Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs - Scott Cunningham 1985

Pepper Tree
The Herbs

(Schinus molle) G

Folk Names: California Pepper Tree, Jesuit’s Balsam, Peruvian Mastic Tree, Piru (Spanish)

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mars

Element: Fire

Powers: Purification, Healing, Protection

Magical Uses: Branches of the pepper tree have long been used by Mexican curanderos in healing rituals. The sick person is brushed with pepper tree branches to absorb the disease, and then the branches are buried to destroy the illness. Rue is sometimes used with the pepper tree. The leaves are added to purification baths by Mexican spiritualists and brujas, and the bright red berries are carried for protection.