Properties: The Black moon, fate, Ill omen, dark secrets, dark feminine, warfare, revenge, death, Nightmare corruption, shadow self
Deities: The Night Warrior, Aviana, Agamaggan, Ashamane, Shadra, Hi’reek, Hakkar, Ursoc, Goldrinn
Elements: Decay, Earth
Guardians: Ravens, wolves, bears, harpies, spiders, bats
Also known as: Witchwood, Darkwood, Blackroot
Blackthorn often grows near the nesting places of harpies or places touched by the Satyr. It’s also claimed that Blackthorn grows where the blood of Agamaggan fell. Since the fall of Ursoc some have found using Blackthorn is useful in calling on the last echo of his rage from this world and beyond. Before the death of the Bear Lord some Druids of the Claw would craft staves from this wood to be used as weapons in defense of barrow dens.
Blackthorn’s dark brambly wood is heavily associated with the Night Warrior for its dark color and its fruit which does not ripen until the darkest months of the year. Some Kaldorei scholars believe that the decorative carvings in Black Rook Hold are made from Blackthorn.
Some Troll tribes believe that the children of Shadra hide in its brambles and use it to trap their prey. Others use it to draw blood in dark rituals for Hi’reek or Hakkar. The wood of the tree is often used for each.
Much of the Blackwald in Gilneas is covered in Blackthorn or “Witchwood” (as it is locally known), hence its connection to the worgen curse and the Wild God Goldrinn. Thornspeakers also report that this tree can be found in the Crimson Forest as well, especially near Drust ritual sites. Some folk tales of the Eastern Kingdoms believe if you prick your finger on its thorns you will have horrific nightmares or be visited by something akin to a Satyr.
Uses
Its thorns are often used in rituals of cursing and revenge. However, it may also be used in protection against evil, creating boundaries, purifying,and confronting our own dark side. Blackthorn can dispel negativity, toxins, old wounds, and impurities.In some cases the Blackthorn may be used in exorcisms. As it naturally draws in evil spirits and malevolent ghosts. It is best to burn the wood to release the spirit. However you can also bury it deep in the earth or sink it to the bottom of a deep body of water to bind it.
This tree also serves as one of the thorns in the Druidic triad of Oak, Ash, and Thorn. This thorn serves as a representation of Elune’s darkest phase and is known to be used in darker druidic rituals. Its sister tree, Hawthorne, serves as its counterpart.
The branches of this tree are also used to make Nightmare dreamcatcher. Based on the design created by harpies to corrupt vast areas of forest, this web is used in a similar fashion to call in evil, corruptive energies and excess decay. The thorns of the blackthorn keep the energies bound in tight brambles so that it can be cleansed by an expert hand. These dreamcatchers are a chaotic twisted design made from thorny blackthorn and red thread with rune-etched bones tangled in the thread. Other collections of bones and thorns hang from the Nightmare Web.
Ritual Uses
Blackthorn can be used as a form of protection from negative energy meeting like-with-like and tearing at assaulting energy or it can be used to draw in negative magics to be bound and buried. When used with its gentler sister tree, Hawthorn, it may aid the process of healing by bringing a balance of Light and Shadow, Life and Death, etc. Some Priestesses of the Moon make amulets out of Blackthorn and Hawthorn to aid those afflicted with the worgen curse in the Ritual of Balance.
The berries of Blackthorn can be crushed and spread to create protective boundaries. The same can be achieved by clippings buried in the earth.
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