Will 2021 Be A Mast Year?

Image by klimkin from Pixabay

Acorns have been bombing my home’s roof and deck and pinging the roof of the metal shed in the backyard heavily since late summer. The quantity of acorns seems to vary from year to year. This year might be what is known as a “mast year.”

I had to look up what a mast year means.  The fruits, nuts, berries, and buds produced by trees and bushes are called “mast.” Things like walnuts, pecans, hickory nuts, hard seeds, and acorns are called hard masts, and berries and fruits, and buds are soft mast. A mast year is a year when the amount of that mast is unusually high in number,

Since my first association with the word “mast” is with a sailing ship, I had to check the etymology of this botanical usage. It comes from Middle English and earlier Old English mete similar to mæst in Old High German where it meant food. If you think of an acorn as food (many animals and some humans do) then inside that shell is the meat.

Can we predict these cycles of acorn plenty? Do we know why they occur? There are theories but it is still mostly a mystery.

These mast years seem to occur in irregular cycles of two to five years. An abundance of acorns is often said to be a nature sign of a bad winter. The folk belief is that squirrels, chipmunks, mice and other animals somehow know that they need to stock up for a bad winter and that nature somehow knows to increase the supply chain of acorns. But there’s no real science behind that folk wisdom and weather lore. that they need to stock up. The Farmers’ Almanac – which has lots of folklore around weather – seems to indicate that if acorn numbers mean a bad winter then almost every year is a bad winter.

But I continue and observe and write about signs of the seasons in nature and keep a nature calendar.

Squirrels, mice, chipmunks and deer feed on the acorns in my neighborhood.  When the trees produce smaller crops for a few consecutive years, they are in effect keeping the populations of these animals in check. But during a mast year, the trees produce more food than the animals can possibly eat.

This abundance causes a boom in the populations of smaller mammals. It also guarantees that some acorns will survive and grow into new trees. Producing nuts slightly stunts the tree’s growth, but as it happens in cycles the tree gets a chance for growth in the non-mast years. Living things generally live to reproduce.

Chipmunks hibernate in cold weather and so in Paradelle, they spend most of the winter sleeping in their dens. I read that one chipmunk can gather up to 165 acorns in a day.  But those cute little Disneyesque critters don’t just eat acorns. Along with seeds and fungi, they will eat grain, fruit, nuts, insects, and worms. I was surprised to find that though they don’t hunt for bird eggs and even nestling birds and baby mice, they will eat them when they find them. They also love to dig in my outdoor potted plants, so cute as Chip and dale might be, they are also pests around here.

In 2020, the chipmunk population locally was insanely large. This year I barely saw any – until the acorns started to fall in late August and now they are all over my backyard and deck. Where were they all spring and summer?

In reading the novel The Overstory by Richard Powers and some other research as a follow-up. I learned a lot about trees. For example, most people probably believe that trees compete with each other for sunlight, water, and nutrients. That isn’t true. In fact, in most settings, they communicate and cooperate.

With acorns, temperature and moisture are probably factors in these cycles, and now it is theorized that oaks might be sending chemical signals to coordinate their production. In my part of the country (Northeast) last winter and spring were generally mild winter and so white and red oak trees are able to produce more of them when they start creating seeds in the spring. A harsh winter or cold spring or freeze can mean little acorn production, or sometimes none at all.

There are still mysteries in all this. How trees communicate with each other is still being explored. We can’t predict when any one species will have a mast year.

but we do better understand what causes it. The weather certainly has a part to play. To produce a healthy crop, the trees need the right combination of temperature and rainfall in the spring.

Phenology is the study of the timing of natural events in relation to the weather. This is the scientific version of weather lore and the studies continue.

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SIDEBAR: Can humans safely eat acorns? Yes, they can be used in a variety of ways. They can be eaten whole, ground up into acorn meal or flour, or made into mush to have their oil extracted. Once you’ve safely leached the tannins from your raw acorns, you can roast them for 15 to 20 minutes and sprinkle them with salt for a snack. I haven’t tried eating yet, but maybe this is a good year for it.

FURTHER READING ON TREES 
The Overstory: A Novel
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature

   

I Went Down to the Crossroads

The song “Crossroads” as recorded by Cream popped up on my Spotify playlist today. It reminded me 1) of high school and 2) of a college literature class where we got into a discussion of crossroads in mythology.

In myth and magic, crossroads often represent a place between the worlds. It is a place where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place. As a symbol, it sometimes is a place where two realms touch and therefore is neither here nor there, or “betwixt and between.”

The song was written around 1936 by Delta bluesman Robert Johnson. The lyrics tell of a man kneeling at a crossroads to ask God’s mercy. Johnson had said it was inspired by not being able to hitch a ride into town at a crossroads. The blues mythology has said that the crossroads is where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his musical talents. The lyrics do not support that interpretation but the myth continued.

Crossroads go back to Greek mythology where they were associated with Hermes and Hecate and shrines and ceremonies often were set at a crossroad. Hermes was connected to travelers, but Hecate’s connection to crossroads was ritualistic. “Suppers of Hecate” were offerings left for her at crossroads at each New Moon.

I have read that in the UK crossroad rituals date back to Anglo-Saxon times and continued until being the early 1800ss. Criminals and suicides were often buried at the crossroads. (Suicide was a crime.) This may have been simply because crossroads usually were outside the boundaries of the town and those people were to be kept apart. Criminals were sometimes punished and executed by gibbet or dule tree at a crossroad.

In Western folk mythology, a crossroads can be used to summon a demon or devil in order to make a deal. The 1587 Historia von D. Johann Fausten describes the character Faust inscribing magic circles at a crossroads and offering a copper coin in order to summon the devil.

Crossroads also appear in hoodoo, a form of African American magical spirituality, and Brazilian mythology.

The myth has been perpetuated in fiction, movies and TV. The U.S. television show. Supernatural, used crossroads demons in a number of episodes. In the Coen Brothers comedy, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the character Tommy Johnson says that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for guitar skills, an obvious allusion to the legend of Robert Johnson.

A Shelf of Grimoires

Image: Suzy Hazelwood – Pexels

I was browsing at a local bookstore and came across a daily planner for practicing (or budding) witches.  Another book on the rather full shelf of like-minded books was Wicca Moon Magic which has a subtitle of A Wiccan’s Guide and Grimoire. I had to look up “grimoire” (grim-WAHR) which is a book of spells or textbook of magic. Yes, like those books the students at Hogwarts had to buy for classes.

These books have instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and how to summon or invoke supernatural entities such as angels and spirits.

I would be more of at a Wicca for beginners level.  Though I find these things interesting, I have no desire to dabble in the dark or light arts. Like most people today, I view magic in its more commonly thought incarnation as entertainment and “tricks.”

Historically, magic is the practice of beliefs, rituals, and actions which are said to control and manipulate, either naturally or supernaturally, beings, and forces. It is not religion or science. Those who engage in magical practices are referred to as either magicians or witches. The former has fantasy book connotations. The latter has evil connotations. Despite plenty of negative connotations with magic throughout history, it still plays a part in many cultures today.

And, though I said it is not considered a religion, magic has played a part in some well-established religions. The angels of Christianity and Judaism have religious and magical connections. The Sefer Raziel HaMalakh is the Hebrew book of Raziel the angel. It is a grimoire of Practical Kabbalah from the Middle Ages written primarily in Hebrew and Aramaic.

Raziel was sent to Earth to teach Adam the spiritual laws of nature and life on Earth. That included knowledge of the planets and stars, the spiritual laws of creation, and the knowledge of the power of speech and thoughts. It even included knowledge about the power of a person’s soul. That’s a lot of learning. It is the knowledge needed to harmonize a physical and spiritual existence in this world.

I have found a whole figurative bookcase of writing about Wicca, Traditional Witchcraft, Hedge Witchcraft, Kitchen Witchcraft, and others.  I won’t write about them because my knowledge is limited. What I do identify with in these books and practices (and with those of the ancients) are their observances of celestial events.

In the planner book, astrological events and Moon phases are marked for each day.  Though I can’t say that I associate most celestial events with influence on me or my daily life, I do take note of the events.

I suppose over the years I have written some about topics that cross over into related topics, such as herbal uses, divination, folklore and folk traditions. These texts go into other areas that I have read about elsewhere like crystals, talismans, faeries, and spirit communication.

Wicca Moon Magic: A Wiccan’s Guide and Grimoire for Working Magic with Lunar Energies  My posts here clearly show that I pay attention to the Moon. I don’t worship it in any way, but I mark the phases. Wiccans  feel that the Moon’s influences on us is much greater than most of us.

A New Moon and Full Moon are the obvious phases for their attention but each phase of the lunar cycle is supposed to offer particular energies. For millennia, the Moon has been associated with love, passion, fertility, mystery, death and rebirth, and the afterlife.

 

The First Person You See in the New Year

Who will be the first person you encounter on New Year’s Day? There is a kind of tradition in taking careful note of who that person turns out to be.

There are even several words for the first person to walk through your door on New Year’s Day. One word for this person is quaaltagh. That particular word is used on the Isle of Man – a tiny island halfway between Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea. It was borrowed into English in the 1800s from Manx, the Celtic-origin language spoken on the Isle of Man. The belief is that the first person you see (I suspect if that is one of your housemates that might not count since it is so likely) will have some bearing on the events of the year to come. In doing a bit of research, I found that some people seem to feel that it might be the first person to enter your house on Christmas. No one entered my house on Christmas Day because my wife and I went out for the day, so I will have to pay attention on January 1.

A variation on this is the custom of going in a group from door-to-door at Christmas or on New Year’s Day and making a request for food or some gifts in return for a song. Sort of a trick-or-treat Halloween combined with caroling or wassailing.

I also read that the person can be the first one you meet after leaving home.

The etymology comes from quaail (meeting) plus -agh, a suffix forming adjectives and the insertion of -t to form a noun.

A more modern term for this person is a “first-footer” as in the first to step foot into your home.

But there is a third way to label this visitor that comes from an old Yorkshire folklore which calls this person a “lucky-bird.”

I found an assortment of preferences for whom this person should be no matter what label you use if you want their appearance to lead to some success in the new year. This very old tradition favors men as being most fortuitous. In most places, a dark-haired man is favored. Some regions believe you should want him to be a bachelor. Then again, one article I read said that he should bring a gift of coal, but that is a really out-of-favor gift these days. By the late 1800s, whiskey became the preferred gift.

I don’t know anyone who follows this tradition. It’s completely new to me. I suspect that if I had lived more than 200 years ago in the UK some place where this tradition was honored, I might have used it to my advantage. I imagine that a bachelor who was interested in a young lady might have showed up early on New Year’s Day at her front door bearing gifts of coal and whiskey. Those gifts might have had more effect on her father (an important person to win over when you are courting), but then again we could crank up the coal fire and pour a few drinks and who knows what might happen.

Leave a comment if you try out this old tradition this New Year and if the quaaltagh/first-footer/lucky-bird does turn out to be significant in your life.

Jack Frost

“The Christmas Song” sets the holiday scene with:
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yule-tide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos 

Jack Frost has been a name used to personify not only frost, but ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is not quite the same as Old Man Winter who represents the entire season.

Jack is connected with those colder aspects of winter. After all, Old man Winter doesn’t treat southern California in the same way as he treats Maine.  His calling card is the fern-like patterns he leaves on cold windows and plants.

The character of Jack Frost has been around since at least the 1700s. He was usually shown as a mischievous boy or sprite fond of giving noses a chilling bite.

He may originate from Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs. He appears in Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, Kalevala. In Russia, he is Grandfather Frost. The closest German equivalent is Mrs. Holle. There are various other mythological beings who take on a similar role yet have different folklore to them.

Jack Frost has appeared as a character in television and movies. He pops up in songs about the winter season, such as “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”).

He has been presented as both a villain and hero. Modern-day Jack Frost’s come in many forms in popular culture.

He appears in Rise of the Guardians, where he is tired of being unseen and suddenly is forced to join the other Guardians – Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and the Easter Bunny.

In one Jack Frost film, a father returns to life as a loving snowman Jack.

In another film, a man named Jack Frost is genetically altered into a serial killer 
snowman.

Jack appears as the primary antagonist in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause where he is jealous of the attention and popularity of Santa Claus.

 

Weddings

Today I will be at a wedding. My youngest son is getting married. It has been a year in the planning and the past two weeks have been hectic.

Here are a few traditions, superstitions and folklore that I found on weddings.

If the bride puts a sugar cube into her glove (if she wears one), according to Greek culture, i will sweeten the union.

We won’t hold by two English traditions: that a spider found in a wedding dress means good luck, and that Wednesday is considered the “best day” to marry, although Monday is for wealth and Tuesday is for health. That silly line of thinking says that today, Saturday is the unluckiest wedding day – but i is the most popular day of the week to marry now.

Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition. Let’s hope so, because, unfortunately, that is the weather report for today.

Though it is in my DNA, we won’t follow the Czech tradition of throwing peas at the newlyweds. We won’t throw rice either.

Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart.

Queen Victoria started the trend in Western countries for the white wedding dress trend in 1840. prior to hat, brides simply wore their best dress. That was always the color of choice in Japan. In Korea, brides wear bright red and yellow to take their vows.

Ancient Greeks and Romans thought a veil protected the bride from evil spirits.

The wedding cake evolved from the ancient Roman custom of breaking a loaf of bread over a bride’s head for fertility. It seems that the custom of tiered cakes (which has gone to extremes these days – my son has eschewed a cake and decided on desserts people actually like) came out of a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over a cake to which layers were added without knocking it over. What a waste of cake.

In many cultures (Celtic, Hindu and Egyptian weddings), the hands of a bride and groom are literally tied together to demonstrate commitment. That’s where we get the phrase “tying the knot.”

I never knew that the tradition of the bride standing to the groom’s left in Christian ceremonies comes from the idea that the groom needed his right hand free to fight off other suitors.

On average, 7000 couples will marry today in the United States – but I m only concerned about one wedding.