Herbal Magick - Small Farm, Permaculture, and Sustainable Living

22 Herbal Magick
not uncommon for a houseplant to wither and lose its leaves
should its owner become seriously ill or pass away. She also
believed that the sudden death of a healthy, well cared for
houseplant was a very bad sign, indicating that a grave illness
or even a death in the family was in the offing.
Someone once told me that a lightning-struck tree also
presages ill health or, in some cases, death for a member of the
household upon whose land the tree stands. Cutting down a
healthy tree, especially if it is an oak (sacred to the ancient
Druid priests), has long been regarded by many folks as a
most unlucky thing to do.
I remember a very old oak tree that once stood behind my
childhood home, and how I adored the radiant colors of its
leaves each year when autumn came to the Midwest. One afternoon,
a tree trimming crew armed with their chainsaws was
working their way down the street where my family and I
lived, cutting all the tree branches that had grown into the
telephone and power lines. One of the tree trimmers came to
our front door and inquired if my mother was interested in
having the old oak tree in our backyard removed. Her reply was
a firm “no,” but this man was persistent and attempted to convince
her that the tree should be cut down because it was so old
and overgrown. Angrily, my feisty Taurean mother told him
that it would be bad luck to harm that tree and that a curse
would befall anyone who dared to cut it down while it was still
alive. She then bid him good afternoon and shut the door.
Years later, we sold our house to a family who wasted no
time in cutting down our beloved oak tree so that a wooden
fence could be put up around the backyard for their dog. It
saddened me to learn of the dreadful fate that had befallen the
mighty oak that once towered so majestically outside my bedroom
window, and since then I’ve wondered from time to time
if the old superstition of the oak tree’s curse ever came to be.