We have traversed through the threshold of Samhain and will continue to deepen into the growing dark until Winter Solstice. The deepening dark invites us to rest and nest, to dream into the womb of the earth, just like the roots of our beloved trees.
Yew, a tree sacred to the Irish and one of the trees of the ancient Ogham tree alphabet, shares the wisdom of this time, on the turning of the Wheel. As the deepening dark reminds us to surrender and to pause, yew dances with this wisdom and reminds us that we will be transformed as a result.
Seasonal Connection
Yew holds the wisdom to guide us through a time of transformation, which is where we are from the threshold time of Samhain through to Winter Solstice. In the Irish Celtic tradition we call Samhain the Celtic New Year, as we believe all endings are a beginning (Samhain is the end of the harvest season, the end of the agricultural year. We are still in the season of Samhain, the season of winter, and will continue to deepen into the dark for the next while.
Other energies yew invites us to connect to during this season:
· Death at Samhain (honored by working with elder) and now moving into stillness, quiet and dreaming, essential to transformation
· The veil continues to be thin, the ancestors close, the OtherWorld at hand
· A time to honor the ancestors, for visiting cemeteries and yew
· A time to give (surrender, death, release) in order to transform (dream into being)
· Rest and reflection to nourish inner spiritual strength
· Yew and this season offers a sanctuary for those seeking refuge from the outside (often hostile) world.
· A time to step back from the rush of everyday life
Yew:
Botanical name: Taxus baccata (taxus means toxic)
Family: Taxaceae
Irish: Idad
Letter in the Ogham alphabet: I
Ogham symbol: five horizontal ticks on the vertical line
Brehon Law Classification: a noble of the wood because of the value of its wood which is dense and hard and used for household implements, spears and arrows and other building
Divination Word: Transformation
Kennings for yew: (from Celtic Myth and Religion by Sharon Paice MacLeod):
Oldest tree, fairest of the ancients, energy of an infirm person
Cultural context: yew can live to be hundreds and thousands of years old (oldest known one is 3K years old in the UK), planted at ancient sacred sites then later near churchyards.
Suggested divinatory meanings: age and wisdom; ancient knowledge, the traditional wisdom and lore of the ancestors
About yew:
Yew is a dark green conifer, that can be upright or bushy or even sprawling, with bright red berries this time of the year. The berries are translucent, almost jelly-like. Yew is slow growing and can live for a very long time and is one of the longest-living trees in Ireland and the British Isles.
All parts of yew are toxic (leaves and seeds most poisonous) and should not be ingested. Interestingly the berry is not toxic although you should not eat the seed as it is quite toxic. Recommended to avoid ingestion of any parts of the yew, even the berry. If you know how to make flower essences you could work with yew in that more vibrational way.
The wood can be burned in small amounts and ideally without the needles intact (burn the wood only). It is believed that the Druids would burn slivers (probably in incense) for purification.
An ancient name of Ireland ILERNE actually translates to “island of yew trees” and the warrior clan of the Fianna referred to their home as “yew clad Ireland”.
Yew is an important tree to the druids and sacred sites and other places of sanctuary. After Christianity came to Ireland churches were often built at these places and the yews remained, a bridge between one era to the next.
Yew as a place of sanctuary: the month that it holds, as sanctuary from death to transformation, inviting rest and stillness.
Yew has been used for mourning rites and for contacting the dead and the ancestors.
Ritual with YEW
Ritual Intention: Transformation
Set your altar with:
· incense (some slivers of yew bark along with Irish peat, vervain and/ or mugwort)
· journal and pen
· a tea light and a few needles of yew
· a yew stick, to carve with the Ogham letter
· chalice of water
· the Yew of Rossa poem
This ritual is lovely done solo or with community.
Begin in the east with the Element of Air and move through each of the Elements as invited:
Air: Light incense, what we call divine breath, calling in the plant spirit of yew and the well ancestors. Breathe deep with them, find stillness here, and presence.
Read the poem, the Yew of Rossa (see below) through one time. Allow a number between 1 and 31 come into your mind and receive that line number, from the poem, as an oracle to deepen into for this ritual.
Write an intention statement regarding how you will transform, based on the two words from that line of the poem.
Fire: Dress a candle/ tea light with a three yew needles. Light with something like “May the courage and passion that this flame ignites within me guide my transformation.” Place your written intention statement under the candle so that the words are activated by the burning of the candle. Burn the candle often, reciting your intention, for the next turning, until Winter Solstice.
Water: Drink deeply of water.
Earth: Carve your yew stick with the Ogham letter (horizontal line with five vertical ticks).
Close the ritual and open the circle
Yew of Rossa
Royal wheel
Regent’s role,
Wave’s sound,
Best of beings,
Straight, strong tree
Stout strong god,
Door of heaven,
Building’s strength,
Crew’s captain,
Man of pure words,
Plenteous bounty,
Trinity’s might,
Measures of matter
Mother’s good,
Mary’s son,
Fruitful sea,
Beauty’s honor,
Mind’s master
Diadem of angels,
Cry of life,
Banba’s renoun,
Vigour of victory,
Decisions’ basis,
Doom’s decision,
Fuel of sages,
Noblest tree,
Fame of Leinster,
Gentlest bush,
Champion’s cover,
Vitality’s vigour,
Spell of Knowledge
Yew of Rossa.
