{"id":629,"date":"2009-06-14T05:13:49","date_gmt":"2009-06-14T09:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=629"},"modified":"2013-02-09T18:04:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T23:04:24","slug":"tree-medicine-magic-and-lore-birch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=629","title":{"rendered":"Tree Medicine, Magic, and Lore: Birch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Ellen Evert Hopman<br \/>\nIllustration by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sirwilliamwesley.com\"target=\"_blank\">Will Hobbs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Birch tree (along with Willow, Aspen, Poplar, and Linden) is one of the quintessentially feminine trees of ancient European culture. Interestingly Birch is also regarded as feminine by Native American nations who have traditionally used her wood for canoes, to make paper, and for carrying bags and prayer baskets.<\/p>\n<p>Birch trees are associated mystically with new beginnings. They are one of the first trees to take hold in an area where the ground has been disturbed and were one of the earliest trees to appear after the retreat of the last Ice Age.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/birch.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" width=\"214\" height=\"256\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-631\" \/>The ancient Indo-European word for Birch is associated with the words; &#8220;it shines, glitter, flash, shimmer, brilliance, brightness, white and bright&#8221; in several modern languages. Birch has traditionally been known as &#8220;the way shower&#8221; because of Her bright, white bark. In a dark forest Birch always shows the way.<\/p>\n<p>Birch is generally regarded as a Goddess tree. Use Her energy to put yourself in touch with the feminine aspect of the universe and within yourself. Birch is always practical, clean, and well organized. In some ancient cultures She was regarded as the Cosmic World Tree. Birch trees were used as Shamanic &#8220;Sky Ladders&#8221; in Lapland and Siberia. With the aid of a trance inducing drum beat one could travel astrally up Her branches into the Sky World.<\/p>\n<p>The Gaelic word for Birch, Beith, is closely related to Bith (existence, enduring, constant) and with Bithe (womanly, feminine). Birch is the traditional wood for the May Pole in Celtic areas and in Wales the May Pole was always made from a living tree.<\/p>\n<p>Birch wood was used in Scandinavia to carve rune sets for divination and in Ireland to carve Ogham inscriptions (the Ogham is the native pre-Roman alphabet whose letters are called by tree names). Twigs of Birch were used to light the sacred Beltaine (May Eve) fires.<\/p>\n<p>Scandinavian couples would celebrate May Day by making love in a Birch forest. Birch forests were sacred to Frigga, Goddess of fertility and love. The legendary Celtic lovers Diarmid and Grainne slept in Birch branch huts as they fled their pursuers. Birch trees and Linden trees were commonly offered as sacrifices in Druidic groves.<\/p>\n<p>Birch leaves taken in tea are laxative as well as healing to mouth sores, kidney and bladder sediment, gout, and rheumatism. A strong brew of the leaves, twigs and bark added to the bath will help eczema, psoriasis, and other moist, skin eruptions. Birch tea is relaxing and sedative. Black and yellow Birch have the best flavor.<\/p>\n<p>Native American herbalists have used a yellow fungus that grows on Birch tops to heal tumors for millennia. Modern medicine has only recently discovered this &#8220;wonder drug&#8221; for use in cancer treatments.<\/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>Ellen Evert Hopman discusses Birch 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\/629"}],"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=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}