Trees 101: Mesquite

While we're still in the midst of summer and the grilling season, it's the perfect time to discuss mesquite. Known most widely for its use as a firewood to flavor barbecued meats, there is much more to mesquite than its role in creating a yummy steak. The various components of this versatile tree: the flowers, seeds, pods, and hard wood, are used in everything from food to medicine to furniture and flooring.

In spite of the fact that this tree sports very large, sharp thorns, people have successfully harvested mesquite for more than a millennia. The seeds and pods have been used to feed humans with flours, porridges, jellies and even wine. They've also been used to feed livestock as well. The toasted seeds are frequently used in coffee blends and the flowers, which produce a rich nectar that bees go wild for, are used to make honey. Mesquite gum is used in the production of sugars and thickening agents for baking. Medicinally, mesquite can be used to treat respiratory illnesses such as colds, flus and sore throats. It reduces inflammation and eliminates diarrhea.

Native Americans, especially those tribes of the American southwest, fashioned mesquite wood into arrow tips and they also used the gum to decorate their pottery. The tree figured prominently in the Aztec creation myth as well. During the second sun when the universe was being created for the second time (we are presently in the fifth sun, Nanahuatl), Quetzalcoatl, the God of the Winds, created the world and fed his people with the fruits of the mesquite tree.

In ritual and spellwork, mesquite is used to bring success, to increase the power of healing herbs, and in rites where perseverance is essential. Mesquite vibrates to elements of air, fire and water. Its energy is feminine and it's ruled by both the Moon and Saturn.

Photo courtesy of lasertrimman on flickr.

The Spiritual Nature of Trees

"The groves were God's first temples."

- William Cullen Bryant, "A Forest Hymn"

"When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary and shutting out the sky with their thickly intertwined branches, do not the stately shadows of the wood, the stillness of the place, and the awful gloom of this doomed cavern then strike you with the presence of a deity?"

- Seneca

Holy Vale, St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly and Beech Roots, Avebury, Wiltshire both courtesy of Giles C. Watson on flickr.

Trees 101: The Apple/Crabapple

Apples are an ancient fruit and have long been used in magick. The apple, as everyone knows, was represented in the story of Adam and Eve and is also associated with the Great Mother Goddess. In the folk tales of many cultures, eating an apple opened the gateway to another realm for the lucky person consuming the fruit. Apples symbolize illumination and knowledge and apple wood is believed to make a very powerful wand.

Apple is one of the nine sacred woods of the sabbat fire in which it symbolizes love. Apples are a common ingredient in Pagan ritual and spellwork. Slice an apple in half across its middle and what will you find? The seeds laid out in the shape of the pentagram. Apples are given as offerings to the dead at Samhain to aid them in the process of rebirth. And the game of bobbing for apples at Halloween was first played in ancient times: if you were lucky enough to win, it meant that you would be blessed by the Goddess for a full year.

Apples bring prosperity and the good life and are believed to be good for the digestion.

The apple tree is ruled by Venus and the goddess and its energy is feminine. Apple vibrates to the elements of both air and water. Besides being used for prosperity and a healthy tummy, apples can be used to attract a lover, to cross over into the faery realm and to foster strength and protection.