Hawthorn/Huath (Crataegus monogyna)
Other names:
Whitethorn, mayflower, may
tree, hawberry, thornapple
Word ogham of:
Morainn: Condál cúan “Pack
of wolves”; “pack of hounds”
Cuchulain: Ansam aidche.i.huath
“Most difficult night, hawthorn”
Oengus: Bánad gnúisi “Whitening
or blanching of the face”74
Description
Hawthorn, a member of the rose family, is a pioneer tree and can grow in some of the most difficult habitats. It began to spread largely as a result of the Neolithic tree clearances, as it is often one of the first trees to repopulate an area, being able to grow on steep hillsides as well as in moist or dry environments. It can grow up to ten meters, and live for up to 400 years, although it is usually much younger than this, and simply looks very old due to its gnarly shape. Its low branches and many thorns may give rise to Morainn’s name for the hawthorn, the “pack of wolves” or “pack of hounds” that call to mind a mass of sharp teeth. It is sharp and dangerous on every side. Its leaves are broadly oval, three to six centimetres long, with three to seven deep, pointed lobes. The hawthorn flowers from May to June in white or sometimes pinkish upright clusters, with each flower head consisting of five petals. The individual flowers are hermaphrodite so it can pollinate itself and other trees easily, creating hybrids with ease. Its red berries are edible, and each contain a single stone. Berries appear from September to October. Hawthorns can be found throughout Europe, North Africa, Turkey and the Caucasus, and across North America.
Lore and Legend
Hawthorn is one of the peasant trees according to Brehon law.
Hawthorns are always connected to the faeries, and are considered highly sacred in many communities across Britain and Ireland.75 One of the most famous tales involving the hawthorn is that of Thomas the Rhymer, who met the Queen of Elfland beneath a hawthorn tree.76 Because of its connection with faeries, severe penalties are thought to be imposed on anyone who violates the tree in any way, and it is often associated with periods of testing and challenge. Its dual nature, of flowers and sharp thorns, relates it to traditions of the triple goddess who is seen as both beautiful and kind, as well as cruel and harsh. For this reason a solitary hawthorn has often been considered a trysting place. Hawthorns are also often guardians of sacred springs and wells, demanding the very best behaviour from all mortals who are in their presence. Hawthorn’s guardianship is the reason for the tree’s association with the festival of Beltane (May 1) as it flowers during this season and is traditionally used as the crown of the May Queen, the personification of the goddess.
The hawthorn teaches that the Queen of the May is not easily won, and can only ever wed the Oak King. This ancient mystery teaching concerns the attainment of inner sovereignty and worthiness—union with the goddess. The hawthorn demands only the very best in all things. To win her as your beautiful bride entails successful completion of many tasks and the surmounting of seemingly impossible challenges. The prize is the goddess herself, the sacredness of the land, and the highest possible achievement and honour.
Ultimately, the triumph over difficulty is the mortal’s eternal quest for the grail, for the soul. This quest is undertaken under the eye of the Crone, and she periodically sets harsh tasks through all our lives. This is why Cuchulain called the hawthorn “most difficult night.” It is a time of fears and storm, but at the end of it comes the dawn. Oengus’s words “whitening of the face” also refer to the difficulties she sets. Challenges of worthiness do not come when we are strong and at ease; they are unexpected, and strike when energy is down and we are disempowered. The challenge is always to retrieve that power, despite “the whitening of the face,” when we literally blanch at what is before us.
The hawthorn’s berries (its least famous feature) are good for all things related to the heart, reflecting that the Great Mother as well as the Maiden bride and the Crone are symbolised here. Despite the challenges that the hawthorn represents, it is also highly protective—of the small animals that shelter in its thicket, as well as all people suffering vulnerability of any kind. It is sacred not only to brides and virgins, but women in childbirth as well, who are all protected by its fierce thorns, physically or magically. The hawthorn in the green world is a living example of the temenos—sacred enclosure—the ultimate sacred enclosure being within a woman’s body. Only the good and truly worthy may enter.
In the Arthurian sagas is a story about Sir Gawain marrying a hag called Dame Ragnell. He must answer the ancient riddle “what does a woman truly want?” The answer is “sovereignty over herself.” When Gawain accepts his bride’s right to her own self-determination, she changes into a beautiful maiden.77 This is the teaching of the hawthorn; the law of sacredness demands respect. The hawthorn also has many connections with the heart, and it is this knowing one’s own heart that is the key to its mystery—allowing the beloved to be true to their heart, and being true to your own as well. In the tale of Culhwch and Olwen, Culhwch’s worthiness of his future bride Olwen is tested by her father, the terrible giant Yspaddaden Pencawr—whose name means “giant hawthorn.”78 In passing Yspaddaden’s tests, he proves his respect for his bride-to-be.
Hawthorns are sacred to the Roman goddess Cardea, who, symbolised by the hawthorn itself, is the goddess of doorways and weddings. It is said that Cardea will not bless a marriage if the groom has not made sufficient sacrifices or passed sufficient challenges to be worthy of his bride. She is also the goddess of doorways because to pass the tests of the hawthorn is to pass through into another phase of life, the lessons of the oak, whose name duir also means “door.”
The hawthorn is also connected to notions of erotic desire, and is a great energiser that raises the life force. Its association with the May Day festivals illustrates its very powerful fertility magic. Unlike today, Beltane was not considered an auspicious time to wed to the Celts—the goddess weds anew each year and her consort is interchangeable. In fact, this time was traditionally when divorces were made. If you could make your marriage pass the tests of May, and the hawthorn, then it was a worthy match indeed.
Hawthorn has another role in her Crone aspect, as her great energy has also been traditionally used to clear negative energy. It used to be traditional to plant hawthorns near to where an accident or death had occurred, to remove the negative influence on the land. Sacred to Macha, an Irish Crone goddess, the water used to wash a dead body was also sometimes taken and poured at the roots of hawthorn trees. Perhaps this also in the hope that the regenerative energy from Crone to Maiden would support and regenerate the spirits of the dead.
The name huath is likely to have originally have been uath—which in Old Irish means “frightful” or “horrible,” perhaps due to the hawthorn’s considerable Pagan importance.79 Its associations with the Crone, as well as its connections with passionate love, eroticism, and emotional commitment, are sadly still considered frightful to some repressed modern and orthodox Christian psyches. Perhaps this is why the Cad Goddeu refers to it being “unbeloved,” as so few rise to its challenges.80 The ability to handle the surges of energy, wildness and passion the hawthorn embodies is a sign of maturity and spiritual development—not by abstinence, but by integrating these qualities. Wholeness and inner sovereignty can then be achieved.
Practical and Magical Uses
Hawthorn flowers are always associated with Beltane, the May Day celebrations, and as such with marriages and betrothals. They are therefore very useful in love spells where the seeker intends to attract a suitable life partner. It is also useful for assisting connection with the goddess, especially goddesses of the spring such as Bloddeuwedd and Creiddylad. This goddess connection also helps a woman improve her self-image and self-esteem; for men the connection gives courage in love. An old country charm was for young women to break a twig of the newly flowered hawthorn but leave it hanging, and overnight she would dream of her future husband. If the twig was found the next day, it could then be used in a love spell to draw him near.
Crowns or circlets of hawthorn blossom are worn at Beltane festivities and ceremonies, and it was once popular especially in Ireland to leave out such crowns as gifts to the faeries. Another gift to the faeries, sometimes known as a “faery house,” was popular in farmsteads, where relationships with the local faeries and spirits were encouraged to ensure good crops and safety for the animals. These agricultural faeries, often known as “brownies,” were thought to lend both their protection and assistance around the farm. To thank them, a globe of woven hawthorn twigs was hung in the kitchen near the hearth. However, a great many other folkloric tales say that hawthorn should never be brought into the home at all. Certainly it should never be worked with without its express permission.
In Ireland and some parts of Scotland, “faery thorns” as they are known are so sacred to the local inhabitants that roads or other building plans have been diverted to avoid their disturbance. One such is the faery tree of Dromoland that caused the diversion of the motorway between Limerick and Galway in 2000, after public pressure demanded it be left alone.81
Hawthorns are intimately associated with healing, and are often found growing next to holy wells, such as the one at Madron in Cornwall, named after Madron/Modron a Celtic mother goddess.82 These hawthorns are dressed with clooties (Scots for “cloth”) as they are known in the West County—strips of cloth used as prayers of thanks. Sometimes these cloths are dipped in the healing waters and used to lave the sick or those in need of a blessing, before the cloth is hung upon the tree. Today, this tradition has become confused: many nonbiodegradable ribbons and other ties are left at sacred places as so-called offerings that can actually harm the tree as they do not break down and restrict the tree’s growth, not to mention the littering. If you would continue this tradition today, think carefully about what you leave behind you, and take some rubbish with you when you leave, remembering that these are sacred places and should be honoured appropriately and thoughtfully.
Hawthorn trees were ritually decorated with flowers and (biodegradable) red ribbons at the summer solstice, a practice known as “bawming the thorn.” The tradition continues to this day in the small Cheshire town of Appleton.83 After dressing the tree, the children dance around it, mimicking the faeries. This is probably a very old custom, dating back to when the trees were properly revered by our Celtic ancestors as part of a ritual temple site (a nemeton).
As sacred faery sites, hawthorn trees near wells or natural springs are places where the veil between the worlds is thin and interchange between the mortal and the spirit world is possible. They are also places of great earth energy, where the soul of the earth herself rises to the surface with the water. As such, they are excellent places to perform divination, healing magic, or to develop a relationship with the genius loci (spirit of place). Such places usually have powerful spirit guardians, and whilst sitting in quiet meditation, or embarking on a shamanic journey, it is possible to learn much from these beings. An old technique is to just sit quietly beneath the hawthorn’s branches and rest your eyes upon the water. In time you may feel a presence or get a flash in your mind’s eye as the tree or the local guardian (sometimes this is one and the same being) makes contact with you. Tread slowly if you wish to do this kind of work. Always thank the spirit and show great respect to it and its sacred domain.
Hawthorn trees, a hawthorn twig (fallen, never broken or cut) or a chain of hawthorn berries make excellent protection for animals and the beds of children and pregnant women. When magically charged, it eases fears and anxieties and helps heal broken hearts. In Pagan times, sick children were often taken to hawthorn trees, especially if they were near a well, and prayers were made that the hawthorn would take the sickness away and leave the child strong and healthy.
The hawthorn’s protective qualities are said to help shelter and protect from lightning, as opposed to the oak and ash, which attract it. It is also said to protect sailors at sea, and was hung in the rafters of barns and houses to protect from storms, fire, ghosts, and evil influences.
Hawthorn burns very hot and makes excellent charcoal. While it is useful on the fire, it seldom grows into large logs. Even green it makes good kindling, and it helps get a fire started, similar to its magical uses. Its wood is useful for small things, and is often used for the handles of magical knives and daggers. Hawthorn root has a beautiful fine grain, and was once used to make combs and trinket boxes.
Hawthorn bark makes a good black dye, and the berries are a useful and delicious foodstuff. They are often made into jellies and chutneys that are usually eaten with cheese or meats.
In Cornwall, a clod of earth and a sprig of hawthorn used to be placed upon each boundary stone as protection and to magically guard the territory. Hawthorn hedges work in a similar way, being practically as well as magically protective. Sprigs of hawthorn can be placed around your home or at the boundaries of your land to draw on this protective energy, and hawthorn trees can be grown and their spirits befriended for the same purpose. The hawthorn makes excellent hedging, as it is durable, hardy, and quick growing, and because it supports a vast array of life, providing food and shelter to numerous animals and insects.
Healing
Herbally, hawthorn is excellent for all nervous disorders and heart-related issues, both physically and emotionally. Culpeper places it under the rulership of Mars, which is interesting when we consider its life force-enhancing qualities, as well its ability to test the seeker and draw him or her into contact with the heart’s wisdom (which may sometimes be hard to bear).84 Hawthorn berries, leaves, and bark are sedative, anti-spasmodic, and diuretic, and are quite safe to use. (The same cannot be said about the seeds, which are poisonous.) Hawthorn is an excellent tree for regulating heart conditions such as arterial blood pressure. It is sometimes known as the “valerian of the heart” as it is so gentle and soothing in its action, giving a greater sense of vitality and well-being all over. It is excellent for help recuperating from long illness or from life traumas. It eases palpitations and anxiety and increases circulation. It is also useful during menopause.
Hawthorn berry tincture can be made in the autumn. Place the berries in a glass jar or bottle, and cover just barely with alcohol, preferably one that is 80 percent proof. Cover tightly and leave in a darkened place for about two weeks before straining and rebottling in a sterilised glass container. Take two to three teaspoons a day.
Dried and crushed hawthorn berries made into a tea or decoction with added honey makes a good gargle for sore throats and infections, and it eases kidney inflammation or diarrhoea.
Hawthorn flowers are used to heal facial blemishes and can improve one’s sense of worth and inner beauty. With magical intent, washing in hawthorn flowers steeped in water improves your self-image. Practical and magical steps taken together can be particularly useful for those with low self-esteem, or teenagers who may feel awkward or unattractive as they move through puberty. To make hawthorn flower tea, take one teaspoon of the dried flowers in a cup of boiled water and steep for fifteen minutes. Use as a facial wash, or pour a little onto cotton wool and dab over blemishes.
As a vibrational essence, the hawthorn lends courage through difficulties, and creates movement through stuck emotions or repressed desires, instilling fresh emotional energy. It opens the heart to pleasure and intimacy, and it helps individuals lose fears of commitment. It lends energy to become grounded and more present, manifesting primal life force.
Ogham Divination Meaning
As an ogham, the hawthorn suggests challenge in both positive and/or difficult ways. It also suggests a surge in energy to rise to the test. It questions your worthiness, and even if you fail, you will be nearer your goal than before. Hawthorn leaves you changed, transformed into something more real, honourable, and capable than before. It shows you the truth of your heart. That truth may not always be pleasant but it is always worthwhile. You are encouraged to consider your boundaries and remember to respect the boundaries of others in equal measure. It can signify love, union, and connection with the goddess if your heart is ready.
74 McManus, Guide to Ogam, 43, with additions by Calder, Scholars’ Primer, 279.
75 Lewis Spence, The Fairy Tradition in Britain (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger, 1995), 181.
76 James A. H. Murray, ed., The Romance and Prophecies of Thomas of Ercledoune (Somerset, UK: Llanerch, 1991), xlix, liii.
77 Matthews, Aquarian Guide, 140.
78 Ibid., 56.
79 McManus, Guide to Ogam, 37.
80 Graves, White Goddess, 47.
81 “The Heritage Tree Database: Hawthorn,” Co. Clare, Ireland (http://www
.treecouncil.ie/heritagetrees/395.htm).
82 “Madron Well and Baptistry,” Pendeen, Cornwall, UK (http://cornishancientsites
.com/Madron%Well%20%26%20Baptistry.pdf).
83 “Bawming the Thorn,” Cheshire, UK (http://www.appletonthorn.org.uk
/bawming-day).
84 Culpeper, Complete Herbal, 178.