If drinking elderberry wine or tea, one might see pixies. Early Germans are animists. Spirits or spirit energies inhabit all living things. They dwell in trees, herbs, animals, even rocks. Every tree forms a complex ecology. Magic of nature spirits improves tree health.
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The Ash Tree is inhabited by Eschenfrau, a wicked ash tree hag. Oaks have prophetic and oracle properties, and the spirits can answer questions or give advice. Fruit trees are integral to harvest mythology, and the birch tree talks to the moon.
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The Elderberry Tree
The Elderberry (Sambucus) is a flowering bushy tree. Like Linden it brings good luck to a home. The name comes from ancient Greek sambū́kē, a wind instrument. People remove the pith, a spongy white tissue, from elderberry twigs or branches to make flutes.
In the Elderberry Tree lives a goddess of nature and fertility, known in Germanic regions as Holundermutter or Elderberry Mother. It's essential to ask her permission before using any parts of her tree. In general she's gracious and doesn't mind.
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Cutting down a tree without the proper invocations or offering will kindle her wrath.
The Holundermutter figure appears in UK and Scandinavian mythology. She may be the ancient pagan deity Frau Holle, also called Holde or Hulda, of north Germany.
Domestic and Protective Deities
According to scholars like Jacob Grimm, Frau Holle is an ancient pagan deity. She has both light and dark aspects and is linked to mother goddess Frigg or Freya of Norse mythology as well as other German spirit entities like Lutzelfrau.
In ancient lore she may have taken role as Creator Goddess with the Sky God. A weather entity, she can make it snow. In the fairy tale she fluffs her feather bedding out the window.
Elderberry relates to the dyeing of fabric. The tree traditionally is near the house, making the Elder Mother a patron of women and the hearth. This domestic role is also taken by certain aspects of Frau Holle.
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As Holle and her southerly relative Perchta teach early people to spin, Holundermutter gives the gift of color to yarn and fabrics. Elderberry trees grow naturally in organic waste disposal areas found near houses and barns. Branches are easily bent and shaped.
Elderberry Purple Dye
Elderberries have strong color pigments. Purple is especially desired because this color is hard to get. People acquire rich purple dyes from the mucus glands of sea snails of the Murex family, a practice originating with the Phoenicians as early as 1570 BC.
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Not only is the dye strong in color, it brightens with time instead of fading. According to researchers "Twelve thousand snails of M. brandaris yield less than 1.4 g of pure purple dye, only enough to color the trim of a single garment."
In Roman times, crushed shells are heaped along the shore. Purple is big business and and only rich can afford it. It's a color for emperors, as a status symbol, and the color itself is connected to divine magic.
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Elderberry fabric dye is a cheaper alternative. The berries can produce colored dye for fabric and yarn from maroon shades to dark muted purple. A London chemist creates the first synthetic purple by accident in 1856.
Elderberry Poison
All parts of the tree and raw elderberries are poisonous, containing concentrations of cyanogenic glycosides. Flowers have more toxins than berries and can smell unpleasant. Cooked, elderberries lose toxicity. Symptoms of elderberry poisoning include:
nausea
vomiting
abdominal cramps
diarrhea
muscle weakness
As with many venomous and poisonous beings, the Elder also has medicinal and other valuable properties.
Elderberry Medicinal Qualities
In folk medicine, elderberry fruit, bark or flowers are used to treat:
respiratory ailments
flu
colds
constipation
sciatica
headache
body aches
Bark or twigs can be put in the mouth to help relieve toothache pain. Medical science is currently studying benefits to the upper respiratory tract.
Music and Magic
Magic and spiritual properties of the Elderberry tree include
magical protection
colorful dreams or visions
healing
removal of curses or negative magical influences
blessing the home
As in ancient Greece, Elder tree wood today is used in pipes, whistles, flutes, fifes and other musical woodwind instruments. The pith is easy to remove and the wood polishes well. Elder wood is also used to make blowguns.
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Along with Rowan and Holly, Elderberry is a favored wood for making runes. Regional folklore gives more than one version of the Elder's magic. In some stories the Elder keeps away witches and evil spirits. In others, it's a meeting place for the same.
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Elderberries are also used in some liqueurs and the famous elderberry wine. According to some folklore, drinking elderberry wine or tea lets a person see pixies.
Changing Mythology
In mythologies of archaic thought, magic female entities are often identified as witches and workers of witchcraft meaning "the use of supernatural powers to harm others". In Frau Holle's lore, the goddess may join witches at the Brocken on Hexennacht.
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In antiquity and medieval times witches are considered purely evil, indulging in immoral behavior, casting curses and devil worship. Attempts at demonizing Frau Holle and other female deities are at one time a fundamental part of cultural takeover.
In Christian ideology the Elderberry relates to evil as Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrays Jesus, hangs himself from an Elder tree. Folklore of a benevolent Mother Goddess is supplanted. Today, nature spirits are honored in many religious beliefs.
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