Birch
Birch denotes fertility, light, purification, cosmic ascent, and protection from witchcraft or misfortune, while its wood and sap support extensive folk medicine.
Our paraphrase of what the sources say it carries.
At a glance
- Type
- Symbol
- Borne by
- 2 figures
- Traditions
- Germanic folklore (1)Slavic folklore (1)
Figures that bear it
A model judged each figure against its own description, one term at a time. Is: the figure is, or is partly, this thing. Bears: it carries the thing or is marked by it. What a figure does is filed under motifs and powers. Open "why" for the sentence the judgement rests on.
- Baba Yaga bears Slavic folklore
why
As she travels, she sweeps away all traces of her passage with a broom made of silver birch.
- Krampus bears Germanic folklore
why
He carries bundles of birch branches (Ruten) for switching naughty children and often totes a woven basket or washtub strapped to his back for hauling away the very worst offenders.