The ‘Craobh Airgid’ or Silver Bough/Branch

“Take thy family then,” says the warrior, “and take the Cup that thou mayst have it for discerning between truth and falsehood. And thou shalt have the Branch for music and delight. And on the day that thou shalt die they all will be taken from thee.”
Manannán mac Lir, Echtra Cormaic

Irish myth tells us of a silver apple branch hung with bells sometimes used as a tool in Druidry. I do use one in my practice. The ‘Craobh Airgid’ or Silver Bough/Branch is a symbol found in Irish myth. Essentially, it’s a Silver Branch from a sacred Apple Tree, bearing blossoms and or fruit. It plays music which has a hypnotic, soothing quality that cures all ills, even the pain of childbirth apparently. Before I tell you a bit about what comes to us from the annals, let me first tell you about my Craobh Airgid and how I use it in my practice.

I have made three such branches and each has a different ritual use. Isn’t that so Druidic, using them in a triad of ways? My first effort was made with a branch from an apple tree in my garden and brass bells on a string acquired from a Fair Trade catalogue. I spray painted it silver and simply secured the nine bells along the line of the branch. It tinkles lightly and pleasantly, and I use it simply to clear my spaces and especially prior to Zoom calls for some reason and when I share stories.

My second effort was a branch made from a child’s rattle. The bells were already attached and there was one too many, so I had to cut off a bell. The bells were already golden, and apple shaped and this time I painted the wood part with silver nail polish. This belled branch I carry in my Crane Bag and use it in my solo rituals when I do hedge things. I like it a lot because it is easy to use and I love the bell sounds, especially in nature and near to water.

My third effort was made from a fallen crab apple branch offered to me from a tree on a Bronze Age Passage Tomb that sits on the hill behind my house. I have spent much time in this place, a whole year and a day. It has nine little twigs off it from which I suspended brass round apple shaped bells acquired from another Fair Trade catalogue. The branch was already nicely silvered so I’ve left it be. It sits in a jug depicting a hare in the full moon to the east in my house. It only gets used when the ‘big guns’ are required so to speak. (I’d never use actual guns by the way, lest that needs to be said.) I use it mostly when I meditate and or when I get warnings in dreams. Mostly this one gets used in protection.

Let me just clarify something here, there is no absolute right way to use a Silver Bough in your practice, only the right way for you. Mine is a practice honed over time. I use my Silver Bough to call in spirit and deities. The twinkle of the bell sound pleases them, and I use it to chase away malevolent spirits too as the sound keeps them at bay. I also use it purify and to mark the beginning and the ending of my ceremonies. I’m not going into the intricacies of my rituals here, just know three things. They work for me; they are special; and every Druid must have her secrets.

What do we learn from the ancient myths? Certainly, the Apple Tree has long since been considered sacred, both for its mystical qualities and for the sustenance borne in its fruit. We know that the Goddess of Imbolc Brigid, caused apples to grow on an Alder tree when she was required to feed her flock, literally and spiritually.

The ‘Craobh Airgid’ or Silver Bough/Branch is featured in both the poem ‘Imram Brain’ -The Voyage of Bran and the narrative ‘Echtra Cormaic’ – Cormac’s Adventure in the Land of Promise. This branch holds the key into the Otherworld, in Ireland this may be Tír na nÓg, but there are many Otherworlds.

It is associated with Manannán mac Lir, an Irish sea deity and guardian of Tír na nÓg. He also has strong ties with Emhain Abhlach – the Isle of Apple Trees, (Some people identify this with Avalon thought to be Anglesey in Wales, others identify it with Eamhan Macha the fort known also as Navan Fort built to honour the Goddess Macha).

In the Voyage of Bran, the Silver Bough originated in a place called ‘Tír inna m-Ban’ – the Land of Women. At the beginning of the Voyage of Bran we learn that he fell asleep outside of his palace, lulled by ethereal music that only he could hear. He woke up to discover a beautiful Silver Branch laden with apples and white blossoms. He took this inside and a mysterious woman appeared before him, sang him a plaintive song about the Otherworld, and then vanished taking the Silver Branch. This occurrence lit a fire in the soul of Bran, and nothing would please him but to go on a quest to find the Otherworld. This saga is an account of Bran’s rite of passage that takes him on many adventures where he encountered many losses and gleaned much wisdom.

The Silver Branch is not easily acquired. It has only ever been given to a select few by the Sidhe Queen of the Otherworld. Bran’s apples amounted to three. Described as being the colour of burned gold, the size of the head of a month-old child, with the taste of honey on them. Strange metaphor I agree. They did not lessen by being eaten and could sustain you in a famine. They left ‘no pain of wounds or the vexation of sickness’ on anyone that ate them. Akin to the golden bough of Virgil, it served as a doorway into the Otherworld. Cut from a mystical apple tree, the Silver Branch plays captivating irrestible music. The apples it bore, dangling like bells, served as sustenance to the bearer whilst in the Otherworld.

Cormac mac Airt’s branch carried nine red-gold apples which jingled when shook. King Cormac was so enchanted by the bough’s music that he agreed to give up his wife, and children in order to own it. His family were bereft when they discovered how easily they had been traded away, until that is, they heard the music of the branch, and all was well with them. A year passed and Cormac longed to see his family again. He took the Silver Branch and set out on a quest to find them. He came to Manannán mac Lir’s palace on a verdant green plain shrouded in mist. Manannán divulged to Cormac that he had lured him there and reunited him with his wife and family. They all stayed there that night and awoke the next day in Tara, with the Silver Branch and other magical gifts beside them.

The Apple tree holds a special place in myth and folklore, it’s a sacred tree of great worth. Legends featuring apples are part of many different cultures, from the Greeks, Romans, the Norse, and the Celts, to the Biblical narrative in the story of Adam and Eve. Though the themes across cultures differ, the apple as a symbolic key into the Otherworld, is a constant feature. They are most often associated with love and beauty, sensuality, and the power of the Goddess.

Apples feature also in the Legends of King Arthur and the fabled Isle of Avalon otherwise known as the Isle of Apples. He was brought to Avalon by the nine Morgans after he was killed at the battle of Camlann. We see here that apples play a key role in his passage into the Otherworld, where no doubt he’s sustained by the same apples forever after.

In the Ulster Cycle the soul of Cú Roí mac Dáire was confined in an apple in the stomach of a salmon after he was killed by Cúchulainn. This salmon lived in a stream in the Slieve Mish Mountains, and only surfaced once every seven years. Cúchulainn himself once gained his escape by following the path of a rolled apple.

Ailinn the granddaughter of the king of Leinster, and Baile heir to the throne of Ulster, fell in love. Their respective families disapproved so they planned to elope. A mysterious stranger advises them respectively that the other has died, resulting in their actual deaths from broken hearts. True love bears fruit though: a Yew Tree resembling Ailinn grew from Baile’s grave while an Apple Tree with apples bearing the image of Baile’s face grew from Ailinn’s. Wands were crafted from these trees by the Druids. They were used to cut love songs in Ogham script. One day these wands magnetically sprang together, and no one was ever able to part them. They became part of Ireland’s treasures stored at Tara.

In the Irish tale ‘Echtra Condla‘ – The Adventure of Conle, the son of Conn is fed an apple by his Sidhe lover, which sustains him with food and drink for a month without diminishing; but it also makes him long for her and the Land of Women.

In the Irish story from the Mythological Cycle, ‘Oidheadh Chlainne Tuireann‘ – The tragedy of the Sons of Tuireann, the first task given them is to retrieve the Apples of the Hesperides. The Hesperides were three Greek Goddess sisters named for the evening star who possessed the power of sweet song. They guarded the golden apples beyond Ocean in the far west of the world.

Otherworld’s can only be entered by dying so possessing this branch gave you exceptional currency, unparallel access in and out of both worlds, supernatural power as it were. The Silver Branch had a potent power, entrancing all who encounter it, at once lurer and giver, key to locks of both worlds, soother of all ills.

My Silver Boughs are a symbol of my journey as a Druid and a reminder of my sacred journey. They are so special to me, and each Silver Branch came to me in a unique way. The music of the bough unites both the Land of the Living and the Otherworld and as such it is very powerful symbolically and ritually. If I am alone in the woods and get spooked, which happens sometimes, I always feel safer if I have my Silver Branch with me. I somehow know that if I place it between me and the threat, I will come to no harm at all.

Further Reading

Mawie Barrett

Mawie Barrett is a Druid who grew up in the Comeragh Mountains in Co Waterford, Ireland. She defines herself as a mountain woman. She believes that there is a language in landscape that seeps into her by osmosis and fires her imagination. Her work is sprinkled with metaphor; the ordinary everyday event trickles out of her subconscious and tells the deeper story. Her forte thusfar is history, which she expresses in fiction and nonfiction. Writing brings Mawie great joy and expression, it is the place where she channels her insights and reflections. Nature, people and travel are her major influences. She blogs too, and you can read more about her here and discover more of her work at www.druidscribe.com.