Cinnamon - The Spice of Life

Why Cinnamon is my top pick for ritual workings and to support good health.

I love Cinnamon - I delight in the flavour, I enjoy the warming nature and circulatory stimulant effects, I honour the sacred and protective qualities of the plant. I have been given the nickname “the Cinnamon girl” in the past due to my fervent love this herb, and I am never without it in my home. This is a plant ally I believe should be in every herbalist and witch’s cupboard, beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, and I am excited to be here sharing one of my closest plant pals with you in the hopes that you’ll fall in love with them just as much as I have.

Let’s start with the plant energetics. The energetic profile of a herb isn’t usually referring to the plant in a spiritual sense (though this can definitely be included if you are this way inclined, as I am), but rather is referring to the temperature and nature of the plant and how it interacts with the body’s physiology.

For example, ginger is pungent and warming and you really get a sense of this if you eat some fresh ginger root. Depending on how warm you tend to run as a baseline, fresh ginger can even bring on a mild sweat! If your constitution (the term we use to describe your own energetic nature) is cold or cool, ginger might just bring some lovely warmth to the tips of your cold fingers.

Cinnamon is spicy and warming - we know this by how we feel it on our tastebuds and in our bodies when we imbibe it. Depending on the variety you choose you will pick up different energetic aspects, for example Cassia species have a more pungent flavour whereas Ceylon Cinnamons (Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zelyanicum) are sweeter tasting plants. Sources I highly respect such as Katya and Ryn from Commonwealth Herbs suggest that Cinnamon also has mucilaginous and moistening properties that are more present depending on the kind of extraction method used. You might see this when this plant is tinctured or maybe when a cold infusion method is used. I personally prefer the Ceylon Cinnamons, also frequently referred to as ‘true Cinnamon’, and really do notice the difference between the different varieties.

Considering this warming, sweet, spicy aromatic constitution of the Cinnamon plant lends itself beautifully as a solar remedy, so when pondering herbal astrology you can find a strong connection between Cinnamon and the sun. You would consider using this herb in cold, damp and stagnant conditions or as a constitutional remedy for an out-of-balance fire sign.

So, what part of the plant is worked with? The inner bark of the Cinnamon tree, in fact. After rainy monsoon season when the outer bark is more easily peeled from the tree, the top layer is removed and the inner bark is stripped off and dried, resulting in the beautiful and iconic cinnamon quills we all know and love. From this dried state the Cinnamon bark can then be ground into powder or processed into smaller Cinnamon chips. You would select which form to include in your medicine making based off what kind of preparation you are wanting to make. An example of this is choosing ground Cinnamon powder when putting together an electuary, versus working with cinnamon chips in a hot infusion.

Cinnamon is an absolute powerhouse magickally speaking, but has incredible health benefits that are also far-reaching and highly effective. Some of the key indications we would be looking at when considering working with Cinnamon as a medicine are as follows:

• astringent

• analgesic

• antiseptic

• anti-fungal

• anti-inflammatory

• antioxidant

• bitter/aromatic digestive stimulant

• carminitive

• styptic

• circulatory stimulant

• hypoglycaemic (blood sugar regulating)

Some of the cornerstone ways Cinnamon has shown up in clinical practise for me are in mixes to support cases of insulin resistance and PCOS, in mixes for enhancing peripheral circulation and to warm up digestive mixes. While I have worked with Cinnamon in tincture form, my most favourite way to include this plant daily is still absolutely through my food and drink, and as someone who tends to run cool I have always found this herb to resonate well with me and work harmoniously within my body to increase my circulation, to support my Raynaud’s symptoms and keep my digestive fire burning as it should.

Another important clinical note that applies beautifully to a home first-aid setting is that Cinnamon is indeed a styptic herb, meaning that is is able to stop bleeding when applied directly to a wound. Other plants that work in this way are Yarrow and Cayenne, however is should not be considered the only or even the first course of action for heavy bleeding, but is a good in-the-field, nothing to lose kind of option. If you cut off a finger while preparing a salad, I’m asking you to please call an ambulance! You still need medical help!

Interestingly, there is research showing that Cinnamon when used in therapeutic doses has demonstrated an effect on reducing the heaviness of menstrual bleeding as well, and it only takes a quick internet search to see that there are many groups of people working with the herb in this way. For therapeutic benefits on blood sugar and heavy menstrual bleeding I’ve seen dose recommendations range from around 1-4 grams per day, but considering a more holistic approach and the idea that we can work with the energetics and vibration of the plant as well as the physiological benefits, I think working with it in a variety of ways throughout your day and your week is a perfectly acceptable (and preferable) place to start, rather than coming in with mega doses of the plant.

This could look like including cinnamon in your morning cacao, having some in your apple pie oats for breakfast, anointing a candle with some of the herb and applying some cinnamon infused oil to your body, perhaps even specifically over your womb if wanting to harness the bleeding support this plant has to offer.

One more honourable mention is that although Cinnamon is known as a sweet, warm and spicy herb with drying aspects, it also has a natural mucilaginous property. If you leave it soaking in water for long enough you might get to see this, and so it can have the added benefit of supporting gut healing by soothing the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract while the astringent actions of the plant help to heal cell walls and improve gut integrity. Are you starting to see why I love this plant so much?

In terms of magick, here it gets really interesting…

Magickally speaking, Cinnamon is known to be used for workings such as:

• protection

• healing

• abundance/prosperity

• love

• manifestation

There isn’t really a category of magickal workings that it can’t be included in, making it the perfect plant ally to weave into your witchy herb cabinet. Alongside the fact that Cinnamon is so easily accessible and relatively affordable, as well as a fairly safe plant to work with, it makes this herb an ideal magickal helper for the beginner witch, or for those still in the broom closet who may not have the freedom to keep a lot of witchcraft-related items in their home.

I’ve seen recommendations for Cinnamon brooms atop doorways for protection, using the oils in cleaning for protective qualities and the spice used in spellwork for calling in money or speeding up a spell or manifestation. The quills are often used in ritual for calling in love and romance, and Cinnamon commonly shows up alongside citrus for energising and abundance work too. You can include the dried herb in sachets, pop a quill in your pocket or include some Cinnamon oil in your perfume. As this ally is also known to benefit psychic development this is another magickal purpose you can keep in mind.

Two more honourable mentioned are to steep Cinnamon in wine, or include it in your simmer pots to not only fragrance your home in a natural way. Stack your magickal habits and charge your simmer pots with intent, and then use the water to clean your home or keep some as an offering or to use in ritual workings.

The Cinnamon plant is shown to be a sacred one throughout folklore too, being left as offerings for gods in Ancient Egypt, in anointing oils in the Bible and in Greek mythology in form of the Cinnamon Bird which built its nests with quills on the edges of cliffs.

I hope that this share has helped you to fall as deeply, madly and passionately in love with this plant as I have. Again, the accessibility and affordability of Cinnamon as well as its incredibly wide array of physiological and spiritual benefits makes it the perfect plant kin to keep in your home and your magickal toolkit at all times, for whenever you may need it.

- Hannah