Flora Friday - Willow

                                                    (Credit - clipart-library.com)

HI guys,

Flora Friday today, and I thought that I might start with a tree, the willow. Then I realised how long this post will end up being after just a few minutes on the internet! So, without further ado, let's get into it.

There are over 400 types of willow, so I am trying to keep this post as succinct as I can!

From the genus salix, most of the willow family are found in the Northern hemisphere, and are deciduous. 

Some of the broader leaved shrubby varieties are called Osier (also giving us the name for basket weaving - usually using willow as the main wood) and the broader leaved species can be called Sallow (Old English Sealh - also possibly where the Ogham rune for the letter S, or Willow comes from - more on that later).

Uses

As mentioned above, the twigs have been used in basket weaving for centuries (a craft I would LOVE to learn!!)

There is apparently a fishing net made of willow dating back to 8300 BCE, although I could find little evidence of this beyond what I have said.

The Quinault peoples of North America were known to use the bark to make a twine, sometimes used as harpoon line among other things. Other North American peoples were known to have woven baskets and fishing dams out of willow.

The traditional Welsh coracle (a small round boat) is said to have been made using willow in the framework. 

Willow wood is also used in the manufacture of boxes, brooms, [famously] cricket bats, cradle boards,  and other furniture, dolls, willow flutes, poles, sweat lodges, toys, traditional tool handles, wands and whistles, among other things, including the traditional double bass instrument.

In addition to all of these uses, tannin, fibre, paper, rope (and therefore string) can be produced from the wood and barks. 

Medicinal

Edible parts and medicinal uses kind of blend together in this one, as the willow tree, especially it's bark, has been used for centuries.

People used to chew on the bark to relieve toothache and head aches - this is actually where aspirin comes from!! Aspirin is also known as acetylsalicylic acid, note the salic bit of that word, as in, from the salix family!! Aspirin was so named in 1899, and only linked to, not a direct compound of, the willow tree.

Leaves and bark of willow have been mentioned in ancient texts from Assyria, Ancient Greece (Hippocrates wrote about it's uses in the 5th century BCE), ancient Egypt and Sumer knew about it's uses too. 

It is even possibly mentioned in Mesopotamian texts, but translation is tricky, and could equally be another tree such as an Oak.

In England, Nicholas Culpepper mentions many uses for it in his Complete Herbal book, first published in 1652, including wart removal, staunching blood flow, and reducing both fevers and lust. It is noticeable here that Culpepper does NOT include analgesic (painkilling) properties, and it is seldom used for such by modern herbalists.

It is also the basis of acute bronchial dilator inhalers - slabutamol, or the blue puffer in the UK. I am sure this has other names in other countries, please let me know below.

Worldwide

• Associated with the Jewish festival of Sukkot,
• in Buddhism, it is associated with Kwan Yin, the personification of compassion,
• In China it is used to ward off evil spirits and used in cleansing ceremonies,
• Taoist witches  use a small willow charm to communicate with the dead,
• In Japan it is believed that a ghost will appear where a willow grows,
• In Victorian Flower Language  it means forsaken.

Ogham and other Magicks:

As the meaning of willow in Celtic means something along the lines of 'from (or near) the water' - it does generally grow near riverbanks, it is linked to the element of water.

As mentioned above, there is an Ogham rune for willow that is:

                                                            (Credit - Pinterest)

Saille – (pronounced Sahl – yuh) or the letter S

Spiritual meaning: releasing of fixed ideas, grace, fluidity, moving with the flow, receptivity

Divination Meaning (Upright)

Moving with the flow of events, intuition, dreaming, the unconscious, Faith in a personal vision and letting go of fixed ideas that no longer serve you

Divination Meaning (Reversed)

Inability to change, rigidity, confusion, lack of awareness, unforeseen dangers, a difficult time that will eventually pass.

 (I am sure that Wendy will correct me on this!! - I haven't got that far in the book yet, so sorry!!)

I hope that you have found this informative, and not TOO long!!

Kerenza x

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