Sacred Woods :: Willow
Willows which by water stand
Ease us to the Summerland.
The graceful form of the willow is reminiscent of a wellspring. Its roots sink deep into rich, moist soil to draw earth’s
energy from its hidden recesses into the tree’s rough grayish-brown trunk from which it bubbles over into the many branches.
Fountain-like limbs spray outward from the trunk to bow gently back to earth. At their ends, feathery leaves graze the
ground, completing the cycle by returning earth’s energy to its source. Beneath the canopy of limbs and fronds, lies a
veiled place of peaceful calm and restorative energy long recognized by the many cultures of humanity.
Such feelings of inner peace naturally beget feelings of joy and for the Egyptians the elegant tree that grew so quickly and willingly along the banks of the Nile was a symbol of joy. Cranes are known to nest in willow and a grove of willow with nesting cranes is symbolic of blissful domesticity, the ultimate source of joy. The tree held the same connotations for the early Hebrew people and the use of willow limbs in the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumnal harvest festival also known as the Day of Willows, is decreed in Leviticus 23:40:
After the festival, the willow branches that had been carried in processionals and had roofed the temporary shelters were ceremonially burned in the temples. Later in the story of the Hebrew people, the tree became associated with sorrow and loss. Psalm 137 tells of the Hebrew during their wanderings through Babylon where they had been taken to serve as slaves:
Since the time of their trials, the once joy-bringing tree became known as the weeping willow.
The Arabian tale is different, though it retains willow’s association with sorrow. According to this tale, after David married Bathsheba, he was visited by two angels while he was playing his harp in his private chambers. The angels reminded David of the sins he had committed when he had impregnated Bathsheba while she was married to Uriah then attempted to cover it up and finally had Uriah killed so he could take Bathsheba as one of his own wives. Confronted with his many sins, David threw himself on the ground and wept for forty days and forty nights. His tears streamed from his eyes out into the garden where two trees sprang up - the weeping willow that forever droops with grief and the frankincense tree that constantly distills tears of sorrow.
Willow has been associated with death, the underworld and the afterlife in many different cultures though not in a sorrowful way. In modern lore, it is said that one must plant a willow during their lifetime and ensure that it is still alive at the time of their death to guarantee a safe passage into the afterlife. In China and Turkey, weeping willow are commonly planted in burial grounds, but the Chinese saw the tree as a symbol of immortality because even the smallest shoot, when planted, will take root and grow into a new willow. The ancient Mesopotamian goddess Belili was known as the Willow Mother. To the Akkadians, Sumerians and Assyrians she was the goddess of the underworld and sister of Tammuz. Today, Belili is unfamiliar to most of us, but she was the predecessor to the more familiar Ishtar who assumed many of Belili’s attributes and sacred objects including the willow which was well known to the Babylonians. The priests of Babylon are even said to have correctly predicted the early death of Alexander the Great when the boughs of a willow brushed the crown from his head as he crossed the Euphrates River.
In Greece, willow was the sacred tree of Hecate and Persephone, both of whom are underworld deities, though they represent different aspects. Hecate is the crone, whose wisdom comes with age and experience. It is she who presides over death and gates and therefore the soul’s passages as it leaves the body. Willow is the traditional binding for the witch’s besom, symbolizing Hecate’s ultimate and final power over both men (represented by the ash staff) and women (represented by the birch bristles). Willow, when planted on the gravesite or its branches laid with the body, is said to ease the soul of the deceased and due to its close association with the otherworld/underworld, willow can be used as a funerary herb. Persephone is the maiden Queen of the Underworld, kind and joyful, it is she who will return to the upperworld to bring the renewal of spring. The willow planted to ease the passages of the deceased, will bloom to herald Persephone’s return and leaf into a curtain of peace and consolation for the loved ones of the departed. Persephone’s return brings fertility and it was believed that the willow, as her sacred tree, did as will. Priests of Asclepius placed willow branches on the beds of infertile women to draw mystical snakes up from the underworld. Snakes were sacred to Persephone, they are phallic in form and they live and burrow into the earth. For all of these reasons, they are associated with fertility and it was the willow that drew them to the woman in need.
Thousands of miles away in the British Isles the willow held the same connotations, even though the native variety of
willow was different than the salix babylonica that shaded the banks of Mediterranean rivers. White willow (Salix alba)
is a fast growing species native to Europe and western Asia but is less common in the west of Wales where pussy willow,
also called goat willow is more prevalent. Willows of the Isles range from full trees, to creeping shrubs to the pussy
willows used for charms and protection by the Druids. According to legend, the poet Pope noticed a twig growing in a
basket of fruit belonging to his friend Lady Suffolk. He planted the twig in his garden and up grew England’s first
weeping willow. The tree was actually introduced to Europe by Tournefort and brought to England in 1748 by a turkey
merchant from Aleppo named Mr. Vernon who planted a tree from the Euphrates at his seat at Twickenham Park. The sapling
took root and was easily propagated by cuttings to spread throughout the Isles. Despite the slight, and sometimes
significant, differences in appearance the tree represented the same mysteries of death, the underworld and rebirth that
it did in the Mediterranean and Near East regions. The Celtic goddesses Cailleach and Morrighan, both of whom are fearsome
deities of death and the underworld, are represented by the willow. Though their dark associations may scare us at first,
like the Greek Hecate, these goddesses guard hidden mysteries and represent the darker, often misunderstood and
unexplored elements of our own minds that require greater understanding. Willow is considered the sacred tree of another
Celtic goddess, Arianrhod. The constellation Corona Borealis is simultaneously believed to be her castle and purgatory,
but like Persephone, Arianrhod exemplifies the tree’s promise of a new beginning as she is not only the guardian of souls
resting in purgatory, she is also a birth goddess. The Druids, like the Greeks, linked the tree to serpents, perhaps
because of the tree’s slender, snake-like branches. According to the Druidic mysteries, the sun and the earth were hatched
from two scarlet eggs hidden among the boughs of a willow. In the spring, eggs were dyed red to ritually recreate the
birth of the cosmos (the sun) and humankind (the earth). As if to confirm its sanctity in the eyes of the Druid priests,
the willow and its botanical cousin the poplar is frequently the host for mistletoe, the most sacred plant among the
Druids.
Where the ancients saw death, they also saw the opportunity for birth and so the willow was affiliated with mother goddesses and goddesses of fertility. The Greek Hera who was later assimilated with the Roman Juno, was born beneath a willow. She is a goddess of women, childbirth and marriage. As an earth mother and child-rearer, she was known as Karphphoros. To honor Hera/Juno or draw her aid, burn the powdered bark of her sacred tree in ritual. Ceres, the Greek goddess of grain and corn, fruit and flowers who gives fertility and oversees the harvest is also symbolized by the willow which is known as the first tree to arrive in spring and the last to leave in the autumn, often holding on to its leaves long after other trees are bare. In what seems to be a contradiction to willow’s link with fertility, the tree is also associated with chastity and the virginal Greek goddess Artemis because of the tree’s habit of dropping its seeds before they are mature.
Willow are typically found near streams, rivers and marshlands and they are stunning next to the water’s edge when their
long, thin, lance-shaped leaves brush the surface to create ripples when the wind blows. Because of this growing habit,
willow is connected to the element of water and the heavenly bodies that rule that element, Neptune, Saturn* and the moon.
Already, we have mentioned lunar goddesses that have willow as their sacred tree: Hecate, Belili, Ishtar, Arianrhod, Artemis
and Hera as the Queen of Heaven. Four of these goddesses are underworld divinities whose dark mysteries can be accessed when
the moon begins to wane and finally dips into complete darkness. Wands made from willow can be used in water and moon magic
and for dowsing due to the tree’s connection with water. To attune to the spirit and power of lunar goddesses, fashion a
circlet of pliable willow branches to wear during lunar rituals or bend long branches into an archway to symbolize the
entrance to the underworld for rites of discovery, personal exploration and descent and ascent. During the waning moon,
blend willow bark and sandalwood into powdered incense, then burn in an outdoor ritual to conjure the spirits of the
deceased.
Through its relationship with water and the moon, willow is given powers of protection, love, psychism and divination, wishes and healing. The protective power of willow is subtle, not martial. Planted in the garden, especially when near a stream or spring, willow will bring the blessings of the moon to the home and its occupants. Bringing willow into the home is said to protect against harm and illness and, in a later corruption of the ancient Greek tradition of Asclepius, branches were placed in beds to drive away snakes. Use willow to bless a rock crystal and empower it with protective and healing energy, then carry the crystal with you or use it in ritual. As a way to bring willow’s blessings into the home permanently, the walls of many old wattle and daub homes through out Britain contain willow and the wood, called osier, has been used to make doors, cabinets, furniture and barrels as well as fence posts, which surround the entire property with willow’s blessings.
As a tree of love, the leaves were once carried or used in mixtures to attract love. Later, during Elizabethan times, the sword-like leaves came to symbolize pain of the heart as in unrequited love or the loss or death of a lover. Leaves were also carried to guard the heart against that which turns love dark, jealousy. Some traditions have been quietly maintained through the centuries, often as superstitions or old wives tales such as the belief that on New Year’s Eve, willow has the power to tell you whether or not you will be married in the coming year. To divine your marital prospects, you have nine chances to throw your shoe into the boughs of a willow and have it get caught in the tree. If you succeed, you will be married before the next New Year’s Eve.
Willow’s association with divination extends beyond foretelling wedding dates, it is often used to improve psychic vision and strengthen dreams. In its most medieval style use, seven branches of willow are lit on fire, plunged into fluid condenser made up of two parts chamomile, two parts eyebright and one pint of water, then used to mix the ingredients together alchemically. The mixture is then filtered through four layers of linen representing the four elements, cooled and stored for future use as a wash in rituals of evocation or to improve psychic vision, clairaudience and clairvoyance. Willow will also enhance visions when water scrying and leaves, bark and wood shavings added to dream pillows will improve lucid dreaming and increase ability to intuit and interpret dreams.
Wishes are as ephemeral as dreams and wispy willow is most effective in granting wishes. When used in sacred pipes or added to tobacco blends, the smoke is believed to be most effective in transporting messages, wishes and gratitude to the Great Spirit. Prayer flags are often tied to willow branches so that the wind, as it rustles the soft branches, can carry the wishes to the ears of those who can grant them. The branches themselves can function in the same way as prayer flags. For your wish to be granted, respectfully ask permission of the tree and explain your wish. Select a readily pliable branch and tie it into a loose knot while focusing on your desire. Do not remove the branch from the tree because when the wish has been granted, you will want to return, untie the knot and say thank you.
Perhaps one of humankind’s greatest and most universal wishes is to be free from disease and illness and here willow extends her powers as well. The bark, leaves and wood of willow will add energy when added to healing magic and rock crystals charged using willow attain both healing and protective qualities, as mentioned earlier. Most illness is caused by an imbalance and willow is most effective in restoring the balance between male and female energies, this attribute can also be used in any other working where the balance of polarities is needed.
Protection of the home, love, psychic abilities, wishes and healing are powers of willow that the tree gains through its association with the moon and its most prominent influence, that of inspiring creativity, is also associated with the feminine shining orb. Willow is the patron herb of those involved in communication, the ability to convey one’s own ideas and visions to others through speech or written word. This association comes down to us through Orpheus, who received the virtue of eloquence from willow as he passed through the willow groves of Tartarus. A slight variation of the tale tells that he was blessed with the gift of poetry after touching willows in the sacred grove of Persephone. Hoping to acquire these gifts from themselves, artisans have sat in and wandered through willow groves ever since. Willow is sacred to Mercury, who among his other duties, is the god of communication and as if to inspire the written word, willow can be shredded to make paper pulp.
Encouraging another form of creativity, willow is also sacred to Minerva. Like her Greek counterpart Athena, Minerva is
the goddess of war but in times of peace, which she strongly prefers, she is associated with handicrafts and the home.
Willow is a traditional basket making material and other varieties have been cultivated for the color of their shoots which
range from golden yellow to brilliant orange-scarlet to the young shoots of Violet willow which are a vibrant purple. Wicker
furniture is also fashioned from the pliable branches of willow and because of its natural resistance to water and
weather damage, it still provides outdoor comfort just as it has for hundreds of years. Decorative boxes and ornamental
wall hangings are traditional uses and its shoots make excellent supports, indoor or outdoor, for floral boughs or arches
of creeping vines. Over time, and by virtue of its variety of uses, the tree itself has come to symbolize handicrafts, but
willow has one more important gift to give us.
As many as 500 species of willow have been used for healing, recently medicinal use has been limited to only white willow, though other varieties have the same general properties and seem to be more effective for particular ailments. Violet willow may be more effective in lowering fevers, black willow has been used to treat gonorrhea and to relieve ovarian pain and goat willow (aka sallow willow) eases indigestion, whooping cough and is used as an antiseptic for disinfecting properties. In 1828, French and German chemists extracted salicin. Then, ten years later, an Italian chemist isolated salicylic acid, the precursor to aspirin. Aspirin gets its name from “a” the first letter of acetyl, the molecular group added to salicin to reduce negative side effects and allow the compound to cross blood brain barrier and “spirea” the genus name of meadowsweet, the plant from which the first aspirin was created. Salicin and salicylic acid occur in willow as well, and the bark of the tree has a long history of uses similar to the modern uses for aspirin.
Long before modern chemists got involved, 2300 years before in fact, the Chinese were using white willow bark to relieve
pain. In the first century CE, Greek physician Dioscorides prescribed willow bark for pain and inflammation but its use did
not become widespread. One hundred years later, the Roman author and physician Galen recommended willow bark for “drying up
humors”. As the centuries rolled on, willow bark’s effectiveness as a pain reliever, fever-reducer and anti-inflammatory
became almost common knowledge to the point where it became known as “witch’s aspirin”. By the 17th century, the English
physician Nicholas Culpepper readily recommended willow bark for a whole host of ailments and concocted a recipe for
willow wine that he said “stays the heat of lust in man or woman and quite extinguishes it if it be long used”. The
Reverend Edmond Stone, a physician and minister working and living in Oxfordshire, England experimented with willow bark
as a cost-effective alternative to cinchona bark, which was used to treat malaria but had to be imported from South
America. Willow did not work for malaria, but its efficacy against fever, pain and inflammation caused it to become
Europe’s great drug. Beethoven’s autopsy report shows that his habitual use of powdered willow bark may have led to or
worsened his kidney disease. As medicine relied more and more on chemistry, the naturally occurring compound was
extracted and improved until we got the little, white, chalky pill we call aspirin.
Contemporary herbalists continue to use willow in its natural form for headache, fever, rheumatism, pain and inflammation, menstrual cramps and to prevent heart attacks. Decoctions are made from the bark of older braches, harvested in spring or fall and allowed to dry. To make a decoction, soak 1 teaspoon powdered bark per 1 cup of cold water for 8 hours. Drink up to, but no more than, 3 cups per day and, since the tea tends toward the bitter side, add honey and lemon or mix with other herbal tea brews. To help prevent heart attacks, drink 1-2 cups of willow tea per day. As a gargle, the tea will calm sore throats and gums. Externally, it can be used as a wash for sores, skin inflammation, wounds and burns and as a hair rinse to treat dandruff. Poultices can also be used to treat ulcers and wounds; to make a poultice, simmer powdered bark in cream, olive oil or almond oil and apply to skin as a paste. For those who follow Bach’s Flower Remedies, willow is recommended to alleviate bitterness and resentment.
Smart Tip!
Do not use willow if you are pregnant, have an aspirin allergy, heart disease or stomach ulcers. Avoid if you bruise easily, have had a stroke or experience any adverse side effects. Do not give willow bark to children under two years of age.Sitting under the graceful canopy of the willow, it is hard to be resentful or bitter. Those emotions are gently washed away and replaced with peaceful calm. Since there are over 500 varieties of willow that grow in every terrain from alpine heights to sun-drenched desert river banks, there is a good chance that you can find a willow tree growing near you. If you prefer to cultivate the eloquent beauty of the willow in your yard, there are many cultivar varieties that are easy to grow. The whole group is characterized by having their flowers in catkins that are 1-2 inches long with yellow, hairy scales. The flowers appear in spring and the fruit matures in late spring to early summer as a ½ inch long, hairless, light brown capsule. A characteristic that is often confusing is that the staminate (male blossoms) develop on distinctly dissimilar trees from the pistillate (female blossoms). In many species, the flowers and leaves are produced at different times of the year and hybrids resulting from cross-pollination occur frequently.
A Willow for Everyone
Salix alba si the white willow native to Europe and western Asia and naturalized to the United States where Salix nigra is the native species. It is a spreading tree reaching up to 33 feet wide. It is hardy from zones 2-8 and has a large number of garden forms, some with colored stems that are best coppiced (cut at ground level) or pollarded (cut just above head height). Left to grow naturally on exposed river banks, where they are often planted to control erosion, white willows and their close relatives the crack willow and black willow will split in stormy weather and their broken, trailing braches can obstruct the flow of water.Salix sepulcralis var. chrysocoma may be a mouthful, but it is probably the most familiar variety of willow – the Golden Weeping Willow. It is very fast growing, reaching a height and spread of 50 feet and is an evocative sight when the tips of its arching branches trail in the water of lakes and streams. In winter, its bright lance-shaped leaves long shorn, its slender, brown branches laden with snow, the tree still evokes a refinement and elegance. It is hardy in zones 6-8.
Salix babylonica, the variety familiar along the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates Rives bears twisted stems that are most striking in winter. It reaches a height of 50 feet like the Golden Weeping Willow, but it is considerably thinner, reaching a spread of only 25 feet. It is hardy in zones 5-8.
Small Varieties
For those who desire the look of a weeping willow, but do not have the immense space required, Salix caprea is created artificially by grafting a prostrate plant onto a rootstock of varying height. The Kilmarnock or Kilmarnock willow as it is commonly called is a miniature that reaches a height of 4-6 feet and a spread of 6 feet. In late winter, it offers cascades of silver-white catkins in zones 5-8.Another grafted variation, Salix integra is a good choice for containers since it only reaches 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall, though height may vary with rootstock. Hakuro-nishiki is actually a shrub grafted onto a clear stem to create a round-headed miniature tree. The leaves, which follow the slender catkins, are strikingly variegated pink and cream and keep their color well into the summer season. It does best in zones 5-8 and should be brought indoors to a sunny position before the first frost in colder climates.
A smaller variety that is not artificially created is the Golden Curly (Salix Erythroflexuosa). The twisting stems and leaves are used in flower arrangements. Pale yellow catkins appear in spring. It typically reaches a height and spread of 16 feet and can be kept smaller through regular pruning.
Colorful Varieties
For those who plan to use the shoots in handicrafts, or just want vibrant color in their garden, four great choices are: var. Hutchinson Yellow which has golden yellow stems, var. Britzensis (aka scarlet willow or coral bark willow) has brilliant orange shoots, Salix daphnoides (violet willow) has purple shoots when the stems are young and selection Aglaris has bright red shoots. Regular annual or biennial pruning ensures a good supply of colored, young shoots.Alpine Varieties
Alpine varieties contain dwarf species that are perfect for rock gardens or alpine troughs. Unlike other varieties that like moist soil, alpine varieties prefer gritty, well draining soil.Smaller Shrubs
The Salix Boydii is a nice illustration of the shrub variety. It is slow growing and twiggy, developing a thick trunk that eventually gains a gnarled appearance. The rounded, crinkly leaves are grey-green and paler on the underside. In spring, small, brownish, upright catkins appear. The Boydii is heartier in colder zones than most willows, thriving in zones 4-7. It is smaller also, reaching a height of 12 feet and spread of 10 feet.When placed in their ideal habitat, near water in moist soil under full sun, willows will grow very quickly and must be pruned regularly. Once planted, willow do not take well to transplanting, but will readily propagate from first year branches several feet long rooted in water. Hardwood cuttings can be taken in spring or fall and rooted in the same manner; these cuttings only need to be one foot long.
The elegant, graceful beauty of the willow inspires peace, comfort and calm. If you are lucky enough to become acquainted with the tree, it will no doubt serve you as well as it did the peoples of ancient cultures the world over.
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