Blackthorn spirits

The blackthorn (bellicum in Latin) is an unlucky tree; villagers in Galmpton and Dittisham, South Devon, still fear "the black rod" carried as a walking stick by local witches, which has the effect of causing miscarriages. When Major Weir, the Covenanter and self-confessed witch, was burned at Edinburgh in April 1670, a blackthorn staff was burned with him as the chief instrument of his sorceries.

-Robert Graves in The White Goddess

     It was recently brought to my attention that there's a blackthorn tree growing pretty prominently near where I live. It makes itself home growing a few steps away from a bustling sidewalk down by the ocean. He stands with pride, inconspicuous to those not looking for him. Its dark bark blending in the shadows cast by the building that shields it from the weather. In my search for him I walked by twice before he caught my eye, but once i noticed him there was no unseeing this bold tree.

    Blackthorn has always been a tree of interest for me. With it's association with being used in anti-witchcraft charms, it's connection with faeries, as well as the way it's crafted into wands and staffs. Its many uses make it a tree of fascination. So the last few months I've taken to building a relationship with a spirit of this renowned tree. Once learning there was one growing in a neighborhood I use to live in I had to go meet the tree and ask for a cutting. The tree obliged after a small offering of milk, thus igniting our relationship. 

    The piece I took from the tree is small, the size of my hand from the base of my palm to the tip of my pinky finger. With 4 thorny needles protruding from the branch. It's bark is dark with a sheen to it. Having just been cut from the tree with my white handled knife, I tucked it away in a jar to keep it and me safe. Once home it got a prominent place on my working altar while I checked out what my books had to say on blackthorn. 

(Plant Spirit Sigil by Raven Grimassi)

    The common threads being blackthorn's use in defensive work especially when protecting the home, as well as being for blasting/cursing spirits and people. Raven Grimassi in Old World Witchcraft makes mention of a blackthorn wand, used to call and bind the indwelling spirits of plants. Making mention later in that same chapter that through blackthorn "the witch can receive a vast store of magical knowledge." We can see see themes paralleled in Gemma Gary's "The House Doll" charm in her A Cornish Book of Ways, where a doll made to protect a home is provided a stick of blackthorn to preform any tasks asked of her. This doll protects against curses, evil spirits, as well as having knowledge of lost objects in the home. The Green Mysteries by Daniel A. Schulke makes mention the same passage in The White Goddess by Robert Graves that I quote above, adding more detail including blackthorn's connections with the Devil and being a faerie tree. 

    Graves also makes mention of the connections made with blackthorn's various names, like "Straif" and "sloe", to it's reputation in folklore. Saying that the words "strife" and "strive" are molded from older french words "estrif" and "estriver" and may be the same word, "straif", derived from Brenton. He also suggests blackthorns name "sloe" comes from it's fruit, which is connected with the word "slay" in early English. These names relate to blackthorns reputation as being a harsh plant that brings misfortune.

    In an uncanny way, while I was working on this post I had an encounter with a patient at work who used a blackthorn cane to walk. He and his wife were from Ireland, and he brought the cane with him when he moved to America years ago. His wife mentioned that he never leaves home without it, as she was saying this the little old me stops her. Saying, "well you never know when you'll need to go..." he then struck the ground 3 times with the top of the cane. His wife chuckled and continued explaining for him, since this man is getting to be slightly confused in his old age, that he "does that" when he's mad. After this I spent the whole encounter imagining this man cursing his care team any time they unintentionally upset him, knowing enough about blackthorn for me to avoid getting on this man's bad side.

My Work With Blackthorn:

     Using the trimming I have from my local blackthorn tree I've taken to trying to connect with It's spirit. Taking it to various locations and calling it forth in a triangle I've come to build a profile for this spirit and how I plan to work with it in my practice. Initially bringing it to a cemetery, then the beach, followed by a park. In between all these trips out the branch took prominence on my home altar. 

    Consistently this spirit came forth as am impish fellow. Stirring up problems in my home till i got a handle on it and kept it inside a triangle. Blackthorn seems to have a volatile quality to it, causing little misfortunes when I first brought it into my home. In my home it's spirit would appear as a fog drifting by a room's edges, or as a small fast black figure in the corner of my eye. I would hear knocking on my walls at odd hours, and be disturbed in my sleep. Yet the spirit always remained beyond my perception no matter how I tried to focus.

    So I brought it to the cemetery again to consult it's spirit in a saturnal environment that aligns with it's nature. Here it's form was more clear, and I came to know it as the impish spirit I see now. Using my ritual protocols I called forth the spirit in my little trimming inside a triangle. Where I received a seal, name, and face for this spirit. I learned that despite my offering and decorum in taking the cutting, the tree and this trimming didn't appreciate it. The spirit was in a location to meet all its needs and my home is not a place it can do that. So the spirit was in resistance to me, and to being taken. Thus shutting down the conversation, and resisted appearing in the triangle further. Rather than taking this as a complete no, I packed up my supplies and went home for a few days to consider how to strike a deal with this spirit. 

    Once I had a plan, I took the jar with the trimming out once again. This time to a local beach which faces the city where the tree cutting had come from. I though the spirit would appreciate the proximity to it's home. So I laid out my ritual space here, marking out my circle and the triangle which will hold my little blackthorn cutting. Calling him forth again, this time his spirit produced itself more quickly with the aid of the seal & name. The spirit appearing like before, but less sharp, more like an oily fog in the air over the triangle. At this point I struck a deal with the spirit, where if it settles down and works for me as an ally I'll feed It regularly. When we agreed upon a schedule the deal was sealed, and I cleaned up and went on my way home. 

    Since this, the imp that is my blackthorn spirit has been a good ally in protecting my home from unwanted witchcraft. As well as for keeping out unwanted spirits, eating anything that tries to cross my thresh hold, and altering me if anything is too big to consume. I've even had an opportunity to put this spirit to work with mixed results. 

    In this instance I had been getting the feeling of being watched, as tho something was lingering and trying to find an opening into my space. So I turned to my ally for guidance, calling him forth at the threshold of my home. Raising him up to stand guard and keep watch, as well as to look into and inform me what was lingering at my door. To my surprise, through divination, the blackthorn imp revealed to me that I had caught the attention of spirits stuck around the hospital I work at. I do a lot of magic in and around my job, so my fire had caught their attention. Like a moth to a flame they have been following me since. 

    With the help of my blackthorn friend we cleansed them and sent them on their way. This minor exorcism seemed to be well within blackthorn's wheel house, for as the spirits were cast out of my home I could hear the sound of neighbors rustling in my hallways on their way out. Almost like they became the vehicle used to carry this spirit away. 

    After seeing it's effectiveness I decided to keep this piece of blackthorn readily available for further workings. This little branch has made for a good spirit ally, and one i find myself turning to a lot recently as Halloween approaches.