COPYRIGHT

Thorsons

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published by Thorsons 1998

Copyright © Jacqueline Memory Paterson

Jacqueline Memory Paterson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780722537787

Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780008240462

Version: 2017-01-13

And do you remember what secrets the trees told us as we lay under their shady branches on the hot midsummer days, while the leaves danced and flickered against the blue, blue sky? Can you tell what was the charm that held us like a dream in the falling dusk, as we watched their heavy masses grow dark against the silvery twilight sky?

C. E. Smith, Trees

CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

1. THE ENGLISH YEW

2. THE HOLLY

3. THE PINE

4. THE HAZEL

5. THE BLACKTHORN

6. THE SILVER BIRCH

7. THE APPLE TREE

8. THE HAWTHORN TREE

9. THE ASH TREE

10. THE OAK TREE

11. THE ENGLISH ELM

12. THE BEECH TREE

13. THE ROWAN TREE

14. THE ALDER

15. THE WILLOW TREE

16. THE ELDER TREE

17. THE POPLAR TREES

CONCLUSION

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

THE ENGLISH YEW

IRISH/GAELIC | Ioho
OGHAM |
RUNIC |
RULING PLANET | Saturn
ABILITIES | Guardian to the Door of Rebirth. Rest after the struggle of life. Divination. Dowsing. Bows. To do with the element of Earth.
SEASON | Winter
YEW | Taxus baccata. Evergreen. POISONOUS.

The yew tree helped form the great primeval conifer forests which dominated the earth long before the advent of broadleaved trees. It lives for over 1,000 years and it is thought that many living yews pre-date Christ by many thousands of years. The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is claimed to be up to 9,000 years old. Many yews are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and one of the oldest weapons found is a crude yew spear from the Old Stone Age.

The yew gains its capacity for great age from its particular growth of shoots or branches, which root into the ground and grow to form new trunks. These then join the main trunk and become part of it, which gives yews huge fluted girths. It takes 150 years for the main trunk to form and then the yew continues its growth widthways. In old age it continues to grow, even with a completely hollow trunk. This has given yew a reputation for immortality and has made it a symbol of life after death. The yew is common in churchyards and in undisturbed country areas examples are still found of ancient yew avenues.

Unlike other conifers, the yew produces no cones. It is known to be deadly, for its leaves and fresh seeds contain a poison called Taxin.

Because the seed-making process of the yew is dependent upon the wind, it produces extraordinary amounts of pollen, which when released can cover large areas with its yellow dust. On warm spring days the air is filled with its golden shimmer.

CUSTOM & LEGEND

An old folk-tale tells why yews are ‘dressed’ so darkly. When the yew was a young species, in times when there were few people, it thought that all other trees were more beautiful, for their colourful leaves could flutter in the wind, unlike its stiff needles. The tree pined, thinking that the faeries had deliberately made it unattractive. Yet the faeries wanted to please the yew, and one sunny morning it found its needles had changed to leaves of gold and its heart danced with joy. But robbers came and stripped the tree bare, leaving it confused and sad. The faeries then gave it leaves of purest crystal and the yew loved its sparkle, but a storm of hail fell and the crystals shattered. Then it was given broad leaves and it waved them in the air, only for them to be eaten by goats. At this the yew gave up, for it realized that its original dress was the best, for it was of permanence, of long ages and deep knowledge, and in this the tree found comfort.

There are many tales about yews springing into growth upon the graves of lovers. In Irish legend the graves of Deidre and Naoise were staked with yew branches by the High King Conchobar in order to separate them. Yet the stakes grew into yew trees which wove their branches together above the graves and joined the lovers even in death.

Two yew trees sprouted out of the graves of the tragic lovers Tristan and Iseult. At their full height the yews reached their branches towards each other across the nave and intertwined so intensely they could nevermore be parted.

The yew was revered as a sacred tree, and the custom of the first Christian missionaries to preach under and erect churches near yews was a continuance of the ancient druidic practice of associating the yew with a place of burial adjacent to a place of worship.

In Christian terms the yew came to symbolize resurrection and it was used in church at Easter and on Palm Sunday. Shoots of yew were put into the shrouds of the dead, for it was believed to protect and restrain their spirits. The Church also thought that the yew protected against evil influences interfering with the shades of the dead.

Other associations between the yew and churchyards were formed when armies met at churches for blessings before battle, and English archers gathered yew branches from the churchyard trees to make their famous longbows. It is said that many kings ordered the planting of yews in churchyards specifically for this purpose.

HEALING

Warning: It must be stressed that no one should self-administer yew. It is very poisonous and will cause death.

Culpeper states that the yew’s poisonous qualities rise by distillation into the most active vegetable poison in the world, which acts upon the nervous system and destroys vital functions, but does not bring on sleep like opium or other poisons. Yew’s Latin name, Taxus, is derived from the Greek toxon, meaning ‘bow’. The connection of the tree to poison formed the derivative ‘toxin’, which was given to poisons in general. Recent discoveries about the yew are exciting, for the chemical properties of Taxus are believed to contain a formula, Taxol, which is an anti-cancer drug.

In homoeopathy a tincture of young yew shoots and berries (not the seed) is used for treating cystitis, headache, neuralgia, dimness of vision, affections of the heart and kidneys, gout and rheumatism.

MAGIC & INSPIRATION

Because the yew is an evergreen tree of extreme longevity, the ancient custom of mourners putting sprigs of yew into shrouds and graves of the departed showed they believed death was not the end of life, but merely a passing through into the continuance of life to come.

The yew is most powerful in midwinter, for it represents the passage of the sun through the darkest time of the year. Along with other evergreens it was revered as a tree of light, its green foliage in the dead of winter emphasizing that life would continue. To enhance this, all evergreens were traditionally dressed with shiny, sparkling objects at Yuletide, to attract the light of the sun back into the year.

In the cold regions of the north wind the yew is associated with faerie wildmen and Pictish deities, most of whom are said to have the ability to conjure up a faerie darkness in order to disappear. This may well have reference to the yew’s ability to make things invisible for protection.

PHYSICAL USES

Yew sticks were cast by the Celts to divine the future. Yew rods were used for making written ogham scripts, because when the wood is seasoned and polished it has an extraordinary power of resisting decay. For this reason magical wands of yew are considered especially potent. When used positively, a wand or staff is a great healing implement, able to transform illness to health and sadness to joy.

Yew was included in the church decorations at Easter as a symbol of the continuity of life.

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