Woodland Bard LIVE Updates
Our next session will be on the 21st April, which will give time to assimilate the knowledge of the five trees we have explored so far. Our LIVE sessions will be monthly and will bring together the deep lore, ecology and uses of our sacred trees and plants. Our April session will explore the hawthorn tree.
Paid subscribers will receive a FREE link on the morning of the event (please contact me if not received)- no need to book below.
A magical sleep over with Story and Music in the Great Roundhouse at Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, England.
Our spring equinox celebration will be performed in the traditional way, we shall immerse in stories, prayers and rituals all night long creating a unique opportunity to drift in and out of dream and experience deep states of meditation.
ASH - TREE OF INITIATION
Common Name: Ash Latin: Fraxinus excelsior Family: Oleaceae
History and/or use: Ash wood has been used to create early weapons such as bows and spears to the modern cavalry lance as well as tools, frames and shafts of vehicles.
Wildlife Value: Light canopy supports wildflowers. Bullfinches eat the seeds. Habitat for Dormice and saproxylic species.
Habitat/ ecological niche: Ash casts a light shade and is light-demanding supporting a varied flora and fauna. Ash established itself later than some tree species after the last ice age and especially increased when Elm declined in Neolithic times. Related Species: Only one ash species in Britain and the only other native species in the olive family is wild privet.
Main Family members: Ash and Wild privet.
Identification characteristics: Ogham letter and name: N for Nion. Kennings of Ash from The Book of BallyMote 1391: 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.
The warrior is depicted as courageous, fearless and ready for all eventualities, prepared to put duty first in order to protect the sovereignty above their own personal desires; to lay aside their own morals for a bigger cause than themselves. 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 Is the age- old concept of a warrior outdated and irrelevant in more educated times?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?
In this session we connect with the qualities of our masculinity and the upholding of traditions that keep us in loving embrace of the world and all its inhabitants.
Supporting this publication will enable you to receive in-depth articles on plants and trees and to explore our tree folklore course borne from 30 years experience of Woodsmanship and Botany with over 20 years study of Irish mythology.
Ash is the tree of warriors and 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 warrior and the 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.
Trefuilynid Tre- ochair and the five sacred trees of Ireland:
Berries to the berries the strong upholder put upon the ash of Tortiu. Three fruits upon it namely acorn, apple and nut, and when the first fruit fell another fruit used to grow. A great man, Trefuilynid Tre- ochair, the three-cornered strong upholder,
a great hero, fair and mighty, approached us from the the west at sunset. We wondered greatly at the magnitude of his form. As high as a wood was the top of his shoulders, the sky and the sun visible between his legs.
In his left hand stone tablets, in his right hand a branch with three fruits upon it and these were the five trees that grew from it:
‘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.
The Ash of Tortiu, take count thereof, The Ash of populous Uisneach.
Their boughs fell, it was not amiss, In the time of Ead slane.
The ash of Tortiu, take count thereof,
The ash of populous Uisneach.
Their boughs fell, it was amiss, it was not amiss,
In the time of the Sons of Ead Slane.
The Yew of Mugna, it was a hallowed treasure,
Nine hundred bushels was its bountiful yield,
It fell in Dairbre sothward,
Across Magh Ailbe of the cruel combats.
The Bole of Ross, a comely yew,
With abundance of broad timber,
The tree without hollow or flaw,
The stately bole, how did it fall?’
Trefuilynid Tre- ochair gave the berries to Fintan mac Bóchra for he was the wisest of the Seanchai and he knew that her knowledge is in the west, her battles are
in the north, her prosperity is in the east, her music is in the south and her sovereignty is in the centre and so it was Fintan mac Bóchra who planted the five sacred trees of Ireland.
In our meditation we revisit the tree of life and connect once more with Trefuilynid Tre- ochair who is the foster father to us all, bringing the lost knowledge to all who wish to hear it. In the text he expands on the knowledge of the qualities of the Earth Mother. This meditation invites you to reach that centre point and explore what the qualities of the Earth Mother mean to you.
Here is the summary of those qualities as expressed by Trefuilynid:
‘Her learning, her foundation, her teaching, her alliance, her
judgement, her chronicles, her counsels, her stories, her histories,
her science, her comeliness, her eloquence, her beauty, her modesty, her bounty, her abundance, her wealth—from the
western part in the west.’
‘Her battles, her contentions, her hardihood, her rough places, her strifes, her haughtiness, her unprofitableness, her pride, her captures, her assaults, her hardness,
her wars, her conflicts, from the northern part in the north.’
‘Her prosperity, her supplies, her
bee-hives her contests, her feats of arms, her householders, her
nobles, her wonders, her good custom, her good manners, her
splendour, her abundance, her dignity, her strength, her wealth,
her householding, her many arts, her accoutrements, her many
treasures, her satin, her serge, her silks, her cloths, her green
spotted cloth, her hospitality, from the eastern part in the
east.’
‘Her waterfalls, her fairs, her nobles, her reavers, her knowledge,
her subtlety, her musicianship, her melody, her minstrelsy,
her wisdom, her honour, her music, her learning, her teaching, her
warriorship, her fidchell playing, her vehemence, her fierceness,
her poetical art, her advocacy, her modesty, her code, her retinue,
her fertility, from the southern part in the south.’
‘Her kings, her stewards, her dignity, her primacy,
her stability, her establishments, her supports, her destructions,
her warriorship, her charioteership, her soldiery, her principality,
her high-kingship, her ollaveship, her mead, her bounty, her ale,
her renown, her great fame, her prosperity, from the centre
position.’
We find Trefuilynid Tre- ochair as our constant support, a positive male energy upholding the integrity in our lives. Although the feminine energy has been oppressed and often undervalued we also need a strong male energy that acts as a pillar to support the key elements that enable us to conduct our daily lives. May we check the restlessness of our human spirit as portrayed through the ash tree and uphold the noble qualities that keep us in loving embrace of the world and all its inhabitants.
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.
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.
We have come to the final tree of the first aicme (groupings) of the Ogham alphabet, we will now progress to the second aicme bringing forth the lore of all we have learnt so far into new landscapes, stories and deep explorations of the soul reflected in nature.
It is a pleasure to share this lore with you and I hope it continues to be of great use to you bringing kindness, support and insight into your live.
Thank you, Jonathon
Nion, the Ash, I love it...one of the three noble trees of Ash, Oak and Hawthorn. I really liked what you said about the need of the warrior not being the same, and I think there is a great need for the warrior now to be a spiritual warrior more than a physical warrior. I always saw the Ash as being the great protector, as in the Father protecting the Children. The Cosmos protecting our Planet also.
I really enjoyed your teaching of the Ash. In the Vedas, the great Ashvattha tree is the Cosmic tree of Life that links us in all directions. Thank you for giving us the Ash! xxx