Posts Tagged With: Ash

Spring Is Here, Considering Making Your Own Staff or Wand?

Posted on April 3, 2013 by mistressofthemyst

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Since Spring has finally arrived you might be considering making yourself a new wand or staff. When Spring arrives everyone’s to-do list grows instantly. We figured one of those items on the to-do list might involve making you new Craft tools.

You will see we have provided you with a brief history on wand and staff making. The important information I would take away from the article is about the types of woods and their properties. If you don’t already knows these, take time to print them out or write them down. This list of woods and their correspondences will come in handy for the future

 

From the Ancient Egyptians to the Druids, Moses to Shamans, wands and staffs have always been a favorite tool of spell casters. Energy (or Magic/ Magick, if you prefer) flows naturally everywhere; a wand or staff simply helps to channel that energy for a desired purpose. Truly, energy can be channeled through anything except insulators such as some crystals and glass, which would, in most cases be used to store energy, not transfer it.

Wands and staffs aren’t really much different, save that one is larger than the other and may be used as a good weapon. They are often both carved from the same kinds of trees (with the consent of the tree of course) and with pretty much the same purpose. They are both largely ceremonious, unless you intend to lob around a huge staff or hide a wand in your robes on a daily basis.

Following is a list of some popular trees used for the carving of wands and staffs:

Hazel Tree (Corylus avellana) Grants wisdom, virtue and inspiration.

Willow Tree (Salix alba, Salix candida, Salix herbacea, Salix planifolia)Powerful intuition, mystery and grace.

Elm (Ulmus americana, Ulmus glabra, Ulmus procera, Ulmus minor) Tree Nobility, memory, secret knowledge and resilience.

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus nigra, Fraxinus ornus) Power and magnitude, possesses curative properties.

Beech (Fagus orientalis, Fagus japonica, Fagus grandifolia) Beauty, strength, communication.

Birch (Betula aetniensis, Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Betula occidentalis, Betula lenta) Protects against death and malevolent fires.

Cedar (Cedrus libani, Cedrus brevifolia, Cypressus lucitania) Healing, cleansing and protection against malevolent forces.

Chestnut (Castanea sativa, Castanea crenata, Castanea ashei) Fertility, longevity, abundance and invigoration.

Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus, Carpinus orientalis, Carpinus japonica) Straightforwardness, strength, determination and loyalty.

Maple (Acer saccharum, Acer negundo, Acer platanoides) Success, wealth and prosperity.

Oak (Quercus montana, Quercus rubra, Quercus alba, Quercus nigra) Power, endurance, nobility, energy and strength.

Olive (Olea europaea) Peace, victory,purification and fruitfulness.

Poplar (Populus alba, Populus tremula, Populus ilicifolia, Populus nigra) Elegance, courage and wit.

Rowan (Sorbus Americana, Sorbus cashmiriana) Dignity, friendliness, and self-control.

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Categories: Articles, Daily Posts, The Witch's Tools, Working With Nature's Gifts | Tags: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Lunar Energies & Esoterica: Ash

Posted on February 21, 2013 by ladyoftheabyss

Lunar Energies & Esoterica: Ash

by Brighid MoonFire
As Ash, the third moon, begins its journey across the sky, our lives are continuing their journey of returning to normal after the hectic holidays. Already in this young year we have laid our foundation and begun building upon it in the Birch and Rowan moons. Now with Ash comes our first test of the strength of our foundation.
As the Ash moon rises, it brings in the passion, motion, and the winds of impatience. From the quickening of Rowan comes an urge for release, but we must realize that it is not yet time for emergence from our watery womb. While the seed has been planted, it still must grow and mature.
Now the waters that were calm and still in the last part of the year are being stirred, both by the winds above, and by the power and energy of the water itself. And as the wind on the sea can blow up out of nowhere and turn into a fierce thunderstorm, so can our impatience and our emotions boil up in this moon. Ash courts the lightening flash, yet it also teaches control; control over our emotions, our impatience, our destructive urges.
Lightening can be beautiful, loaded with energy, yet highly dangerous. We must remember to be careful as we strive for our goals in our impatience this moon, for we may be struck by the lightening, and we may also strike out at others.
Remember this healing secret: ‘from the viper’s poison comes the tonic of life.’ While we may feel like attacking others in this moon, know that Ash repels serpents, and protects one from their bites. Use this moon to control your venemous urges, and also to protect yourself from those who would strike at you.

The Ash is taking us from the yin of the Winter Solstice toward the balance of the Spring Equinox. Begin to reach for that balance, but don’t be impatient; you cannot force a birth before its time. Now is the time to honestly work with the emotional turmoil of this moon and learn your inner self; this can result in a more effective knowledge of and stronger expression of that self. Finally, understand that the frenzy of Ash is simply the uprising of yang from the waters of the yin; and that this too, shall pass.

Categories: Articles, Celtic Magick | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

February 18th thru March 17th Celtic Tree Month of the Ash

Posted on February 21, 2013 by ladyoftheabyss

Ash tree

February 18th thru March 17th
Celtic Tree Month of the Ash – The Enchanter

 

Those born under the Celtic tree astrology sign of the Ash are free thinkers. Imaginative, intuitive, and naturally artistic, you see the world in water-color purity. You have a tendency to moody and withdrawn at times, but that’s only because your inner landscape is in constant motion. You are in touch with your muse, and you are easily inspired by nature. Likewise, you inspire all that you associate with and people seek you out for your enchanting personality. Art, writing (especially poetry), science, and theology (spiritual matters) are areas that strongly interest you. Others may think you are reclusive, but in all honesty, you are simply immersed in your own world of fantastic vision and design. You are in a constant state of self-renewal and you rarely place a value on what others think about you. Ash signs partner well with Willow and Reed signs.

Whats-Your-Sign.Com

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Lunar Energies & Esoterica: Alder

Posted on April 5, 2012 by ladyoftheabyss

LUNAR ENERGIES & ESOTERICA: ALDERby Muirghein uí Dhún Aonghasa (Linda Kerr) & Epona  

Alder is the time of birthing, after the inception in Birch, the quickening in Rowan, and the premature urgings of Ash. Alder is the beginning of a new cycle, just as the Spring Equinox brings forth new life on the earth. Also at the Equinox, the days and nights are of equal length, and an egg can be balanced on its end. Try it!
This balance is an important part of Alder, in more than physical terms. We also have the balance of yin and yang, male and female, fire and water. A symbol of this balance is the Alder King of Celtic legend, a man whose rule is based not on fear, but on sensitivity, understanding, and reverence. He works in harmony with his queen and the natural order of life to make sure he, and his people, are connected to, and in balance with, the earth (for more on the Alder King, see “Bran and the Sacred Kings of the Alder Moon,” pg. 28).
The glyph of this moon is “I am a shining tear of the sun,” from the ‘Song of Amergin,’ in The White Goddess. Take a moment to think on this, before you continue reading.

One meaning of this glyph is the dual nature of Alder: it is a tree of both water and fire. Alder grows in and around water, yet is known for its ability to make charcoal and gunpowder. Alder pilings lift buildings out of the water, and in the same way, Alder acts to lift our spirits out of the waters of the first three moons, and onto the dry land of the spring and summer months ahead. Alder also acts as a bridge between the two halves of the year, connecting and balancing the fire and water aspects, and the male and female sides of ourselves.

You can use the energies of this moon to reconnect with the earth, and bring your inner natures into balance. Now that the storms of Ash have passed, we can quit trying to attack each other, and learn to work together in harmony, especially with the opposite sex. A left-over effect of Ash is that the men are pretty fed up with the women. Be sensitive to each other now, act responsibly, and understand how your actions can affect others. This must be done now, when the balanced energies of nature are all around us, or things will get really out of skelter by Holly moon.

The hardest thing to overcome in this moon is self-doubt and doubts about other, but these are a natural consequence of new beginnings and birthings, when we look toward the year ahead. This is a good time to honestly examine these doubts, so you will know what you have to deal with in the future moons. The Alder can help you through this, and give you joy and hope for the future.

The Hazel Nut

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The Wicca Book of Days for Feb. 18th – Mighty Ash

Posted on February 18, 2012 by ladyoftheabyss

The Wicca Book of Days for February 18th

Mighty Ash

The Celtic tree month of the Ash begins today, and will last until the Alder takes over on March 18th. Yggdrasil, the Norse world tree, was envisaged as a mighty Ash, and this is just one of the reasons why the Ash was considered to supply stability and strength (another is that its hard-wearing wood was favored for spear shafts and tool handles). The ancient Greeks believed that serpents fled from the Ash tree, so that it also had protective powers, that is, unless you sheltered under it during a thunderstorm, for according to an old English rhyme, “And shun the Ash/It courts the flash.”

 

“A Heavenly View”

Take inspiration from U. S. astronomer Clyde W. Tombaugh, who discovered the planet Pluto on February 18, 1930, to do some stargazing of your own this evening, perhaps after wrapping up warmly and venturing out in the dead of night. Communing with the heavens will be time wonderfully spent.

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