Hawthorn

^{Crataegus oxyacantha}

^{The May Tree}

^{Sixth month of the Celtic Tree calendar, May 13th - June 9}

^{Sixth consonant of the Ogham alphabet - Huath}

Hawthorn is burned to purify,

Planet: Mars and Venus

Symbolism: Purification, sacred marriage 

and male-female unity

Stone: Lapis Lazuli, Blue Calcite

Birds: Blackbird, Owl, Purple Martin

Color: Midnight Blue, Purple

Deity: Olwen, Blodeuwedd, Gardea, 

Hymen, Hera, Virgin Mary

Sabbat: Beltane, May Day

Folk names: May bush, May tree, quickset, 

thorn-apple tree, white thorn.

Medicinal properties: 

The flowers, leaves and fruits of the Hawthorn have properties that reduce blood pressure 

and stimulate the heart, as well as act as a mild sedative. 

In herbal medicine they treat heart and circulatory disorders, migraine, 

menopausal conditions, angina, and insomnia. 

The flowers are strongest as sedatives, and used externally can treat acne and skin blemishes. 

The berries (also known as "Pixie Pears") contain Vitamin B complex and Vitamin C. 

They can be crushed and used to ease diarrhea, dysentery, and kidney disorders. 

It is strongly advised against self medication because of the its effects on the heart.

Magickal properties: 

The tree essence cleanses the heart of negativity and stimulates love and forgiveness.

The Hawthorn is the tree most representative of the struggles the Christian Church had 

in suppressing pagan beliefs and celebrations. 

Hawthorn is respected as a tree of enchantment under the protection of the faery realms. 

It guards wells and springs. Its beautiful flowers are said to help prayers reach heaven.

If you sit under a Hawthorn on May 1st you are liable to be whisked away for good to the faery underworld. 

 The blooms of the hawthorn are used in spells for fertility, happiness, and good luck in fishing.

To take a blossoming hawthorn branch inside one's house will cause their mother to die. 

Wands made of this wood are of great power. The blossoms are highly erotic to men. 

Hawthorn can be used for protection, love and marriage spells.

The original May Poles were made of Hawthorn

Hawthorn can be woven in to a growing fence called a Hedgerow. 

These thorny barriers are very effective and have saved many villages from thieves and highwaymen.

And every shepherd tells his tale

Under the hawthorn in the dale

~John Milton L’Allegro

Tree MagiCK

by Gillian Kemp

All will be well for you. 

The Hawthorn has magical powers to ward off evil. 

A happy turning point is forecast. 

At dusk on May Eve, candles are lit on the Hawthorn, 

or May tree as it is also known, to welcome Summer. 

Bright gifts bringing happiness are coming; so, too, are positive signs. An upsetting situation is improving because the Hawthorn tree offers numerous medicinal remedies. But this twiggy thorny tree, with its white-stalked flowers with red anthers, also advises caution. Christ's crown of thorns was said to be of Hawthorn and, being the color of blood and bandages, traditionally it is unlucky to bring May blossom into the home.

Hawthorn,
white and odorous with blossom,
framing the quiet fields,
and swaying flowers and grasses,
and the hum of bees.
- F. S. Flint, 1885-1960, Trees

Protection Spell:

Carefully gather a few thorns from the tree. 

On a piece of paper, write the name of the person or situation from which you seek protection, and then wrap it around the thorns.  Bury this in the ground - if possible near the tree from which the thorns were collected. 

Whispers from the Woods, by Sandra Kynes

In England, the hawthorn is known as the mayflower tree in honor of the month during which it blooms.

Symbolizing hope, it was the name the Pilgrims took for their famous ship, The Mayflower.

LESSON OF THE HAWTHORN

from The Wisdom of Trees by Jane Gifford

The blossoming of the Hawthorn 

marks the certain end 

of the dark days of winter 

and the return of the procreative forces 

of nature to the fullness of spring. 

The beautiful white flowers 

give cause for celebration 

of nature's capacity for renewed life 

and love, and for the wonders of lovemaking, 

conception, and childbirth. 

For the Celts there was no shame 

attached to these natural processes. 

They were revered and respected 

as an essential part of life, 

and as a sacred expression 

of the human capacity for love.

The Welsh Goddess Olwen, 

the White Goddess of the Hawthorn, 

once walked the empty universe 

and her white track of Hawthorn petals 

became the Milky Way.

Green grow the leaves on the Hawthorn tree.

We jangle and we wrangle

And we never can agree

~old English carol

Celtic Moon sign - Hawthorn Moon

The hawthorn is a small tree that was often used for hedging, and it has a mixed reputation. Known to be both a sign of fertility and death, it was said to contain the knowledge of both reproduction and transformation. Both of these processes take time - and if you were born under the sign of the hawthorn, you have an innate understanding of both the importance of process and the necessity for change. Your challenge is to use that understanding to guide you when undertaking new starts - don't rush. Wait, and prepare carefully.
Written by Kim Rogers-Gallagher, and Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook 2000

The Hawthorn is a prickly sort of plant with beautiful blossoms. Called Huath by the ancient Celts, and pronounced Hoh-uh, the Hawthorn month is a time of fertility, masculine energy, and fire. Coming right on the heels of Beltane, this month is a time when male potency is high -- if you're hoping to conceive a child, get busy this month! The Hawthorn has a raw, phallic sort of energy about it -- use it for magic related to masculine power, business decisions, making professional connections. The Hawthorn is also associated with the realm of Faerie, and when the Hawthorn grows in tandem with an Ash and Oak, it is said to attract the Fae.
 

Hawthorn Moon Magick:

Focus on keeping a barrier between yourself and things that you don't want.  Aim to push away old problems or lingering irritations.  This is a sign of fertility and death. If born under this sign you have an innate understanding of the importance of process and the necessity for change.

The Faces of WomanSpirit

A Celtic Oracle of Avalon

by Katherine Torres, Ph.D.

Choices refining life

Emerge from the realm of transfiguration

Will I know or not know?

Will I respond or not respond?

Decisions. Decisions. Life’s a Joyful Game.

What choices are you ready to make?

The fair maiden who, the first of May,

Goes to the fields at the break of day

And washes in dew from the Hawthorn tree

Will ever after handsome be.

~Neltjc Blanchan

Nature’s Garden 1900

The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey

Hawthorn Fairy

Along with oak and ash, hawthorn forms the “fairy triad” that is especially inviting to fairies. Hawthorn is, in some ways, the fairy tree, forming a portal to the fairy realms and holding strong magic.    The hawthorn fairy offers access to the Otherworld, but also protects the unwary, so it is important to be patient with this spirit. She can enchant your life, bringing growth and fertility to all areas, and when the hawthorn flowers in spring, it represents the bridal gown of the young Goddess.    Hawthorn is sacred to the Welsh sun goddess Olwen, the “white lady of the day.” Where she trod she left white footprints on hawthorn, and her father, Yspaddaden Pencawr, was “Giant Hawthorn.” Thirteen tasks were demanded of her suitor, Culhwych, before he could marry her and overcome the power of the giant.     Thirteen is a number associated with the moon, for the moon makes 13 circuits of the zodiac to one of the sun. Thus the hawthorn suggests union: of sun and moon, male and female.      The hawthorn fairy promises cleansing, fulfillment, guardianship, and fertility. Keeping grounded and practical is the best way to access her and use her gifts.

THE CELTIC TREE ORACLE 

by Liz and Colin Murray

Merlin and the Hawthorn Tree

from various sources, as told in Myths of the Sacred Tree by Moyra Caldecott

When Merlin was an old, old man (and none could give a count of all his years) a young girl came to King Arthur's court. Some said she was the handmaiden of the goddess who had emerged from the lake to give the sword Excalibur to Arthur. To look upon she was beautiful beyond belief, but none could see into her heart.

Her name was Vivien, and she watched the wonders of the court closely, soon becoming envious of Merlin's great powers. She determined to lear all she could from him and so beguiled him with her flattery and her beauty that he, sighing, followed her wherever she went and easily gave her secrets that were best kept hidden.

But Vivien was not satisfied with what she learned. She claimed that Merlin was teaching her no more than a child could learn. She wanted more and deeper mysteries to be revealed to her. He demurred, saying that she was not ready. Then, afreaid he would not be able to withstand her pleas and knowing that some mysteries were too dangerous and powerful to be entrusted to someone so young and unwise, he left the court and went across the sea to the forest of Broceliande in Brittany.

She followed him, weeping and telling him her heart was broken because he did not trust her.

At last, with a cunning alternation of the granting and the withholding of sexual favors, she wheedled out of him his last and most closely kept secret: how it was possible to imprison a man within a tree. Within seconds of obtaining knowledge of this spell she implemented it. The mighty Merlin, the wisest of all men, was confined forever within a cage of bark - a hawthorn tree.

I honor the energy of hawthorn for cleansing and restraint.

I will choose what I place within my body, and empty myself of all that violates my personal well-being.

So mote it be

Pray Peace

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