Elder is the flower of Holda and so elderflower wine is drunk in her honour. (Elderberries are more the province of Hel, but elderflowers are like the snowflakes that Holda shakes from her goose-feather pillows.) Elder has a long history as a Pagan tree, being the last of the Celtic tree-months and considered the guardian of the road to Hel. It was called “the medicine-chest of the country people”. Elder trees were treated like a living woman, and permission had to be asked before taking any of their flowers or berries. Later Christians disapproved of the regard given to the elder and called it the Devil’s tree, and began a myth that Judas had hanged himself from it in order to make it a plant of ill omen.

In order to make elderflower wine, pick the flowers on a sunny day during their short growing season. Do not wash them; just shake the bugs off of them. Then pour four litres of boiling water over a pint of flowers, stems and all. Add the juice and grated rind of three organic lemons and 2 kilograms of sugar. When it has cooled to finger-warmth, add wine yeast and any yeast nutrient that you prefer. Cover it and leave it to ferment for three days. As soon as it is covered, say this prayer:

Flower of Holda, Lady of Home-Place,

Old woman of the bog and fen,

Give us your snow that falls in the summer

To warm us in winter again.

After three days, strain the mixture and put it into your brewing vessel. After two turns of the Moon the wine should be clear, and it is siphoned off into bottles. As the prayer says, wait until wintertime to drink it. You can make wine from a number of different flowers using this same method. Some folks add raisins, orange juice, vanilla, or other interesting flavours.