My wonderful friend Ness has already written a blog about covering the meanings and uses for cherry and its blossom, which you can find here
In this blog, I wanted to offer a few more ideas for using cherry/Sakura to enhance your spells.
As a reminder, cherry in all its forms can be used in spells for –
Love, psychic powers, fertility, divination, beginnings, transition and intuition.
An obvious one is the pit/stone from the fruit. Save and dry these to add to pouches, jars, poppets etc.
Dry some of the blossom and/or the leaves, collect twigs and use in the same way as the pits, but can also be added more easily to incense blends.
The juice from cherries can be a substitute for blood as an offering.
As you make your cherry pie, jam, crumble, smoothie, empower the whole recipe with your intention.
The Japanese in spring are almost Sakura obsessed, as the blossoms are not only beautiful, but they are also edible, and Japanese markets are a sea of pink, from mochi and rice balls to honey, pickles and candies, they’ve found a way to put Sakura in just about everything!
A popular recipe is Sakura Jam –
2 well packed cups of cherry blossom petals
1.5 cups water
1.5 cups jam sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
Method
Place all ingredients in a saucepan on high heat, until the sugar melts.
Reduce heat to a simmer until it begins to thicken.
Decant into sterilised jars.
Store in a cool dark place, once opened store in the fridge and consume within one week.
Some Japanese recipes also include strawberries, for enhancing the colour and flavour of the jam. As the magical properties of this fruit are dedication, fertility, love and luck, this blend would work well for spells too.
Sources and further reading –
A Kitchen Witch’s World of Magical Food by Rachel Patterson