The magic of a birch in May has the greatest power. Birch branch in folk magic and signs Is it possible to speak a birch from the background of the phone

Folk names: Birch deaf, birch, white-bodied, birch, Navier tree.
Linguists associate the Russian name of birch with the verb to save. This is due to the fact that the Slavs considered birch a gift from the gods, protecting a person.
In European languages, most of the birch names come from the Indo-European "bhe" - light, sparkling.
Planet: Jupiter
Zodiac sign: Cancer (according to another version of Sagittarius)
Basic properties: cleansing properties, health, love, protection

Birch is a favorite tree of the Russian people, personifying their soul, a tree of extraordinary kindness. It is also called the tree of life. Since time immemorial, birch has been associated with fertility and healing magic, birch branches have been used to endow fertility not only on the land, but also on livestock and newlyweds. Cradles for newborns were made from birch wood (in almost all European countries).

Symbolically and magically, the birch appears as a protection against all misfortunes, both physical and spiritual. Birch is extremely useful and very favorable in healing spells, spells aimed at strengthening the crop. Birch branches (especially spring ones that have just blossomed) are rightly considered an excellent talisman that drives away sorrows and illnesses, protects children from illnesses and many other troubles). Birch is gentle and compassionate, with a very soft, affectionate and at the same time strong influence. In contrast to the oak, the birch should be addressed to sick, weakened, convalescing people. It will ease suffering, help restore lost strength, make it easier to endure illness, and speed up the healing process. The patient is planted, leaning against the trunk, at the roots (birch is a female tree, men turned to oak). The patient’s thing, which cannot be brought, or brought, to a tree, is hung on a birch branch with a request for help. In healer practice, walking to a growing birch tree to “transmit” a disease to it was considered an effective method of healing magic: water left after bathing a sick child was poured under the birch. In the text of the Russian conspiracy from angina pectoris, the motive of the threat in relation to the disease sounds: “I will throw the toad under the birch bush so that it does not hurt, so that it does not ache.”

Communication with a birch is useful for people with upset nerves who are in a state of depression. This tree relieves fatigue, neutralizes the negative effects of everyday stress, helps restore spiritual harmony. A birch growing near the house drives away nightmares. The impact of this tree is long lasting. It is better not to come to him, but to live nearby, then it will be able to heal you. Birch has always been attributed the ability to drive away evil spirits.
Birch is used to make numerous magical artifacts: ogham wands (stavs), magic wands, flying brooms (a witch's pomelo is made from ash bough and birch twigs fastened with willow), magic panicles (used in healing), amulets of various kinds (from lightning, evil people and spirits).
Birch branches (especially spring ones that have just blossomed) are rightly considered an excellent talisman that drives away sorrows and ailments, protects children from illnesses and many other troubles. A birch branch fused with oak is used in love magic. Birch roots are used to cause harm, induce damage. Thin branches of weeping birches are used to knit "knots" - a form of charm. On birch bark, runic spells are written with oak nut ink and a feather from a raven's wing.

Symbol of fertility and light. Protects from witches, drives away evil spirits, so lazy people and sleepwalkers were fed with birch porridge.

Among the Scandinavians and Teutons, birch is dedicated to Thor, Donar and Frigga. According to legend, the last battle will take place near a birch tree.

In shamanism, the birch is the Cosmic Tree, and the shaman made seven or nine ascending notches on its trunk or birch pole, which symbolizes the ascent through the planetary spheres to the Highest Spirit. In addition, the birch is the emblem of Estonia.

In Celtic astrology, the Sun was identified with the Birch. This tree is the first to decorate itself with leaves, marking the beginning of all things.

In the Druidic tradition, the birch is the tree of the beginning, the symbol of the first month of the year (December 24 - January 21). In a number of traditions, the birch symbolizes light, radiance, purity, obscurity, femininity, fertility, growth and the power of life, etc. The birch twig was the hallmark of young druids or bards who attached it to their tunics.

In Rome, birch attributes were used when the consul entered the board.

In Scotland, birch was associated with ideas about the dead.

Birch, like a world tree turned upside down by its roots, also appears in Russian conspiracies: “At the sea on the Ocean, on the island of Kurgan, there is a white birch, branches down, roots up.”
The birches were dedicated to the Semik holiday (now Trinity), which is celebrated in June.

It also helps in forecasting the weather: if the birch is downy in advance, then wait for a dry summer, and if the alder is wet.

Weeping birch was considered a special tree - it was sometimes called the "navy tree", that is, the tree of the dead. Its juice, buds, bark, wood and leaves have never been used for medicinal purposes - only for magical ones. It was said that this tree has a connection with the world of the dead, that mermaids and drowned women love it. Therefore, the weeping birch was always decorated with a mermaid for a week to protect itself from the pranks of the spirits. They tried not to break this tree, so as not to incur the wrath of otherworldly forces. In the old days, they went to him, trying to enlist the help of their ancestors in some important matter or ask for protection from trouble.

In general, there has always been a special relationship with birch in Russia. She was taken care of, looked after, specially planted, trying to "ring" the village with a protective belt of birches. Jewelry made from birch wood was used to protect against evil spirits. Long before the advent of Christianity, during the time corresponding to the current Trinity, brooms made from freshly cut branches of this tree "swept" evil spirits from the hut. On this day, the whole hut was washed with a decoction of twigs from diseases and misfortunes. On the same day, women bathed in a bath with an infusion of birch leaves in order to remove superficial diseases from themselves, restore lost strength and good spirits.
All Slavs believed that birch branches plugged under the roof of the house, left in the attic, protect against lightning, thunder, hail; stuck in the middle of crops in the field, they drive away rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds, protect cabbage from caterpillars.

With the help of birch branches and birch brooms, they tried to protect themselves from evil spirits, diseases, and the "walking" dead. On the eve of the day of Ivan Kupala, birch branches were stuck over the doors of the stables in order to prevent the witches from entering the cows and harming them; birch wreaths were put on the horns of cows to protect them from witches.

Among the Western Slavs, a birch broom leaning against the bed of a woman in labor or the cradle of a newborn was considered a reliable means of protection against evil forces. In many places, it was believed that when a sick child was beaten with a birch rod, the disease would immediately recede.

Birch is a tree that stays awake all day. She falls asleep just before dawn. As the first roosters sing, dispersing the evil spirits with their voice, the birch plunges into a sweet and deep sleep for 2 hours in order to wake up at dawn and give the world its pure power. Her sleep period is approximately at 3-5 am, and the peak of vivacity is at 6-9 am.
Symbolically and magically, the birch appears as a protection against all misfortunes, both physical and spiritual. Almost all parts of the tree are used in healing.

According to an old Belarusian belief, in order to keep horses in the new stable, it was necessary to bury a birch log under the threshold

The girl's conspiracies for the love of a good fellow
1. They take a birch twig, which they put on Friday on the threshold, over which the one they want to act on must step over. Having done this, the rod, which no one should see, is placed in a dry and hot place, saying: "May (name) dry out of love for (name), as this rod dries." This spell is repeated three times.
2. From a fresh broom made of birch branches, they take a bar and put it on the threshold of the door through which a loved one should enter. Laying the bar, gently pronounce these words: “As this thin bar has dried up, so let my dear friend (name) dry for me, slave (name)”. A bar, when the person they are talking about has passed through the threshold, they are removed to a secret place, then they heat the bathhouse, put this bar on the shelves on the top shelf, give more steam and, turning to the side where the bar lies, they say: “Sweat, bar , and be soft as fluff, may the heart (name) be to me, the slave (name), as soft as you are. After that, the bath is locked, and after a while they take a bar, carry it to the water and let it flow. The rod should be launched along the river at dawn.
The same conspiracy, but only for the dryness of someone's heart, is done like this: the bar is placed on the threshold, saying, as mentioned above, then, after the one who is being spoken to has passed, the bar is placed on a hotly heated stove, saying: “Be dry , a bar, like a bird's nail, let my friend (name) be just as dry, and when he gets kinder to me, then let him blush like a pouring apple and grow fat like a clear month after the new moon.
Birch belongs to the zodiac sign of Cancer. It broadcasts for us its power and the mobile unsteady energy of the Moon. Her energy is cold and refreshing, like pure water, and just like water after bathing, it plunges us into a dream that lifts people to the heights of heaven. It gives a person the support of his kind.

Essence. Birch deals with new beginnings and the acceptance or birth of things. The birch has the power to give life. This life force gives birth to all things every year. The aspect of filling with strength and energy provides a cleansing effect. The birch has the power to drive out harmful or malevolent influences with the help of an eternal life force.

A little humor:

Patient: - My head hurts!
Physician:
500 BC - Here, eat this root.
1000 - These roots are witchcraft! Read the prayer!
1850 - These prayers are a stupid superstition! Drink this potion!
1940 - These potions are the usual quackery! Take this pill!
1985 - These pills are ineffective! Take this antibiotic!
2016 - These artificial antibiotics! Here, eat this root.

Genus. There are over 50 different species, the genus of birches is called Betula.
Kinds. Paper birch (Betula papyrifera), or white birch (Betula pendula).
Meets. In temperate and arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and in some countries of South America.
Application. Birch wood has a uniform structure and fine fibers. It is used to make furniture plywood. The Indians used birch bark to build canoes. The bark was used in the manufacture of leather goods and in medicine. Fresh birch sap is very useful.
Peculiarities. Birches are considered the pioneers of the settlement of the steppe regions. They form the environment for further growth of other tree species. Resonance for the body. Frontal and crown chakras.
Action. Meditate with a birch when you fail to really appreciate events. Birch will help you recognize polarities and handle them correctly. Birch is well suited for easily vulnerable people, as it strengthens self-esteem, and this helps not to take every manifestation of negativity personally.
Birch makes a person more refined so that he can perceive details. Thanks to accuracy and the desire to see reality in its true light, fears disappear, equanimity and the ability to act appear. Meditation with a birch can be useful before big achievements. It teaches a person to be patient and able to act.
Meditation with a birch is primarily beneficial for people with a well-developed intuition, as it helps to better see the difference between the inner and outer world. Anyone who would like to perceive himself better or is in a depressed emotional state, thanks to the vibrations of the birch, will achieve a greater understanding of himself and a healthy inner harmony.

Astrologers recommend. Cancer and Pisces.
The Sun in Cancer will teach you to better perceive yourself and help you correctly assess your abilities. Thus, those born under the sign of Cancer will be able to gain self-confidence and become more open.
Those born under the sign of Pisces will receive from the tree the strength to help others not only in word, but also in actions, without losing themselves. They will be able to perceive themselves better and find their own way on earth.
Both Cancer and Pisces will gain greater frankness from the vibrations of the birch and will be able to better realize themselves and their destiny. Connections with other people for these signs will become clearer and more orderly.

Birch tar.

Colour: colorless or pale yellow viscous liquid. Tar is an almost black thick oily mass. Rectified oil is a clear brown-yellow oily liquid with a smoke and leather aroma.
Aroma: woody Receiving method: 1. Aromatic oil is obtained by steam distillation from the kidneys. 2. Tar is obtained by slow distillation from the bark. Subsequent steam distillation yields birch tar oil.
Application Methods
It can be used exclusively diluted with other essential or base oils and in a very small proportion - no more than 2% - only pointwise for damaged skin - acne, various rashes, flaky skin.
Precautionary measures: Non-toxic, non-irritant
Complimentary fragrances: The oil mixes well with wood and balsamic oils.
birch tar oil. In the past, especially in Russia, birch tar was as important a technical product as petroleum oils are today. It was used not only in the manufacture of leather or as a lubricant, but was known to be a strong bactericidal agent. At the beginning of the XX century. was used by French perfumers to create the Russian Leather perfume, unusual for that time. And now birch tar and its fractions are used for the production of medicines (Vishnevsky's ointment), some perfumes and toilet waters, as well as "tar" toilet soap.
Birch tar is obtained by pyrolysis of wood (together with the bark) of the most common "warty" birch (Betula pendula) in Russia. The resulting mixture of oils is subjected to distillation, obtaining a liquid product with a density of 0.94-0.98, which contains 10-15% phenols.
For use in perfumery, additional purification is required. This "rectification" consists of a single or double fractionated steam distillation.
Characteristic components of birch tar oil, along with mixtures of cresols and xylenols, are catechol, guaiacol and creosol (2-methoxy-4-methylphenol).
Although birch tar oil is not mentioned in aromatherapy manuals, it is known to be used in the treatment of eczema and other skin conditions.

BIRCH MAGIC

It has long been believed that birch has the greatest healing power in May. Therefore, in the period from May 1 to May 12, they collected its juice and gave it to the sick, sick and weak people to drink, so that they would soon recover and gain strength. To prevent the tree from becoming exhausted, no more than 1 liter of sap was collected from each birch, the wound was carefully covered up and the tree was thanked for its help.

This tree was not touched for more than a year, and branches were not cut from the donor tree during the year. It was believed that if a birch was asked too often for help, she could be offended and take revenge on the person who offended her, sending him "haze" and failure in her personal life.

Usually, trees growing in the forest at the age of 7 to 50 years were used to collect birch sap, since it was believed that in addition to health, a birch can give a person youth, and for this the tree itself should not be too old. In May, half-blown birch buds and young sticky leaves were collected for medicinal purposes.

. In the old days they said: “Birch is a wayward and capricious tree. It does not welcome every person, it does not help everyone. But if she falls in love with someone - to be happy and successful in everything. Knowing the “capriciousness” of the tree, they tried not to plant a birch near the house itself, so they placed the birch at the gate so that trouble would not enter the yard, and put a bench near it so that at the right time you could talk to the tree, ask him for strength and help.

Birch especially favors children, innocent girls and pregnant women. For children, a swing was set up near the birches, the girls decorated the birches with their ribbons, taken out of the braid, for the holiday of Lada and Lelya, for Ivan Kupala, in order to successfully marry. Until now, in the villages they resort to such love magic. A birch twig is placed on Friday on the threshold, over which the one they want to act on must step over. Having done this, the rod, which no one should see, is placed in a dry and hot place, saying three times: “May you dry (name) from love for (name), how this rod dries.” When the person they are talking about has passed through the threshold, the twig is removed to a secret place, then they heat the bathhouse, put this rod on the top shelf, give more steam and, turning to the side where the twig lies, they say: - “Sweat, twig, and be soft as fluff, may the heart of the servant of God (name) be to me, the servant of God (name), as soft as you. After that, the bath is locked, and after a while they take a twig, carry it to the water at dawn and let it go with the flow.

Pregnant women before giving birth asked the birch for strength and help so that the birth would be easy and successful, and the child would grow up healthy and happy. Birch branches were also used to endow newlyweds with fertility, to heal from infertility.

Birch belongs to the zodiac sign of Cancer. It broadcasts for us its power and the mobile unsteady energy of the Moon. Her energy is cold and refreshing, like pure water, and just like water after bathing, it plunges us into a dream that lifts people to the heights of heaven. It gives a person the support of his kind. Birch deals with new beginnings and acceptance or birth.

The birch has the power to give life. This life force gives birth to all things every year. The aspect of filling with strength and energy provides a cleansing effect. The birch has the power to drive out harmful or malignant influences with the help of eternal life force.

Birch gives men masculinity, and women give femininity to both, gives confidence in themselves, in their strengths and capabilities, and also helps to maintain good physical shape,

All Slavs believed that birch branches plugged under the roof of the house, left in the attic, protect against lightning, thunder, hail; stuck in the middle of crops in the field, they drive away rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds, protect cabbage from caterpillars. Birch branches were also stuck in the field in order to get a rich harvest.

With the help of birch branches and birch brooms, they tried to protect themselves from evil spirits and diseases. Birch is a tree that stays awake all day. She falls asleep just before dawn. As the first roosters sing, dispersing the evil spirits with their voice, the birch plunges into a sweet and deep sleep for 2 hours in order to wake up at dawn and give the world its pure power. Her sleep period falls approximately at 3-5 in the morning, and the peak of vigor is at 6-9 in the morning: at this time people went to a growing birch to “transmit” diseases to it (water left after bathing the patient was poured under the birch). In the text of the Russian conspiracy from angina pectoris, the motive of the threat in relation to the disease sounds: - "I will throw a bush under the birch trees so that it does not hurt, so that it does not ache."

Birch branches (especially spring ones that have just blossomed) are rightly considered an excellent talisman that drives away sorrows and ailments, protects children from illnesses and many other troubles. Because of these properties, cradles for newborns were made from birch wood. During the rituals of exorcism, witches were flogged with birch rods, so lazy people and lunatics in some places are still fed with birch porridge.

Communication with a birch is useful for people with upset nerves who are in a state of depression. This tree relieves fatigue, neutralizes the negative effects of everyday stress, helps restore spiritual harmony.

In general, there has always been a special relationship with birch in Russia. She was taken care of, looked after, specially planted, trying to "ring" the village with a protective belt of birches. Jewelry made from birch wood was used to protect against evil spirits. Long before the advent of Christianity, during the time corresponding to the current Trinity, brooms made from freshly cut branches of this tree "swept" evil spirits from the hut. On this day, the whole hut was washed with a decoction of twigs from diseases and misfortunes. On the same day, women bathed in a bath with an infusion of birch leaves in order to remove superficial diseases from themselves, restore lost strength and good spirits.
All Slavs believed that birch branches plugged under the roof of the house, left in the attic, protect against lightning, thunder, hail; stuck in the middle of crops in the field, they drive away rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds, protect cabbage from caterpillars. With the help of birch branches and birch brooms, they tried to protect themselves from evil spirits, diseases, and the "walking" dead. On the eve of the day of Ivan Kupala, birch branches were stuck over the doors of the stables in order to prevent the witches from entering the cows and harming them; birch wreaths were put on the horns of cows to protect them from witches. Among the Western Slavs, a birch broom leaning against the bed of a woman in labor or the cradle of a newborn was considered a reliable means of protection against evil forces. In many places, it was believed that when a sick child was beaten with a birch rod, the disease would immediately recede.
Birch branches were used to bring fertility not only to the land, but also to livestock and newlyweds. Birch branches were stuck in the field to get a rich harvest of cereals and flax. A birch log was buried under the threshold of a new stable so that the horses would "lead". After baking bread, birch logs were thrown into the oven so that “the lambs were white.”

Symbolically and magically, the birch appears as a protection against all misfortunes, both physical and spiritual. Almost all parts of the tree are used in healing. Brooms made of birch branches are used in purification rites. Birch is gentle and compassionate, with a very soft, affectionate and at the same time strong influence. In contrast to the oak, the birch should be addressed to sick, weakened, convalescing people. It will ease suffering, help restore lost strength, make it easier to endure illness, and speed up the healing process. The patient is planted, leaning against the trunk, at the roots (birch is a female tree, men turned to oak). The patient’s thing, which cannot be brought, or brought, to a tree, is hung on a birch branch with a request for help. In healer practice, walking to a growing birch tree to “transmit” a disease to it was considered an effective method of healing magic: water left after bathing a sick child was poured under the birch. In the text of the Russian conspiracy from angina pectoris, the motive of the threat in relation to the disease sounds: “I will throw the toad under the birch bush so that it does not hurt, so that it does not ache.”

Birch is used to make numerous magical artifacts: ogham wands (stavs), magic wands, flying brooms (a witch's pomelo is made from ash bough and birch twigs fastened with willow), magic panicles (used in healing), amulets of various kinds (from lightning, evil people and spirits).
Birch branches (especially spring ones that have just blossomed) are rightly considered an excellent talisman that drives away sorrows and ailments, protects children from illnesses and many other troubles. Because of these properties, cradles for newborns were made from birch wood.
During the rituals of exorcism, witches were flogged with birch rods, so lazy people and sleepwalkers are still fed birch porridge in some places.
A birch branch fused with oak is used in love magic. Birch roots are used to cause harm, induce damage. Thin branches of weeping birches are used to knit "knots" - a form of charm. On birch bark, runic spells are written with oak nut ink and a feather from a raven's wing.

Today, Ogham (OGHAM - the Celtic alphabet) is used both for divination and analysis of life situations, and directly in magic. For the sign in this iconic "Birch" family, the key words are: Beginnings - Vitality - Growth.
Essence. Birch deals with new beginnings and the acceptance or birth of things. The birch has the power to give life. This life force gives birth to all things every year. The aspect of filling with strength and energy provides a cleansing effect. The birch has the power to drive out harmful or malevolent influences with the help of an eternal life force.
When fortune-telling, it matters which part of the fortune-telling circle the sign fell on: Center - beginnings, South - vitality, West - delay, North - material growth, East - rage.

With a birch, the esoteric teaching of trees also connects two runes of the Elder Futhark - Berkan and Uruz.
BERCANA
Bercana has very powerful magical properties. Its main areas of application are healing and protection. It is important to remember that the protective effect of this rune does not apply to momentary actions (that is, you should not think that, having secured yourself with a spell with the Bercana rune, you can not look at your feet when crossing the river along shaky footbridges), but on the contrary, rather, it protects the breaking sprout, promotes uniform and fruitful development. The healing function of this rune is primarily to release, cleanse the body of an infection. In the Middle Ages, Bercana was used to exorcise demons from the possessed. Spells based on the Bercana rune contribute not only to growth, but also to a new birth - rebirth, or they give the strength necessary to start something anew. Both the runic spell and the amulet with the image of the Bercana rune can be successfully used for their intended purpose - that is, for healing from infertility or facilitating the process of childbirth. Bercana can also help in the successful resolution of problems related to the upbringing of children.
URUZ
The magic of this rune is sympathetic. In this rune, the male and female aspects are inextricably merged. Uruz gives men masculinity, and women femininity, and both - self-confidence, in their strengths and capabilities. In addition, the Uruz rune is used in healing, especially when the patient is weak and needs additional strength. The feminine aspect of this rune contains the potential of natural energy with healing properties. Uruz also helps to keep fit.

CURLING OF BIRCH

Curling birches - (breaking birches, braiding wreaths, curling wreaths, locking gates) - one of the main rites of the spring-summer cycle, in the center of which are actions performed with branches of growing and cut birches (less often than other trees) - weaving and twisting; the initial stage of a single ritual complex, ending with the unwinding or breaking off of the curled part of the tree. In addition to the northern provinces of European Russia, the rite was widespread everywhere.

Birches curled most often in Semik, and developed - in the Trinity. In local traditions, there were other dates for the ceremony: Egoriev's Day - Trinity; the eve of Nikolin's day - Nikolin's day; the second Sunday after Easter, known as kumite, kumish, curling, myrrh-bearing wives - Ascension, Trinity; Ascension - Trinity; Ascension - Spirits day; Semik - Spirits day; Trinity Eve - Spirits day; Trinity - Spirits Day, Peter's Conspiracy (see All Saints Week), Peter's Day; Spirits day - Petrovsky conspiracy; Peter's Day - Trinity next year.

The daily curling time of birch trees also varied by area. So, in the Oryol and Kostroma provinces, the ceremony was performed in the morning, "before the sun", in the Vladimir province. - in the afternoon, and in the Ryazan province. - late at night, even at night, by the light of burning birch bark on sticks.

In Dmitrovsky Moscow province. the custom of preliminary selection of a ritual tree on the eve of a ritual action was widespread. In a number of places in the Kostroma and Vyatka provinces, birch was first cut down, installed in a field or in a garden, and then only curled. A single case of birch curling in the north (Kargopol district, Arkhangelsk region) also illuminates actions with branches of felled birches.

Several types of birch curling are known. 1. Curling (braiding) "wreaths" (the most common): the ends of the branches of one or more birches were bent into rings and fixed with herbs, towels, scarves, while the branches were often intertwined (Trinity wreath). 2. Curling "braids": branches of one or two birches were twisted in the form of a bundle or braid, often intertwined with ribbons, threads, pieces of paper. In Rostov Yaroslavl province. "braid" called "motushka" consisted of three intertwined branches of birch, tied with threads, spun necessarily on clean Thursday. In the Yenisei province. the braids curled differently: the tops of the birch trees were bent to the ground and woven with the grass growing under the tree. In some places, both wreaths and braids were woven on birches at the same time. 3. "Locking the gates": the tops of two birches were intertwined with each other in the form of a bundle, tied for strength with a frill from bast shoes (Orlovsk) or a frill so that a kind of arch was formed. In the Kaluga province. "gates" were sometimes made from hazel branches. In the Arkhangelsk province. "gates" connected the tops of felled birches, installed at the entrance to the house.

Only girls participated in the ceremony, in some places they were joined by young women who did not have children; in Zhizdrinsky Kaluga province. branches on birch trees curled only married women. Dressed in the best holiday clothes, girls and young women secretly set off to curl birch trees. They carefully concealed the time and place of the ceremony, because. after some time, the guys could follow and "interfere with the girls' undertakings" (Yeniseysk .; Makarenko A.A. 1993. P. 112).

The girls all together twisted one tree, sometimes weaving its branches with others, while making one figure or several, according to the number of participants in the ceremony or crouching couples (see Cumulation), or each girl, secluded, braided her own birch. When curling, they tried not to crush the leaves and not to break the knots and branches; already curled birch trees were decorated with flowers, towels, scarves, belts were hung on them. According to a belief that existed in the Nizhny Novgorod province, the girls tied the ribbons that additionally fastened the intertwined branches as tightly as possible so that “darling loved” (Sokolova V.K. 1979, p. 224).

Curling a birch, the girls "bequeathed" about their fate and the fate of their loved ones: live or die, get married or not, whether a wish will come true. So, in Tyumen u. in the manufacture of "collars" they said: "If I get married - open the gates, if you stay in the girls - shut the gates" (Sokolova V.K. 1979, p. 224). Sometimes they thought of relatives and girlfriends, braiding a separate figure for each of them. In Rostov Yaroslavl province. when fortune-telling, the “reel”, conceived for a man, was made in the form of a wreath, and for a girl - in the form of a braid; in Danilovsky Yaroslavl province. braids were also woven for girls, and wreaths for married women and children. A few days later, going to develop birch trees, they carefully examined them beforehand: a developed braid foreshadowed an early marriage, which was preceded by the ritual unweaving of a girl's braid, a broken and “joined” wreath promised trouble in the current year (see Trinity wreath).

Around the curled birch trees they danced, danced, sang special songs that were performed only at this time and reflected the ritual situation of the Semik-Trinity period (see Semik, Trinity). In the Dmitrovsky Territory (Moscow), the girls twisted three pairs of birch trees with "gates", and then "passed in single file under them", singing at the same time: "On the mountain of the city
curled gate,
Natalya walked through those gates,
She led the red girls behind her,
Red girls, all girlfriends.
Tatyana followed Natalya,
She led…”
(Zernova A. B. 1932, p. 29).

Immediately under the tree, on a tablecloth sent out on the ground, a ritual meal was made, which included a number of obligatory dishes: beer, kvass, scrambled eggs or eggs, ham, bacon, cottage cheese with sour cream, pies, Easter cakes and roes (cakes with a hole in the middle), loaf . In the Dmitrov region (Moscow), every girl had to bring an eye of scrambled eggs with her. Having laid the scrambled eggs around a curled birch, the participants in the ceremony joined hands and danced to the song:
"Birch, birch,
Curly, curly
The girls came to you
Red came to you
Pie brought
With scrambled eggs."
(Zernova A.B. 1932, p. 27).

Having sung once, they sat down near the scrambled eggs, ate a few spoons and again danced. This was repeated three times. In some places, scrambled eggs were fried on a fire built under a birch. Part of the brought food crumbled to the ground; peasant women of the Yaroslavl province. They thought they were leaving food for the hares. Pieces of scrambled eggs were sometimes buried in the ground. Among Russians from the Volga region, a meal often preceded the main action: first, eggs and scrambled eggs were eaten in a rye field, and then they went to the nearest forest to curl a birch. In a number of places, men, mostly boys, were also allowed to take part in meals and games, in round dances around curled birches. They came to "make them [girls] laugh with jokes, cheer them up with songs, dancing" (Makarenko A.A. 1993, p. 112).

In some places, the curling of birch trees was accompanied by the rituals of kumleniya, christening and burial of the cuckoo. A "cuckoo" was planted on intertwined branches, crosses and ribbons were hung; through them and under them they mingled: they kissed and exchanged gifts, fought with eggs, passed in pairs.

Throughout the holiday, the girls carefully watched so that none of the strangers would come up and see the braided branches, and the boys would not break off and cut them off. On the appointed day, they, having gathered together again, went to the birches to dissolve them. At the same time, the girls carefully released the branches and weaved ribbons and towels, threads, scarves from them, removed other decorations, returning them to themselves. In Siberia and in a number of places in European Russia, "wreaths" and "braids" braided on birch trees were "twisted", i.e. broke off; on the day of breaking in the Galich region. Kostroma province. observed a strict ban on visiting the garden. The broken parts of the trees were decorated with flowers, and in the evening they were "released" into the water (see the Trinity wreath). In the Vladimir province. the birch was developed in the following way: it was cut down and used in subsequent ritual actions: they decorated it and arranged a walk with it, and in the evening they drowned it in the river (see Trinity birch).

As a place for curling birch trees, those groves, woods, glades, which were located near the rye field, were chosen mainly. according to belief, from this, "as well as from curling rye in the Ascension, it (rye) will be better" (Propp V.Ya. 1995, p. 73). This idea was also reflected in the lyrics that accompanied curling (as well as development), which were actually a spell on the harvest:
"Wreaths curled, (during development they sang" developed ")
Curled green
For good years
On a thick living
For spiked barley,
For oats,
On black buckwheat
For white cabbage.
(Smolensk; Zelenin D.K. 1916. P. 264).

In the Neisky district of the Kostroma region. birch trees curled in the forest so that flax was born and cabbage curled, while they sang:
"Veysya-ko, vyasya, cabbage,
Weisya-ko, weisya, weedy!
How can I not curl the cabbage
How can I not fall in the winter.
(Traditional rites ... 1985. No. 349).

On curled birch branches, according to Russian ideas, mermaids swayed. Residents of the Smolensk province. for a week they were afraid to approach, so that "mermaids swinging on what (intertwined branches) would not tickle the impudent one." And the peasants of Murom (Vladimirsk.) believed that "curling a birch is a great sin, because on the eve of Trinity Day, shishigs (unclean) dance in front of it." (Zelenin D.K. 1916, p. 264). In recent years, based on these ideas, a hypothesis has been put forward, "that each participant in the Semitsk rite, braiding a wreath for herself on a birch, thereby, as it were, called into it a mermaid, i.e. a fetal soul for her unborn child, who, for those for several days that the wreath remained on the tree, it could move into it; when the wreath was broken off and put on the head, they waited for the soul to pass from the wreath to the girl "(Denisova I.M. 1995. P. 127).

The process of curling, weaving, vitya (branches) is comprehended as a ritual action associated with the idea of ​​"life" and having the meaning of generation, development, multiplication. This can explain the need for participation in the rite of all girls and young women, whose main function was to procreate. In one of the Smolensk Trinity songs, life is made directly dependent on the observance of the custom of curling:
"Who does not go
curl wreaths,
Put that
oak deck,
his children
Who does not make wreaths,
That mother will die!
And who will twist
Togo will live!"
(Nekrylova A.F. 1989, p. 476).
(material on curling birches prepared by Zimina Tatyana Aleksandrovna)

Birch is used not only in magic, but also in medicine.

Collection and drying
For therapeutic purposes, buds, leaves, birch sap and birch fungus (chaga) of all types of birches are used.
Kidneys (Gemmae Betulae) are elongated-conical, pointed, glabrous, with scales arranged in a tile-like manner, tightly pressed along the edges. The length of the kidneys is from 3 to 7 mm, in diameter from 1.5 to 3 mm. Color - brown, taste astringent, resinous. They are collected from January to the end of April (before they bloom) when felling the forest, cutting off branches and tying them into bunches (brooms), dried in the open air, in sheds, and then threshed or pulled the kidneys with hands in canvas mittens. Birch buds can be harvested only in forest areas intended for felling or allocated by forestry enterprises for harvesting brooms.
Leaf - Folium Betulae small, no more than 1.5 cm. The smell is weak, fragrant; the taste is slightly astringent. The leaves are collected very carefully, trying not to damage or expose the branches, during flowering in May, when they are still sticky and fragrant, they are dried under sheds, in attics, in well-ventilated areas. It is not allowed to collect leaves from trees growing near roads.
Birch sap - in the spring during the period of sap flow. The phenomenon of leakage is observed after the first thaws; in the first days, the outflow is insignificant, but then it gradually increases and, after reaching a maximum after a while, it begins to gradually decrease, and by the time the buds open, it completely stops. Use it as a medicine only fresh.
Birch mushroom can be harvested all year round, stored for no more than a year.

The kidneys are used to prepare infusions, decoctions and tinctures. Infusion and decoction are prepared as usual. For tincture, one weight part of the kidneys is poured into five parts of 70% pharmacy alcohol or vodka. The container is tightly closed and incubated for 7 days at room temperature, after which it is filtered.
The leaves are used to make an infusion. It is prepared in a ratio of 1:10. At the final stage, baking soda is added to the finished infusion (for a glass of infusion - soda at the tip of a teaspoon).
Chaga is used to make an infusion. The mushroom is washed with boiled water and soaked in water for 4-5 hours. Then pass through a meat grinder. After that, 5 weight parts of warm water are added to one weight part of the crushed raw material and infused at room temperature for two days. Then the infusion is filtered and brought to the original volume by adding boiled water.
Chemical composition
Birch buds contain up to 5.3% of essential oil, which includes sesquiterpenes (betulene, betulol and betulenols), betulenic acid and naphthalene, flavonoids (dimethoxyflavone, betuletol, myricitrin, rutin, myricetin-3-digalactoside, etc.).
The leaves contain butyl ester of betuloretinic acid, up to 2.8% of vitamin C, flavonoids, including hyperoside, tannins, triterpene alcohols, saponins, traces of essential oil.

In the old days, birch sap was drunk against consumption, used as an external remedy for ulcers, they washed bleeding and weeping wounds with it. Healers advised starting to solder the sick with birch sap on Maxim (May 11) - on this day he was considered the most healing.

Birch sap was used for scurvy and jaundice. It was added to milk, which was given to drink to young children during teething.
A decoction of 15 birch buds in a glass of water, 1-2 tablespoons 3 times a day before meals - choleretic agent and remedy for liver diseases.
Arthritis, arthrosis: According to 2 tbsp. spoons of chopped grass knotweed, rose hips, birch leaves, pour a glass of boiling water in a thermos, keep until cool. Strain, salt 2 tbsp. spoons of salt, stir. Soak a piece of cloth made of pure sheep's wool (you can wear socks) in the infusion and dry without squeezing. Tie a dry cloth to the sore spot and wear until it passes.
An infusion of leaves is used as a remedy for edema of renal and cardiovascular origin. The action of the leaves is somewhat less pronounced than the action of the kidneys, but they do not cause irritation of the renal parenchyma. Infusions and extracts from the leaves are effective in mild forms of cholecystitis. In patients, pain, nausea, vomiting decrease, and the general condition improves.
Leaf infusion serves as an indispensable preventive and therapeutic agent for colds.
Infusions and decoctions from birch leaves taken in the spring and autumn for the prevention of rheumatism and gout.
Outwardly alcohol tincture of the kidneys recommended for rubbing and compresses with skin irritations, bedsores, sluggishly flowing granulations.
Dosage
Medicines are taken orally: infusion - 1/3 cup a day, decoction - 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day 10-15 minutes before meals, and tincture - 1 tablespoon 1 time a day.
Infusion of birch fungus is drunk instead of tea at least 3 glasses a day for catarrh, peptic ulcer and stomach cancer.

Birch. One of the most revered trees among the Slavs. It can act as a "happy" tree, protecting from evil, and as a harmful one, associated with female demons and the souls of the dead.
According to Carpathian beliefs, if a married man plants birches in the yard, then one of the family members will die. In the Russian North, the place where birch once grew was not used to build a house.
At the same time, sometimes and in many places, birches were specially planted near the house for the well-being of the family, on the occasion of the birth of a child ...
A birch branch installed with a front angle during the construction of the house was a symbol of the health of the owner and family. Birch branches were stuck in the field to get a good harvest of flax and cereals. A birch log was buried under the threshold of a new stable, "so that the horses were led."
In folk legends, a birch is a blessed tree that sheltered the Mother of God and Christ from bad weather, or St. Friday from the persecution of the devil; or, on the contrary, it was considered a God-cursed tree, the branches of which were whipped by Christ.
The female symbolism of the birch is manifested in the rituals of the treatment of childhood diseases: for example, sick girls were carried to the birch, and boys - to the oak. In marriage ceremonies, the symbols of the bride and groom were oak and birch.
In Polissya, it was believed that a birch planted close to home causes female diseases in its inhabitants; that growths form on a birch from "women's curses." In some Polissya villages at funerals, the body of a woman was covered with birch branches, the body of a man - with poplar branches. In wedding and lyric songs, a birch is the most popular symbol of a girl.
The connection of Birch with evil spirits and the souls of the dead also points to female symbolism: about the mermaids in Polissya they said that they "descend from the birch". Belonging to the mermaids were considered birch trees, whose branches descend to the ground. On the Trinity week, they were afraid to approach them.
In Poland, such trees, standing alone in the field, were called spirit trees.
They were inhabited by the souls of dead girls, who at night came out of the birch and "danced" random passers-by to death. According to Polish beliefs, under a lonely standing birch, the soul of the victim of a violent death rests, and
instead of juice, blood flows in it.
Some signs of an unusual type of birch (twisted or fused with another tree) were evidence for Belarusians that an innocently perished soul was buried under it. In many East Slavic legends, legends, songs, a dead girl turns into a birch. In the Kostroma Territory, they said about a dying person "he is going to birches."
Birch is often mentioned as an attribute of evil spirits in demonological beliefs and bylichkas. The witch could milk milk from birch branches, she could also fly not only on a broomstick or a bread shovel, but also on a birch stick. White horses, given to the devil as a gift, turned into crooked birch trees, and bread given to the devil into birch bark; a woman in whom a demon "moved in" during the attack was "thrown" onto a birch.
Trinity rites associated with birch are widely known among the Slavs, performed as a rule by girls and women. They went to the forest, chose a young birch, decorated it, curled wreaths on its branches, arranged a joint feast under it, led round dances, guessed. Then, with a cut birch (which was sometimes called "semik"), they walked around the village and, at the end of the ceremony, threw the birches into the water, into the fire, into the ravine (that is, they "escorted the birch", "buried" it).
The girls "smoked" with a birch, asked her for a share, washed themselves with birch sap for beauty and health.
Birch branches, especially used in Trinity and other calendar rites, were considered by all Slavs as a reliable amulet. Shut up under the roof of the house, they reliably protected from lightning, thunder and hail; stuck in the middle of crops in the field protect from rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds - protect capes from caterpillars.

"Birch Signs":
Birch turns yellow before an early autumn frost.
Birch gives a lot of juice, by a rainy summer.
The birch will spread its leaves before the alder - by a dry summer, and later by a rainy one.
If on Yurya there is a birch leaf in a half, then put bread in a tub for the Dormition. When the birch begins to bloom, this oats.
In autumn, birch leaves begin to turn yellow from the top - early spring, turn yellow from below - late.

With the diverse use of birch, the following riddle is associated:
“A tree stands green in the morning, there are four lands in this tree: the first is for the sick for health (a broom), the second is a well for people (birch sap), the third is light from darkness (a torch), the fourth is a decrepit swaddling (birch bark on broken pots). »

It has long been believed that birch has the greatest healing power in May. Therefore, in the period from May 1 to May 12, they collected its juice and gave it to the sick, sick and weak people to drink, so that they would soon recover and gain strength. To prevent the tree from becoming exhausted, no more than 1 liter of sap was collected from each birch, the wound was carefully covered up and the tree was thanked for its help.

This tree was not touched for more than a year, and branches were not cut from the donor tree during the year. It was believed that if a birch was asked too often for help, she could be offended and take revenge on the person who offended her, sending him "haze" and failure in her personal life.

Usually, trees growing in the forest at the age of 7 to 50 years were used to collect birch sap, since it was believed that in addition to health, a birch can give a person youth, and for this the tree itself should not be too old. In May, half-blown birch buds and young sticky leaves were collected for medicinal purposes.

In the old days they said: “Birch is a wayward and capricious tree. It does not welcome every person, it does not help everyone. But if she falls in love with someone - to be happy and successful in everything. Knowing the “capriciousness” of the tree, they tried not to plant a birch near the house itself, so they placed the birch at the gate so that trouble would not enter the yard, and put a bench near it so that at the right time you could talk to the tree, ask him for strength and help.

Birch especially favors children, innocent girls and pregnant women. For children, a swing was set up near the birches, the girls decorated the birches with their ribbons, taken out of the braid, for the holiday of Lada and Lelya, for Ivan Kupala, in order to successfully marry. Until now, in the villages they resort to such love magic. A birch twig is placed on Friday on the threshold, over which the one they want to act on must step over. Having done this, the rod, which no one should see, is placed in a dry and hot place, saying three times: “May you dry (name) from love for (name), how this rod dries.” When the person they are talking about has passed through the threshold, the twig is removed to a secret place, then they heat the bathhouse, put this rod on the top shelf, give more steam and, turning to the side where the twig lies, they say: - “Sweat, twig, and be soft as fluff, may the heart of the servant of God (name) be to me, the servant of God (name), as soft as you. After that, the bath is locked, and after a while they take a twig, carry it to the water at dawn and let it go with the flow.

Pregnant women before giving birth asked the birch for strength and help so that the birth would be easy and successful, and the child would grow up healthy and happy. Birch branches were also used to endow newlyweds with fertility, to heal from infertility.

Birch belongs to the zodiac sign of Cancer. It broadcasts for us its power and the mobile unsteady energy of the Moon. Her energy is cold and refreshing, like pure water, and just like water after bathing, it plunges us into a dream that lifts people to the heights of heaven. It gives a person the support of his kind. Birch deals with new beginnings and acceptance or birth.

The birch has the power to give life. This life force gives birth to all things every year. The aspect of filling with strength and energy provides a cleansing effect. The birch has the power to drive out harmful or malignant influences with the help of eternal life force.

Birch gives men masculinity, and women give femininity to both, gives confidence in themselves, in their strengths and capabilities, and also helps to maintain good physical shape,

All Slavs believed that birch branches plugged under the roof of the house, left in the attic, protect against lightning, thunder, hail; stuck in the middle of crops in the field, they drive away rodents and birds; abandoned on garden beds, protect cabbage from caterpillars. Birch branches were also stuck in the field in order to get a rich harvest.

With the help of birch branches and birch brooms, they tried to protect themselves from evil spirits and diseases. Birch is a tree that stays awake all day. She falls asleep just before dawn. As the first roosters sing, dispersing the evil spirits with their voice, the birch plunges into a sweet and deep sleep for 2 hours in order to wake up at dawn and give the world its pure power. Her sleep period falls approximately at 3-5 in the morning, and the peak of vigor is at 6-9 in the morning: at this time people went to a growing birch to “transmit” diseases to it (water left after bathing the patient was poured under the birch). In the text of the Russian conspiracy from angina pectoris, the motive of the threat in relation to the disease sounds: - "I will throw a bush under the birch trees so that it does not hurt, so that it does not ache."

Birch branches (especially spring ones that have just blossomed) are rightly considered an excellent talisman that drives away sorrows and ailments, protects children from illnesses and many other troubles. Because of these properties, cradles for newborns were made from birch wood. During the rituals of exorcism, witches were flogged with birch rods, so lazy people and lunatics in some places are still fed with birch porridge.

Communication with a birch is useful for people with upset nerves who are in a state of depression. This tree relieves fatigue, neutralizes the negative effects of everyday stress, helps restore spiritual harmony.

Charm from birch bark

Since ancient times, Slavic peoples have endowed birch with magical properties. To attract well-deserved money, you can use a talisman made of birch bark.

It is not difficult to make it: in the spring, when the trees have already “woke up” and the birch has sap, in the early morning tear off a piece of bark from the birch with your left hand, saying: “As ordered, I took it, for good, not for evil.” These words should be repeated seven times.

The amulet can be stored in a pocket or purse. It will help you get the money you earn, the bonus, the salary increase, etc.

Random money, winnings, inheritance does not attract this amulet.