In Denmark, some people think that a person who stands under an elder tree on Midsummer’s Eve can see the Elf-King and his army. Others say that if you fall asleep under a blossoming elder tree, you will wake up in Fairyland. However, if you wish to pick fragrant elderflowers, you had better first ask permission from the spirit guarding them. In the olden days she was called a dryad, whereas nowadays she is known as Hyldemoer or Lady Ellhorn.

Chapter IX of the book is all about Nature witches, whose task it is to protect nature and all living things within it, be they plants, animals, humans or crystals. Yes, crystals do live, grow and change just like us, though so slowly that we can’t perceive it happening. My favourites are pebbles on riverbanks, worn down over the centuries because they’ve let the water wash away all that is superfluous, rushing on between them as if they themselves were now part of the river.

Find out more about Elder Mother and other benevolent and mischievous nature witches from The Book of Forgotten Witches!

Illustration by Lilla Bölecz.