🌲 Spruce Folklore
Our ancient forebears are said to have paid a little less attention to the spruce than other peoples. Except for the Alemanni; for them, it was a truly sacred tree. Christian pilgrimage sites that beautifully point to the spruce are also not very frequent. Nevertheless, it has always held a very high significance among the people. The spruce deeply grounds us, connects us with the immortal power of the forest, and gives us profound protection and endurance in the cold, dark season.
The Spring Cure: In the spring, the resinous spruce shoots were carefully gathered, cut into small pieces, and drenched with water until everything was covered. One drank one cup of this magical decoction a day. For our great-grandparents, this was their traditional spring cure.
Ancient Giants: The age of some spruces is estimated in some places to be a good 1,000 years.
Traditional Names: Red spruce (Rotfichte), red fir (Rottanne), spruce tree (Fichtenbaum), black fir (Schwarztanne), pitch tree (Pechbaum).
✨ Spruce in the Old Beliefs: Spirits & Warding Magic
Guarding the Home: A spruce wreath on the front door fiercely protected against negative energies that wanted to step into the house.
Calling the Spring: Spruce branches attached to the house were a beautiful symbol for the end of winter. In earlier times, they were also respectfully brought into the house to call forth the spring.
Spirits of the Woods: It was frequently reported back then that the spruce grants a safe residence to the forest spirits.
Warding Off Hexes & Lightning: Stable animals were safely protected from hexes with spruce branches, and a small spruce splinter laid under the bed was meant to fiercely protect the home from lightning strikes.
The Transfer Tree: It was also a powerful “transfer tree” for illnesses, especially gout. The old incantation softly went: “Good morning Mrs. Spruce, here I bring you the gout.” (“Guten Morgen Frau Fichte, da bring ich dir die Gichte.”)
Toothache Magic: A sharp spruce splinter was used to poke around in an aching tooth until it bled, and afterwards, the bloody splinter was carefully inserted back into the spruce tree to magically transfer the pain.
Blemishes: Against blackheads, tiny spruce trees were gently pulled out and planted back into the earth upside down.
Invincibility Spell: Seeds from a spruce cone that hangs upwards, swallowed on an empty stomach in the morning before sunrise, ensured that one remained completely invulnerable for the whole day. As a substitute, spruce needles could also be eaten.
Carrying the Magic: Small spruce twigs carried safely on one’s person protected against contagious diseases.
🧺 Magical Harvest: Gathering, Drying & Working with Spruce
Year-Round Magic: The rich resin, the sturdy branches, and also the needles can be respectfully gathered and dried all year round. One can also carefully clean the resin and conjure up a wonderful, resinous peasant salve (Bauernsalbe) from it.
Preserving the Green: Spruce needles should be dried very quickly and swiftly in absolute darkness so that they beautifully retain their green color and do not turn brown. For safekeeping, they must lie in pitch darkness and ideally in a room with high humidity, because then they stay wonderfully green.
The Sacred Resin: Spruce resin for incense blends should be dried for as long as absolutely possible. Ideally 1 to 2 full years or even longer.
Forest Baths: Spruce branches for a cleansing spruce bath are mostly used fresh from the tree.
The May Shoots: The young, bright green shoots, the so-called May shoots (Maiwipfel), are gathered from April to May.
Chewing Pitch: When you are walking through the deep forest, you can safely take chewing pitch (Kaupech) from the spruces. Chewing pitch is the pure resin that you can naturally use as a chewing gum.
🌲 Ancestral Recipes: Forest Jelly & The Spruce Spirit
Forest jelly is magically conjured from the young shoots to beautifully sweeten a hot cup of tea:
🍯 Forest Jelly for Sweetening Tea
What you deeply need for this magic:
500 ml young, light green spruce shoots (Fichtentriebe)
500 ml water or orange juice
500 g preserving sugar / jam sugar (1:1)
The fresh juice of half a lemon
The Enchanting Preparation:
The Brew: The spruce shoots are carefully boiled with the water or the orange juice for about five minutes. If you like the taste to be a little more robust, you can also let the delicate shoots steep in the water or orange juice overnight.
The Filtering: Afterwards, everything is poured through a fine sieve. You can squeeze the spruce shoots out vigorously once more afterwards to extract all the magic.
The Magic Touch: Now you add the preserving sugar and the fresh lemon juice. Bring it back to a boil and let it simmer gently for another five minutes.
Preserving: When you have everything ready, you must immediately pour the hot spruce jelly into sterilized, hot jars and seal them tightly.
When you come home completely chilled from your wintery forest walks, such a homemade jelly tastes exceptionally good. It is absolutely wonderful for sweetening your herbal teas.
🌲 Spruce Cone Liqueur (The Spruce Spirit)
This unique spruce cone liqueur is respectfully crafted from the green, highly resinous cones. In the deep wintertime, it is not only a wonderful warming drink, but also a true ritual beverage. A small glass, enjoyed in absolute silence, can be a beautiful little ritual to deeply connect with the forest or to honor the ancestors, who, according to the Old Beliefs, reside deep within the woods.
Furthermore, this spruce cone liqueur actively boosts our circulation and tastes incredibly good.
The Foraging Secret: Gathering green cones is always very tedious because a green cone rarely falls from the high spruce tree. You might possibly find them resting on the forest floor after a heavy storm. You must actively look where logging has taken place in the forest around this time of year. There, the green cones lie around in absolute masses. That is exactly where I always go to gather them.
Preparation of the Spruce Spirit:
All that you need:
4 – 5 green spruce cones
1 bottle of vodka (0.7 l)
70 – 150g brown or white sugar (You have to determine the sugar content for yourself, because some like it much sweeter than others.)
The Crafting Process:
The Sweet Beginning: You carefully cut the green cones into small pieces, pour the sugar completely over the cones, and let it stand undisturbed for a good two days.
The Spirit: After these two days, you pour the vodka in and let everything stand on a warm windowsill for 8 full weeks. It must be gently stirred or shaken from time to time.
The Filtering: After these 8 weeks, you filter it beautifully and pour it into clear glass bottles. The longer you let it steep, the stronger and deeper it becomes in its rich taste.
The Maturation: Now it must steep once more for another 8 weeks in a dark and cool place.
The Elixir: And your spruce cone liqueur is fully finished! It is also rightfully called “Spruce Spirit” (Fichtengeist). A truly wonderful drink in the cold wintertime.
A Whisper of Gratitude: After one has gathered in the deep forest, one always gives thanks. In nature magic, it is completely customary to gently leave a small offering behind. Be it a beautifully chosen stone or even a small sip of tea. We should actively show much more profound gratitude for the precious treasures of the forest.
