The May Tree ~ May 13th – June 9th. In ancient days the hawthorn was regarded as the symbol of marriage and fertility. The tree of enchantment in Ireland, it is a familiar sight in Britain.

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Product Code: 00000002

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The May Tree, May 13th – June 9th.

"The coming of the hawthorn brings on earth heaven,
All the spring speaks out in one sweet word,
And heaven grows gladder, knowing that earth has heard."

Swinburne

The hawthorn has always been a tree of enchantment under the protection of the faeries. In ancient days the hawthorn was regarded as the symbol of marriage and fertility and in Celtic countries it was bound up with the pagan Mayday rites, the blossom symbolizing love and betrothal. Beltaine is the festival of birth and bunches of flowering hawthorn were always carried in wedding processions to give fertility to the marrying couple. The Hawthorn radiates qualities of growth and health and was used for healing especially near the wells and springs they guarded. It is still used today for the health of the heart. A beautiful springtime custom of old was to plait crowns of hawthorn blossoms and leave them for the faeries or angels who came at night. Old Midsummer’s Day falls on July 5th and at this time the hawthorns themselves were decorated. Flower garlands and red ribbons are attached to the tree and children dance around it.

A hawthorn talisman is given as a token of love or friendship and the leaves were traditionally scattered in cradles to protect newborn babies that slept there. To carry a sprig of hawthorn was to have proof against storms at sea and lightening on shore. In some regions hawthorn was taken home and placed in the rafters for protection against spirits, ghosts and storms. Its beautiful flowers were said to help prayers reach heaven.

It has always had religious connotations, the tree was sanctified because the crown of hawthorns touched Christ’s brow. The most famous legend concerns the Glastonbury Thorn when Joseph of Arimathea came to Glastonbury. He rested on his staff and during the night it rooted and became a blossoming hawthorn tree. This was taken as a sign and the first Christian chapel was built there. Before the reformation it was customary to make May alters in the home by surrounding the statue of the Virgin with hawthorn blossom. The notion that it is unlucky to bring hawthorn into your home stems from anti-papist propaganda from these times.

Henry VII claimed hawthorn as the badge of the House of Tudor. At the battle of Bosworth, the crown of England was stolen from Richard III and hidden in a hawthorn bush. From here it was placed on Henry’s head and made him king.

Hawthorn is a small tree of the rose family and can live for over 400 hundred years. It is most often found in villages and hedgerows. It is not greedy with the soils nutrients and provides food and shelter for many birds and small mammals as well as some 50 species of insect life. Unfortunately many hedgerows were destroyed over the last few decades damaging the balance of our plants and wildlife. Let us hope future generations will care enough to repair this.

Colour Midnight Blue, Stone Lapis lazuli, Polarity Feminine,

Deities Olwen, Blodeuwedd, Cardea, Hymen, Virgin Mary.

Love & Marriage, Fertility & Procreation, The Heart.