The virtues of mistletoe come from the earliest of times and are just as
mystical and mysterious, as it is magickal. The Greeks believed that
mistletoe had mystical powers and through the centuries it became associated
with many folklore customs. In European history, mistletoe is one of the
most sacred plants. With the many properties of this sacred herb, it was
believed to bestow life and fertility would be prosperous. It was considered
a protector against poisons and a passionate aphrodisiac.

The ancient Druids considered the mistletoe their most sacred herb. They
believed that mistletoe growing on oak trees possessed magickal properties
and considered it an all-heal, which would protect against all forms of
evil. In Celtic traditions, on the sixth night of the moon white-robed Druid
priests would cut the oak mistletoe with a golden sickle or boline. They
would then sacrifice two white bulls while reciting prayers that the
recipients of the mistletoe would prosper. As time went by, the ritual of
cutting the mistletoe from the oak came to symbolize the emasculation of the
old King by his successor. Mistletoe symbolized both a sexual emblem and the
“soul” of the oak. Because of this sacred belief, the herb was gathered at
both mid-summer and winter solstices. The custom of using mistletoe to
decorate houses at Christmas is a survival of the Druid and other
pre-Christian traditions.

In the Middle Ages and later, branches of mistletoe were hung from ceilings
to ward off evil spirits. In Europe they were placed over the house and
stable doors to prevent the entrance of witches. It was also believed that
the oak mistletoe could extinguish fire. This was associated with an earlier
belief that the mistletoe itself could come to the tree during a flash of
lightning. The traditions, which began with the European mistletoe, were
rationalized with the North American plant with the process of immigration
and migrating.

Today the belief is, in order for the mistletoe to be effective in magickal
spells, the herb must be cut with a single stroke of a golden sickle or
boline on the Summer Solstice, Winter Solstice or the sixth day after a new
moon. However you must take care not to let the herb touch the earth or the
herb will lose its magickal potency.

Mistletoe is known to have several names including, “all heal, devil’sfuge,
golden bough, and Witch’s broom. This magickal herb also is believed to be
sacred to the gods and goddesses, Apollo, Freya, Frigga, Odin and Venus. The
mystical powers of mistletoe have long been at the center of much folklore.
One is associated with the Goddess Frigga. The story is told that Mistletoe
is the sacred plant of Frigga, goddess of love and the mother of Balder, the
god of the summer sun. Balder had a dream of death that greatly alarmed his
mother, for if he died, all of life on earth would end. In an attempt to
keep this from happening, Frigga went at once to the four elements air,
fire, water, earth, and every animal and plant seeking a promise that no
harm would come to her son. Balder now could not be harmed by any deed from
this world or below it. Balder did however have one enemy. Loki, the god of
trickery and confusion. Loki knew of one plant that Frigga had overlooked in
her excursion to keep her son safe. It grew neither on the earth nor under
the earth, but on apple and oak trees. It was the beloved mistletoe. Loki
made an arrow tip of the mistletoe, he then gave it to Hoder, the blind God
of winter, who shot the arrow striking Balder dead. The sky paled and all
things in earth and heaven wept for the sun god. For three days each element
tried to bring Balder back to life. Frigga, the goddess and his mother
finally restored him. It is said the tears she shed for her son turned into
the pearly white berries on the mistletoe plant and in her joy Frigga kissed
everyone who passed beneath the tree on which it grew. The story ends with a
decree that who should ever stand under the humble mistletoe, no harm should
befall them, only a kiss, a token of love. It is believed that this was the
core for the translation of the old myth into a Christianized way of
thinking and acceptance of the mistletoe as the emblem of that Love which
conquers Death. Its medicinal properties, whether real or imaginary, make it
a just emblem of that Tree of Life, the leaves of which are for the healing
of the nations and draws parallels to the Virgin birth of Christ.

Kissing under the mistletoe is first found associated with the Greek
festival of Saturnalia and later with primitive marriage rites. They
probably originated from the belief that it has power to bestow fertility.
It was also believed that the dung from which the mistletoe grew possessed
“life-giving” power.

In Scandinavia, mistletoe was considered a plant of peace, under which
enemies could declare a truce or warring spouses kiss and make-up. Later,
the eighteenth-century English credited with a certain magickal appeal a
device called a kissing ball. At Christmas time a young lady standing under
a ball of mistletoe, brightly trimmed with evergreens, ribbons, and
ornaments, could not refuse to be kissed. Such a kiss could mean deep
romance or lasting friendship and goodwill. If the girl remained unkissed,
she could not expect to marry the following year.

In some parts of England the Christmas mistletoe is burned on the Twelfth
Night lest all the boys and girls who have kissed under it never marry. If a
couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a
promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In
France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year’s Day: “Au
gui l’An neuf” (Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged
under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.

Bibliography:
Holiday Spot
Herbal Magick by Gerina Dunwich, New Page Books
A Modern Herbal by Mrs. Grieves