{"id":1573,"date":"2009-11-15T07:14:50","date_gmt":"2009-11-15T11:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2013-02-09T18:09:17","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T23:09:17","slug":"tree-medicine-magic-and-lore-hawthorn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=1573","title":{"rendered":"Tree Medicine, Magic, and Lore: Hawthorn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Ellen Evert Hopman<br \/>\nIllustration by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sirwilliamwesley.com\"target=\"_blank\">Will Hobbs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Beware of an oak,<br \/>\nIt draws the stroke,<br \/>\nAvoid an ash,<br \/>\nIt courts the flash,<br \/>\nCreep under the thorn,<br \/>\nIt will save you from harm&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The fair maid who the first of May<br \/>\nGoes to the field at break of day,<br \/>\nAnd washes in dew from the hawthorn tree<br \/>\nWill ever after handsome be&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;Ancient British Rhymes<\/p>\n<p>Tradition holds that where Oak and Ash and Thorn are seen to grow together one will be likely to see Fairies. All of these trees are valuable medicinals besides being edible and making excellent firewood, (and building materials and wood for tools with the exception of Hawthorn which must never be felled). The Fairies, being highly intelligent, would certainly frequent these trees.<\/p>\n<p>Another tradition holds that a solitary Hawthorn on a hill, and especially if there is a spring or a well nearby, indicates that a doorway to the land of Faery is close at hand. For this reason Hawthorns are sacred to the Goddess Carnea, wife and mother of Janus, God of entrances and exits. People will deliberately avoid or seek out such a place, according to their predispositions.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/hawthorn.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" width=\"214\" height=\"256\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1574\" \/>One of the duties of a Druid, in the days before television, radio, and newspapers, was to keep an eye on the local Hawthorn tree. The day it first blossomed was reckoned as the official start of summer, the festival of Beltaine, or May Day. Hawthorn blossoms were used to decorate the house and May Pole but it was considered very unlucky to bring them in the home, probably because of their attraction to the Fey Folk.<\/p>\n<p>Hawthorn is woven into the crown of leaves worn by the Green Man, a figure dressed in green leaves and ribbons who symbolizes the return of summer&#8217;s verdure. He can often seen dancing through the town in a traditional May Day celebration.<\/p>\n<p>Hawthorns are often chosen as sacred trees near Holy Wells. People leave small bits of cloth tied to such a tree to personify their prayers and needs.<\/p>\n<p>At marriage ceremonies on the Greek isle of Delos, singers and dancers were crowned with Oak, Myrtle, and Hawthorn. Hawthorn blossoms, symbols of chastity, were included in the marriage wreath. Athenian brides once wore Hawthorn blossoms and used them to decorate altars sacred to Hymen, the Goddess of marriage. In Ireland and Celtic Britain newly married couples danced around a Hawthorn tree, to receive its blessing.<\/p>\n<p>Hawthorn is a valuable medicinal whose fall-picked berries and spring-gathered new leaves and flowers are tinctured to make an all-purpose cardiac tonic that benefits virtually all heart conditions.<\/p>\n<p>It is said that to cut down a Thorn tree is so unlucky that the offender is bound to lose his house, his children, or a limb.<\/p>\n<p><strong>about the author:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ellen Evert Hopman is a Druid Priestess, herbalist and  author of &#8220;Priestess of the Forest: A Druid Journey&#8221;, &#8220;A Druids Herbal &#8211; Of Sacred Tree Medicine&#8221;, &#8220;Walking the World in Wonder &#8211; A Children&#8217;s Herbal&#8221; and other volumes.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elleneverthopman.com\/\"target=\"_blank\">Visit her website for more!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href='https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/11-05-08-druids_herbal1.jpg'><a href=\"http:\/\/www.celticheritage.co.uk\/EllenEvertHopman\/pagan_books.cfm\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/11-05-08-druids_herbal1.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"11-05-08-druids_herbal1\" width=\"140\" height=\"215\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-463\" \/><\/a><a href='https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/priestess-of-the-forest.jpg'><a href=\"http:\/\/www.celticheritage.co.uk\/EllenEvertHopman\/pagan_books.cfm\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/priestess_of_the_forest.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"priestess-of-the-forest\" width=\"140\" height=\"190\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-462\" \/><\/a> <br \/><\/br><br \/><\/br><br \/><\/br><br \/><\/br><br \/><\/br><\/p>\n<p>Bibliography<br \/>\nAdams, Barbara Means, Prayers Of Smoke, Renewing Makaha Tribal Tradition; Celestial Arts, Berkeley, CA 1990<\/p>\n<p>Baker, Margaret, Discovering The Folklore Of Plants; Shire Publications Ltd., Aylesbury, Bucks, U.K. 1975<\/p>\n<p>Beith, Mary, Healing Threads, Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands; Polygon, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1995<\/p>\n<p>Brunaux, Jean Louis, The Celtic Gauls: Gods, Rites and Sanctuaries; Seaby, London, 1988<\/p>\n<p>Calder, George (translator), Book of Ballymote: Auraicept Na nEces (The Scholars Primer); Edinburgh, 1917<\/p>\n<p>Carmichael, Alexander, Carmina Gadelica, Hymns and Incantations; Floris Books, Edinburgh 1992<\/p>\n<p>Cunliffe, Barry, The Celtic World; St. Martin&#8217;s Press, New York, New York, 1993<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham, Scott, Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs; Llewellyn Publications, St Paul, MN 1986<\/p>\n<p>Ellis, Peter Berresford, Celtic Women; Wm. B. Erdman&#8217;s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1996<\/p>\n<p>Erichsen-Brown, Charlotte, Medicinal and Other Uses Of North American Plants; Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY 1989<\/p>\n<p>Evans-Wentz, W.Y., The Fairy Faith In Celtic Countries; Citadel Press, New York, NY 1990<\/p>\n<p>Farrar, Janet and Stewart, The Witch&#8217;s Goddess; Phoenix Publishing Inc, Custer, WA 98240<\/p>\n<p>Frazier, James G., The Golden Bough, The Roots of Religion And Folklore; Avenel Books, NY 1981<\/p>\n<p>Friedrich, Paul, Proto-Indo-European Trees; The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL 1970<\/p>\n<p>Green, Miranda J., The Celtic World; Routledge, London, 1995<\/p>\n<p>Green, Miranda J., The World of the Druids, Thames and Hudson, London 1997<\/p>\n<p>Grieve, M., A Modern Herbal, Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY 1971<\/p>\n<p>Hoagland, Kathleen, 1,000 Years of Irish Poetry, The Gaelic and the Anglo-Irish Poets From Pagan Times To The Present; The Devin-Adair Company, Old Greenwich, CT 1981<\/p>\n<p>Hopman, Ellen Evert, A Druids Herbal For The Sacred Earth Year; Inner Traditions\/Destiny Books, Rochester, VT 1995<\/p>\n<p>Hopman, Ellen Evert, Tree Medicine, Tree Magic; Phoenix Publishers, Custer, WA 1991<\/p>\n<p>Kelly, Fergus, A Guide To Early Irish Law; Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Dublin, 1991<\/p>\n<p>Kondratiev, Alexei, The Apple Branch; The Collins Press, Cork, 1998<\/p>\n<p>Lust, John The Herb Book; Bantam Books, New York, 1974<\/p>\n<p>Markale, Jean, The Druids; Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT, 1999<\/p>\n<p>Matthews, Caitlin &#038; John, The Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom; Element Books, Rockport, MA 1994<\/p>\n<p>Matthews, John, The Druid Sourcebook; Blanford Press, London, 1996<\/p>\n<p>McNeill, F. Marian, The Silver Bough, Vol. One; William Maclellan, Glasgow, 1977<\/p>\n<p>Meyer, Kuno, Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry; Constable, London, 1959<\/p>\n<p>Moerman, Daniel E., Medicinal Plants Of Native America; University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Technical Reports, Number 19, Ann Arbor, MI 1986<\/p>\n<p>Mooney, James, History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees; Bright Mountain Books, Ashville, NC 1992<\/p>\n<p>Naddair, Kaledon, Keltic Folk and Faerie Tales; Century Hutchinson Ltd., London, 1987<\/p>\n<p>O&#8217;Boyle, Sean, Ogam, the Poet&#8217;s Secret; Gilbert Dalton, Dublin, 1980<\/p>\n<p>Rees, Alwyn and Brinley, Celtic Heritage; Thames and Hudson, New York, 1989<\/p>\n<p>Ross, Anne, Pagan Celtic Britain; Columbia University Press, New York, NY 1967<\/p>\n<p>Saintine, X.B., The Myths Of The Rhine; Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland, VT 1967 (Reprint of the 1875 edition)<\/p>\n<p>Squire, Charles, Celtic Myth and Legend; Newcastle Publishing Co. Ltd., USA, 1975<\/p>\n<p>Stone, Merlin, Ancient Mirrors Of Womanhood; Beacon Press, Boston, MA 1984<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Author Ellen Evert Hopman discusses hawthorn lore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}