The flowering of the blackthorn have been associated with the ancient Celtic celebration of Imbolc. Blackthorn is used in amulets and spells of protection. The Blackthorn tree is linked with warfare, wounding and death.

In Scotland, winter begins when the Cailleach (the Goddess of Winter) strikes the ground with Her Blackthorn staff.

In the Irish legend, the Pursuit of Diarmaid and Grainne, a passage describes Sadhbh eating sloe berries and becoming pregnant as a result. She gave birth to a son who was born with a lump on his head. The lump turned out to be a worm or snake. The snake was eventually killed in sacrifice for another man. In the Sword of Oscar, sloe berries are part of a sacrificial theme as well. Blackthorn’s theme in traditional stories often indicate a warrior’s death in service to the High King or tribe.
Blackthorn has been used for divining rods.  As a method of trial (according to Irish legend) it would burn the skin of a liar but others were unharmed.

In England Witches would carve the Norse rune thorn on a Blackthorn stave for protection. From Christianity, Blackthorn is seen as a sinister tree and associated with Witches. Blackthorn was often used for ‘binding and blasting’. A ‘black rod’ is a Blackthorn wand with fixed thorns on the end, used to cause harm to others.  In British folklore, a Witch will use a Blackthorn stang in rituals of cursing. The sharp thorns were reputedly used by English witches to pierce poppets in their curses, called the ‘pins of slumber’.  In South Devon folklore in England, Witches were said to carry Blackthorn walking sticks, with which they caused much local mischief. Witches and heretics were burned on Blackthorn pyres. The Devil was said, in medieval times, to prick his follower’s fingers with the thorn of a Blackthorn tree.

Is traditionally used to decorate the home at Winter Solstice. Its red berries and green leaves in the dead of winter symbolize everlasting life. A holly tree growing near home is thought to provide protection from thunder, lightning and demons. It is a tree of protection and warfare.

In some traditions of Wicca, the Holly King is one of the faces of the Sun God. He is born at midsummer and rules from Mabon to Ostara.

The fruits are generally slightly toxic to humans, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea when ingested. However, they are an important food source for birds and other animals, which help disperse the seeds.

Uses

• Leaves of some holly species are used by some cultures to make daily tea.
• Many of the holly species are widely used as ornamental plants in European gardens and parks.
• In heraldry, holly is used to symbolize truth.

Has traditionally been used for divining underground water. The Celts believed hazelnuts gave one wisdom and inspiration. There are numerous variations on an ancient tale that nine hazel trees grew around a sacred pool, dropping into the water nuts that were eaten by salmon (a fish sacred to Druids), which absorbed the wisdom. Whoever ate the salmon would then receive infinite wisdom.

“The Hazel Branch” from Grimms’ Fairy Tales claims that hazel branches offer the greatest protection from snakes and other things that creep on the earth.

Herbal Usages

Can be used in the draining and restoring elasticity of lungs. The nuts are a good source of magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, fatty acids and protein. The nuts can be powdered and added to mead or honeyed water to help with a cough.

Magical Usages

Is one of the nine traditional woods burned in the Balefire by the Druids at Beltane, burned for wisdom. Known in ancient times as the “Tree of Wisdom”.

Can be used for spirit contact, manifestation, protection, prosperity, wisdom, dreams, divination, dowsing, knowledge, marriage, inspiration, wrath, fertility, intelligence, reconciliation, poetic inspiration, anti-lightning charm.
A couple of twigs bound with gold or red thread to form a solar cross is carried for protection and good luck. The mistletoe that grows on Hazel protects you from being bewitched. Sleep under a hazel tree and you will have vivid dreams.

Twigs, nuts and branches should be gathered after sunset on Samhain. However, you musn’t cut Hazel with a knife, but a flint.

Yew symbolises death and rebirth in Celtic tradition. The branch of this tree grow into the ground and, when the central trunk dies, the tree lives on as the branches grow into new trees. Celtic leaders were buried under yews, to symbolize their eventual rebirth in the next life.

The yew is traditionally and regularly found in churchyards in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern France (more specifically in Normandy).

In Asturian tradition and culture the yew tree has had a real link with the land, the people, the ancestors and the ancient religion. It was tradition on All Saints Day to bring a branch of a yew tree to the tombs of those who had died recently so they will find the guide in their return to the Land of Shadows. The yew tree has been found near chapels, churches and cemeteries since ancient times as a symbol of the transcendence of death, and is usually found in the main squares of the villages where people celebrated the open councils that served as a way of general assembly to rule the village affairs.

It has been suggested that the sacred tree at the Temple at Uppsala was an ancient yew tree. The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or because being toxic they were seen as trees of death. Another suggested explanation is that yews were planted to discourage farmers and drovers from letting animals wander onto the burial grounds, the poisonous foliage being the disincentive.

In interpretations of Norse cosmology, the tree Yggdrasil has traditionally been interpreted as a giant ash tree. Some scholars now think that in the past an error has been made in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a European yew.

Certain compounds found in the bark of yew trees were discovered to have efficacy as anti-cancer agents. The precursors of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (taxol) was later shown to be synthesized easily from extracts of the leaves of European yew.

Birches have spiritual importance in several religions, both modern and historical. In Celtic cultures, the birch symbolises growth, renewal, stability, initiation and adaptability because it is highly adaptive and able to sustain harsh conditions with casual indifference. Proof of this adaptability is seen in its easy and eager ability to repopulate areas damaged by forest fires or clearings. The Celtic calendar starts the new year with the month of the Birch Moon, signifying a time of renewal. Birches are also associated with the Tír na nÓg, the land of the dead and the Sidhe, in Gaelic folklore, and as such frequently appear in Scottish, Irish, and English folksongs and ballads in association with death, or fairies, or returning from the grave.

Traditionally, couples used to marry by jumping over a birch twig brush to symbolize their new beginning together in life. The branches were marked with ogham and carried for protection in small pouches as well as given to newlyweds for fertility. To ward off the evil eye, tie a red ribbon on the branch of one of these lovely trees. To exorcise people and animals by gently striking them with the twigs of this tree. Birch will also protect against lightening. In Wales, the Birch is a tree of love, and wreaths are made out of the branches and twigs as tokens of love. When beginning a new project or journey, call upon the powers of the Birch as it is also a tree of new beginnings and new view points. Birch rods are used in protection spells and carried to protect from malicious magics (crossing/hexing).

The birch is a very important element in Russian culture and represents the grace, strength, tenderness and natural beauty of Russian women as well as the closeness to nature of the Russians. It’s associated with marriage and love. There are numerous folkloric Russian songs in which the birch tree occurs.

Medical usages

• Birch bark is high in betulin and betulinic acid, phytochemicals which have potential as pharmaceuticals.
• Birch buds are used in folk medicine.
• Birch bark can be soaked until moist in water, and then formed into a cast for a broken arm.
• In northern latitudes, birch is considered to be the most important allergenic tree pollen.
• Birches are used in Russia for health and a healthy skin since ancient times.
• The resinous substance secreted by young shoots and leaves have acidic properties and when combined with alkalies, create a tonic laxative.
• Birch Tea is valuable in dissolving kidney stones.
• A decoction (boiled in water) will aid skin eruptions and dropsy by bathing the area with the birch bark water.