Folklore surrounding hawthorn is huge! It's known as 'fairy hawthorn', and the songs sung around the LT Bard's Guild have a basis in long-term myth and legend. It's said that a curse will befall anyone who cuts down a hawthorn, and the faeries will kill them before the year is out.
The other main myth about hawthorn is that anyone falling asleep under it will be taken to T'ir na Nog, the faerie land, as the hawthorns are a gateway to there.
The oak is obviously a symbol for Cernunnos - and the holly is a symbol for one of his aspects.
That's all I can immediately think of, I'd have to look the rest up.
Courtesy of Wild Food by Roger Phillips (a cook book, but with loads of digressions): Ash: Norse mythology - mentions Yggdrasill etc - also gods making the first man from ash wood; used by witches to fly; Lincolnshire - wood from male tree defeats female witches while wood from female tree defeats male ones; failure of ash-seed crop foretells royal death (allegedly this happened before Charles I got executed); circle of ash-twigs round the neck is meant to cure adder-bites; ash -leaves with equal numbers of divisions on each side are supposed to be lucky.
Is this the kind of thing you are after? If so, let me know and I'll tell you what he says about the other ones.
The birch has a witch living in it and if she touches your head with her branches by night she'll drive you mad. If she touches your heart she'll kill you.
Druids wands were often made of ash.
The willow sometimes wakes up and follows travellers down dark paths at night - not to do any harm, but just generally freak them out. Apparantly, the willow mutters in a grumpy old man kind of way whilst doing so.
As Charley says, hawthorn is the faerie tree and it is massively unlucky to cut and bring inside except in May. Althought most people who are superstitious don't chance it.
I don't know myths about pine, but I've heard it called "the sweetest of the woods".
Ash: As stated, Yggdrasil is the world tree, an Ash tree. The well of Wyrd feeds the tree at its roots where the Norns (Wyrd sisters) weave the skeins of all life. A dragon (Nidhoggr) lives beneath the tree while an eagle lives on the top. They hate each other. A squirrel (Ratatosk) runs up and down the tree delivering messages to the nine worlds as well as insults from the dragon to the eagle and vice versa.
The nine worlds rest amidst the branches of the tree: Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard (our world), Nidavellir, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Hel and Niflheim.
It was thought that the runes could only be carved onto discs or shards of Ash wood or they held no power. Odin also hung himself on the tree to gain spiritual and creative understanding...learning magic.
Ash - The wood is an excellent material for spear shafts. Supposedly, if the ash blossoms before the oak, it will be a wet harvest. If a girl sleeps with an 'even-ash' (ie a lef with an even number of leaflets) beneath her pillow, she will dream of her future husband.
Birch - A birch tree placed against the stable door on Midsummer Day will protect your horse from being hag-ridden. If you 'jump the broom', it should be one of birch. The leaves are a remedy for kidney stones.
Holly - Saturn carried a club of holly. Boughs of holly were included with gifts at weddings and at Saturnalia. Holly should be hung before mistletoe at Christmas, else ill-luck will come down the chimney on Christmas Eve.
The Oak is sacred to Zeus/Jupiter. The Willow is sacred to Circe, Hecate and Perspehone.
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The other main myth about hawthorn is that anyone falling asleep under it will be taken to T'ir na Nog, the faerie land, as the hawthorns are a gateway to there.
The oak is obviously a symbol for Cernunnos - and the holly is a symbol for one of his aspects.
That's all I can immediately think of, I'd have to look the rest up.
Reply
Ash: Norse mythology - mentions Yggdrasill etc - also gods making the first man from ash wood; used by witches to fly; Lincolnshire - wood from male tree defeats female witches while wood from female tree defeats male ones; failure of ash-seed crop foretells royal death (allegedly this happened before Charles I got executed); circle of ash-twigs round the neck is meant to cure adder-bites; ash -leaves with equal numbers of divisions on each side are supposed to be lucky.
Is this the kind of thing you are after? If so, let me know and I'll tell you what he says about the other ones.
Reply
Druids wands were often made of ash.
The willow sometimes wakes up and follows travellers down dark paths at night - not to do any harm, but just generally freak them out. Apparantly, the willow mutters in a grumpy old man kind of way whilst doing so.
As Charley says, hawthorn is the faerie tree and it is massively unlucky to cut and bring inside except in May. Althought most people who are superstitious don't chance it.
I don't know myths about pine, but I've heard it called "the sweetest of the woods".
Reply
The nine worlds rest amidst the branches of the tree: Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard (our world), Nidavellir, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Hel and Niflheim.
It was thought that the runes could only be carved onto discs or shards of Ash wood or they held no power. Odin also hung himself on the tree to gain spiritual and creative understanding...learning magic.
That's all I can remember. LOL
Reply
Birch - A birch tree placed against the stable door on Midsummer Day will protect your horse from being hag-ridden. If you 'jump the broom', it should be one of birch. The leaves are a remedy for kidney stones.
Holly - Saturn carried a club of holly. Boughs of holly were included with gifts at weddings and at Saturnalia. Holly should be hung before mistletoe at Christmas, else ill-luck will come down the chimney on Christmas Eve.
The Oak is sacred to Zeus/Jupiter. The Willow is sacred to Circe, Hecate and Perspehone.
Reply
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