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

Pecan
The Trees

The lush pecan is the only major nut tree indigenous to North America. And his leaves are the most vibrant, magical shade of green! Though pecan trees haven’t been cultivated until relatively recently, the Native American tribes who coexisted with an abundance of them considered their nuts to be vital nutritional staples.

Please note that while pecans are technically a variety of hickory, pecan species (of the genus Carya) have their own unique vibration and magical properties. For non-pecan hickories, see “Hickory.”

Magical Uses

Abundance

Some Native American tribes planted pecan trees along trade routes, so that they would have plenty to offer to trade when they came across what they were looking for. For them, you might say that money actually did grow on trees, albeit in the form of pecans. Nowadays, in addition to working magic to support sustenance (see “Sustenance”), the modern magical practitioner can employ pecans as a magical wealth and abundance booster. For example, simply placing a bowl of unshelled pecans on your altar as an offering to the Divine can be a wonderful way to enhance your wealth. This works with the magical law of returns, which states that what we send out returns to us multiplied. Or you might try the following:

QUICK AND DELICIOUS WEALTH BOOST

On a Thursday when the moon is waxing, empower nine pecans in bright sunlight. (Do this by simply holding them in your open palm and letting them absorb the light for ten to thirty seconds.) Then mindfully eat them, feeling yourself internalizing the energies of wealth and abundance.

Immunity

Used as a carrier oil, pecan oil is excellent for moisturizing and massage blends, particularly when immunity boosting is a goal. Inhaling the oil’s scent and rubbing it into the skin can also be great for speeding recovery when getting over an illness or an injury.

Sustenance

The Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca reported that the buttery and delicious pecan was a main food staple of the Mariame Indian tribe. For this tribe and other Native Americans who lived in areas where pecans grew, the pecan’s abundant harvest of nutrient-dense food aligned the tree with the abundant blessings of the Great Spirit. And while it’s a relatively new custom, serving pecan pie at Thanksgiving is an echo of this ancient symbolism. Indeed, the nut—which literally grows on trees and requires no preparation at all, other than cracking—is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

BLESSED PECAN PIE FOR CONTINUED SUSTENANCE

Light an orange candle and prepare your favorite recipe of pecan pie. After arranging pecans across the top but before baking, hold your palms over the pie. Visualize golden-orange light filling and radiating from the pie as you say:

Plenty to eat and plenty to share

May those who enjoy have blessings to spare.

Fill our pantries, fuel our cheer

And keep us blessed throughout the year.

With thanks and love to the sacred pecan tree

As I will it, so mote it be.

Bake, cool, serve, and enjoy as usual.

Magical Correspondences

Element: Water

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun