Re: Nuts and twigs | Forum — The Modern Antiquarian

Littlestone Jan 4, 2006 16:10:45

Replying to PeterH

Underneath this hazelin mote,
There's a braggoty worm with a speckled throat,
Nine double is he,
Now from eight double to seven double
And from seven double to six double
(and so on)
And from one double to no double,
No double hath he.

(An old charm for curing an adder bite).

Hazel certainly seems to have been credited with 'magical' properties. There was a small (about 6" long) hazelwood wand on show during the recent Witchcraft Exhibition at the Essex Record Office (not sure if the exhibition has finished or not). Hazelmead, made from hazelnuts, may have had psychotropic if not magical properties (or is that one and the same thing?) and reminds me of the recent discussion we had about the possible psychotropic properties of the yew.

"I went out to the hazelwood, Because a fire was in my head..."

W B Yeats

PeterH Jan 4, 2006 16:21:51

Replying to Littlestone

That charm is an amazing survival, Littlestone. Where did you get it from? It is clearly derived from a verse of the much longer Anglo-Saxon "Nine Herbs Charm"

"A serpent came crawling - it destroyed no one
when Woden took nine twigs of glory,
then struck the adder so that it flew into nine (pieces)
There achieved apple and poison
that it never would re-enter the house."

Like Peer Gynt's onion, what layers we uncover whenever we look beneath the surface!

FourWinds Jan 4, 2006 17:51:47

Replying to Littlestone

>> Hazelmead, made from hazelnuts, may have had psychotropic if not magical properties
>> (or is that one and the same thing?)

I would say that it almost certainly can be considered the same thing (if you want to go down the pseudo-shamanic route) :-)