Mistletoe Lore

May 3, 2023

3 min read

by Lady Scholastica Joycors

MISTLETOE has been the subject of many legends and traditions for hundreds of years. Ancient Druids considered mistletoe sacred because it grew without roots in the ground and assumed that it must have been planted by the gods. Mistletoe was thought to ban evil spirits and bring good luck and great blessings. It is said that when warriors met beneath mistletoe, they had to lay down their weapons and call a truce for a full day. Even Shakespeare in Titus Andronicus II called it ‘baleful mistletoe'. So how did it get to be known as the kissing plant?

MISTLETOE AND THE DRUIDS

The ancient Druids believed mistletoe to be an indicator of great sacredness. The winter solstice, called 'Alban Arthan' by the Druids, was according to Bardic Tradition, the time when the Chief Druid would cut the sacred mistletoe from the Oak. The mistletoe is cut using a golden sickle on the sixth night of the new moon after the winter solstice. A cloth held below the tree by other members of the order to catch the sprigs of mistletoe as they fell, as it was believed that it would have profaned the mistletoe to fall upon the ground. He would then divide the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils.

The Druids are thought to have believed that the berries of the mistletoe represented the sperm of the Gods. When pressed, a semen like substance issues from the white berries. Mistletoe was considered a magickal aphrodisiac. Girls standing under a sprig of mistletoe were asking for a bit more than a kiss, it seems.

It is interesting to note that mistletoe was excluded from church decorations, probably due to its connection with the Druids and its pagan and magical associations. This ancient ban on mistletoe is still widely observed even today.

MISTLETOE AND NORSE MYTHOLOGY

It all began with Frigga who was the Goddess of Love and Beauty and her son, Balder, was the God of the Summer Sun. Once, Balder dreamt of his death. He was obviously worried and told his mother about the strange dream. Frigga was worried not only for the life of her son but also for the life on Earth because she knew that without Balder, all life on Earth would come to an end. Thus, she did her utmost to avoid such a mishap by going everywhere and appealing to every being in air, water, fire and earth, to promise her that they would never harm her son. She was promised the safety of her son by every animal and plant under and above the Earth.

However, Loki, the God of Evil, who was an enemy of Balder and always had evil designs in his mind, was aware that there was one plant that Frigga had overlooked. It grew on apple and oak trees and was known as Mistletoe. Thus, Loki made an arrow and placed a sprig of this plant at its tip. He then beguiled Hoder, the blind brother of Balder and the God of Winter, and made him shoot this arrow at Balder. Balder immediately died and everybody was worried as the Earth turned cold and life became dreary. For the next three days, every creature tried to bring Balder back to life but he was revived only by Frigga and with the help of mistletoe. Her tears on the plant became pearly white berries and she blessed it such that anyone who stands under the mistletoe would never be harmed and would be entitled to a kiss as a token of love.

KISSING-BOUGH (which was popular before the introduction of Xmas Trees).

A garland of greenery, shaped like a double hooped May-garland or crown, was hung from the middle of the ceiling in the main room. It was adorned with candles, red apples rosettes of colored paper and a bunch of mistletoe suspended from the center. The bough itself is called ' the mistletoe'. The candles were ceremoniously lit on Christmas Eve and then every evening throughout the 12 days of Xmas.