Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The Goddess Tree Grows *Rowan

From Roots to Leaves, Branches to Bark
The Goddess Tree Grows

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Rowan

"Rowan is the tree of power, causing life and magic to flower."



Sorbus Aucuparia
The Lady of the Mountains
Second month of the Celtic Tree calendar, January 21st - February 17th
Second consonant of the Ogham alphabet - Luis

Planet: The Sun, Mercury
Element: Fire
Symbolism: Protection and Inspiration
Stone: Tourmaline
Birds: Duck, Quail
Color: Green
Deity: Brigantia, Brigid, Virgin Mary, Thor
Sabbat: Imbolc, Candlemas
Folk Names: Delight of the Eye, Mountain Ash, Quickbane, Ran Tree, Roden-Quicken, Roden-Quicken-Royan, Roynetree, Sorb Apple, Thor's Helper, Whitty, Wicken-Tree, Wiggin, Wiggy, Wiky, Wild Ash, Witchbane, Witchen, Witchwood
Rowan's name means "a secret" or "to whisper" and shares it's origin with rune.

Medicinal properties:
The berries contain a high concentration of Vitamin C, a good preventative and treatment for scurvy. They also contain organic acids, tannins, sugars. The berries have been used to make general tonics for the body since the ripe berries are mildly purgative and diuretic.

Magickal properties:
Using meditation, Rowan is helpful with clearing the mind and opening our inspiration. The Essence of Rowan is used in vibrational medicine to assist in attuning us to nature, broadening perspectives, and making room for a deeper understanding of our place here in the universe. It also has a significant role in protection. Rowan wood was traditionally used to make spindles and spinning wheels, tool handles, stakes and pegs, dowsing and divining rods. A rowan wand or walking stick will protect you from being harmed on a journey and bring spiritual enlightenment along your path.
To the Celts the Rowan was a symbol of the hidden mysteries of nature and the quickening of the life force.
Scottish tradition did not allow for the use of Rowan wood for any other purpose than ritual.


DasBaum tarot
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The Rowan, Mountain Ash or Witchwood is a tree of protection and vision and is sacred to the Crone aspect of the Goddess. Take with you a small offering, such as a little wine or a small biscuit, and seek out a Rowan.... Once you find the tree, first make your offering to its spirit, saying: "Graceful Rowan, if it pleases you, let me find some of your wood, that I might protect my home and all who live within it. I give this offering freely as I give my love to the land. Blessed Be." Search carefully around the tree for fallen wood and take on piece for each of the doors which lead into your home. If you find a piece straight and long enough for a wand, you may also take this. A wand's length is the distance from your elbow to the centre of the palm of your strong hand. Thank the tree and take your wood home with you.
Tie a small length of red thread around each piece of wood you have found, hang them over the doors which enter your home to protect against people bringing negative thoughts and feelings into the house.
adapted from The Real Witches' Year ~by Kate West

You can also bind the rowan twigs together with red thread into a solar cross or pentagram to make a mighty protective talisman for your home, car, or your desk or locker at work.

"Rowan twigs and strings of red,
Deflect all harm, gossip, and dread."

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Rowan is not to be forgotten, set aside, or ignored. She is the power within you to call forth your elegance and mastery of your logical mind as it intermingles with your intuitive powers. She calls you into the path of future planning, use of symbology, and talismans to form order to your designs.

Let this time be the time you put your dreams into a sequence of architectural designs. Perform an act of accomplishment for each step of your unfolding plan. Use your act as a building block to bring your dreams to fruition. Trusting your intuition and logical intelligence will give you insights for more planning. Let prophetic insights assist you.

The Faces of WomanSpirit
A Celtic Oracle of Avalon
by Katherine Torres, Ph.D.

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The Fairy Bible
by Teresa Moorey


The Rowan Fairy is strong and protective, yet feminine and very magical. Norse myth tells that the first woman was formed from a rowan, while the ash formed the first man. Rowan is reported to have saved the life of the god Thor by bending over a swift river where he was drowning and enabling him to pull himself out.
The Druids used incense made from rowan wood to conjure spirits, yet the rowan fairy has such a grounding influence that she can connect you with the Otherworld while keeping you firmly in this world. Rowan protects against superstition and fosters a positive attitude. The rowan is planted near homes, for protection and insight.
The rowan fairy is one of the most helpful of all, for she values the matters of this world and seeks to establish a connection with the subtle realms. She repels intruders firmly, yet invites interchange between the realms of being. Rowan is very powerful near stone circles and barrow-mounds, for her abilities are enhanced in these places. Her power will come with you if you carry rowan berries in your pocket, to where the water meets the land - and this can inspire you to write poetry.

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The presence of a rowan tree in the yard or garden is said to provide the home and family with fairy blessings, and the protection of the fae. Rowan is also believed to provide protection from fairy spells. Rowan was once used as a charm to prevent fairies from spoiling butter as it was churned. In Scotland, the smoke from fires kindled of rowan wood was used to protect cattle from malicious fairies.

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The Rowan is worth growing in your yard, as it had four-season interest: flowers in the spring, green leaves in the summer, and reddish foliage in the fall. It bears small orange-red berries that are prized by birds throughout the late fall and winter months.


Traditionally the Rowan is thought to be a witch tree. It is a tree of the Goddess and is sacred to the faeries. A rowan growing near a stone circle is considered to be the most powerful. The rowan protects from all sources of evil. Two rowan twigs tied into an equal-armed cross with red thread is a powerful protective amulet. The berries are used in charm bags for power, healing, and protection.
from Garden Witchery, by Ellen Dugan

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Monday January 26, 2009 - New Moon in Aquarius
Monday February 2, 2009 - Waxing Half Moon in Taurus
Monday February 9, 2009 - Full Moon in Leo
Monday February 16, 2009 - Waning Half Moon in Scorpio

Celtic Moon Sign for Rowan
Sometimes referred to as "the whispering tree", the rowan tree's magic was well known among the Celts. Its berry is shaped like a five-pointed star, first of all, the symbol of magical protection against spells, enchantments, and glamoures. You, too, are a magical creature, able to use you intuition and higher understanding to both enchant and protect. Trust your insights, and act upon them - even if you're seen as "unusual" or "unpredictable" by others. Your ability to envision the future is priceless.
by Kim Rogers-Gallagher

Focus on how to go about getting your goals. Spells involving communication and physic connects work well at this time of the year. Born under this Magickal sign, you use your intuition and higher understanding to enchant and protect. Quite often you are seen as unusual by others, mainly due to your ability to envision the future.

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Candlemas/Imbolc
At Candlemas, awakening begins and the return of the light seems assured. Energies within the earth, as well as the physical body, begin to gently pulsate as the days lengthen and our hopes turn to spring. Traditionally a time of transformation and initiation, Candlemas brings "big dreams" and a raised vibration. Sap rises, trees bud and agricultural people everywhere look to nature for the omens that might tell them whether to plant their crops early or late this year. ...We look forward now to momentous planetary and personal change.
excerpted from Vicki Noble, Mother Tongue Ink 08

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THE CELTIC TREE ORACLE
by Liz and Colin Murray


The Rowan has long enjoyed its reputation to protect against enchantment. Its name is linked with the Norse "runa" a charm, and the Sanskrit "runa" meaning a magician. Rune staves, sticks upon which runes were inscribed, were cut from the Rowan tree. Another use for this wood was for metal divining, as Hazel twigs are used for water. Along with certain other trees, Rowan played a ventral role in Druid ceremonies. Even in more recent times, these beliefs have been upheld in practives from different parts of Britain. In the North, for example, sprays of Rowan were fixed to cattle sheds to protect the animals from harm, and in Strathspey farmers drove their goats through hoops framed from branches of Rowan. Sprigs were placed over the main door of the house and also worn on the person to ward off false enchantment - the "evil eye." In Wales, or Cymru, Rowans used to be planted in churchyards to watch over the spirits of the dead, as Yew is elsewhere.
Examine a red Rowan berry and you will discover that unlike many other fruits that bear just a round hollow or dimple opposite their stalks, it carries a tiny, five-pointed star, or pentagram - the ancient magical symbol of protection. Undoubtedly if you are in danger of "enchantment," being swayed or mesmerized by harmful or vindictive powers, you need your wits about you.

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I am protected and indestructible.
Come what may, I am loved.
I accept the sweetness and abundance of Life and acknowledge my gifts.

I honor the energy of Rowan for protection against evil enchantment.
I will not hobble myself with the chains of past failures.

So mote it be.

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Pray Peace



This letter is a labor of love, from Gwendolyn
Permission to share freely, please in its entirety, with links and credits
Feel free to contact me: gwendolyn@thegoddesstree.com

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from Moon Bee Acres
There is a branch for you to sit upon with a beautiful view.
Climb up into her arms, and stay for a spell.
Feel her roots, her bark, her branches, her leaves.
She is shade, shelter, a home, a hide-away.
She is an escape.
She rocks you to sleep in your hammock.
She holds up your birdfeeder, your wind chimes, and your decorations.
She embraces anyone who loves to climb.
In the spring she offers life, and in the fall she gives her own.
She does not judge.
She just is.

Gwendolyn
thegoddesstree.com

http://thegoddesstree.com/trees/Rowan.htm

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