The Hazel of Wisdom
British and Irish Hazel Lore

(c) Blackbird Hollins 2005

The importance of the hazel tree to our ancestors cannot be
underestimated. This article will show how it was vital to ancient
societies on many levels and how it remains a useful and relevant
tree to us today. There is much that I haven't touched upon in this
article. For those interested to look, there is a wealth of hazel
lore outside of the British Isles, Greek and Scandinavian cultures
being particularly fertile ground. I decided to limit this article
to Britain and Ireland purely because of the vast amount of
information available.

Let us start with some botanical information. Hazel owns the name of
Corylus Avellana and these days is generally regarded as a bush
rather than a tree. It sends up slender shoots from its base and is
thus ideal for coppicing, the method of its farming for many
thousands of years. The nature of coppicing means that, unlike most
woodland, a great deal of light and warmth reaches the forest floor
during spring. This means that hazel woods are rich in wildlife,
providing an ideal habitat for many species of bird and butterfly.
Coppice woods also encourage the growth of spring flowering plants
such as bluebells, primrose and campion. In many ways, the
widespread coppicing of the past has created the type of wildlife
that we now think of as quintessentially British.

The name 'hazel' comes from the Anglo Saxon 'haesel', meaning 'cap'.
This refers to the way in which the nuts are covered with a thin,
leafy sheath, rather like a little hat. In the various Celtic
languages, its name is surprisingly standard. The ancient and modern
Irish use the name 'coll', which becomes calltunn or calltuinn in
the Scots Gaelic. The Manx call it 'coull', which is similar again
to the Welsh 'collen' and Cornish 'colwedhen'. (The Breton is
dissimilar, using kraonk-levezenn.) It is unusual to find such
uniformity, even between the various Celtic languages. Hazel has
also attracted various local names, such as 'nuttery', which is self
explanatory, 'lambs tails', which refers to the catkins, halse and
hezzel, which are obvious enough derivations.

The hazel seems to have arrived in Britain and Ireland through
natural means in prehistoric times. Along with the birch, it was the
first tree to colonise these lands after the last ice age, though it
appears that humans were partly responsible for the great spread and
abundance of the tree.

Hazel tends to grow as a group of slender poles, though if left
alone it will occasionally grow into a small tree. However, hazel
has rarely been left alone. It seems that coppicing of the hazel
began about four thousand years ago, though some studies give an
estimate of six thousand years. Coppicing is a sustainable means of
harvesting wood and prolongs the life of the tree, sometimes
doubling its life span. The poles are cut away close to the ground
and once cut, the hazel tree responds by throwing up new shoots.
Traditionally, one seventh of a coppice wood is harvested every
seven years, so that there is a continuous supply of poles .

After the second world war, coppicing fell into decline, as hazel
rods lost their market to other materials, especially the new
synthetic alternatives. The impact of this on the hazel tree was
devastating. In 1950, there were 200,000 acres of hazel coppice in
Britain but that had declined to only 5,000 acres by 1985 . The good
news is that coppice woods are again on the increase. There has been
a resurgence of interest in traditional woodcraft skills and an
increasing market for sustainable natural materials.

Hazel poles can be put to countless uses, due to two important
properties. They can be split lengthways and bent sharply without
breaking. This makes them extremely useful for weaving into various
frameworks. From Neolithic times onwards, woven frames of hazel,
known as 'wattle', have been used as the basis for wattle and daub
housing. And this has continued into modern times - I remember that
wattle walls were visible in the attic of the house I grew up in.
Wattle has also been used as the basis for hedges and fences. More
recent uses include flood defences and as sound screens for noisy
stretches of motorway.

The flexibility of hazel means that it is used to make pegs for
thatching - the peg must be bent over on itself without snapping, so
hazel is an ideal material. This flexibility is also employed in the
making items such as baskets, fish traps and barrel hoops.

Hazel has found other uses due to the straightness of the poles and
the attractive nature of the wood. Hazel poles have long been used
as walking sticks, bean sticks and so forth. Until quite recently,
naturally spiralled walking sticks known as 'barley-sugar sticks'
were the sign of a woodsman. The sticks are formed naturally by the
action of vines such as woodbine and ivy upon the living wood. These
days, such staves are more often to be found in the hands of pagans,
who value their beauty and the mystical qualities of the wood.
Shepherd's crooks are traditionally made of hazel, the distinctive
shape being formed while the pole is actually growing, by pinning or
lashing it into shape. And then there is perhaps the most famous use
for hazel wood - in the forked rod of the water diviner. This will
be looked at later, as we consider the prophetic and divinatory
properties of the tree.

Of course, the wood is not the only important part of the hazel. The
leaves and nuts of the tree have long found many uses. The leaves
are usually the earliest to appear - they are a traditional sign of
the start of spring - and the last to drop. These are invaluable
cattle fodder due to their abundance and nutritional value.

And then the nuts. Today, hazel nuts are generally eaten as a snack
food. However, during many periods of history, the hazel nut was a
vital part of the human diet. Analysis of the diet of Mesolithic man
has shown that hazel nuts were a staple food , so it is unsurprising
that humans seem to have cultivated the tree from these times
onwards. Hazel nuts are a good source of protein and can be stored
for relatively long periods of time; certainly well into the winter
months. They can be eaten as they are, added to stews or ground with
flour and baked into breads. And of course, hazel nuts are the main
ingredient of Fra Angelico, an Italian liqueur that has been
prepared since Medieval times. Cultivated hazel nuts are often
called 'filberts' - this being a reference to Saint Philibert, as
the nuts were said to begin ripening on his feast day, the 20th of
August . During the middle ages, tenants in Barking collected hazel
nuts as part of their service.

The hazel tree is widespread throughout Britain and Ireland. Hazel
related place names are most heavily concentrated in the West of
Scotland, particularly in Argyllshire. In its Gaelic form, it
appears in the name of the Clan Colquhoun, who take the hazel as
their badge. The Dindshenchas (Place name stories) of Ireland
give 'Fordruim' as an ancient name for Tara, with this being
described as a 'pleasant hazel wood.'

Even a brief look at hazel lore will reveal that it is often
connected with water. The hazel rods respond to water in the hands
of the diviner and the myths of Ireland show an intimate connection
between the hazel tree and the seven great rivers of Ireland. The
surviving lore concerns the Shannon and the Boyne in particular,
though it is said that at the head of each great river grew one or
more magical hazel trees. In various stories, either one or nine of
these trees are said to have grown over Connla's Well and the Well
of Segais, the legendary sources of the Boyne and Shannon
respectively. It is said that the hazel trees at Connla's Well
produced fruit and flowers simultaneously and it has been suggested
that this represents wisdom mixed with beauty. To my mind, it
underlines that these were no ordinary trees, but magical,
otherworldly trees.

Nuts from these magical hazel trees were described as 'the Nuts of
Wisdom ' and many stories tell of how the nuts fall into the waters
of the well, imbuing the water with special qualities and causing
bubbles of mystic inspiration to form. The nuts are eaten by salmon
who swim in the river, who gain great wisdom from this. It is said
that the number of spots upon the back of the salmon corresponds to
the number of nuts he has eaten, and thus to the amount of wisdom
held by that fish.

Generally in Irish myth, hazel nuts represent wisdom, and this
correspondence is often found in kennings and riddles. The Irish
word for the nuts is 'cno', and the similarity between that and the
word for wisdom, 'cnocach ' is obvious. The nuts are seen as a
concentration of wisdom, something highly nutritious, yet compact.
Something sweet to the taste, just as knowledge is sweet.

Perhaps the most famous tale concerning this lore is that of Fionn
Mac Cumhaill, and of how he got his wisdom.

It happened that there was a particular salmon swimming in the Boyne
who was wiser than any other of the fish. The man who ate the flesh
of that fish would receive this great wisdom for himself. The Druid
Finn?ces and his young apprentice Fionn, catch the fish. Fionn is
asked to cook the fish - but not to eat any of it. However, in a
scene reminiscent of that in Hanes Taliesin (and Fionn is
suspiciously similar to the name of the boy, Gwion - but that is a
discussion for another time), hot juice from the fish spits onto
Fionn's thumb. Before he can stop himself, Fionn instinctively puts
his thumb in his mouth to soothe the burning. As luck would have it,
it was this part of the salmon that contained the concentrated
wisdom that had been sought by his master. Fortunately for Fionn,
Finn?ces is understanding and acknowledges with resignation and
pride, the knowledge and power of his young charge. Unlike Taliesin,
Fionn does not remain constantly in this enlightened state. In order
to prophecy, he chews on the thumb that was burnt by the salmon.

We learn more about the hazels of wisdom from this story, which
concerns the formation of the river Boyne.

It is said that the God Nechtan owned a sacred spring, the Well of
Segais. A marvellous hazel tree grew over the well, the nuts that
fell within gave both the water and the salmon that lived there,
knowledge and wisdom. It was forbidden for anyone to approach the
well, aside from Nechtan and his three cupbearers. Nechtan's wife
Boann was driven by curiosity to take a look, but the moment she
approached, the waters burst forth from the well. Boann was swept
away as the torrent became a great river. The river took her name
and she became known as the Goddess of its waters.

We have very similar story about the river Shannon, of which
Connla's Well is said to be the source. One description of the well
tells us that it is surrounded by nine hazel trees that produce
flowers and nuts simultaneously. Again, these magical nuts fall into
the well, where they are eaten by the wise salmon who dwell there.

We have other tales that tell of the other properties of the hazel
tree, lore that tells of its great magical power. This next tale
comes from the Lebor Gabala Erenn, which tells of the various early
settlers of Ireland. We are told that on arrival from their four
great cities, the Tuatha de Danaan initially lived on land that lay
between the Athenians and the Philistines. These two were at war
with each other, with the Philistines getting the upper hand. The
Tuatha de Danaan decide to support the Athenian cause, and
they "formed through Druidry demon spirits in the bodies of the
Athenian soldiers who were slain."11 The Philistines were dismayed
to find their enemies rising from the dead to do battle again and
they sought the advice of their Elder, who told them to

"take pegs of hazel and of quicken [rowan] tree to the battle on the
morrow; and if yours be the victory, thrust the pins in the backs of
the necks of the men who are slain, and if they be demons, heaps of
worms will be made of them ."

So we see that in this tale, hazel has a kind of binding power, the
power to overcome or undo the demonic magic of the Tuatha de Danaan.

Later in the manuscript, hazel appears again, this time on the side
of the Tuatha de Danaan. When the Milesians (who were eventually to
supplant the Tuatha de Danaan) arrived in Ireland, they had to
pacify three Goddesses, ?rin, F?tla and Banba in order that they be
allowed upon the land. Banba's husband was named MacCuill (son of
hazel), with the other two being MacCecht (son of the plough) and
MacGr?ine (son of the sun). The story tells us that the land of
Ireland at that time was divided between the three couples,
for "these were the things they put above all other".

I believe that this points to the great importance of the hazel
tree. The story is telling us that to the early peoples of Ireland,
hazel was one of the fundamental necessities of life. To take a
slightly different interpretation, we have a triad of production.
MacCecht preparing the land, MacGreine providing warmth and light to
grow the crop, and MacCuill being the end product, the tree from
which food, fuel and building materials are harvested. If there were
once any more tales of MacCuill, these have been sadly lost. He
appears just once more in the lore of Ireland, where we learn that
he was one of the last Tuatha de Danaan kings to rule, before his
slaying by Eber of the Milesians.

The hazel takes its place among the correspondences for the ogham
letters, which can famously be represented as trees, among other
things. Some of the ogham letters make obvious reference to other
meanings (e.g. tinne, which is popularly translated as 'holly' - but
which actually means 'ingot'). Hazel represents the letter 'C' -
'coll' - which as we have already seen, is indeed the Irish name
for hazel.

We have three surviving ogham poems, which provide meanings and
kennings for the various letters. Often these bear little
resemblance to the tree that is popularly associated with that
letter, the emphasis on trees being something that obtains to modern
times. However, each ogham poem refers to 'C' as hazel. And in this
insistence, it is one of the least ambiguous of all the letters. In
the Ogham of Morann Mac Main, 'coll' is given as 'Cainen
Fedaib', 'fairest of trees', in that of CuChulainn, 'sweetest of
woods'. The interesting one is that of Mac Ind Oic, where it is
given as 'Cara Bloisc', 'friend of cracking' .

Cracking can of course, simply refer to the process of eating the
nuts. However, as we have seen, eating hazel nuts is often used as a
metaphor for the extraction of kernels of wisdom. And 'cracking'
also has this dual meaning, being also a literary and oratory device
whereby hidden messages can be disguised in plain speech. Such
things probably gave rise to the idea that there was a secret
language spoken by poets. Outside sources such as Diogenes Laertius
tell us that the Druids spoke "by means of riddles and dark
sayings." This kind of clever word play was an important skill that
was highly regarded among the various Celtic peoples.

In accordance with the importance of these ideas and attributes
connected with the hazel, alongside its value as a food and wood
source, the ancient Irish accorded it the rank of 'Chieftain', i.e.,
one of the most important trees.

So far, we have concentrated upon evidence from Ireland, as it is
here that the hazel lore is rich and plentiful. Let us now look a
little further afield, towards the rest of Britain. We will also
touch upon evidence from the Continent, though this is really
outside the remit for this article. Was the hazel as important in
Britain as in Ireland? Some people, opting for a pan-Celtic approach
think so. But as yet, there is no evidence to prove that this was
the case.

One discovery that might have relevance was made at Ashill in
Norfolk . A shaft well was excavated, and the finds within date to
the Iron Age. This type of well often seems to have been dug purely
as a place to make offerings. Many such wells have been found in
Britain, but the finds within the Ashill well are unique. The well
is three and a half feet square and forty feet deep. The more recent
items from the upper part of the well, included an iron knife, some
pot sherds, including Samian ware, and various bones, including
those of a toad. It is in the lower part of the well that the older
and for our purposes, more interesting finds were made.

In the lower two thirds of the well were intact urns. These had been
placed in layers within the well, sandwiched with thick layers of
hazel nuts and leaves. The urns mostly contained bones along with a
few iron items. Curiously, the nuts higher up the well were more
mature than those in the lower sections. It is hard to know if this
is by accident or design. It does seem that the shaft was in use for
a prolonged period of time. The upper layers of much later material
indicate that the practice of making deposits there continued for a
long while after the well was initially in use, despite the fact
that the nature of the deposits had changed considerably. There was
also evidence for a series of very well worn paths leading up to the
well, these would not have survived unless the well was visited
frequently over a long period of time.

Ross takes this shaft well as evidence that the hazel was of great
importance in Britain, and as in Ireland, was connected with wells.
She also speculates that the God Callirius and the place he was
honoured in, Colchester, derive their names from the hazel. I am not
skilled enough in linguistics to know if this is a valid idea. But
even if this is true, to my mind, these two pieces of evidence in
themselves cannot prove that the hazel shared similar lore and
importance to that of Ireland, tempting though that might be.

One secondary source refers to the finding of hazel wands being
found in the 'coffins of notables' in Britain and Europe . However,
the purpose of these is unknown, and as I am unable to trace the
primary source for this information, I have no idea of the truth of
the statement, or of the age of the graves in question. However,
hazel wands do appear in Irish myth, where they are used by
magicians, often for effecting transformation and shape-shifting. We
will look at this a little later.

We do have other archaeological sites in Europe that contain hazel
items. The excavations of an Iron age grave in Wurtemburg revealed
that the occupant had been lain within a coffin formed from a
hollowed out tree, and a pile of hazel nuts placed within . Another
similar grave contained thirty two hazel nuts. I think it likely
that the nuts were intended as food for the journey to the
Otherworlds, rather than as a "symbol of life," as Baring-Gould
would have it. Hazel nuts are ideal food for travellers, as they are
light and easy to carry and each nut is remarkably sustaining.

We will now look at some more tales from the Fenian Cycle of
stories. It is important at this point to expose a 'false friend'.
These tales contain a wealth of lore regarding hazel trees and nuts.
However, this does not extend to the name of Fionn himself,
MacCumhall (pron. 'MacCool'). Though it sounds similar to words
derived from the hazel, it is actually from the name Umall, with the
initial 'C' being borrowed from the prefix 'Mac' . Still, that is
not to say that much of the hazel lore does not connect with Fionn's
name, play and kenning around similar sounding words are quite
usual.

We are told that would-be members of Fionn's band had to undergo
rigorous physical testing . The first trial involved arming the
tested man with only a hazel stick and a shield, then standing him
waist deep in a hole in the ground. The man had to defend himself
against nine warriors, who cast their spears simultaneously at him.
If the would-be F?innidh suffered any injury from this, he would not
be accepted. And let it be said that this was the first, and in many
ways, the easiest of the trials.

In this case, I do not see that there is anything esoteric about the
use of the hazel stick. To procure a hazel pole would be an easy
matter, and as hazel, unlike other trees, was farmed for long poles,
it simply made practical sense to use the most readily available
material for the job. As hazel is so supple, the stick would be less
likely to shatter than that of a more brittle wood.

Another curious Fenian tale is titled 'The Shield of Fionn'. It
tells of how Lugh stuck the head of his defeated enemy Balor in the
fork of a hazel tree. Over the years, poison drips from the head,
until the tree has split in two. "The hazel remained unfelled, but
ever bore a cause of tears, being an abode of vultures and ravens. "
Manannan is walking among the beautiful trees of the White-hazel
mountain, when he spies this sorry, leafless tree among them. He
determines that the tree should be dug up and removed, and he sets
some men to the task. However, a poisonous vapour rises from the
roots of the tree. It kills nine men and then a further nine. The
third lot of workmen are not killed, but blinded by the poison. The
wood from this hazel is used to make the shield named 'Dripping
Ancient Hazel' (Sencoll Snideac ). It takes part in many famous
battles, and everywhere causes cries of pain and woe.

Hazel is a curious choice for the wood of a shield, but it would not
be completely impractical. It really rests upon whether or not
Lugh's use of the hazel tree as a receptacle for Balor's head was a
considered choice, or simply convenience. If, as we saw in the tale
of the Tuatha de Danaan and the Philistines, the hazel was gifted
with powers of protection, then it may be that Lugh thought that
this protective power would be strong enough to nullify the poison
from the head. It may also be the case that this power combined with
the poison in the making of the shield, producing an item that
offered physical and magical defence, and could also cause
considerable harm. Of course, shields can be used both defensively
and offensively in battle.

Hazel plays a part in the tale of Sadb, Fionn's lover and the mother
of his son Oisin.

Fionn is out hunting with his dogs, who have picked up the scent of
a deer. On surrounding the graceful doe, they refuse to kill her.
Fionn takes the deer back to his home, Dun Allen. The doe transforms
into a beautiful woman named Sadb, who reveals that a Druid had
changed her shape as a punishment for refusing to become his lover.
The curse had been broken by her acceptance into Dun Allen. Some
time later, while Fionn is away, the Druid returns and strikes Sadb
with his hazel wand. She becomes a doe once more and is taken away,
never to be seen by Fionn again.

So here again, we see the hazel wood as being possessed with magical
properties, this time being the instrument of transformation. Given
the link between the hazel, seership and poetic inspiration, it is
little wonder that the hazel wand was utilised by the Druidic
classes. However, unlike the telling of Fionn's achievement of
wisdom, Fionn is on the receiving end. The hazel itself knows no
loyalty, it is of itself only, but is something that can be
harnessed by men and Gods for whatever ends they choose.

This is illustrated again in this story, which is a twist on the
tale of Fionn's getting of wisdom.

A married woman tries to seduce Fionn by offering him hazel nuts
taken from the Well of Segais. However, she has secretly bound the
nuts with love spells, in the hope of ensnaring Fionn. He sees
straight through her ruse and refuses to eat the nuts, naming
them 'nuts of ignorance'.

Although the nuts are kernels of wisdom, wisdom and knowledge itself
can be perverted according to the will of the holder of that
knowledge. Wisdom is something of itself, how the knowledge is used
is down to the ethics of the individual.

We have seen that Irish myth describes the gaining of wisdom from
the consumption of hazel nuts, and that the 'cracking' of hazel nuts
is a metaphor for the gaining of knowledge. But what is the nature
of that knowledge? For Fionn, it is the knowledge of the future. The
wisdom of the hazel nut is almost always associated with prophetic
powers and divination. In several Irish myths, poets and prophets
(though there is usually no distinction between the two) are
described as 'gaining nuts of wisdom'. In Cormac's glossary, hazel
nuts are termed 'nuts of imbas' (Cuill Crimaind), and another
intriguing phrase appears to mean 'Chanting by means of the hazels
of prophecy'. (dicetul do chollaib cend)

The exact meaning of 'imbas' is unclear. It means something
like 'good knowledge', but is used in the sense of 'illumination',
through means of prophetic vision or divine inspiration. Imbas
Forosnai ('knowledge which illuminates') was once of the methods
employed by poets seeking visions and inspiration. Imbas is the word
used to describe the prophetic results of Fionn's thumb-chewing, and
it may be that the act of chewing is an important part of the
process of receiving imbas. Fionn chews his thumb, Cormac describes
the rituals of the filidh when commencing Imbas Forosnai as
including the chewing of raw flesh . And it seems that the chewing
of hazel nuts was another way of beginning the process by which
enlightenment could be received.

Others argue for a more prosaic explanation for this connection
between imbas and the hazel nut. There are references in early Irish
literature to 'hazelmead' and it is suggested that this or a similar
drink could have been imbibed for 'psychotropic effects' . This is
an interesting idea and is worth future investigation. However, to
my knowledge, hazel nuts contain no such property. It therefore
seems unlikely that they would be the important ingredient in such a
concoction and are less likely to have been the main association for
such a drink.

Let us now move to other areas in which the hazel is seen to be
possessed of divinatory properties. Something we have not yet
explored is the connection of hazel nuts with love, sex and
marriage. Hazel nuts play quite a large part in divination connected
with these concerns. Whether this is down to their wide availability
or a knowledge of their properties of wisdom remains to be seen.

In Scotland at Hallowe'en, we see love divination performed with
hazel nuts . Two hazel nuts are given the names of a pair of lovers
and then placed upon burning embers. If they burn slowly, remaining
together, this was taken as a sign of loyalty and love. But if the
nuts cracked, jumped or rolled apart, this was a sign that they were
a bad match, with one of them being unfaithful.

A variation on this is commemorated by Gray:

"Two hazel nuts I threw into the flame,
And to each nut I gave a sweetheart's name
This, with the loudest bounce me sore amazed
That, with a flame of brightest colour blazed.
As blazed the nut, so may thy passion grow,
For t'was thy nut that did so brightly glow."

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