Pomander Balls
One of the things that I’ve come to find some humor in about my childhood is how witchy my mother was, in pure ignorant bliss. It makes me smile to look back on the regular rituals and spells that she taught as a cultural, family tradition, and being able to see how the magic was able to transform our lives while she still had the mind to participate in it. Of course, all of that changed once she realized the true history of those practices and quickly and silently sealed that door shut. Still, it gives me great joy to be able to pry that door back open and allow the magic to seep through the cracks, again.
A practice that was hidden behind that door was creating Pomander Balls. Pomander Balls are a simple protection spell that is perfect for the holidays, but especially effective for the Winter Solstice. On a night where it is encouraged to stay up until sunrise, this is certainly a craft that will compel you to do so, as it takes quite a long time to complete. It also helps that they smell absolutely amazing. This year, I crafted Pomander Balls with my sister, and while we didn’t have the mental capacity to stay up to see the sun rise, it certainly helped us keep our eyes open and vigilant into the wee hours of the morning, allowing the Pomander Balls to take over for us while we slept.
All you need to complete this spell is:
Whole cloves (depending on the designs you create in your orange, you may only need one bottle, but if you’re going to cover the entire fruit, you may need two)
Oranges
Thimble (optional)
First, decide how you want your Pomander to look. We prefer to plan out symbols or runes to create on our orange with the cloves, and then fill in all the empty space with the rest of the cloves so the symbols are obscured but the energy is still in place. But this isn’t completely necessary, and if you would like your intentions to be visible, you can use the cloves to make symbols and leave the rest of the orange alone to showcase your work.
Next, all you need to do is press the cloves into the orange until all that is visible is the bulb at the top of the clove. If you have sensitive fingers and plan on covering the entire orange in the cloves, you might want to use a thimble to spare your thumbs. However, it is part of my practice that if something takes pain and effort to accomplish, it adds an extra bit of magic in the act of sacrifice to it, so I prefer to go without one. That is entirely up to you and your beliefs how you want to go about that.
Side note: you want the cloves to be as fresh as possible. Older cloves will still work fine, but the bulbs may disintegrate, leaving sharp points that make it extremely difficult to finish the project without unnecessarily hurting yourself. Also, the drier the cloves are, the more likely the points are to break off, as well, not leaving much to puncture the orange peel in the first place.
As you press in each clove, keep your intentions in mind. These are typically for home and family protection and work well to banish negative energy, but you can also place your wishes for the coming year into it, as well. It creates a wonderful space of reflection and nostalgia as you work, especially if you are creating them with loved ones, as you can all share your thoughts and dreams to carry you through the longest night.
If you cover the entire orange in cloves, it works to help preserve the fruit for a short time, but typically they last for a few days at room temperature. To help them last a little longer, you can place them in a safe space in your home or on your altar throughout the day but remember to put them in the refrigerator overnight and take them back out again in the morning. That process helps them last 1-2 weeks. Just keep an eye on them and if you notice they start to show signs of decay, consider it a job well-done and discard them however you feel comfortable.
Best wishes to you and yours through the holidays and beyond—and remember to enjoy the magic on these cold, dark days.