Also known as Birdlime, All-Heal, Druid's Herb, and Golden Bough. It is the most sacred "tree" of the Druids and rules over Winter Solstice. The berries are poisonous.
Mistletoe is thought to be most powerful if growing on an oak tree.
Mistletoe grows from northern Europe to northwest Africa and east to Asia and Japan. Different varieties are found on hard-wood and softwood trees, which include apple (the most common), elm, oak, spruce, pine, and poplar. Druids considered that the mistletoe found on oak was the most potent and sacred. The berries ripen in midwinter and have a further peculiarity in that the ripe berries, open flowers, green berries, and immature leaves can all be found on the same plant. Mistletoe does not adhere to the linear logic of most plants, wit their budding, flowering, and seed production sequence. It also seems to ignore heliotropism and geotropism, it will grow upside down, sideways, or in any direction it "chooses".
Another unique feature is that it germinates only in the light, unlike most plants, which require darkness to germinate. The flower buds form in May but do not open until February. The berries ripen the following winter. The entire process, from flower to fruit, can take almost two years! Even its name mistl (different) tan tan (twig) (from the Anglo-Saxon) reminds us of its peculiarities. Mistletoe is a semi-parasitic plant, generally spread by bird droppings. It forms a globular mass that can reach up to three feet in diameter.
Not quite herb, not quite tree, beyond the limitations of classification, freed from the restrictions of convention, and resembling a constellation of stars suspended in mid-air from the bough of a sacred tree - such is the "spirit" of this plant. It belongs to the in-between times of dusk and dawn, or the exact interval between two seasons. It is a gateway to something "other".
In Italy, there is an old tale of a radiantly beautiful fairy who appeared to a certain knight with the image of the crescent moon and the Holy Grail at her feet. In her hands she held a sprig of mistletoe. She told the knight that the mistletoe was what kept her eternally young and beautiful. Mistletoe should be cut on Midsummer's Day, or else when the moon is six days old. Druids would use a golden sickle to cut it and it wasn't allowed to touch the ground.
It is traditionally hung in the home at Yule, and those who walk under it exchange a kiss of peace. Bunches of mistletoe can be hung as an all-purpose protective talisman. Long used for protection against lightening, disease, misfortune of every kind fires and so on. Laid near the bedroom door, mistletoe gives restful sleep and beautiful dreams, as it does when placed beneath the pillow or hung at the headboard. Kiss your love beneath mistletoe and you'll stay in love. Burned, Mistletoe banishes evil. Its wood is a good choice for wands and ritual implements. Mistletoe is an excellent all-purpose herb.
The Mistletoe was a sacred plant in the pagan religion of the Druids in Britain. It was believed to have all sorts of miraculous qualities: the power of healing diseases, making poisons harmless, giving fertility to humans and animals, protecting from witchcraft, banning evil spirits, bringing good luck and great blessings. In fact, it was considered so sacred that even enemies who happened to meet beneath a Mistletoe in the forest would lay down their arms, exchange a friendly greeting, and keep a truce until the following day. From this old custom grew the practice of suspending Mistletoe over a doorway or in a room as a token of good will and peace to all.
In ancient times, the Druids held a special ceremony five days after the new moon following the Winter Solstice, in which they cut the boughs of the Mistletoe from the sacred Oak tree with a golden sickle. It was important that branches did not touch the ground and become contaminated. Then the priests divided up the boughs into sprigs and distributed them among the people to protect them from storms and evil spirits.
