Herbs Ways: Alfalfa Leaves

Friday, 1 August 2008

Alfalfa Leaves - HooDoo Magic

I know all about Alfalfa leaves living in Bulgaria. It is called Lucerne here and is grown and cultivated extensively as it is considered one of the best feeds around for livestock. It is also dried in the spring sunshine when the growth is strongest and stored for superb and prized winter feed.

So it was with great interest to find that it has other uses and is know by a number of other names such as, Buffalo herb, Mu-s and Purple medic.

Alfalfa is actually in the legume family of herbs and it possibly have been a native of Europe in Spain and Italy. The name Lucerne is nothing to do with the town in Switzerland, that is just coincidental. The common name comes from the Arabic, al-fac-facah, which means father of all foods.

Alfalfa leaves are used in Hoodoo Folk Magic and the Occult circles and it was quite a surprise to find that the use of the herb for reason other than food was apparent.

To some it is believed to have the power to bring about Good Fortune. This covers a range of areas where luck bring in money both through business and through gambling.

It is said to prevent poverty and financial troubles and traditionally folk sprinkle Alfalfa under the carpets in their places of business to entice and keep paying customers or impress the manager in return for favours.

The other tradition is to get a pinch of Alfalfa leaves and place it in a green flannel bag or trouser pocket. Then with this in place, when the time comes to place a bet, it is believed that it will help them to achieve a win.

There is no evidence to suggest any of this is true, but there are many who do.

Even if you are a non-believer in the HooDoo factors, you can still make a cup of tea out of the leaves and it can be bought in tablet form nowadays аs а provider оf beta-carotene and vitamins C, E, and K.