Ash

Yggdrasil, the World Ash Tree of Norse myth, consists of  three huge roots which reach into three different wells.  One root stretches to the underground spring of Urd (Earth), where the three Norns live in their cave and perpetually "rist" (rist, means to engrave) Rune staves which are  continuously thrown into the Well of Wyrd.  The Well of Wyrd contains all the cosmic knowledge from the beginning of all time. The three Norn sisters of Wyrd were known as Urdhr - "that which is,"  Verhandi - "that which is becoming," and Skul - "that which should become."  This is where Odin reached down into the depths of to retrieve the Runes after a shaman quest on World Ash Tree hanging up side down, self-pierced with his own spear and no food or drink for nine days and night.

The second root went to the Well of Mimir in the land of the giants.  This is where Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to Mimir for a drink from the bubbling cauldron well of enlightenment so he would speak eloquently.

The third root stretches into the Well of Helvelgamar, an underground spring of NiflheimR where Nidhoggr, the terrible serpent, is coiled around the base of the tree constantly eating at the roots of the Yggdrasil.  This is the underworld presided over by the Goddess Hel, Loki's daughter who is one of his three off springs.  While locked by a gate within her realm, she resides over life and death and is half living and half dead as well.

The roots of Yggdrasil produced a magic fluid called aurr which was probably the life giving female lunar blood that lies secretly at the root of all universal-elixir myths.  The tree was also the universal mother, "source of unborn souls.  The first man, Askr was created from the Ash tree  and the first woman was created from the Elm tree, and it was Odin that blew the breath of life into both of them.

The Latin name for Ash is Fraxinus, "firelight" and is a traditional "Yule Log" used to this very day.   In the Druidic Tree Alphabet  Ash is "N," (Nion).

Aspen

Aspen is the letter "E," (Eadha), in the Druids' Tree Alphabet.  Aspen, a light and resilient wood, was used to make arrows in medieval times.  Aspen trees were used for phyllomancy which is divination by leaf rustlings.  The sound of the leaves falling creates a contant tremulous and the friction creates soft sounds.  I suppose here that the tree talked if someone would listen!

Birch

The birch tree stood for "B," (Beth), the first letter of the Druidic Tree Alphabet.  It was the sacred beth of Cerridwen and represented new beginning and new starts as well as birth.  It's white bark is connected to the White Goddess, was was both birth-giver and death-bringer in her Crone form as the carrion eating white sow.  Birch or Beorc is also the runic letter "B."

Cedar

Solomon's temple was built from the cedars of Lebanon.  Hebraic reverence of the cedar is probably derived from the Assyrians who believed that the cedar is the tree that produces the pure charm and drives away the unfriendly demons.  The Assyrians also believed the cone could heal the sick, that the secret names of the gods were written on the sacred cedar, and the tree itself, if properly understood, was "the revelations of oracles of heaven and earth."  Like the oak groves of Europe, the cedar groves were considered sacred places for divination.  

Cherry

Cherries were associated with virginity in more ways than in modern slang.  The redness of the fruit, with a seed in it's center, made it an obvious uterine symbol.  Gypsy girls carried cherry stones as love charms.  The twigs and leaves of the cherry tree  contain amygdalin, which is a compound containing cyanide when eaten would cause a state of nervous excitement followed by prostration.

Cypress

Orphic descriptions of the afterlife said the first thing a person would see is a white cypress tree by the fountain of Lethe, the Waters of Oblivion.  To drink from this fountain erased all memory.  To drink from the fountain of Mnemosyne (Memory) was desired of the Orphic initiate trained when alive.  In Lebanon, the Goddess herself was referred to as "the Cypress."

Elder

Not to be confused with the alder, the elder tree has a separate letter in the Druid Alphabet which is "R," (Ruis).  This tree is sacred to the Elder Goddess, the Crone, the Caillech, who was Hel, queen of the underworld.  This tree became to be known as the witch tree and was said to imprison the spirits of the dead.  Elder was used to make witches' "travel broomsticks."  Also, medieval folk believed in the magic of elder leaves worn to cure every pain in the neck. In Great Britian today, this tree is never ever cut without permission of the tree.  Even one tiny branch must have permission of this tree before cutting.

Elm

The German city "Ulm" means "elm tree."  Medieval historians said that the city was founded by the "Goddess worshipping Amazons" who ruled the city while worshipping in the groves of the sacred elm trees.

The elm was said to be the source of the world's first woman in Norse mythology.  Her name was Embla and her consort and the first man, Askr, was produced from the Ash tree.  This is the first hint that the original couple was produced from the Tree of Life.  

Fig

To "make the fig" by sticking the thumb through the fingers of a closed fist was once considered to be a very obscene insult and was equivalent to "muck you"  throughout England and many parts of Europe. It was also used as a powerful charm against the evil eye and other such threats in Medieval times.  This tree is considered a fertility tree.  According to Haggadah, the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate was the fig not the apple.  The fig tree Ruminalis was once worshipped as the Goddess herself in the Palatine temple in Rome.

Fir

The silver fir is "A," (Ailm) in the Druidic Alphabet and represented the birth of the Sun.  Evergreens are powerful symbols of ongoing life and/or immortality.

Hawthorne

Referred to as the May tree, it represents the "White Goddess."  An old wives tale said that sleeping with the blossoms of the hawthorne brought death.  Every May Day, the blossoms were picked and placed in a wreath representing the female around the Maypole representing the phallus. In the Druidic Alphabet, this tree represent the letter "H," (Uath).  In Great Britain, even today, it is extremely bad luck to bring a branch of Hawthorne into one's home except on Beltaine, May 1.

Hazel

The hazelnuts are a prized nut used by culinary chefs in Europe event today.  The tree's Druidic alphabetical letter is "C," (Coll).  It's wood became to be known as "Witch Hazel" because of it's properties as a divining rod.  It was also considered symbolic of female wisdom.  In Norway the Hazel is sacred to the God, Thor.  

Holly

The Druidic alphabet name the holly is the letter "T," (Tinne). The medieval Holly King or Holly Knight, was also known as the Green Man or the Wild Man, who appeared at midwinter festivals in the guise of an anciet sacrificial God.

According to the Tuetonic tribes, holly belonged to the underground Goddess, Holle (Hel), whose name was also rendered Halja, Hilde, Hulda, Holde, Helle, Hol, and Hella.  The holly's red berries were seen as drops of her life-giving blood, in which lay the secret of the tree's immortiality or year-round greenness.

Laurel

The laurel or green bay, was the plant of divinity and prophecy, chewed by the Goddess's priestesses in the vale of Temp, until Apollo's cult replaced hers.  This was mythologized as Apollo's attempted rate of the Delphic priestess Daphne, who foiled him by turning into a laurel tree.  Laurels of bay leaf were placed on the heads of victors throughout the ages especially at Olympic events and Roman games.

Linden

In Europe this tree is known as the lime tree.  It's flowers make a pleasant-tasting tea used for medicinal purposes.  Ancient Scythian sorcerers regarded the linden tree as the source of the prophetic insight.  To consult the spirits for future events, they would entwine the leaves around their fingers.

Myrrh

A gum resin from the Commiphora spcies of trees, native to Arabia, was one used in part of the mummification process.  It has come to have a symbolic meaning associated with death.  The myrrh tree has throrns and it was throught that this what the crown of thorns was made of that was places on the head of Jesus. 

Nux Vomica

Known as the vomiting tree, this is the source of strychnine.  Used properly it has medicinal properties and incorrectly it is a poison.

Oak

In the Druidic alphabet oak is "D," (Duir) and represents power.  This tree has resilience against thunder and does seem to attract it.  This is one of Thor's sacred trees in Norse mythology.  The tannin in the bark has long been used in tanning leather hides.  A very strong sturdy wood used in building anything that needed to last.  The medieval system that transported salt from Saltzburg, Austria from the mines to the collection area was in an oak hallowed out pipe system.  It lasted for over 1000 years.  When replaced with iron, it lasted maybe 5 years.  

Olive

The olive was sacred to Athene, whose miracle placed the very first olive tree on the Acropolis in Athenes.  The Gods claimed Athene as the winner because she put a graceful and useful Olive tree there while Poseidon stuck his trident into the ground producing a swell of water.  As the result of the duel between Poseidon and Athene the city is still named after her to this day.  The Olive is associated with the dove representing peace and the Goddess.

Orange

Orange blossoms worn or carried by brides today originated from the Saracenic fertility rituals connected with weddings.  The orange represented virginity and fruitfulness because flowers and fruit can appear on the tree at the same time.  Introduced to Europe in the 12th Century, the orange was grown in southern France and the Iberian peninsula.  In the East, the orange was known as the celestial fruit and was used as a cure for dyspepsia and heartburn.  The orange was also once a heart symbol in European witchcraft.

Palm

The palm tree represents the male phallus and signified virility and fertility.  Palm leaves were used to wave in honor of a God as well.  Thus the reasoning of Palm leaves waved at Jesus.  

Peach

The peach originates from China and was the Goddess's holy tree of life.  Fruit of Mother Hsi Wang Mu's mystic Peach Garden appeared every 3,000 years and produced the Gods' elixir of immortality.  The peach blossom meant a virgin in Taoist terminology.  In Europe the peach was called a fruit of Venus or a fruit sacred to Hymen. The fruit was even thought to be an aphrodisiac.  It was also a popular symbol of Truth and Sincerity represented by the peach with one attached leaf which represented the union of heart and tongue.

Pine

Sacred to a number of savior Gods including Attis, Dionysus, Marsyas, and Osiris.  As an evergreen, the pine was a natural symbol of immortality.

Pomegranate

The name means "apple of many seeds."  The fruit was universally known as the womb symbol with its red juice and numerous "offspring."  A definite fertility symbol used throughout history.

Poplar

Some traditions say this tree represents "The Tree of Life."  It has two distinct bicolored leaves with dark green on the side facing heaven and pale green on the side facing earth.  The wind of a storm would cause the leaves to blow upward exposing the pale side only. 

Rowan

Rowan represents the second letter of the Druidic Alpahbet "L," (Luis)  This tree stands for magic and is sacred to the Goddess Brigit.  Rowan was thought to break evil enchantments.  In Irish folklore the rowan tree was said to bear the berries of immortality.

Sycamore

This "holy sycamore" at Mataria in Egypt was the Shrine of the Tree, sacred to Isis-Hathor of Dendera.  The tree was once referred to as a receptacle for spirits of the dead who sat in the branches.  The Egyptian Sycamore was really the fig tree bearing figs when dried represented rebirth of the dead.

Tamarisk

Became known as a tree especially sacred to Osiris.  Isis found his entombed sarcophasgus engulfed in a growing Tamarisk tree after it had been sent down the Nile to the sea and has become part of King Melcarthus' pillar supporting his hall.  It was Isis who restored the God Osiris to life.

Tree Alphabet (not to be confused with the Runes of Scandinavian/Germanic Origins)

Like the Runic Futhark, the alphabet of the trees was used by European pagans for divination and for transmitting secret messages that would have been incomprehensible to anyone who did not know the system.  Each letter was named for a tree or shrub, so messages could be spelled out by stringing the right sorts of leaves in the right order on a cord or a wand, with "blank" leaves not included in the alphabet to divide one word from the next.  It has been suggested that nonletter leaves were sometimes inserted randomly just to rend the message more cryptic.

The Consonants            The Vowels

B Birch (Beth)                 A Silver Fir (Ailm)

L Rowan (Luis)               O Furze (Onn)

N Ash (Nion)                  U Heather (Ur)

F Alder (Fearn)               E White Poplar      (Eadha)

S Willow (Saille)             I Yew (Idho)

H Hawthorne (Uath)

D Oak (Duir)

T Holly (Tinne)

C Hazel (Coll)

M Vine (Muin)

G Ivy (Gort)

P Dwarf  Elder (Pethboc)

R Elder (Ruis)  

Walnut

Walnut trees used be important to the pagan Goddess, for the Middle ages had many stories about walnut trees harboring devils—especially she-devils-who whispered obscenities to passersby.  No doubt a story contrived by the church to do away with Goddess worship.  Walnuts were among the numerous tree fruits associated with female genitals.

Willow

The willow was sacred to the Goddess Arianrhod in Celtic tradition and was called the letter "S," (Saille) in the Druidic tree alphabet.  Willow bark is one of the world's oldest resources for the pain relief "salicylic acid" which is still used in the form of the over the counter "Asprin" (acetylsalicylic acid).  Willow wands were used in divination and a connection to the stars.

Yew

Yew is the traditional cemetery tree because the priests of the old Celtic religion regarded it as a symbol of immortality and planted it in their sacred groves, where Christian cemeteries were later situated.  In this way, the death-and-ressurection connotations of the yew were perpetuated.  Druids used wands of the yew for divination to fortell the future.

The "Yew Valley" was the abode of Odin as a death God, in his winter aspect as Ullr.  The runic symbol of Eoh meant yew, as did the letter "I," (Idho) in the Druidic Alphabet.  Yew also symbolized hunting as the wood made excellent bows.

In hot weather the Yew tree would give off an alkaloid taxine, which in some people may have a hallucinatory effect.  The berries and needles of the yew tree are very poisoness.  The pacific Yew tree which contains a special Taxonol has been used successfully in treating some forms of cancer

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