^{Tree of Knowlege
Ninth month of the Celtic Tree calendar, August 5th - September 1st
Ninth consonant of the Ogham alphabet - Coll}

Planet: Mercury

Element: Air

Symbolism: Wisdom & Divination, Poetry & Science, 

Playfulness & Enchantment, Healing Arts

Stone: Topaz, Pearl

Birds: Crane

Color: Orange

Deity: Hermes, Aemgus, Artemis, Diana

Folk Names: Coll

Medicinal properties: 

To clear a stubborn cough, finely powder the nuts and mix with water
and honey. The leaves can be used in teas to treat such ailments as varicose veins,
circulatory problems, fevers, diarrhea and excessive menstrual flow.

Hazelnuts are a good source of protein, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium,
and potassium.

Magickal properties: 

Wands made of this wood symbolize white magick and healing. Forked sticks
are used to find water or buried treasure. If outside and in need of
magickal protection quickly draw a circle around yourself with a hazel branch.
To enlist the aid of plant fairies, string hazelnuts on a cord and hang up in
your house or ritual room. Magically, hazel wood is used to gain knowledge,
wisdom and poetic inspiration. 

Hazel wood is excellent for making all purpose magickal wands. 

Weave hazel twigs into a crown. Put this on your head and wish very hard. 
Your wish may come true! Twigs of Hazel are placed in window frames 
to protect the house against lightning, and three pins of hazel wood driven
 into your house will protect it from fire. 

The Hazel Fairy by Cicely Mary Barker

The Fairy Bible

by Teresa Moorey

Hazel Fairy

Hazel is a mercurial sprite, deeply wise, a bringer of insight and flashes
of inspiration. This fairy can help you to find knowledge in a very
individual way, and to develop your intuition, so that you can
see deeply into many things.

Hazel holds the secrets of the earth, and can teach about dowsing and the
currents within the land, known as ley lines. She also encourages meditation
and confers eloquence on those who respect and honor her.

Wakening from the dreaming forest there, the hazel-sprig
sang under my tongue, its drifting fragrance
climbed up through my conscious mind
as if suddenly the roots I had left behind
cried out to me, the land I had lost with my childhood -
and I stopped, wounded by the wandering scent.

- Pablo Neruda

The air surrounding hazel trees is said to be magically charged 

with the quicksilver energy of exhilaration and inspiration.

To dream of a Hazelnut tree predicts wealth as well as unexpected good fortune. 

This is the best time of year to focus on gaining wisdom and absorbing knowledge. 

Cast spells to heighten your senses and concentration.

The Faces

of

WomanSpirit

A Celtic Oracle

of Avalon

by Katherine Torres, Ph.D.

Hazel, Strong and Wise

We salute your guiding light

We salute your knowing hour.

It does give us might.

Hazel catkins can aid in your favorite Spell for Love:

Light a red or pink candle and gather some catkins of the Hazel tree
(the timing would be perfect for around Valentines day) and wrap them
in a piece of red or pink tissue paper. Hold it in your hand over your
heart as you recite your incantation. Burn the bundle while visualizing
your intent. 

Adapted from Whispers from the Woods, by Sandra Kynes

THE CELTIC TREE ORACLE 

by Liz and Colin Murray

As well as poetic skill, this Ogham card represents intuition, the power of divination leading straight to the source. Hazel twigs have traditionally always been used for divining because of their pliancy and affinity with water.

So the Hazel embodies many talents: Poetry, divination and the powers of mediation. Through the guidance of this card, these talents can also be a channel for creative energies, especially that which allows you to inspire or increase these capacities among others, through your work, interests and pursuits. The Hazel, in fact, allows you to be a catalyst of transformer, working though the promptings of intuition to bring ideas to the surface.

In England, branches of Hazel leaves gathered on Palm Sunday and kept alive
indoors in water were said to protect the house from thunder and lightning.
In Wales, fresh hazel leaves worn as a chaplet for the head brought general
good luck and ensured the granting of wishes, as well as protection for those
at sea from shipwreck.

Tree Magick

by Gillian Kemp

The answer to a dilemma is imminent. 

The Hazelnut is a magical tree for relaying messages, which is why a Y-shaped Hazel branch is used for divination. 

You will crack a situation: 

the Hazelnut tree bestows powers of wisdom, symbolized by the cracking of the nutshell to get to the nourishment inside.  The nut and shell also represent the heart 

within the body and female fertility, because the nut is like a baby inside a mother's womb. With such life-giving qualities, this tree is an auspicious sign that love and new projects have the magical ingredients for success. 

Male and female flowers, being borne on separate trees, 

forecast a lover's meeting.

The Great Goddess :

Diana

Diana is a Goddess of the Women. She was the Roman Goddess who was revered
as one with the Greek Goddess Artemis. Her name is derived from "light" and
she may have been honored as a sun and moon Goddess in ancient times.
Often she is prayed to as "Diana Trivia, the triple Goddess." 
She reminds us to remember our own inborn wisdom and humanity.
She tell us: "You are so much more than you think." Protect your own spirit growth,
and trust that what is born of you will grow wings, even if,
right now they seem invisible. 

In 19th century Germany, it was thought that there were witches beneath the bark of hazel trees - hence only peeled branches were allowed in churches.

LESSON OF Hazel

from The Wisdom of Trees by Jane Gifford

The Hazel encourages us to seek out information and inspiration in all things and emphasizes the value of the enquiring mind and of learning of all kinds. Just as the hazel concentrates all its goodness and its continued existence in the kernel of its fruit, so we attain wisdom by reducing knowledge down to its purest form and passing it on down the ages. Through meditating on the essence of wisdom, we gain creative inspiration. Like the limbs of the hazel, we must remain pliant in our approach to learning. Concentrated thought in an open mind can, like the hazel, become a connection with the divine source of all things. The hazel teaches us the noble arts of learning, teaching, communication, and healing.

Celtic Moon sign - Hazel Moon

The hazel produces its nuts in fall, after having spent the year building the inner
strength to protect them. The shell of this nut is so hard, in fact, and contains
its treasure so well, that is was the inspiration for the phrase "in a nutshell." 
Born under the sign of the hazel tree, you also have an inner treasure to offer -
the fruits of your knowledge. Your wisdom and ability to communicate ideas
make you capable of transforming the thoughts and opinions of others.
Be careful how you wield your word-wizardry.
Written by Kim Rogers-Gallagher, and Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook 2000

Born under this sign, you are wise and have the ability to communicate ideas, 
making you capable of transforming the thoughts and opinions of others. 
This is the best time of year to focus on gaining wisdom and absorbing knowledge.
Cast spells to heighten your senses and concentration.

Hazelnut Tree, The Extraordinary: charming, undermining, very understanding,
knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular,
moody and capricious lover, honest and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgment