Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures
Celtic tree calendar · Celtic tree month 9
Hazel
Hazel · Coll
Hazel (Coll), month 9 of the modern 'Celtic tree calendar', 5 August – 1 September.
The hazel was the tree of wisdom in Irish tradition: the salmon of knowledge gained its wisdom by eating hazelnuts that fell into the Well of Segais. In the tree calendar it stands for wisdom, inspiration and divination.
The thirteen tree months come from Robert Graves' The White Goddess (1948), not from ancient sources. The tree associations of the Ogham letters do go back to medieval Irish scholars, but there is no evidence for an ancient Celtic tree calendar.
Personality
wise · intelligent · intuitive · analytical · inspired · organised
In the modern 'Celtic tree calendar', a person born in the Hazel month (5 August – 1 September) is described as wise, intelligent and inspired, a seeker and keeper of knowledge. The tree calendar is a modern construction from Robert Graves' The White Goddess (1948), not an ancient Celtic calendar; Hazel corresponds to the Ogham letter Coll.
Modern books draw on genuine Irish tradition for the Hazel personality: in medieval Irish stories the salmon of knowledge gained its wisdom by eating hazelnuts that fell into the Well of Segais, and Fionn mac Cumhaill gained wisdom by tasting it. Hazel people are said to be clever, intuitive, analytical and gifted in learning, writing and divination, with excellent memories. Their challenges are described as perfectionism, a critical streak and a tendency to over-think or to keep their own counsel too long.
In love Hazel people are portrayed as loyal and thoughtful partners who value intellectual connection; in work, as scholars, writers, teachers and advisers. Although the hazel's lore is old, the tree-month portrait itself is a modern creation.
Sources and further reading
- The White Goddess — Robert Graves, 1948
- A Guide to Ogam — Damian McManus, 1991
- The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles — Ronald Hutton, 1991