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Botanical name:
Betula alba
Other names: Lady of the Woods
Name
origins: The Anglo-Saxon name
for the birch was "beorc" or "birce" meaning "white" or "shining".
Folklore:
Birch is associated with
purification, protection, fertility and healing. May poles were made
of birch representing the phallic power of the God and in Britain the
association of the birch with sex and fertility lasted until the 19th
century when people considered themselves to be married if they jumped
across a birch broom.
Magickal
uses:
Magickally, birch is strongly
associated with new beginnings, cleansing, purification, protection
and new creativity. It makes effective healing or protective
talismans.
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