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These lines will help you to understand philosophy of The Blackthorn a little…
Blackthorn is a deciduous tree, it's leaves turn yellow in autumn and fall off in winter, leaving a stark twisted black skeleton.
The Blackthorn tree is actually more like a large shrub, with dark twisted branches, which can grow to 12 feet in height. Traditionally, it is said that Blackthorn never exceeds 13 feet.
The tree bears wicked long sharp thorns, which if pricked, can turn septic.
Green Man Tree Essences: "Blackthorn - Circulation. Helps absorption of energies necessary for life. Stabilizes emotions. Brings hope and joy. Stimulating".
The musky scent of its flowers stimulating sexual desire.
Blackthorn is depicted in many fairytales as a tree of bad omen. Called Straif in the Ogham, this tree has the most sinister reputation in Celtic tree lore. The English word "strife" is said to derive from this Celtic word.
A long hard winter is referred to as a Blackthorn Winter.
According to Christian folklore, Blackthorn is seen as an evil tree and associated with Witches.
It is a sacred tree to the Dark, or Queen aspect of the Triple Goddess, and represents the Waning and Dark Moons. Blackthorn is known as "the increaser and keeper of dark secrets".
The tree is linked with warfare, wounding and death, associated with the Scottish Goddess of Winter and the Irish Morrigan. Winter begins when the Mistress of Snow strikes the ground with Her Blackthorn staff.
In witchcraft Blackthorn was often used for binding and blasting.
The Blackthorn tree is esoterically known as both the Mother of the Woods and the Dark Crone of the Woods.
The Devil was said, in Medieval times, to prick his follower's fingers with the thorn of a Blackthorn tree.
Blackthorn can be used in spells of protection as well. In Irish tales, heroes were aided by the Sloe tree.
It is one of the trees, which were reputed to form the thorny crown of Christ at His crucifixion.
Where Blackthorn grows near its sister plant, Hawthorn, the site is especially magical.
Blackthorn was sometimes woven into wreaths with Mistletoe to bring luck in the coming year.
The Blackthorn tree is guarded by the Lunatasidhe, a small fairy. They haunt Blackthorn groves in groups.
In The Celtic Tree Oracle it is said: " Blackthorn indicates strong action of fate or outside influences that must be obeyed. It gives you the strength to accept and persevere in the face of adversity. The Sloe berry sweetens after the first trial of winter, the frost. Accepting fate and adversity as a challenge, and making it work for you, results in an unexpected sweetness in your life. Blackthorn can also herald the presence of the darker sides in your destiny. Straif also offers initiation into the mysteries of self-conquest and transcendence. Daring to travel with the darker deities of the Divine pantheon is a spiritual adventure at the deepest level! It opens the pathway to Underworld initiation".
Blackthorn is the tree, which helps us to face the necessity of our own death. In many magical practices, we are encouraged to face death, in order to abate our morbid fear of it. Initiations are often re-enactments of our own death and rebirth.
English scientist Jane Gifford assigns Mars and Saturn as the planets associated with Blackthorn, as well as the color red, gem Black Opal, and a feminine polarity. The chief attributes are the "Inevitability of Death, protection and revenge, strife, and misanthropy".
Remember that the message of Blackthorn is "Magic's everywhere".
Text is prepared with the aid of The Wisdom of Trees, Celtic Tree Mysteries, The Spirit of Trees, The Green Man Oracle and The Ogham (the Celtic Oracle of the Trees).