Amanda Frayer artisan // illustrator // designer

Walnut is a slow grower, and may take 7 years before bearing any nuts. So the saying goes, “A smart man had his grandfather plant walnut trees.” A grove of walnut trees is thought to bring good fortune. A pair of trees suggest a well-governed household. Growing up in the shade of a walnut tree is a metaphor for comfort, tradition and warmth.

The American black walnut produces only bitter nuts. Commercially sold walnuts come from the English walnut variety which is cultivated in California. Originally native to Iran, these trees were introduced into England by the Romans. As an offering to the Roman goddess of fruit trees, the Romans would bury a coin beneath a walnut tree. Archaeologists have found that walnuts were a popular food with Roman people. The word “Juglan” in the scientific name, Juglans nigra, mean’s Jupiter’s acorn.

Black walnut timber is resistance to decay, so it was widely used for waterwheels before the Industrial Revolution. Today it’s prized among woodworkers for it’s attractive heartwood which is naturally a dark chocolate color often with purplish streaks.

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Believed to bring the wearer: patience, wealth, fertility, healing, inspiration, new perspective, protection from change and unwanted influences

Other associations: crown chakra, dealing with life transitions, manifesting intention in the physical world, weather magic

Spirit animal: eagle, fox, squirrel