THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Elder

Lisa Karen Miller

          In the British Isles, tree worship was practiced by the Druids.  They created the ogham calendar, with each lunar cycle named after a tree and its spiritual associations. Elder is the thirteenth month in this calendar (November 25 – December 23), representing the dying of the old year and the awakening of the new. It symbolizes the cycle of death and rebirth, and honors the ending that exists in each beginning.

          Elderberry oil or water was an ingredient in blessing rituals, because the spirit of the elder tree gives strong protection against dark magic. Carrying any part of an elder defended you against attack, and leaves and branches hung over doorways protected the house from evil.

          Conversely, those dwelling in the shadow of an elder were destined to die young. Evil spirits were attached to it, and as they were unable to attack the tree, they turned their power onto the nearest humans.  For the same reason, furniture made of elder invited evil to enter the home.

          In Denmark, however, the elder was regarded as a guardian tree.  At the sailors’ quarters in Copenhagen, each house was protected by an elder. A Tyrolese legend tells of a peasant who had refused to sell his guardian elder tree for firewood.  After a gale blew it down, among its roots the peasant found a vast treasure.

          In Germany and Scandinavian countries, the belief in wood spirits was absolute.  They were known to possess the secrets of medicinal plants, and chastised any who harmed them. Once such spirit was Hylde-vinde (Elder Queen), who jealously guarded her tree. If anyone wanted to take so much as an elder branch, he had to ask her permission, or face her wrath.

          Any weapon crafted from elder was especially effective – in Bedfordshire, England, it was believed that a wound inflicted by such a weapon would be fatal.

          The berries are used to make elderberry wine, jam, and vinegar, and a cordial is made from the flowers.  The bark, leaves, and berries can be used to make a mauve dye.

          The entire tree is a veritable medicine chest. Tea from the flowers treats coughs and sore throats, and also makes an excellent skin cleanser. Berries and leaves are rich in vitamin C, and oil from the leaves soothes inflammation of the ears. People once believed elder twigs could cure epilepsy.

          As we enter the last year of the first quarter of this century, let’s pause to honor both endings and beginnings.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller