Humankind’s association with and reliance upon plants can be traced to the prehistoric period. They have supplied humans with food, heat, shelter, weapons, transportation and medicines. Early man revered plants for their ability to come back to life in the spring, having watched them drop their leaves and wither the previous fall. They are steeped in folklore as curers of ailments.
Over the centuries, the heavy reliance on plants as medicine has faded. Few rely upon them today, and those that do tend not to rely on them completely, but more as a supplement to modern medicine. The rites that were carried out are largely forgotten, though a few have been modernized, but even those are not nearly as pagan as they once were. Exploring the world of folklore and medicine of plants leads us to revisit the world of myth and superstition.
Today’s Plant: THE HAWTHORN TREE
Pagan associations:
The old English saying “Ne’er cast a cloot ‘til May is oot” (Never cast off warm clothing until May is over) refers to the May-tree, an alternate name for the hawthorn tree, which flowers around the middle of May. Before the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the tree flowered around May 1st, but the change in the calendar moved the date back 13 to 15 days. The hawthorn was the mystical tree of the Celts and their holy men, the druids. The tree is associated with the May ritual of Beltane, when bonfires were lit honoring Belenus, the Celtic sun god, to welcome back the fertile power of the summer sun.
The hawthorn was also associated with “faerys” (fairies). It was said that the fairies guarded the Other World, the entrance to which was at the base of an ancient hawthorn tree. For this reason, no wood or branches should be cut from the tree, as fairy anger would bring bad luck. The branches of the hawthorn could be cut when it was in flower to decorate for spring celebrations, as long as ribbons and bright pieces of cloth were hung from the branches to appease the fairies. These bright decorations were called clooties, hence the tree was also called the clootie tree. It has gone by many names throughout cultures, including the haw tree (the fruits are called haws) and the white thorn. In case modern folk dismiss the importance of proper respect for the hawthorn, traditionalists point to the fact that, despite warnings from locals, the DeLorean Motor Company dug up and disposed of an ancient hawthorn tree to build their factory in Ireland. We all know what happened to the DeLorean company!
Christian associations:
The hawthorn also has a place in Christian tradition. Its thorny branches were purported to have been formed into the crown that was placed on Christ’s head on His way to Calvary. In another tradition, to this day there is a hawthorn on the grounds of the monastery of Glastonbury that was said to have sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, which he plunged into the ground when he arrived there following the Crucifixion. The tree is known as the Glastonbury Thorn.
Medicinal use:
Hawthorn has a long history as a curative for various heart issues, not only in European medicine, where it was noted by the Greeks in the first century A.D., but also in traditional Chinese medicine. Since the 19th Century, hawthorn leaves and fruits have been prescribed in herbalist circles as a cardiac depressant (an agent that slows the heartbeat in case of enlarged heart), a treatment for high blood pressure, a strengthening agent for the heart and blood vessels, and to treat cardiac arrhythmia. While little of this has been positively proven to be effective, modern researchers point to antioxidants including proanthocyanidins and flavenoids in hawthorn leaf, flower, and berry as possible sources of health benefits.
