The Hazel tree (Corylus avellana) is member of the birch family (Betulaceae), and is one of the sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft revered by the ancients and contemporaries alike. In Celtic lore the Hazel was considered a tree of knowledge, particularly in Ireland were its nuts became a symbol of great mystical wisdom. There are some 15 species of Hazel native to the Northern temperate zones and variously called filbert, hazelnut or cobnut depending on the relative length of the nut to its husk. The large cobnut variety is of the European species.
Common throughout Britain and Europe, Hazel can also be found in America, North Africa, Turkey, and in Central and Northern Asia. More of a large shrub than a tree, its average height is 12–20 feet (3½-6 meters) though is has been recorded to have grown up to 60 feet (18 meters). Its preference is to grow in copses, oak woods and hedgerows, and thrives in damp places near to ponds and streams, however it will fruit better if grown were the land has good drainage.
The wood of the Hazel is a whitish red and has a close and even grain. Today it is mainly grown and copped for its smooth reddish-brown stems, which have a great toughness and elasticity; well-veined veneers are produced from its larger roots. Its wood was of particular use to the countryman, its flexibility being used for hampers, hoops, wattles, walking sticks, fishing rods, whip-handles and a multitude of like other uses. Rustic seats and baskets for gardens were made of Hazel, varnished with the bark on they were found to be very durable. Hazel also makes good oven-wood; its charcoal is also suited for making crayons and for gunpowder.
The bark of the Hazel is light brown in color and smooth, except for speckles of spongy light brown lenticels acting like pores which draw apart the bark allowing the tree to breathe. The leaves of the Hazel grow quite large 2–4 inches (5-10 cm), and are slightly heart-shaped with toothed edges rounding into a long point. In the bud they are folded into several longitudinal plaits. The leaves open in early spring growing singly on a short stem, at which time they tend to be lime-green in color and are bright and pleasing. During the summer they turn from mid-green in color to tints of green, yellow-brown and pink in autumn. The leaves stay with the tree much longer than most other trees, sometimes well into December by which time they turn to shades of yellow, dull orange and red.
The flowers of the Hazel appear in January, or sometimes even as early as October given the right climatic conditions, though more frequently they won’t open until March. Male and female flowers form on the same tree but in distinct clusters or catkins. The male catkins are pendulous and first appear as minute sausage-shaped buds of a dullish brown color. As they mature they turn a pale greenish-yellow or primrose color and when its pollen has been shed to green. The catkin consists of a number of bract-like scales each bearing eight anthers on its inner surface; from these fine-grained yellow pollen is shaken by the wind, after which they are discarded. The female flowers are grouped in little egg-shaped buds that sit sessile on the branch. The flower itself is a two-chambered ovary surrounded by a velvety cup-like bract, which later grows into the large leafy husk or cupule of the nut. It is surmounted by a short style with two long crimson stigmas forming a tassel at the top of the cluster.
The fruit of the Hazel tree has a peculiarity in its growth that is worthy of note. The male flowers or catkins are mostly produced on the ends of the year's shoots, while the female flowers are produced close to the branch where they are completely sessile or un-stalked. In most fruit trees when a flower is fertilized the fruit is produced in exactly the same place, but with the hazelnut a different arrangement takes place. As soon as the flower is fertilized it starts away from the parent branch and a fresh branch is grown bearing the new leaves and nuts at its end, thus the new nut is produced several inches away from the spot on which its parent flower originally grew.
Hazelnuts generally ripen by September and can be eaten directly off the tree. They also provide a rich source of food for many of the smaller animals, such like squirrels and dormice. Birds, in particular nut-hatchers (a variety of small passerine birds of the family “Sittidae”) are partial to the nuts, wedging them in crevices and beating at them with their beaks until they crack. Left un-eaten the nuts fall to the ground where they germinate. After the winter their shells crack and from it springs a root followed by a new stem still joined to the nut and drawing sustenance from it by two thick fibers. As the root grounds into the earth and becomes established, the stem rises and a new sapling is born.
Mythology and folklore:
Of old, Hazel trees were cultivated by the Romans and because they were so plentiful in Scotland, they called Scotland by the Latinized name Caledonia, a term that comes from Cal-Dun, which means “Hill of Hazel”. Hazel was also plentiful in Europe where wild Hazel has grown abundantly since pre-historic times, there its nuts appears to have formed part of the staple food diet of the Swiss lake-dwellers. Another old custom was to use Hazel-twigs to bind vines to stakes. The vines being sacred Bacchus (the Roman god of intoxication and liberation) and any goats found feeding on them were caught and sacrificed to him on spits made of Hazel.
Since medieval times trees have been considered sacred. In Ireland in particular three trees gained special prominence, the Apple tree for its beauty, the Hazel for its wisdom and the Oak for its strength. Indeed so sacred were these trees regarded that any unjustified felling of an Apple Hazel or Oak tree carried the death penalty. Through their associations with beauty, wisdom and strength, the wood of these trees was often combined to make funeral pyres. At which times particular respect seems to have been paid to the Hazel in relation to its wisdom, for many cases have been recorded both in England and on the Continent of Hazel-wands being found in the coffins of notables. Among the chiefs and rulers of ancient times, a Hazel wand was considered a symbol of authority and wisdom.
In mythology the Hazel was attributed to the Roman god Mercury (Mercurius), who is associated with the Greek god Hermes. Mercury/Hermes was the messenger of the gods and also the god of commerce, manual skill, eloquence, cleverness, travel and thievery. Of old he was often depicted with a staff or wand of Hazel called a caduceus, and wearing a broad rimed traveling hat and sandals. As the Greek legend has it, when he was only a few hours old he escaped from his cradle and went out in search of adventure. During which time he stretched cords across a tortoise shell and invented the lyre. Later that same evening perhaps feeling hungry, he stole two oxen from Apollo (the god of the sun) and hid them in a cave where he killed them. When Apollo discovered what had happened, Hermes charmed him by playing on his lyre and Apollo allowed him to go unpunished. In gratitude Hermes gave his lyre to Apollo who in return gave Hermes a magic wand, the caduceus, which bestowed wisdom, wealth and prosperity, and turned everything it touched into gold.
Mercury/Hermes as the messenger of the gods could move swiftly through the air and sea. As such the artistic impression of him changed, wings in his hair replaced the broad rimed hat and the sandals became wings at his ankles to aid him as he traveled on the wind. The caduceus was often depicted with two ribbons tied to it indicting speed as he flowed through the air. Later the ribbons changed to serpents as the caduceus was adopted by the medical profession and became the symbol of the healing arts. The two serpents entwined around the staff are symbolic of illness and health, and life and death, for in ancient symbolism the venom of a snake could be used to heal or to poison.
Many other Irish legends concerning the Hazel have been passed down through its association with water and salmon. One is a description of Connla’s Well, believed to be the source of the River Shannon. The well is surrounded by nine Hazel trees which produce both flowers and fruit (beauty and wisdom). As the fruit (the nuts) fall into the well, the salmon that live there eat them and whatever number of nuts they eat, so the same number of spots appears on its body. The salmon also became the recipient of all knowledge. The Hazel’s association with the element Air and speed of movement, is also replicated through its association with salmon, for salmon swim swiftly through the water and at times can be seen taking huge leaps out of the water appearing to fly through the air.
Magical Uses:
Down through the ages the Hazel has always been considered magical, and was used primarily for its powers of divination. The use of Hazel to detect water and mineral veins comes down from antiquity. Typically a divining rod (dowsing rod) had two forks off its main stem shaped like the letter “Y”. The two forks were gripped in the fists with the fingers uppermost, so that the tail end pointed downward toward the object sought. In other cases the rod was peeled and simply laid on the palm of the hand. Before the 17th century Hazel rods were also used to find thieves, murderers and treasure.
The art of divination by dowsing is called “rhabdomancy”. According to Evelyn (John Evelyn, 1620-1706. An English author who’s “Diary” (1640-1706) was considered an important source regarding late 17th-cent English politics and religion) the art of rhabdomancy is: "Very wonderful by whatever occult virtue, the forked stick (so cut and skilfully held) becomes impregnated with those invisible steams and exhalations, as by its spontaneous bending from a horizontal posture to discover not only mines and subterranean treasure and springs of water, but criminals guilty of murder etc. Certainly next to a miracle and requires a strong faith." Even Linnaeus (Carolus Linnaeus (orig. Carl von Linne) 1707-78. The Swedish botanist considered the father of modern botany) confessed himself to be half a convert to this belief.
The practice of dowsing is still common today in Cornwall and other western counties. According to local superstition, the rod is guided to water or mineral lodes by guardian piskies, or the kobolds of the German miner. The dowser or rhabdomancer is said to feel a sudden acceleration or retardation of the pulse, or a sensation of great heat or cold at the moment of discovery. Other woods such as the Willow have also been used with success for dowsing.
It is probable from this use of Hazel rods in divination, that the nuts of the Hazel became associated with fortune telling. In Scotland an old custom of love divination still prevails on Halloween, in which two hazelnuts are given the names of lovers and placed on burning embers. If they burn quietly and remained side by side, the lovers were considered faithful, but if the nuts crack, spit and roll apart, they were considered to be ill-matched and one of them unfaithful.
In ritual Hazel wands are used in connection with mercurial energy from which poetic and magical inspiration is gained and imparted. Hazel wands can also be used to divine suitable places in which to work magick. An old method of cutting a wand was to find a tree that has yet to bare fruit, and at sunrise on a Wednesday (the day ruled by Mercury), to cut a branch with a single stroke from a sickle. The Hazel is considered to be at its most powerful during early spring while its sap is rising, and in autumn when its sap and energy is fully contained within it, ready for its harvest of nuts. A good divining rod is said to “squeal like a pig” when held under water.
The nuts of the Hazel were commonly used to bring luck by stringing them together and hanging them in the house. Such a string of nuts were often given to a new bridesmaid as a gift, to wish her good fortune. Eaten the nuts give wisdom and are said to increase fertility. They were also of old, eaten before divination to increase inspiration.
Also of old, supple twigs if Hazel were woven into crowns and called “wishing caps”. When worn and if you wished very hard, your desires would come true. Sailors, believing them to offer protection against bad storms at sea, also wore wishing caps. The ancient druids believed they could induce invisibility by wearing them. Twigs of Hazel placed on window ledges give protection against lightening, and three pins of Hazel hammered into a wall of the house would protect it from fire.
Medicinal Uses:
The physical medicinal uses of the Hazel are but a few, but its main virtue being that of wisdom, its nuts in particular, these were often worn talismanically (to coin a phrase) for a healthy life gained through that wisdom. Some say it has the power to cure fevers, diarrhea and excessive menstrual flow, but I can find no further evidence to back this up (an old wife’s tale perhaps?).
Carrying a double hazelnut in a pocket was and old country charm used to prevent toothache. If bitten by a snake, an equal armed cross made of Hazel laid upon it, was an ancient remedy said to draw out the poison. The kernels of the nut ground fine and mixed with mead or honeyed water is said to be good for coughs that won’t clear, and when mixed with pepper in a decoction will clear a fuzzy head.
The Hazel is known by the folk names: Coll, the Poets Tree and Dripping Hazel. Its deity associations are with: Mercury, Hermes, Thor, Mac Coll, Aengus, Artemis and Diana. Its ruling planets are the Sun and Mercury. Its associated element is Air, but it also has a great affinity with Water. Its gender is masculine. It is used to attract the powers needed for: Protection, Fertility, Luck, Anti-Lightening, Wishes, Inspiration and anything associated with the element Air.
Astrologically hazel people (i.e. those who are born during the month of July) have the soul of a pioneer, but they waste too much energy on competitive thoughts and fighting abuses instead of letting their own gifts and skills ripen. Hazel people can be impatient for things to happen, and hurry things along when they should sit back and let things take their own course. They are sometimes too intent on running around trying new things, that they forget the older values of patience that would help them. When Hazel people listen to their own natural rhythms, they find they are happier and more prepared spiritually and physically. They are generally charming, undemanding, very understanding and know how to make an impression. They can be active fighters for social causes, are popular but can be moody. They are capricious lovers but are honest and tolerant partners. They also have a precise sense of judgment about what is right and wrong.
