This very old ritual seems to be a universal one and is believed to have its roots in Proto-Indo-European culture, or ancient Celtic lore.
In both cultures, it was believed that spirits - both good and bad - lived inside trees. They could be called upon for protection or chased away from their homes by knocking on the tree.
Much later, Christians took this notion of a spirit being present within the wood of a tree by creating crucifixes made of wood to bestow magickal protection upon them.
This superstition also influenced childhood games too, with a simple 19th Century British game of tag known as “Tiggy Touchwood”, where the players would be “safe” from being tagged by touching the nearest tree.
In pre-Christian Germanic lore, it was believed that 3 Norns (old Norse giant deities) sent fate up into the universe through the giant world tree Yggdrasil. This belief travelled down the centuries and remains still to this day.
In Britain we say “touch wood” in order to not tempt fate and bestow us with good fortune. In the US it’s “knock on wood”.
But aside from the belief in tree spirits, trees really do hold protective powers for us in a more tangible and scientific way...
We know they help to provide us with oxygen in order for us to live, but did you know that the essential oils of trees (the smell of pine or conifer trees, for instance) actually protects us from illness...?
When we stand next to a pine tree, we can smell the beautiful fresh, pine aroma filling the air.
This is actually the tree's chemical immune system and it releases its oils into the air in order to protect it from bacteria and certain insects that would destroy it.
When we breathe this aroma in - when we stand and take a deep breath and allow the aroma to fill our nose and lungs - we are taking in some of the immunity properties of the tree, which then creates more killer T-cells in our own body.
These are the cells that help to fight disease, such as cancer, and so we find that the essence or “spirit” of the tree really is protecting us.
Perhaps next time you go to the forest, you can pause for a moment to stand beneath a conifer or pine tree and knock 3 times on it. Take a deep breath, and then give thanks to its spirits for their protection.
For more musings, why not join our Facebook group 'Beneath the Canopy'?