Tree Lore

Work in progress - in addition to the individual Tree A-Z pages this area will cover general Celtic tree lore, the mysterious Druids and their Ogham alphabet. 

"Oak Fairy" Josephine Wall

If you have a wand, remember which tree the wand was made from and look it up on the relevant Tree A-Z page for details about the wand's magic speciality and more.

Ogham Alphabet

Here is a list of the trees and their associated Ogham symbols said to be used by the Druids for wisdom and magic.  This image below has been taken from one of my favourite books, Earth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred.

 

Celtic Astrology

Here is the birth/zodiac sign each tree is said to represent.  However I have noticed that the Celtic tree zodiac differs in order from the original list of twenty trees in the Ogham list above. You will see that Ash, Alder and Willow are in a different order and are associated with a different symbol than above too.  If you have a wand from Nix in Nature, I will have used the original symbol from the Ogham Alphabet above but used the commonly used dates below to find your birthday tree.  Even these birthday dates are debatable though as the Celtic new year traditionally starts on November 1st after Samhain/Hallowe'en, but interesting none the less.  If you would like to investigate this further Robert Graves is said to have invented this astrological tree calendar in his book The White Goddess, after he concluded that as the Celts used a 13 month calendar (13 cycles of the moon) the 13 trees also represented each month. What is important here I think though is the opportunity to learn more about the wisdom the trees can offer us, rather then technicalities.  The Druids for instance were said to have never used the written word, it was their connection to the trees and their wisdom shared verbally and spiritually that was important.  

So this information acts as a guideline and resource for you to investigate further and explore your own magickal connection with the trees.  You can look up each tree from the A-Z to see the qualities and uses based on my own research and learning over the years and the Resources page for further reading.

This tree zodiac image below is taken from one of the first books that re-ignited my passion for trees, "The Celtic Wisdom of Trees", by Jane Gifford. But remember the symbols for Ash, Alder and Willow are usually associated with the symbols above.  I think maybe for continuity and a progressive use of 'notches' these trees and symbols have changed, although I am yet to find out why these three trees were ever listed in a different order to the original Ogham alphabet anyway, watch this space....?

 

Birch - December 24th - January 20th

Rowan - January 21st - February 17th

Ash - February 18th - March 17th

Gorse - March 21st Spring Equinox

Alder - March 18th - April 14th

Willow - April 15th - May 12th

Hawthorn - May 13th - June 9th

Oak - June 10th - July 17th

Heather - June 21st Summer Solstice

Holly - July 18th - August 4th

Hazel - August 5th - September 1st

Apple - September 2nd - September 29th

Aspen - September 21st Autumn Equinox

Ivy - September 30th - October 27th

Broom - October 28th - November 24th

Blackthorn - Samhain/Hallowe'en

Elder - November 25th - December 21st

Yew - December 21st Winter Solstice

Nameless Day (Dark Goddess) - December 22nd

Pine - December 23rd Birth of the Divine child