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Cypress has a long file in folk magic: A tree of mourning, transition, and the underworld, revered in ancient funerary rites.
Cypress in the craft
A tree of mourning, transition, and the underworld, revered in ancient funerary rites. Cypress is associated with ancestors, death magic, and peaceful passage to the afterlife. Its wood is used to carve protective talismans, while its oil is burned to honor the dead and enhance mediumship. Despite its somber ties, it also symbolizes eternal life—its evergreen nature representing the soul's continuity. In Mediterranean traditions, cypress branches were placed near doorways to ward off malevolent spirits.
Correspondences
- Also called: Mourning Tree, Tree of the Underworld
- Gender: Feminine
- Planet: Saturn
- Sign: Scorpio
- Element: Water
- Deities: Hades, Persephone, Thanatos
Note: Avoid during pregnancy due to potential emmenagogue effects.
Old correspondences
- Zodiac: Scorpio — plant of the Scorpio season
- Mythology: Hades — deity of this plant
- Mythology: Persephone — deity of this plant
- Colors: Black — color of the same planetary force