Wild Cherry:
The Magic of the Hag-Berry Tree
When it comes to the magic of trees, one that is all too frequently overlooked and eschewed in favor of other trees more central to popular Celtic mythos, is that of the Wild Cherry, known by various names throughout the British Isles (and beyond,) including Gean, Hag-Berry, Hackberry, and Mazzard.
Wild Cherries have been cultivated and used by humans for thousands of years, serving a number of medicinal purposes for numerous cultures. In the U.S., a number of indigenous cultures in the East made use of the trees, particularly the dried inner bark, as a circulatory sedative for the treatment of Fever, Diarrhea, Pain, and Agitation. The root was also used to treat Gastrointestinal Parasites, Burns, Sores, and other, similar skin issues. This medicinal wisdom was later adopted by early colonial invaders, and went on to influence various aspects of modern western pharmacology, but probably none so widely known as the use of the trees’ fruit and bark to create an antispasmodic syrup with mild expectorant properties. Indeed, the fruit and bark of the Wild Cherry has been widely used since antiquity to prepare herbal syrups, tinctures, and teas that aid with sore throat, coughing, and congestion, the effectiveness of which can still be seen echoed today in certain pharmaceutical cough syrups.
With this array of historically observed medicinal attributes owed to the Wild Cherry Tree, it’s no shock then that it has been associated with healing and the Healing Arts. In the course of the work I’ve done with tha tree, I have definitely observed its efficacy in aiding me with healing magic—a virtue only underscored by the poisonous nature of Wild Cherry, which harbors cyanogenic compounds in its wood, leaves, and fruit pits. When it comes to the magical properties of Wild Cherry, however, the most widely recognized is probably its use in dealing with feelings and, in particular, romance. Examples of this can be found in traditional lore and practices, such as the belief that one can attract a lover by tying a lock of their hair around the bough of a Wild Cherry in bloom, or that one can create an amulet to inspire love using Cherry Pits.
Though Wild Cherries may be best known for their aptitude with romantic magic, they are associated with other knacks and traditions as well. Divinatory Magic, for example, has historically held a notable station in the folklore surrounding Wild Cherry trees in Europe. One piece of British lore asserts that a Cuckoo must eat three full meals of cherries before it may stop singing. An oracular children’s rhyme from Buckinghamshire, meant to be sung if one encountered a Cuckoo bird in a Cherry Tree, says:
“Cuckoo, cherry tree,
Good bird tell me,
How many years before I die?”
It was believed that the number of times the Cuckoo called after the conclusion of the song correlated to the number of years.
Another tradition states that, if one should like to uncover when they will marry, they need only count the number of Cherry pits left on a plate after eating, while repeatedly saying:
“This year, next year, sometime, never.”
Whatever word they were saying when the last pit had been counted, told the querent their fate.
Other traditions involving the Wild Cherry ranged from the more celebratory and benign—such as the Swiss belief that, if one should want to ensure a plentiful fruiting of their Cherry Trees, they must give the first fruit of each new season to a person who has recently given birth—to the more obscure and sinister—such as the old Kentish belief that, if one should walk through a stand or orchard of the trees, having failed to rub their shoes with cherry leaves, they will die choking on a Cherry Pit.
Miscellaneous folk-observances relating to the Wild Cherry tree have, in fact, existed throughout Europe, and particularly so, in Eastern Europe. In the region of former Czechoslovakia, cherry branches were once Harvested on the Feast of St. Barbara—December 4th—and then brought into the home in order to force blossoms by Christmas. The Danish historically believed in malevolent forest spirits who frequently inhabit old cherries and cause harm to travelers who approach them. Likewise, Albanians long believed that certain trees—especially old Cherry trees—were haunted by devils who caused a swelling of the feet and hands for any unfortunates who stopped to rest in their cursed shade. In Lithuania, people were known to believe in ademon, or god, named Kirnis who was a protector the trees. Alternatively, in Serbia, they are associated with the Vila—elfin creatures who ride stags bridled with snakes and steal children consigned to the Devil by their angry mothers. They were often said to be found dancing ‘round the trunks of Wild Cherry trees, as described in Serbian Ballads as translated by John Bowring:
“Cherry! dearest Cherry!
Higher lift thy branches
under which the Vilas
Dance their magic roundels.”
Even with all of these associations and beliefs surrounding the Wild Cherry, one set of Celtic beliefs and observances still holds particular significance to my heritage and practice. This lore, which existed in various parts of the British Isles (though it was centralized in Scotland,) viewed the Wild Cherry, more commonly referred to by Gean or Hag-Berry in the region, as a “Witch Tree” or “Witches’ Tree.” It was thought of as a very mysterious plant, and in the Highlands it was considered fateful to come across one, though travelers remained quite wary of them. In fact, the belief that Wild Cherries were Witch Trees was pervasive enough that, for a time, it was considered taboo to cut or use the wood of the tree, for fear of inviting malefic influences into one’s life.
Between the curative, divinatory, persuasive, malefic, and spectral qualities of the Wild Cherry, it is a tree which is all too frequently overlooked, and worth getting to know. It has certainly been a boon to my own Craft to learn more about the plant and its history.