Bananas are a fruit.

• botanical information
• nutritional information
• selection
• storage
• preparation
• magick correspondences and uses
• ritual uses
• Goddesses and deities
• Chinese herbology
• Ayurvedic herbalism
• cautions and contraindications

botanical information:

    Botanical name: Musa paradisiaca

    Common name: banana

    Use the botanical name when ordering seeds (bulbs, etc.) or when looking up information in the library. Common names vary by nation, culture, and region, and sometimes the same common name is applied to different plants.

    Family: Musaceae

nutritional information:

    Eat at least one serving of banana per month, taking in account the season and local availability. For more information on healthy diet, see Goddess Diet Plan.

    Bananas are a starch-rich food and an important source of carbohydrates.

    Bananas are an alkaline-producing food (measured by the ash content resulting from laboratory titration.

    Bananas are a food that increases sexual energy and enhances fertility.

    See also Chinese herbalism below for Chinese gender and Chinese flavor.

selection:

    Banana has the number nine (9) lowest pesticide load of 45 common fruits and vegetables studied in 2006 by the Environmental Working Group and is therefore a food that can be purchased conventionally-grown when organic isn“t available. The EWA explains, “While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.”
    According to USDA and FDA tests on commercially grown foods collected between 2000 and 2005, banana has a 41.7% (percentage) of samples tested with detectable pesticides, a 2.0% (percentage) of samples with two or more pesticides, an 0.4 average number of pesticides found in a sample, an average of 0.029 parts per million of all pesticides found, and 7 different pesticides found in use growing bananas. These toxic pesticides don’t apply to organic foods.

storage:

    Storage: Eat bananas within two days of purchase.

preparation:

    Sprinkle cinnamon on bananas (especially if you sauté your bananas).

 

   

magickal correspondences and uses:

    Gender: feminine (traditional western European magickal gender)

    Western element: air

    Magickal uses of banana: devotion, male sexuality, safety

Magical Uses Fertility, Potency, Prosperity information courtesy of

ritual uses:

    Ritual uses of banana: Used in Wicca for Summerland (death/funerary) rituals

deities associated with banana:

• Kanaloa (Hawaiian God)

Chinese herbalism:

    Chinese gender: yin (cold)

    Chinese flavor: sweet

Ayurvedic herbalism:

    Bananas are an excellent food for those who have Vata constitution or those on an anti-Vata diet (high degree for reducing Vata).

    For more information, see the article on Ayurvedic medicine.

cautions and contraindications:

    Non-toxic to animals: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center has determined that banana “has not been reported as having systemic effects on animals or as having intense effects on the gastrointestinal tract.” —ASPCA

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