The honeysuckle's name invokes the beauty of a scented plant enticing pollinators to its embrace and the gift of nectar. It speaks in lore of affection as it binds itself to a tree and reaches to the sun and faithfulness to enrich the shaded woodland by its climbing efforts.​

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine...
Shakespeare
​
However it is also known as woodbine as it clambers up the trees, twisting in such a way it carves itself into the wood for eternity giving rise to 'dragon wands' which symbolise the rising of the earth energy upon the branch of the tree.

It was Shakespeare who also spoke of this twisting and although referred to gently he did not deny its strength. and its relationship with the life-giving sun, which does not penetrate the depths of the earth where it grows.

'So doth the woodbine the sweet honeysuckle
Gently entwist...'

'steal into the pleached bower, where honeysuckles ripen'd by the sun,
forbid the sun to enter...'


In Celtic lore the honeysuckle is exalted as the 'King of the Trees' by Iubdhan, the king of the leprechauns.

'Monarch of Inis Fail's Forests woodbine is, whom none may hold captive; no feeble sovereign's effort is it to hug all tough trees in his embrace...'

A climber that is very much celebrated with its nectar rich trumpet-like flowers which exude a scent on summer evenings. Its leaves are amongst the first to appear in the woodland scene sometimes as early as December. If honeysuckle is brought into the house it is said a wedding will follow and placed in a girl’s bedroom will bring dreams of love.

Samuel Pepys, a 17th Century diarist called honeysuckle the trumpet flower whose bugles blow scent instead of sound. 
Honeysuckle flowers can be used to help headaches, lung diseases and asthma.
Its bark can make cordage and it is said it was used as rope to move the great stones of stonehenge!

It seems this climber has been respected throughout history as a king and a lover, a woodland delight to be respected and honoured. 

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                 Ancient Sweet Chestnut Tree                                                    Ancient Lime Tree

I travel along the Wessex ridgeway like a highway man flanked by a shrubbery of grey and pussy willow intermingled with old hazel coppice. The ash trees stretch up high above the shrubbery and in the fields ancient oak and  lime have an indomitable presence.

A single shrunken, withered chestnut tree, a relic of noble splendour is hollowed out as a stately home to wildlife reminding me of the poem The Hollow Tree by John Claire:

How oft a summer shower hath started me 
To seek for shelter in an hollow tree:
Old huge ash-dotterel wasted to a shell,
Whose vigorous head still grew and flourished well..

​

                              Wild angelica                                                               Sun spurge

I then enter the watery realms guarded by water pepper and angelica creates a canopy of its own.

In desolate places, where dark moisture breeds
The pipy hemlock to strange overgrowth
John Keats

Then as I emerge from the mysteries only dark and moist places tell, I witness chenopodiums (goosefoots) and cardamines ( bittercresses) scattered in the fields whilst a lone sun spurge decorates the grass amongst white archangel.

                Rosebay willowherb                                                                 Shepherds purse

A purple haze of rosebay willowherb with shepherds purse educates the wanderer of past land management.
Fallen relics of brick arches, woodland tracks leading to pastures edged with melilot, redshank, mayweed and fumitory.
Spongy wet paths support brooklime and drier paths breed flowering chickweed, plantain and wild pansy.
I could be a marauding Viking or a settled Saxon as the timeless Wessex landscape unfolds before me.

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As with any herb that incudes ‘officinalis’ in its botanical name it has a long history of use, this coupled with the fact its generic name ‘Verbena’ is a Roman term for alter plants used for sacrifices points to a very interesting plant.

However it is pre-Roman that its connections with healing and spirituality begin. Vervain is thought to have been used similarly to Sage in the Native American traditions, purifying and cleansing ceremonial and living spaces.

Individuals have also used the plant for their own protection against infection and calamity. Worn as a talisman around one's neck it is said to help with headaches and poisonous bites. It is thought that it can used for both creating spells and as a antidote for spells. In short this plant has played a key role in Shamanic practices in the British Isles. Due to the fact it is not a true native of Ireland there is little evidence of its herbal use in this Country.

As with many plants with a key role in folk traditions, science also points to why this plant has been used extensively. The plant contains ‘verbenaline’ which is a chemical renowned for its ability to reduce fevers and pain.  An infusion of this plant can induce sweating and used with yarrow is an effective herb for coughs and colds. More often than not the plant has been used as an external application for inflammations and sores. Internally it also can be taken as a strengthening tonic.

After a motor accident I used the mixture of vervain and yarrow to ease pain and strengthen my recovery.

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Lughnasa 1st August- 19th September
 
On Tuesday at the feast of the rise of the sun
And the back of the ear of the corn to the East
I will go forth with my sickle down
While the fruitful ear is in my grasp
I will raise mine eye upwards
I will turn on my heel quickly.
 
Rightway as travels the sun
From the direction of the East to the West
From the direction of the North with motion slow
To the very core of the direction of the South.
 
I will give thanks to the King of Grace
For the growing crops of the ground
He will give food to ourselves and to the flocks
According as He disposeth me.
Traditional Reaping blessing translated by Alexander Carmichael.
 
The above Gaelic blessing illustrates a connection to the land. In the book of the Dun Cow written around 1100 it is clearly a legal obligation to gather for the festivals so all that partake in the harvest also partake in the work needed and the celebration of the fecundity of the land.
 
The word Lughnasa can be translated as the fair or assembly of Lugh, a deity who is said to be the master of all craft. When he fought the Fomhoire, the terms spoken between Lugh and Bres were very much about the best way to work the land. However as with many of the old traditions it is to the Goddess we must turn to honour. 
 
Lugh is holding this feast to honour his foster-mother, the goddess Tailtiu who died after spending a year clearing a great plain to feed the people. The foster-mother in Celtic society was held in great esteem and importance.
The Goddess Brighit known as the foster-mother of Jesus in her form as a Christian Saint.
 
The festival of Lughnasa is therefore to honour the sacrifice of the goddess of the land to feed the people.
 
Light a candle to honour the Mother earth who gives to us all without any reward; reflect on your actions this year, have you helped be a caretaker of the sacred land or have you taken without care? What can you give back to earth, how can you lessen your impact? Meditate on the beauty of nature and the role you play in her cycle.

If you would like to learn more about the traditions of the land you may wish to enrol on our Woodland Bard Course.

                 Kidney Vetch                                     Tufted Vetch                                  Bird's foot trefoil.

Out on the Downs I visit rich meadows filled with fragrant and pyramidal orchids surrounded by a lush  verdure and sprinkled with yellow and purple gems of the the pea family ‘Fabaceae’.
The orchids are now fading as I write this and the purple knapweed, willowherbs and agrimony continue to delight the eye whilst still little peas unfold unperturbed by the summer heat scrambling through grassy fields.

The South Downs are my home and as I view the undulating hills, cross brooks and streams and the occasional ford and walk down into the picturesque valleys, I then kneel down and examine the flowers and my whole world stops.
The worries, torments and jobs to do disappear into a purple and yellow haze of pea flowers.
Studying flowers takes me to a place that every artist and musician understands, a place beyond all human endeavour and desire where my world is complete just as it is. I do not wish to own, travel, discuss, want more of or collect these flowers I just feel content and free as my mind stops in the beauty before me.

‘Beauty beyond thought everywhere, beneath, above, made and being made forever.’
John Muir 

Being made forever that is nature’s gift although now this gift must be preserved with more vigour than ever before, evidenced in the grass sward just yards from the flowering meadow which is devoid of a single flower, a green desert of failed beauty. I must not deny this truth that nature is being destroyed and I must work tirelessly to give a helping hand to the plants that I love, but also I must find time to soak up her beauty.

So now let’s explore ‘Little peas’.

The flower of these plants are undeniably distinctive especially if memories of sweet peas grown in the garden or the eating of field peas in farmer’s fields spring to mind.
However the peas I speak of provide valuable food not in their fruit but in their delightful flowers made of two wings and a keel. The bee lands on the keel ( bottom petal) the wings ( petals each side) spread and the bee takes a fill of pure nectar. Colour and scent are the attraction and pure nectar the reward, this phenomenon could not be dreamt up in the greatest novel, it is a tiny yet vast world where beauty reigns supreme.
Yes of course nature matches this beauty with death, decay and suffering but can we deny the contentment that comes from nature.
To quote from John Muir once more:

‘Earth has no sorrow that earth cannot heal.’

​John Muir who is not spoken of enough is known as the the founding father of the World Conservation movement and although he felt terrible pain at the destruction of wild areas and dedicated his life to its preservation he also felt the tremendous joy only possible when one immerses in nature!

 Therefore go to a meadow and spot the purple and yellow pea flowers of vetches and trefoils, look up the names of tufted, horseshoe and kidney vetch, birds-foot trefoil, everlasting peas, medick and melilot and take out a good field guide or go on a local walk with an expert in your area. You may wish to leave the guide book at home and leave the naming to others as you soak in the beauty.

If you wish to learn more please subscribe to our monthly newsletter or join us on a course where we can soak up the beauty and learn a deeper appreciation.

​May Nature continue to inspire you!

In this article we will explore the folklore of the Ash tree. 
For a more detailed exploration visit the Tree Folklore Course and support valuable Conservation work.

​The warrior is depicted as courageous, fearless and ready for all eventualities, prepared to put his duty first in order to protect the sovereignty above his own personal desires; to lay aside his own morals for a bigger cause than himself. Is this noble acquisition an excuse for the endless blood let of war in order to gain power? Is the age- old concept of a male warrior outdated and irrelevant in more educated times? Why are so many deep myths exploring this archetype that seems so prevalent and destructive in society?

Ash is the tree of warriors associated strongly with the Vikings, the Aescling (Men of the Ash) as well as the tree of Celtic warriors in the old Irish texts. As with all tree lore it is borne out first in its practical use as a weapon from the primitive spear and bow, through to the cavalry lance and even the mosquito aeroplane of world war one. Its wood is light and flexible yet inherently strong capable of bearing more weight than any other British timber.
The tree like the warrior lives a short time (compared to other forest trees of its stature) and its properties speak of progress and speed in the above uses named, as well as in the structure of the early car which most definitely has changed society drastically.
Movement, progress, change, the constant human restlessness is captured in the spirit of this tree, but where does the power of the warrior, this outward pouring of constant progress originate?

How oft a summer shower have started me
To seek for shelter in an old tree:
Old huge ash- dotterel wasted to a shell,
Whose vigorous heads still grew and flourished well, Where ten might sit upon the battered floor
And still look round discovering room for more...
John Clare

In the depths of an aged hollow tree we find the source of our power, a strength flowing from feminine qualities of stillness, patience and perseverance. I sense in the centre of the Ash and in all of us is that still, creative force that flows from the ability to yield and to give unconditionally. As mentioned before using the terms male and female need not be gender related but qualities we all possess.
In Celtic lore as we look at the archetypes and the function of the warrior we are drawn first into the female power. The original hunters of indigenous tribes across the world served the women first by providing them with the best meat to nurture the new life born from their wombs. The earth is often depicted as a female spirit – the ‘Juno’ or in Greek lore ‘Gaia’. The sovereignty of the land and whom the warrior first serves is therefore the female spirit from where all creation is born.

The maturity of the male spirit is therefore dependant on its acknowledgement of its female origins. In Celtic lore the training of both warrior and poet is often conducted by the mature women.
However it is then essential the youth once mature finds his own way and severs the ties with the mature women in order to find her in himself. In Earth spirituality we first have to accept and work with our deep desires, our need for power and ambition in order to eventually transcend them.

The deliberate severance of our innate pull to the darker regions of our psyche to form a higher nobility before maturity; such as that which is encouraged in more modern religion leads to a repressed state that will eventually be acted out. However being shown a safe place to be held without judgement, a foundation that accepts us truly as we are enables true nobility to arise as naturally as a new spring. This foundation will remain with us throughout our lives, refreshing us in more harsh times.

A judgemental foundation based on fear and sin will simply create a conflict in harsh times and make the suffering all the worse for it.
The harsh rights of passage in indigenous tribes are only possible therefore if the child has been held and loved by a nurturing mother. This pulling away from the nurturing mother is also essential so a foundation can be established in the individual.

However it is also true to state some individuals will not feel the need for such rights of passage and their challenges will be of a different nature, this is those born of the Poet’s tree, the Willow and choose a life of solitude and deep listening expressing themselves through less physical means.
In a sensitive society therefore the female/male warrior and the male/female poet will be acknowledged and nurtured. I use the term ‘poet’ to capture the essence of those of a more reflective and creative nature.
The outward signs of Ash are overtly apparent in today’s society and with the boon of social media the more male qualities of ‘doing’ and ‘being seen’ are dominating our society. However true reflection and nurture is in the aged- hollowed out tree unseen by the outside world.

The young warrior or poet therefore is trained by the mature female and inspired by the mature man. They painstakingly leave the nest, chose the right of passage suitable for them, be it in solitude or in achievement, and then finally mature themselves to continue the cycle.
If we life in a society that continually worships the stage of youth, the stage of initiation and the rights of passage through doing, we lose the mature stage and no longer have the role models to enable us to live in peace with a firm foundation.

Ash is the tree that checks peace, gives us the strength to move on and to work with change. However if we deny its feminine strength in the depths of its being, do not drink from the sacred well and find the cave of solitude within we are constantly restless and without foundation losing that beauty that stays with us in harsher times.

The Tree of Life

The most known association of Ash in European tree folklore is in its form as Askr Yggdrasill, the centre of the universe around which everything moves. Its roots represent the Underworld and are said to be guarded by a huge serpent, the trunk represents this world and its canopy the Upperworlds upon which sits an eagle and goats browse on its leaves. The spring, at its base, is where the Norns reside, who rule over the destiny of us all.
The World Tree or Tree of Life seems to reflect a universal concept replicated in traditions all across the world from the Cotton tree in Mayan Culture and the great centre pole of the tepee in Native North American culture made of the Cotton Wood tree. In Siberia the World Tree is the Birch. All of these forms seem to follow the pattern of a totem bird at its top and a well or pool at its base with some form of reptile as a guardian of the Underworld.

This is further enhanced in Christian lore in the form of the apple tree and its serpent. The apples represent the receptacle of the hidden knowledge and the serpent its guardian. The reptiles take us back to the oldest life forms inhabiting the land connecting us to our primal earth bound roots. The Underworld in Norse Mythology is called Hel, the origin of the word for Hell and is the place of the dead. The dark depths of life where serpents and insects dwell and our primordial instincts stem from need not be marked as evil. Often the beings of this world are the recyclers, cleaners and messengers of the natural kingdom to which all so-called higher species depend on. In Earth spirituality this connection is encouraged and sought out as being rooted in the world enables us to then ground ourselves in reality and accept all aspects of ourselves as discussed earlier.

O thou, whose mighty palace roof doth hang From jagged trunks, and overshadoweth Eternal whispers, glooms, the birth, life, death Of unseen flowers in heavy peacefullness; Who lov’ st to see the hamadryads dress
Their ruffled locks where meeting hazels darken;
And through whole solemn hours dost sit, and hearken...
John Keats

The wells and springs (or indeed the apples), connect us to our depths of memory, fate and true knowledge which is well protected as only those who are ready and are of a pure heart can drink from them.
In Celtic Irish lore Ash is also known as the warrior’s tree as an Ash spear is wielded by the solar hero Lugh Lamfada and the early race of men in Irish stories called the Fir bolgs (men of spears) were also said to wield superior ash spears. The spear and the sling were the only long range weapons used by the Irish Celts in the Bronze and Iron ages. There were said to be five sacred trees planted in Ireland and three of them were Ash for the warriors.

However it is all too easy to expound on the qualities of the warrior in a patriarchal society where the stories of predominately male heroes and barbaric Vikings are so popular. The Kennings from ancient Celtic lore, which were first written down in 1391 in the Book of Ballymote on the Ash help one to look more deeply into the more subtle female aspects of the tree:

Ash, a check on peace is Ash for of it are made spear shafts by which the piece is broken.
Checking of peace.
Flight of beauty, a weaver’s beam.
Flight of beauty.

Nion, the Ogham name for Ash means, ‘a thing produced’ possibly implying a more subtle use of Ash. The spear (especially when referred to as the weaver’s beam) can also be a magical tool to help heal and move people on in their lives.
Sick children have been passed through split Ash for healing and it is said a shrew was buried in an ash tree to bring about healing e.g. Ash by the church in Selborne in Hampshire.

Ash wood juice has been used to protect infants from harm. Ash crosses are made for sea protection and the Vikings were thought to use Ash as a magical implement. In the past Ash roots were carved into magical images.

In Celtic lore the tree of life stands in the Otherworlds as a beacon of light with acorn, fruit and nut on its boughs. It is covered in beautiful song birds and often also has a spring at its base. The tradition continues where we acknowledge faerie trees by waterways and honour them by tying rags and wishes upon their boughs.

In Irish Celtic lore we have the nine hazel trees of Connla’s well situated along the river Boyne and in the first tales of Merlin brought to us by Geoffrey of Monmouth we have Hazel shrubs surrounding a fountain. The Hazel tree (explored further in later booklets) therefore is a good candidate for the tree of life.
The five sacred trees of Ireland consisted of three Ash and two Yew. They played a pivotal role in the structure and qualities of Ireland.

Not only were they key assembly points for the Druids and for Ireland’s armies they marked the five provinces of Ireland representing the five key qualities ( knowledge, battle, prosperity, music and kingship) and ultimately the five key elements ( fire, earth, air, water and ether). This knowledge was passed down to Fionntan mac Bochna the oldest living poet in Ireland via a branch which bore the three fruits of nuts, apples and acorns. Fionntan being the oldest person alive at this time had the role of remembering the stories and the wisdom of the land enlivening the oral tradition at a time when it may have been lost. The branch was given to him by Trefuilngid Tre-eochair a giant that claimed to control the rising and setting of the sun, bringing once again the knowledge of the land into the province of its guardians- the giants.
In the Prose Dindsenchas we find a description of the three key ash trees of Ireland mentioned above:

Eo Mugna, great was the fair tree, High its top above the rest,
Thirty cubits it was no trifle,
That was the measure of its girth.
Three hundred cubits was the height of the blameless tree. Its shadow sheltered a thousand.
In secrecy it remained in the north and east
Until the time of Conn Ceadchathach.
A hundred score of warriors, no empty tale, Along with ten hundred and forty
Would that tree shelter, it was a fierce struggle, Until it was overthrown by the poets.

How fell the bough of Daithi?
It spent the strength of many a gentle hireling, An Ash, the tree of nimble hosts,
Its top bore no lasting yield.
T
he Ash of Tortiu, take count thereof, The Ash of populous Uisneach.
Their boughs fell, it was not amiss, In the time of Ead slane.

In the Mabinogion ( a collection of ancient Welsh tales) there is the story of the Lady of the fountain where we have the atypical tree of life in the form of a Pine with a fountain at its base. Otherworldly beings bring a scion of the tree of life when travelling to the human world to create a portal to their realms. The mortal who receives it can travel to the Otherworld which is why the silver branch is a badge of office for the poet who frequents these different worlds as explored in the Willow booklet.
The true function therefore of the Ash tree is as an initiator and the image of the warrior is simply a metaphor for the courage it takes to take up the mantle of your true purpose in life. 

Uses of Ash

‘Dark is the colour of ash: timber that makes the wheels to go; rods he furnishes for the horseman’ s hands, and his form turns battle into flight’
Ancient Irish Tales (T.P.Cross and C.Slover 1936)

​Ash established itself later than some tree species after the last ice age and especially increased when Elm declined in Neolithic times.
Ash timber as well as its wood has been sought after for centuries. It has been used to create early weapons such as bows and spears to the modern cavalry lance. Its other uses are diverse including tools, frames and shafts of vehicles both modern and ancient. It is the second most recorded timber tree in history and is the most commonly used plantation tree since the 17th Century.

Ash casts a light shade and is light-demanding, living no longer than 200 years in normal conditions. If it grows in infertile soils and is thus forced to grow slowly it will live longer and as a coppice stool indefinitely! The largest stool in Bradfield woods is 18.5 feet across and is at least 1000 years old and still has good vigour.
Ash wood is known as the perfect fuel for the fire and was traditionally used as the Yule log burnt at the Winter Solstice to celebrate this time of year, the birth of the Sun God.

The future of Ash- Ash dieback

In 2012 we discovered the first signs of Ash dieback or Chalara in nursery grown Ash trees and by 2013 signs were seen in the wider environment. Unlike the Elm disease which infected our Elms in the 1970s it is likely that the Ash will evolve to cope with the disease although we hope the loss will not be too great whilst this process is occurring. The current policy is to exercise caution in removing especially older species where the disease has been confirmed. The older trees will resist the disease far more effectively than younger trees. Unfortunately spores from the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus which causes the disease are carried on the wind.

As explored in the Rowan article the key to the species survival and indeed the survival of our native species is genetic variability for this creates the opportunity for the species to evolve to cope with the disease. This was not possible for our Elms as they were clones reproducing by suckers rather than seed.

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             Valerian and mallow            Me, hedge mustard & Black horehound            Bird's foot trefoil

Where the hedgerow meets the meadow, a glow of bunched yellow spurges gave food to a masquerade of colourful insects speaking of a wooded past. Once I drifted through the threshold of spurges I was initiated into the golden delights of a city meadow.

Agrimony, ragwort and bird's foot trefoil competed with ox-tongue, hawkbits and hawkweeds.
Clambering up through them were purple vetches, restharrow and everlasting peas. The spear thistle and exuberant lush foliage of knapweed offered a stately presence whilst huge white trumpet flowers of greater bindweed sounded out with colour matched with the subtler trumpets striped pink and white of the field bindweed. 

On its edges flowering valerian, mallow, bedstaw, crane and storks bill overflowed with the joy of beauty. I knew noon had past for the plant jack by the noon had gone to sleep.

I acquainted myself with over 50 species in this single city meadow, a welcome message to green our concrete jungles. Ah, time in nature is well-spent.

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