This website uses cookies to ensure that you have the best possible experience when visiting the website. View our privacy policy for more information about this. To accept the use of non-essential cookies, please click "I agree"
DismissI agree
The Talking Forest Runes
Willow – A Herald of Spring
Field notes for March – April 2025
by Kay Broome
Willow Catkins in Spring (photo: Nazar Niphone)
Spring Thaw: that sudden melt of dingy snow
into massive puddles of muck, so annoying and inconvenient, yet somehow invigorating, exuberant. March, an all too fleeting month of muddy browns and ochres, dotted
here and there with demure pastel flowers, soon to be washed away in April
rain. Winter is a sleep and hibernation, a cleansing in its own way. But we do need
to heal from it, for each year, its rigidity toughens the fibre and tests the soul. Messy as it is, Spring Thaw is a letting go
of winter, a softening and mollification, an awakening
to the active season ahead. Here, at Ostara, we thaw from winter’s freeze,
flowing into spring.
Willows overhanging Pond (photo: CHUTTERSNAP)
Tree of Water, Tree of Life
Perhaps the first tree to leaf forth in
spring is the willow, almost all of whose parts are pliant – the supple trunk
of the young tree, the whip like branches and the narrow, languid leaves. Only when the tree is old does the trunk
become bent and raddled; but the wood remains soft, easily cleaved and
molded. Many years ago, I was part of a
ritual honouring Yemaya, the Santeria mother goddess of the oceans and of
ships. We set small home-made boats to sail on Lake Ontario laden with
offerings to this orisha. My boat was a small slab of wood, its shape serendipitously
resembling a tiny cruise ship. It had been cut with one easy chop of the ax from
an old willow that had fallen on my parents’ property. It was as if Yemaya had
selected that specific tree from which to make my boat.
Willows on Grenadier Pond, Toronto, Spring 2023 (photo: Kay Broome)
Tree of the Lunar Goddess
Willow owns water, growing in the wild
near rivers, streams, lakes and swamps. A willow that thrives anywhere water is
not apparent is a sure sign that a copious underground supply of the wet
element is hidden nearby. Because the moon influences the tides of ocean and
other water bodies, willow is also closely tied to the lunar orb. As a result, the
tree has long been associated with women’s mysteries. The moon rules the
menses, which scientists now believe acts not only to prepare the womb for the
next fertile cycle, but also to cleanse it of any impurities. Moreover, more
infants are born during the new and, especially the full moon than any other time of the
lunar cycle.
Full Moon Over Catfish Pond, Winter 2023 (photo: Kay Broome)
Lady of the Full Moon
Anyone who has studied Greek mythology
knows that willow was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the waxing
moon, as well as to Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, commonly associated with the
waning moon. Although Selene represented the moon in her full and
thus most powerful aspect, it is strange that this third goddess in the Greek triad is the least
known and least acclaimed. Selene was sister to the sun god Helios, daughter
of Hyperion and Theia. She was not an Olympian like Artemis, but like Hecate, was
a member of the Titans, an older chthonic race of gods.
Statue of Selene with lunar headdress, torch and veil, Musei Capitolini (photo: Sailko)
While Artemis and Hecate are lunar goddesses, they did not, in ancient times
at least, represent the physical aspect of the moon. That honour was left solely to Selene. Her alternate name,
Luna, although infrequently used today, was traditionally regarded as the moon's formal moniker. And
whereas Artemis and Hecate were often depicted wearing crescent tiaras, Selene
was the sole goddess portrayed with cow horns, much like the Egyptian moon goddess, Hathor. These factors may point to the possibility that Selene was originally the sole representative of the moon. Plutarch mentions an interesting story of her mother Theia complaining how she cannot find a
robe to fit her daughter, because Selene keeps changing size: an allusion to
the waxing and waning of the moon. I believe Hathor of Egypt did not have other goddesses
sharing her purview, so perhaps the early Greeks or their ancestors the Minoans or Cycladic
peoples, eventually transformed their sole lunar deity, together with Artemis and Hecate, into the triple lunar goddess we know and love so
well today. Both Artemis and Hecate already possessed other
purviews: the former ruled the hunt and was protector of animals; Hecate was goddess of witchcraft and hidden knowledge. There is also evidence that both were outsiders, latecomers to the Greek pantheon. Artemis may have been a bear goddess of central Asia, and Hecate originated in Thrace. In any event, they are to this day irrevocably tied to the moon, Artemis as waxing and Hecate the waning crescent, with Selene balancing them as the vibrant full moon.
Although a tri-form Hecate, this Roman statue is often attributed by neo-pagans as Artemis, Selene and Hecate.
In her most famous myth, Selene became
enamoured of Endymion, a young and very handsome shepherd. In some versions of
the tale, he was an astrologer and the first person to study the movements of
the moon. Selene asked Zeus to put Endymion into a permanent peaceful sleep so
that he would never die and she could visit him in his cave on Mt. Latmos. This
is an intriguing tale: does Endymion represent the subconscious, that comes fully
into its power when we dream? Certainly, the moon has long been associated with dreams and the subconscious. It is interesting also to note that Endymion
is a shepherd sleeping inside a cave. In other tales, Pan is depicted as a lover of Selene and
at one point, entices her with a beautiful white sheepskin fleece. There is little if any indication in Greek
myth attributing prophecy to Pan; however, there is the Roman Faunus, a god of fields and woodland, who was often depicted with horns and thus associated with Pan of the Greeks. Devotees would visit
a cave sacred to Faunus, there to sleep on sheepskins in order to have prophetic dreams. Could Endymion be an aspect of Faunus or Pan? Remember too that both Artemis and Selene were, from Hellenic times, frequently associated with the shepherd god Pan.
Selene and Endymion (photo: Oliver Abels)
Mural above the stage of the Friedrich von Thiersch Saal in the Wiesbaden Kurhaus, Hesse, Germany
Sleep, dreamless or otherwise, is often evasive if we are sick or in
pain. Willow is an
emollient containing salicin, an anodyne which gently removes
pain, just as we are soothed by moonlight and water, willow's element. Tension
and muscle rigidity can aggravate discomfort and in some cases, is the cause of suffering. While we no longer use willow bark itself as anodyne, Aspirin
and other painkillers use salicylic acid, modelled on willow's ancient panacea. The tree's compassion further carries us through the seasons: she is one of the last to lose her leaves in
autumn and one of the first to leaf forth in spring.
Selene, painting by Albert Aublet, 1880 (Open Source, Wikimedia Commons)
Native Hoop Dancing
Willow has been used since time immemorial
to make baskets, food containers and many other items. First Nations people of North America
venerated the willow for its medicinal and spiritual qualities. Branches of willow were traditionally fashioned
into the hoops used in the ceremonial hoop dances. It is not certain where hoop
dancing originated or even if, as some believe, only men traditionally performed it. Since the mid 20th century at any rate, both men and women have
competed in hoop dancing events and competitions. Generally, these are solo dances in which the performer creates intricate patterns using a varying number of hoops and a range of body movements. The Anishnaabe
cultural hero Pukawiss is credited with originating the dance in order to teach
humans how to cohabit with animals and better understand the world about us.
Among the White Mountain Apache, hoop dances were employed in healing rituals.
Below is a link to a Youtube video of world champion Lisa Odjig, an Ojibwe from Manitoulin Island, hoop
dancing at a TEDx Talk at Seneca College, Toronto, Canada in April of 2012.
The hoops used in the making of dream catchers
were also fashioned from willow wood. These are believed to have originated
with the Ojibwe of the Eastern Woodlands. The web-like design of these
talismans is associated with Spider Woman, a protector of women and children. While
the Spider deity shows up in many indigenous North American cultures, it was Asibikaashi,
the Spider Woman of the Ojibwe or Chipewa nations, who is credited with originally endowing
humans with the dream catcher. Traditionally, these are small hoops or wreaths
made of willow, with sinew woven into a web pattern inside the hoop.
The dream catcher’s traditional role as
a charm or amulet is much like that of the witch balls or god’s eyes of other cultures. Often hung above
cradles or in windows, the dream catcher was used to protect small children,
the web design trapping any negative energy that might be about. Dream catchers were adopted and used as
talismans by many First Nations cultures throughout North America. Today, in most non-indigenous homes, dream catchers are simply a decorative item. But they were
originally meant to be used as protective talismans. Conventionally, the
webbing is joined to the hoop at seven junctures, to honour the seven
prophecies of the First Nations, or at eight points, to honour the eight legs
of Spider Woman.
Author's Dream Catcher (photo: Kay Broome)
Or it can be joined at 13 points as is mine (above), to represent the thirteen lunar months. In the early 2000s, I helped initiate a community
garden here in Toronto and for a number
of years, many of the volunteers grew crops within the space. But when people moved away or
became too busy with other things, our garden languished. I asked a local First Nations shelter if they would be willing to take over the garden for use
in their rehabilitation programming. They were happy to do so and I was
greatly surprised and very moved when, as a token of their appreciation, the
shelter staff gifted me with the beautiful dream catcher shown above. Over time, I have added items to it that
personally resonate with me.
Willow Tree near Humber Bridge, West Toronto (photo: Kay Broome)
Since the tree it represents is sacred to water, the Talking Forest Willow
deals with emotions, especially sadness and empathy. The key counsels
intuition and the understanding of the ebb and flow of the tides of
life. As a rune bound to the moon,
Willow deals with women’s mysteries, the occult and that which is frequently
hidden, to be eventually revealed. Willow’s day, Monday, named after the moon,
was traditionally set aside as the weekly wash day. Like linden, willow is a gentle healer,
and it has been used in herbal medicine, for as long as even the mighty elder bush. Willow’s purifying power is gentler than that
of Cedar, the rune that directly precedes her in the Talking Forest array.
Upright, the Talking Forest Willow
suggests a gentle healing process, or, in some cases, a grieving over someone
or something that is gone. The inverted
rune implies intuition at work or psychic abilities coming to the fore. It may
also reference lunar influences at work. The key in this position can further suggest
a mourning period that must come to an end, showing a need to move on. The toppled or sideways rune can warn of illness that must be attended to. Conversely it may illustrate a lack of compassion or a drying up of intuition.
Meditation on the moon and water can help redress this.
Fallen Willow at Catfish Pond, Toronto (photo: Kay Broome)
Willow is one of
two M-shaped keys in the Talking Forest set, imitating the outline of the
most iconic of the species, the weeping willow. The two main branches fountain up and outward
from the stem, sweeping down to to swirl underneath. This rune is the last one in the fourth grove (or group of seven runes) in the Talking Forest. Thisspecific grove governs
the prime of life in early middle age, when the family is maturing. We are
amassing comfort, ease and wisdom, but the aches and pains of age are just beginning to manifest. In this grove too, we may experience emotional
upheavals such as the rigours of dealing with adolescent children and aging parents.
Talking Forest Willow Rune
To learn more about Willow and other runes in the Talking Forest array, you can purchase my book, available internationally in print or ebook on Amazon.