The Celtic Tree Calendar —by Míchealín Daugherty  The Celtic Tree Calendar is a system that  provides a means pf following the lunar changes in the year’s energies as well as the solar ones. The thirteen trees are representative of the thirteen new moons that occur each year.  The Druids believed the human race originally descended from the trees. Each tree had particular magical qualities. They encoded these mysteries in a secret shamanic alphabet, known as the Ogham, the origin of which is ascribed to Ogma, the Celtic God of Poetry.  The 13 tree-months each correspond to a tree, a letter of the Ogham alphabet, listed below in parentheses. Reed (Ngetal) 28 October–24 November Reed, although not a tree but a grass-like plant, is usually associated with Samhain, the Celtic New Year. The Reed Moon means winter is approaching. It is a month of turning our energies toward hearth and home. The tree symbolises family, fidelity and trust. Reeds are burned to honour household spirits and a family’s patron deity; and in ancient Scotland, a broken reed was an omen of familial betrayal. Reeds may be placed through your home, especially the kitchen area, to bring the blessing of unity to your family. Reed represents the turning within that we must undergo to nurture our souls hunger for spirituality. The reed's qualities include protection, spiritual progress and hunger for truth. Elder (Ruis) 25 November–22 December The Elder Moon contains the darkest days of the year. The day after the end of the Elder Moon month, before the start of the Birch Moon, is no month at all, but an “in between” day. Nameless Day: 23 December The Elder Moon’s qualities include death and regeneration, the Crone phase of the Goddess, wisdom, transformation, and the Underworld. Elder is sacred to Wiccans. Elder shows the path through the maze, the spiral path that leads within, and the meeting place where birth and death are one. The Celts believed that the elder could never be cut unless permission was asked of the trees. Wiccans believe Elder should never be burned in the cauldron. See the Wiccan Rede. Birch (Beth) 24 December–20 January The birch tree was a totem tree of Celtic shamans. It was seen as their “World Tree,” the axis upon which the universe spun. Birch is associated with the Winter Solstice. Birches often grow at the edge of woods, being the first to sprout up on new ground, breaking down the soil so that the less hardy strains can spread pout and thrive later. Qualities associated with birch include inception, fertility, conception, cleansing, purification, birth and rebirth. The twigs of a witch's besom or broom are most often made of birch which is thought to remove astral debris from the circle’s edge. The birch is also the home of Robin Redbreast who captures the Wren on Dec. 26, Wren's Day. See December. Rowan (Luis) 21 January–17 February Rowan, or mountain ash, is a potent tool for divination. Collect rowan sprigs during the Rowan Moon to use as catalysts during your divination exercises. The Druids inscribed symbols onto rowan rods. These were scattered about as a question was asked, and the varied patterns created by the fallen sticks determined the answer. Rowan is associated with the festival for Imbolc. It is a member of the apple family, and if you cut across the berries horizontally, a tiny, pentagram-shaped seed container will be revealed, much like a wee version of the one found inside an apple. Leafy rowan twigs bound with red ribbon were often placed in stables and biers to protect livestock. Some Southern and Eastern Europeans believe that Rowan protects again the rising of spirits from grave, i.e., the undead. In ancient graveyards, one will often see planted a Rowan tree. Some also believed that wearing a rowan necklace or placing a rowan cross on the door protected against witches. The rowan, however, is actually sacred to witches. Rowan’s qualities are protection, magic, intuition, a protector against enchantment, and as a guard of the sacred gateways into the Otherworld. Some witches them around their necks and used the berries as "worry berries," similar to the way a catholic might use a rosary. Ash (Nuin) 18 February–17 March To the Celts, ash was a wood of balance, containing energy from which wands of personal power were crafted. This is because ash is strong, and even its most slender limbs are hard to break. To make your wand, begin your search for an ash limb with which to make your wand well before the Ash Moon. When you find one, sand away its bark and dress it with a light coat of purifying olive oil. Once the oil is absorbed, you may decorate the wand to personal taste. To seal the wand as a tool of personal power, one representing the center point of all creation, dedicate it to its task under the full Ash Moon. Visualize yourself at the center of the universe and ask the moon’s blessing upon the wand. Hold the wand high and see it as a conduit though which can pass all the energy that is, was, or ever will be must pass, so that you can use it in your magic and ritual. Qualities associated with ash include wisdom and spiritual knowledge when meditated upon. Oak, ash and thorn were called the Faerie Triad. Ash is often used for the shaft of a witch’s broom stick. When ash is cut, it releases a red sap resembling blood. In Norse cosmology, the giant ash tree — Yggdrasil — was the axis point upon which the universe spun. Yggr was one of the many names of Odin, and the usual interpretation is 'Horse of Yggr', since Odin in a sense rode the tree when he hung upon it. The tree is repeatedly called 'the ash Yggdrasil', and a possible reason for the choice of an ash might be the bunches of 'keys' which hang from the branches like bodies of tiny men, recalling the practice of hanging sacrificial victims from trees. The ash has also peculiarly wide-spreading roots, and in descriptions of the tree its roots are said to extend to various regions of the Underworld. The roots of Yggdrasil are said to extend into different realms. According to the poem Grímnismál, Hel, the abode of the dead, lay under one of them, Jotunheim, land of giants, beneath another, and the world of men under a third, implying that these realms lay side by side, while that of the gods was above, in the sky.  Alder (Fearn) 18 March–14 April Wood that comes from the psychically potent alder tree has been used since ancient times to summon spirits from the Otherworld and to bring about desired weather patterns, particularly storms or rain. Alder represents defence and protection, yet it has a watery intuitive side as well. It is thought to bring spiritual perception and is associated with the Celtic Bran the Blessed and his raven. European folklore tells us alder trees must never be cut of their power will return to the ground. You will need, instead to find a small alder branch that has fallen to the earth. When you have one, empower it to use in weather rituals. To empower your alder wand: on a sunny afternoon during the alder moon go outside to an isolated and twirl the branch in the air until it whistles. Mimic the sound as summon the wind or rain. Winds from the four elemental directions can be catalysts for specific magical needs, and rain can be used fro water magic or to nourish the land. Keep your alder wand wrapped in cloth and hidden from view when not in use. Recharge it each year on the full Alder Moon. Willow (Saille) 15 April–12 May The Willow Moon offers us the opportunity to heal spiritual and physical ills. Like the willow, we can bend much more than we realize, without breaking, and then bounce back again, renewed and ready to go forward. The willow tree has been used for many magical spells and rituals, and the ancients knew the tree as a healer of great power. Its bark is a source of salycic acid, which is the main ingredient in aspirin. A cup of willow-bark tea helps heal pain and fever. Meditating on willow is thought to bring a sense of deep connection with the Goddess. It is associated with clairvoyance, intuition and emotions. Hawthorn (Huath) 13 May–9 June Hawthorn, or whitethorn, is associated with the festival of Beltane (although some sources list willow for Beltane). Hawthorn is often associated with faeries. Both Celts and Wiccans believe it is unlucky to bring hawthorn blossoms indoors. The only time one should break or cut hawthorn branches is on Beltane Eve. Hawthorn is linked with the bridal link of the Goddess and uninhibited sexuality. Places where hawthorn grows profusely often seem to mediate earth energies and evoke a connection to ancient times when people were more in tune with the land. Oak (Duir) 10 June–7 July Oak is often associated with the summer solstice. It represents strength, endurance, fortitude, fatherhood, the God and loyalty. The oak tree is also the “door” between the light and dark halves of the year. The oaken doorway is a gateway to the Otherworld. The oak was sacred to the Druids because of its tendency to attract lightening, survive the lightening strikes, and regenerate afterwards. It is also symbolic of male potency in the form of mistletoe. Even in the dormancy of winter, this new life sprouts from its branches with berries of white that symbolise the semen of the Lord of the Forest. See also The Green Man. Use the power of the Oak Moon to renew your commitment to your deities and spiritual path. For this ritual, you will need three acorns and six candles. Under the moonlight, charge the acorns to represent your body, mind and spirit. Light each candle to represent the six remaining moons of the lunar year call out to your deities and rededicate yourself to them and their service. Ask for the strength you need to continue on their path throughout this year, or to change the direction of your path to correct and error in your ways. Bury the acorns to symbolise the planting of your rediscovered commitment. See Also: The Month of June Holly (Tinne) 8 July–4 August Holly guards the door to the inner realms. It is associated with Lammas. Holly’s qualities include courage, war-like instinct, male sexuality and male energy. Just as the Holly and Oak kings battled at Yule, they again battle for supremacy now; but this time it is the Holly King, God of the Waning year, who will win. Winter Solstice traditions also include Robin Redbreast, who lives in the birch, and captures the Wren, who lives in the holly (or in some traditions in ivy), on Dec. 26, Wren's Day. See also: Cernunnos See Also: The Month of December The Month of July Holly Hazel (Coll) 5 August–1 September The Hazel tree was seen as feminine in nature, and with the Hazel Moon falling at the end of autumn it came to represent the growing wisdom as the Goddess gradually turned from living mother to wise old crone. As the hazel moon begins to wan, go out doors to a place where can see the crones waning crescent riding low in the sky. Take with you some diluted rosemary oil or rosemary water. Rosemary is an herb associated with knowledge and protection. Face the waning moon ask the crone Goddess to bless you with her wisdom as you anoint yourself with the rosemary. “Hag of night, bless me with wisdom’s sight (anoint forehead) Crone of the Moon, grant me your instinctive boon (anoint stomach) Goddess of might, help me think clear and right (anoint head) Mother of all, please answer my call." (anoint heart area). Hazel is associated with mental alertness, quickness, agility, calculation and measurement, divination, poetry and creativity. Dowsing rods — used to find both water and ley energy — are usually hazel. Wood from the hazel tree was used by the Celts for making divining rods, for protection from storms and as emblems of authority for Druid priests. It is also said that Pliny used a hazel rod for divination.1 Southern and Eastern Europeans believe that a Hazel rod is a caduceus, like the one given Mercury by Apollo. It is a symbol of enlightenment. The Jews and the Christians gave the use of Hazel as a magical rod to Moses. In Jewish/Christian mythology, Moses uses a Hazel rod, harvested by Adam from the Garden of Eden; and it was with this rod that Moses and Aaron purportedly issued plague spells onto the people of Egypt. Vine (Muin) 2 September–29 September The Vine Moon bridges the Autumn Equinox and takes us into the dark time of the year, and thus has many associations with looking inward to find creativity within ourselves.  The vine is associated with the festivals of Mabon and the Autumn Equinox. Its qualities include prophecy, psychic development, tenacity, unification and ecstasy. Ivy (Gort) 30 September–27 October Although not a tree, ivy is so resilient and strong that it is used as a binding catalyst in most magical systems. Ivy may be used to exorcise that which we wish to banish or to unite like-minded people. If used to banish, burn ivy to the ground following the ritual to dispel any energies of discord it may have absorbed while helping you. There is great wisdom in ivy, and it is one of the plants most sacred to the Goddess; and places where ivy grows in abundance are filled with dark, enthralling mystery. Winter Solstice traditions also include Robin Redbreast, who lives in the birch, and captures the Wren, who lives in the holly (or in some traditions in ivy), on Dec. 26, Wren's Day. See December. Notes: 1Pliny the Younger, or Caius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (62-c.115), was said to use a hazel rod for divination. He was a Roman senator, nephew of Pliny the Elder, governor of Bithynia-Pontus (109-111) and author of a famous collection of letters. Sources: Conway DJ. Celtic Magic, Llewellyn Worldwide, 1994. Davidson, HR Ellis. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions, Syracuse University Press, 1988. Farrar, J and Farrar, S. A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook. Phoenix Publishing, London, 1984. Hawke, E. Praise to the Moon: Myth and Magic of the Lunar Cycle, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Llewellyn Witches’ Datebook 2003, ed. KM Brielmaier, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Lonigan, PR. The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts, Greenwood Press, 1996. Morrison, D. The Craft, Llewellyn Worldwide, 2002. Personal knowledge/traditions.   Page updated 10 Sep 2006 Celtic Background & Logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2006 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.