Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs - Scott Cunningham 1985

Hazel
The Herbs

(Corylus spp. avellana Corylus cornuta) G

Folk Name: Coll

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Sun

Element: Air

Deities: Mercury, Thor, Artemis, Diana

Powers: Luck, Fertility, Anti-Lightning, Protection, Wishes

Magical Uses: String the nuts and hang in the house for luck, or present a batch of them to a bride to wish her good fortune.

The nuts, eaten, give wisdom and increase fertility. They are often eaten prior to divination. One can be carried for increasing fertility.

To protect yourself (or your plants) while outdoors, draw a circle in the dirt with a hazel twig, around yourself or the plant concerned.

Weave hazel twigs into a crown. Put this on your head and wish very hard. Your wish may come true. Hazel crowns were also worn to induce invisibility.

Twigs of hazel are placed in window frames to guard the house against lightning, and three pins of hazel wood driven into your house will protect it from fire.

Hazel wood can be used to make fine all-purpose magical wands. The forked branches are utilized by dowsers to divine hidden objects.