‘Cast not a clout, ‘til may is out’ is one of the best known country weather lore phrases, and one of the most contentious.
A ‘clout’ is an item of clothing, so the recommendation is to stay wrapped up in your winter layers for a while longer, until ‘may is out’. Please notice the small ‘m’ in may.
Modern quoters of the phrase, separated from the seasonal turning of the hedgerows say it with a ‘M’, thinking it refers to May the month.
My longstanding belief is that it’s may, the flower, that’s being referred to. The country name of mayflower is given to the blossom of the hawthorn tree, dominant in our hedgerows and resplendently white each Maytime. This blossoming, as a part of nature, will be far more reflective of the weather conditions than the abstract construction of a date on a calendar.
My first sighting of may being ‘out’ this year was on 15th April, but I’d chatted to people at Dursley Market on 12th April who had already seen hedgerows with mayflowers blooming. That’s pretty much a month early, based on my remembrances of a decade or so ago eagerly awaiting the nominal adornment of the ‘merrie month of May’.
At the start of April this year we were very much tempted to cast our clouts as a spell of fine and sunny weather threatened to desiccate new seedlings. Within a week though, storms had returned and I was glad to return to my ‘winter wardrobe’. I’ve shivered my way through enough May picnics over the years to know that, however bright and sunny it seems, the soil is not truly warmed, and the breeze can still have a real nip in it.
So heed the old sayings, there is much wisdom in them. And keep your clouts on, you can still have a good time (as the song goes).
Maytime excitement
Do you notice the frisson in the air at this time of year, like everything is starting to accelerate? There’s a passion and pace throughout nature which catches our imagination too.
Flowering at this time, mayflower is symbolic of this energy and lustyness. Mayflower is associated with May Day (1st of May), which would have fallen on our current 13th May before the Gregorian calendar shift moved everything by a couple of weeks. So mid May is when we would expect the fullest blossom in the hedgerows. Set a reminder in your phone to check then and see what you think.
A time to dance
May coming into bloom was the traditional equivalent of a Google pop-up calendar reminder to celebrate Beltane, a time to ‘go a-Maying’. This was the May Day Eve trip to gather boughs of mayflower for decorating the festivities and forming crowns for the May king and queen – who would bless the fertility of the earth as part of the seasonal fertility rites. Hawthorn was chosen for the upright post of the Maypole too, bringing life, love and fertility to the community.
(incidentally, did you know that it was customary to keep the maypole to burn on the midsummer fire? A good choice, as hawthorn is one of the hottest woods to burn – moreso than oak. Charcoal made from hawthorn can burn hot enough to melt iron. So burning a maypole of hawthorn would assure you a good blaze at midsummer).
But be sure to have good reason to fell your hawthorn – like the ritual requirement for a maypole. It’s protected by the ‘fairy folk’ so should not be cut without healing or ceremonial reason. Even in relatively recent times, new buildings planned at Queens College, Belfast had to be re-designed to accommodate the hawthorn tree that must not be disturbed.
A-Maying
A-Maying is a euphemistic term if ever I heard one. (‘Discussing Uganda’ was the favoured one of my younger years). Evidence that such delights were supported by communities is suggested by the whole-hearted acceptance of any children born nine months from May Day, whether their father was present or not.
Hawthorn was considered to protect children, and would be hung above the cradle.
The fertility association with mayflower may be connected to its scent. Have a good sniff when you’re next by some. What do they remind you of?
Some suggest they are reminiscent of female sexual secretions, hence the association with maiden energy and fertility.
The mayflower boughs gathered on May Day Eve could be used to adorn the beds of newly wed couples – with all their associations of fertility and lasting love. However, May Day was the only day on which it was considered safe to bring these boughs indoors. On all other days, they were associated with death.
Scent to die for
That scent has other similarities too. The specific chemical omitted by hawthorn blooms (especially when ‘going-over’) is trimethylene. This is the same odour as given off by a newly decaying corpse.
This is probably the reason it is considered unluckly to bring mayflowers indoors and thought to signify death. In the Ogham alphabet Hath (Hawthorn) is the 6th letter and translates as fear or terror.
In the 1600s 20% of people were killed by plague. Scent, such as rosemary, was used to ward off the disease. In contrast, hawthorn with its smell of rotting flesh was thought to contaminate homes.
Triple goddess
Hawthorn is associated with the triple goddess – Maiden, Mother and Crone. They are represented in the tree at different times of the year. In springtime when the tree is in blossom. the Maiden is brought to mind.
For the best blossoms, find hawthorn as a standing tree. Hawthorns appear in our landscape as trees or, more commonly, as hedging plants. They have different characteristics, almost as if the tree knows what it is there to do. The trees have more blossom and fruit, the hedgerow plants are spinier and less productive.
In the natural calendar, the harvest is expected 13 weeks after the hawthorn blooms. Thus the Maiden is connected to the Mother, who is the nurturing, protective provider.
And that blossoming standing tree, when it is a solitary figure in the winter landscape, becomes the Crone. The wisdom of the hawthorn is associated with the cardinals of the compass, she will always tell you which way the wind is blowing. Relied upon to support hard decision making, carry a piece of wood gathered from the hawthorn in winter to know which way to go or what choice to make.
Wisdom of nature
Hawthorns have been part of our landscape for so long – there is evidence back to 6000 BC, and they were present in tombs and graves from at least 4000 BC, showing how they were part of our ancestors’ lives.
They are entwined in our folklore, with so many more tales to tell. Come and join our herb walks to learn more as we explore the hedgerows together.
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