Once called Allheal, mistletoe is used in folk medicine to cure many ills, including toothache, measles, arthritis, infertility and dog bites. But don't try it yourself--mistletoe is highly toxic and should only be used under the guidance and supervision of a healer who knows how to use it.

The mystique of mistletoe may lie in the fact that mistletoe grows as a parasite on oak trees, which were sacred to the Druids.

To see mistletoe in its natural environment is an impressive site. One year, while looking for mistletoe, I went to a local nursery that was selling holiday greenery. When I asked for mistletoe, the nurseryman said, "Sure, we have some." He took me out back and pointed to a towering oak tree growing behind the nursery. Large bunches of mistletoe hung from the highest branches, as inaccessible as angels.

Perhaps it is because mistletoe grows so much closer to heaven, rather than being rooted in Earth, that it was considered to be so all-healing and holy. To hang mistletoe was to present it as it appeared naturally in the tree.

Because mistletoe receives most of its sustenance via a long root that penetrates the tree bark and extends into the vascular system of the host tree, the Celts believed that it held the soul of the host tree. Hanging mistletoe, then, was equivalent to hanging a piece of the powerful oak in one's home.

The Druids harvested mistletoe as part of their annual winter ceremonies. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from a holy oak tree with a golden sickle. Maidens waited below to catch it in a cloth, as the branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. The priest then divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to people of the village, who hung the sprigs over doorways as protection against thunder, lightning and other evils.

Mistletoe is most well-known for the tradition of kissing when standing under it. According to one legend, this custom of kissing originated when the wicked spirit Loki killed the god Balder with a mistletoe dart. When other gods restore Balder to life, Balder's mother, Frigga (the goddess of love), is so grateful that she kisses whomever passes beneath a mistletoe branch.

It is also said that this legend gives rise to a Scandanavian tradition of peace. If enemies met by chance beneath mistletoe in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day.

Mistletoe is not cultivated, but it is widely harvested from trees on private lands. It is often sold at florists and in Christmas tree lots in the geographical areas where it grows.

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