HAWTHORN
Hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) A few weeks ago I mentioned to some friends that I was really wishing I was in Ireland right now collecting Hawthorn Berries to make a medicine for my mom. Fast forward to this weekend my friend Kim mentioned seeing a Hawthorn Tree here in our neighborhood. Im a bit hesitant collecting any herbs in our neighborhood because of all of the construction and lead disruption but I decided to take q walk over to sit with the tree. This was my first time connecting with a Hawthorn tree in the US, my experience with Hawthorn has been in Ireland over the years and they look much different there. The are short and resemble more of a bush. This species that we have here in the Northeast is called Washington Hawthorn and was introduced to Pennsylvania in 1953 from Washington. To my surprise she had lots to say and one of those was that her berries are fine for making medicine and another was that I need to make a Thorn Essence. So I got to work on Tuesday, Mars day, which is the planet associated with her. The color for the planet Mars and Tuesday is red so working with her bright red berries felt so auspicious.
In Western Medicine Hawthorn is the ultimate Heart tonic and is incredibly safe not causing any side effects. It is amphoteric, meaning it has the power to raise and lower blood pressure. It also helps lower bad cholesterol and increase the good. The Druids used it as a strengthening tonic for weakness and old age. There is more I could say here about her physical properties but I’d like to focus on the metaphysical because of the proximity to Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Samhain is celebrated on October 31st in the modern world but would have been celebrated on the New Moon in October when we were following a lunar calendar. Another holiday that is celebrated at the same time with the same meaning is Diwali, the festival of lights, which is the Hindu New Year. So there is a parallel here between the two cultures. The Hindu culture still follows a lunar calendar and dates are never set due to that.
Hawthorn stands at the threshold to most sacred sites in Ireland and also Holy Wells. She is part of the Sacred Triad of Oak, Ash and Thorn. It is still a belief there that if you cut down a Hawthorn Tree the next 7 generations will experience bad luck for disrupting the Fae! There is actually an old story that Joseph Kennedy’s father (JFK grandfather) cut down a Hawthorn Tree generations ago and that is where the tragedy in the Kennedy family comes from, who knows if this is truth or lore but interesting nonetheless. The Hawthorn Tree is also known as a Faery Tree and a literal gateway to the Otherwold where the “good folk” reside. A tree full of magic and enchantment. Falling asleep under a Hawthorn Tree on Beltane (May 1st) is said to transport you to the Otherwold for good. The Hawthorn tree flowers around Beltane and bears fruit around Samhain, the two times of year when the veils are thinnest.
The tree blesses us with Good Fortune, Spiritual Growth, Magic and Psychic Protection. She opens our heart and helps us to invoke magic in our lives. She is a great ally for anyone experiencing loss. As the fear is released, great psychic energy is liberated in the spiritual heart (center of the chest). Negative thoughts dislodge and the way for healing and love is opened.
Hawthorn is one of the 13 Trees of the Ogham Moon Calendar. The Ogham Moon calendar is an ancient Druid Lunar calendar and alphabet based on the 13 cycles of the moon, where specific trees are assigned to each month (28 day lunar cycle) that represent the particular powers of that tree. Hawthorn is from May 13th to June 9th, so if you were born within these dates Hawthorn is your birth tree symbolizing Fertility, Protection and Happiness.
I felt as if I definitely slipped into a liminal space as I worked with her. My whole day was swallowed up by an impromptu date with Hawthorn. As I separated her berries, leaves and thorns I was asking for guidance in how exactly she would like me to use her. I knew from earlier she was communicating using her thorns but opened myself to some more guidance. As I worked tediously I was listening and from that space knew I needed to create a Hawthorn Berry Elixer, a Tincture, Whole plant Flower Essence, a Thorn Essence for psychic protection and some Hawthorn wands, made from the branches, with the kids. I started contemplating Jesus’s crown of thorns for some reason and I remembered they were created from Hawthorn and I immediately felt that the symbolism there was so apparent. Having a Crown of Hawthorn around his 6 & 7th Chakras as he transitioned into the Otherworld. The crown being symbolic of a Threshold/Gateway…it is felt deeply within me. 5hrs later I awoke from my time with Hawthorn feeling inspired, aligned, enchanted and excited to share her medicine.
I plan to use her medicine (mostly the Essences and wands) on Samhain during my ritual as I invoke the ancestors. I plan to journey with Hawthorn as one of my gatekeepers along with Mugwort, Angelica and Raven Anointing oil. This is such liminal time and honoring and journeying with the Ancestors, Sidhe, Goddesses & Faeries is particularly potent at this time. This is a time infused with the magic of death, release and beginnings as Samhain makes the end of the Harvest and the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The Wheel of the Year begins at sundown on Samhain. What will you be releasing and clearing? What seeds will you be planting for the new year? What are your intentions for the new year? Wishing you Enchantment and Magic in your journeying, ceremonies and ritual.
Samhain Blessings
Danielle