THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS:  Willow

Lisa Karen Miller

         One spring, three kittens fell into a river in full spate. A compassionate willow, hearing their piteous cries, bent its graceful branches down to rescue them. The kittens clung tightly and were saved.

          Ever since, the pussy willow has sprouted furry buds that are called, rather appropriately, catkins.

          Willow is the flower of November. Its twigs were often kept green in water to serve as thunder charms.  In mining districts, they were used as protective amulets during hazardous underground work.

          As actual palms were not available, crosses made of willow were worn or appeared on English houses on Palm Sunday.  Willow was used to decorate the church and kept until the following year as a protective and sanctifying symbol. In Dorset, willow rods were laid on every seat in church.

          Generally, it was unlucky to cut willow, but a special dispensation was made for Palm Sunday.  The wood was blessed in the church; it gave protection from disease, thunder, and lightning.

          Willow twigs were often set round the hearth or among growing vegetables in the garden to guard against harm and attract good luck.

          Its drooping habit is a consequence of its having served as Christ’s scourge. It decays early, so children or animals struck with it will have stunted growth.

          One of its scarier attributes is its reputed ability to walk behind travelers on lonely roads at night:

“Ellum do grieve,

Oak he do hate,

Willow do walk,

If you travels late.”

          Alarmed midnight ramblers on Exmoor in Somerset, England reported being followed by willows, and even hearing them mutter.

          In Louisiana, it was said that when a willow grew large enough to cast a grave-sized shadow, a family member would die.

          The weeping willow reportedly was the one on which the captive Jews hung their harps, causing its branches to bow down. Thus it became the drooping emblem of mourning. The Irish made their harps from willow wood.

          “The crack of willow” is a phrase forever associated with an English cricket pitch.  This is still the wood of choice for the best bats.

          Liking damp places where rheumatism abounded, willow was used as a treatment for this complaint.  This time, the Doctrine of Signatures got it right.  Willow (Salix) bark contains salacin, useful for rheumatic fever, and the source of salicylic acid.

          If a Yorkshire girl threw a shoe at a willow on Easter or New Year’s night and it stuck in the branches, she would marry within the year.

         Only nine tries were allowed.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller