Ecology of Devotion: Hawthorn
Hawthorn in the Herbcrafter’s and Gaian Tarots
When I moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1990, Hawthorn was one of the first trees that captured my heart. I was aware of the Beltane lore around “a branch of May” and knew it was sacred to faeries, emblematic of one of my favorite holidays. Who among us does not delight at the sight of those frothy white flowers in spring, or the plump round berries in fall?
A hawthorn tree grew strong and sturdy at the center of our garden on Lummi Island for twenty years. When I left the island and moved to town, I was delighted to find the woods just south of my apartment building filled with hawthorn trees. Later I discovered a glorious hawthorn tree on the grounds of the condo complex where I live now. I’m delighted that I can leave offerings there in disguise and pour out libations. It feels like Hawthorn has been guiding me from home to home. She always has my back — or, rather, my heart.
I first learned that hawthorn literally heals the heart from EagleSong Gardener back in the 1990s. A tincture of hawthorn flowers and/or berries supports blood and heart health, and works in energetic ways as well.
It’s not surprising that Hawthorn found her way into three Gaian Tarot cards (Ace of Air, Two of Air, and the Lovers). When I collaborated with Latisha Guthrie on the Herbcrafter’s Tarot, choosing Hawthorn as the herb to embody the Lovers card was an obvious choice. I don’t think we even considered another herb for the Lovers.
Ecology of Devotion: Hawthorn
When Latisha and I taught our course on the Herbcrafter’s Tarot in early 2020, my friend Carolyn Cushing came up with the phrase “Ecology of Devotion” on one of our Zoom circle calls. Carolyn noticed that some plants turn up in both the Gaian and the Herbcrafter’s tarot decks, and she wondered how those cards might interact with each other.
She suggested that we choose a plant from the Herbcrafter’s Tarot and look to see if and where it appears in the Gaian. Carolyn was curious about how those cards might support and amplify each other. She suggested that we come up with questions to ask inspired by those cards. For example, she chose Sunflower / The Magician from the Herbcrafter’s Tarot and noticed that sunflowers appear in the Gaian Tarot Sun card. Carolyn came up with the question: “How does your magic spark your joy?”
