The Healing Willow
Willow has been used as a healing herb since ancient times. Aspirin is a derivative of the chemical salicin, which was derived from the willow bark of the White willow.
Willow reduces fever and relieves rheumatism. The bark from Salix Negra, black willow, has similar properties but was used as an aphrodisiac and sexual sedative. Salix caprea can be used for indigestion, and coughs. It is also used as an antiseptic and disinfectant. Willow has long been known as the tree of enchantment and the tree of dreaming. "The moon owns the willow," (Culpeper The Complete Herbal).
Robert Graves suggests that witch, wicker and wicked are all derived from willow. It has a rich history and has been used by healers and wise men and women for centuries. What can it teach us now?
What I look at is its ability to bend and regrow after injury. It's grace and flexibility. The strength of the willow is in its ability to be flexible, to accept life and to change with it. If during a storm a willow branch becomes disconnected, it will, given soil and water, regrow. This image illustrates both the ability to go through the darkness and to create again. Willow is often associated with grief—the "weeping willow." Its branches curve down towards the water like one who is deep in sadness and lost in reflection. It speaks of allowing grief—of bending with it, acknowledging it—yet still growing and producing beauty. I am reminded of the "soft path." Rather than the warrior’s path of strength and battle, willow evokes the feminine soft path of healing and regeneration. Of walking through darkness and honoring that part of ourselves.
I think often in our culture we get the message that it's not acceptable to feel grief, to be depressed or to experience anger. We are encouraged to seek therapy, to take drugs, even, to make ourselves “happy.” We answer "fine" when asked how we feel, even when we're not. For me the last few years have been about learning to be graceful and accepting of my dark times. The ability to integrate and accept all parts of oneself, not trying to hide or disassociate, this to me is the wisdom of the willow. As humans we are made up of light and dark. It is in acknowledging this truth where we can find strength, wisdom and peace.
Christine Read more!
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