Excerpt:
Her graceful, slender, pliable branches have been used for ages in all kinds of housewares and crafts, including boats, baskets, rope, wicker, and more.  Because of her magical ability to regrow vigorously when cut and can root when just stuck in the soil, they have been used to make living hedges and homes. Her sap contains salicylic acid and has long been chewed to reduce pain and inflammation, a natural inspiration for the chemical form of salicylic acid, aspirin. Native Americans have often included willow in their tobacco blends because it is thought to be able to carry messages to the Great Spirit. Thanks to her love of water, folklore has long associated her with the moon, the feminine, and cycles. Divining rods are usually made from willow, allowing her to be a portal or amplifier of intuition and magic.  In Europe, people have long whispered their dreams to the willows.