Willow Trees and Pussy Willows

Legends and magic are associated with willow trees. They symbolise renewal, growth, vitality and immortality in China.

The weeping willow is a common sign of mourning. “In Louisiana, when a willow grew large enough to cast a grave-sized shadow, a family member would die” Margaret Baker, 2011. Also, using this wood for any part of the built home brought disaster to the family as it was traditionally the wood of the gallows.

The Yorkshire marriage custom involved an unmarried girl having nine attempts to throw her shoe at a willow on either New Year’s night or Easter. If the shoe stayed among the branches, she’d marry that year.

Have a secret you want to keep? Tell a willow, and it’ll trap it in its wood.

Greeks say that men must pause to touch and smell a water-willow if they pass one or they will lose their sweetheart.


How did the pussy willow receive it’s name?

One breezy day, a mother cat sat contentedly on a river bank watching her playful kittens tussle with each other.

Suddenly, the wrestling kittens rolled into the rushing water. The mother cat was horrified, yet too afraid of the water to rescue her own kittens.

Mama cat began to sob. The wavering reeds listened to the sobbing cat and took pity on her.

The kind reeds bent over the rapid water and the kittens, using their sharp claws, hung on for dear life. They were quickly reunited with their mama cat. The reeds were then blessed with lovely grey velvet tips soft like kitten fur.

You may also like...