It’s a parasite, it’s poisonous, and it’s plain. It’s also one of the most mythically powerful plants in human history. In the five thousand years between the Druids drenching it in sacrificial blood, and today’s quaint practice of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas, this plant has remained neck deep in magic.
Mistletoe became associated with ancient Celtic sun worship for two reasons: first it doesn’t grow on the ground, but grows high up in the branches of trees. Secondly, the golden-coloured plant is only revealed when the leaves fall during the darkest days of the year.

A polite parasite, but a parasite nonetheless, mistletoe’s sticky seeds cling to tree branches as they send out a small root along the branch looking for an irregularity in the bark. When it finds one it swells up into what’s called a holdfast. The polite part comes in as the plant produces its own stems and leaves: mistletoe can photosynthesize its own food energy and will only take from its host enough water to stay alive. It may be an uninvited guest, but it’s not a drunken oaf who’s going to wreak havoc on its host.

If there’s truth in the idea that biology is destiny, mistletoe’s are proof. The roots of this plant’s ancient mythic powers are physically and spiritually entwined with the great oak trees. Druids, the original tree huggers, worshipped the oak above all other species. Even their name comes from dru for strength/oak, and vid for wisdom/mistletoe.

When a tree containing a mistletoe was discovered they knew it was especially blessed by the gods. Being Druids, this meant there was a lot of blood sacrifice at both the summer and winter solstices when they climbed up and ritually cut down the plant with a golden knife.

Maybe because of the Druid’s belief that mistletoe was the sperm of their sun god, Teranis, the plant has always been associated with fertility and birth. For centuries it was used in a potion to help both humans and animals conceive. The ancient Greeks seem to have been influenced by the early European passion for the plant. Virgil’s ‘Golden Bough’ shows the hero, Aeneas, using mistletoe as the key to entering the underworld.

The Celtic name for the plant translates as ‘all-healing’ and the thousands of medicinal uses for mistletoe ranged from the practical to the highly improbable. It was used as both a poison and an antidote for poisoning; chewing it would heal ulcers; carrying a sprig in your pocket would prevent seizures; it was a heart medicine and a cure for delirium and hysteria. It was also a cure for ‘love sickness’ to be taken in a tea after four days of vomiting.

Today modern medical science is returning its attention to this ancient plant. Cancer researchers are looking at the chemical properties of mistletoe, specifically the powerful lectins within the plant, to see if they can be engineered to attack and kill cancer cells in humans.

For five thousand years mistletoe has had a place in the human imagination. From one of the paramount symbols of a prehistoric faith to a sweetly romantic holiday ritual, this is a plant that opens the window onto our deep connection with botanical life on earth.

The bond between humans and plants is both physical and spritual, profound and practical—and, with the help of modern science, plants like mistletoe have a promise for the future that may even outshine their fascinating pasts.