THIS HAPPENED TO ME

Weeping Willows’ Witching Effect

Seeing the beauty of this tree after decades of being cagey due to myths has made me cheery

A weeping willow photographed in England in late summer. It’s planted on the side of a man-made lake, a habitat for hundreds of waterbirds in any season

The weeping willow fascinates me.

It could be due to its name itself, weeping willow. Not exactly a happy label.

Or, I could have been influenced, though unwittingly, by myths and folklore surrounding this tree:

• That it is a tree of enchantment
• That witches’ brooms as per witchery practices are bound with a branch of a weeping willow
• That it is connected to dark goddesses of the underground
• The weeping willow is also associated with death, grief and cemetery
• This was most likely in relation to the funerary flints, which resembled willow leaves, found in graves dating from the Old Stone Age

A willow tree in late autumn/early winter

How we look at trees, even people, changes in time

How I perceive weeping willows stuck with me for decades.