Ogham Tuesday: Hazel/Coll

We’re talking about one of my favorite ogham today: Hazel. I’ve even got a little hazelnut sapling that hasn’t died yet, even though I don’t really like filberts or hazelnuts or whatever you call ‘em. There are a lot of varieties of Hazel; it’s native to many parts of the northern hemisphere, but here in the US it is mostly a smaller understory tree or shrub.  

The deep green and texture of the leaves look so pretty! It works well as a small shade tree or windbreak. And its fruits (nuts) support a lot of wildlife in addition to being edible for humans. Unfortunately, I need to have two planted near each other to get those fruits, and I currently do NOT. Ah, well. 

When I see Hazel in a reading, I know Aengus mac Og is announcing his presence. (I do a lot of work specifically attuned to him.) Here’s where I drew the correspondence:

I went out to the hazel wood,

Because a fire was in my head,

And cut and peeled a hazel wand,

And hooked a berry to a thread;

And when white moths were on the wing,

And moth-like stars were flickering out,

I dropped the berry in a stream

And caught a little silver trout.

When I had laid it on the floor

I went to blow the fire a-flame,

But something rustled on the floor,

And someone called me by my name:

It had become a glimmering girl

With apple blossom in her hair

Who called me by my name and ran

And faded through the brightening air.

Though I am old with wandering

Through hollow lands and hilly lands,

I will find out where she has gone,

And kiss her lips and take her hands;

And walk among long dappled grass,

And pluck till time and times are done,

The silver apples of the moon,

The golden apples of the sun.

~ “The Song of the Wandering Aengus,” William Butler Yeats

Hazel speaks to a deep knowing and enlightenment. When Hazel turns up, it’s time to give your thoughts a little space to take shape and show you where the path of inspiration leads. It’s the kind of inner work that bears fruit over time, if we can avoid the temptation to hurry it. 

All the insight I need is within me now! (Thanks, Brendon Burchard.) Hazel will cheer me along, but it’s up to me to figure it out. 

Keywords include: Meditation, enlightenment, inspiration, wisdom, understanding, depth, knowledge, pursuit, priorities, learning, patterns, challenge, active, obvious, example

Guidance might be: 

• Take some time to think your situation through. Don’t make a rush decision.

• Your gut-level instincts have some wisdom to offer. Listen. 

• Turn this challenge over in your head, looking at it every which way, to see how your possibilities and options change. 

Cautions and questions might be:

• Is there an obvious answer or choice you are avoiding, even though you KNOW it’s necessary?

• How quickly do you reject or accept knowledge that contradicts your own experience? Are you able to discern the difference between knowledge and opinion in yourself and others?

• Can you find a common thread that connects thoughts which seem contradictory?

What connections do you see? I’m curious!

Blessings,

Nicole

~ Nicole (Nikki, sometimes Saffron Hare) is founder and general manager at Nine Fires Press. Her Druidic practice has included solitary, small-group, and congregational worship, with a focus on liturgy and seership. She is studying for her Master Gardener certification, rehabbing an underground home in the Midwestern US, and loves to fall in love with bad ideas.