Hazel Moon
5th August - 2nd September

The Hazel is the ninth month of the Celtic Moon, and is the time to open your mind and exercise your intellect with the power of the Hazel Moon. Listen to your intuition and connect with our inner reserves of wisdom. Maintain an optimistic approach and follow your enthusiasm.

A member if the Birch family, the Hazel tree's Latin name, Corylus avellana, is a small deciduous tree, hardy, moderately shade tolerant and grows best on heavy but well drained soil. It forms s shrub, which can grow to be 20 feet tall. Hazel Trees are often used for hedging. Even if left to themselves, they tend to be shrub like but just manage to qualify as trees, since they sometimes grow with a single stem. The hazel is found across much of the world as well as in Ireland and the British Isles, inhabiting open woodlands, scrubs, hedgerows and the edges of forests. Hazel trees in winter are brown and covered with stiff hairs. The young trigs are hairy and glandular and of a rusty brown hue. The buds, stout, blunt and either green or red brown are set alternatively. The leaves, which do not open until the end of April or beginning of May, are hairy especially on their upper surfaces. They are irregularly toothed and very variable in shape, but also have a small, noticeable tip. With their mixtures of green, yellow. Pink and brown they are very attractive in the Autumn.

The Hazel is best know for its edible nuts, called cobs, which grow in groups of one to four and ripen to a dark brown colour. They develop from very small, seldom noticed female flowers, which appear in January, or exceptionally even as early as October, but are most frequently not open until March, and ripen in the Autumn. The nuts are a particular favourite of the Dormouse and Grey Squirrel

Both male and female flowers grow on the same tree, in distinct clusters or 'catkins'. The male catkin opening with the first warm day of Spring forming bright yellow, drooping 'lamb tails'. The male catkins are pendulous, first appearing as minute sausage shaped buds of a dull brownish hue, then lengthening to two inches or more, and becoming, when the anthers are full matured, a pale greenish yellow or primrose colour, which is more decidedly green when the pollen has been shed. Each catkin consists of a number of bract like scales, each bearing eight anthers on its inner surface, so that a cloud of fine grounded yellow pollen is shaken from them by the March gales, after discharging which they drop off.

The wood of the Hazel is a whitish red and has a close and even grain. Today it is mainly grown and coppiced for its reddish brown stems, which have a great toughness and elasticity. With its well-veined veneers produced from its larger roots and its flexibility the wood was of particular use to the countryman, being used for hampers, hoops, wattles, walking sticks, fishing rods, and whip handles. Rustic seats and baskets for gardens were made of Hazel, varnished with the bark on, they were found to be very durable. Hazel also makes good oven wood; its charcoal is also suited for making crayons and for gunpowder.

In legend and folklore, the Hazel, along with the apple and hawthorn, is a tree often found at the border between the worlds where magical things may happen. Hazel wood is one of the nine traditional firewoods that is part of the Belfire, which the Druid's burned at Beltane. It was added to the fire to gain wisdom. The nuts were used in pyromancy, a method of divination by fire. In ancient times the Hazel was known as The Tree of Wisdom. It is often associated with sacred springs and wells and salmon. In Celtic mythology the salmon inherited wisdom after eating nine hazelnuts while swimming in the Well of Segais, and whoever ate the salmon would then receive infinite wisdom. Therefore it was believed that magickal skills and knowledge could be gained from eating Hazel nuts, which are the emblems of concentrated wisdom.

. In Irish Folklore, the Hazel tree was the home of Bile Ratha, the poetic fairy, so to fell the Hazel was once a crime punishable by death. With the Hazel being strongly associated with mediation, the Druids were the inheritors of the knowledge of measurement and calculation. They were often called upon to mediate in disputes concerning property and land boundaries, in much the same way as the surveyors of modern times.

Twigs are favoured by water diviners and for other methods of divination due to the sensitive nature of the tree and its close affinity with the element of water. The divining properties of hazel are thought to be strongest at Halloween, as the tree's nuts ripen at the end of autumn. Young couples were advised to gain foresight into their relationship, because the Hazel is credited with being especially beneficial to all matters of the heart, love and childbirth through its connection to the god Thor, the Norse God of thunder. Through its link to Thor, the Hazel is thought to have inherited protective properties against lighting. The tradition of throwing rice and confetti over newly weds originates from the custom of throwing hazelnuts over newly married couples, which is considered to be lucky.

It was once believed that the Mushrooms, which grow on a Hazel, could provide an individual with the ability to relocate what he or she may have lost. A hazel nut carried in the pocket is believed to keep away rheumatism and back pain.

Born under the sign of the Hazel Tree you are blessed with an agile mind able to cope with any extremes, but have a tendency to be most critical of your own sort comings and may suffer from low self-esteem. You may become argumentative or even cynical and may resort to underhanded means, such as prying, in order to attain the knowledge you are constantly seeking. As a Hazel individual 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 other. As friends, Hazel individuals are honest and caring but you may be inclined to indulge your children and spouses. Thought not particularly demonstrative, you are sincere and inspire great loyalty from others.

Hazel Tree Fact File

Scientific name: Coryllus avellana
Height: Reaches a height of approximately 15m
Leaves: 10cm long, the shape is oval and elongated, ending in pointed tips.
Flowers: White, five petalled blossoms, scented like almonds
Distribution: Widespread throughout Ireland. Found in Britain and Europe, also found in America, North Africa, Turkey and central and northern Asia.

Back