Well, as the time to burn stuff hits even here in TX, I started getting
curious as to the significances of all the different types of wood
available around here.

Anybody up for helping out with an exhaustive list of significances of the
following, in any and all trads?

Oak
Live oak
White oak
Red oak
Black oak
Post oak
Aw hell, if it's an oak, we've probably got a few
Mesquite
Juniper
Black walnut
Pecan
Peach
Plum
Crabapple
Persimmon
Pear - a few kinds

Any others people have info on they'd like to add?

Thanks,
JB

--
Joe Bramblett, KD5NRH

in the darkness

---> Secret Gospel of Thomas, Nag Hammadi

19 Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came
into being before coming into being.

If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings,
these stones will serve you.

For there are five trees in Paradise for you;
they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall.
Whoever knows them will not taste death."

---> Holly, Pine, Spruce, Juniper, Cedar ?

shez

In article <20031209210532.131$9U@newsreader.com>, kd5nrh@yahoo.com
writes

Oak, strength wisdom Youth.
Its magical powers are supposed to include, protection from lightning,
a nail driven into the trunk will cure toothache, if you carried an
acorn it preserved youth.

Apple. Health, immortality divination
To fell an apple is unlucky, The gods ate apples to give them
immortality. It was also used in divination, and girls at certain times
of the year would peel an apple and throw the skin behind them to spell
out the initials of their loved ones.
Apple is sometimes used in divining rods, but the apple tree should not
be cut, you could use any storm or wind wracked apple wood left on the
ground


Ash marriage, healing..
Passing an ill or injured person through a cleft in an ash tree is an
old custom to help those who are very ill heal.


Birch.
Magick protection from evil, honesty.
The witches broom was made of birch, and its the broom that was once
used to marry a couple, they jumped over the broom. It was used to
protect horses from being hag ridden, stolen by the fairies. by tying
twigs of birch into their manes, or propping a broom against the stable
door.
Birch was also one of the protections used on a cradle to stop the
fairies stealing the baby away and leaving a sick and ugly replacement.


Elder witchcraft. Sleep,
The flowers are supposed to poison anyone who sleeps beneath them, the
elder is beloved of the fairy folk and witches, and anyone who cuts one
down or damages an elder would be dogged by bad luck

Hawthorn, The old magick, Joy, bounty..
The flowers of the hawthorn, are bad luck to take indoors, they bring
chaos to the house, as they are tied in with the yearly renewal of the
old magic's. The wild magic's.
Hung around a cows neck hawthorn twigs would ensure a plentiful supply
of milk. Mayflowers were used to crown the may queen, and hung at the
top of the maypole,
Hawthorn wood, not flowers laid in the rafters by a friend of the family
or the builder of the house, would guard against storms, witches, and
evil spirits.

Hawthorn divination.
Hazel rods are often used even today by diviners, and were used when cut
on certain nights of the year to point to buried treasure.

Holly. Protection from evil, good luck, renewal

Holly is still part of the Yule celebrations it signifies renewal and
life even in winter. Holly was often left in a cowshed, it helped
animals to thrive even in the winter months. It was used to keep evil
out of the house, and to bring luck into it.

Juniper, poison and dreams.

If you dreamed of the berries it would mean a successful outcome to
anything you were involved in, or a welcome birth. Dreaming about the
tree was unlucky. Juniper was one of the woods used to fumigate any
place where plague was, it was believed the smoke drove away demons.

Poplar death.
The cross was supposed to have been made of poplar, anyone who had an
illness where they shook or shivered was supposed to be cured if they
pinned a lock of their hair and said a spell under a popular tree.

Rowan, protection from magick

Rowan berries were fed to pregnant cows to make sure they had an
uncomplicated birth, and that the animals could not be bewitched, rowan
twigs and scarlet threads were hung around stables, houses farmyards to
protect the house and animals from evil witchcraft.
Milkmaids wove rowan twigs and berries into the handles of their pails
to stop milk going sour.

Willow, grief and lost love
Willow is very unlucky and should never be cut for firewood, but a gift
of willow or willow twigs in the fire on May morning were good luck for
the house and the people.

Yew.
everlasting life
Yews were often planted in graveyards to protect them from witches, and
lined graves in the hope they would bring everlasting life to the newly
deceased. Yews were thought to protect buildings from storms

Their are many more but those are the main sacred woods.
I used to know them off by heart, but these days my memory is not what
it was, so I have to think harder and check out some of my notes. For
the meanings

--
Shez shez@oldcity.f2s.com

in the darkness

<snip and only leave that which I am responding to...>

One Note, Hawthorn Magic is considered "Wild Magic" and very unsafe...


Remember the Holly King.

It also is very useful for internment of the dead. An enema of
Juniper Oil would liquify the internal organs, and then one could
simply drained them out the rectum.

Collected pieces around the world of remnants of the "One True Cross"
show it was made of Pine... but, I tend to accept Popular, as I suspect
these "Pieces of the One True Cross" are early Xian Bunko.


Also usable in healing spells, the bark is a great source of Salicylic Acid,
and once boiled down could be used to create a tincture to relieve aches
and pains, the resultant (Salicin) is closely related to Aspirin.

In normal strength tinctures, or in raw form, but powdered, it
performs most if not all the functions aspirin performs... aches,
pains, rheumatism, inflamation, fever reducer... White willow
is better for internal treatment.

When a stronger extract than a tincture is created, it can be used
to cure warts, in a topical treatment.

I like Mark Twains solution for Warts, though:

"Why, you take your cat and go and get in the graveyard 'long
about midnight when somebody that was wicked has been buried;
and when it's midnight a devil will come, or maybe two or three,
but you can't see 'em, you can only hear something like the wind,
or maybe hear 'em talk; and when they're taking that feller away,
you heave your cat after 'em and say, 'Devil follow corpse, cat
follow devil, warts follow cat, I'm done with ye!' That'll fetch ANY
"wart."



You skipped the Acacia.

A primary source of Gum Arabic, (Think glue on envelopes, and in
cigarette rolling papers)

-Gum Acacia is a demulcent and serves by the viscidity of
its solution to cover and sheathe inflamed surfaces.

It is usually administered in the form of a mucilage -
Mucilago Acaciae, British Pharmacopoeia and United States Pharmacopoeia
made from small pieces of Gum Acacia dissolved in water and strained (1 in 8.75).

Old Legends have it that the "Roots of the Acacia lead to
the Next World....."


Just thought I would throw in another .02c worth...

shez

In article <br7tkm$css$1@news.onecall.net>, In The Darkness
<north@onecall.net> writes

I was mostly looking at the magical side of trees, rather than the herb side.


Very unsafe Hawthorn is one of the woods used in a ritual fire to call
Hern the hunter, anyone who is crazy enough to call Hern deserves what they get.

Again renewal and life, the holly king is the winter king.

I don't honestly believe that either, but its one of the many myths
surrounding the poplar, Just about every tree has been claimed to have been the Christian cross.

I think most people are aware of the use of white willow bark, its not
however true of all willow, just white willow.


Seems a bit hard on the cat.. My own recipe for warts is to rub a piece
of raw meat on the wart, then bury the meat, and as it rots the wart
goes, another one is to rubber the wart with a silver sixpence, bury the
sixpence, and as it tarnishes the wart disappears.

I don't consider the acacia to be a European or British tree its a bit
to exotic for that,
Most of the trees and bushes above grow well in Europe and grow
partially well in Britain, I didn't include the Elm, or the olive for the same reason

Every two cents worth is worth having.

--
Shez shez@oldcity.f2s.com

in the darkness

For me, the two blur, what is today's Magic, will
be tomorrow's Herbology....

And then again, sometimes not.


I just did a little reading on this.. I found some interesting
notes on Hawthorn...

The hawthorn berry is one of the best cardiac tonics available,
and is often used to treat high blood pressure.

Hawthorn berries are used to treat childhood diabetes.

Hawthorn flower tea is a safe diuretic.

Hawthorn berries, dried and crushed and made into a decoction,
eases diarrhea and dysentery, kidney inflammations and disorders.

The young hawthorn leaves can be used as a safe,
and non-nicotine tobacco substitute for those who desire to quite
smoking. Enhance the flavor and help heal the throat by adding yarrow,
mint, coltsfoot or mullein.

Chewing the hawthorn leaf has been known for centuries as a safe way to give nourishment,
revive energy, and a feeling of well-being. That is why it can be used to treat those who
have problems with apprehension, insomnia and despondency. Chewing hawthorn leaves takes
away that ‘tummy grumble’ when you’re hungry. That is why the hawthorn became known
as the ‘bread and cheese’ tree, giving as much sustenance as a plate of bread and cheese.

(Now THAT was interesting.....)

And an interesting final Kicker:

Hawthorn wood is more prized than oak wood for wood fires,
as it burns very hot.

A hawthorn wood fire can produce fire that can melt pig iron.

No -wonder- in legend it calls Hern, perhaps he wanted the secret of steel
to -remain- lost!

yowie

This is really interesting.

I only wish that the same sort of Lore was available regarding Australian
trees and herbs etc etc. Actually, it probably is known, but since I am not
privy to the oral history of any of the Aboriginal peoples, I do not know it
and cannot easily find out.
<sigh>

I am absolutely sure that his county of mine has just as much magic within
its shores than does Europe or America, that we have equivalent palnts for
healing, magic and the like. And perhaps one day the knowledge of this land
may be shared by all who wish to know. Unfortunatley I don't think it will
be in my lifetime.

Heck, I'm still having trouble identifying the type of tree that my
neighbours cut down (b*st*rds) and that I managed to rescue a small log
from. All I can say is that its some sort of Eucalyptus/Angophora and tell
you a few of the species that its not. I suspectif the same happened in
Europe, I could have identified the type of tree fairly easily. We are still
far to Eurocentric around here to appreciate the gifts She has given us
here, and until such time as we do figure it out, we'll still keep cutting
down Eucalypts of various types to plant Oak, and Birch and Elm etc etc.
Which although I guess gives us a sense of familiarity, it doesn't help in
grasping *this* place and its potential.

Yowie

in the darkness

Man, would -that- be worth the effort...



FWIW, I , in America, have a copy of a Dreaming brought back to me
by a friend. Some of the little of the culture that escaped and survived...

And it fit into my house, like...

well,

it knew it was going to be there.

It would be interesting, to say the least. The Shamans involved I would
-love- to study..

But, alas, as you say, probably not an option in this life.

So, alas, it may fade forever..... It owl


Count the growth rings, for seasons gone by....

Works there, as much as it does here.

I suspectif the same happened in

As long as it is in a small area... it is if the stuff survives and takes off,
that it can be an issue...

jventana

<snip>


Thanks Shez. Going into my *Keepers* folder.

-V

Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, thanks.

Though I am still curious about mesquite, (surely there was something in
Native American lore) and if any trads gave special significance to any
individual oak species.

Also, which oak is it that should be used for athlete's foot? (bark tea as
a soak, IIRC)

--
Joe Bramblett, KD5NRH