#catkins

While out collecting some spring rainwater I came to find one of the large limbs of our pussywillow had bowed down. So I took it upon myself to harvest some of the catkins.

As a kid, pussywillow wasn't something I came by often. Not many folks seem to grow it here. So if I was out and ever came across a stray sprig or loose catkin, it felt magical.

"Blessed are you, God of Israel... Let these branches ever remind us of Christ's triumph. May we who bear them rejoice in His Cross and sing your praise forever and ever. Amen".

In the Czech lands, the branches blessed on Palm Sunday were most often from willow (jíva / vrba) because it is among the earliest trees to “wake” in spring, it’s soft catkins symbolizing life, fertility, and renewal.

I couldn’t find any pussy willows so I turned to birch catkins, a logical substitute. Birch (bříza) carries very similar meanings in Slavic folklore: renewal, purification, and spring vitality. It has a strong association with youth and feminine life force (I include folk Catholicism in my practice, but tend to be more Mary than Jesus oriented) and is used in other spring rites (including May customs).

The addition of the hagstone holding the branches and the stork are a nod to older spring magic.

“In some areas the catkins were placed crosswise on the stove during thunderstorms so lightning would not strike the building. They were inserted in the grain to protect it from all calamities, and were used to beat the field so that it would produce a bountiful harvest. Branches were hidden behind pictures of the saints and placed near crosses and in stables. People would stick them behind swallows nests in barns so the cattle wouldn’t get sick. They were stuck behind roof rafters and in the fields to protect the house and future crops from bad weather.”