Under the Witching Tree
A Folk Grimoire of Tree Lore and Practicum
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A Folk Grimoire of Tree Lore and Practicum
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Under the Witching Tree © 2016 by Corinne Boyer. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First North American Edition, 2020 First Printing, 2020 ISBN 978-0-7387-6573-0 Originally published by Troy Books Inc. 2017 ISBN 978-1-909602-18-2 Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. Cataloging-in-Publication Programme data is on file with the British National Bibliography. Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business transactions between our authors and the public. All mail addressed to the author is forwarded but the publisher cannot, unless specifically instructed by the author, give out an address or phone number. Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific location will continue to be maintained. Please refer to the publisher’s website for links to authors’ websites and other sources. Llewellyn Publications A Division of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. 2143 Wooddale Drive Woodbury, MN 55125-2989 www.llewellyn.com Printed in the United States of America
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Disclaimer The content of this book is based on historical information along with the author’s own experience. As such, any medicinal or ritual use of the trees and plants involved is the sole responsibility and choice of the reader. It is their responsibility to be educated on proper plant identification, harvesting and recommended dosages, which is beyond the scope of this book. The author and publisher therefore take no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any misuse of the plants that comes as a result of poor judgement or misinformation by the reader. Illustration and Photo Credit Information: All photographs taken by Claude Mahmood Western Red Cedar Illustration by Nicole Graf, 2016 All other illustrations are copyright free and taken from the Handbook of Plant and Floral Ornament- Selected from the Herbals of the Sixteenth Century, by Richard G. Hatton, Dover Publications, 1960 (1909) This book is dedicated to all practitioners, be they personal or professional, that use plants in their magical, healing and ritual work. To those that are now, to those who have been and to those that will be.
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Contents Introduction
13
The Black Earth Medicines of Autumn Elder Hazel Rowan Apple Walnut
16 19 33 47 59 71
An Altar of Winter Charms Yew Pine Holly Spruce Western Red Cedar
78 79 87 99 107 115
Springtime Forest RiteBirch Willow Alder Blackthorn Cottonwood/Poplar/Aspen
122 125 137 149 161 171
The Deer Sorceress of Midsummer Hawthorn Oak Ash Linden Maple
180 183 197 209 221 229
AppendicesA: Plant and Tree Visitations B: Drying and Storing Plants C: Rendering Animal Fat at Home D: Infusing Fats/Oils with Plants E: Making Wine and Mead F: Making Salves/Ointments G: Making Elixirs, Cordials and Infused Wines H: Making Fumigations
239 243 250 255 259 268 271 275
Bibliography Index About the Author
277 281 288
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Specific Recipes and Charms within the Book, created by the Author: Alder Wood Binding Spell Alder Elixir Alder Leaf Wine Crab Apple Syrup Wassail Recipe Birch and Lodestone Love Charm Birch Healing Poppet Elder Tree Charm for Second Sight Elder Flower Ointment Elder Berry Mead Hazel Interred Oracular Powder Hazel Wood Divination Cutting the Cord- A Holly and Oak Severing Rite Funerary Fumigation Pine Bark Elixir Protective Charm for Newborn Babe or Child Rowan Hawthorn Berry Spiced Wine Spruce Tree Ancestor Offering Rite Winter Forest Balm Yuletide Spruce Tea Walnut Leaf Wine Midsummer’s Eve Walnut Liquor Western Red Cedar Smudge Bundle Cedar Tip Solar Infused Oil Yew Ancestor Talisman Willow Charm for Turning Back Grief Witches Fever Break Oxymel Cottonwood Pain Salve Divination Incense Black Earth Protective Powder Sloe Gin A Witch Bottle to turn back a Jealous Enemy Hawthorn Berry Honey Hawthorn Elixir Divination by Oak Spirits Wood Wife Ointment Linden Sweeping Tool Linden Flower Mead A Charm to Keep Away Fire
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157 158 158 68 68 134 135 28 30 29 43 44 105 96 96 56 57 112 113 114 76 77 121 121 85 145 146 179 179 168 169 194 195 196 207 237 227 228 218
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Photoplates
between pages 144-145 1. An altar of Elder tree medicine 2. Leaves and flowers of Elder in bear fat 3. An Elder Charm for Second Sight 4. Hazel catkins 5. A length of twisted Hazel 6. A cross of Rowan, bound in red, and threaded Rowan berries; traditional charns of protection 7. Making a Rowan tree protectrive charm 8. Apple tree blossom 9. Apple tree with spirit portal 10. English Walnut 11. Charms made from crosses of Yew wood with quartz 12. The author peeling pine bark 13. A charm of Cedar, Raven and Deer 14. The author in the Birch tree 15. European White Birch tree 16. Alder tree with hollow split 17. Black Powder with hare’s foot 18. The author holding Cottonwood buds 19. Divination incense 20. The Hawthorn in flower 21. The mighty Oak tree 22. Oak leaf, Fern and Moss 23. An Ash tree charm to keep away fire 24. A Linden sweeping tool 25. Big Leaf Maple Flower 26. Maple trees in the moonlight 27. Maple Faerie tree 28. Above: an altar of tree materia magica 29. Witches’ Hair lichen in the forest 30. Forest of Enchantment
All photographs taken by Claude Mahmood
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Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge and thank my dedicated teachers and friends: Carol Trasatto, Joyce Netishen and Elise Krohn. You have all supported me and taught me much about the ways of plants. You have all inspired me. And to my teacher, the late Bob ‘Sandman’ Coalson, for the pipe, the drum and the dreams. Thank you to my many students, friends and plant lovers in the Olympia area whom have supported my work over the years, it has been such a joy to share the magic together. A special thank you to Marcus and Catamara, for their enthusiasm and commitment to the incredible world of plant magic. And I am grateful for Troy Books, my publisher, for their commitment to traditional ways, preserving folklore, and to producing beautiful books. Perhaps most importantly, I want to thank my family. It is they whom have been so directly supportive in the day to day during the years in creating this book and in creating our life together. To my children Samuel and Violet for their patience and tolerance, and for their many walks in the forest. To my father David for his wisdom, ever helpful eyes on my work, understanding and acceptance of my wild ways. To his kindness I am forever indebted. To my Uncle Steve for his passionate love of the forest that met my own, since I was a child. To my incredibly patient, helpful and supportive husband Claude. Words will never express my gratitude. Without you, this work would have never been possible. And to my late mother, Jo Ann. You knew all along. Your strength and fortitude still inspire me every day. Your love of words and good writing do as well. And thank you to the beings unseen, to the trees wild with deep roots, to their immense beauty. After all, it is they whom have inspired me for many moons, they who saved me in their magical shelter all those long years ago. To the horseshoe in the tree trunk in the Indian woods. And lastly, to Rebecca, Lady of Snakes. Your hand is on every page.
11
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‌an old trunk shattered with age or storm, moss-grown or hoary with lichen, would, to the primitive wanderer in the forest, assume a supernatural aspect, especially if seen when the shades of night were falling, or blurred by mists. Alexander Porteous, The Forest in Mythology & Folklore
Deep in the darkest part of the forest, frail blackberry bushes and pale violets grew in patches of sunlight, but Marusia could not find what she was looking for‌ Marusia remembered what her mother had said: “Never enter the forest on the far side of the village, for that is the forest of Baba Yaga! Ernest Small & Blair Lent, Baba Yaga
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INTRODUCTION hat magic is gathered from the old trees, from the spirits there, from the forest itself ? The haunted pathways that lead into the dark forest have always been shrouded in mystery and fear, evoking a timeless curiosity. I remember as a child the way the woods behind our house called to me, they spoke to me, the trees had such presence, such personalities. Trees do mark the passage of time and memory. Guardians of forgotten homesteads, old apple trees gnarled and thick with lichen hold rainwater pools in hollows. Alder copses next to the cemetery fill with mist and are still, during windy midnight hours. Lightning struck oak trees transform spirit paths on twilight evenings of the full moon nearest solstice time. Trees of all sorts not only offer incredible material for one’s own folk apothecary, they offer direct instruction and tutelage for those seeking to learn about seasonal and earthen mysteries. Once discovered, a wild place hosting a dominant tree in the landscape can be visited again and again, offerings made and intentions spoken. While it is true that not all trees are safe or friendly to a human companion, their roots do grow through an ancient substratum and feed upon the enchanted ways of old. The intention of the present volume is to touch on these old ways and draw upon them even still, in a modern time and place. One of the reasons to work with trees is that they, along with all of the natural world and her resident spirits, bring both light and dark medicines for the altar, for the amulet pouch, for the cauldron. The powers that trees hold are not only healing, protective and whimsical but also fierce, frightening, deadly, and elusive. The New Age tendency to sugar coat and white wash traditions has certainly been
W
13
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Under the Witching Tree veneered onto the realms of the plant world. Folklore graciously sheds light into the darker corners of these ways, ever helpful that they are even now during modern times. Let us then peel the veneer aside and peer into the full complexity of the history of tree lore and magic, into the rustic folkways that hold blood, bark and branch wrapped in red cloth. Those folks of the past sought out trees and plants for many more applications than the typical modern herbal medical practitioner. Not only for tinctures and salves, but for charms, amulets and for use in healing or cursing rituals, for love magic, for divinatory aid were trees once employed. Not only for common colds and coughs were the trees of value, but for the transference of complicated and little understood childhood diseases, for the cleansing of ghosts, for the conjuration of spirits, for the mourning of the dead and for the protection of newborn babes, pregnant women, and animals. The remedies involved extended far into the human condition. The reliance on forests was made more intimate by those seeking magic and cures, rather than materials alone. The trees were respected and feared for their powers. They were an interface in which to relate to and contact spirits of the Other world. That they remain. The trees of old have long stood and witnessed great changes in the landscape. The occasional charmer or Wise Woman no longer visits the forest with knife and basket, with cakes and cream, muttering incantations under her breath – at least not in the modernized world. Few people even recognize different tree species or know of any use for them beyond industrial and production based purposes. Their magical and medicinal history is obscured and hinted at only in works of fiction and media. These ways of haunted trees and healing charms are not so very far behind us – this is a pertinent time to salvage and reawaken the almost lost lore, to bring it to life once again. For those people interested in the ways in which trees were not only utilized for the practical use of everyday folk medicine, but also the 14
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Introduction ways in which they were applied in traditional magic, this book is written. The lore and ways presented in this volume primarily come from Northern and Western Europe and North America. I have been selective with the material, including what is most related to medicinal and magical/spiritual matters, excluding the many material uses of the trees. I have included some folk tales and limited mythology, where I believed it was insightful for the particular tree at hand. I have also included my personal ways of working with the trees, along with some recipes and charms that I have created and formulated over the years for numerous purposes. This book is the first part of three volumes, and represents my work of nearly two decades of experiencing and learning from and about many trees and plants. My poetry is included at the beginning of each section to encompass the powers of the seasons, relating to not only plants, but to the materia magica of those times and their energies. My hope is that this volume, along with the subsequent ones relating to wayside and garden plants that are forthcoming, becomes a working grimoire for those interested in using the trees directly, working with them in their natural settings and experiencing their potent powers and capabilities. My hope is that it will inspire old magic that is operative in nature, in the mysterious enchanted world of the forests, woods, edges and hedges. May you seek out the trees, spend time in their shade, and hear their stories firsthand. One will notice that I do not include any information pertaining to botanical description or plant identification, as there are ample resources out in the world dedicated to this information. It is assumed then, that people will seek out the appropriate resources to make sure to properly identify the plants and trees, before using them for any magical or physical work. Folklore is a living body of knowledge, always shifting and changing depending on the people that are interacting with the material. Once the methodology of folk magic and 15
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Under the Witching Tree medicine is learned, once the parameters are understood, one can apply this while learning directly from the tree spirits, and understand the ways being taught. Working with the materials that the land itself offers up, in combination with working directly with spirits, be they ancestors, deceased practitioners, plant spirits, animal spirits, and/or land spirits, is a most effective and empowering way to inform a personal and professional practice. I do believe that you, the reader, will find the material enclosed as interesting, intriguing and as helpful for your personal work as I do. May you breathe life into the remedies, rituals and recipes within these pages, may you find ways to make them your own. Corinne Boyer, Maple Mist Wood of Western Washington, Midwinter 2015 The Black Earth Medicines of Autumn Walker of Caves, black wool And obsidian glass ornaments Wearer of midnight fur and Ravens feather cloak, The ancient beings among us Dangle with the claws of crow The wings of bats, the charred bones And jarred seeds – poppy, Datura, The fruit of dark elderberry wine Fixed offerings lost in a deep pool Black soil carries the breath Of the Dark moon, her age old Medicines are upon my altar They are beneath my foundation Stones accursed and blessed with night 16
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Introduction Black butterflies and owl talons In Dreams, the cauldron of water And dark poison leaves This is my becoming – I see And I am born from this place Where the moths live and feed In the shadows of rotting leaves The darkness of the womb It holds me and forms me It is my long lost sanctuary Gifts from the Lady hooded and cloaked The fruit of the blackberry, my wine The heart of the blackbird, my food The darkened Indian pipe, my familiar The silvery coal, my amulet The Shroud that will carry me Into the starless night, brings Medicine of the serpent, my ancestor Who resides in the dark watery crypts And creates from sleepless darkness alone.
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ELDER Sambucus spp
n the forgotten meadow, long stands the brittle bone elder tree, which graces the rustic country person’s kettle with heavy blue and black fruit for healing syrups and wines. But what other magic comes from this tree that shimmers in the darkness, whose wood is ensouled by the witches of old? Old crone tree of the dark edges with her pungent perfume…. The elder tree, a spirit of the witch’s realm, watches from her autumnal home, her roots in the swamps. Tales told of this shapeshifting spinster and magic maker are dark and strange. Marked by Saturn, the elder tree is connected to death and severe protection. She was both respected and feared by country people in times past. The elder tree has been associated with folk medicine for ages. Every part of the plant has been used medicinally and the whole tree was considered to be a supernatural nature spirit since ancient times. The classic European species and the tree most referenced in herbal medicine and folk magic is Sambucus nigra or the black elder. The berries are a distinct shiny black, evoking a mysterious curiosity. Here are some older beliefs surrounding this gracefully dark tree. Old country names for the elder tree include Pipe Tree, Frau Ellhorn or Ellen, Bore Tree and Bour Tree. Because of its shiny black berries, an old Romany name for elder was ‘Devils Eye.’ The Latin name Sambucus derives from the word for ‘harp’, which was thought to be an ancient use for elder wood. The common name ‘elder’ may derive from the old Saxon word, eller, meaning ‘to kindle.’ The hollow stems were used in olden times
I
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Under the Witching Tree to blow onto dying or sparsely lit embers, reviving the smoldering fire. It is interesting that we refer to older people as ‘elders’ in English. The elder tree was previously classified as being in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae, but has recently been moved to Adoxaceae family, a newer category that certainly may change again. The belief that a spirit inhabits this tree has survived even into relatively modern times. Specifically, a witch spirit was thought to inhabit the tree. There are numerous references to the belief that a witch lived in the elder tree and could shape shift back and forth from human to tree. An old name for this nature spirit was ‘Hyldemoer,’ which means ‘Elder Mother’ in Danish. It was considered unlucky to cut the wood down for fire wood or building material in different parts of Europe. In England, it was said that burning elder wood would bring the devil into the house or that the person burning the wood would become bewitched. If you wanted to cut down the tree, you had to ask permission to escape possible ill fate. The appropriate way to ask was to say something like ‘Lady elder, give me some of thy wood, Then I will give thee some of mine, when I become a tree.’ Another way to say it: ‘Lady Ellhorn, give me of thy wood, and I will give thee of mine when it shall grow in the forest’. A Danish custom was to spit thrice before cutting or trimming an elder tree, to drive away evil beings. Hedge cutters would refuse to trim an elder tree for fear of being followed by bad luck. Spirits were believed to dwell in these hollow trees, specifically in the joints. This wood had a will of its own – if it was placed on a burning fire, it would cause it to go out; if it was used for furniture, it would bend and warp; if skewers were made from elder for roasting, it would turn the food bitter. The old earth Gods of Prussia were believed to live under the elder tree and if offerings were made to it, little men would come, bringing grain and doing housework. If one stood under the elder tree on Midsummer’s Eve, the Faerie king and his fellow faeries could be seen riding by. 20
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Elder This mysterious tree was never touched after dark in the Fens in England. In Denmark, elder trees were believed to move around at night and could be found peering into windows of those sleeping. It was also said that faeries in the form of ancestors lived in the tree. If a cradle was made of elder wood, the baby sleeping in it would be either stolen by faeries or the Elder Mother. Or the baby would be pinched blacked and blue by the faeries. Elder was a tree associated with witchcraft from early times, from around 900 AD or before. In Ireland instead of an ash broomstick, witches rode on broomsticks made from elder wood. Country folks would sometimes refer to it as ‘witch wood’. A name for the berries was ‘Holda’s Berries’, which refers to the trees connection with Mother Holda or Hulda, an ancient winter death spirit from old Germanic culture. There were other associations with elder and death. If an elder stick was planted over a grave and it grew, it was a sign that the deceased was happy in the afterlife. The old Jewish Cemetery in Prague was planted with elders. It was considered dangerous to sleep under an elder tree because the leaves apparently let out a fragrance that if inhaled, resulted in death. The flowers were known to attract snakes and it was reported that adder snakes slept in the dry roots of the elder tree. Polish people were known to bury their sorrows and sins under elder trees, so that they passed into the underworld to where they belonged. Some sort of incantation was used to pass the energy into the elder tree, into the earth, then into the realms of the dead. An old saying goes: Hawthorn blooms and elder flowers fill the house with evil powers. This is a connection to not only the white flowers of both plants, which in times past were highly unlucky to bring indoors as they were often used for funeral rites, but also to the supernatural energy associated with both trees. There are many examples of the elder tree being used in folk magic. Here is an old spell for using elder bark, for 21
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Under the Witching Tree healing a skin infection called Erysipelas (an older name for this was St. Anthony’s Fire), which causes acute fever, chills and raised red patches on the face, arms and legs: The blood of a bullfinch is put in a new vessel with scraped elder bark, then the whole is laid on a cloth, which is bound over the eyes overnight. The person suffering repeats this incantation: I have two eyes, I have two feet, Pain from my eyes go into my feet! Go from my feet, go into the earth! Go from the earth into death!’ Another elder remedy for the same ailment was to find a piece of elder wood onto which the sun never shone and cut it between two knots and wear it on necklace, as an amulet. To make an enchanted walking stick that would never break and would bring protection to the one who used it, one could harvest elder wood on All Souls Day and hollow out the pithy branch to enclose these magical ingredients – seven vervain leaves, powdered wolves eye, a dog’s heart and tongue, three green lizards, three swallows hearts and the fillings from ironstone. The stick was then capped with an iron ferrule. Carrying an elder wood amulet was used to prevent rheumatism and silently sticking a piece of elder wood in the ground was done to rid of fever, by way of transference. A Danish remedy for toothache: Take a stick of elder wood and put it in your mouth. Then stick it in the wall while reciting the words: Depart thou evil spirit. Nine pieces of elder wood were strung onto a necklace and worn was a cure for epilepsy, as long as the necklace never touched the ground. A charm to cure convulsions in children was to find a magical elder that had been seeded by birds on the top of a pollarded willow. The father of the child must then, on a full moon, gather the twigs and make a necklace for the child. A wart could be cured with elder by pricking until a drop of blood came forth. This was dropped onto an elder leaf and the leaf was then buried, a simple transference charm. It was known in some parts that leaves gathered on the auspicious May Eve were used 22
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Elder for wound healing specifically. Interestingly, horse people would sometimes carry an elder twig as an amulet against saddle sores. Elder wood was historically used for protection, exorcising illness and for spirit conjuration. It is a tree that falls under Saturn’s dominion. Whistles made from elder wood were used to summon spirits, magical pipes that they are. Elder was also used for darker magic, the leaves and bark were included in hex powders. The flowers and berries were used in protective mixtures. A very intense counter curse included making a ‘frog’ out of grave dust, powdered black spiders and elder sap. This poppet was to be baptized in the victim’s name and pricked daily with pins for nine days to make them very ill. Elder was thought to protect the home and farm as well. It was used as a charm against lightning, wreaths of branches were hung up in Germany after sunset to protect the farm. On the Isle of Man, elder wood was fixed above windows and doors to protect the house. An elder tree planted next to a cottage was supposed to protect a home from witchcraft, lightning and flies. Peasants would make wreaths of elder to put up on the infamous Walpurgis night in Germany so that they could see witches riding on brooms, dragons or goats. One protective rite using elder came from Styria, Austria. On Bertha Night (January 6th), the Devil was known to have great powers. If a magical circle was made, one could stand in the center of it with elder berries that were gathered on St. Johns Night, thus being protected against his influences. It is likely that these berries were green and under ripe, however their powers were for magical rather than medicinal use. Elder was used in different ways to find malefic witches. A German belief was that an elder stick burned on Christmas Eve would somehow reveal who the witches were in the nearby neighborhood. A Colonial American belief was that if a piece of elder pith was dipped in oil, 23
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Under the Witching Tree lit and floated on water, that it would point to any witch present. Another interesting belief was that anyone who was baptized and anointed with the juice of green elder bark around the eyes could see witches.
Folk Medicine
M Older folk medicinal uses of elder were many. It has been called ‘the medicine chest of the country people’ and we can see why, with such a long history and so many applications. Elder flowers and berries have been used for centuries for colds, flus, fevers, and stomach troubles. It was thought that because the flowers bloomed around the summer solstice, that medicine had some of the warming powers of the sun. An elder flower decoction was a country remedy to take at the first signs of sickness. People have used the berries for wine, in particular brewed or infused with warming mulling spices, such as clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. The flowers and leaves were often used in infused lard for topical purposes such as repelling insects, burns, wounds and eczema. A rustic split for a wound could be made from a hollowed out elder branch filled with moss. An old Irish remedy for helping to prevent a scar after a burn was to apply a salve made from green elder rind (bark) mixed with sheep suet. Elder flower water was used cosmetically to remove freckles and help with sun burns. The Native Americans had many medicinal uses for the red and blue elder in the Pacific Northwest, and in other parts of North America. Generally speaking, with the blue elder Sambucus cerulea, the leaves were used for a wash externally applied for blood poisoning, taken for new colds and as a purgative. An infusion of the flowers was taken internally for fevers, headaches, measles, colds and stomach troubles. A decoction of the bark was used as a wash for pain and for swelling, old sores, itching skin and also for bruises. Some specific information gives more of a range of the uses. The Houma tribe used a 24
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Elder decoction of the bark as a wash for pain and an herbal steam bath was made with the leaves and flowers by the Kawaiisu tribe for headaches and colds. Similarly, the Okanagan-Colville tribe took the dead stalks and used them in a steam bath for rheumatism and arthritis. The fresh bark could also be applied topically for toothache. The Karok tribe used a wash made from the branches in a ceremony for a sick child, called the Brush Dance. The Montana Indian tribe used an infusion of the flowers taken internally for lung troubles. The Yokut tribe used fresh bruised leaves as a poultice for burns. An infusion of the flowers was given to babies with a fever and for teething by numerous tribes. With the red elder Sambucus racemose var. pubens generally speaking, a poultice of the leaves and bark was applied for pain, rheumatism and swellings. A poultice of the pounded leaves was applied for boils and abscesses. An infusion of the roots and bark was taken as a purgative and for colds. A few more specific uses of note – the Quinault tribe used the bark applied as a poultice when a woman started breastfeeding. The Nitinaht tribe combined red elder bark with black twinberry Lonicera invulucrata for nervous breakdowns. The Quileute used the bark or roots for women during labor, taken internally in an infusion. A medicine was made for those affected by witchcraft out of red elder bark, juniper roots Juniperous spp. and cow parsnip roots Heracleum spp., by the Gitksan tribe. The Kwakiutl tribe used the bark in a steam bath for women to help relax them after child birth.
Personal Practices M
Magically, when working with the unseen, the elder spirit is exceptional for aid in seeing into the Other realms. When used for divination work, dream work, trance work or during ritual where spiritual aid is sought, elder wood as talisman or charm is revealing. She is a truth teller. Calling to the elder tree witch during night time walks or sits 25
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Under the Witching Tree brings her wisdom into the present situation. Elder can be used for sorrow, a very comforting companion when trauma or loss arises. Grief is lifted and this old wise tree spirit lends her helping hand or maybe a bony shoulder to cry on. Seek out this tree for that purpose, drinking the flower tea and taking naps in the elder mother’s shade to promote prophetic dreams. Elder leaves and flowers, if they are still in bloom, can be gathered after dark on Midsummers Eve, with appropriate offerings made. These can be dried and used later for fumigations, amulets pouches or protective powers where wisdom and access to hidden realms is sought. Also, the earth from around the roots of an old elder tree can be ‘harvested’ with permission from the tree and intentions explained. This earth can be used in charms, powders or any magical preparation where the aid of the elder tree is needed. The berries can be burned in fumigation mixtures during the winter months when extra protection and information is sought. The local blue elder S. cerulea is the elder that I use most for medicine, the creamy honey scented flowers and the heavy clusters of lavender dusted berries. The flowers stand in stark contrast to black S.nigra and red elder S. racemosa flowers, which have more acrid and sour undertones, though can be used just the same. Remember that the leaves, bark, stems and roots of elder are considered toxic to take internally in modern times. Elder flower and berry tea can be used for any kind of cold and/or flu, before, during and after. The flowers and berries are both diaphoretic (promotes sweating), diuretic and slightly laxative. Both the berries and flowers make a delicious syrup and/or wine. An elder flower infusion, mixed with rosehips and sage leaves, is most helpful for seasonal allergies. When using the dried berries in tea, decoct them for 10-15 minutes to bring out their full medicine. A favorite combination includes dried elderberry decocted with rosehips, Douglas fir tips (pine 26
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Elder or spruce could be substituted), stinging nettles, clove, allspice, cinnamon and orange peel. Another tea that I call ‘Dark Hollow Tea’ combines dried elderberries, roasted dandelion roots and stinging nettle leaves. This decocted for a time with milk and honey added is excellent for cold rainy nights. The infused fat or oil made with freshly wilted elder leaves and flowers can be made into a salve. This salve can be used for skin irritations and sensitive skin. It has the ability to take the itch away and sooth inflammation, also being excellent for chaffing, and eczema. Fresh elder leaves rubbed on the skin (though not the face) make a quick and helpful insect repellent. The berries of the red elder are known to be toxic unless cooked and the seeds strained out before consuming, though they were traditionally dried and eaten in small quantities mixed with other berries by Native American tribes. I do not make medicine with these. The berries of the blue or black elder however can be made into an excellent elixir simply by covering the fresh berries that have been frozen and then thawed with brandy and honey. This mixture is to be infused and stirred daily for 1-2 months. Whole spices can be added, such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger and allspice if desired, but it is wonderful on its own. To harvest the elder flowers, wait until they are fully open and fragrant, often in early June. There is a three-week window roughly. Snip the flower heads into a basket. To reach the high clusters, use a fruit hook or a trimming tool that has an extended pole. Remember to leave a significant amount of flower clusters for berry production. The leaves used for external purposes only can also be harvested at this time as well. Lay your flower clusters to dry and in about three weeks, strip them from the largest stems and store them in glass jars in the dark. The smell will be intense with some species during the drying process, it will lessen in a week or two. If you are going to make an elixir 27
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Under the Witching Tree or wine with the flowers, I personally prefer to dry them first, the flavor is better. To harvest the berries, wait until they are fully ripe, with no green on the fruit at all. Use the same method as for the flowers, but watch them closely, as you will often be competing with the birds and other creatures. Either dry the berries on the stems and strip them off when dry, or freeze them immediately to make into other potions at a later time. Always remove the stems before processing them into medicine, as they are known to be toxic. A few remaining tiny stems in the flower bunches are of no worry, but it is important to remove as much of the larger and obvious ones as possible without taking hours to do so. Many thanks to the Elder Witch, She who sees in the dark, may we be so inspired to learn from her ways and Midnight Arts ever towards the truth. A tree that offers everything for our healing and magical apothecary, may we be always respectful of her powers and potency.
Elder Tree Charm for Second Sight M
This charm brings together both the serpent and the elder tree, linked they are in folklore and in fate. On an autumn full moon, go to an old elder tree in some wild place. Pour on libations and offerings (elderberry wine or mead is appropriate here) and ask the tree spirit for some of her wood, in return of course for the wood you will grow when you are a tree someday. It would be ideal to take a branch without the use of metal, but this requires leaving a nasty open wound to the tree, so I use sharp pruners. Make sure the branch is about the thickness of your thumb. Upon returning home, cut out an elder ‘crossroads’ piece for the main amulet by choosing the spot where the opposite branches come out – a four way split in the branch essentially. Set this aside. Then cut the 28
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Elder rest of the branch in roughly one inch chunks. Take a leather awl and hollow out the pithy centers – only use live wood, not any dead pieces. String them on black ribbon, the older the better, and knot them three times between the pieces. Sew a pouch from black wool and make it with a flap to attach a button to keep it closed. Attach the string of elder ‘beads’, making sure it is long enough to go over your head. Now take elder earth harvested from around the roots of an old tree and dried elder leaves harvested in darkness on Midsummer’s Eve (ideally midnight) and pass them through the smoke of dragon’s blood before placing them into your pouch. Similarly fumigate your crossroads amulet piece and a snake skin. If found near an elder tree, all the more powerful. Wrap the elder piece with the snake’s skin while reciting this incantation: Elder crone, elder crone, lies sleeping with the snake, Four ways and back again to see the mirrored lake, And on that lake a gnarled hand, be sure to point the truth, For under worlds and over worlds I seek to see – forsooth! Then put the wrapped piece in the pouch and seal, while passing through the aforesaid smoke. Wear this pouch when seeking to see into other worlds during any ritual or ceremony that requires such, also sleep with it under your pillow for prophetic dreams and use during any sort of divination work.
Elder Berry Mead M
To make 1 gallon of mead, you need about a gallon zip lock bag full of berries in clusters. Freeze the berries, and then thaw them; it makes stripping the stems off easier and starts the process of breaking down the berries. Strip all of the larger stems from the berries and as much of the smaller stems as you can. Place the prepared berries in a medium sized stone crock. Take 3 pounds of honey 29
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Under the Witching Tree and about 3 quarts of water, boil them on the stovetop for about 10 minutes, stirring to dissolve. Add it to the crock and stir in the berries. Now add a selection of spice, if desired; a little fresh orange peel, allspice berries, cinnamon chips, whole cloves etc…But go easy, you can overpower this. You can also infuse the spices later, after the wine is done. Wait until the wine is completely cool (overnight), sprinkle wine yeast on top of the mixture and wait 15 minutes before stirring it in. Cover the crock with a linen cloth that is tied on with a string and rubber band, to keep out fruit flies. Stir twice a day with a wooden spoon that is not used for cooking. After about 10 days, filter and fill within 2 inches of the top of a clean gallon glass jug and fit with an airlock. Store this in a place that is not too hot or too cool, in the dark. Bottle after 6 months and wait a year before drinking. If it doesn’t taste good, keep waiting. This wine is a tonic in the winter months and during wet cold weather. It is also appropriate as a libation offered for when working with ancestor’s, dark moon magic or for ritual use on All Hallow’s Eve.
Elder Flower Ointment M Take fresh elder flower clusters and elder leaves, equal parts. Wilt them for 12 hours and infuse these in either rendered lard or coconut oil in a double boiler. The key is to really saturate the fat with the scent and light green color of the plant, without having any mold troubles by remembering to stir and strain it out after your infusion. Heat the double boiler up every day for about 10 minutes, stir the mixture, then turn off the heat and let it sit out another 24 hours. Strain the plant material out within three-five days. Add chopped or grated beeswax to it, heating to melt it all together in a double boiler to make a salve. A typical ratio is to add 1 oz. beeswax to every 1 cup of fat. This salve can be used for skin irritations of any sort such as eczema, itchy rashes, bug bites, 30
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Elder chaffed skin, mild burns and chapped lips. It can also be used for anointing candles, tools or oneself during the winter months or rituals that focus on death aspects or divination.
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Body, Mind & Spirit / Witchcraft
Under the Witching Tree; is the first in a trilogy of books by Corinne Boyer; a folk-herbalist known for her work exploring the traditional medicinal, and magical applications of plants and trees as well as their folklore. This is a trilogy that guides us into the realms of plant lore, folk magic and folk medicine. The first book, Under the Witching Tree, focuses on the rustic magical traditions surrounding trees from western and northern Europe and north America. Corinne’s work, backed up by nearly twenty years of experience in the field, is full of information that is today little known, particularly within modern herbalism. This is a book which presents the reader with a wealth of homespun and very hands-on practices exploring tales, charms, spells, recipes and rites focusing on twenty different trees.
$17.99 US ISBN 978-0-7387-6573-0 51799
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780738 765730