Birch (Betula alba, B. lenta)
Folk Names: Beithe, Bereza, Berke, Beth, Beseza, Birth, Bouleau, Canoe Birch, Lady of the Woods, Paper Birch, Pioneer Tree, Tree of Birth, White Birch; (Bl) Black Birch, Cherry Birch, Mahogany Birch, Mountain Mahogany, River Birch, Spice Birch, Sweet Birch
Description: There are nearly forty species in the family Betulaceae with the common name birch. It is an ancient tree; fossil records show it dates back to the cretaceous period. The broken twigs of all birch trees have a strong wintergreen smell. Betula alba can grow from forty to ninety feet tall. It is present in the northern US, Canada, and northern Europe. The slender trunk and branches are covered in a smooth, thin white bark which peels off in horizontal strips. The tree can live approximately fifty years. The flowers are tiny and without no petals on male and female catkins; Cordate ovate leaves alternate from the twigs. They are serrate with slightly hairy undersides, bright green above, and lighter below. Tiny winged nuts appear on female catkins.
Betula lenta, or black birch, grows along the Appalachia Mountains, from southern Canada west to Ohio. They prefer the moist, rich, rocky soil of hills and valleys. The bark is reddish-brown when younger, gray when older. The horizontally striped trunk grows fifty to sixty feet high, and two to three feet in diameter, with slender, pointed branches. The ovate, pointed leaves two to five inches long and appear in alternate pairs. They are finely serrate and hairy underneath. The three-inch, reddish-brown dangling male catkins and the one-inch, pale-green, female catkins appear on the same tree from April to May. The fruit grows in one-inch cones of winged seeds.
Effects: gentle
Planet: Venus, Sun Zodiac: Capricorn, Sagittarius
Element: water
Associated Deities: Aino, Thor
Traditions:
Birch represents the letter B, the first letter in druid tree alphabet, corresponding with the rune beorc or berkana. The name comes possibly from the Latin bateur "to strike" or from Indo-European and Sanskrit bhurg "bright" or "shining" or even the Anglo-Saxon beorgun "to protect or shelter." It is the symbol of the bardic school and represents the 1st moon of the year, the moon of inception. Birch is one of the seven sacred trees, and is considered one of the three pillars of wisdom with Oak and Yew. Siberia shamans believe that the birch is the axis upon which the universe turns.
Birch wood may be gathered at the waxing of moon to make runes for divination. However, it is customary to only gather bark from a lightning struck tree (chosen by Thor) for magic parchment. The traditional witches’ broom is made with an ash handle, birch twigs, and tied with willow. Roman lectors carried birch rods.
In Russia on the Thursday before Whitsunday, a young tree was cut amid song and celebration. It was dressed in woman's clothes or with multi-colored ribbons, amid much feasting and garland weaving. The tree was carried home and kept as honored guest. According to Slavic lore, the leshy "genii of the forest" live in the tops of birch trees. In rural Britain, a girl would give piece to a man to show that he could begin wooing her.
The Birch is associated with Aino, a major Finnish goddess. Wainamoinen, one of three heroes of the Kalevala, desired her hand in marriage. Wainamoinen entered a contest with her brother Youkahainen, while Aino escaped, swimming away to rest safely on large rock away from the storm created by their fight. The storm became so great though, it shook the rock and she fell into the sea to become nature. Her flesh is the fish, her blood water, her hair became seaweed, and her ribs were willow trees. The animal world was so saddened by her death, cuckoos settled in a mountain forest of birch and sang song of love and sorrow.
Magic:
Birch is a purifying and cleansing herb which many modern Druids burn. In Scandinavia, switches are used for purification in saunas. Gently striking possessed people or animals with a birch twig is said to exorcize or drive out their insanity. In Britain, a rod was once used to beat criminals and cleanse the insane. Use a birch broom when sweeping the house to dispel spirits of the old year. It is also protective, banishing negativity and deflecting lightning. Many old cradles were made from birch to protect the baby. In Russia, a red ribbon is hung around a stem of birch to rid oneself of the evil eye.
Birch is first planted in virgin soil where you wish to create a wood or forest. It is often referred to as the "tree that helps birth the forest." It may also be planted in spongy ground to make it drier.
Known Combinations:
A bonfire of birch is said to bring fertility to flax harvests.
Medical Indications: Parts Used : bark, young leaves, sap
Birch is a counter irritant, analgesic, astringent, diuretic, and diaphoretic. Because it lessens inflammation, it is good for joint pain and urinary tract infections. An infusion of leaves and bark or the application of birch oil eases rheumatism. A poultice of leaves, bark, and catkins is helpful for all skin irritations, wounds, boils, and sores. The oil, added to skin lotion (for its astringent properties) treats eczema, psoriasis, acne, and may help non-hereditary baldness.
In a pinch, the twigs may be chewed for a toothbrush. Birch tea is good for mouth sores and to break up kidney or bladder stones. Black birch is also good for expelling intestinal worms. A decoction of birch acts as a mild sedative, and the inner bark for lowers fevers. The buds work on colds, stomach ulcers/pains, liver/gall problems, and kidney/bladder stones. The young shoots and leaves may be ingested as a tonic laxative, and birch charcoal counters ingested poison or indigestive bloating. Fresh summer sap is used for excess fluid or oedema.
Nutrition:
Most are familiar with birch beer, which was originally made from black birch sap or included the sap as a sweetener. Birch sap, especially from black birch, may be prepared into a syrup much like maple. Birch wine is also made from the sap. For this, the sap is collected in March and mixed with honey, cloves, lemon peel, and yeast. Sixteen to eighteen gallons of sap may be drawn from one large birch with no ill effects to the tree.
The cambium layer between the wood and the bast can be beaten and used as food. It is edible raw, dried, and ground to flour. In Scandinavia, birch sawdust was boiled, baked, and added to flour. Cut into strips, the cambium of birch was once boiled like noodles during times of famine.
Black birch makes a tea identical to Wintergreen. This is made by steeping the inner bark and twigs.
Mercantile Uses:
Birch oil makes leather more durable and acts as a natural insect repellent. The bark makes a light brown dye and the roots a red-brown. A decoction of the bark with copperas creates a wine colored dye.
Birch charcoal is used in gunpowder. Canoes were made from birch bark, and twigs were traditionally used in European thatching and wattles. Birch tar oil, mainly manufactured in Russia, is an insecticide especially useful against gnats. It is nearly identical with Wintergreen oil.