The Celtic Year - Elder

Elder/Ruis

(25^th November – 21^st December)

exorcism – prosperity – banishment – healing – visions – faerie magick – spirituality – cleansing – sleep – exorcism – offerings – love – protection – eternal life (birth/death/rebirth) – Nature spirits & fae communication 

The Elder is possibly the most special tree you will ever encounter as a witch because, if you go by ‘The Wiccan Rede’, it is the tree of our Lady, the Goddess. Therefore, I have no hesitation is proclaiming that the Celts, on designing this calendar of trees, saved the best for last. The 13^th month of this ancient and revered botanical year is Ruis… ‘Blessed Be, my Lady’.

Associations

Polarity:      Feminine

Element:      Air; Water

Sabbat:      Winter Solstice

Symbols:     Judgement; Transformation; Death & 

               Regeneration; Fate; The Inevitable;

Deities:      Hel; Hela; Holda; Venus; Hilde; The White Lady; Bran; The Great                      Goddess; The Calliech

Planet:       Venus

Animals:      Pheasant; Raven; Rook; Black Horses; Badgers;

Colour:       Blood Red; Dark Green; Black;

Gems:         Olivine; Jet (Black Amber); Dark Green Malachite

Flower:       Dandelion    

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

• All parts of an elder tree can be used medicinally and it is therefore not surprising that it treats over 70 different conditions via not only herbal remedies but some chemical ones too.
• Use the bark of the newest elder twigs dried and powdered (in small doses) to fight constipation. It is also used raw to ease headaches and to induce childbirth.
• If you make an infusion from the leaves (left to cool) and use it as an ear-drop, it can reduce inflammation and treat pain.
• Vitamin C is high in both the leaves and the berries and so when made into poultices, salves, and waters, can greatly ease sunburn and other such minor inflammations.
• Tea made from elder flowers can be used for treating coughs and a bad throat (I like to think this true of elderberry wine too but I don’t think it has been proven).
• The flowers also make a wonderful cleanser/lotion for the skin.

 Magickal Uses:

• Make a protection wand from elder as protection is one of it’s most powerful abilities.
• Known as the ‘Witch’s Tree’, the local hedgewitch would have certainly used magick for healing.
• Used in protection magick – form charms to protect against negative magicks used against you.
• Growing an Elder tree in your garden is a gentle way of protecting yourself and loved ones from misfortune and harm.
• As the Winter Solstice falls during this month and represents the return of the Sun (or if you prefer, the Sun’s returning power), now is a good time to call the Sun Gods and Goddesses.
• A head-dress made of woven elder twigs was worn by witches of old to see spirits.
• Wear Elder Blossoms at Beltane to signify and show off your witchy nature.

Other Information:

• Only eat the berries when they are ripe or prepare for some bad reactions.
• Dyes are often made from elder as the leaves, bark and more obviously the berries can all be utilised in this way.
• The berries are extremely yummy (if not an acquired taste) and make fabulous wine, jam, vinegar and syrups… mmmmm!!!!
• Elder trees are often planted in and around cemeteries (especially over Europe), to reject negative spirits.
• The Elder tree represents the old crone in the Triple Goddess cycle, the oldest energies at the end of the year and because of this it has the reputation of being the ‘Death Tree’.

The Celtic Year - Reed (Elm)

Reed (Elm)/Ngetal

(28^th October – 24^th November)

ROYALTY - FAMILY BONDING – TRUST – REPELLING NEGATIVITY – PURIFICATION – MYSTERIES OF DEATH – DIVINATION – THE SAVIOUR – THE CUSTODIAN – ELF COMMUNICATION 

This 12^th month of the Celtic calendar is quite confusing and I have found references to it both as Reed/Broom and Elm, both claiming to be Ngetal, so I am using all references found for both and will let those who use this post as a reference make up their own mind what feel right to them. After all, it’s all about what’s right for the individual anyway. However, to distinguish between the references, anything relating to Elm will be in another font… this one! The reason behind the confusion is that what is known as the Reed tree is also known as the Dwarf Elm.

Associations

Polarity:     Feminine

Element:     Water

Sabbat:     Samhain             

Symbols:     The White Hound; The Stone; The Planet Pluto; The Fire Feast of                 Samhain; Arawn

Deities:       Coventina; Morrigan; Rhiannon; Mannan Mac Lir; Poseidon; Pwyll;

Planet:        Pluto

Animals:      Geese; Kingfisher; Owl; The White Hound

Colour:        Crimson; Grass Green

Gems:         Black Obsidian; Clear Green Jasper

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

Powdering the root of the Reed makes a powerful (and natural) insecticide against fleas.

Reed was also used medicinally as a way of treating eye-infections.

Remedies with Reed as an ingredient are often aimed at ailments related to the bladder and kidneys.

Magickal Uses:

Reed ‘stalks’ used to be soaked in fat and then burned as a cheap alternative to candles. This could still be done today but I wouldn’t like the smell (I don’t think).

Reed wands are often used in ritual as they are such a strong repellent of negativity.

Sweep the ground with Reed to clear unwanted influences.

As an interpretation of dreaming about the Reed (if you see dream interpretation as divination, as I do), it implies that not all of your friends are true and if you handle Reeds in your dreams then you may well have been deceived in business endeavours.

The Lunar Mysteries are guarded by dogs and the White Hound represents those dogs.

Use bagpipe and flute music in magic to bring Reed energy into your workings.

Other Information:

For centuries, Reed has been used as a household floor-covering and room deodoriser, as well as providing shelter as a useful material for roofing.

The Reed was made further useful by its flexibility to be crafted into arrow shafts, writing pens and even flutes.

It is said that the ‘Pied Piper’ played his rat-removing melody on a magical flute made of Reed. This leads to an assumption that Pan’s flute may have been made of Reed too. These legends have made the Reed still associated with music in the modern world as wood-wind instruments are still made of it.

Though the reed rarely grows large enough to be useful as furniture, when its mature, the veiny wood make beautiful brooms, brushes and baskets.

associations

polarity:      feminine

Element:         earth

Symbols:       communication; relationships

Deities:          Orpheus; odin; hoenin; lord

Planet:           Mercury; Saturn

Animals:          lapwing; grouse

Colour:       turquoise

Day:              tuesday

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

Make an infusion from the bark of the inner roots to treat colds & coughs, diarrhoea, internal bleeding and fever. This infusion can also be applied to external wounds, or drank to ease menstrual problems.

When slippery elm is powdered it can be made into a milk substitute which is useful for babies who cannot process cow’s milk.

Magickal Uses:

elm tree essence can be utilised to energise the mind and balance the heart. Use it to attract love or protect your heart. It is also a powerful tool for sharpening your psychic powers.

As a representative of the dark side of the psyche, the elm is an excellent conduit of psychic power

Other Information:

Coffins are often made from elm in England, and in Greece it is found in graveyards. The association with death could simply be a bastardisation of it being a gateway to other realms/planes as it is said to be found in the underworld and at the crossroads leading to the realm of the fae.

The elm is a friend of the elves; to see wood elves, sit under an elm tree in a grove of them at dusk and sing. At dawn, the elves will join you in your singing (they need to overcome their shyness first).

Wittering On 26/01/14

I have just been reminded by +Erica R that I promised to start a Runes series and I am late starting it. This is because the research of the Celtic Tree series has taken so much longer than expected so I have decided that the Rune posts will begin in February when I return from visiting +Shiann Raven Moon in Yorkshire for Imbolc. This I vow, swear and with the blessing of the God and Goddess promise to begin delivering between Imbolc and Ostara.

Also coming up, more Inspirational People posts (because there are so many) where I may move away from youTube witches and towards authors; a deeper look into the elements and how to connect with them individually and as a whole; and no doubt a few more rants about the state of the world and how it would be all so easy to fix it.

Be blessed by the oncoming Spring and may snowdrops shower you with happiness. x)O(x

The Celtic Year - Ivy

Ivy/Gort

30^th September – 27^th October

Month 11 of the Celtic Year is Ivy. Though not technically a tree, because it is so connected to the Holly and can live wrapped around a number of others, its place in the calendar is extremely justified.

strength - fidelity – fertility – protection – healing – good luck – resurrection – positive ego strength – tenaciousness – healing – exorcism – co-operation – binding – divination

Associations

Polarity:      Feminine

Element:     Water

Season:      Autumn

Symbols:     Fidelity, Fertility; Protection; Healing;                          Resurrection

Deities:       Ariadne; Artemis; Arianrhod; Pasiphae;                       Dionysus; Bacchus; Osiris; Jupiter

Planet:         Moon; Saturn; Jupiter; Sun

Animals:      Lark; Mute Swan; Swallow

Colour:       Indigo; Blue

Gems:         Opal; Yellow Serpentine

Day:          

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

POISONOUS – DO NOT INGEST!!!

As an astringent, it does have the ability to ease toothache and menstrual flow.

Make a douche from ivy leaves to treat female infections.

As a poultice, the leaves can also be utilised to heal nerves, sinews, ulcers, and infections.

Ivy twigs, as they’re so tender, can be simmered in salves to help heal sunburn.

Magickal Uses:

When carried by women (and especially brides), Ivy is said to be good luck.

Protects from negativity when grown or strewn around or over a property. However, if it dies or ‘falls off’ beware of misfortune.

Used in charms of fidelity and love

Ivy can be used to make a charm, intended to restrain fear and deal with emotions.

To use for divination: an ivy leaf that you place in water on New Years Eve that is still fresh by Twelfth Night is said to foretell a favourable year.

Other Information:

Paired with Holly for magickal union purposes such as handfastings – worn as crowns for the ceremony and then hung together/intertwined over the marital bed, is said to keep passion from waning.

The majority of Ivy varieties have a 5 pointed leaf which is sacred to the Goddess.

Legend says that if Ivy will not grow on a grave, it means that the soul is unhappy on the other side.

If Ivy flourishes on the grave of a young girl’s grave, it means that she died of unrequited love.

The sacred spiral in which Ivy grows symbolises reincarnation – lifetime to lifetime; minute to minute; day to day – therefore it is a wonderful month for magick relating to rebirth.

Ivy's connection with the Winter Solstice makes it a popular Yuletide decoration.

Thunder

Thunder©

Zeus has come to visit me,

There’s thunder in the sky

I will not hide under a tree

But on the lightning fly

Zeus is circling overhead

Clouds rolled in so thick

Pelting hail’s blanketed

The earth, fully and quick

Zeus has me all excited

As lightning cracks around

The atmosphere ignited

Incredible, the sound

Zeus is on a roll it seems

Like a runaway train

As if imagined in my dreams

The rivers of the rain

Zeus is moving on now

His visit was too short

King of Gods, to you I bow

Thankful of your import

Zeus is all but gone away

Banks bust of river and lake

I wish that he had come to stay

Not left drizzle in his wake

The Celtic Year - Vine

Vine/Muin     (2^nd Sept – 29^th Sept)

The 10^th month of the Celtic Year is most commonly identified as Vine and generally thought of as a Grapevine but Vine is also indicative of brambles too, such as the Blackberry. There is diversity about the 10^th month, and some believe it to be the Apple tree, this will be my next tree post.

prophecy – divination – happiness/wrath – regeneration – continuation – opportunity – connection – expansion – fertility – bounty – consciousness – development – renewal – growth – inspiration – imagination – poetry – imagery – faerie work – garden magick – joy – exhiliration – mental powers – fertility – properity – binding – rebirth – happiness – finding balance – consolidation – prophecy - truth

Types of Vine and their properties:

Blackberry

prosperity – protection – sacred to brid

Blueberry

Spirituality – dream magick

Grape

fertility – inspiration – prosperity – binding

Thistle

Courage – protection - strength

Associations

Polarity:      Androgynous

Element:     Water (Mabon/Druid/West)

Sabbat:      Mabon; Autumn/Fall Equinox;       

Symbols:     Joy/Wrath; Harvest Rituals; Resurrection;

Deities:       Dionysus/Bacchus; Venus; Minerva; Osiris, Hathor; Demeter; Rhea; Oenone; Aphrodite; Branwen; Guinevere; Etain; TUatha de Danaan

Planet:                Venus; Jupiter/Moon (Grapes)

Animals:      Tit-mouse; White Swan; Snake

Colour:               Variegated

Gems:         Amethyst; Emerald

Day:           Friday (via Venus)

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

Leaves: some varieties of vine leaves make an excellent tea to help combat diarrhoea, hepatitis and an upset tummy.

Bramble leaves – use 9 leaves (dipped in water) to dress a burn. Dip each leaf 3 times.

Blackberries were used by the Greeks for treating gout, insect bites, sore throats and teeth issues.

Bark & Root – of blackberries has astringent properties and is still used today.

Grapes: as a juice is known to have restorative properties, especially in treating exhaustion and anemia.

Magickal Uses:

Leaves & fruits – spells which tackle inferiority complexes and enhancing ambition.

Grapes – prosperity and money attraction spells – eaten as part of this type of spell work.

Grapes on the altar will increase money spells, like images of grape vines in the garden will increase a gardens bounty.

Vine Moon Tea is used successfully in Earth Magics and overcoming difficulties.

Dried grape leaves in a charm bag will act as a repellent for any negativity aimed at you.

A vine wand should be used to encourage spiritual initiation, faerie work, spells for joy and excitement, sacred knowledge, rebirth and authority.

Other Information:

The most obvious use of the grape is its quality when fermented to create wine and its magickal ability to relax us and melt the inhibitions away.

There was an annual Grape Vine Festival called ‘Vinalia Rostica’ held by both the Greeks and Romans as celebrations of thanksgiving for the first grape of the season. To renew the celebration, offer the first fruits of your grape harvest and a prayer of sustenance.

Sacred to the Goddess herself – the five-pointed leaves.

The wood of a Vine is one of the traditional nine woods of a Belfire to celebrate joy.

Wittering On 25/01/14

I am currently experiencing a lesson in patience; having ordered several books that I have wanted for a long time, I am having to wait for them as they are being shipped from America. My patience has never been expansive but now I find myself growing very impatient as shipping from abroad yields a notoriously long wait. The books I am waiting for are as follows:

• Herbal Magick: A Witch's Guide to Herbal Enchantments, Folklore and Divinations by Gerina Dunwich

• Celebrating Wiccan Spirituality by Lady Sabrina
• Herb Magic for Beginners: Down-to-Earth Enchantments (For Beginners) by Ellen Dugan
• Everyday Sun Magic: Spells and Rituals for Radiant Living by Dorothy Morrison

I am also experiencing another lesson in patience - this one of the romantic variety. I will not go into details as it would not be prudent. There is someone I am very interested in who has decided that now would not be a good time for us to become romantic - I have accepted this and now simply choose to 'covet from afar' and occasionally unload to my best friend about how gorgeous he is. Well, I think this has been discreet enough so I shall leave it there with a final word on how I feel magick should and should not play a role in the love-life. As much as I would love to cast a spell to have him run into my arms (and bed), I have not and will not cast the kind of spell that has his free will altered without his permission. I consider it completely unethical and even though I have wrote the spell that would indeed have him at my feet, and it had an explosive amount of intention behind it, I never released the spell energy to the Universe. I may do a full blog post on the ethics and morality of love spells - watch this space.

New Witchy Books #1

Spells & Charms

 by Nicola de Pulford

 Informative, Light, Natural & Easy to follow. 

ISBN: 1-899434-64-X

No spell book can ever quite give the satisfaction of a successful spell that you've written yourself but this comes quite close. Beautifully written and the photography is excellent. This was one of my very first spell books which I gave away a long time ago to someone who needed it more than I did at the time. However, I missed it and found a bargain on amazon so my witchy bookshelf feels so much more 'right' with it sitting in there. A similar to feeling to when Robbie Williams went back to Take That.

 The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & Practical Magic

by Susan Greenwood and Raje Airey

Fact-packed, Full of History, Correspondence, Ideas and more. A real 'go-to' reference book for all things witchy.

ISBN- 13: 978-0-7548-1680-5

ISBN- 10: 0-7548-1680-X

This was not a book I found in a library or a book store, it was somewhat of a recommendation from a member of my Wiccan facebook group: Wicca UK. I've had it about a week now and still haven't got through it; there are so many wonderful references and histories I can barely put it down.

Everyday Moon Magic

by Dorothy Morrison

Inspiring, Crafts, Rituals, Spells, Astrology and much enchantment of the written word.

ISBN: 978-0-7387-0249-0

I have only recently become a fan of this author, via a recommendation from +Shiann Raven Moon. This book is jam-packed full of invocations, blessings, rituals, spells, circle castings and much more... all lunar related (of course). The rhyming of it is very 'me' too. Anyone who has read my poetry knows I love my rhyming.

The rest of this range of books include Everyday Magic and Everyday Sun Magic (all 3 are available from amazon). 

Blessed Be 

x)O(x

The Celtic Year - Hazel

Hazel/Cull   (5^th August – 1^st September)

wisdom – divination – poetry – science – playfulness – enchantment – healing arts – white magick – healing – protection – knowledge – manifestation – spirit contact – prosperity – divination dowsing – dreams – marriage – reconciliation – fertility – intelligence – inspiration - wrath

The 9^th tree in the Celtic Year of Trees, possibly the most enchanting tree to sit with as it has the indescribable ability to make you feel completely connected to the magick of nature.

Associations

Polarity:      Masculine     

Element:      Air

Symbols:     Sacred wells, springs and salmon  

       Deities:      Hermes, Aemgus, Artemis, Diana, Mercury,                   Thor, Fionn, Lazdona (The Lithuanian                       Hazelnut Tree Goddess)

Planet:       Mercury

Animals:     Crane

Colour:        Orange, Brown

Gems:          Topaz, Pearl, Band-Red Agate,

Day:           Wednesday

Medicinal & Herbal Uses:

Hazelnuts – provide Vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, fatty acids, copper, protein and potassium.

Nuts – powdered, and mixed with honeyed water or mead to clear a stubborn cough.

Leaves – used as a tea, hazel leaves treat varicose veins, circulatory problems – fevers, diarrhoea, and excessive menstrual flow.

Magickal Uses:

Hazel wands are associated with white magick and healing but make a wonderful all-purpose wand.

Forked sticks of hazel are used to find water or buried treasure – a form of dowsing.

Hazel wands are also used to call the fey.

Use a hazel branch to cast a circle around yourself if you are outside and in need of protection.

String hazelnuts on a cord and hang up in your home to gain the help of fairies.

Use for protective charms against lightning.

A talisman which is made by tying two hazel twigs together with red and gold thread makes a ‘Solar Cross’ which can be carried as a protective good luck charm.

Other Information:

Sacred to the faery folk.

Dowsing rods/wands made from hazel wood lead to the source of wisdom and poetry.

Hazel is one of the nine woods added to the Druidic Belfire – added to gain wisdom; known as the Tree of Wisdom.

Hazel nuts are said to contain all knowledge and wisdom ‘in a nutshell’.

Sleeping under a hazel tree is conducive with vivid dreams.

Wearing a cap of hazel leaves and twigs is said to ensure good luck and safety at sea, protecting from shipwrecks

Mistletoe grows around hazel trees and as such is said to ward against bewitching.

For articles of my other Celtic Trees, see below

The Celtic Year – Birch

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-birch.html

The Celtic Year – Rowan

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-rowan_2.html

The Celtic Year – Ash

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-ash.html

The Celtic Year – Alder

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-alder.html

The Celtic Year – Willow

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-willow.html

The Celtic Year – Hawthorn

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-hawthorn.html

The Celtic Year – Oak

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-oak.html

The Celtic Year – Holly

http://acantharayne.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-celtic-year-holly.html