By Romany Reagan
‘The blackthorn full of spines—but how the child delights in its fruit.’
— ‘Cad Goddeu’, 14th-century Welsh poem
The blackthorn tree fascinates because of its inherent duality. On one hand, a folkloric symbol for strength, overcoming adversity, purification, and protection, it is also considered a trickster, bad luck if crossed, and easily used as a weapon in the wrong hands. Blackthorn has, perhaps, the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore.
Continue reading Blackthorn: Dark Mother of the Woods, Crone of the Triple Goddess, Witch Wood →
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Stories of the misfortune that befell those who dared cut down a #faerietree are legion.🌳 Perhaps the most famous tale about faerie thorns is that of the ruin of the #DeLorean car company, whose factory was built over the sacrificed roots of a faerie tree.🧚 The tree was one of the most important religious symbols to the #Celts. Virtually all species of trees were deemed magical in some ways, however none was more tightly linked to the faerie world than the #thorn or #hawthorn, whose spiky thorns, white blossoms, and distinctive red haws or berries were said to have been favoured by the Good People. All individual hawthorns shared the faeries’ general beneficence towards their species, but certain thorns marked faerie lands: those that grew in a group of three; those that grew alone in a stony field; and those those that grew together with an oak and ash to make the most magical of all groves.
#FolkloreThursday
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Folklore, legends, myths, and lost histories from the British Isles – collected by Dr Romany Reagan
Blackthorn & Stone 