The Magic and Folklore of Trees Feature: The Rowan

The moment I feel the first small chill in the air something inside me shifts, and whatever seeds I planted in the spring will have grown within me and I know that now is the time to harvest!

This year it is a course that has been with me to grow for some time now, although one can not harvest before the time is right, and so it has waited, and waited

With the first chill floating in the late August evening air, I understood that now was the time for it’s creation.

It all started with the Rowan tree really. As I take my daily walks through our lush neighbourhood I noticed that the rowens in the area were bursting, and very ripe and ready for harvesting. Well before I knew it I found myself out in the woods, basket and offerings in hand looking for the rowens I had a feeling were in that area. Fortune was with me that day, but very much guided by a large owl who showed me a small grove of  Rowan trees waiting for me. You see although I felt sure intuitively that there were rowans in the area I had chosen, I really had no idea, and so after quite some time walking around and tromping off the beaten paths and not finding a single one, I headed in a different direction, and just as I began to think I would be going home empty handed, something up high in a tree caught my attention, a large barred owl!

I stopped abruptly in my tracks and stood there for some time, both me regarding this large powerful creature and he watching me mindfully. This went on for quite some time, but eventually he tired of me, and flew off into the woods as magically as the moment I first noticed him.After he left I noticed something that looking like a snake draped over the branch that he was on so I went closer to inspect, and see if perhaps he left me a feather as a gift as it is getting close to moulting season.

Instead however, as I moved under the tree he was sitting in I realized that now I was standing in a small grove of Rowan trees!!

The fact that if it were not for the owl I would have walked on by was not lost on me, because honestly if I had not stopped or tromped under that tree I would have probably come home empty handed.

I spend much time singing to the Rowans, asking for permission to harvest their berries and leaving offerings and in the end came home with a basket full to brimming. As I worked old folk tales and magical recipes kept running through my mind, and finally I headed home with great excitement, as this time in the forest brought the understanding that now was the time to finally share my love of of folk lore and herbal medicine making with the trees with others…

The Magic and Folklore of trees begins with the Rowan tree and although all of the trees are sacred to me, the Rowan and Hawthorn are two of my closest allies.

So let me share a little bit of folklore from the Rowan segment of the course.....

"The Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), Mountain Ash or Quickbeam, has the ability, perhaps more than any other tree, to help us increase our psychic abilities and to receive visions and insights through communication with the Spirit Realms or the Otherworld. In the past it was valued as a protection against enchantment, unwanted influences and evil spirits. Sprigs of Rowan were placed over doorways and fixed to cattle sheds to protect the animals from harm. Similarly, farmers would drive their sheep though hoops of Rowan branches, and in Wales, Rowan trees were planted in churchyards to watch over and protect the spirits of the dead."

"Rowan is the wood to use for making any magical tool that involves divining, invocation and communication with the Spirit Realms. It will help you to discriminate between what will do you harm or do you good, and help you deal with anything that threatens you. Rowan leaves and berries can be added to divination incenses.

If you feel you are in need of the protective qualities of the Rowan, perhaps because you have feelings of being oppressed by strong powerful forces or dark influences, or you feeling you are under psychic attack, then harness the power of the Rowan. Nail sprigs of Rowan across your doors and windows and wear a sprig of the leaves, flowers or berries in your hat. Carve yourself a brooch or a talisman to wear. Take a small piece of Rowan wood and sandpaper it smooth so that is it a constant pocket-companion for you to touch and gain strength from. Make a healing-pouch out of chamois leather by cutting out a circle the size of a teacup. Make holes all the way round the edge and thread a leather thong or plaited thread through the holes. In your pouch place a piece of bark or berries from the Rowan and wear it round your neck next to your skin if possible."

If you are intrigued about the sacred Rowan tree and wish to learn more my online course The Magic and Folklore of Trees is available to start anytime.