Carob Powder (Ceratonia siliqua)

Carob Powder (Ceratonia siliqua)

Also know by:: Algarroba, Caaroba, Caroba, Carobinha, Chocolate, Egyptian Fig, John's Bread, Locust Bean, Locust Pods, Sugar pods.

 Carob is used to bolster one's health and to guard against evil. It is believed anyone who carries a seedpod or adds the powder to one's mojo bags will be blessed with great wealth. Carob is a particularly powerful alternative aid when the usual herbs used in such magic have failed, or if you're needing to add the extra potency to your spell and ritual work for protection and healing. 

Carob is believed to have been in cultivation for at least 5000 years. Ancient Egyptians used the gummy properties of carob seed as an adhesive in binding mummies, and the pods and seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs. The Romans are said to have eaten the pods green for their natural sweetness. The ancient Greeks knew this tree as well and planted it in Greece and Italy. There are references to carob in the Bible, and the name, St. John's bread or locust bean, came from the belief that the pods were the "locusts" eaten by John the Baptist in the Wilderness.

Seeds were used to weigh gold, hence the word "carat" from which the name Carob evolved.

Mohammed's army ate kharoub, and Arabs planted the crop in northern Africa and Spain. Spaniards carried carob to Mexico and South America, and the British took carob to India, Australia and to South America, though the Chiriguano tribe of South America say the tree came from Aguara-Tunpa, a fox deity. Records show that carob was intentionally introduced into the United States in 1854, and the first seedlings were planted in California in 1873. This powder is grown and roasted in Spain.