SACRED WOODS FOR THE BELTAINE FIRES
Beltaine was one of the four great fire festivals of the Celtic world, and at that time large ritual bonfires were burned on hilltops. By tradition the ritual fire was composed of nine sacred woods or else was made entirely of Oak.
The Nine Sacred Woods*4
Choose the Willow of the streams,
Choose the Hazel of the rocks,
Choose the Alder of the marshes,
Choose the Birch of the waterfalls,
Choose the Ash of the shade,
Choose the Yew of resilience,
Choose the Elm of the brae,
Choose the Oak of the sun.
TRADITIONAL SCOTTISH VERSE1
In ancient times sacred fires were lit by friction using Agaric or Mistletoe as tinder. Following is a description of the kindling of a “need-fire” in Scotland from John Ramsay, laird of Ochtertyre, patron of Robert Burns, and friend of Sir Walter Scott.
A well-seasoned plank of oak was procured, in the midst of which a hole was bored. A wimble of the same timber was then applied, the end of which they fitted to the hole So soon as any sparks were emitted by means of the violent friction, they applied a species of agaric which grows on old birch-trees, and is very combustible. This fire had the appearance of being immediately derived from heaven, and manifold were the virtues ascribed to it. They esteemed it a preservative against witch-craft, and a sovereign remedy against malignant diseases, both in the human species and in cattle; and by it the strongest poisons were supposed to have their nature changed.2
And here’s an account of the Beltaine fire by Thomas Pennant, who traveled in Perthshire in the year 1769.
On the first of May, the herdsmen of every village hold their Bel-tien, a rural sacrifice. They cut a square trench on the ground, leaving the turf in the middle; on that they make a fire of wood, on which they dress a large caudle of eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk; and bring besides the ingredients of the caudle, plenty of beer and whisky; for each of the company must contribute something. The rites begin with spilling some of the caudle on the ground, by way of libation: on that everyone takes a cake of oatmeal, upon which are raised nine square knobs, each dedicated to some particular being, the supposed preserver of their flocks and herds, or to some particular animal, the real destroyer of them: each person then turns his face to the fire, breaks off a knob, and flinging it over his shoulders, says, “This I give to thee, preserve thou my horses; this to thee, preserve thou my sheep; and so on.” After that, they use the same ceremony to the noxious animals: “This I give to thee, O fox! spare thou my lambs; this to thee, O hooded crow! this to thee, O eagle!” When the ceremony is over, they dine on the caudle; and after the feast is finished, what is left is hid by two persons deputed for that purpose; but on the next Sunday they reassemble, and finish the reliques of the first entertainment.3
Alder
(Alnus glutinosa)
In Irish mythology the first human man was made from an alder tree which is considered a tree of the Faeries, protected by the water fairy-folk. . . . In parts of old Ireland, it was considered a crime to cut down an alder tree because the tree spirit would get angry and burn down houses in revenge. This possibly came about because when felled, the wood of the alder turns from white to an unnerving blood red, due to its bright red-orange sap.4
Because of the blood-red color of the wood when the tree is cut, the Alder is a tree sacred to Celtic warrior Gods. The Celtic God Vernostonus was personified as an Alder tree in a dedication near Hadrian’s Wall in Scotland, while the warrior God Bran carried Alder twigs in the poem “The Battle of the Trees” by the Welsh bard Taliesin. Bran’s severed head was once buried at the site of the Tower of London to provide magical protection for the land. King Arthur foolishly dug up the head, and the Saxon invasion soon followed.
Many parts of the Alder can be used for healing purposes. In Britain and Ireland a tea of ripe Alder cones was taken for gout, and the leaves were used to poultice burns.5
In traditional Highland medicine Alder was a remedy for sore feet and rheumatic parts. The leaves were simmered with Sphagnum Moss (Sphagnum cynbifolium) to make a tea, and the affected area was soaked in the tea and scrubbed with the moss. A hot leaf poultice was applied to rheumatic parts.
The inner bark of the Alder was simmered to make a wash for inflammations and swellings and a gargle for sore throats, including strep. Simmered in vinegar, it was used to treat scabies and lice.
CAUTION: As with all deciduous trees, Alder leaves should be gathered before the summer solstice because after that they will contain too many plant alkaloids. Avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding.6
The fresh or dried Alder leaves are gathered in the spring (before summer solstice) and used to poultice sore feet and rheumatic parts. Tea made from the bark is used as a wash for inflammations and swellings and is taken internally as a gargle for sore throat. To make the tea: Simmer 1 teaspoon of the inner bark per cup of water for 20 minutes.
Alder at Beltaine
Wear a crown of Alder leaves in honor of the Alder God and of warriors. Make an offering to a stand of Alders in thanks for their medicine and help. Use Alder wood in the ritual fire.
Apple (Pyrus malus)
Crab Apple (Malus sylvestris)
To eat an apple going to bed
Makes the doctor beg his bread.
TRADITIONAL ENGLISH SAYING
If the Apple blooms in March
For barrels of cider you need not sarch.
If Apples bloom in April,
Why then they will be plentiful.
If the Apple tree blossoms in May,
You can eat apple dumplings every day.
TRADITIONAL HEREFORDSHIRE AND EAST SUSSEX FOLK RHYME
Apples have long been associated with the Isle of Avalon (Ynys Avallach), or the “Island of Apples,” which is a watery portal to the Celtic Otherworld where King Arthur was sent to die. Apples are also sacred to Venus/Aphrodite, Hercules, Diana, Iduna, Dionysus, Olwen, Apollo, Hera, Athena, and Zeus, and in rituals to honor these Gods and personalities, Apples are placed on the altar, Apple juice or hard cider is shared, and Apple seeds and bark are burned as incense. You can also plant an Apple tree in honor of Aphrodite within your ritual grove, and burn Apple wood to contact those who dwell in the Summerland.
Plant an Apple tree if you are pregnant and expecting a boy. If it is healthy and fruitful, so will he be. An Apple tree that blooms with ripe apples still on its branches foretells a death. In the fall be sure to leave the last Apple on the tree as a gift for the Fairies.7
While in earlier times people had to wait for the fall to get crisp, ripe Apples, these days Kitchen Witches can go to the grocery store at any time of year and find the fresh fruits. Here’s a recipe to incorporate the magic of Apples into your Beltaine celebrations.
Apples, Fennel, and Radicchio Sautéed with Calvados or Dry Sherry*5
Serves 4
1 cup organic apple juice
2 cups organic radicchio leaves
2 cups inner leaves of organic escarole
1 tablespoon of organic vinegar
1 tablespoon cold-pressed virgin olive oil
2 cups organic fennel root, quartered and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper or a pepper mix (black, white, etc.)
1 medium organic Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon calvados (distilled apple cider) or dry sherry
1 tablespoon unsalted organic butter
Put the apple juice in a small pan and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about ⅓. Set aside.
Trim the radicchio and escarole leaves—use the small leaves whole and tear the larger leaves into pieces. Add the vinegar to a bowl of cold water and soak the leaves in it for 20 minutes. Then rinse the leaves well and spin dry.
Heat the oil in a separate pan, add the fennel root, sea salt, and a few pinches of pepper. Cook just until the greens wilt. Add in the apples, apple juice, and calvados or sherry and sauté for 1 minute longer. Turn off the heat and cool briefly. Toss in the butter and serve immediately.
Apple has many medicinal uses. In Britain and Ireland a tea of the leaves of Crab Apple was taken internally to treat cancer and applied as a poultice to external bruises. The fruit was rubbed on warts and applied as a hot poultice to sores, earaches, boils, and chilblains. The tea of the flowers and fruits was used by women as an astringent face wash.8 In the Highlands of Scotland a syrup of Rowan berries (Sorbus aucuparia), Apples, and honey was used for coughs and chest congestion.
Eat a peeled Apple (sour varieties like Granny Smith are best) to stop diarrhea. Eat an Apple with the skin on it to relieve constipation. Raw Apples clean the liver, prevent gout, and keep your gums healthy. Baked Apples are applied as a poultice to sore throats and swollen eyes and placed in the armpits to relieve a fever. Apple peel tea can help relieve rheumatism, and the inner bark of Apple trees, gathered from branches, never the trunk, can be simmered to reduce fever.
CAUTION: Do not gather Apple bark after the first frost as it will contain cyanide. The seeds also contain cyanide, but it would take about 200 seeds to harm a 150-pound adult (although fewer, of course, to sicken a child).
A tea or syrup made from the bark (or leaves when gathered before the summer solstice) treats hyperacidity and heartburn. Herbalist David Winston reports:
One of my early teachers, the late William LeSassier used (and I use) Apple tree bark as a lymphatic and Spleen tonic. It enhances lymphatic circulation, helps to shrink an enlarged spleen. It is usually mixed with other Lymph/Spleen herbs. It is specifically indicated for splenic congestion, with a slightly enlarged spleen, tender to the touch, with diarrhea. Gather the bark in spring or autumn.9
CAUTION: Apples are likely safe for most people, as long as the seeds aren’t eaten. No side effects are generally known or expected to occur with Apple fruit or Apple juice. However Apple may cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the Rosaceae family (Apricot, Almond, Plum, Peach, Pear, and Strawberry). Apple may also cause a reaction in people who are allergic to Birch pollen.10
To make tea from the peel: Simmer 2 teaspoons of the dried peel per cup of water for about 20 minutes and take up to 3 cups a day. To make tea from the bark: Use the inner bark of twigs, gathered before the first frost. Simmer 2 teaspoons per cup for 20 minutes in a well-covered nonaluminum pot. Take ¼ cup, four times a day, between meals. To make the tincture: Using the bark, follow the instructions for making a tincture then take 5 to 10 drops, four times a day, between meals.
Whenever possible drink raw Apple cider. It has the bacteria necessary for human gut health. Pasteurized juices no longer contain the bacteria.
Apple at Beltaine
Place Apple blossoms on the altar or wear them in a crown. Anoint yourself and your lover with Apple blossom oil. Use Apple blossom oil to consecrate a wand or candle to be used for love magic. Burn Apple wood in the ritual fire.
Ash
(Fraxinus spp.)
In British tradition the “even Ash” is an Ash twig with an even number of leaves that was once used in divination to see your future spouse (apparently this worked even if he was already married to someone else!).
The even-ash-leaf in my hand
The first I meet shall be my man.
Or place it under the pillow before bed, saying:
Even-ash, even-ash I pluck thee,
This night my own true love to see,
Neither in his rick nor in his rare,
But in his clothes of everyday wear.11
In Britain, Ash trees were consulted as a type of weather divination. If the Oak tree showed its leaves first, it presaged dry weather, but if the Ash leafed first, it meant a wet spring.
If the Ash before the Oak
We shall surely get a soak,
If the Oak before the Ash,
We shall surely get a splash.12
It is easy to understand the mythic importance of Ash trees in Scandinavia. Ash burned the hottest as firewood and, being flexible yet durable, was also used to make weapons and thrones. In Norse mythology Ask and Embla—male and female, respectively—were the first two humans created by the Gods. Ask is the Ash tree, and Embla is the Elm. Following is a quote from the poetic Edda compiled by Snorri Sturluson in the thirteenth century.
From the home of the gods, / the mighty and gracious;
Two without fate / on the land they found,
Ask and Embla, / empty of might.
Soul they had not, / sense they had not,
Heat nor motion, / nor goodly hue;
Soul gave Othin, / sense gave Hönir,
Heat gave Lothur / and goodly hue.13
Ash is the cosmic World Tree of Norse mythology known as Yggdrasil in the poetic Eddas.
An ash I know, / Yggdrasil its name,
With water white / is the great tree wet;
Thence come the dews / that fall in the dales,
Green by Urth’s well / does it ever grow.
Thence come the maidens / mighty in wisdom,
Three from the dwelling / down ’neath the tree;
Urth is one named, / Verthandi the next,—
On the wood they scored,—/ and Skuld the third.*6
Laws they made there, and life allotted
To the sons of men, and set their fates.14
In Britain and Ireland, Ash was considered a plant ally of considerable power. It was another traditional wood used for healing wands and magical staffs, and its twigs could be worn as a collar or carried in hand to “repel serpents.” In ancient Anglo-Saxon times disease was thought of as a wyrm (worm or snake), and the mighty Ash had powers against that too.
A fresh branch of Ash was placed in the fire, and the hot sap that dripped from it was gathered in a spoon and put into the ear to relieve an earache, rubbed onto warts, and placed on an aching tooth. Ash was also used to treat rheumatism. A poultice of the young leaves was placed on rheumatic parts, and a tea of the leaves was taken internally. Parts afflicted with ringworm were smudged with smoke from the burning twigs, and the inner bark was simmered in linseed oil to make a remedy for burns.15
Ash is also used as an herbal remedy today. Tea made from the inner bark can be taken to treat fevers and rheumatism and cleanse the spleen and liver. Leaves gathered in spring (before the summer solstice) can be used fresh or dried to make a laxative tea or a poultice to soothe puncture wounds and bites. They can also be simmered with white wine and used to treat jaundice (the simmering drives off the alcohol).
CAUTION: Avoid Ash during pregnancy and breastfeeding.16
To make the leaf tea: Steep 1 teaspoon of leaves per cup of freshly boiled water for 3 minutes. Take 1½ cups a day in ¼-cup doses. To make the bark tea: Simmer 1 teaspoon of the inner bark of a twig per ½ cup of water for 20 minutes. Take 1 cup a day in ¼-cup doses. Add Peppermint (Mentha piperita) or Marjoram (Origanum majorana) for flavor.
Ash at Beltaine
Place an offering under an Ash tree at Beltaine to honor the Elves, Fairies, and elementals. Burn Ash wood in the ritual fire.
Birch
(Betula spp.)
Beneath you birch with silver bark
And boughs so pendulous and fair,
The brook falls scattered down the rock:
and all is mossy there.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE
In many cultures Birch is considered a feminine tree sacred to the Earth Mother and other Goddesses. Meditating in a grove of Birches can help you form a mystical bond with a female deity. Birch is also considered to be protective when placed in a cradle or coffin or planted in a graveyard.
Beltane fires in Scotland were ritually made of birch and oak, and a birch tree was often used as a, sometimes living, maypole. As birch is one of the first trees to come into leaf it would be an obvious choice as representation of the emergence of spring. Deities associated with birch are mostly love and fertility Goddesses, such as the northern European Frigga and Freya. Eostre (from whom we derive the word Easter), the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, was celebrated around and through the birch tree between the spring equinox and Beltane. According to the medieval herbalist Culpeper, the birch is ruled over by Venus—both the planet and the Goddess. According to Scottish Highland folklore, a barren cow herded with a birch stick would become fertile, or a pregnant cow would bear a healthy calf.17
Birch is a traditional wood from which to make runes for divination. To make your own set of runes: First visit a Birch grove during the waxing moon. Place your left hand on a Birch tree and ask her if you may cut a branch. If the tree says yes, then leave her a gift and saw your branch. Or even better, go out after a storm and find a branch on the ground.
Dry the branch slowly, sealing the ends with wax to hold in moisture as long as possible. On the next waxing moon, cut your branch into small round sections, sand the sections, and then carve or paint a rune on each piece. Examples of rune images are shown in the runic alphabet below.
The Elder Futhark, the oldest runic alphabet from Scandinavia and other Germanic areas18
Birch sap wine was considered medicinal in Britain and Ireland and was taken to relieve rheumatism.19 If you wish to try it, collect the sap in the spring from mid-February to mid-March. Since the White Birch (Betula alba) has no flavor, I would suggest tapping any of the other varieties, including a River Birch (Betula nigra), Black Birch (Betula lenta), or Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis). The following is a recipe for Birch sap wine from 1676.
To every Gallon whereof, add a pound of refined Sugar, and boil it about a quarter or half an hour; then set it to cool, and add a very little Yeast to it, and it will ferment, and thereby purge itself from that little dross the Liquor and Sugar can yield: then put it in a Barrel, and add thereto a small proportion of Cinnamon and Mace bruised, about half an ounce of both to ten Gallons; then stop it very close, and about a month after bottle it; and in a few days you will have a most delicate brisk Wine of a flavor like unto Rhenish. Its Spirits are so volatile, that they are apt to break the Bottles, unless placed in a Refrigeratory, and when poured out, it gives a white head in the Glass. This Liquor is not of long duration, unless preserved very cool. Ale brewed of this Juice or Sap, is esteem’d very wholesome.20
The inner bark of the Birch has healing qualities too. Although the inner bark of White Birch has no flavor, it is loaded with gamma linolenic acid and useful in cancer treatments. The wintergreen-flavored bark is found in Black Birch, Yellow Birch, River Birch, and other Birches with a yellow or brownish bark. Gather the inner bark in spring when the sap is flowing.
Birch bark tea is a great grease cutter and can even be used to clean your kitchen stove. I believe it probably can do the same for your blood when taken as a spring tonic. It is also a mild sedative and very useful for insomnia. Externally the bark tea is used as a soothing wash or bath for skin conditions and can be rubbed into the scalp to benefit thinning hair. Note that spring-gathered leaves can also be made into a tea and rubbed into the scalp for thinning hair. To make the bark tea: Simmer 1 tablespoon of the inner bark per ½ cup of freshly boiled water for 20 minutes and then steep Elderflowers (Sambucus spp.) in the brew for another 20 minutes. Take ¼ cup, four times a day, between meals. To make the leaf tea: Steep 1 teaspoon of leaves per ½ cup of freshly boiled water for 20 minutes. Take ¼ cup, four times a day, between meals.
CAUTION: Avoid Birch during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Birch pollen could cause allergies in people who are sensitive to Wild Carrot, Mugwort, Apples, Soybeans, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, and Celery. Birch leaves are high in sodium, which could elevate blood pressure.21
Birch at Beltaine
Wear a crown or girdle of Birch to honor a Goddess. Make a tea of the inner bark of any Birch except White Birch, and serve it in the ritual cup. Burn Birch wood in the ritual fire.
Elm (Ulmus spp.)
Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra)
Slippery Elm (Ulmus fulva)
In Cornwall the Elm was the traditional tree for the Maypole, and in Devon it was thought that if Elm leaves fell too early in the season it presaged cattle disease.22
The Old English name for Elm was “Elven,” and the tree is a favorite of the wood Elves. Spend time with an Elm tree to cultivate a relationship with the Elves and Fairies. Share your thoughts with the tree and bond with it by bringing it gifts such as herbs, a drink, or a song.
Make an Elm staff or wand when the tree drops a branch (be on the lookout after a storm) and carry it with you as you walk the boundaries of your land, singing. Or carry a bit of Elm in a pouch to foster your magical work and to enhance communications with the Otherworld.
Powdered Slippery Elm is used magically when one person in a relationship has undue influence over the other, and a separation would be for the highest good of all concerned. To encourage the separation: First break an egg and feed the yolk and white to an animal, reserving the shell. Fill the two shell halves with Slippery Elm powder and tie them together with black thread or yarn. Then wrap the egg in parchment on which you have written the following in dragon’s blood ink:
As heaven is separate from Earth,
As day is separate from night,
As life is separate from death,
As mountain is separate from valley,
As land is separate from sea,
As sun is separate from moon,
So separate [first person’s name]
from [second person’s name],
Divide them one from the other.
Then bury the egg close to where the people live.
Dragon’s Blood Ink
1 part powdered resin from a dragon tree*7
1 part gum arabic
13 parts alcohol
Mix the resin with the gum arabic and very slowly blend in the alcohol until everything is fully dissolved. Filter through a cheesecloth and then bottle. For best results, do this under the waxing moon.
To stop others from slandering you, make a poppet (a cloth doll) to represent you, sprinkle it with powdered Slippery Elm bark, wrap it in red flannel, and bury it on the eastern side of the house. To prevent others from gossiping about you, carry Slippery Elm bark and a shark’s tooth in a charm bag. Note that while Southern John Root (a.k.a. Dixie John, Low John, Beth Root, or Birth Root) (Trillium grandiflorum) can accomplish the same thing, it is now an endangered species, so be very careful to use it sparingly, if at all.23
Wych Elm was used in Britain and Ireland to treat skin conditions, swellings, and sprains. The slime from the inner bark was applied externally, and a poultice of the leaves was placed on swellings and inflammations. A tea made from the inner bark was drunk to relieve eczema, and the inner bark itself was chewed raw or simmered to make a jelly, which was eaten cold, as a remedy for sore throats and colds.24
The powdered inner bark of Slippery Elm is a great poultice material for wounds, burns, and sores and carpal tunnel syndrome when mixed with Comfrey leaves. To make a comfrey poultice: Put a few cups of fresh, shredded Comfrey leaves (Symphytum officinale) in the blender with just enough water to blend (or pour boiling water over the dry leaves and stir until soft). Add a handful of Slippery Elm bark powder and keep mixing in a bit more until you achieve a pie-dough consistency. Spread the doughlike mixture onto a clean cloth, roll with a rolling pin or a glass bottle, and apply the poultice directly to a burn, surgical scar, wound, or sprain. Keep the poultice in place for 1 hour, then discard and do not reuse it. I make these in the summer when the Comfrey is fresh and freeze them for later use.
You can also mix Slippery Elm powder with the mashed roots of White Pond Lily (Nymphaea alba, Nymphaea odorata) to poultice boils, ulcers, and inflammations.
To make the tea: Simmer about 4 to 5 tablespoons of the inner bark per pint of water for 20 minutes in a well-covered, nonaluminum pot, and then let it stand for an hour. Repeat both steps one more time. Take ¼ cup, three times a day, sweetened with maple syrup or honey if desired. You can also steep Slippery Elm bark using 2 to 3 tablespoons per quart of freshly boiled water. Allow the bark to infuse for several hours and then take the tea with honey or maple syrup as desired.
CAUTION: Avoid Elm bark during pregnancy and breastfeeding.25
Elm at Beltaine
Place an offering for the Fairies and Wood Elves under an Elm tree. Wear a crown of the leaves during your ritual. Burn Elm wood in the ritual fire.
Hazel
(Corylus avellana)
“Before sunrise on May Day morning, country people cut hazel rods out of which they carved small figures. They kept these in their stables or on their person to ward off evil.”26
Hazel is sacred to Goddesses because of the milk found in the green nuts. The tree is also sacred to Gods of storms and lightning because its wood is used in the ritual fire. It is worth remembering that sacred fire carries anything put into it: thoughts, prayers, and offerings to the Gods and Goddesses of the Sky Realm. Because of its connection to the Sky Gods, a twig of Hazel is said to protect the house from lightning or a ship from shipwreck.
A good year for Hazelnuts means a good year for babies, and cows are thought to give richer milk when allowed to graze on Hazel leaves. When I was in Ireland recently, a cow farmer told me that cows give far richer milk when allowed to browse in a mature forest. This is just one more reason to replant the lost woodlands of Europe.
You can attach a Hazel rod to your horse to prevent it from being ridden by Fairies, and in Wales it is considered very lucky to weave a Hazel twig into your hat.27 Hazel is also a traditional wood for dowsing rods used for “water witching,” a practice that involves holding a Hazel branch with both hands and walking slowly over an area. The rod will bend downward and vibrate slightly when you cross a vein of water.
Hazel trees are associated with the Salmon of Wisdom in ancient Irish lore. According to tradition there is a magical well at the bottom of the ocean where the Salmon of Wisdom eat the nuts that fall from nine magical Hazel trees. Known as the Well of Segais or Connla’s Well, it is the source of all inspiration and knowledge. For every nut they eat the salmon get a spot, which may be a reference to an ancient system of Druidic initiation. Any person who eats of the Salmon of Wisdom becomes at once a seer or a poet. Some even speculate that the red flesh of the salmon may actually be a veiled reference to the ingestion of Amanita muscaria, a red-capped mushroom with white spots.
Hazelnuts can have a positive effect on the respiratory system. Dry and powder them and mix them with mead or honey water to relieve a chronic cough, or add a pinch of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) to the powder to treat sinus conditions and thick mucus. The nuts also make a nutritious milk for children who are allergic to cow’s milk. Soak the raw, mature nuts overnight in cold water, then blend and strain out the nut “milk.”
Tea made from the inner bark of the Hazel tree can be applied to boils and warts, and Hazelnut oil is an antioxidant and can help lower cholesterol.
CAUTION: Persons with allergies to Peanuts, Mugwort pollen, Brazil nuts, Birch pollen, and Macadamia nuts may also be allergic to Hazelnuts. Women who are pregnant and breastfeeding should eat only moderate amounts of Hazelnuts.28
Hazel at Beltaine
Carry Hazel nuts on your person and keep a few on the altar, in honor of the Salmon of Wisdom. Burn Hazel wood in the ritual fire. Serve salmon at your Beltaine feast.
Oak
(Quercus spp.)
Oak has long been used to enhance the effectiveness of herbal magic and keep evil at bay. In European magical tradition, adding lightning-struck Oak to any herbal spell will increase its potency. The logic behind this is that the tree has attracted the attention of the Gods and survived, marking it as a powerful being. In Britain keeping Acorns in the house was said to protect it from lightning, and planting an Oak near the home would attract the flash away from the building.
Oak galls will increase the power of any herbal magic. Carry them in a spirit bag, add them to incense, or brew them into a tea for bathing to increase the potency of magical workings. Carrying an Acorn on your person (I always keep some in my coat pockets) preserves your youth, but be sure that the Acorns do not contain a worm, because that could attract sickness.
According to Catherine Yronwode, proprietor of the Lucky Mojo Curio Company, a manufacturer of herb-based spiritual supplies:
The bark of all species of Oak, but especially the White Oak (Quercus alba), is believed to be spiritually efficacious in removing crossed conditions. It is said that burning White Oak bark chips with Mistletoe, Rue, and Wahoo bark will keep away evil. White Oak bark is also brewed into tea by spiritual root workers to take a jinx [out] of a client. The client is bathed by rubbing vigorously from the neck downward while prayers are said. . . . Likewise, White Oak bark chips and Mistletoe are burned together to smoke jinxed clients. This incense is also said to remove unsettled spirits or ghosts from a house or place of business.29
Oak trees span the Three Worlds of Land, Sea, and Sky. Their roots go down as far as the tree is tall, making it a grounded and balanced being that can teach much. Because it is a tree of fertility, women can hug an Oak to ensure childbirth. Important events are commemorated under an Oak, and you can swear an oath “by Oak and Ash and Thorn.” Where Oak, Ash, and Thorn are seen together you will often see Fairies.
Herne the Hunter was a magician and forest ranger at Windsor Forest and Great Park who hung himself on an Oak tree. His ghost, which becomes visible as a man with stag antlers, now appears as a warning before any national crisis.30
Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
Walk round about an oak, with great ragg’ d horns;
And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
In a most hideous and dreadful manner.
You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know
The superstitious idle-headed eld
Receiv’ d, and did deliver to our age,
This tale of Herne the Hunter for a truth.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Baking with Acorns
Eating the fruit of the Oak, the Acorn, is another way to ingest its magic. As you may know, wheat was not introduced into the human diet until about ten thousand years ago, which is the reason so many of us have wheat allergies. Before that, especially in Europe, we depended upon Acorns and Hazelnuts for carbohydrates and protein. Acorns, of course, need to be gathered in the fall. You can freeze them for later use or make them into flour for baking all year. Once processed into flour Acorns have a deeply nutty, slightly sweet flavor, somewhat reminiscent of molasses.
How to Process Acorns for Baking
Gather the nuts when they have just fallen and are still slightly green, because if you wait too long to collect the nuts a large percentage of them will be rotten. Find two large rocks: one that has a slight depression and another that is flat. Place an acorn in the depression of the bottom rock and smash it open with the other rock.
Pick out the meat with metal picks like those used for seafood. Have a large bowl of cold water nearby and, as you remove the meat from each nut, immediately drop it into the water to prevent oxidation.
When you have several cups of nutmeats in your bowl, pour out the water and place the meats into a blender. Add just enough fresh water to blend easily; grind coarsely for just a few seconds. Then pour the gruel and water into a large glass jar. The jar should be about half water and half nutmeat. Keep the capped glass jar in the refrigerator and change the water once a day for 2 weeks. This is the leaching process.
At the end of 2 weeks, strain out all the ground nuts and spread them on a cookie sheet. Bake at about 225°F for 1 to 2 hours, or until the nutmeat is completely dry and slightly toasted. Store in a tightly covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 years. When you want to bake, take out the dry nutmeat and grind it in a coffee grinder (I have one that is used just for acorns) to make flour.
Given the deep spiritual significance of Oak trees, Acorn cakes and breads are very appropriate for ritual occasions, especially Druidic rites.*8
Acorn Cake*9
This is my favorite cake for the high holy days.
Organic butter or cooking spray to grease the pan
1 cup acorn flour
1 cup other organic flour
1 teaspoon nonaluminum baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground organic cardamom
½ teaspoon ground organic cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground organic nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground organic allspice
6 organic free-range eggs
1 cup cold-pressed virgin olive or coconut oil
1 cup local raw honey
½ cup organic applesauce
1 cup raw organic cane sugar
Organic confectioner’s sugar to dust on top
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour a Bundt pan.
Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, honey, applesauce, and sugar.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures and stir well. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, and then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Once the cake has cooled completely, dust lightly with confectioner’s sugar.
Acorn Bread*10
Organic butter or cooking spray to grease the pan
2 cups acorn flour
2 cups organic white flour†11
3 teaspoons nonaluminum baking powder
⅓ cup maple syrup or local raw honey
1 organic free-range egg
½ cup organic milk
3 tablespoons cold-pressed virgin olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease and flour a loaf pan. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Acorn Muffins*12
2 tablespoons melted organic butter
3 tablespoons local raw honey
2 tablespoons raw organic cane sugar (or 1 tablespoon honey as a substitute)
1 organic free-range egg
½ cup organic milk
1 cup acorn flour
1 cup organic whole-grain pastry flour
1 teaspoon nonaluminum baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon apple pie spice
Combine the butter, honey, sugar, and egg in a bowl and then gradually stir in the milk and acorn flour. In a separate bowl, combine pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and apple pie spice.
Combine the wet and dry mixtures and stir well. Pour the batter into greased muffin tins or cupcake papers and bake at 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
The Oak can be used for many medicinal purposes. In Britain and especially in Ireland the inner barks of the Pedunculate Oak (Quercus robur) and Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) were once simmered to make a sore throat gargle. The brew was also taken as tea to treat diarrhea, pinworms, rheumatism, and sore throat; added to the bath for sore or smelly feet or sprained ankles; applied to ulcers; and used as a mouthwash for toothache and neuralgia. A decoction of the leaves was used for ringworm.31
The inner bark of all Oaks can be used externally, but the very best Oak for internal use is the White Oak (Quercus alba). No matter the species, the inner bark can be gathered all year, but the leaves should only be gathered before the summer solstice.
White Oak tea can be taken to treat sore throats and chest conditions, diarrhea, dysentery, and internal bleeding. To ease a fever mix White Oak with Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile, Matricaria recutita). To make the tea: Simmer 1 teaspoon of inner bark per ½ cup of water for 20 minutes, or steep 1 teaspoon of spring-gathered leaves per ½ cup of water for 20 minutes.
Externally Oak’s astringent properties make it an excellent wound wash, a douche, a compress for hemorrhoids, and a mouthwash for bleeding gums. To make a wound wash or a compress for hemorrhoids: Simmer 1 to 2 pounds of the inner bark in 2 quarts of water until half of the liquid has evaporated. Use the compress two or three times a day (discard after each use and make a fresh compress). The inner bark tea can also be added to bathwater to soothe sore feet or sprained ankles.
The galls from a White Oak are simmered to make a tea to be used internally to treat dysentery, diarrhea, and cholera and externally as a poultice or compress to stop bleeding and to bathe piles. The tea is also used to soothe sore throats and tonsillitis.
To make the gall tea: Add 1 teaspoon Oak gall powder to ½ cup of water and simmer for a few minutes. Strain and use as a mouthwash. Keep in a covered jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Use the powdered galls externally for gum infections by making a paste. To make the gall paste: Use your mortar and pestle to combine powdered Oak gall and just enough water to moisten. Apply daily until the condition improves.
Use the poultice two or three times a day (discard after each use and make a fresh poultice).
The Acorns from the Oak can be dried and powdered (see “How to Process Acorns for Baking”) and used to dust ulcers and infected wounds.
CAUTION: White Oak is likely safe when taken orally for 2 to 3 days and when used externally for no more than 3 weeks. Avoid the tea made from the inner bark during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you have a heart condition, do not take the inner bark tea. If you have large areas of broken skin such as severe eczema, do not use Oak inner bark or young leaves as a wash. Avoid Oak bark baths if you have severely tight muscles (hypertonia), a high fever, or a severe infection. Those with kidney or liver problems should avoid Oak tea made from the inner bark as it could worsen those conditions.32
Oak at Beltaine
Collect some dew from beneath an Oak tree on May Day morning to use as a potent beauty aid, and be sure to incorporate Acorn dishes into your Beltaine celebrations. Wear the leaves in a crown and burn Oak wood in the ritual fire.
Pine
(Pinus spp.)
Between every two pine trees there is a door leading to a new way of life.
JOHN MUIR
Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU, “CHESUNCOOK,” IN THE MAINE WOODS, 1848
Pine is associated with the Goddess Cybele, also known as Magna Mater (Great Mother) or Goddess of Wild Nature, from Anatolia, Greece, and Rome. When Cybele discovered that her lover Attis had been unfaithful to her, she went into a jealous rage and made him go mad and mutilate himself under a Pine tree, where he bled to death. Afterward, regretting what she had done, Cybele mourned her lost lover. Zeus then promised her that the Pine tree would remain sacred to Attis forever.
During Roman imperial times there was an annual spring festival dedicated to Cybele that involved cutting down a Pine tree to represent her dead lover, Attis. The tree was wrapped in bandages and carried to Cybele’s shrine, where it was decked with Violets, considered to have magically sprung from Attis’s blood. Cybele’s priests cut their arms so that their blood sprinkled on her altar and the sacred Pine. They danced to the music of cymbals, drums, and flutes, and during these wild rites, some followers even mutilated themselves, just as Attis once had.33
Evergreen Pine is a home for the Spirits of the forest. This is one reason we bring the tree inside and make wreaths of its boughs to hang on our door at the winter solstice. By doing that we are informing the Spirits that our dwelling is a haven for them in the dark and cold of winter. A round wreath of Pine and other greenery is also a symbol of the sun and expresses our admiration for that star and our wish for its strengthening and return.
Pine is a tree of peace and protection. Place crossed fresh Pine boughs before the unused hearth to keep evil from entering the home. Use a branch of Pine to ritually sweep your ceremonial circle. An incense made with Pine brings peace and cleansing to any area. To make the incense: Mix Pine needles with Juniper and Cedar needles and burn them in a safe container, or collect the Pine resin found dripping from the bark and dry and powder it using your mortar and pestle.
You can also make a sparkling drink of Pine and use it in your sacred rites.
Sacred Pine Libation
1 cup raw organic cane sugar
1 cup springwater
1 cup white pine needles (Pinus strobus)*13
Combine the sugar and water in a pan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the needles to the hot water and steep for at least 1 hour (the longer you steep, the stronger the flavor will be).
Strain the liquid through cheesecloth and bottle or put into a glass jar. The syrup will last about 1 month in the refrigerator, or you can freeze it for later. To serve, pour the pine syrup into a cup and add carbonated water to taste.
Pine can also be used as a healing agent. In Britain and Ireland the inner bark or young shoots of the Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) were used to make tea to treat fevers and coughs, and the resin was applied to wounds as an antiseptic and styptic and also to plaster boils and sores.34 To make the bark tea: Simmer 1 teaspoon of inner bark per cup of water for 20 minutes in a well-covered, nonaluminum pot.
White Pine needles are also great for making tea all year. To make the needle tea: Steep 1 teaspoon of young shoots or needles per cup of water for 20 to 30 minutes. Take as needed in tablespoon doses, hourly.
Pine plasters can help relieve muscle and nerve pain and heal wounds that are not too deep. To make a Pine plaster: Heat 1 teaspoon of powdered resin (powder the dry resin with a mortar and pestle) with ¼ cup of olive oil and ½ cup of melted beeswax in a double boiler. When everything is in liquid form, spread the mixture onto a clean cloth, allow to harden, and apply the plaster to the affected area. Keep it in place for 12 hours, then discard. Bathe the affected area and apply a new plaster. Note: young children and those with very sensitive skin may find Pine pitch irritating.
Pine actually contains more vitamin C than lemons. The new growth in spring is quite edible and can be added to salads, made into tea, or frozen into ice cubes for later use. Fresh or dried and powdered Pine resin has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties and can be added to healing salves.
CAUTION: Be sure that you are not using Yew, which is a poisonous conifer. Avoid long-term use of Pine (no more than 2 weeks), and do not use it if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Some people may experience allergic reactions or asthma when exposed to Pine pollen.35
Pine at Beltaine
Use a large, fallen Pine branch to ritually sweep your circle before the Beltaine rite. Burn Pine wood in the ritual fire and as incense. Drink Pine tea in the ritual cup.
Willow
(Salix spp.)
Every string of nature’s breezy harp is touched to answer thy sighs. The green oak and cedar—the dark pine, the yellow and silvery-barked willow—each majestic old tree; hath its own peculiar tone and whisper for thine ear.
ELIZABETH J. EAMES, “AN AUTUMN REVERIE,” OCTOBER 1840
In the African American Hoodoo tradition of folk magic, Willow leaves are added to teas for cleansing and jinx removal.36
In British folk tradition Osier (Salix viminalis) is hung over the hearth to ensure healthy cattle. Those who mourn a death wear a Willow wreath on their cap, as do sad, jilted lovers. It is considered unlucky to bring Willow catkins into the house, but a gift of Willow from a friend on a May Day morning is very lucky.37
A Beltaine season rite involving Willows is practiced in Suffolk:
There is a local custom in Chediston, Suffolk, known as a “willow stripping” ceremony. This is usually held at the first full moon in May. A Green George figure is dressed in willow strippings, dances around and is then ceremoniously thrown into the local pond.38
The ancient Celts made their harps out of Willow wood, and, in Greek lore, the harp gifted to Orpheus by Apollo was made of Willow. Willow is a tree that “must have its feet wet,” and where Willow grows there is a source of water nearby.
Most willow species grow and thrive close to water or in damp places, and this theme is reflected in the legends and magic associated with these trees. The moon too recurs as a theme, the movement of water being intimately bound up with and affected by the moon. For example, Hecate, the powerful Greek goddess of the moon and of willow, also taught sorcery and witchcraft, and was “a mighty and formidable divinity of the Underworld.” Helice was also associated with water, and her priestesses used willow in their water magic and witchcraft. The willow muse, called Heliconian after Helice, was sacred to poets, and the Greek poet Orpheus carried willow branches on his adventures in the Underworld.39
British and Irish traditional herbalists used White Willow (Salix alba) to treat fevers of all kinds, including ague and malaria, and the bark was chewed to ease a headache and rheumatism. In Ireland the leaves of Creeping Willow (Salix repens) were employed for headache and diarrhea. Other Willow species were used interchangeably, and the bark was either burned to ash and mixed into ointments for ringworm, erysipelas, baldness, and burns or steeped in vinegar and applied to warts and corns.40 In the Highlands of Scotland the inner bark was taken from a twig and used for aches, pains, inflammations, fever, toothache, muscle pain, rheumatism, sore throat, and tonsillitis.
Willow bark tea is slightly sedative and helpful for insomnia and heart conditions. To make the tea: Simmer 1 to 3 teaspoons of inner bark for 20 minutes or allow it to soak in cold water for 10 hours. Strain it and take ¼ cup of the tea, four times a day.
Willow bark tea can also be used externally to make an antiseptic wound and burn wash and a deodorant soak for stinky feet. To make the wash: Strip the inner bark from twigs (never the trunk). Simmer 3 teaspoons of bark per cup of water for 20 minutes.
It is worth remembering that aspirin is basically synthetic Willow bark and that any condition that calls for aspirin can be handled by Willow. When you use the powdered inner bark of the tree, you get many buffers and other substances not present in synthetic aspirin that are likely protective to the body. For example, I have used Willow as a sleep aid for more than twenty years and have had no internal bleeding issues. Willow bark is available in capsules at many health food stores.
While all Willow species—there are more than forty in the United States alone—contain salicylic acid and can be used for the same conditions as those described above, some species are better for certain conditions than others. Purple Willow bark (Salix purpurea) is best for fevers, Black Willow bark (Salix nigra) is an aphrodisiac, and Goat Willow bark (Salix caprea) aids indigestion and coughs and has been used to disinfect bandages.41
CAUTION: Avoid Willow if you are allergic to aspirin or if you are pregnant or nursing. Do not give it to young children as it can cause Reye’s syndrome. Long-term use could result in internal bleeding.
Willow at Beltaine
Play the harp beneath a Willow to honor the ancient bards and the Spirit that lives within the tree. Compose a poem under a Willow tree. Wear its branches as a crown or hang a wreath of Willow on your door. Decorate the Willow wreath with yellow flowers to honor the sun. Burn Willow wood in the ritual fire.
Yew
(Taxus baccata)
In ancient Ireland trees were protected by law, and heavy fines were incurred for cutting them down. The fine was based on the tree’s height—the taller the tree, the greater the fine. In the Bretha Comaithchesa, an eighth-century Irish legal tract, the trees were classified hierarchically in terms of their height as follows in the list below. What is of particular significance is that the penalty for felling a Chieftain tree, or a Noble of the Wood, was the same as that for killing a human chieftain.
Airig Fedo—“Nobles of the Wood” (Chieftain Trees):
Daur—Oak
Coll—Hazel
Cuilenn—Holly
Ibar—Yew
Uinnius—Ash
Ochtach—Scots Pine
Aball—Wild Apple
Aithig Fedo—“Commoners of the Wood” (Peasant Trees):
Fern—Alder
Sail—Willow
Scé—Hawthorn (Whitethorn)
Cáerthann—Rowan (Mountain Ash)
Beithe—Birch
Lem—Elm
Idath—Wild Cherry
Fodla Fedo—“Lower Divisions of the Wood” (Shrub Trees):
Draigen—Blackthorn
Trom—Elder (Bore Tree)
Féorus—Spindle Tree
Crithach—Aspen
Crann Fir—Juniper
Findcholl—Whitebeam
Caithne—Arbitus (Strawberry Tree)
Iosa Fedo—“Bushes of the Wood” (Bramble Trees):
Raith—Bracken
Rait—Bog Myrtle
Aiten—Gorse (Furze)
Dris—Bramble (Blackberry)
Fróech—Heather
Gilcach—Broom
Spín—Wild Rose (Dog Rose)42
A mature forest would have all of these types of trees, shrubs, and herbs, and any locality blessed with such a forest would have ample grazing for deer and cows (yes, cows are woodland animals and give rich milk when allowed to graze on trees) as well as food, medicine, firewood, and shelter for the local human population.
The ancient tribal Brehon Laws were clear about the penalties for tree cutting, as indicated in the following poem.
| 36. Esnill bes dithernam | A danger from which there is no escape |
| 37. dire fidnemid nair. | is the penalty for felling the sacred tree. |
| 38. Ni bie fidnemid | Thou shalt not cut a sacred tree |
| 39. fiachaib secht n-airech, | and escape with the fines for the seven noble trees |
| 40. ara teora bu | on account of the fine of three cows |
| 41. inna bunbeim bis. | that is fixed for cutting its stem. . . . |
| 56. Annsom de | Most oppressive of it all |
| 57. dire secht n-aithlech | is the penalty of the seven commoners of the forest |
| 58. asa mbi bo: | for each of which there is a cow as payment: |
| 59. bunbeim beithe, | the stem cutting of the birch, |
| 60. baegal fernae, | the peril of the alder, |
| 61. fube sailech; | the undermining of the willow. |
| 62. sluind airriu aithgein | Declare restitution for them. |
However, exempt from penalty were these:
| 46. cairi fulocht benar, | a single cauldron’s cooking-wood that is cut, |
| 47. bas chnoe foisce | a handful of ripe nuts |
| 48. frisna laim i saith soi. | to which one stretches not his hand in satiety.43 |
Notice how compassionate to the trees the old laws were. Only enough wood to heat a single cooking cauldron or a handful of nuts for a starving peasant were exempt from penalty.
It is sad to note that when the English colonized Ireland and massive tree cutting took place, the people were rendered homeless and starving. A system of forest management that had been in place for millennia was disrupted, bringing poverty and sickness in its wake. The forests of Ireland and Scotland have yet to recover.
Every province once had its bíle (pronounced bill-eh), or sacred tree, under which contracts and agreements were made. The worst calamity that could befall a tribe was to have its bíle cut down.
One such tree was called Eo Rossa, a Yew tree at Old Leighlin in County Carlow. Yew trees have the potential to live forever. Each “mother tree” matures then sends out shoots in a circle around herself, and a new colony of “daughter trees” emerges. When the mother tree finally dies, the daughter trees take over and create their own circle of descendants, and so on. The Yew, then, can be thought of as a tree of life, death, resurrection, and rebirth. Thus it is fitting that the Yew is a traditional tree planted in British graveyards and that branches of Yew are scattered on coffins or graves as a spiritual reminder to the deceased and to mourners. In addition, corpses were once washed with Yew tea to keep them from putrefying.
There was also an old tradition told to me orally by a Druid in Ireland that the ancient Druids washed the dead in baths of Yew to bring them back to life. To me this sounds like a type of cancer treatment—modern medicine uses Paclitaxel, also called Taxol, made from the bark of the Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia), in the treatment of breast, lung, and ovarian cancer as well as Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Yew is an excellent choice for magic wands, weapons, and reliquaries, and the branches have been used in Britain to make divining rods to find lost objects.44 The Yew is a tree that is sacred to Hecate, and in Latin areas black bulls wreathed in Yew were once sacrificed to her. The dried needles can be burned as incense in her honor.45
A tea of the leaves and twigs can be used externally as a wash or compress to treat rheumatic pains, bowel discomfort, fevers, colds, scurvy, and ringworm and to expel the afterbirth following labor.
CAUTION: Every part of this tree is poisonous except the red part of the berries. The skin, flesh, and juices of the ripe berries are fine to consume but do not chew the seed. The seed is poisonous (if the seed is accidentally swallowed whole it can be safely passed through elimination). The internal use of Yew leaves can cause severe stomach problems and make the heart rate slow down or speed up dangerously. Signs of poisoning include nausea, dry mouth, vomiting, stomach pain, dizziness, weakness, nervousness, heart problems, and, in worst cases, death.
Yew at Beltaine
Use Yew wood in the ritual fire, so long as the fire is outdoors. Burn the dry needles as incense on an outdoor altar.