Come autumn the rowan’s berries are at their finest, their hanging bunches putting on a vibrant display of vivid reds and oranges. The rowan tree, also known as Mountain Ash, is not well known for its medicinal benefits but has a long tradition as a ward against evil and the supernatural. Traditionally known as ‘care’, or ‘care-tree’ in Cornwall, (the name probably comes from the Cornish ‘Kerdyn,’) it was revered as a magical tree in Celtic cultures as well as other parts of Northern Europe.
The wood has been known to be used for magical staffs, wands, wards and charms against supernatural ills such as curses. In Cornish folklore it was thought to repel witches by rendering their spells impotent. In Boscastle, the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic displays a collection of wands, one of which is a small pocket-sized wand made of Rowan and bound with colourful threads, known as a ‘keppen’ in Cornish.
Writing in 1884 the Rev. Hilderic Friend, in his book Flowers and Flower Lore, speaks of the rowan tree as a ‘preservative against magic’ in Cornwall, Yorkshire and Scotland.
“In England, Germany and Sweden, its leaves are the most potent instrument against darker powers … Cornish Peasants still carry some (wood) in their pocket to ward off the evil eye.”
Willaim Paynter, the Cornish antiquarian and folklorist wrote that the rowan was the tree most feared by witches and therefore was the greatest protection against them (Cornish Times, 1924.) He spoke of how people Cornish people would fix a piece of rowan wood above their doors to prevent any witch or evil spirit from crossing the threshold. A small piece of rowan, “carried in the pocket will prevent him coming to grief, however drunk he may be,” (Cornish Witchcraft, 1940.)
A small piece of rowan, “carried in the pocket will prevent him coming to grief, however drunk he may be,”
The vibrant berries have been used in spells within Cornwall’s witchcraft traditions, with rowan wands being traditionally used in Candlemas rites (celebrating the end of winter.) In Traditional Witchcraft, a Cornish Book of Ways (2011) The Penwith witch Gemma Gary describes rowan as a wood associated with the fire elements, used for conjuring visions, lifting curses and ill-wishes. She writes, “A walking staff of rowan provides protection from evil when journeying.” She tells us how to make a protective rowan charm.
String 45 dried rowan berries on red thread, with a knot between each berry whilst muttering “rowan berries and red thread; put all evil to its speed.” Pass the charm thrice through smoke then hang over a window or doorway.
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