Have you ever been walking through the woods and spied a tiny green worm seemingly hovering in midair? That’s likely a silk worm. Look up and you’ll often see a mulberry tree (Morus), which is the silk worm’s exclusive food source. The mulberry is also known for her berries, which vary in color depending on the species and can be red, white, or almost black. The red and black varieties have a sweet and tart taste, while the white mulberries are mild and reminiscent of vanilla.
Magical Uses
Comfort amid Challenges
While in a mental hospital, Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous golden-leafed mulberry tree, which grew and thrived outside the window of the hospital despite its rocky surroundings. In a surprisingly positive letter to his brother included with the piece, he wrote, “I’ll tell you that we’re having some superb autumn days, and that I’m taking advantage of them.”
In a much less dramatic past scenario, during childhood summers, I spent hours climbing around in the mulberry tree in my front yard. Regardless of what family challenges may have been going on at the time, I never failed to find sublime comfort in the shade of her spreading branches and emerald green leaves.
Cosmic Oneness
According to author Fred Hageneder, in ancient China some considered the mulberry to be the “World Tree” or “Tree of Renewal” at the center of the universe. He goes on to say that “it dates back to before the separation of yin and yang, male and female, and it represents the Tao, or the all-encompassing cosmic order.”
Spend time in quiet contemplation with a mulberry to find the origin, gain perspective, and free yourself of the sorrow that comes from the illusion of separation.
Wholeness and Healing
In addition to being delicious, mulberries are shockingly nutritious. They’re high in lots of good stuff, including iron, antioxidants, protein, vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, and resveratrol. As if all that weren’t enough, they can be eaten as a remedy for constipation. In the past, mulberries have also been employed to heal the eyes and throat, and the white mulberry is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to this day to clear heat, hydrate the system, enhance yin energy, and get energy moving in a healthy way throughout the body. Magically, simply spending time with a mulberry can balance the body and awaken the inherent instincts that guide us in healing ourselves effectively.
Magical Correspondences
Element: Water
Gender: Feminine
Planet: Mercury