THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Walnut

Lisa Karen Miller

Walnuts are emblems of love and marriage. They were thrown at Roman weddings to bring fertility to the match. The Romans introduced them to Britain.

 Strong mental powers are one of the attributes of the walnut.  This is yet another example of the Doctrine of Signatures, the belief that plants give outward signs of their intended uses.  The meat of the nut has convolutions that resemble those of the human brain.

The resemblances don’t stop there, though.  The outer green cortex corresponds to the pericranium and the hard shell is the skull. The shell was considered effective in treating head wounds.

Its bark was thought a sovereign remedy for ringworm. The leaves, moistened with vinegar, treated earache. In China, the nuts are used to treat wheezing and back pain. Walnuts lower cholesterol and yield a nondrying oil used in soap production.

In Suffolk, England, those who felled a walnut often found a gold coin among the roots. This had been placed there by the planter as an inducement to the plant gods to help the tree grow.  One who plants a walnut may never see it mature, as their growth rate is very slow.

On Easter, in the German region of Lechrain, a walnut branch was brought into the house and partially burned. For the rest of the year, whenever there was a storm, this blackened branch served as a lightning charm, deflecting fire from the house. 

All your wishes will be granted if you are given a bag of Juglans regia. Contrarily, walnuts are a bad luck gift to a man. They also carry the burden of symbolizing infidelity and trickery, along with foretelling a hard fate. In India, the walnut symbolizes longevity.  

Since insects dislike walnut trees, planting one in your pasture promises a peaceful summer for cows and horses. Abundant yields of walnuts and almonds foretell a plentiful corn crop.

Walnut trees are favorite haunts of witches. There is a particular tree in Naples, Italy were they supposedly held their diabolical assemblies.

It was believed that the nuts were sweeter if beaten off the tree, not picked. Rummaging among the remnants of the days when women were considered property, we find this unfortunate bit of doggerel:

“A dog, a woman, and a walnut tree;

The more they’re beaten, the better they be.”

Sisters, we’ve come a long way.  Not all the way, not yet, but a long way right enough.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller