Celtic tree Lore 1st Moon

BIRCH LORE

· 1st Moon of the Celtic Year - (Dec 24 - Jan 21)
· Latin name: Yellow birch - betula alleghaniensis; black birch - betula lenta; canoe or common birch - betula papyrifea.
· Celtic name: Beth (pronounced: beh)
· Folk or Common names: Beithe, Bereza, Berke, Beth, Bouleau, Lady of the Woods, Birth, Canoe Tree, Paper Tree, Silver Birch, White Birch. "Birch" is derived from the meaning "Bright" or "Shining" in Indo-European and Sanskrit terminology. Quite possibly it came from the Anglo-Saxon term "Beorgan" meaning "to protect or shelter"
· Parts Used: Leaves, bark, wood, sap, branches.

· Herbal usage: Birch leaves can be used to make an infusion that is good for breaking up kidney or bladder stones. Birch bark is an astringent and can be used to treat non-hereditary baldness. Birch tea can be made from the inner bark and leaves and this is good for rheumatism or as a sedative to aid sleep. Birch sap can be harvested the same way maple sap is, and then boiled down into birch syrup.
· Magical History & Associations: The bird associated with the Month of the Birch is the pheasant. Birch's color is white, its day is Sunday and its gemstone is red chard. The Celtic symbol of Birch is the White Stag with a rack with seven tines. Birch is associated with the element of water, is a tree of the sun and the planet Venus, and its Herbal Gender is feminine. The Birch tree is sacred to the God Thor and the Goddesses Diana and Cerridwen. Birch is considered to be a Goddess tree, the symbol of summer ever-returning. The Birch is also a special tree to the Celts ("On a switch of birch was written the first Ogham inscription in Ireland, namely seven B's, as a warning to Lug son of Ethliu, to wit, 'Thy wife will be seven times carried away from you into fairyland or elsewhere, unless birch be her overseer." - Robert Graves, The White Goddess) and Birch wood is one of the nine traditional firewoods to be added to the Belfire that is burned at Beltane. It is one of the three pillars of Wisdom (Oak, Yew, Birch) and often symbolizes the first level of Druid working. Birch trees often have Otherkin spirits attached to them and the "Lieschi" or "Genii of the Forest" are said to dwell in their tree tops. The Ghillie Dhu (pronounced "Gillee Doo or Yoo") are guardian tree spirits who are disguised as foliage and dislike human beings. They prefer birch trees to all others, and jealously guard them from humans. If the spirit of the Birch tree touches a head it leaves a white mark and the person turns insane. If it touches a heart, the person will die.

· Magickal usage: The month of Birch is a good time to do magick associated with new beginnings. Magickal work done in this moon adds strength and momentum to any new choices made. The Birch has applications in magick done for protection, creativity, exorcism, fertility, birth, healing, Forest Magic, Inner Authority/Self-Discipline, Lunar workings, love, and purification. Magickal protective uses of Birch include tying a red ribbon around the trunk of a birch to ward off the evil eye. Also, gently whapping someone with a Birch twig drives out negative energy, and Birch branches hung near a cradle will protect the newborn from psychic harm. In fact, cradles can be made from Birch wood to further protect a newborn. Many farmers plant Birch around their houses to protect against lightning. For magical parchment, gather Birch bark from a tree that has been struck by lightning (chosen by Thor) - and the Birch paper will keep the writings safe. Because Birch wood has the qualities of exorcism and protection, its twigs are traditionally used to make witches' brooms. Brooms made of a mixture of Ash, Birch and Willow are said to be especially powerful in magick. Birch rods are also used in rustic rituals to drive out the spirits of the old year. Birch is also perfect to use to make a 'Goddess' wand, since Birch is the tree known as 'the Lady of the Woods' and a grove of Birch trees is an excellent place to communicate with the Goddess. Birch wood is also a good choice for making rune sets to use for divination. Be sure to harvest your branch for the rune set during the waxing moon, and make sure you ask Odin or Byarka to inspire your work. Also ask the tree if it will allow you to take a branch and be sure to leave the tree an offering of thanks when you are done. Birch trees especially appreciate gifts such as pretty stones, sea shells, flowers or herbs.

(Please note: never take bark off a living Birch tree, since this will kill it.)

Merry Christmas 2007

Hi to all,

I wish you all a very Happy Holiday. Here is a new picture of My Sunny..

Today I call him "Sunny Clause"

I also included a photo of my Holiday card exchange display.

Much Joy

Bee

Celtic Tree; Day after Winter Solstice

Mistletoe Lore

· Tree of the day after the Winter Solstice (Aprox. December 23)
· Latin name: Viscum Album
· Celtic name: It is said that Mistletoe is too sacred to have a written word
· Folk or Common names: Mistletoe, Birdlime, All Heal, Golden Bough, Loranthaceae Phoradendron flavescens
· Parts Used: leaves, berries, twigs
· Herbal usage: **CAUTION: Mistletoe berries are extremely poisonous and have been known to cause miscarriage.** Mistletoe can be used as a stimulant to soothe muscles and to produce a rise in blood pressure. It increases the contraction of the uterus and intestine. Mistletoe has been recommended as an oxytocic in postpartum hemorrhage and menorrhagia. It is also used as a circulatory and uterine stimulant. This plant can induce menstruation. It has shown effective in treating tumors in some animals. It is recommended that due to the toxicity of this plant that ingestion of this herb be avoided.

· Magical History & Associations: Mistletoe is one of the Druid's most sacred trees - as Ovid said, "Ad viscum Druidae cantare solebant. (The Druids are wont to sing to the Mistletoe.)." In Druidic lore Mistletoe is an herb of the Winter Solstice and is the special plant for the day after Yule. The Druids gathered their Mistletoe at Midsummer or at the 6th day of the moon. The Druid priests or priestesses would wear white robes while gathering the plant and would use a golden knife, taking extreme care not to let the plant touch the ground. Two oxen were often sacrificed for the harvest. The Druids considered that the Mistletoe that grew on Oak trees was the most potent and sacred. Mistletoe is a plant of the sun and also of the planet of Jupiter. It is associated with the element of the air. The colors of Mistletoe are green, gold and white, and its herb is hyssop. The gemstones associated with Mistletoe are Black Quartz, Amber, Pearl and green Obsidian. Mistletoe has the immortal creature the Gryphon-Eagle associated with it and also the plain eagle is its bird association. There are many deities associated with Mistletoe: Loki, Blader, Hercules, Shu, Osirus, and Aeneas are a few of those deities.

· Magical usage: Romans, Celtics, and Germans believed that mistletoe is the key to the supernatural. Mistletoe will aid and strengthen all magical works but is best called upon for healing, protection, and beautiful dreams - dreams which will unlock the secrets of immortality. Mistletoe is a good wood to use for making wands, other ritual tools and magical rings. The Berries are used in love incenses, plus a few berries can be added to the ritual cup at a hand fasting. Boughs of Mistletoe can be hung for all purpose protection around the house. Sprigs of Mistletoe can be carried as an herb of protection - plus amulets and jewelry can be made out of Mistletoe wood as protective talismans. Hung over the cradle, Mistletoe will protect the child from being stolen by the fey and Mistletoe that is carried will protect the bearer from werewolves. Mistletoe stood for sex and fertility - hence our tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. It is traditionally hung in the home at Yule, and those who walk under it exchange a kiss of peace.

Celtic tree; The day of Winter Solstice

SILVER FIR LORE

· Tree of the day of the Winter Solstice ( DEC 22)
· Latin name: Abies alba.
· Celtic name: Ailim (pronounced: Ahl' em).
· Folk or Common names: Common Silver Fir, Balm of Gilead Fir, Balsam Fir, American Silver Fir.
· Parts Used: Needles, wood, sap.
· Herbal usage: The Silver Fir is one of the tallest trees native to Europe, sometimes exceeding 160 feet tall. The wood of the Fir is beautiful and is often used in making musical instruments and in the interior of buildings. The sap from the Silver Fir can be manufactured into a turpentine like oil that is a pale yellowish or almost water-white liquid of a light, pleasant fresh turpentine like odor. It is a diuretic, and stimulates mucous tissues if taken in small doses. In large doses it is purgative, and may cause nausea. The oil also has some uses as perfume and in essential oils that can be added to homeopathic bath and beauty products.

· Magical History & Associations: The Silver Fir is associated with the moon and with the planet of Jupiter. Its colors are piebald and light or pale blue. Its birds are the eagle and the Lapwing, and its animal association is the red cow. Its stones are Tourmaline and Amber - and it is a feminine herb. This tree belongs to the triple aspect Goddess in Celtic lore, offering learning, choice and progress. The tree is sacred to many Goddesses: Artemis (the Greek Goddess of Childbirth), Diana and Druantia among them. It is also sacred to the Gods Osiris and Attis, both who were imprisoned in Fir/Pine trees.

· Magickal usage: the Silver Fir is used for magick involving power, insight, progression, protection, change, feminine rebirth, and birth. The Silver Fir and the Yew are sisters standing next to each other in the circle of the year and their foliage is almost identical. However the Yew is known as the tree of death and the Silver Fir is the tree of birth or rebirth. The Silver Fir was a sacred tree to the Druids who felt that it stood for hope. The Silver Fir wood is used for shape-shifting and magic involving change, since it offers a clear perception of the present and the future. The wood chips are sometimes used as incense and the wood can be used in the construction of magickal musical instruments. Burning the needles of the Silver Fir or sweeping around the bed with a branch that has been blessed will protect a new born baby and its mother. In the Orkney area of Scotland, the new mother and baby are 'sained' by whirling a fir-candle three times around her bed. For a 'Weather Witch' the cones of the Silver Fir warn of wet weather and foretells when a dry season approaches. Charms made of Fir can be given as good luck tokens to departing friends. In its appearance (and in its current, and undoubtedly ancient, use) the Silver Fir is the quintessential Yule tree. Its branches can be used as decorations at Yule time either as wreaths or as garland, where it will provide protection for the household and its occupants.

JOYFUL YULE TO ALL

Holiday Lore: The Yule season is a festival of lights, and a solar festival, and is celebrated by fire in the form of the Yule log—a log ( with fir needles, yew needles, birch branches, holly sprigs, and trailing vines of ivy. Back porches are stacked with firewood for burning, and the air is scented with pine and wood smoke. When the Yule log has burned out, save a piece for use as a powerful amulet of protection through the new year. Now is a good time to light your oven for baking bread and confections to serve around a decorated table; sweets have an ancient history They are made and eaten to ensure that one would have "sweetness" in the coming year. Along these lines, mistletoe hangs over doorways to ensure a year of love. Kissing under the mistletoe is a tradition that comes down from the Druids, who considered it a scared plant.

Blessed Be to everyone!!

Sparkles Bee

Celtic tree; The day before Winter Solstice

YEW LORE

· Tree of the day before the Winter Solstice (Aprox. December 21)
· Latin name: Taxus baccata.
· Celtic name: Idho (pronounced: Ih' huh).
· Folk or Common names: English Yew.
· Parts Used: Needles, wood, berries.
· Herbal usage: CAUTION - THIS PLANT IS POISONOUS AND SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION. The needles and branch tips have been used to treat lung diseases and bladder problems. recently a new cancer drug, Taxol, has been derived from its bark and berries.

· Magical History & Associations: The name "Yew" is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon word 'eow'. The word 'Taxus' is from the Greek word 'Taxon', meaning 'bow'. The 5000 year old "Ice Man", discovered in the Alps, had a bow and axe handle made of Yew. The Yew is known as the 'Tree of Death' through out Europe and is associated with the season of winter. It is sacred to many Dark Goddesses: Banbha, Amalthea (mother of the horned Dionysus), Morrighan, The Erinyes, Cailleach Beara, Berchta, and Hekate. Shakespeare recognized the relationship of Yew and Heckate and referred to the contents of her cauldron as "slips of yew, silver'd in the moon's eclipse..." (Macbeth) - and elsewhere Shakespeare makes 'hebenon, the double-fatal yew' the poison which Hamlet's uncle pours into the king's ear. Heckate's sacred tree of death is said to root in the mouths of the dead and release their souls, and also absorbs the odors of death itself. Bulls are associated with this tree, as are female goats. The bird associated with Yew is the eaglet, since the eaglet's appetite is insatiable, and the bones of its nest are white like the snow on its cliff-ledge. The Yews colors are white and silver and it is associated with the element of water. The Yew is associated with the planet Saturn and with the metal lead. In Old England the Yew was known as "The Witches Tree" since it is associated with sorcery and magick.

· Magickal usage: The time of Yew is known as a time of death, and so on the day before Yule it said that is not a good idea to do actual spell work, instead it is suggested to do rituals of the season concerned with reincarnation. Because the Yew grows to such an old age, it has become a symbol of stability in Celtic areas of the world and so is often used as the central "World Tree" in ritual spaces. As one of the three magickal trees (along the Alder and the Black Poplar) associated with death and funerals, the Yew has often been planted in graveyards. Yew sends up new trees from its roots, so is a powerful symbol of death and reincarnation. Yew wood is appropriate for magickal tools such as wands and staves. In ancient times Yew sticks were carved with the Ogham characters as tools of divination. The Futhark features a 13th Rune, which is considered one of the most powerful Runes and represents a stave cut from a yew tree. This Rune is regarded as the stave of life and death. Yew can be dried and burned as an incense to contact spirits of the dead - and even to raise the dead.

Christmas is Near...

Hi to all, I have posted some pictures of a couple of my new ornaments and my tree this year. Also a updated picture of my "Sunny" sleeping near the tree base. I bought a Scottish Santa, an two beautiful sparrow ornaments I added to my tree this year..

I have started to receive some beautiful Christmas cards and i will soon post a picture of my display...

Much joy to all!!

Bee

ITs Snowing!!

I love this !! Such big flakes !! Making it feel a lot like Christmas around here.

I was decorating my tree when it started snowing yesterday.

Sparkling snow flakes

Bee