di Andrea Romanazzi

In addition to the fir tree, in the popular tradition, there are other plants typical of the solstice festivities. However, in the Italian tradition, the most commonly used plant was the little-known juniper.

One of the many legends suggests that during the escape to Egypt, as Herod’s soldiers were about to reach the holy family, the Virgin Mary sought help from the vegetation, and only the juniper offered shelter among its branches. Thus, the Virgin blessed it, announcing that it would have the honor of providing its branches for the cross of Christ.

The antiquity of these traditions is evidenced by a famous and equally rare booklet, “Curious Discourse on the Ceremony of Juniper, with the Declaration of placing the Yule Log and the customary Tip in Christmas Time,” from 1621, reported by De Gubernatis. It describes the Bolognese custom of burning a juniper shrub as a Christmas log on Epiphany, and its ashes were then kept as a talisman throughout the year.

“I possess a fairly rare booklet, titled: Curious Discourse on the Ceremony of Juniper, with the Declaration of placing the Yule Log and the customary Tip given during Christmas time, printed in Bologna in the year 1621 (…) I only note that the juniper charcoal burned at Christmas, which retains its magical virtue for a year, corresponds perfectly to the Provençal Christmas log charcoal to which the same virtue is attributed. I also remind once again that English Christmas holly has the same meaning as juniper…”

In reality, juniper, from the Latin “juniperus,” meaning “producer of youth” or “evergreen,” has always been a plant associated with the solstice. John Michael Greer in the Encyclopedia of Natural Magic suggests that juniper is linked to the fire element, as indicated by its astrological aspects being protected by Mars in Aries.

It was already sacred among the Sumerians, who used its fumigations during exorcisms or to ward off evil spirits, and the same is found among the Egyptians. A papyrus dating back to 1500 BC contains a recipe to treat tapeworm infestations. Juniper was also a symbol of the Canaanite fertility goddess Ashera. Later, we find it in the Key of Solomon as an herb associated with Saturn invocations. Among the Romans, the plant was considered sacred to Saturn, Jupiter, and Apollo; furthermore, according to tradition, it ensured fertility and was thus given to young brides. Druids used juniper with thyme in incense for visions. Fumigations of juniper are also found among Siberian shamans for ritual purification and blessing of ritual objects, people, and animals, as indicated by Jeremiah Curtin in “A Journey in Southern Siberia.” It was believed to have the property of healing snake bites, and indeed, Medea used freshly cut juniper liquid to make a potion to put the serpent guarding the Golden Fleece to sleep. It was also a protective plant against witches and their spells, as suggested by Charles Godfrey Leland in “Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition.”