celebration
ritual and celebration burning
As Poplar is not a good burning wood, it is therefore not a good celebration wood either. Poplar does make a good charcoal and it has been, and still is, used to smoulder in urns or small cauldrons beside graves to call upon and speak to the spirits of the departed, especially at Bealtaine and Samhain times.
wands and staves
I believe that Poplar is the most misunderstood wood. Staves are made to protect from melancholy and wands are made to banish melancholy, and to help a wondering spirit find its way to the otherworld.
Myself, as you may interpret from my story poem, believes that the spirit of poplar can prevent us entering into the situations that create melancholy such as the huan order and human expectations that banish us from the natural ebbs and flow of nature.
divination
Carrying some form of Poplar plant, its blossom, fruit or leaves, gives us vision to remind us to be aware of all around us and how that is more important than "doing what we are told".
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