Cloves have been whispering their secrets to witches for centuries and they’ve earned such a devoted following in the craft. These little nail-shaped buds pack an almost absurd amount of magickal punch for their size. They’re fiery and fast-acting with an unmistakably commanding presence.
If cinnamon is the friendly neighborhood spice of the witch’s cabinet (it is by the way), clove is its no-nonsense older sibling who gets things done.
What I love most about cloves is how literally their magick works. Their Latin name clavus means “nail” and that’s exactly what they do. They nail protection into your home, prosperity into your wallet, and shut the mouths of people who won’t stop running them.
Metaphysical Properties of Cloves
Cloves carry a fiery, projective energy that accelerates whatever magick you pair them with. I think of them as a catalyst, the pinch of salt that intensifies sweetness in cooking, but for spellwork. They push, burn, and demand movement rather than sitting quietly in a jar.
This is why they’re so beloved for manifestation work that needs momentum.
Their vibration is unmistakably high and outward-directed. Where something like mugwort pulls you inward and downward, clove lifts a room up and throws the windows open. This is the same compound that numbs your tongue working on a spiritual level, burning away stagnation, deception, and psychic gunk.
Accelerates and amplifies other herbs and spells in any working
Raises the vibration of a space almost instantly when burned
Binds and fastens intentions in place (the nail quality)
Burns away negativity, hexes, and stale energy
Commands and compels, bringing boldness to petition work
Warms and quickens love, passion, and circulation of all kinds
Draws prosperity with a distinctly Jupiterian abundance
Silences slander, gossip, and ill-intentioned speech
Magical Correspondences of Cloves
| Correspondence | Attribution |
|---|---|
| Latin Name | Syzygium aromaticum (syn. Eugenia caryophyllata) |
| Planet | Jupiter (primary), Sun (secondary) |
| Element | Fire |
| Zodiac Signs | Aries, Sagittarius, Leo |
| Deities | Jupiter, Zeus, Thor, Shiva, Hanuman, Oya |
| Chakras | Solar Plexus (primary), Root, Sacral, Throat |
| Day | Thursday |
| Folk Names | Clavus, Nail Spice, Clove Flower, Lavanga, Devakusuma, Carenfil |
| Sabbats | Yule (primary), Samhain, Mabon |
Magickal Properties of Cloves
Protection That Nails Evil Shut
Protection is where clove earns its reputation. It works like an iron spike driven into a threshold rather than a gentle shield like rose or lavender. When I want something hostile to stop affecting me, I use clove before almost anything else because it pins down the problem.
There’s a finality to clove protection that softer herbs can’t match.
My favorite baseline protection working is simple: three whole cloves and a pinch of salt tucked beneath the bed for three nights, then placed near the front door. For heavier lifts, I press whole cloves into a red candle in a ring around the wick, dress it with a protective oil, and burn it down while visualizing my home sealed. The crackle the cloves make when the flame touches them sounds exactly like what it is, a warning.
Prosperity That Draws Riches Like a Magnet
If you’ve read any older herbal grimoire, you’ve probably seen the line about burning cloves as incense to attract riches. It’s one of those bits of folklore that genuinely delivers. There’s a reason clove was once literally worth its weight in gold during the spice wars.
The herb carries the memory of that value, and our magick taps into it. Every time I’ve worked clove for money, movement has followed within days.
The wallet trick is the easiest entry point: a pinch of ground clove sprinkled directly inside your wallet, refreshed monthly on a waxing moon. For bigger prosperity pulls, I make a green mojo bag with cloves, a cinnamon stick piece, a few leaves of basil, and a citrine chip, fed weekly with a drop of money oil. Chewing a single clove before any financial conversation, like negotiations, interviews, or asking for a raise, is one of those small rituals that sounds silly until you try it and the conversation goes your way.
Silencing Gossip
This is clove’s signature specialty, the thing it does better than any other herb in the cabinet. When someone is spreading lies about you, running their mouth, or whispering poison in the wrong ears, clove nails that mouth shut.
The symbolism is as literal as magick gets. You are driving nails into the problem. I won’t work on anyone’s first offense, but when someone has proven they won’t stop, clove is my go-to ally.
The classic working is a red candle studded with whole cloves, burned while speaking the gossiper’s words back to them in reverse. For heavier cases, I freeze them: write the name on a slip of paper, drop it in a small jar with a tablespoon of whole cloves and water, seal it, and tuck it in the back of the freezer. The speech becomes paralyzed, the tongue too cold to move.
Keep the jar there as long as you need the silence to hold.
How to Use Cloves in Spellwork and Rituals
Cloves are one of the most flexible herbs you can keep on your shelf because they work in every format, burned as incense on charcoal, tucked into sachets and mojo bags, layered into spell jars, baked into kitchen witchery, infused into carrier oils for candle dressing, or strung on thread and worn.
A general rule I follow is whole cloves for sustained work, like protection and long-burning candles, ground cloves when you need speed and penetration. Three to seven cloves is the sweet spot for most workings, with seven being my personal favorite for anything Jupiterian.
A Ritual to Nail Down Protection for the Home
Perform this on a Thursday evening, ideally during a waxing moon.
You will need a red taper candle, seven whole cloves, a small dish of salt, a fireproof holder, and a quiet hour alone.
The Process
- Cleanse your space first by opening a window and letting the stale air leave.
- Hold the red candle in both hands and breathe onto it three times, naming aloud what you are protecting: your home, your sleep, your family, your peace.
- With a pin or your fingernail, press seven whole cloves into the candle in a spiral from base to wick, one for each direction plus one for the center.
- Roll the dish of salt in a clockwise circle around the candle’s base. Light the wick and let the flame settle before you begin speaking. As each clove crackles and catches, name something you are sealing out.
- Let the candle burn all the way down in a safe place, then bury the remaining wax and cloves at the edge of your property or in a potted plant by the front door.
The Chant
Speak this three times as the flame first takes the candle, and once more as each clove begins to crackle:
Seven nails of fire and spice,
Seal this home, this threshold thrice.
By Jupiter’s crown and Thursday’s might,
Bind what harms and burn what bites.
Hearth be warm and door be true,
Nothing enters that I don’t choose.
Blessed be, and may your cloves serve you as faithfully as they’ve served the witches who came before us. 