Herbs in Witchcraft - Hazel

Hazel is a powerful tool for healing and witchcraft. Whether you're working with the leaves, bark, or delicious nuts, hazel can help you make powerful magick.

As a kitchen witch, I mainly work with hazel in the form of hazelnuts. And if I'm being really honest, it's mostly coming into my life in the form of Nutella. And something that delicious just has to be magical.

But even though modern witches might be mixing in some chocolate vibes and eating it by the spoonful, our magical ancestors have been working with the hazel tree for centuries. From wand-making to wisdom, hazel is a powerful tool in your witchcraft practice. Let's explore how this tree and its nuts can make your life more awesome.

Healing Properties of Hazel

Hazelnuts are the main source of nutrition and healing for this plant, though herbalists will also use an infusion made from the leaves as well as hazelnut oil. They have antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties and have been used to help with acne, fatigue, eczema, and high cholesterol.

Eat hazelnuts as a nutritious snack (sadly, that doesn't include Nutella). You can also grind them into a nut butter. Hazelnut oil can be used in cooking and is helpful for circulatory health. The oil can also be used for skincare and to stimulate hair growth. Use it as a carrier oil in aromatherapy preparations.

Magical & Spiritual Properties of Hazel

Hazel wood is often collected at Beltane, as this is when its thought to be most powerful. It's strong properties of protection make it great as a ward, and it was often incorporated into fences by the ancestors. It's said that it's impossible for evil to penetrate a hazel fence. They also protected against the antics of unhelpful faeries.

Other folk traditions used hazel catkins and twigs for protection in the home. It was also said that if you plazed the twigs in an infant's room, their eyes would be brown. The catkins and nuts were also associated with fertility. If the hazel trees were abundant, then more babies were likely to be born that year. Hazelnut divination also predicted the weather with a thick shell indicating a rough winter.

Folklore also claimed that carrying hazelnuts could ward off illnesses such as rheumatism. If you carried two hazelnuts growing on one stalk, known as a "loady-nut," you would be protected from the evil eye, and it could also cure your toothache.

As well as Beltane, hazel is associated with Mabon, or the Autumn Equinox.m It's said to bring wisdom and inspiration. The wood has traditionally been used for wands and dowsing rods. This tree is ruled by Mercury and the element of air.

Hazel is sacred to and can be used to honor the following deities:

• Aengus
• Artemis
• Boann
• Chandra
• Connla
• Diana
• Fionn
• Hecate
• Lleu
• Lugh
• Mac Coll
• Manannan
• Mercury
• Ogma
• Taliesin
• Thor

Witchcraft Uses

You can incorporate any part of the hazel tree into your witchcraft spells in order to call in the energies you desire. You're only limited by your imagiantion, so get creative. Here are some traditional uses for hazel to get you started.

• Craft an amulet from the wood to protect you from mischievous spirits.
• String hazelnuts on a cord to summon fairies.
• Craft a bundle of fallen hazel twigs woven with a strand of hair from each member of the family at Beltane to create a happy home.
• Bind a hazel branch to your walk stick for a safe journey.
• Create a cap from hazel leaves and twigs as a good luck charm when traveling over the sea.
• Use knot magick to craft a crown of hazel leaves, tying your desires into each knot. Then wear the crown while making your wishes to enhance the power of your intentions.

Recipes for the Kitchen Witch

Hazelnuts are crunchy and delicious, but somebody also discovered that they're absolutely awesome with chocolate, and whoever that person was, I want to shake their hand. So whether you're eating hazelnuts in your morning granola, spreading it mixed with chocolate on your toast, add it as a syrup to your coffee, or mixing up a Frangelico cocktail, there are lots of ways to work with hazel as a kitchen witch. Here are a few recipes to get your culinary creative juices flowing. I make no apologies for all the Nutella.

• Pumpkin & Hazelnut Crostini
• Nutella Mug Cake
• No-Churn Nutella Ice Cream
• Nutella Cupcakes
• Nutella Oatmeal
• Nutella No-Bake Cookies
• Nutella Waffles
• Nutella Fairy Toast
• Nutty Nutella Boozy Milkshake
• Nutella Cheesecake Parfaits

I hope you've found plenty of inspiration for using hazel in your witchcraft practice. It's a deeply magical plant and can provide you with wisdom and protection.

Let me know how you use hazel in your witchcraft practice in the comments.

Sources:

• The Hedgerow Apothecary by Christine Iverson
• The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes
• The Hearth Witch's Compendium by Anna Franklin
• Herbal Reality