Thin, sunburned, with your legs dusty and scratched, you wake up lazily and head toward the bowl of sour milk and yesterday’s cold polenta. Mother is already busy with chores around the household, and you know well what you have to do today, as always: take the cow to pasture. You don’t feel this as a burden, because on the hill the village children await you. Among cows and sheep, you’ll still find time to carve flutes, to play with a ball made of rags, and to pick wild strawberries. Once you reach the top of the hill, you are greeted by the old elder tree, heavy with tiny black berries from which grandmother makes jam so delicious you lick your fingers, the very same berries that protect you through the winter months. You look at it with a mix of awe, fear, and respect. You know well that it is not good to linger too long under its shade, for it is wood with spirit, and illness may strike you. So you drive the cow further down the slope, away from its roots, for no one knows what mood Lady Bark, the tree’s guardian, might be in today.
As much loved as it is feared, the elder (Sambucus nigra) has deep roots both in history and in the magical imagination of European peoples. Spread throughout almost all of Europe and Asia Minor, it bears many names—soc or soc negru in Romanian, elder in English—accompanying human life for centuries, wavering between remedy and taboo. Etymologically, its name comes from the Latin sambucus (“flute”), because its wood was used to make flutes and other folk instruments both in Romania and elsewhere in Europe. Its fragrant flowers were transformed into socată (a traditional fermented drink), and its dark berries became treasured remedies.
Beyond all this, in the peasant worldview, the elder tree comes alive and gains consciousness, perceived as a spirit. At times it appears as a benevolent ally, called upon in incantations and magical practices; at other times it is associated with the unclean and with malevolent beings. This dual nature places it, as we shall see, among the fundamental plants of the Romanian magical universe.
The Elder in Milk-Mana Rituals
Regarding the elder as an apotropaic-magical agent against the stealing of milk’s mana (vital force), Pavelescu notes that the “first milk” could be milked through a pipe made of elder wood. Here, the elder functions as a channel in a ritual, alongside other similar solutions (elm pipes, naturally holed stones), all aimed at preserving or enhancing the milk’s vital force:
“Others milk the first milk through an elder pipe, through four elm pipes, or through a stone naturally pierced, from which the rainbow is believed to have drunk.”
(Gh. Pavelescu, Mana in Romanian Folklore, p. 41)
The Elder in the Popular Calendar
In addition to its apotropaic functions, the elder also fulfills the role of a threshold plant in popular tradition. Ghinoiu records that during Whitsuntide/Summer Ancestors rituals, various plants with protective and healing value were used, including elder leaves:
“In Vâlcea, with the leaves of linden, blackberry, elder, jaleș and others gathered at the Summer Ancestors or on Pentecost, different illnesses were cured throughout the year.”
(Ghinoiu, Ion. Romanian Holidays and Customs, pp. 332–333)
At Pentecost (Rusalii), the elder appears as a sacred shrub specific to the “wood civilization.” It is mentioned in rituals connected to the Măcinici feast, in funeral acts (bonfires lit on Maundy Thursday), in beliefs about places unsuitable for building houses, in charms (the elder stick), and in folk medicine (leaves, bark, flowers—especially those blessed in church):
“Another plant venerated at this date is the elder, a sacred shrub (Sambucus nigra L.) of the family Caprifoliaceae, specific to the wood civilization.”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., p. 335)
“He placed his seal (circles made by pressing dough with elder stems) on the anthropomorphic ritual loaves at the Măcinici and on other sacred breads dedicated to the dead.”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., p. 335)
“Together with other sacred plants (dwarf elder), the elder is burned in funeral pyres lit on Maundy Thursday or at other calendar feasts.”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., p. 335)
“The places where elders grow, unfavorable for house construction, are preferred shelters, such as the eaves of churches, chosen by devils to avoid being struck by Saint Elijah’s thunder during storms.”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., p. 335)
“The leaves, bark, and flowers of elder, especially those blessed in church on Pentecost, are frequently used in folk medicine.”
(Ghinoiu, Ion. Romanian Holidays and Customs, p. 336)
Thus, the elder is not merely a simple shrub, but a symbol of the threshold between worlds, with multiple roles: ritual, funerary, apotropaic, medicinal, and as a marker of key moments throughout the year.
The Elder in Incantations
In Comparative Romanian Medical Folklore, I.-Aurel Candrea describes a ritual against roundworms. In it, an old woman strikes an elder with a hazel rod and recites a charm, engaging in a symbolic dialogue with the tree for healing purposes.
“The old woman strikes an elder tree with a hazel switch and chants, holding alone the following dialogue:
– Good morning, elder.
– Good health to you, shepherd.
– Do you know why I have come, elder?
– I shall know if you tell me, shepherd.
– To go to [so-and-so] by evening,
To drive out all his worms,
For if you will not drive them out,
Tomorrow morning I shall return to you,
Before the sun has risen,
And I shall come with the red-ploughshare…
And I shall plough you lengthwise and crosswise…
– Good health to you, elder.
– Go in health, shepherd.”
(Candrea, Folclorul medical român comparat, pp. 359–360)
Ion Ghinoiu recounts that the elder stick is invoked in charms for destiny.
“You, elder staff,
Let him not stand still!
Let him fall,
Let him be struck,
Set him forth to his written destiny!”
(Ghinoiu, Sărbători și obiceiuri românești, pp. 335–337)
The elder’s power is also invoked in charms influencing court decisions.
“– Good day, great elder,
Great lord,
What kin is your mother to your father?
– None at all.
– Then nothing shall come of the judgment in court!”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., pp. 335–337)
Antoaneta Olteanu specifies:
“The elder is a man. For a trial one takes elder, with bread and salt, and says:
‘Elder, conqueror:
You have conquered your sister,
You have conquered your father,
Conquer also my enemy.
You have conquered your mother—so make me conquer too!
You have conquered your brother…’”
(Antoaneta Olteanu, Școala de solomonie, p. 319)
With a dual essence, the elder also refuses to reveal to the Holy Mother the hiding places of malevolent spirits that cause suffering.
“– Good day, great Elder,
– My thanks to you.
– Have you not seen,
Since you have sat here,
The Evil-Eye Woman with her Evil-Eye consort,
The Chill with its Cold-Bringer,
The Forest Mother with her Brood,
The Screamer with the Strigoi,
The Haunting with its Haunter,
The Measure with its Measurer?”
(Ghinoiu, ibid., pp. 335–337)
Tocilescu and Țapu emphasize the role of an elder tube in therapeutic charms against earache, where the elder serves as an instrument to “unearth” the pain.
“(..) [So-and-so] went
Along the road, along the path,
And met with the Ailment,
The Wretched One,
On the way.
If you be ailment
From the holy, the merciful,
From water drunk,
From winds struck,
Come out, ailment,
Wretched one,
From the brain of the head,
From the hearing of the ears.
Do not howl like mills,
Do not bark like dogs,
Do not beat like drums;
Come out!
Do not bake,
Do not half-bake;
Do not prick,
Do not stab,
Do not make in the head
Rotten flesh,
For with my mouth I have chanted you,
With my tongue I have cursed you,
Into the sands of the seas,
Upon the mountain tops:
With an elder tube.”
(Grigore G. Tocilescu; Christea N. Țapu, Materialuri folcloristice. Descântece, poezii, colinde (din Oltenia), p. 256)
Taboos and Superstitions
In Romanian belief, the elder is surrounded by prohibitions that define not only its sacred status but also its ominous nature:
“Do not put elder wood, vine shoots, or walnut shells in the fire, or your teeth will ache. ‘If you cut elder, your teeth will ache.’ As for the elder, the belief is explained by the fact that this tree, in Romania and other nations, is considered sacred wood that should not be touched.”
(I.-Aurel Candrea, Comparative Romanian Medical Folklore, p. 115)
The elder is perceived as an anthropomorphic shrub with ambivalent essence. “The elder’s root is like a human head, with eyes, etc.; it is a head and demands a head; you die if you do not leave it in peace,” suggesting a personalized, almost human power demanding sacrifice. At the same time, it is both pure and tainted: “The elder above is pure, for from it flutes and pipes are made, but its root belongs to the unclean one.”
(Antoaneta Olteanu, The School of Solomonie, p. 319)
In parts of Transylvania, it was believed that an evil spirit named Baba Coajă (Old Lady Bark) killed unbaptized children, trapping their souls in elder thickets until their bodies decayed. It was also said that at the elder’s root dwelled a hostile spirit guarding hidden treasures buried beneath it:
“The elder is the devil’s tree; at its root the devil dwells.”
(Olteanu, ibid., p. 319)
It was further believed that cutting an elder could bring disaster:
“You cannot uproot the elder to replant it, for you will die or go mad; but people set fire at its root to destroy it, for fire cannot be harmed by it.”
(Olteanu, ibid., quoting Niculiță-Voronca, 1894)
Similar beliefs are found in Scandinavia and England, where traditions refer to the Elder Mother, the spirit of the elder. Cutting it without her permission brings misfortune. Just as in Romania, elder wood was used to craft flutes for summoning spirits, in winter fumigations, in ointments, and for gaining magical sight.
(Corinne Boyer, Under the Witching Tree, pp. 45–60)
Among Germans, the elder is considered “holy” and cut only with prayers; in France, it was used as a talisman against lightning and witchcraft.
(G. F. Ciausanu, Romanian Folk Superstitions, p. 210)
Elder in Folk Medicine
Used in decoctions and infusions, elder flowers are diaphoretic and diuretic (for colds, fever, cough). “Elder flower water” was also used in cosmetics.
(V. Voiculescu, All Remedies at Hand, p. 132)
An old recipe for obtaining a “white and rosy complexion” called for waiting until the elder bloomed, then preparing “elder water,” mixed with other floral waters and magical ingredients:
“… keep everything until the elder blooms (its flowers are white); then elder water shall be drawn… all mixed together; … then add the ‘blood of nine brothers,’ a white dove… resin, wormwood water…”
(I.-Aurel Candrea, Comparative Romanian Medical Folklore, p. 310)
Leaves and bark were used in poultices and ointments for irritations and eczema; they were also repellents, associated with sage and wild roses.
(V. Voiculescu, ibid., pp. 134–135)
Corinne Boyer warns about the elder’s toxicity, stressing that leaves, bark, stems, and roots must not be used internally, and that berries are poisonous raw, being consumable only after heat treatment.
(Corinne Boyer, Under the Witching Tree, p. 97)
A shrub with ambivalent essence, the elder fulfills both magical and mediating roles. It was invoked in charms against worms, used in rituals to ease earaches, or served as an apotropaic guardian of milk’s vital force. Sacred yet dangerous wood, it was never to be cut or burned without risk, for unseen spirits were believed to dwell within it. As a threshold plant, it was called upon at turning points of the year, present in remedies and magical practices, yet feared for the spirits hidden in its stem and root. With its dual role, the elder becomes a portal, a passage between life and death, between the human world and the realm of spirits, between remedy and poison. This ambivalence makes it an undeniable symbol of Romanian folklore, sheltering both myth and reality in its shadow.
Bibliography
Candrea, I.-A., Folclorul medical român comparat.
Ciausanu, Gh. F., Superstițiile poporului român.
Ghinoiu, Ion, Sărbători și obiceiuri românești.
Țapu, T. T. & Tocilescu, A., Materialuri folcloristice.
Pavelescu, Gh., Mana în Folklorul Românesc.
Olteanu, Antoaneta, Școala de solomonie.
Boyer, Corinne, Under the Witching Tree.
Voiculescu, V., Toate leacurile la îndemână.
Hodoș, E., Descântece adunate.
Marian, S. F., Vrăji, farmece și desfăceri.