Secrets of the Hazel Tree

Hazel Tree - Ogham Tree Profile

Bruce Clifton

Name: Hazel
Ogham: Coll > > > Cole - Coal - Koll
Letter: C
Lunar: 9th New Moon of the Bnwyfre Celtic Tree Calendar (July 14th - August 11th)
Season: Summer
Moon Phase: New Moon - Waxing Crescent
Moon Name: Lightning - Wort moon
Influence: Feminine / Androgenous
Title: Chieftain
Age: Constant Re-Generation
Element: Fire
Aura: Yellow
Healing: Burns - Colds - Coughs - Diarrhoea - Fevers - Headaches - Haemorrhoids - Headaches - Indigestion - Liver - Mental health - Obesity - Throat Infections - Varicose Veins.
Animal Spirit: Door mouse - Salmon - Squirrel
Totems - Entities:
Gods - Deities: Hermes Trismegistus
Secret Harmonies: Clairs - Divination - Lucid Dreaming - Portal - Psychic Abilities.
Festival: Samhain - Winter Solstice - Summer Solstice
Cosmos:

Essence of the Hazel Tree

Bruce Clifton

When to Call on Hazel

When clarity is needed without haste
When truth must be sensed rather than argued
When intuition must be trusted over opinion
When dreams require protection while they take form

Signs of Hazel Presence

A quiet certainty that arrives without effort
An increased sensitivity to unseen currents and pathways
Dreams becoming more vivid, ordered, or instructive
The sense that knowledge is being remembered rather than learned

Hazel in the Inner Landscape

Hazel stands beside water but does not enter it. Rooted firmly on the bank, it leans outward, its branches often overhanging streams and wells. In this posture, Hazel becomes a bridge between what is known and what is hidden — between the conscious mind and the deeper currents beneath it.

Its fruits fall into flowing water, allowing wisdom to be carried forward. Hazel does not hoard knowledge. It releases it, trusting time, movement, and continuity to do their work.

1. The Tree in the Sacred Order

Hazel occupies the threshold between insight and action. It is neither submerged nor withdrawn. It listens before it speaks.

In the sacred order, Hazel governs discernment — the ability to recognise truth without force, and to know the right moment for knowledge to emerge.

2. The Tree in the Living Landscape

Hazel is found close to streams, wells, and rivers, its branches dipping low, its shadow cast over moving water. This proximity marks it as a watcher of currents — surface and subterranean alike.

Its twigs respond to what lies unseen. Forked hazel rods have long been used to locate underground water, new wells, and hidden sources, dipping or crossing where truth lies beneath the ground.

3. Sacred Geography & Ancestral Alignment

When water was found through Hazel, a hazelnut was often planted nearby in thanks — wisdom returned to the land that revealed itself.

Hazel’s presence marks places of passage: wells, riverbanks, hidden crossings. It teaches respect for what is revealed, and responsibility for what is taken.

4. Esoteric & Etheric Attributes

Hazel governs divination, foresight, intuition, and both learned and inherited intelligence. Its wisdom extends into law, judgement, and moral discernment.

In courts, forked hazel twigs were used to weigh guilt and truth. In spiritual practice, they traced ley lines, energy centres, and unseen pathways through land and life alike.

5. The Tree as Conscious Ally

Hazel protects intention. Like the shell of the nut, it shields what is forming until the time is right.

It supports dreams becoming realities — not through force, but through containment. Hazel teaches how to hold vision steady, protected from outside influence, until it is ready to emerge.

6. Mythic & Legendary Associations

The rivers of Avalon, the landscapes of Glastonbury and Wells, and the ever-elusive Camelot are threaded with Hazel’s presence.

A wand cut from Hazel brings focus to magic and intent. To point a Hazel wand is to give direction to thought itself. Tradition holds that Merlin’s wand was made from Hazel — not as a symbol of dominance, but of clarity, alignment, and wisdom made active.

7. Ritual, Practice & Traditional Uses

Hazel twigs are still used today for water divination and dowsing. Held lightly, they respond to hidden currents beneath the feet.

To name a loved one, inscribe it into a hazelnut, and place it into ashes was said to draw reunion — intention released into transformation.

8. Thresholds, Dreams & the Future

Hazel moves easily between worlds: waking and dreaming, surface and depth, present and future.

Its wisdom guards the dreamspace, ensuring that what forms there is not scattered or distorted. Hazel teaches that vision must be protected as carefully as it is pursued.

9. Closing Invocation

Hazel is the keeper of secrets that are meant to be known — but only when the listener is ready.

To sit with Hazel is to learn discernment without judgement, intuition without arrogance, and wisdom without display. It reminds us that true knowledge flows like water: guided, contained, and carried forward into becoming.

Healing - Lore of the Hazel Tree

(Healing)

Bruce Clifton

Healing and the Hazel Tree

Within the Ogham tradition, the Hazel tree is revered as a source of wisdom, discernment, and right knowing. Where Birch clears and renews, Hazel refines and directs. Its healing quality lies not in removal, but in alignment — restoring clarity where confusion, imbalance, or uncertainty have taken hold.

Druidic healing recognised that illness and imbalance were often rooted in misalignment between mind, body, and environment. Hazel was valued for its ability to bring order to scattered energies, supporting sound judgement, intuitive awareness, and the proper flow of inner intelligence. In this way, Hazel was associated with healing that required insight as much as remedy — particularly where decisions, direction, or future outcomes were involved.

Healing, as understood by the Druids, was never singular. Hazel formed part of a wider, integrated approach to natural medicine — one that modern society might separate into herbalism, divination, environmental harmony, and psychology. To the Druids, these were not distinct practices, but expressions of a unified understanding of nature, consciousness, and health. Hazel’s role within this system was to guide the healer toward the correct application of remedies, timing, and intent. (Alchemy)

Historically, Hazel has been associated with the nervous system, cognitive clarity, and circulatory balance. Its nuts were valued as nourishing and strengthening, while its twigs were used diagnostically — locating water, tracing energetic pathways, and revealing unseen influences that could affect health and wellbeing. In this sense, Hazel was not only a healing agent, but a tool for identifying the underlying causes of imbalance.

Scope & Notice

The information contained herein is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All efforts have been made to present accurate, up-to-date, reliable and complete information; however, no warranties of any kind are stated or implied. Readers should acknowledge that the author is not engaged in the rendering of medical or professional advice. The content herein should not be perceived as a substitute for professional or personal guidance. If in doubt, consult a qualified professional before attempting any techniques outlined.

The appropriate dosage or application of any natural remedy is dependent upon various factors, including age, health status, and individual circumstances. Natural products are not inherently safe, and dosage may be critical. It is best practice to begin with lower amounts and adjust as necessary. Consideration should also be given to timing, as the effectiveness of remedies may vary according to time of day and individual sensitivity.

About the Healing List
This list of ailments is not complete in its entirety; it has been limited to the most popular, with the remedies coming firstly from the tree and then vegetation dependent on the tree. It is worthy of note that there is more than one way to make a cup of tea, and many of the ingredients can be purchased online.

We have alphabetised this list of healing qualities of the Hazel Tree solely for ease of reference, they include but are not limited to:
1. Burns
2. Colds
3. Coughs
4. Diarrhoea
5. Fever
6. Haemorrhoids
7. Headaches
8. Indigestion
9. Liver
10. Mental Health
11. Obesity
12. Throat Infections
13. Varicose Veins

1) Burns

1) Bark from the base of the tree, converted to ash and used as a poultice, will assist the skin in alleviating burn symptoms, helping to repair and promoting healing in the surrounding area. Used as a poultice and applied to the affected area, or used as a wash to soothe or ease the skin can be effective in easing and soothing the burn.

(See: Holistic Healing)

2) Colds

The hazelnut offers warmth and nourishment when the body is drawn thin by cold and illness. It strengthens rather than forces, feeding vitality back into the system once fever has eased and strength begins to return. Its nature is gently restorative, softening dryness left by chills and supporting the body as it gathers itself again. In this way, hazel does not battle the cold, but steadies the one who carries it, helping breath, warmth, and energy find their natural balance once more.

Hazelnut ground to a powder and sprinkled in drinks or on food contains many nutrients and potential health benefits that will aid in fighting the common cold.

(See: Holistic Healing)

3) Coughs

Hazel - Nuts, leaves, bark will all serve as restorative agents and will assist in the recovery from coughs and respiratory problems.

Ground hazelnuts, when incorporated into beverages or food, are rich in nutrients and may offer various health benefits that assist in combating the common cold. Incorporated in a bowl of steaming water and used as a vaporiser with honey and lemon, it will facilitate respiration and alleviate airway and sinus congestion.

(See: Holistic Healing)

4) Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea - Hazel catkins carry antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and mild antibacterial qualities that have long been noted in household practice. When carefully dried and later rehydrated, they may be taken in very small amounts, sprinkled lightly over food, where they are traditionally believed to help steady the gut and ease the discomfort of diarrhoea.

(See: Holistic Healing)

5) Fevers

Fevers - Boiled and drained hazel bark can be used to make tea; the bark has been recognised by many cultures for its antipyretic properties, which can reduce body temperature. Shaved twigs and bark from the base of the tree are most beneficial.

(See: Holistic Healing)

6) Haemorrhoids

Haemorrhoids - Hazel leaves, distilled for their oils and incorporated into a neutral moisturising cream, possess numerous anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Applied to the affected area in small quantities, it will diminish inflammation and associated discomfort. Powdered hazel bark is used to prepare tea that assists with indigestion.

(See: Holistic Healing)

7) Headaches

The essence of hazelnut is as beneficial for a headache as the nutrients themselves. A bowl of hazelnuts in the room can mitigate confusion, dilemmas, and anxiety, which are all potential triggers of headaches. Hazelnuts possess natural properties such as magnesium, omega-3, vitamin E and fatty acids, and other essential fatty acids, which may aid in alleviating certain types of headaches.

(See: Holistic Healing)

8) Indigestion

Indigestion - Hazelnuts are a good source of dietary fibre, which encourages the body's digestive systems to work naturally. This promotes bowel movement and insulin production and helps improve type two diabetes. They are also rich in antioxidants, which will help reduce the risk of chronic diseases and cell damage.

(See: Holistic Healing)

9) Liver

Liver - Hazel leaves and nuts contain natural anti-inflammatories, good cholesterol, and vitamin E, which all have the benefit of lowering the fats stored in the liver and improving health.

(See: Holistic Healing)

10) Mental Health

Mental Health - Hazelnuts contain antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, polyphenolic compounds, vitamins, and various characteristics advantageous for mental health, also acting as a preventive measure against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

(See: Holistic Healing)

11) Obesity

Obesity - Hazelnuts possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and their inclusion in a daily diet may assist in combating obesity and regulating weight gain. Additionally, their high levels of healthy fats and fibre contribute to satiety, a state of feeling full, making them an excellent snack option for those looking to manage their appetites. Incorporating hazelnuts in meals can enhance both flavour and nutritional value, promoting overall well-being.

(See: Holistic Healing)

12) Throat (Infections)

Hazel - Throat Infections - Hazelnut, including its shell, serves as a calming mouthwash; rich in anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, regular use promotes oral health. It will reduce the effects of infection and restore wellness.

(See: Holistic Healing)

13) Varicose Veins

Varicose Veins - Hazelnuts included in a daily diet will help with varicose veins; they are high in antioxidants that will protect the cells from damage, and omega-3 fatty acids assist and stimulate blood flow. The phenolic compounds help break down cholesterol, stopping and preventing the clotting and inflammation of veins.

(See: Holistic Healing)

The Ninth Tree of the Ogham Calendar

Hazel is the ninth tree of the Ogham calendar, known as Coll, and she stands at the height of summer when growth has matured into knowing. Her moon runs from 14th July to 11th August, a time known as the Lightning Moon or Wort Moon, when heat quickens thought and the land hums with stored energy. Hazel does not rush to flower nor hurry to fade; she gathers quietly, drawing strength inward, concentrating wisdom into nut and branch. She grows at the forest’s edge and beside streams, where land meets water and thought meets feeling, reminding us that insight is born where currents cross.

Hazel is not the beginning of the forest, nor its ending. She is the moment of understanding — when experience settles into knowledge and knowledge ripens into wisdom.

Keeper of Wisdom and Inspiration

In Celtic tradition, Hazel is the Tree of Knowledge, long associated with wisdom, memory, poetry, and inspired speech. Around the sacred wells, hazel trees were said to overhang the waters, dropping their nuts into the depths below. From these waters swam the salmon of wisdom, their knowledge earned through patience and nourishment rather than force. To eat of the hazel-fed salmon was to receive insight not taught, but remembered.

Hazel teaches that wisdom is not seized. It is gathered, slowly and attentively, through listening, observing, and allowing understanding to rise of its own accord.

The Lightning Moon and the Stirring of Thought

Under the Lightning Moon, Hazel’s energy quickens the mind. This is a time of flashes — sudden insight, sharp realisation, words arriving fully formed. Yet Hazel tempers brilliance with balance; she does not scatter thought wildly but shapes it into something useful and lasting. Her branches are flexible, not brittle, bending under the weight of learning rather than snapping beneath it.

Those who sit with Hazel during this moon may find clarity where confusion once lay, and a calm confidence where doubt had taken root.

Hazel Rods, Divining, and the Hidden Currents

Hazel wood has long been favoured for divining rods, not because it commands hidden forces, but because it is sensitive to them. In the hands of those who listen, Hazel responds to unseen currents — water beneath the soil, pathways beneath appearances, truths beneath words. As a staff or wand, Hazel carries authority without dominance, guiding rather than compelling.

This is a tree that reveals rather than announces.

Household Wisdom and Quiet Authority

Hazel’s knowledge belongs as much to the hearth as to the grove. Her uses were passed through families, learned by watching hands at work rather than reading instruction. Bark, leaf, and nut each carry a different gift, and knowing which to use — and when — was a mark of practical wisdom. Hazel does not demand reverence; she earns trust through reliability.

In this way, she became the tree of the wise woman, the poet, the storyteller, and the quiet counsellor — those whose authority rests not in position, but in understanding.

Between Water and Land

Hazel thrives where roots can reach moisture and branches can reach light. She stands between worlds — emotion and reason, intuition and intellect, memory and speech. To sit beneath Hazel is to be reminded that knowledge is not stored only in the mind, but in the body, the breath, and the living land itself.

She invites us to pause, to listen deeply, and to allow meaning to emerge rather than be forced.

Walking with Hazel

To walk with Hazel during her moon is to walk with discernment. She teaches when to speak and when to remain silent, when to act and when to wait. She reminds us that true wisdom carries humility, and that insight is sharpened not by certainty, but by curiosity.

Those who honour Hazel learn not merely to know — but to understand.

Bruce Clifton

Celtic Tree Lore of the Hazel Tree

Folklore of the Hazel Tree

Bruce Clifton

Folklore – Hazel Tree

The hazel tree has long been regarded as a keeper of wisdom and hidden knowing, approached not as a resource to be taken from, but as a presence to be consulted. In folk tradition, hazel teaches restraint and attentiveness; nuts found upon the ground are considered gifts freely given, while branches and bark are never taken without need or permission. To gather fallen twigs or naturally shed wood is to accept what the tree has already released, honouring the balance between use and respect.

These offerings of hazel were believed to carry clarity rather than power — quiet aids for discernment, insight, and right judgement. Carried by travellers or kept within the home, hazel wood was said to steady thought and guard against confusion, helping one remain aligned when choices became unclear.

Wisdom and Divination

Hazel has long been favoured in folk divination, its branches shaped into rods used to sense hidden water, buried paths, or unseen currents. Folklore holds that hazel does not reveal itself to force, but responds to stillness and attention. Those who worked with hazel were cautioned to approach without haste, for the tree was believed to withdraw from those who sought answers too quickly or without humility.

Sitting beneath hazel was said to sharpen memory and invite insight, particularly when the mind felt scattered or clouded. In this way, hazel became a companion of poets, storytellers, and wise women — those whose work required listening as much as speaking.

Sacred Harvest and Household Tradition

In household lore, hazel was gathered according to season and need, never stripped or wasted. Nuts were collected as nourishment for winter and as symbols of concentrated wisdom, while leaves and bark were used sparingly for healing and practical care. Timing mattered: hazel was often approached during calm weather or settled moon phases, when thought and intention were believed to be most aligned.

Unlike trees of overt protection or warding, hazel’s role was subtler. It did not shield by force, but by understanding — guiding those who worked with it toward clarity, balance, and right measure. In this way, hazel folklore reminds us that wisdom itself is a form of protection, and that the deepest guidance often arrives quietly, through patience, respect, and trust in what the land is willing to share.

Hazel and the Spoken Word

In Celtic oral tradition, hazel is closely bound to speech — not idle talk, but measured words shaped by understanding. It is said that hazel listens before it answers, and those who work with its wood or sit within its shade learn to do the same. Storytellers and poets were believed to favour hazel staffs, not as symbols of authority, but as reminders that true speech arises from attentiveness and memory. Words spoken in haste were thought to lose their way, while words spoken with hazel’s patience found their mark.

Old sayings caution that hazel should never be used to deceive, for its gift is clarity, not cleverness. To speak falsely while holding hazel was believed to invite confusion rather than success. In this way, the tree became a quiet moral guide, shaping not only what was known, but how knowledge was carried into the world.

Paths, Thresholds, and Right Measure

Hazel often grows at boundaries — woodland edges, stream banks, field margins — and folklore reflects this liminal nature. It is a tree of thresholds, guiding those who stand between decisions, seasons, or states of mind. To walk with a hazel switch was said to help one choose the right path when many appeared open, not by revealing the future, but by sharpening discernment in the present moment.

Because of this, hazel was respected as a teacher of right measure. It cautioned against excess, impatience, and force, reminding those who worked with it that balance is not found in extremes, but in knowing when enough has been gathered, spoken, or done. In household lore, this quality made hazel a tree of quiet order, helping to keep harmony within the home and clarity within the mind.

This page was last updated 9th Feb 2026

Animal Spirits of the Willow Tree

Animal Spirits and Recognition

Animal spirits are not symbols to be claimed, but intelligences encountered through attention, patience, and relationship. In Celtic understanding, they arise where land, water, and memory intersect, responding to awareness rather than demand. Their appearance is not instruction but resonance — a reflection of inner alignment taking form in the living world. When an animal spirit associated with Hazel appears repeatedly, it signals readiness to receive insight rather than a message to be deciphered.

Hazel as the Tree of Insight

Hazel grows where understanding is gathered rather than imposed — at woodland edges, beside streams, and along paths of quiet movement. Its animal companions are those attuned to observation, discernment, and stored knowledge. These beings watch, remember, and act with precision, revealing themselves when timing and perception are aligned. They do not rush forward; they wait until clarity has formed.

Wisdom of Discernment and Measure

Together, Hazel’s animal spirits speak of wisdom earned through listening and restraint. They embody alertness without tension, intelligence without noise, and action guided by understanding rather than impulse. These spirits often accompany those navigating decisions, study, healing after illness, or periods where thought must be shaped into right action. Their presence reminds us that true knowledge ripens slowly and is strongest when carried with humility.

Aether and Shared Essence

The aether, or quintessence, of Hazel carries the quality of concentrated awareness — the distillation of experience into insight. This subtle field attracts animal spirits aligned with memory, perception, and quiet intelligence, forming a living relationship between tree, creature, and consciousness. In this shared space, understanding does not arrive suddenly, but settles — clear, grounded, and enduring.

Bruce Clifton

We have alphabetised this list of animal spirit that harmonise with the alder tree solely for ease of reference, no sense of hierarchy or entitlement is intended or implied:
1) Dormouse
2) Salmon
3) Squirrel

1) Dormouse

(See: Dormouse)