Post by Allan on Aug 14, 2007 17:14:59 GMT -5
The Story of Mistletoe
by Scott Paul
Misdetoe. The ancients called it the golden bough. As its
berries began to age they took on a golden color. In the
modern age, we are most familiar with misdetoe during Christmas
or YUleholiday celebrations. Tradition holds that if you hang
a sprig of misdetoe over the door, those who stand beneath it
must kiss. This tradition has a much more ancient origin. Mistletoe
was the most sacred and magical of all plants. It was the stuff
of legends and of myth.
According to Norse mythology, Frigga, the goddess of love
and beauty, wished to ensure that her son Baldur would be pnr
tected from all that could harm him. To do this she traveled tc
each of the nine worlds and secured promises of all that she
found there that nothing would har-m her son. However, she
failed to get such a promise from the mistletoe plant, as it was
small and deemed harmless. The god Loki discovered this anG
plotted to kill Baldur. '
Baldur's basking in his invulnerability dared the other gods 00
hurt him. In sport, the other gods began to throw all manner ~
50
things at Baldur. Seeing this, Loki
took a small branch of mistletoe
and gave it to Hodr, the blind
brother of Baldur. Hodr, with
Loki's help, threw the branch at
Baldur. The mistletoe pierced his
heart and Baldur was killed. In
her grief Frigga's tears became the
white berries on the mistletoe
plant. Later, when Baldur was rescued
from the underworld, Frigga
restored the reputation of mistletoe
by making it a symbol of love
and kiss upon anyone who passed =mmising to bestow
:L:::it.
T: ilie Druids, the oak tree was most sacred. Anything that
-'F'Onit was said to have been sent from the gods and was a
-.:!~ me tree was chosen by the divine.
-.~ mistletoe was found growing parasitically on oak trees,
:-ed a royal treatment. A priest clad in a white robe would
illetree. The mistletoe was cut with' a gold sickle and
- .::::a white cloth. The Druids used the mistletoe for magit;:
.aealing purposes.
f;:'~ore from around the world describes the uses of the
.~ sprig placed in a baby's crib will protect the baby from
. -.':arring factions meet under the mistletoe ensuring that
",. '..~.Ildprevail. In]apan, mistletoe would be mixed with soil
s.ze growth in gardens. Sometimes called the "thunder
- mistletoe, was used to protect houses from lightning
!.oughs of the plant were hung from the rafters of houses
r~ from fire. The ancient belief that mistletoe was a "master
Al1.1:: rould open any lock has its origin in the myth of Aeneas.
.11.::.cling to Greek myth, Aenaes spurned Dido of Carthage
"'-L in search of his father Anchises in the underworld. The
";c~ describes how Aenaes was counseled by Sybilto follow
'.' b into the forest in search of the golden bough. At the
[~".inter some species of mistletoe have berries that turn
~~g the mistletoe with him Aenaes descended into the
51
land of the dead. The Ferryman refused him passage until Aneas
took out the bough. Thus the gates to the underworld were
opened for Aenaes.
Healers and doctors prescribed mistletoe as a cure-all for illness.
The Druids called mistletoe "heal-all." Until the eighteenth
century, potions and medicines made from mistletoe were used
to treat sterility, epilepsy and other nervous disorders, childhood
diseases, and, ironically enough, for cases of poisoning. Modern
studies have shown that most of the 1,500 species of mistletoe
found worldwide are highly toxic. Some of the European species
are used in the treatment of cancer or in experimental drug treatments.
But as a rule, mistletoe should always be kept away from
small children and should never be eaten or taken internally.
Folklore and myth join as one when mistletoe is used to
brighten our lives and to celebrate the seasons of joy and giving.
by Scott Paul
Misdetoe. The ancients called it the golden bough. As its
berries began to age they took on a golden color. In the
modern age, we are most familiar with misdetoe during Christmas
or YUleholiday celebrations. Tradition holds that if you hang
a sprig of misdetoe over the door, those who stand beneath it
must kiss. This tradition has a much more ancient origin. Mistletoe
was the most sacred and magical of all plants. It was the stuff
of legends and of myth.
According to Norse mythology, Frigga, the goddess of love
and beauty, wished to ensure that her son Baldur would be pnr
tected from all that could harm him. To do this she traveled tc
each of the nine worlds and secured promises of all that she
found there that nothing would har-m her son. However, she
failed to get such a promise from the mistletoe plant, as it was
small and deemed harmless. The god Loki discovered this anG
plotted to kill Baldur. '
Baldur's basking in his invulnerability dared the other gods 00
hurt him. In sport, the other gods began to throw all manner ~
50
things at Baldur. Seeing this, Loki
took a small branch of mistletoe
and gave it to Hodr, the blind
brother of Baldur. Hodr, with
Loki's help, threw the branch at
Baldur. The mistletoe pierced his
heart and Baldur was killed. In
her grief Frigga's tears became the
white berries on the mistletoe
plant. Later, when Baldur was rescued
from the underworld, Frigga
restored the reputation of mistletoe
by making it a symbol of love
and kiss upon anyone who passed =mmising to bestow
:L:::it.
T: ilie Druids, the oak tree was most sacred. Anything that
-'F'Onit was said to have been sent from the gods and was a
-.:!~ me tree was chosen by the divine.
-.~ mistletoe was found growing parasitically on oak trees,
:-ed a royal treatment. A priest clad in a white robe would
illetree. The mistletoe was cut with' a gold sickle and
- .::::a white cloth. The Druids used the mistletoe for magit;:
.aealing purposes.
f;:'~ore from around the world describes the uses of the
.~ sprig placed in a baby's crib will protect the baby from
. -.':arring factions meet under the mistletoe ensuring that
",. '..~.Ildprevail. In]apan, mistletoe would be mixed with soil
s.ze growth in gardens. Sometimes called the "thunder
- mistletoe, was used to protect houses from lightning
!.oughs of the plant were hung from the rafters of houses
r~ from fire. The ancient belief that mistletoe was a "master
Al1.1:: rould open any lock has its origin in the myth of Aeneas.
.11.::.cling to Greek myth, Aenaes spurned Dido of Carthage
"'-L in search of his father Anchises in the underworld. The
";c~ describes how Aenaes was counseled by Sybilto follow
'.' b into the forest in search of the golden bough. At the
[~".inter some species of mistletoe have berries that turn
~~g the mistletoe with him Aenaes descended into the
51
land of the dead. The Ferryman refused him passage until Aneas
took out the bough. Thus the gates to the underworld were
opened for Aenaes.
Healers and doctors prescribed mistletoe as a cure-all for illness.
The Druids called mistletoe "heal-all." Until the eighteenth
century, potions and medicines made from mistletoe were used
to treat sterility, epilepsy and other nervous disorders, childhood
diseases, and, ironically enough, for cases of poisoning. Modern
studies have shown that most of the 1,500 species of mistletoe
found worldwide are highly toxic. Some of the European species
are used in the treatment of cancer or in experimental drug treatments.
But as a rule, mistletoe should always be kept away from
small children and should never be eaten or taken internally.
Folklore and myth join as one when mistletoe is used to
brighten our lives and to celebrate the seasons of joy and giving.