"Blackthorn, little thorny one, dark provider of sloes."

Straif   Z

The Blackthorn is often called the witches tree and thought of as unlucky.  It is supposed to reveal the Goddess in her cruel and ugly aspect.  It is sacred to Eris, goddess of strife.

It is has been said that the crown of thorns worn by Jesus was made of blackthorn.

It is associated with the planet Venus.  It is the tree of fidelity,.  Because it is wild, it represents independence.

It also has been know n to be used in negative magic – the thorns being used much as pins pushed into poppets or waxen images.

Some English witches carried the blackthorn (the black rod) as a walking stick, and it was even burned with a witch as the chief instrument of sorcery.  It was thought to cause miscarriages.

Straif shares the lunar cycle of Ngetal in the Fall, and represents the Goddess in her dark aspect. 

See Scathach

Botanical Information

Blackthorn is a twisting hardwood tree or shrub with thorny black branches that grows to 10 feet.  It blooms with small white flowers that usually appear before the purplish leaves. The bluish-black fruit has sour flesh and a large stone. Blackthorn is related to the cultivated plum. It grows wild in Western Europe on scrub and in woodland clearings. Harvest flowers, bark, leaves and fruit in May and September.  

Medicinally it can be used as an astringent, a laxative, to reduce fever and to purify the system.