treefolklore.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

The beauty of Blackthorn blossoms against a rare, deep blue Irish sky make it hard to understand why, the Blackthorn was, in certain places at a certain time, known as Trog-Aon "the Wretched One" 💮🩷

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Wonderful to see Daisies springing up everywhere 💮 They are associated with childhood & innocence and in Scotland were once known as Bairnwort, the Child's Flower 🩷💮 So important to the pollinating insects that we rely upon yet authorities insist on a mowing schedule that destroys wildflowers 💔

submitted 10 days ago • 1 comment

Unable to have their own children fairy folk rely upon the abduction of human children to maintain their numbers✨🧚🏻‍♂️ . In place of a child they leave a Changeling crafted from Alder...but not truly living, or truly part of this world, the Changeling will surely sicken and die 🌳✨ #mythologymonday

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

☀️There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine, That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain; And, at the first moment that the sun may shine, Bright as the sun itself, ‘tis out again!🌼 🪶 William Wordsworth

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

The Irish God "The Dagda" possesses many treasures✨ Amongst these is Lorg mór, a great iron staff, as tall as a great Oak, which grants The Dagda dominion over death itself💀 With the terrible end of the staff he may slay nine men with a touch but with the other he may raise the dead back to life☁️✨

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

Most know the Hawthorn 🍒 as the doorway to the Otherworld But the Alder, ignored by humans, is adored by fairies who not only use the tree to step between our world and theirs (often as they abduct a human child) but also to derive the dyes for their clothing that allow them to remain hidden☁️✨

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

The slow changing of the seasons is so much fun and can be enchanting ✨ Frogs are quite often the familiars of witches and when you hear croaking they are quite possibly warning their mistress of your presence 🪄 🐸

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

Ancient Ireland needed no written script but when the time came for one it was special ✨ The Ogham was created by Ogma "the Honey-Mouthed" God 🍯🪶 The 1st letter Beithe (Birch) was inscribed by Ogma to warn Lugh ☀️ that fairies planned to abduct his wife & whisk her away to their Underworld home

submitted 32 days ago • 1 comment

Sitting beside a great Oak, his sacred 🌳, & holding a ladle large enough to hold two men, The Dagda, greatest of the Irish Gods stirs Coire ansic "The Bottomless Cauldron" Possibly his greatest treasure Coire ansic ensures that noone who walks with The Dagda will ever go hungry

submitted 33 days ago • 1 comment

The Crocus Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker (1923) 💛💜 Crocus was a mortal boy & friend of the God Hermes During a game of discus Crocus was accidentally killed by Hermes when he stood up without warning As his blood and Hermes tears fell to the Earth the little flowers bearing his name sprang up 💛💜

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

The little Robin 🍒 is the sacred bird of Thor Legend has it that if you destroy a Robin's nest 🪺 you will be struck by lightning ⚡

submitted 34 days ago • 2 comments

The mesmerising buds of Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) 🌸 🍒 The Cherry Tree is sacred to the God of Love, Aengus of the Tuatha Dé Danaan, the son of The Dagda

submitted 34 days ago • 0 comments

🌿 Nine leaves of Ivy I place under my head To dream of the living and not of the dead To dream of the man I am going to wed To see him tonight at the foot of my bed 🌿

submitted 35 days ago • 1 comment

A #Christian folktale tells that the Ivy provided sanctuary to Jesus Christ after the Elder tree had refused Because of this the Ivy is evergreen whilst the Elder is the last to come into leaf after the Winter❄️🌿

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

A German tale tells of how the colourless snow once begged the flowers to share their colours with it but they jealously refused. All but the humble Snowdrop who eagerly shared it's bright white colour with the snow. In return the snow afforded the little Snowdrop protection from the cold ❄️🩵

submitted 38 days ago • 2 comments

Have you ever stopped long enough to notice the tiny flowers of the Hazel Tree (Corylus avellana)? 🌷 These little flowers will later develop into the nuts that are so important to mammals & birds 🐿️ The woodland is filled with colour even in February but you may need to pay attention to see it 🩷

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

Alder have both male & female flowers🩷💜 The female cones produce seeds that feed birds whilst the male catkins are a source of nectar for 🐝 during the ❄️ months. This, their conical trunks and the fact that they love water makes them one of the easiest Irish trees to identify at this time of year

submitted 45 days ago • 0 comments

Ferns make any place a bit more special🌿❄️ Carved from Alder Changelings are left in place of a human child by fairies If discovered a Changeling would sometimes be banished to the hills or rivers Ferns 🌿 growing by water or on the hillside are a sign that a Changeling had escaped this banishment

submitted 46 days ago • 0 comments

Oak galls glistening like baubles on a self seeded Oak sapling in Lagan Valley☀️❄️ These were once used to make ink and the practice was common right up until ink was mass produced in the mid-Twentieth Century The earliest known recipe was recorded by Pliny the Elder during the 1st Century 🕊️

submitted 49 days ago • 0 comments

Alder buds soaking up the morning Winter ☀️ are radiant This little sapling will quietly and thanklessly do so much for us over the next 80 years 💜

submitted 50 days ago • 1 comment

Without doubt my favourite name for this little bird is the "Bum Barrel"

submitted 51 days ago • 1 comment

Waiting for the birds 🐦‍⬛ The berries of Hedera Helix (Common Ivy) are an essential source of food for numerous birds during late Winter when other berries such as Rowan and Hawthorn 🍒 have become scarce or have disappeared altogether

submitted 52 days ago • 0 comments

Fairies gather where Gorse grows & treasure mixed with the Gorse flowers may often be found🌼💎 Leave with nothing but the memories of what you have seen & you may find a pearl in your pocket🦪 Take what is not yours & the treasure will turn to Gorse flower & your home may be magically set ablaze 🔥

submitted 53 days ago • 1 comment

In Irish this little bird that sits happily feeding upon Alder seeds is known as Lasair choille "the Forest Flame" 🔥

submitted 53 days ago • 1 comment

No 🌳 demands more respect than a lone Hawthorn & even today they stand sentinel in Ireland's never ending patchwork of fields ❄️✨ Their twisting branches have drawn our curiosity for 1000s of years & unsurprisingly in the Ogham alphabet Hawthorn is represented by 'Huath' which means fear or terror

submitted 54 days ago • 0 comments

Frosted Ivy berries glisten in the January ☀️ Ivy & it's berries are not just a feast for wildlife and indeed our own eyes but are a bridge between our boring world and the world of magic Ivy is entwined in the world of fairies & magical folk allowing them to remain hidden as humans meander by❄️🧚🏻‍♂️

submitted 56 days ago • 0 comments

Rowan trees are quietly inconspicuous at this time of year but remain potent defenders against fairies & evil spirits When their stunning bunches of red 🍒 appear they are a great hindrance to Vampires whose compulsion to count leaves them incapable of passing a 🍒 laden Rowan before sunrise ☀️

submitted 58 days ago • 0 comments

The sleeping giant that rests at Cave Hill in North Belfast ❄️ is believed by many to have been the inspiration for Gulliver's Travels Johnathan Swift lived in this area for a short time in the years prior to him writing Gulliver's Travels 🪶

submitted 64 days ago • 0 comments

This little self seeded Oak sapling in Lagan Valley doesn't need our help. It just needs us to walk on by ❄️🌱

submitted 65 days ago • 1 comment

My berries 🍒 😡 Native animals need native trees & plants Hawthorn, known as "Sceach Gheal" in Ireland, help to ensure that birds like this Robin make it through the Winter ❄️🍒😡

submitted 67 days ago • 1 comment

Moss makes everything just a little more magical ❄️✨

submitted 72 days ago • 0 comments