Celtic Tree Month: Birch

The Celtic name for this month is "Beth", pronounced "beh", and celebrates the Birch tree. Birch is a broad-leafed hardwood of the genus Betula, and is in the same family as Alder, Hazel, and Hornbeam (the first two of which are other sacred trees to the Celts). Birch trees and shrubs tend to be of a medium size, with small samara fruit. They are typically found in well-drained, often acidic, soils, and are considered a pioneer species, meaning that they are often the first trees to return after a fire or other disaster.
Folklore surrounding the Birch is plentiful. In Gaelic legend, the Birch is closely associated with Tir na Nog, the Otherworld of the faeries and the Sidhe. To the Celts, brooms, or besoms, made of birch had a purifying quality and were used to drive away evil spirits. During handfasting rituals, the couple would jump over a broom made of Birch; for a long time, the "besom wedding" was legal. Birch were also used in Beltane celebrations as a living maypole - as one of the first trees to grow leaves in the spring, the Birch is an obvious symbol of fertility. The spring goddess Eostre, from whose name comes both "Easter" and "Ostara", was associated with the Birch, as was Frigga, Thor, and Freya from the Norse pantheon. Siberian shamans make their own use of the Birch, notching a Birch twig nine times during an initiation rite to represent the nine steps to heaven. In North America, some Native Americans prized Birch for its practicality in canoe and paper making, and also used the bark to ritually wrap their dead.
Magickally speaking, many cues can be taken from the Birch tree's mythological background - today, wood and leaves from the tree can still be used to make besoms, to ward negativity, and for aid in love. Birch can be burned at Samhain, Beltane, and Yule, and can form the traditional Yule log and Maypole. The wood can likewise be used in dealings with faeries and nature spirits, whether to call the friendly ones or banish the not-so-friendly ones.
Both the leaves and the inner bark of the tree are edible; either can be eaten raw. The inner bark can be added to soup, or can be ground and used as a flour. Made into a tea, it is diuretic, can help cure other minor illnesses, like fever, and makes a good antiseptic. The leaves have similar properties. Birch sap is also edible, and though it is infrequently tapped (it's less sweet than maple sap), it can be turned into a molasses-like syrup or be fermented into beer or vinegar.

August 5th, 2012

Welcome to the Celtic Tree Month of Hazel! A special shout-out here to my friend Hazelnut, whose name comes the fruit of the Hazel tree. The word for Hazel in Celtic is Coll, meaning "the life force inside you". This is the time of year that Hazelnuts start appearing on trees, and the harvest can begin (notice how this corresponds in timing to Lammas, the first grain harvest of the year). The Hazel genus, Corylus, is a group of deciduous trees and large shrubs. They produce flowers in early spring before the leaves develop, with the male catkins being pale yellow, and the female catkins being a bright red. The nuts are largely spherical, 1 - 2 cm in diameter, and with a hard husk completely covering the inner nut.

In Celtic mythology, the nine Hazel trees that grew around a sacred well at the source of the river Shannon were said to possess great wisdom. The nuts fell into the river, where they were then eaten by salmon (a fish sacred to the Druids), giving them the great wisdom in turn. Supposedly, the number of spots on the salmon showed how many nuts they had eaten. In a similar Druidic legend, one fish ate all the Hazelnuts, and a Druid master, seeking great wisdom, ordered the fish to be caught and cooked. His apprentice did so, but while the fish cooked, the grease splattered on the apprentice's thumb. He sucked the grease off the finger, thus taking all the fish's wisdom, and later went on to become Fionn Mac Cumhail, one of the greatest figures in Irish mythology. Because of the prominence of the Hazel in the mythos of this region, felling a Hazel tree often had severe consequences. On occasion, the wood was used to light funeral pyres, and wands made of Hazel were buried with important figures. In Roman mythology, the Hazel was sacred to Mercury (known as Hermes in Greek legend). According to Roman belief, Mercury killed some of the bulls sacred to Apollo for dinner, and as such, sang Apollo a song while playing his lyre to make up for it. Apollo so loved the music that he did not punish Mercury, and gave him the famed Hazel-wood Caduceus in exchange for the lyre.
Magickally, anyone who read the above legends could guess the Hazel's association with wisdom. Hazel wands and staffs can impart wisdom and poetic energy to its bearer. If one is to make a Hazel wand, the traditional time to cut the branch is sunrise on Wednesday, Wednesday being the day sacred to Mercury. Stringing the Hazelnuts together and hanging about the house is a way to draw good luck, and the same Hazelnut strands can be given to bridesmaids as gifts signifying wealth, wisdom, and good health. The nuts, when empowered, can ward off excessive menstrual flow, fever, and diarrhoea. They can also increase fertility. Additionally notable is the Hazel's association with divination. Dowsing rods, in particular, are traditionally constructed from Hazel wood.  These dowsing rods are Y-shaped branches, with the two top prongs being held loosely by the diviner. When the bottom section moves of its own accord, this is considered a "hit". Dowsing rods can find water, mineral deposits, lost objects, and even people and pets.
While the tree itself isn't particularly edible, Hazelnuts are nutritious and tasty, providing protein, and are easily stored. They can be ground and mixed with bread flours, roasted, added to candy, and substituted for many other tree nuts. These days, Hazelnuts are often eaten in luxury delicacies, such as chocolate. Many even take Hazelnut-flavored cream in their coffee!