Folklore of the Hawthorn

 

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Folklore of the Hawthorn

Tree of Boundaries and Beings. The Tree You Do Not Cut.

The hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is not just a tree, it is a guardian. Growing at the edges of fields, near wells, or alone on ancient tracks, it marks thresholds between this world and the next. It is said that to cut a lone hawthorn is to offend the ælfar, the fae, the hidden ones, who dwell in its boughs or beneath its roots.

"Cut a hawthorn, and you'll cut your luck."

Many rural people believed that to fell or even prune a hawthorn could bring sickness, sudden death, or misfortune upon a household. This taboo is strongest around lone hawthorns, especially those on old sites like barrows, crossroads, or ringforts, places where the veil is thought to be thin.

Fairy Trees: In Irish and British folklore, hawthorns are frequently seen as "fairy trees." In Ireland, roads have famously been rerouted to avoid damaging a lone hawthorn believed to be protected by the Aos Sí (fairy folk). The same idea exists in parts of Britain, especially in the West Country, the Borders, and the Downs.

"The tree chooses its place, not you."

It was believed hawthorns grew where the land needed guarding, at thresholds, leys, or where spirits moved. To interfere was to break an old pact.

Never Bring the Blossom Indoors

Hawthorn blossom, especially the bright white blooms of May, is beautiful but dangerous.

"May blossom in the house, and a death will come soon after."

This was a common saying in southern England. The scent of the blossom, while sweet outdoors, was said to turn sour and death-like indoors. Some believed it smelled like corpses, not metaphorically, but because hawthorn contains trimethylamine, one of the compounds released in decaying flesh. This reinforced the idea that the blossom calls the dead.

The Fae Will Follow: Bringing hawthorn bloom into the home was said to invite the fae indoors, unbidden. Once inside, they could cause illness, madness, or mischief, steal children, tangle dreams, or sour milk.

-Woodlarking