The Hazel Tree - Coll - August
Hazel Tree - Celtic Moon month 5th August to 1st September
The Hazel tree's moon is the 5th August to 1st September. The Hazel is a
member of the Birch family Betulaceae. The Haze tree likes to grow near ponds
or rivers, streams but if grown on drained soil will produce more nuts. This
tree will grow in most places and do well in forests, woodlands, gardens and
hedgerows. It can grow to 30ft (9m). Coppicing the hazel seems to help the
tree live longer and as there are many use's for the wood this was a tree
that was often coppiced.
It has alternate leaves with sawtooth edges and is slightly hairy on its leaf surface. The bark is light brown in colour and will have breathing spores yellow in colour on the bark. The tree produces both male and female flowers, the male is the catkins and the female small flowers with red tassels. It fruits from May to October and the nuts will grow in clusters of up to four.
The wood from the hazel tree has many uses, dowser's use the hazel wands for dowsing, staffs from hazel where seen as a symbol of learning and authority.
Many boats (coracles), panels for houses, hedges, shields, walking sticks thatching spars and many more where made form the hazel wood. This wood is flexible and sturdy.
The nuts contain a rich source of magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and copper.
This tree is a good tree to tune you to nature and the Earth Mother. It helps to unlock knowledge and growth.
Associated with learning poetry and wisdom in ancient times, the legend of the Salmon of Wisdom says that the spots on the salmon indicate how many hazel nuts the salmon had eaten. The salmon residing in a Sacred Well surrounded by nine sacred hazel trees became wise after eating fallen hazelnuts, eating salmon was said to transfer the wisdom to the person who ate it. The number nine is strongly associated with the salmon and the hazel tree it takes nine
years for a hazel tree to first fruit its hazel nuts.
The Gaelic word for these nuts is cno, and the word for wisdom is cnocach. The English name for the hazel tree derives from the Anglo Saxon haesel knut, haesek meaning hat or cap relating to the cap of leaves on the nut on the tree. Hazel leaves are amongst the first to appear and last to fall in autumn and were often given to cattle for fodder, also said to increase a cow's milk yield. Hazel nuts ground down were added to flour to makes breads, this was considered a great source of nourishment.
Until the first world war school children in England would often have been given a day off school on 14th September to go and collect nuts. Its said that Nutcrack Night in November was a time for hazel nuts to be eaten by all the village, seems to me with its high nourishment value this was in preparation of the cough and sniffle season.
Some cultures believed the hazel to protect the wearer from lightening and often hazel sticks or wands were placed around the home for protection.
Associated bird is the Crane.
The Sun for the tree
If you are interested in Celtic Tree Lore
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