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TREE LORE: April - Willow

Due to the pressure of work I will be reverting to producing a monthly contribution to Root & Branch and adding the magical lore attached to each of the various trees ...

TREE LORE: - April - Willow Magic
There are several different species of willow but they all have similar medicinal properties and can be used interchangeably in magic. Willows are one of the earliest colonisers of these Islands and it should come as no surprise that it can be found in the Celtic tree alphabet; it is classed as one of the Peasant Trees and bears the name saill. In Celtic times, those wishing to learn eloquence, to be granted visions, prophetic dreams or inspiration, frequented groves of willow. Artists and artisans who learned their craft in willow groves were reputed to be especially skilled.

If you are unable to visit a willow grove, collect some of the leaves and bark to make into incense. Use when meditating or pathworking if you are looking for inspiration. Willow can also be used in love spells and for friendship. Collect the grey ‘pussy willow’ flowers and place in a charm bag or give a friend a bunch of pussy willow for luck. For medicinal use, the dried bark of the willow is collected from young branches during the growth period for extracting the aspirin-like substances to help combat high fever and to relieve the pain of arthritis and headaches. Although these claims have not been clinically proven, there is strong evidence that willow bark was used in a similar way to aspirin long before the invention of the drug.

Because willow also has ‘Otherworld’ associations, it is inadvisable to use a willow staff to drive animals since it was believed that these would soon be taken from you and pass down into the underworld, i.e. the herd or flock would die. In folklore, the willow was associated with sorrow and lost love. Sprigs were sometimes worn as a sign of mourning; or by those who had been forsaken in love, hence the words of the old folksong: ‘All around my hat I will wear the green willow’.

The monthly  Traditional Old Craft Witch's Calendar will still be available on the FB page facebook.com/TradBritOld Craft

 

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Mélusine Draco originally trained in the magical arts of traditional British Old Craft with Bob and Mériém Clay-Egerton. She has been a magical and spiritual instructor for over 20 years with Arcanum and the Temple of Khem, and writer of numerous popular books on magic and witchcraft. Her highly individualistic teaching methods and writing draws on ancient sources, supported by academic texts and current archaeological findings.

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