Many years ago, I attended a ritual led
by a Druid. At the end of the ritual, we
had to go off and find ‘our tree’. In
the dusky evening, we were to walk towards a tree that called to us, greet it
and welcome the message it gave.
In the lousy light, I meandered off towards
the dark tree line, thinking I’d find a native tree that would impart some deep
and meaningful message, either directly or when I looked up the meaning and
history of that tree. Then I walked into
a large patch of wild blackberry.
Fucking Blackberry!! I was horrified and
decided that it didn’t count. It wasn’t
a tree. I went around the patch and
moved forward again into the shadows and straight into another patch of
blackberry.
I was mortified. I’m a weed.
I’m a nuisance plant that everyone is trying to get rid of.
It stayed with me for ages. It undermined my self-confidence. All I could
see was the brutality of the thorns, the way they grab and don’t let go, they
rip your skin apart. The weedy nature of blackberry, the way it springs up
where it’s not wanted and blocks paths, fills pasture and chokes waterways.
Over the years, I’ve thought about it
often. More so since moving to our block
where we have a lot of wild blackberry. Every summer, I spend hours picking the
sweet and juicy berries. My husband
often talks about putting up fences and wires where the blackberries grow to
tame them and make them easier to pick.
All this time spent around the
blackberry has taught me many things that weren’t immediately apparent.
Blackberry is resilient. It is always springing up where you don’t
want it because it’s almost impossible to knock back entirely. It always gets back up again and thrives.
Blackberry can produce lovely sweet
fruit in the harshest of conditions.
Blackberry can accept support without doing
damage to what is supporting it.
Blackberry thorns protect the plant. The thorns will stick in your skin and make
sure you treat it with respect.
Blackberry can’t be tamed. You can cut it back and try to restrain it,
but it will find a way to come back.
Symbolism and spiritual meanings are
varied. As always there’s no consensus
and you can always cherry pick one that means something to you.
I choose to own all the wonderful things
that blackberry is, I am fiercely protective, I am resilient and I produce many
sweet things.
All hail the blackberry.
Blessings
Debbie
