Woodpecker
Latin name: | Picus |
Other names: | Espec, Espech, Pico, Pivert, Pycus |
Category: | Bird |
No spike can remain in a tree where a woodpecker nests
General Attributes
Spikes or anything else cannot remain attached to a tree where a woodpecker nests, but immediately fall out; for this reason the woodpecker is considered divine. It is named for Picus, son of Saturn, because it was used in auguries. The woodpecker can reopen its nest hole if it is plugged, through the use of a particular herb.
Uses Magical, Medical, Alchemical and Culinary
Hildegard von Bingen says: "A person who is leprous should roast the green woodpecker on the fire and eat it often; it will destroy the leprosy. Also, take the green woodpecker, throw away its head and intestines, and remove the feathers. Roast the rest of the body, then remove and save the outside skin which has been burned in the fire. Pound the rest of the body in a mortar and cook it vigorously in water, so it is in small bits. Then, remove it from the water, separate the bones from the flesh, and throw out the entrails. Pulverize the meat on a hot tile. Put this with the outside skin and some rue in the water in which the woodpecker was cooked. Add some vulture fat and a little deer tallow, and cook these together vigorously. Throwing the rest out, make an unguent from that which floats on top. Use this to frequently anoint the person’s leprosy and, no matter how strong the leprosy is, he will be healed, unless the judgement of God does not allow it, or unless his death is in the leprosy." (Throop translation)