Familiar thorny hedgerows form effective barriers connected to protection and the heart. During World War II, miles of Normandy hedges posed significant problems for the allies.

Hawthorn seasonality is said to represent the ancient triple goddess figures of maiden as blossom, mother as berries, and crone as bare branches.

However, it is the confluence of myth surrounding lone trees where the magic begins. Said to be the entrance to the otherworld, Irish folklore sites ruin when a lone tree is cut, angering the fairies who live there. Scottish myth describes “Clootie Trees” where rags are tied. As the cloth dissolves, so does the pain or sorrow.

It is considered bad luck to bring hawthorn flowers inside, the exception being May Day. Although celebrated as a tree of fertility and renewal at Beltane, historically it is associated with the Great Plague. Scented hawthorn flowers mimic rotting flesh and are therefore associated with death.

And a last piece of advice. Never fall asleep under a hawthorn tree. You will be taken away by the fairies.