REDISCOVERING MYSELF THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY

Saturday, June 18, 2011

The remaining hawthorn tree

"Antique Cool" texture from Life-n-Reflection and Lo-Fi application (velvet,glamour,peeled)
It's time for Your Sunday Best, hosted by Nancy @ A Rural Journal. 

When we bought our house 33 years ago, it had 4 hawthorn trees on the property---3 pink ones and 1 white.  They are messy trees after they flower, and it wasn't long before the two in front of the house and the one at the back were cut down.  Only the white one remains--because I insisted!    It's so pretty this time of year, and then it produces "pretend" fruit which dries and falls on the sidewalk, sharp enough to puncture bare feet and bicycle tires.  That goes on all summer into fall.   Right now, it's loaded with blossoms and very attractive to the bees.  But it doesn't smell very good.   Only when I Googled the subject did I find out some interesting facts about this tree.  The following came from what's-your-sign.com.

The Celtic meaning of the hawthorn tree deals with balance and duality. The hawthorn is full of contradictions, none of which went unnoticed by the soul-minded Celts.

In May, the hawthorn is in its glory with strikingly beautiful blossoms. These are nestled tightly among the hawthorn's large and lethal looking thorns. Here we see the first of several juxtapositions, giving this tree/shrub its colorful reputation in history.
Excellent herbalists and botanists, ancient Celts understood the superior medicinal value of hawthorn leaves and blossoms. However, it was considered a bad omen to bring its branches inside the home. This is largely due from the smell of cut branches was much the same as decaying flesh (indeed, the chemical components are the same). Here we see life-giving aspects as well as associations of death within the same symbolic tree.
Further, the hawthorn is imbued with male energy, yet it is historically a symbol of fertility and associated with the female goddess aspects (mother, maiden, crone).
What do all these contradictions mean? The hawthorn is a standing testament to the idea of duality; it is a perfect depiction of the concept of yin and yang. 

18 comments:

Unknown said...

How very beautiful! and interesting facts!

TexWisGirl said...

well you used its yin and yang just perfectly here... :)

Unknown said...

Evelyn - thank you for your lovely comment! I set my vase outside on the railing of our deck against a late afternoon sun!

Unknown said...

Evelyn - sorry about all these posts! a couple were taken on my kitchen table against that same light! hence the reflection!

Anonymous said...

Evelyn, this is simply beautiful! Thanks for the interesting history of the Hawthorn tree.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Interesting facts provided here with your lovely vintage-look image.

Teresa said...

Very interesting tree. I love your picture of it!

EG CameraGirl said...

This is soooo beautiful! Great work!

Nancy said...

We have a few Hawthorns, but they have never blossomed. I didn't know these facts about them.

Beautiful photo Evelyn. Thank you for sharing at YSB this week! :)

Linda said...

Beautiful work!! that hawthorn is gorgeous!

April said...

Very pretty- and very interesting post- I love learning about different plants!

bewitching me said...

I love the picture you produced, but would find it more restful without the text. Maybe you thought it might need something to balance the left side?
We were told as children NEVER EVER to bring May, [=Hawthorn] into the house. It was supposed to bring very bad luck.

Anonymous said...

This is so pretty. Happy Sunday. Hope you have a great week.

Life-n-Reflection said...

Gorgeous captures, sound like it's tough living with all that beauty in your yard. :)

Ms. Becky said...

you did a magnificent job here! I didn't know all of this about Hawthorn trees so thank you for sharing. this is a most romantic photo.

Gail Dixon said...

So interesting! I learned something similar when I googled the lowly Mesquite tree and found that it actually is good for something! It's good to keep an open mind.

Reena said...

Interesting. I always hate to have to cut a tree down. I find them all beautiful ... even the messy ones ... but sometimes they just got to go. Love the photo image... a beauty!

Pat said...

Beautiful image! I love the processing you did!