Celtic Hazel Art & Hazel Meaning

My beautiful Celtic Hazel artwork - part of my Celtic Tree Calendar collection - plus I take a deeper dive into hazel folklore, history, tales and hazel meaning...

Celtic Hazel art by Lotti Brown

Buy Celtic Hazel Art

​The hazel is a small tree, most often seen in hedgerows these days, and much different in stature than a mighty oak...

But in its own way, no less important!

Hazel has been an extremely important tree for hundreds of not thousands of years...

And has been of great use to humans...

Let's explore our human history of the hazel...

​Our stories, beliefs, folkores and more...

Also available in a Celtic Tree Calendar version with dates for the hazel month 5 August to 1 September

Buy Tree Calendar version

Hazel

Celtic tree calendar: 5 August - 1 September

• Latin name: Corylus
• Irish/Gaelic name: Coll
• Common names: Cob tree, Tree of Knowledge, The Poet's Tree, 
• Language of Flowers meaning: reconciliation
• Qualities: Wisdom, knowledge, protection, love, healing, understanding, inspiration, divination
• Associations: Mercury/Hermes, Brigid, Fionn mac Cumhail, air, the salmon of knowledge, poetry, dowsing, wands, snakes, communication

The Latin name for hazel is ‘Corylus’. This is because the leaves around the hazelnut look like a style of helmet called ‘Korys’ – so the Corylus is called ‘the helmeted one’.

Scotland may actually be named after the hazel. Caledonia, the old name for Scotland is thought to derive from ‘Cal Dun’ – ‘the hill of hazel’ – signifying how widespread the tree once was in this area.

In Ireland, the 17th-century priest, Geoffrey Keating, writes in his ‘History of Ireland’ of an early king, Mac Coll, meaning ‘Son of hazel’ – who was one of the last kings of the ancient gods, known as the Tuatha de Danaan.
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The Useful Tree

Hazel is a nutritious and valuable foodstuff. Hazelnuts have been found, often roasted, in prehistoric hearths, middens (rubbish piles), and even tombs.

Hazel is a vigorous grower and the long stems of hazel are regularly ‘coppiced’ – cut down to the ground.
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The stems (also known as ‘rods’) are used for all kinds of practical purposes – and the long hazel rods will have grown again by the following year, so the wood is simply harvested from the living tree in a sustainable manner. This is the way that humans have used the hazel for thousands of years.

When hazel is cut to the ground, new stems grow again vigorously, long & straight - ready to cut again the following year

The hazel stems are used for beanpoles, walking sticks, hoops, hurdles, hedge-stakes, for basket-making, as beaters, as thatchers’ ‘springels’ and to make ‘coracles’ (small, flat-bottomed boats).

We know that the Romans used supple hazel twigs to tie vines to wooden stakes.

In the Middle Ages, hazel was burnt for use as charcoal – and in the late 13th century, a monk, Roger Bacon, invented a recipe for gunpowder using charcoal from hazel (or willow) mixed with saltpetre and sulphur.

The hazel rods were also often used for divining – we’ll look more at this, later…
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The 9th-century ‘Triads of Ireland’ write that the felling of hazel carried the death penalty. Hazel was one of just two trees that carried this punishment (apple was the other) – showing just how important the tree was to society at the time.

Hazel stems in the sunshine

Tree of Wisdom
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The hazel was historically seen as the Celtic Tree of Wisdom or Knowledge…

In the medieval Irish ‘Dindsenchas’ (or ‘Dinnseanchas’ – meaning ‘topography’ or ‘lore of places’) the hazel is associated with the ‘Great Mugna’ tree, ‘Eo Mugna’ – one of five legendary, ancient trees in Ireland.

The Great Mugna was a yew or oak tree that bore apples, acorns, and hazelnuts from its branches. The Great Mugna tree was said to have been a descendant of the Tree of Knowledge from the original Garden of Eden and represented the virtues of beauty (apples), wisdom (hazelnuts), and strength (acorns).

The Dindsenchas tells us of a sacred well of life, Connla’s Well (Ireland – also known as Nechtan’s Well or the Well of Segais). Here, alongside the Great Mugna tree, grow nine hazel trees which overhang the well -

“a beautiful fountain over which nine hazels of poetic art produced flowers and fruit simultaneously.”
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​The number nine seems connected to hazels – hazel is also the ninth ogham letter.

The hazelnuts, which were thought to contain all wisdom (known as ‘awen’ or ‘imbas’), dropped into the water and were eaten by the salmon swimming in the pool. The bright spots on the side of the salmon showed how many hazelnuts the salmon had eaten.

The salmon was thought to be the oldest and wisest of all the animal spirits and was known as the ‘Salmon of Wisdom’ or the ‘Salmon of Knowledge’.

The salmon was one of the oldest animals in the Celtic world and carried all wisdom from the hazelnuts it had eaten

The salmon would swim out to sea, to transmit its knowledge to the other salmon – the Salmon of Knowledge is the father of all salmon – and then returned to the well of knowledge, and then continued migrating between well and sea.

To eat the hazelnut was highly desirable in order to gain the precious wisdom it contained – and the hazelnut was known as the ‘food of the gods’.

Celtic druids, seers, and poets wished to eat the hazelnut or the salmon to gain the knowledge…

The Celtic hero Cuchulainn called hazel “the sweetest of woods”...

Fionn and the Salmon

​The Celtic story of Fionn mac Cumhail tells us of the boy Fionn, a pupil of the druid poet Finegas (or Finn Eces). Finegas spent seven years fishing for the salmon of knowledge so that he could eat it and gain the knowledge of ‘everything that was happening in Ireland’.

When he finally caught the salmon, he asked his pupil, Fionn, to cook the salmon but not taste it…

Fionn burnt his thumb on the salmon, while cooking the fish, and put his thumb straight to his mouth – so it was Fionn that gained the wisdom of the salmon, and not his master.

Throughout his life, Fionn would put his thumb to his mouth to access the magical wisdom.

Fionn also had a magical shield cut from a hazel tree. The shield was called “the dripping ancient hazel” because the head of the god Balor of the evil eye had hung from the hazel tree, dripping powerful poison onto it.

The magical Tree of Knowledge - Hazel

Scottish legend has a similar story of two mystical, sacred fishes who guarded a sacred well where the hazel trees grew. To kill or eat the fish would be punishable by the gods…

In Scotland, hazel was one of the nine sacred woods gathered for the Beltane fires.

In Celtic legend, the hazel is associated with Oengus mac Og – the Celtic god of love and eloquence who carried a hazel wand.

Oengus called the hazel ‘friend of cracking’ meaning the hazel could help us ‘crack’ our habitual programming to gain inspirational flow and to access the wisdom of the gods.

He also called hazel ‘friend of nutshells’ – enhancing our understanding until we have it ‘in a nutshell’.

Irish heralds used to carry hazel wands as symbols of being under the protection of Oengus, god of love and eloquence.

In a druidic incantation or ritual for bards and poets called the ‘Diechetel do Chenaib’ (literally ‘cracking the nuts of wisdom’), it is thought that hazelnuts were chewed to bring about poetic or magical inspiration and insight. Hazel became known as ‘the poet’s tree’.

Hazelnuts were thought to contain powerful knowledge and poetic inspiration

In Wales, hazel was sometimes sewn into sleeping caps to bring pleasant dreams and inspiration. And caps were woven from hazel twigs – to be worn as ‘thinking caps’ or ‘wishing caps’ to bring inspired thought and good fortune.

In the south-west of England, the hazel was said to be surrounded by silver snakes around its roots, giving the tree its special life force – an ability to understand all, swiftly, and to understand all connections.

Through this, hazel is connected to the god Mercury (Hermes) – the god of communication and knowledge. Hermes/Mercury carried a hazel staff, with ribbons or intertwining silver snakes – which became the caduceus symbol used by healers.

The god Mercury/Hermes with hazel wand intertwined with silver snakes

The Magical Tree

Hazel was believed to have magical qualities. Rods cut from hazel were used for dowsing – divining for water, minerals, or magical ley-lines (known, rather excitingly, as ‘dragon currents’), as well as for thieves, murderers, treasure, or simply lost objects.

A forked hazel branch was often used by dowsers – representing the forked tongue of the snake, or perhaps the dual aspect of life and death, which the hazel also symbolises (more on this in a bit!)…

But hazel branches should only be cut with the tree’s permission – and hazel rods cut on Midsummer’s Eve were the most powerful.

“Wishing wands” (seen in Teutonic myths) were cut from hazel. It was said that to cut a hazel wand, you should find a tree that’s not yet fruited, and using a ‘magical sickle’, cut a branch in a single stroke, at sunrise on a ‘day ruled by Mercury’ (a Wednesday).

Druids carried hazel rods, thought to be used to gain inspiration, to divine magical places, and possibly to be used as a kind of ‘talking stick’.

Hazel was also used to acquire invisibility “as if we had eaten fern-seed”. The 15th-century ‘Book of St. Albans’ (dated 1486) describes an invisibility spell – “carrying a hazel rod a fathom-and-a-half long [about 2m/9ft], and by inserting a green hazel twig into it in a particular manner.”

It was thought that hazel could give the ability to see fairies – and Shakespeare writes of the Queen of the Fairies, Queen Mab:

“Her chariot is an empty hazelnut,
Made by the joiner squirrel, or old grub,
Time out of mind the fairies’ coach-makers.”

Romeo & Juliet

​But perhaps one should take great care with the hazel tree and hazel nuts…

It was believed that a girl who went to gather hazelnuts on a Sunday would ‘meet the Devil’ and ‘find him holding her nutting bag’ – and as a consequence, also find herself pregnant by the Devil on her wedding day!  An evil we hope befalls no-one!
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Tree of Love

Pregnant by the devil aside, the hazel tree was actually a tree of love.

In Ancient Rome, hazel torches were lit on the wedding night to ensure a happy marriage.

And in Devon, brides would be met from church by an old lady carrying a basket of hazelnuts, for luck.

Hazel was also associated with fertility – a Somerset saying quotes, “Plenty of catkins, plenty of prams”.

Red catkins on an ornamental hazel tree

A good year for hazelnuts was said to be a good year for babies.

There were also plenty of love spells using hazelnuts…

Young girls would name hazelnuts after potential suitors and then throw them into the fire. The nut that burnt with the loudest bang and brightest flame would be the ‘winner’.

At Halloween, the nuts were laid in the embers of a fire to find out whether a relationship was true love:

“If you love me, pop and fly,
If not, lie there silently.”

A pair of nuts could also be floated in water to see if they moved closer together or further apart. Two hazelnuts that remained side by side signified that lovers would be faithful – moving apart would signify faithlessness.

Catkins would be wrapped in pink or green cloth and worn close to the heart, before burning both fabric and catkins together, while reciting a love spell.

And if a girl could tie a knot in the fibre growing around the hazelnut, it was said she would be sure to marry.

A pair of hazelnuts were often used by young girls for love spells or charms

Tree of Life & Death

Hazel is connected with Brigid, the Celtic goddess of poetry and home. Brigid keens the death of her son in the tale of the Battle of Moytura – hazel helps communication between the world of the living and the world of the dead – the ritual of ‘keening’ or mourning.

The old Irish/Gaelic name for hazel is ‘calltuinn’ meaning ‘the loss of something’ – hazel is used for understanding, communication, and the connection of our dual aspects of life and death.
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Tree of Health & Healing

The hazel tree was not used in herbal medicine to the extent of other trees like willow and hawthorn but hazelnuts are very nutritious, being rich in vitamins B and E, many minerals, and healthy fats, and are used in health and healing. The wood has also been used in folk remedies.

Hazelnuts were often ground down to help clear coughs (mixed with mead or honeyed water) and also to get rid of fevers, diarrhoea, and to help ease heavy periods.

It was thought that toothache could be cured by holding a cross of hazel wood against the pain. A hazel-wood cross could also be used to draw the pain from adder bites.

And it was thought that carrying a double hazelnut in your pocket would help prevent toothache.

Hazel wood was also used for mouth ulcers, teething troubles, eczema, and acid reflux.

Scottish children born when hazelnuts were ripe on trees were given ‘milk of hazelnut’ for their health and for luck. Hazelnut milk mixed with honey was also given to any babies who did not grow hale and hearty.

Hazelnuts were an important source of nutrition in years gone by

As a flower essence remedy, hazel is used to break free of old patterns and open the heart and mind to new inspiration, bringing wisdom, stability, and clarity of communication.
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Tree of Protection

​Hazel was a protective tree – a tree to bring luck, and protection from storms and witchcraft in particular.

Hazel twigs or a double hazelnut could be carried in a pocket to bring luck and protect against witches - witches could be shot and killed with a double hazelnut, but not an ordinary bullet.

Hazelnut necklaces were also supposed to bring luck.

To protect against fairies, serpents, ‘evil spirits and evil hands’, you were advised to draw a circle around yourself with a stick of hazel that has been cut before sunrise on May Day.

A hazel stick could also be used to ritually shake ferns before gathering fern-seeds (fern-seeds were associated with fairies, magic, and invisibility).

Hazel twigs made in the shape of a cross were also thought to protect against witches and could be put in the fireplace of the home to protect – while a hazel charm of a heart between two crosses was placed in freshly-dug earth in the garden each spring.
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Hazel catkins in spring

Catkins around the hearth were believed to help sheep at lambing time, and horses were protected from fairies by being given a breastband of hazel to wear.

A horse which had over-eaten could have its legs and feet bound to hazel rods and words of magic were whispered into its ear - words known only by the Romany and the Ploughmen’s Guild.

In Ireland, cattle were driven through Beltane and Midsummer fires and their backs were singed with charred hazel rods to protect them from fairies. The hazel rods were then kept as droving sticks for the rest of the year.

A sprig of hazel by the door of a home, or on a windowsill or by a window-opening, was supposed to be able to protect against lightning – and hazel twigs gathered on Palm Sunday were thought to guard against both lightning and fire…

Whilst three hazel pins struck into the doorpost or wall of a house were believed to protect against fire and would alert the inhabitants to danger.

Plaited and woven hazel caps were worn by Welsh sailors to protect from storms at sea.

And it was advisable to stir jam with a stick of hazel to ensure the fairies wouldn’t steal it.

It was also said that Saint Patrick used a hazel stick to drive the snakes out of Ireland.
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Hazel in a hedgerow

Hazel Meaning

The hazel is the Celtic Tree of Knowledge, the Poet’s Tree, a magical tree, and tree of fairies.

It’s a tree of wisdom, of understanding and connection, and a tree of clear communications.

It’s a tree of life and death, bridging the worlds and enabling connection and communication between the worlds – a tree of health, healing, and protection – and a tree of love!

Hazel meaning is about knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, eloquence, reconciliation, and connection.

Making my Hazel Artwork
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I created by Celtic Hazel artwork digitally in Adobe Illustrator by scanning in my drawings and lettering and using them all together to make the final artwork.

Here's how I did it...
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Please click on the images to make them larger...

Starting my hazel drawing

Adding colour with markers

The completed hazel drawings

Calligraphy for hazel - whoops! Got the dates wrong and had to go back and correct it!

The drawings are scanned in and imported into a pre-prepared Celtic knotwork framework

The drawings are separated from the white page and I enlarge them and make colours bolder

Adjusting the background colours

Adding lettering and background layer of drawings

Adding a layer of background lettering

Creating the Celtic Tree Calendar version with dates for the month of hazel

The completed Celtic Hazel artwork

Shop Hazel art (standard version)

How to Buy my Celtic Hazel Art

I've actually created two versions of my Celtic Hazel art:

• the standard version (as above)
• a Celtic Tree Calendar version with dates added (5 August - 1 September) which correspond to the month for the hazel - ideal for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions between these dates (see below) (learn about the Celtic Tree Calendar here...)

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Browse standard version
(prints & products)

Browse tree calendar version
(prints & products)

Shop hazel art (Tree calendar version)

Click on the images below to see them larger...

Celtic Tree Calendar art - hazel

The month of the hazel - 5 August to 1 September

Celtic Hazel art print

How to Buy my Hazel Art Prints & Products

You can buy my Celtic Hazel art as wall art prints and home products from my Redbubble store:

• wide variety of products including T-shirts, cushions, throws, shower curtains, mugs, phone/tech cases, clocks, pouches, bags and much more...
• fast international delivery from your closest manufacturing location
• customs refund if you're charged

Shop hazel goodies (standard version)

Shop Hazel goodies (calendar version)

Celtic Hazel art ornament - great gift idea - click here to see...

Hazel Celtic Tree Calendar Journal - hard-backed notebook - click to see...

Celtic Hazel floor cushion - click to see...

Celtic Hazel throw blanket - click to see...

Hazel Celtic Tree Calendar mini art board - click to see...

Celtic Hazel apron - click to see...

Celtic Tree Calendar coaster set - Hazel - click to see...

Shop all hazel prints & products (standard version)

Shop all hazel prints & products (calendar version)

Also available at:

Also available at:

• Redbubble (wide range of art prints & products) - standard hazel art version - Celtic tree calendar version here

• Society6 (wide range of art prints & products) - standard hazel art version only - click here...
• Displate (metal art prints) - standard hazel art version here - standard version only - here...
• Contrado (home decor & accessories - based in UK) - both versions here
• Etsy (unframed art prints, 3 sizes - UK only) - both versions here
• Pixels (framed & unframed art, lots of size & style options - international delivery) - find both versions here...

More about my stockists here - plus why I decided to go with print-on-demand for my art...

Explore more Celtic art here and more Celtic tree art here..

​Learn all about the Celtic Tree Calendar and see my other trees here...

More tree meanings in my Celtic Tree Calendar overview...

​Explore all my art here...
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Keep in Touch

If you've enjoyed what you've just read or if you like my art, I hope you'll sign up to my free email newsletter to hear about my new artworks, blog posts, and products - newsletter comes out approximately once a month...

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Further Reading

Tree Wisdom – J M Paterson
Celtic Tree Magic – D Forest
Discovering the Folklore of Plants – M Baker

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Please note that the information in this piece is for entertainment only and should not be used to diagnose or prescribe for health purposes.

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