The beautiful chestnut (Castanea) can live to be more than a thousand years old, and some species can get quite huge. With luxurious shade and nuts that can be a reliable food source even for prolonged periods of time, this ancient tree is a divine and miraculous blessing to all who benefit from its many gifts.
Magical Uses
Abundance
Chestnuts have been cultivated since ancient times in both east and west and, like a grain, is considered a major food staple. (In fact, some cultures may have survived almost exclusively on chestnuts, at least at certain times.) Also like a grain, chestnuts are magically aligned with sustenance, and therefore abundance and prosperity.
In the Bible, Jacob puts a peeled chestnut twig in his livestock’s water source to promote their healthy and abundant procreation. (In ancient times, an abundance of healthy livestock was a major indication of wealth.) In Japan, chestnuts are eaten at New Years’ for success and good fortune.
Employ chestnuts in a meal to activate prosperity, or empower your household’s wealth by placing a chestnut twig in your watering can before watering your plants.
Attracting Animals
Deer love chestnuts, and other animals, such as squirrels and birds, are attracted to chestnut trees as well, as they provide both shelter and sustenance. Plant chestnut trees in your yard if you’d like to attract animals, or spend time with a chestnut tree if you’re in the mood for a little animal communication.
Relieving Worry
The Bach Flower Remedy made from white chestnut blossoms helps relieve excess worry and frenetic thinking. Additionally, some American Indians made infusions of chestnut leaves to relieve that perennial worry symptom: the headache. Certainly, a lush chestnut tree in the breeze instantly soothes the spirit and calms the mind.
Interestingly, the Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen stated that chestnuts promote longevity. Perhaps this is related to the chestnut’s ability to relieve that primary health hazard known as stress by quieting a worried mind.
Transforming Karma
There is a Korean legend about a boy who a traveling Taoist predicted would be eaten by a tiger at a young age. However, the prediction also came with a remedy: plant and care for one thousand chestnut trees. This the boy did, and when he turned twenty, a stranger knocked on his door and demanded his life. Upon learning about the chestnut trees, however, the stranger died on the spot just after his true identity as a tiger was revealed. This allowed the boy to live a long and successful life.
In Taoism, it’s believed that many things contribute to our destiny and our good fortune, and this includes our deeds. In this story, by cultivating one thousand chestnut trees that otherwise wouldn’t have existed, the boy counteracts his fate by nurturing so many living beings—and harvesting so much sustenance for his fellow creatures in the process—that he effectively transforms his fate.
While one thousand might be just a tiny bit too many, if you feel that intense karma transforming is needed, you might plant one to three chestnut trees in your yard or a nature area (provided they’re beneficial to the ecosystem and you have the approval of the stewards of the land). Tend to them lovingly and make sure they thrive.
Magical Correspondences
Element: Spirit
Gender: Masculine/Feminine Balance
Planet: Mercury