Nowadays many people think of mistletoe as a parasitic plant but for the ancient druids it was a highly sacred plant, especially when it grew in an oak tree. The oak tree was seen as a noble and wise tree, the tree of life, with branches going high up into the sky and roots delving deep inside the earth, the tree was seen as a portal between father sky and mother earth, between the material and the spiritual world. The oak tree was the king of the forest and the mistletoe its crown jewel, containing the purest essence of the oak tree.
Mistletoe was considered a highly spiritual plant, living, growing and reproducing in the crown of the tree, it never touched the earth but eternally resided in the spirit realm. Without roots to feed the plant, the mistletoe lives by the grace of the sun and produces small white berries, reminiscent of the moon and associated with the moon cycles of women, while the sap of the berries reminds us of semen, which is why the plant is strongly associated with fertility. The plant unites masculine and feminine energies, moon- and sun essence, earth and sky and as a bridge builder it is a symbolic representation of peace and unity.
Following each winter solstice, the druid would cut bunches of mistletoe from an oak tree with a golden sickle. The mistletoe was collected before hitting the ground and small sprigs of it were divided amongst the people of the community to protect them against evil and invite fertility, prosperity and harmony inside their homes and families. As an evergreen plant associated with immortality, the mistletoe is a powerful reminder that when we preserve balance between earth and sky, between masculine and feminine energies, we prosper and evolve spiritually. The inner and outer union and balance help us reach our highest potential (climb up to our crown) and take flight (become fully conscious spiritual beings incarnated in the material world) a dynamic that is mirrored in the wing-like shape of the mistletoe’s leaves.
In ancient texts the mistletoe was also known as “all heal” and though a highly toxic plant, in certain dosages it was used by the druids as medicine to cure a wide variety of ailments, aside from being used in their rituals to provoke visions and trance-like experiences. A popular name for mistletoe is “witch's broom”: the sap of the berries was added to the witch's ointment, a salve that ancient healers and seers applied to their whole body to make them “fly”, provoke a spiritual experience induced by mild blood poisoning by absorption of the sap through the skin.
Mistletoe truly is a noble plant and can serve as a powerful reminder of our true potential, as well as a blueprint on how to achieve this potential.
Sources: www.allaboutheaven.org and www.symboldictionary.net
