The Magic of Trees: A Guide to Their Sacred Wisdom & Metaphysical Properties - Tess Whitehurst 2017

Jacaranda
The Trees

Like a sunrise, a monarch butterfly, or a rainbow around the moon, a jacaranda (of the Bignoniaceae family) in bloom is one of those rare sights so laden with miraculous beauty that it never fails to make your heart swell and your breath catch. And a street lined with these purple-flowered, feathery-leaved creatures? It’s like being in a dream. A native to Central and South America, this celebrated beauty of the tree world is now present in nearly every tropical climate on the planet.

Magical Uses

Beauty

According to legend, the creator god in the Guarani pantheon, Tupa, asked the trees how they wanted to be when they were grown. Without hesitation, the jacaranda simply requested to wear lilac during a portion of each year. Truly, her purple flowers are her most memorable feature. When in bloom, she isn’t just a tree with purple blossoms: she’s an ethereal being that is completely bedecked in a delicate and otherworldly violet. Could an actual unicorn sighting be more inspirational? As inspirational, surely, but more? I tend to think not. (Do you suspect I’m guilty of exaggeration? I guarantee that those who have seen a jacaranda in bloom can confirm.)

Alice Walker wrote in The Color Purple, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see that it is always trying to please us back.” Indeed, just as the Divine provides wholesome food to nourish our bodies, the Divine provides an abundance of beauty to nourish our spirits. Receiving, allowing, and embodying this divine beauty is an essential component of the wisdom and magic of the jacaranda.

To inspire yourself with divine beauty and to glean some of the jacaranda’s beauty for yourself, spend time with a blossoming jacaranda. You might also bless a bottle of water and then offer it to the tree with love, requesting an infusion of beauty.

Healing

While I don’t recommend trying this at home unless you know an expert on the practice, the jacaranda’s bark and leaves have been employed for soothing the skin, treating syphilis and gonorrhea, healing ulcers, and supporting the lungs and respiratory system. What I can recommend is visiting the tree, whether in bloom or not, in order to soothe stress, bolster the immune system, lift the spirits, and receive a powerful infusion of healing energy. Taking the flower essence can also support both physical and emotional healing of all varieties, particularly when stress relief and relaxation are important concerns.

Music

In Brazil guitars have been fashioned out of jacaranda wood, and the author Alejandro Dolina writes of a legendary jacaranda tree in Buenos Aires that can be persuaded to whistle tango songs. Additionally, celebrated Argentine poet, writer, and composer María Elena Walsh has composed a song in the tree’s honor. To enhance your musical abilities and get support in developing any music-related art (including playing, singing, composing, or dancing to music), visit a jacaranda. Express your desire for her musical assistance, and offer her a bottle of excellent white wine by pouring it around her roots.

Scholastic Success

In South Africa and Australia jacaranda blossoms are associated with study, scholastic success, and passing one’s exams. Visit a blossoming jacaranda or take two drops of the flower essence under the tongue two to three times per day for support with these intentions.

Wealth

While jacarandas are energetically watery and delicate, they also have a quietly lush and expansive quality. These two aspects lend themselves to that understated sort of elegance exhibited by those who are so comfortable with themselves and their wealth that they have no need to be obvious or flashy. That’s why you might magically employ jacaranda not for a quick-fix sort of wealth magic, but rather for the kind of wealth magic that will shift you into a more longstanding, sustainable sort of affluence.

JACARANDA WEALTH CHARM

Press a jacaranda blossom between two two-dollar bills in a large book until dry. Roll the four-dollar sandwich toward yourself into a scroll, tie with a narrow purple ribbon, and anoint with essential oil of juniper. Place it near your financial documents or in the far left corner of your home or business (when facing the space from the front door).

Magical Correspondences

Element: Water

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Jupiter