THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Hazel
Lisa Karen Miller
“So, in the wise Diviner’s hand,
Be mine the hazel’s grateful part
To feel, beneath a thirsty land,
The living waters thrill and start,
The beating of the rivulet’s heart!”
John Greenleaf Wittier, “Hazel Blossoms”
Hazel has long been a preferred wood for divining, or dowsing, rods. It is especially good at finding water.
Known as the Tree of Knowledge, the hazel reportedly first appeared on the boundary between the real and spiritual worlds. The Celts revered all nut-bearing trees for their abundance when other food was scarce.
The hazel was believed to bestow wisdom, prophetic powers, and poetic inspiration. A crown of hazel could help the wearer focus magical intentions.
At Uisneck, Ireland, nine ancient hazels overhung the well of life. Their nuts fell into the well, creating bubbles of mystic inspiration. Those who ate the nuts became seers and poets.
In the Scottish highlands, hazel was one of the nine sacred woods used to kindle fire at Beltane, the Celtic May Day festival.
The tree-worshipping Druids created the Ogham Calendar, with each lunar cycle named for a tree and its spiritual associations. Hazel rules August 5th to September 1st; its virtues are fertility and wisdom. “Plenty of catkins, plenty of prams,” is one saying that expresses its link with fertility. Devon brides were met outside the church by an old woman bearing a basket of hazelnuts.
A girl who went nutting on a Sunday, however, would meet the Devil, and “find him holding her nutting bag.” She would also be pregnant on her wedding day, by diabolical means.
Hazelnuts (also called Filberts) were given the names of potential husbands and thrown into the fire by hopeful maidens. The loudest pop or the brightest flame signaled the hottest prospect.
Some Irish immigrants to North America carried a double hazelnut or a hazel twig in their pockets. A normal bullet could not kill a witch but she could always be dispatched by a double hazelnut.
Three twigs pinned to the lintel of a window or door protected the home from weather and fire. A string of hazelnuts hung in a room offered similar protection.
Nuts are eaten raw and contain sulfur and magnesium. Powdered, they can be mixed with water and honey to cure a stubborn cough.
Frangelico is a tasty hazelnut liqueur – excellent in coffee. The edible nut oil is extracted and used in cooking, perfumes, massage oils, and soaps.
This is hazel’s month: enjoy a hazelnut latte. Just don’t go nutting on a Sunday.
© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller
Folklore of Plants 
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