Mythology
As herald of summer's imminence, hawthorn has always played the central role. Its other names of May or May Tree gave the month its name, and its white blossoms were used for garlands, wreaths and other decorations, including those of the maypole and particularly at the festival of Beltane (Bel's fire) on May 1st.. Olwen is still celebrated with the white flowers on the crown of the May Queen, but without her 'white track' of flowers - white trefoil - which sprang up from the footprints she made when she walked (see below). Hawthorn's connection to fertility, protection, marriage and betrothal are very ancient and the other herald of spring, the cuckoo, has special affinity with hawthorn in mostparts of western Europe.
Its
protective charms against evil, witches vampires and lightning meant that
most civilisations placed hawthorn twigs above the door to protect the house and
stables from harmful spirits. Its key renown, however, lies in its ability to
guard springs and wells. In Ireland and Scotland most sacred springs have a
hawthorn growing beside them, especially 'clootie wells' , which are decorated with colourful rags, left in return for the
blessings of the hawthorn and the sacred spring. However, May or hawthorn is a
spirit tree, that has thorns to catch spirits, which is one reason why cloths
(or clooties) are hung on it and suggests another meaning to the saying "Ne?er
cast a cloot till May is oot". In other European countries the
ground and stones beneath them are additionally populated with little statues,
lights and other gifts.
In
particular, hawthorn is associated very closely with the White Goddess. As Cardea, the roman
goddess of childbirth, she represents the good side of the goddess - she protected infants and in Greek myth, Aries and his twin
sister, Eris, were born when their mother, Hera, touched hawthorn blossoms.
However, another form of the goddess hints at the dark side attached, for she is
also Keeper of the Four Winds, who lives 'behind the North Wind' (the North
Star, a turning axis) at the door-hinge of the year (see also duir/oak), where she can look both
forward and backward in time. This side is more apparent in other of her names, which include
Blodeuwedd ('made of blossom'),
Flora and Maia (root of 'May'). As example, in
Iceland, hawthorn is called svefnthorn (sleep thorn), and Odin used a hawthorn
spine to send Brunhilde into a magical sleep, while in Brittany, Vivaine put
Merlin to an enchanted sleep under the hawthorn until his reawakening in another
age. These all allude to the origins of the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, whose
sleep for a hundred years in a castle covered with rose branches, alludes in
turn to her original name of Dornroschen (Briar Rose). Hawthorn belongs to the
rose family, and the cause of Sleeping Beauty's slumber, pricking her finger on
a spindle, has hidden logic, since spindles, together with other small domestic
objects such as boxes, tool handles and cabinets, were traditionally made from
hawthorn wood. In the Mabinogion, Culhwych, nephew to King Arthur (and whose
name means 'pig-run'), has to fulfil thirty-nine (three times thirteen) tasks
set by the thunder giant Yspaddaden Pencawr (Giant Hawthorn), in order to marry his
beautiful daughter, Olwen, 'She of the White Track'.
As well as reflecting
ancient rituals of tasks set for bridegrooms and potential kings, Culhwych's
tasks of finding the mystical Thirteen Treasures of Britain not only refer to
his initation to kingship and marriage to the goddess, but also to the symbolism
of thirteen, representing both the year (of thirteen months) and the resulting
'geis' of such acquired knowledge. For 'geis' is a strict code that has inherent
invincibility coupled to binding conditions on those who accept it. Hard won
delight is the gift of the May tree. And it is this that helps explain why a
taboo existed about bringing it into the house, which by tradition, invited
death (ie the giant) and was known as a bad month for marriage.
This fine balance of geis is illustrated also in the ballad of Thomas the Rhymer, who, playing his harp by the the Eildon Tree, a hawthorn at Ercildoune, was taken away for seven years by the Queen of Elfland. She gave him his geis, the gift of prophecy, on condition that he never lied, which led to his becoming known as 'True Thomas'. The planetary balance on hawthorn is similarly dual, being described as 'Venus in Aries' by herbalists. Aries is controlled by Mars, so the prickly protective thorns can be seen as the Mars influence, while the influence of Venus is evident in the art, sexuality, beauty and flowers of hawthorn.
Added notes: Her bird is the raven. In sacred art, such as mandalas, the centre is often surrounded by invincible, castle-like walls or a circle of fire. In prehistoric Europe, consecrated hawthorn circles enclosed sanctuaries for ritual worship