The Willow Tree. Pictured here is our lovely Weeping WIllow. The name "Weeping Willow" comes from the way raindrops run down its long leaves, making it look like the tree is crying. As a toddler, living in Kelowna, BC, my dad loved to take pieces of a long willow branch and plant them around our soggy yard as a way to soak up standing water, create shade and add beauty to the surroundings. My dad, grandfather and others used a willow switch to divine where underground water might be located, for future wells. Willows are wonderful trees to plant along riverbanks to assist in preventing erosion and in flat areas prone to flooding to soak up excess standing water. It is so easy to start a new tree just by cutting a nice size willow branch and putting the cut end into soil. One needs to be careful where you plant willows as their root systems can travel up to 50'. Avoid planting near septic fields, water or gas lines and house foundations.
There are over 300 varieties of willow, many of them are of the genus Osier. White willow has many healing properties. The active agent within white willow bark is called salicylic acid, much like our modern day aspirin, was used for headaches, pain, diarrhoea and fevers. The branches were used for arrow shafts and the branches were fanned out to create paint brushes. Branches were also used to make baskets.
An interesting note here is the connection between the word, Willow, and the terms Wicce, Witchcraft, and wicker. Willow has long been associated with Witches and there is also the association of wicker with Druidry. Since Wicce actually means to bend it is not a far jump to make the connection between the two. This Tree is held sacred, also, to Minerva and the ancient Great Goddess Whose bird, the Wryneck, nests only in the Willow. Cranes are also known to nest here and a grove of Willows with nesting cranes is a symbol of extremely happy domesticity.
The Celtic word Saille became the word sally, meaning a sudden outburst of action, expression or emotion. This word may also suggest an excursion or a jaunt as well as a retort but it can be used to describe a more violent action by troops. It is also derived from the Old French word, saille, meaning to rush out suddenly. These words all reflect the spirit of potential symbolized by the Willow. Other fun Druid examples would be in the funerary flints, shaped as Willow leaves, found in graves from the Old Stone Age, showing that Willow has been a part of our lives for a very long time. This Tree has been associated with death, grief and cemeteries, the leaves themselves symbolizing unrequited love or the loss of a lover. The leaf has also been worn as a charm to protect against jealousy. Willow has been made into charms, ritual garments and magical wands.
This beneficial tree asks us to remember to acknowledge the beauty of nature, to slow down, bask in the dappled light beneath graceful arching branches and to feel her serenity and worth.