|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
Hazel of Wisdom (c) Blackbird Hollins 2005 |
|
The importance of the hazel tree to our ancestors cannot be underestimated. This article will show how it was vital to ancient societies on many levels and how it remains a useful and relevant tree to us today. There is much that I haven't touched upon in this article. For those interested to look, there is a wealth of hazel lore outside of the British Isles, Greek and Scandinavian cultures being particularly fertile ground. I decided to limit this article to Britain and Ireland purely because of the vast amount of information available. Let us start with some botanical information. Hazel owns the name of Corylus Avellana and these days is generally regarded as a bush rather than a tree. It sends up slender shoots from its base and is thus ideal for coppicing, the method of its farming for many thousands of years. The nature of coppicing means that, unlike most woodland, a great deal of light and warmth reaches the forest floor during spring. This means that hazel woods are rich in wildlife, providing an ideal habitat for many species of bird and butterfly. Coppice woods also encourage the growth of spring flowering plants such as bluebells, primrose and campion. In many ways, the widespread coppicing of the past has created the type of wildlife that we now think of as quintessentially British. The name 'hazel' comes from the Anglo Saxon 'haesel', meaning 'cap'. This refers to the way in which the nuts are covered with a thin, leafy sheath, rather like a little hat. In the various Celtic languages, its name is surprisingly standard. The ancient and modern Irish use the name 'coll', which becomes calltunn or calltuinn in the Scots Gaelic. The Manx call it 'coull', which is similar again to the Welsh 'collen' and Cornish 'colwedhen'. (The Breton is dissimilar, using kraonk-levezenn.) It is unusual to find such uniformity, even between the various Celtic languages. Hazel has also attracted various local names, such as 'nuttery', which is self explanatory, 'lambs tails', which refers to the catkins, halse and hezzel, which are obvious enough derivations. The hazel seems to have arrived in Britain and Ireland through natural means in prehistoric times. Along with the birch, it was the first tree to colonise these lands after the last ice age, though it appears that humans were partly responsible for the great spread and abundance of the tree. Hazel tends to grow as a group of slender poles, though if left alone it will occasionally grow into a small tree. However, hazel has rarely been left alone. It seems that coppicing of the hazel began about four thousand years ago, though some studies give an estimate of six thousand years. Coppicing is a sustainable means of harvesting wood and prolongs the life of the tree, sometimes doubling its life span. The poles are cut away close to the ground and once cut, the hazel tree responds by throwing up new shoots. Traditionally, one seventh of a coppice wood is harvested every seven years, so that there is a continuous supply of poles . After the second world war, coppicing fell into decline, as hazel rods lost their market to other materials, especially the new synthetic alternatives. The impact of this on the hazel tree was devastating. In 1950, there were 200,000 acres of hazel coppice in Britain but that had declined to only 5,000 acres by 1985 . The good news is that coppice woods are again on the increase. There has been a resurgence of interest in traditional woodcraft skills and an increasing market for sustainable natural materials. Hazel poles can be put to countless uses, due to two important properties. They can be split lengthways and bent sharply without breaking. This makes them extremely useful for weaving into various frameworks. From Neolithic times onwards, woven frames of hazel, known as 'wattle', have been used as the basis for wattle and daub housing. And this has continued into modern times - I remember that wattle walls were visible in the attic of the house I grew up in. Wattle has also been used as the basis for hedges and fences. More recent uses include flood defences and as sound screens for noisy stretches of motorway. The flexibility of hazel means that it is used to make pegs for thatching - the peg must be bent over on itself without snapping, so hazel is an ideal material. This flexibility is also employed in the making items such as baskets, fish traps and barrel hoops. Hazel has found other uses due to the straightness of the poles and the attractive nature of the wood. Hazel poles have long been used as walking sticks, bean sticks and so forth. Until quite recently, naturally spiralled walking sticks known as 'barley-sugar sticks' were the sign of a woodsman. The sticks are formed naturally by the action of vines such as woodbine and ivy upon the living wood. These days, such staves are more often to be found in the hands of pagans, who value their beauty and the mystical qualities of the wood. Shepherd's crooks are traditionally made of hazel, the distinctive shape being formed while the pole is actually growing, by pinning or lashing it into shape. And then there is perhaps the most famous use for hazel wood - in the forked rod of the water diviner. This will be looked at later, as we consider the prophetic and divinatory properties of the tree. Of course, the wood is not the only important part of the hazel. The leaves and nuts of the tree have long found many uses. The leaves are usually the earliest to appear - they are a traditional sign of the start of spring - and the last to drop. These are invaluable cattle fodder due to their abundance and nutritional value. And then the nuts. Today, hazel nuts are generally eaten as a snack food. However, during many periods of history, the hazel nut was a vital part of the human diet. Analysis of the diet of Mesolithic man has shown that hazel nuts were a staple food , so it is unsurprising that humans seem to have cultivated the tree from these times onwards. Hazel nuts are a good source of protein and can be stored for relatively long periods of time; certainly well into the winter months. They can be eaten as they are, added to stews or ground with flour and baked into breads. And of course, hazel nuts are the main ingredient of Fra Angelico, an Italian liqueur that has been prepared since Medieval times. Cultivated hazel nuts are often called 'filberts' - this being a reference to Saint Philibert, as the nuts were said to begin ripening on his feast day, the 20th of August . During the middle ages, tenants in Barking collected hazel nuts as part of their service. The hazel tree is widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. Hazel related place names are most heavily concentrated in the West of Scotland, particularly in Argyllshire. In its Gaelic form, it appears in the name of the Clan Colquhoun, who take the hazel as their badge. The Dindshenchas (Place name stories) of Ireland give 'Fordruim' as an ancient name for Tara, with this being described as a 'pleasant hazel wood.' Even a brief look at hazel lore will reveal that it is often connected with water. The hazel rods respond to water in the hands of the diviner and the myths of Ireland show an intimate connection between the hazel tree and the seven great rivers of Ireland. The surviving lore concerns the Shannon and the Boyne in particular, though it is said that at the head of each great river grew one or more magical hazel trees. In various stories, either one or nine of these trees are said to have grown over Connla's Well and the Well of Segais, the legendary sources of the Boyne and Shannon respectively. It is said that the hazel trees at Connla's Well produced fruit and flowers simultaneously and it has been suggested that this represents wisdom mixed with beauty. To my mind, it underlines that these were no ordinary trees, but magical, otherworldly trees. Nuts from these magical hazel trees were described as 'the Nuts of Wisdom ' and many stories tell of how the nuts fall into the waters of the well, imbuing the water with special qualities and causing bubbles of mystic inspiration to form. The nuts are eaten by salmon who swim in the river, who gain great wisdom from this. It is said that the number of spots upon the back of the salmon corresponds to the number of nuts he has eaten, and thus to the amount of wisdom held by that fish. Generally in Irish myth, hazel nuts represent wisdom, and this correspondence is often found in kennings and riddles. The Irish word for the nuts is 'cno', and the similarity between that and the word for wisdom, 'cnocach ' is obvious. The nuts are seen as a concentration of wisdom, something highly nutritious, yet compact. Something sweet to the taste, just as knowledge is sweet. Perhaps the most famous tale concerning this lore is that of Fionn Mac Cumhaill, and of how he got his wisdom.
We learn more about the hazels of wisdom from this story, which concerns the formation of the river Boyne.
We have very similar story about the river Shannon, of which Connla's Well is said to be the source. One description of the well tells us that it is surrounded by nine hazel trees that produce flowers and nuts simultaneously. Again, these magical nuts fall into the well, where they are eaten by the wise salmon who dwell there. We have other tales that tell of the other properties of the hazel tree, lore that tells of its great magical power. This next tale comes from the Lebor Gabala Erenn, which tells of the various early settlers of Ireland. We are told that on arrival from their four great cities, the Tuatha de Danaan initially lived on land that lay between the Athenians and the Philistines. These two were at war with each other, with the Philistines getting the upper hand. The Tuatha de Danaan decide to support the Athenian cause, and they "formed through Druidry demon spirits in the bodies of the Athenian soldiers who were slain."11 The Philistines were dismayed to find their enemies rising from the dead to do battle again and they sought the advice of their Elder, who told them to
So we see that in this tale, hazel has a kind of binding power, the power to overcome or undo the demonic magic of the Tuatha de Danaan. Later in the manuscript, hazel appears again, this time on the side of the Tuatha de Danaan. When the Milesians (who were eventually to supplant the Tuatha de Danaan) arrived in Ireland, they had to pacify three Goddesses, Érin, Fótla and Banba in order that they be allowed upon the land. Banba's husband was named MacCuill (son of hazel), with the other two being MacCecht (son of the plough) and MacGréine (son of the sun). The story tells us that the land of Ireland at that time was divided between the three couples, for "these were the things they put above all other". I believe that this points to the great importance of the hazel tree. The story is telling us that to the early peoples of Ireland, hazel was one of the fundamental necessities of life. To take a slightly different interpretation, we have a triad of production. MacCecht preparing the land, MacGreine providing warmth and light to grow the crop, and MacCuill being the end product, the tree from which food, fuel and building materials are harvested. If there were once any more tales of MacCuill, these have been sadly lost. He appears just once more in the lore of Ireland, where we learn that he was one of the last Tuatha de Danaan kings to rule, before his slaying by Eber of the Milesians. The hazel takes its place among the correspondences for the ogham letters, which can famously be represented as trees, among other things. Some of the ogham letters make obvious reference to other meanings (e.g. tinne, which is popularly translated as 'holly' - but which actually means 'ingot'). Hazel represents the letter 'C' - 'coll' - which as we have already seen, is indeed the Irish name for hazel. We have three surviving ogham poems, which provide meanings and kennings for the various letters. Often these bear little resemblance to the tree that is popularly associated with that letter, the emphasis on trees being something that obtains to modern times. However, each ogham poem refers to 'C' as hazel. And in this insistence, it is one of the least ambiguous of all the letters. In the Ogham of Morann Mac Main, 'coll' is given as 'Cainen Fedaib', 'fairest of trees', in that of CuChulainn, 'sweetest of woods'. The interesting one is that of Mac Ind Oic, where it is given as 'Cara Bloisc', 'friend of cracking' . Cracking can of course, simply refer to the process of eating the nuts. However, as we have seen, eating hazel nuts is often used as a metaphor for the extraction of kernels of wisdom. And 'cracking' also has this dual meaning, being also a literary and oratory device whereby hidden messages can be disguised in plain speech. Such things probably gave rise to the idea that there was a secret language spoken by poets. Outside sources such as Diogenes Laertius tell us that the Druids spoke "by means of riddles and dark sayings." This kind of clever word play was an important skill that was highly regarded among the various Celtic peoples. In accordance with the importance of these ideas and attributes connected with the hazel, alongside its value as a food and wood source, the ancient Irish accorded it the rank of 'Chieftain', i.e., one of the most important trees. So far, we have concentrated upon evidence from Ireland, as it is here that the hazel lore is rich and plentiful. Let us now look a little further afield, towards the rest of Britain. We will also touch upon evidence from the Continent, though this is really outside the remit for this article. Was the hazel as important in Britain as in Ireland? Some people, opting for a pan-Celtic approach think so. But as yet, there is no evidence to prove that this was the case. One discovery that might have relevance was made at Ashill in Norfolk . A shaft well was excavated, and the finds within date to the Iron Age. This type of well often seems to have been dug purely as a place to make offerings. Many such wells have been found in Britain, but the finds within the Ashill well are unique. The well is three and a half feet square and forty feet deep. The more recent items from the upper part of the well, included an iron knife, some pot sherds, including Samian ware, and various bones, including those of a toad. It is in the lower part of the well that the older and for our purposes, more interesting finds were made. In the lower two thirds of the well were intact urns. These had been placed in layers within the well, sandwiched with thick layers of hazel nuts and leaves. The urns mostly contained bones along with a few iron items. Curiously, the nuts higher up the well were more mature than those in the lower sections. It is hard to know if this is by accident or design. It does seem that the shaft was in use for a prolonged period of time. The upper layers of much later material indicate that the practice of making deposits there continued for a long while after the well was initially in use, despite the fact that the nature of the deposits had changed considerably. There was also evidence for a series of very well worn paths leading up to the well, these would not have survived unless the well was visited frequently over a long period of time. Ross takes this shaft well as evidence that the hazel was of great importance in Britain, and as in Ireland, was connected with wells. She also speculates that the God Callirius and the place he was honoured in, Colchester, derive their names from the hazel. I am not skilled enough in linguistics to know if this is a valid idea. But even if this is true, to my mind, these two pieces of evidence in themselves cannot prove that the hazel shared similar lore and importance to that of Ireland, tempting though that might be. One secondary source refers to the finding of hazel wands being found in the 'coffins of notables' in Britain and Europe . However, the purpose of these is unknown, and as I am unable to trace the primary source for this information, I have no idea of the truth of the statement, or of the age of the graves in question. However, hazel wands do appear in Irish myth, where they are used by magicians, often for effecting transformation and shape-shifting. We will look at this a little later. We do have other archaeological sites in Europe that contain hazel items. The excavations of an Iron age grave in Wurtemburg revealed that the occupant had been lain within a coffin formed from a hollowed out tree, and a pile of hazel nuts placed within . Another similar grave contained thirty two hazel nuts. I think it likely that the nuts were intended as food for the journey to the Otherworlds, rather than as a "symbol of life," as Baring-Gould would have it. Hazel nuts are ideal food for travellers, as they are light and easy to carry and each nut is remarkably sustaining. We will now look at some more tales from the Fenian Cycle of stories. It is important at this point to expose a 'false friend'. These tales contain a wealth of lore regarding hazel trees and nuts. However, this does not extend to the name of Fionn himself, MacCumhall (pron. 'MacCool'). Though it sounds similar to words derived from the hazel, it is actually from the name Umall, with the initial 'C' being borrowed from the prefix 'Mac' . Still, that is not to say that much of the hazel lore does not connect with Fionn's name, play and kenning around similar sounding words are quite usual. We are told that would-be members of Fionn's band had to undergo rigorous physical testing . The first trial involved arming the tested man with only a hazel stick and a shield, then standing him waist deep in a hole in the ground. The man had to defend himself against nine warriors, who cast their spears simultaneously at him. If the would-be Féinnidh suffered any injury from this, he would not be accepted. And let it be said that this was the first, and in many ways, the easiest of the trials. In this case, I do not see that there is anything esoteric about the use of the hazel stick. To procure a hazel pole would be an easy matter, and as hazel, unlike other trees, was farmed for long poles, it simply made practical sense to use the most readily available material for the job. As hazel is so supple, the stick would be less likely to shatter than that of a more brittle wood. Another curious Fenian tale is titled 'The Shield of Fionn'. It tells of how Lugh stuck the head of his defeated enemy Balor in the fork of a hazel tree. Over the years, poison drips from the head, until the tree has split in two. "The hazel remained unfelled, but ever bore a cause of tears, being an abode of vultures and ravens. " Manannan is walking among the beautiful trees of the White-hazel mountain, when he spies this sorry, leafless tree among them. He determines that the tree should be dug up and removed, and he sets some men to the task. However, a poisonous vapour rises from the roots of the tree. It kills nine men and then a further nine. The third lot of workmen are not killed, but blinded by the poison. The wood from this hazel is used to make the shield named 'Dripping Ancient Hazel' (Sencoll Snideac ). It takes part in many famous battles, and everywhere causes cries of pain and woe. Hazel is a curious choice for the wood of a shield, but it would not be completely impractical. It really rests upon whether or not Lugh's use of the hazel tree as a receptacle for Balor's head was a considered choice, or simply convenience. If, as we saw in the tale of the Tuatha de Danaan and the Philistines, the hazel was gifted with powers of protection, then it may be that Lugh thought that this protective power would be strong enough to nullify the poison from the head. It may also be the case that this power combined with the poison in the making of the shield, producing an item that offered physical and magical defence, and could also cause considerable harm. Of course, shields can be used both defensively and offensively in battle. Hazel plays a part in the tale of Sadb, Fionn's lover and the mother of his son Oisin.
So here again, we see the hazel wood as being possessed with magical properties, this time being the instrument of transformation. Given the link between the hazel, seership and poetic inspiration, it is little wonder that the hazel wand was utilised by the Druidic classes. However, unlike the telling of Fionn's achievement of wisdom, Fionn is on the receiving end. The hazel itself knows no loyalty, it is of itself only, but is something that can be harnessed by men and Gods for whatever ends they choose. This is illustrated again in this story, which is a twist on the tale of Fionn's getting of wisdom.
Although the nuts are kernels of wisdom, wisdom and knowledge itself can be perverted according to the will of the holder of that knowledge. Wisdom is something of itself, how the knowledge is used is down to the ethics of the individual. We have seen that Irish myth describes the gaining of wisdom from the consumption of hazel nuts, and that the 'cracking' of hazel nuts is a metaphor for the gaining of knowledge. But what is the nature of that knowledge? For Fionn, it is the knowledge of the future. The wisdom of the hazel nut is almost always associated with prophetic powers and divination. In several Irish myths, poets and prophets (though there is usually no distinction between the two) are described as 'gaining nuts of wisdom'. In Cormac's glossary, hazel nuts are termed 'nuts of imbas' (Cuill Crimaind), and another intriguing phrase appears to mean 'Chanting by means of the hazels of prophecy'. (dicetul do chollaib cend) The exact meaning of 'imbas' is unclear. It means something like 'good knowledge', but is used in the sense of 'illumination', through means of prophetic vision or divine inspiration. Imbas Forosnai ('knowledge which illuminates') was once of the methods employed by poets seeking visions and inspiration. Imbas is the word used to describe the prophetic results of Fionn's thumb-chewing, and it may be that the act of chewing is an important part of the process of receiving imbas. Fionn chews his thumb, Cormac describes the rituals of the filidh when commencing Imbas Forosnai as including the chewing of raw flesh . And it seems that the chewing of hazel nuts was another way of beginning the process by which enlightenment could be received. Others argue for a more prosaic explanation for this connection between imbas and the hazel nut. There are references in early Irish literature to 'hazelmead' and it is suggested that this or a similar drink could have been imbibed for 'psychotropic effects' . This is an interesting idea and is worth future investigation. However, to my knowledge, hazel nuts contain no such property. It therefore seems unlikely that they would be the important ingredient in such a concoction and are less likely to have been the main association for such a drink. Let us now move to other areas in which the hazel is seen to be possessed of divinatory properties. Something we have not yet explored is the connection of hazel nuts with love, sex and marriage. Hazel nuts play quite a large part in divination connected with these concerns. Whether this is down to their wide availability or a knowledge of their properties of wisdom remains to be seen. In Scotland at Hallowe'en, we see love divination performed with hazel nuts . Two hazel nuts are given the names of a pair of lovers and then placed upon burning embers. If they burn slowly, remaining together, this was taken as a sign of loyalty and love. But if the nuts cracked, jumped or rolled apart, this was a sign that they were a bad match, with one of them being unfaithful. A variation on this is commemorated by Gray:
Hazelnuts were also popular in England around this time of year. On Holy Cross Day (14th of September), children traditionally went to gather hazel nuts. The day was allowed as a school holiday, a custom that only died out in the early 20th century. Many places in England celebrated 'Nutcrack Night' on various days in late November, this being the time when the nuts are first ripe enough to be good eating. We have records of similar hazel nut love divinations being performed on this occasion. Amusingly, it is also recorded that it was customary for parishioners to take hazel nuts into the church on the nearest Sunday, and crack them noisily during the service. So a prospective couple have read good signs for their union from the nuts in the fire. If they lived in Devon, they would find that hazel nuts also played a part in their hopes for a happy future. Custom dictates that an old woman should present the bride with a bag of hazel nuts as she leaves the church , though in modern times, the nuts have usually been substituted for rice or paper confetti. It seems that this custom of giving nuts to a newly wedded couple is very old in origin. Catullus mentions that this was a custom among the Romans, and Virgil writes of the custom of showering the couple with nuts on their wedding day:
We don't have to look too hard to find similar customs in other parts of Europe, particularly France, where the bride is often showered or gifted with nuts. The custom in Hautes-Alpes is for the bride to be given sweets formed into the shape of hazel nuts. In Poitou, the floor of the bridal suite is scattered with nuts. Sometimes these are explicitly hazel nuts, sometimes not . It seems to me that these customs cannot be satisfactorily connected with the prophetic powers attributed to the hazel in the Irish lore. The nuts in this case appear to signify fertility, fruitfulness and abundance, underlined by the fact that they are often gifted to the bride alone. There are other sayings that back this up, such as 'Plenty of catkins, plenty of prams', an English saying that equates an abundance of hazel catkins with an abundance of babies. Apparently this pertained in some places in rural England up until the 1950s . There is also a sly connection made between 'nutting' and sex, one being a euphemism for the other. An old English saying states that a maid who goes nutting on a Sunday will bear the Devil's children, or will have a baby before she is married . Which type of nutting this refers to must have been down to the interpretation of the individual maiden. Nutting as an activity seems to have been very popular and a good opportunity to make merry. In 1826, we have a wonderful complaint from the owner of Hatfield Forest:
Sadly for those in Wales, hazel was not so much a symbol of love, as love unreturned. A hazel twig would be given as a sign of rejection between lovers . But conversely, another Welsh custom runs that one should wear a twig of hazel in ones hat in order to make your wishes come true . This is found elsewhere, in a slight variation known as a 'Wishing Cap,' woven from hazel twigs. Again, the cap would bring the fulfillment of your wish. It is said - though from slightly dubious sources - that sailors would wear such caps in order to protect themselves from storms . This may be true, as elsewhere, particularly in the East of England, we find hazel twigs placed on window sills to protect a house against lightning or fire . We also find hazel in use as a general protective plant, in much the same way that trees such as the holly and oak are employed. As we have already seen, the Philistines employed hazel in their fight against the magicians of the Tuatha de Danaan. Hazel offered protection for the Philistines against the evil demons inhabiting the corpses of their slain enemies. In the Discoverie of Witchcraft, Scot advocates the use of hazel wands, cut, of course, upon the 'Sabbath daie', as protection against witches and thieves. And something that may or may not be relevant in the light of our earlier discourse on ancient bodies found with hazel nuts and leaves, is that Pennant, writing in the 17th century, tells us that in Merionethshire it was customary for hazel twigs to be placed within graves to avert malign witchcraft . Hazel was also thought to protect against adder bites. There is an old charm that is to be spoken over one so afflicted, while a hazel-wood cross is placed over the bite:
The meaning of this is obscure to me. It seems that the charm takes the adder to have left some part of himself within the bite, and that this 'double' can be gradually teased out of the victim by use of the rhyme. Not having been bitten by an adder recently, I can't vouch for the effectiveness of this. There is more lore that links the hazel with the adder. This mostly pertains to Cornwall, where the hazel is used in the getting of Millpreve (probably from 'milpreo', i.e., a thousand worms) or glain-neidr (adder-stones). On finding a snake coiled asleep, a hazel stick should be stuck into the centre of the spiral while a charm is said for the making of the adder-stone.
I believe that these adder-stones can be compared to the famous 'Druid's Eggs' or 'Serpents Eggs' and there is much more information on these that I will not delve into now. So one property of these glain-neidr was to heal the bites of snakes and this compares with the adder charm mentioned earlier. Aside from this, there is precious little lore about any healing properties of the hazel. Discounting, of course, its fame as a food of high nutritional value. It does seem to have a remarkable quality of filling the stomach quickly and providing a great deal of energy at the same time, which is favourable in comparison to manufactured sugary 'energy foods'. The most commonly found lore concerning healing properties of the hazel runs a double-hazelnut should be carried in the pocket as a charm to prevent toothache. The tale of St Melor appears to show the healing power of hazel:
In other versions, the boy suddenly uses his silver hand to pick nuts or apples from a tree, as if it were a real hand. Still, whatever the detail, the outcome is sadly the same - fearing for the kingship, the uncle lops off poor Melor's head. This tale is often cited on pagan websites as hazel lore, but I have my suspicions. There are versions of the story in which Melor is picking apples rather than nuts , so it seems to me that the nuts are incidental to the story. The dexterous movement made by Melor's hand is how the miracle is brought to the attention of the Abbot, the healing has not been caused by the nuts themselves. There is another Christian tale that has a very interesting piece of hazel lore within it, a story of Kentigern, who is also known as St Mungo. He lived from c.518 to 612, a time when Christianity was establishing itself in Britain. Kentigern was a very interesting character, said by some to be the great-nephew of King Arthur and merged by others into the Myrddin tales.
This miracle, among others attributed to Kentigern, made up the imagery for Glasgow's coat of arms (here, the hazel has become an oak, presumably for artistic reasons) and is commemorated in a rhyme taught to school children:
It is also said:
It may be that we have a confused rehashing of an earlier story here, or a remembrance of hazel lore given a new gloss by a church eager to envelop local customs within its own stories. The story of the burning branch does not quite fit with other hazel lore concerning fire. One superstition tells us that three pegs of hazel hammered into the wall of a house will protect it from fire and in Ireland and Wales, it has long been taboo to burn hazel, it being considered a fairy tree . So the story of Kentigern can be read in a few different ways. It might be that Kentigern knows hazel to be a sacred wood, which is why he chooses the tree to help him rekindle the sacred flames. Or perhaps Kentigern is aware that the hazel is a tree of power and significance, and seeks to show that this power is conferred or supplanted by the grace of his God. Let us move away from enjoyable speculation and come to the last subject of this article. Hazel is most readily associated in the public mind with water divining, sometimes called rhabdomancy or dowsing. As this topic alone is worthy of its own lengthy article, I will confine myself to a few brief comments. Most divining rods are made from one twig with a single fork, so that the rod takes a 'Y' shape. Typically, the forks are held with the hand in supination, i.e., fingers uppermost. The main stem then points towards the ground and responds to underground streams and springs in the hands of a skilled dowser. Dowsers say that they feel a surge of energy through the rods when water or minerals are found. Hazel rods are certainly traditional for this, though I have seen dowsers use a variety of dowsing rods, even coat hangers, with equally good effect. This custom is certainly very antique, though how old is hard to say. It was certainly around in the seventeenth century, as evidenced by John Evelyn's diary. He says of dowsing:
We have already seen that hazel has a strong mythic connection with water, shown by the magical hazel trees growing by the mysterious wells of Ireland. And in turn, the hazel nuts imbue the waters themselves with their properties of wisdom and prophecy. It is tempting to talk of the pull of the waters leading the rods to the place where those wells of the Underworld spring. Sadly, as the technique works with coat hangers, we should abandon this glorious idea and say instead that the divining rod seems to work as an indicator for some kind of flux or current beneath the ground. And that the skill lies within the diviner rather than with the rod. So we reach the end of our journey through the hazel wood. We have seen how important this little tree has been to the story of humans in Britain. Of how its stories attained splendid flowering in Ireland and of its mysterious link with prophecy and the Otherworlds. We have touched briefly upon the vast array of superstitions and customs which surround this tree throughout the British Isles. The journey is not over, for much yet remains hidden. So we keep returning to the stories of the hazel tree, following the threads to the source of wisdom. Bibliography Baring-Gould,
S. (1913) A Book of Folklore, online at sacred-texts
|