Blackthorn 2024

By S.F. Skyheart - September 5, 2024

According to the Celtic Tree Calendar, the period from September 5 to October 2 is associated with two trees, Reed and Blackthorn.

Blackthorn is part of the rose family, and can grow into thick bushes or, thickets. It has black bark, stiff branches with sharp thorns, and white flowers that open before its leaves appear. Its fruit are small black berries known as sloes, which ripen after the first frost and are made into sloe gin (British) or patxaran (Basque).

The branches have been traditionally used to make walking sticks, specifically the Irish shillelagh (shil-AY-lee). The name shillelagh is believed to have come from one of two origins: the Gaelic words sail éille (willow strap), or from the location where the stick was potentially found in Shillelagh, County Wicklow. Originally used for settling public disagreements in a civil-mannered duel, the shillelagh has been studied by modern researchers as a type of martial art or self defense. It is included in D&D, as a low-level defense spell, and in depictions of mascots of Irish/Celtic lore.

The process of making a shillelagh took several months of curing, usually inside a chimney, and then sealing it with a wax or resin. Using the root of the Blackthorn was the favored choice, because it provided a knobby handle at the top of the walking stick, and when carefully selected, included thorny points as well.

It is interesting that the main uses people have seemed to have for blackthorn are practical, and recreational. Its branches and roots, as walking sticks that double as self-defense weapons, and its berries, as fermented drinks for relaxation and celebration.

Perhaps Blackthorn, like Reed, gives us the message of creative solution-seeking and ingenuity. Its good to have boundaries that have clear consequences (getting hit with a stick would likely only need to happen once!) and its also good to allow ourselves time to unwind and have fun.

Do what lights you up,
Sadie

About the author

S.F. Skyheart

Author of The Recollection of Trees book series. Fifth generation intuitive. Kitchen witch. she/her.

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