Hazel —by Míchealín Daugherty Hazel (Coll) 5 August–1 September The Hazel tree was seen as feminine in nature, and with the Hazel Moon falling at the end of autumn it came to represent the growing wisdom as the Goddess gradually turned from living mother to wise old crone. Hazel also the Celtic tree for those born between 5 August and 1 September As the hazel moon begins to wan, go out doors to a place where can see the crones waning crescent riding low in the sky. Take with you some diluted rosemary oil or rosemary water. Rosemary is an herb associated with knowledge and protection. Face the waning moon ask the crone Goddess to bless you with her wisdom as you anoint yourself with the rosemary. “Hag of night, bless me with wisdom’s sight (anoint forehead) Crone of the Moon, grant me your instinctive boon (anoint stomach) Goddess of might, help me think clear and right (anoint head) Mother of all, please answer my call." (anoint heart area).   Hazel is associated with mental alertness, quickness, agility, calculation and measurement, divination, poetry and creativity. Dowsing rods — used to find both water and ley energy — are usually hazel. Wood from the hazel tree was used by the Celts for making divining rods, for protection from storms and as emblems of authority for Druid priests. It is also said that Pliny used a hazel rod for divination.1 Southern and Eastern Europeans believe that a Hazel rod is a caduceus, like the one given Mercury by Apollo. It is a symbol of enlightenment. The Jews and the Christians gave the use of Hazel as a magical rod to Moses. In Jewish/Christian mythology, Moses uses a Hazel rod, harvested by Adam from the Garden of Eden; and it was with this rod that Moses and Aaron purportedly issued plague spells onto the people of Egypt. Notes: 1Pliny the Younger, or Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (62-c.115), was said to use a hazel rod for divination. He was a Roman senator, nephew of Pliny the Elder, governor of Bithynia-Pontus (109-111) and author of a famous collection of letters. Sources: Conway DJ. Celtic Magic, Llewellyn Worldwide, 1994. Davidson, HR Ellis. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions, Syracuse University Press, 1988. Farrar, J and Farrar, S. A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook. Phoenix Publishing, London, 1984. Hawke, E. Praise to the Moon: Myth and Magic of the Lunar Cycle, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Llewellyn Witches’ Datebook 2003, ed. KM Brielmaier, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Lonigan, PR. The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts, Greenwood Press, 1996. Morrison, D. The Craft, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Personal knowledge/traditions. See Also: Celtic Tree Calendar Page updated 17 Sep 2006 Celtic Background & Logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2006 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.