Blessings from the trees: Hazel

This month's sacred offering is from a tree of knowledge, Hazel.

Hail Hazel!

Abundant

glimmers of wild

poetry.

Bright warrior

of resilient

potency.

One becoming

multiple through

and through,

guiding with ease

to release and renew!

“The air surrounding hazel trees is said to be magically charged with the quicksilver energy of exhilaration and inspiration.”¹

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The English name for the hazel tree is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "haesel," meaning "cap" or "bonnet," which refers to the leafy covering that envelops the hazelnut. Similarly, the tree's genus name, Corylus, comes from the Greek word korylos or kopus, meaning "helmet" or "cap," for the same reason.

Hazel is a tree full of pioneering spirit like the birch and is part of the wider birch family of trees - Betulaceae. It is the tree often linked to the period August to September in the Celtic tree calendar (although some link it to July).

It is represented by the Irish Gaelic word Coll and the ninth Ogham letters C or K. It is referred to as the tree of knowledge in Irish mythology (I will share the key parts of the Fionn Mac Cumhaill or Salmon of Knowledge tale, in which the sacred hazel plays a leading role, a little further on!)

Hazel Ogham from my set.

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Welcome to this month’s blessing from the trees post. Somewhat later than was planned, apologies for that.

The blessing and also a short guided meditation is shared below the full post and I have reached out to my local hazel trees for help with this, sharing a few pictures and video of them too in honour of their wisdom.

Do you have any local hazel trees or is it a tree you are not familiar with? What does the hazel represent for you?