The bay tree is a particularly good example of a tree that has accumulated a rich variety of customs and folklore through the centuries. It is customary to fête great artists and heroes by placing a wreath of laurel on their heads - a practice that has continued from Roman times to the present day. Why is it important to use the laurel and not some other tree? Additionally, it is also said in folklore that to plant a bay tree next to the house brings good luck, while to cut one down brings misfortune. How have these ideas become associated with the tree?....
Returning to the bay tree, its connection to the Sun is traceable to classical times where the tree was sacred to Apollo, the solar deity of the Roman pantheon.3 The solar nature of the tree is apparent from the leaves, for when a good sunlight illuminates them, they shine with a golden lustre. Gold is the colour and metal traditionally connected to the sun. Thus, the tree was visualized as embodying this solar virtue.
Additionally the tree is evergreen, so these golden-green leaves, which last the year round, symbolically reflect the eternal light of the sun. It is known in the ancient temple dedicated to Apollo in Delphi, that the high priestesses or pythia started their ceremonies by burning bay leaves as incense.4 When the bay leaves were burnt, the released Solar virtue invoked the presence of the god Apollo. Once his presence was felt the pythia went into a trance, communicating inspired messages to all that had come to the temple to inquire of the oracle. Furthermore it was noted that the principal pythia actually ate the bay leaves and was specifically fumigated before officiating at the ceremony.
The Sun also traditionally symbolizes the soul. Just as the planets revolve around the Sun, so too the soul can be visualized as the inner sun, the light at the centre of one's being. The Sun therefore symbolizes the inner unfoldment and illumination that distinguishes great men and women from the general populace. This inner illumination gives depth of vision to an artist or poet, whose work outshines their contemporaries. The same Inner Light dispels the darkness of fear and allows the hero to act courageously achieving goals that lesser mortals would shun. Indeed, the word courage is derived from the Latin cor, cordis meaning heart, the part of the body in medieval physiology that was ruled by the sun.
