Plant Witchery: Discover the Sacred Language, Wisdom, and Magic of 200 Plants - Juliet Diaz 2020

Birch Betula
A Compendium of Plants

ESSENTIAL PROPERTIES

abundance, new beginnings, love, protection, strength

Called the white lady of the woods, birch is a tall, thin tree that grows in groups known as stands. This graceful tree has distinctive white bark, visible through the pine trees that often grow near her. The bark and sap have a fresh, wintergreen aroma and flavor. The fluttering of her leaves in the wind creates one of the most Magical sounds in the world.

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

Birch bark peels away easily and can be soaked in water and placed around a broken arm to serve as a kind of cast. The white lady’s leaves contain a high quantity of vitamin C, and tea made from these leaves can act as a diuretic, helping to clear up urinary tract infections. Balms made from the leaves and bark are also good for the skin.

MAGICAL PROPERTIES

The birch tree is one of the first to sprout leaves in the spring, making her symbolic of new beginnings and fertility. Birch’s seeming fragility but actual strength makes her a symbol of protection. The psychoactive fly agaric mushroom often grows beneath her branches, and so she acts as a balance, offering protection against psychic forces. Consider writing your fears on birch paper, a piece of softly curling bark, and burning them away. Or create a broom made of birch twigs to sweep out your house in the spring, making way for something new.

PLANT WISDOM

I love birch trees! They have always called to my spirit, catching my soul’s eye wherever they are present. And oh, how they love Witches! Especially Witches who are in tune with the Earth. Visit them often, grow them if you can, and keep some bark on your altar during the springtime. Just like us, birch can seem fragile, but she has a profound inner strength. She teaches us how to overcome personal troubles while learning to shed that which doesn’t serve us. Birch encourages us to start anew and to take a leap into the unknown, fully trusting in the natural cycles of change and being.

If you dream of birch, she is calling you to come and heal with her. Now, simply sitting with her won’t do—she wants to hear you sing! If you’re not a confident singer, don’t worry—she just wants to hear your voice, and humming will do. She will take your sound into her leaves and sway it within the winds, stirring your song as if the world is her cauldron and you her ingredients—brewing up a perfect batch of medicine for your soul.