Sacred trees: the energy of trees in pagan tradition – quiz

🌳 Quiz: Can you sense the spirit of a tree?

Oak or birch? Rowan or ash? Find out how well you know sacred trees and their pre-Christian symbolism in Czech and Slavic tradition.

A guide to sacred trees: what our ancestors knew

The Slavs and Celts who lived in the Central European lands of today's Czech Republic saw the forest as a living temple. Slavic religion included not only the worship of gods but also deep reverence for natural features – sacred trees, hilltops and springs. Each tree had its own energy, its own character and its own deity. This guide takes you through the most significant trees of the Czech landscape and their pre-Christian symbolism.

English oak – Quercus robur – Perun's tree

The oak was undoubtedly the most sacred tree of the ancient Slavs and Germanic peoples. It was dedicated to Perun – the thunder god and protector against dark forces. According to tradition, a fire of oak wood was kept burning in Perun's sanctuary near Novgorod; it must never go out, because that would mean the end of the whole community's protection. When lightning struck an oak, the Slavs did not see it as destruction – it was Perun's kiss, a sign that the place was full of divine energy.

The longevity of the oak – these trees live for 500 to 1,000 years – inspired sacred awe in our ancestors. Oaks served as family trees under which agreements were made, assemblies were held and marriages were sealed. Many of these giants still stand today: Žižka's Oak in Náměšť nad Oslavou has a trunk girth of over 10 metres. Oak wood is so exceptional that it is still used to make kitchen and serving boards – wood that once carried the energy of the highest god now carries food to your table.

Large-leaved lime – Tilia platyphyllos – the tree of the Slavs

The lime is the national tree of the Czechs and a symbol of Slavic identity as a whole. While the oak belonged to Perun and the masculine principle of power, the lime embodied the feminine principle – care, hospitality, harmony and peace. The Slavic goddess Mokosh, protector of women and the household, is often closely linked with the lime. The whole village gathered under lime trees for dances and festivities – and also for courts, because where there is a lime, there must be truth and justice.

In Czechia the lime is also number one in terms of sheer size: the largest memorial trees in the country include large-leaved limes. Vejda's Lime in Pastviny near Žamberk has a trunk girth of over 13 metres. The sweet scent of lime blossom, gathered for tea, fills the Czech countryside from June to July – a gentle gift from nature loved by anyone who has ever picked lime blossom in the evening light.

Silver birch – Betula pendula – the tree of new beginnings

The gentle, friendly birch is the feminine tree par excellence – an embodiment of the Great Mother, patron of new beginnings and protector of small children and the defenceless. In the Celtic tree calendar the birch (Beith) comes first – it opens the whole yearly cycle. Brooms of birch twigs swept sacred places before rituals; this was not just about physical cleanliness but about spiritually preparing the space. Cradles were traditionally made of birch wood so that the energy of this protective tree would watch over a child's first sleep.

In Czechia you will find birch from the lowlands up to the mountain zone at around 1,000 metres above sea level, in open woods, at the edges of clearings and in the Šumava. It is a pioneer species – the first to settle bare ground after disasters. This trait says it all: where there is emptiness and pain, the birch comes first and brings a new beginning. Not only for the Slavs and Celts but also for Scandinavian design, birch wood is a symbol of purity and light, elegant living.

Rowan – Sorbus aucuparia – the protective tree

In both Celtic and Slavic tradition, the rowan was considered one of the most powerful guardians. The secret of its protection lies in its berries – on their underside you can make out the shape of a pentagram, an ancient symbol of harmony and defence against evil. An equal-armed cross of rowan wood tied with red thread was one of the most widespread amulets in north-western Europe. Rowan sticks were used to draw a protective circle during rituals, and diviners made dowsing rods from it to search for water.

In Czechia rowan is common in mountain and foothill areas – the Krkonoše, Šumava and Beskydy – where it survives even above 1,300 metres. Its autumn clusters of orange-red berries are one of the loveliest sights of the Czech landscape. Rowan berries are food for birds, are gathered for tea and jams, and their protective symbolism lives on in folk rhymes and fairy tales.

Ash – Fraxinus excelsior – the tree of poets and seers

In Slavic mythology the ash was one of the candidates for the role of the world tree, the axis connecting the underworld, the world of people and the world of the gods. In Norse tradition this role is played by the ash Yggdrasil. For the Celts the ash was the tree of poets and seers – druid wands of ash wood were used for healing and divination. Ash leaves placed under the pillow were said to bring prophetic dreams. The ash's solar energy made it a favourite ritual material.

The ash is one of the tallest native trees – it grows over 40 metres tall. In the foothills of Bohemia and Moravia it forms beautiful avenues. The largest specimens have trunks over 8 metres in girth. Ash wood is exceptionally strong and elastic, which is why it has been used since ancient times for tool handles, bows and poles – and why the ash carries an aura of warrior strength. Today ash is used, for example, to make kitchen utensils and wooden accessories that bring a little of that ancient energy into your home.

Hazel – Corylus avellana – the tree of wisdom

In Celtic tradition the hazel was the tree of wisdom and knowledge – an old Irish myth tells of the hazelnut of wisdom that falls into a sacred spring, and whoever eats it (or eats the salmon that swallowed it) gains all the knowledge of the world. Hazel twigs have long been used as dowsing rods to find water, hidden treasure and energy lines. Seers and healers carried them as protective objects. In Bohemia hazel has always grown along every field boundary and in every wood.

The hazel is a shrub or small tree whose yellow catkins are the first sign of spring – they flower as early as February and March, while the snow is still melting. Hazels form the understorey of broadleaved forests and copses throughout Bohemia and Moravia. Hazelnuts were a valuable food for thousands of years. Today hazel is one of the few shrubs whose rods are still gathered for traditional weaving – a living workshop of our ancestors.

Black elder – Sambucus nigra – the tree at the boundary of worlds

The black elder was one of the most ambiguous trees of pagan tradition. The Germanic goddess Holda (Mother Holle) was said to dwell in it and guard the boundary between the world of the living and the dead. It was a tree that grew close to houses and “caught” negative energies from the surroundings. At the same time it was a tree of plenty – its flowers were made into syrups, its berries into wine and medicines. The elder was both a protective tree and a tree of healing, but it had to be treated with respect: it was forbidden to break it without asking, because that would anger the spirits living in it.

Black elder grows abundantly in Czechia on the edges of villages, in gardens, along fences and streams. It blooms in June with fragrant white flower heads, and the berries ripen in August and September. Elderflower syrup and elderberry tea are treasured staples of Czech folk medicine. The tree where worlds once met now ripens peacefully at the end of many a garden.

Common hawthorn – Crataegus monogyna – guardian of the threshold

In the Celtic Ogham tree alphabet, the hawthorn appears as Huath and was the guardian tree of thresholds, surprises and hidden things. It was associated with fairies and otherworldly beings, and a lone hawthorn standing in a field was a place one did not visit without good reason. The flowering hawthorn was also a sacred symbol of spring and of the Beltane celebrations (1 May). In Czech folk belief it was said that bringing hawthorn blossom into the house brings bad luck – the tree protects outside, but loses its power indoors.

Common hawthorn is a thorny shrub or small tree, one of the most common in the Czech landscape. It grows on field boundaries, in copses, at forest edges and on slopes from the lowlands to the hills. In May it is covered in fragrant white or pinkish flowers, and in October it bears dark red fruits (haws) rich in bioflavonoids. It is home to dozens of insect and bird species – a living ecosystem in its own right.

European crab apple – Malus sylvestris – the tree of eternal youth

The apple tree has symbolised eternal youth, love, fertility and healing in perhaps all Indo-European traditions. The Celtic paradise was called Avalon – the Isle of Apples. The golden apples of the Hesperides guarded immortality. In Slavic fairy tales, golden apples bring healing and supernatural powers. The apple is a tree that gives – every year, without fail, fruit that is tasty, healing and beautiful. This made it a tree of abundance and gifts.

The European crab apple, the ancestor of cultivated apples, grows scattered in broadleaved forests, at forest edges and in old orchards throughout Bohemia. It is rarer than it seems – many trees thought to be wild apples are in fact hybrids with cultivated varieties. You can recognise a true crab apple by its small, hard fruits up to 4 cm across, their bitter-sour taste and its irregular, unpruned shape.

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