The Willow Moon

How could I forget to post about the Willow Moon...Yes the willow moon has came and went...but I neglected to post about it as I usually do for all the Celtic tree months..Simply cause I've been super busy...In the yard, insurance, car stuff, taxes...omg.. Right now I have a moment where I can sit down and smell the roses..smile...so to speak. That being said today was a awesome day...cool, breezy..just what spring in these parts is supposed to be..Unfortunately this spring has been anything but typical...blazing hot, and too rainy early on....But for right now I'm just going to shut up about it and enjoy the amazing spring day nature has blessed us with...Anyway, back to the Willow Moon...my favorite moon of all..That may be because I was born under this moon time, also I think the trees are simply gorgeous, and last but not least who doesn't love a moontime called The Moon of Enchantmement.!!

LESSON OF THE WILLOW

from The Wisdom of Trees by Jane Gifford

The watery willow encourages the expression of deeply buried feelings, easing sadness through tears and grieving, and teaching the consequences of love and loss in matters of the heart. The willow reminds us of
the need to let go sometimes, to surrender completely
to the watery world of the emotions and the subconscious, so that we may be carried toward a deeper understanding of our inner-most feelings,
toward a better appreciation of our hidden motives and secret fears and desires. Any suppressed and unacknowledged emotions can be a major cause of stress and illness. Through emotional expression,
and through the sharing of feelings of ecstasy and pain, our ancestors believed they could help heal the human spirit. The willow enables us to realize that within every loss lies the potential for something new.

Tree Magick

by Gillian Kemp

Your fertile inner strength, like that of the Willow, is your inexhaustible flexibility to bend around obstacles. Your desires can be woven into shape, as the Willow's pliable shoots are used to make baskets. Magic wands are made from Willow, so what you have in mind has all the magical ingredients for success. You can tell your secret to a Willow and make wishes. The male and female catkins, which grow on separate trees, signify a lovers' meeting for you. The bright-green leaves of Spring forecast celebrations, fresh opportunities, and speedy growth. The honey-bearing catkins symbolize the wisdom of spiritual self-improvement, and sweet things for you.

Folk names: Osier, Pussy Willow, Saille, Salicyn Willow, Saugh Tree, White Willow,

Witches Aspirin, Withe, Withy

Medicinal properties:

Willow bark contains salicin, or Salicylic acid, used to make aspirin.

Infusions from the bark have long been used as a remedy for cholls, rheumatism, and fevers.

Willow sap applied to the skin can remedy acne, and a strong decoction of boiling

the bark and leaves in water can be rubbed into the scalp for dandruff.

Magickal properties:

New Moon magick, creativity, fertility, female rights of passage, inspiration, emotion, binding. Love, Love divination, protection, healing.

Also known as the tree of immortality because of its ability to

re grow from a fallen branch in moist ground.

A wand made from Willow wood has many uses:

sleep with it and have more vivid dreams, use it to draw down the moon,

protection for underworld journeying

Magickal Brooms, witch's brooms are traditionally bound with a willow's branch