United States- on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The essential oil has a somewhat more bitter scent than the fresh root, but the spiciness is definitely there.

Inhale the biting fragrance before magical rituals of all kinds, visualizing it stimulating the physical body, exciting muscular contraction and thereby producing bioelectrical energy. This same effect of ginger can be used to provide a temporary storehouse of extra energy when needed. (However, nothing—including drugs or essential oils—can replace natural sleep.)

In his classic text, The Practice of Aromatherapy, Jean Valnet says that the women of Senegal wear (or wore) belts of ginger roots to sexually arouse their husbands. This is no surprise, for the spicy, zingy scent of ginger has long been used to create sexual desire. Its effect may be more psychological than physiological but if it helps, it helps. Remember: inhale with appropriate visualization.

For centuries, ginger has been used in love rituals throughout Asia and the South Pacific. Originally introduced as an exotic condiment in Europe, ginger was soon used for both medicinal as well as amatory purposes. This ancient heritage is recognized in the extensive use of ginger in men’s colognes, though at the moment sweeter, less spicy formulas are being created for the scent-conscious man.

Ginger was once worth more than its weight in gold. Its pungent scent is appropriate for bringing money into your life. Sniff and visualize. Ginger also promotes courage, confidence, aggression (which is necessary to self-survival), purification and success on all levels. Because of its active, vibrant nature, it’s best not to sniff this scent directly prior to going to bed (unless you’re not planning on immediately going to sleep...).
</ifauth>