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When O Mazda, ... the mother of Phoroneus was the nymph Melia; a significant descent which distinguishes him from Prometheus. |
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Odin then regulated the periods of day and
night and the seasons by placing in the heavens the sun and moon, and
appointing to them their respective courses. As soon as the sun began to
shed its rays upon the earth, it caused the vegetable world to bud and
sprout. Shortly after the gods had created the world they walked by the
side of the sea, pleased with their new work, but found that it was still
incomplete, for it was without human beings. They therefore took an ash
tree and made a man out of it, and they made a woman out of an alder, and
called the man Aske and the woman Embla.
Thomas
Bulfinch, Bulfinch's Mythology, 1855, Chapter
XXXVIII, 'Northern
Mythology, Valhalla, The Valkyrior'
Above in the clouds
Dwell the Immortals;
Walhall is their home.
They are light-spirits;
Light-Alberich,
Wotan, rules as their lord.
From the world-ash-tree's
Holiest bough once
Wotan made him a shaft.
Though the stem rot,
The spear shall endure,
And with that spear-point
Wotan rules the world.
Trustworthy runes
Of holy treaties
Deep in the shaft he cut.
Who wields the spear
Carried by Wotan.
Translated by Margaret Armour, with illustrations by Arthur
Rackham, The Ring of the
Niblung, Siegfried & The Twilight of the Gods; Act 1
Glooskap came first of all into this country, into Nova Scotia, Maine, Canada, into the land of the Wabanaki, next to sunrise. There were no Indians here then (only wild Indians very far to the west).
First born were the Mikumwess, the Oonahgemessuk, the small Elves, little men, dwellers in rocks.
And in this way he made Man: He took his bow and arrows and shot at trees, the basket-trees, the Ash. Then Indians came out of the bark of the Ash-trees.
Charles G Leland, The Algonquin Legends Of New England, Or, Myths And Folk Lore Of The Micmac, Passamaquoddy, And Penobscot
Tribes; 'How Glooskap made the Elves and Fairies, and then Man of an Ash Tree, and last of all, Beasts, and of his Coming at the Last Day'
The woman went down a hill and walked on till
she came to a black ash tree from which the bark could easily be stripped.
There she stopped and looked up into the tree. The man crept as near as
was possible and not be seen by his wife. After a while she hit the tree
with the back of her hatchet; it made a beautiful sound. She waited a
minute, then struck the tree a second time; again the same musical sound.
The third time she struck the man saw a bird on the top branches of the
tree. When the woman struck a fourth time, the bird flew down, and as it
touched the ground it became a handsome man. That minute the husband drew
his bow and shot, instantly the man turned to a bird, flew up and
disappeared in the air.
Jeremiah Curtin, Seneca Indian Myths, 1922; 'A Little Boy And His Dog, Beautiful Ears'
All the life of the world, including even the
lives of the gods, was said to depend on an enormous ash tree, Yggdrasil,
the Tree of Life. This tree was created by Odin, and had three roots, one
in the Underworld, another in Midgard, near Mimir's spring, and the third
in Asgard. It grew to such a height that it overtopped the whole world,
and in its topmost branches sat an eagle with a falcon between its eyes.
The falcon could see all three kingdoms, and reported all that happened in
them to the gods. In the Underworld was a dragon, which continually gnawed
the roots of Yggdrasil in order to destroy it and so bring about the
downfall of the gods. To prevent this disaster, the tree was daily watered
from a fountain in Asgard, whose magic waters kept it continually green.
Reginald C Couzens, The Stories of the Months and Days, 1923; Chapter
XVII, 'Wednesday –
The Day of Woden'
Ash (Heb. o'ren , "tremulous"), mentioned only Isa 44:14 (R.V.,
"fir tree"). It is rendered "pine tree" both in the
LXX. and Vulgate versions. There is a tree called by the Arabs aran, found
still in the valleys of Arabia Petraea, whose leaf resembles that of the
mountain ash. This may be the tree meant. Our ash tree is not known in
Syria.
Easton's Bible
Dictionary
In England children are sometimes passed through a cleft ash-tree as a cure for rupture or rickets, and thenceforward a sympathetic connexion is supposed to exist between them and the tree. An ash-tree which had been used for this purpose grew at the edge of Shirley Heath, on the road from Hockly House to Birmingham.
"Thomas Chillingworth, son of the owner of an adjoining farm, now about
thirty-four, was, when an infant of a year old, passed through a similar
tree, now perfectly sound, which he preserves with so much care that he
will not suffer a single branch to be touched, for it is believed the
life of the patient depends on the life of the tree, and the moment that
is cut down, be the patient ever so distant, the rupture returns, and a
mortification ensues, and terminates in death, as was the case in a man
driving a waggon on the very road in question." "It is not uncommon, however," adds the writer,
"for persons to survive for a time the felling of the tree." The ordinary mode of effecting the cure is to split a young ash-sapling longitudinally for a few feet and pass the child, naked, either three times or three times three through the fissure at sunrise. In the West of England it is said that the passage should be
"against the sun." As soon as the ceremony has been performed, the tree is bound tightly up and the fissure plastered over with mud or clay. The belief is that just as the cleft in the tree closes up, so the rupture in the child's body will be healed; but that if the rift in the tree remains open, the rupture in the child will remain too, and if the tree were to die, the death of the child would surely follow.
A similar cure for various diseases, but especially for rupture and rickets, has been commonly practised in other parts of Europe, as Germany, France, Denmark, and Sweden; but in these countries the tree employed for the purpose is usually not an ash but an oak; sometimes a willow-tree is allowed or even prescribed instead. In Mecklenburg, as in England, the sympathetic relation thus established between the tree and the child is believed to be so close that if the tree is cut down the child will die.
Frazer, Sir James
George
(1854 - 1941), The
Golden Bough, 1922;
Ch. 67, 'The External Soul in Folk-Custom'; Section 2, 'The External Soul in Plants'.
See also Robert Hunt, Popular Romances of West England, chapter on Ash
Of all the trees that grow so fair,
Old England to adorn,
Greater is none beneath the sun,
Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn.
Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs,
(All of a Midsummer morn!)
Surely we sing of no little thing,
In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn!
Rudyard Kipling,
'A Tree Song'
A well there is in the west country,
And a clearer one never was seen;
There is not a wife in the west country
But has heard of the Well of St Keyne.
An oak and an
elm-tree stand beside,
And behind doth an ash-tree grow,
And a willow
from the bank above
Droops to the water below.
Robert Southey
(1774 - 1843), English Poet Laureate, referring to the Ash and other trees
by the sacred
well of St Keyne
It is said that no kind of snake is ever found
near the "ashen-tree," and that a branch of the ash-tree will
prevent a snake from coming near a person.
Robert
Hunt, Popular Romances of West England, 'Snakes avoid
the Ash tree'
What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful that the garment with which it is clothed?
Michelangelo, Italian artist and sculptor, who died in Rome on February 18, 1564, aged 88
My soul I resign to God, my body to the earth, my worldly goods to my next of kin.
Last words of Michelangelo
A New York broker says Oscar Wilde is "straddling the market" – short on trousers and long on brains.
Young Wilde has opened his eyes, "Why," he said, "the United States is not a country, it is a world!
The Ohio State Journal, February 18, 1882
The only two things you can truly depend upon are gravity and greed.
Jack Palance, American actor, born on February 18, 1919
I'm amazed people read this crap about us - about me most of all.
Jack Palance
Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork – reading, writing, thinking
– can.
Helen Gurley Brown, American author/editor, born on February 18, 1922
My success was not based so much on any great intelligence but on great common sense.
Helen Gurley Brown
Nearly every glamorous, wealthy, successful career woman you might envy now started out as some kind of
schlepp.
Helen Gurley Brown
The only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren't is the willingness to work very, very hard.
Helen Gurley Brown
You can have your titular recognition. I'll take money and power.
Helen Gurley Brown
I believe in people so much that if the whole of civilization is burned so we don't have any memory of it, even then people will start to build their own art. It is a necessity – a function. We don't need history.
Yoko Ono, Japanese artist, born on February 18, 1933
Maybe we were naive, but still we were very honest about everything we did.
Yoko Ono
February 18 is the 49th
day of the year in the Gregorian
calendar, with 316
days remaining (317 in leap years).
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Celtic
tree month of Nuin (Ash) commences (Feb 18 - Mar 17)
Like other Iron Age Europeans, the Celts were a polytheistic people prior to their conversion to (Celtic) Christianity. The Celts divided the year into 13 lunar cycles (months or moons) which were linked to specific sacred trees which gave each moon its name. Today commences the Celtic tree month of Ash.
"Celtic Tree Calendar: Nion [sic] (Ash) –
February 18 to March 17 The Ash of the Ogham alphabet is the Cosmic Ash,
or World Tree. It also appears in Norse mythology as Yggdrasil, the tree
of Odin, or Woden, who hung from it in order to gain enlightenment in
the secrets of the Runes, and whose Celtic equivalent is Gwidion. The
Ash tree has deeply penetrating roots and sours the soil, making it
difficult for other vegetation to grow beneath it. Its twigs are thick
and strong. In Norse mythology, this tree spans the universe – its roots
in hell, its branches supporting the heavens and with Earth at its
center. In Celtic cosmology in particular it connects the three circles
of existence – Abred, Gwynedd and Ceugant – which can be variously
interpreted as past, present and future, or as confusion, balance and
creative force; there being no hell, but only continual rebirth as
passage is made from circle to circle until the Land of the Blessed is
finally reached. Magical Associations: Prosperity, protection, healing."
Source:
Earth, Moon and Sky
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Celtic Tree Calendar Months
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Michael Vescoli
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Celtic Tree Calendar - Ogham Alphabet What is the Celtic Tree Calendar? |
From Wikipedia: An ash can be any of three different tree genera from three very distinct families, but originally and most commonly refers to trees of the genus Fraxinus in the olive family Oleaceae. The ashes are usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The leaves are opposite (rarely in whorls of three), and mostly pinnately compound, simple in a few species. The seeds, popularly known as keys, are a type of fruit known as a samara.
In Norse mythology, the World Tree Yggdrasil is commonly held to be an ash tree, and the first man, Ask, was formed from an ash tree (the first woman was made from alder). Elsewhere in Europe, snakes were said to be repelled by ash leaves or a circle drawn by an ash branch. Irish folklore claims that shadows from an ash tree damage crops. In Cheshire, it is said that ash could be used to cure warts or rickets.
In Greek mythology,
the Meliai
were nymphs of the ash, perhaps specifically of the Manna Ash (Fraxinus
ornus), as dryads
were nymphs of the oak. Many echoes of archaic Hellene rites and myth
involve ash trees.
Ash Nuin, the Tree of Life
"The Ash or Nuin as it is known in the Druidic tree alphabet has represented the World tree or the Tree of Life in a variety of myths and legends from a number of different cultures throughout the ages. In Nordic mythology it was named Yggdrasil, a great Ash tree which marked the center of the universe, with its tall branches spanning the heavens and its great roots penetrating deeply into the underworld. The great Nordic god, Odin, allegedly hung himself upside down from the branches of Yggdrasil and spending nine days and nine nights in this way he eventually received divine inspiration in the form of the
Runes ...
"In the early history and mythology of Ireland, it is written that five magical trees protected the land, three of which were ash trees named the Tree of Tortu, the Tree of Dathi and the Branching Tree of Uisnech. The two remaining trees were Yew and Oak. (Gifford 2000).
"The Ash tree produces ash
'keys' which can be seen as highly symbolic. Keys can lock and unlock and are nearly always visual symbols of access and therefore discovery and
liberation ...
"Although the Ash is generally seen as being governed by the sun and therefore embodies the male principle in its energies, it also has a strong affinity with the feminine principle and her element of water.
"Ash was considered sacred to the Greek god Poseidon and the Roman god Neptune, both of whom are well known sea gods. Consequently ash is strongly linked with the oceans, which are symbolic of primeval maternal energy, a place of inexhaustible vitality and infinite possibilities, the fertile void.
(Julien 1996) ...
"To the Druids, the Ash held the key to universal truth and the comprehension of the interconnectedness of all things; the microcosm and macrocosm ad
[sic] the marriage of polarities. It told the law of Karma and cause and effect. We are all interconnected; nothing and no one exists as an island, we are all an important part of the universal order."
Source: Wood Dragon Arts
"MAGICAL APPLICATIONS: Garters made of green bark was
[sic] worn as protectants against the powers of sorcerers or conjures. To protect the home, leaves were scattered around the property to the four directions. It is thought that snakes will not crawl over ash wood and
[it] was often placed around a persons sleeping mat. A staff of ash over the door will protect against evil influences.
"To prevent illness, leaves were placed in a bowl of water next to the bed and left overnight. Wands for healing or solar magic would be fashioned out of Ash wands. To heal a baby one is to Pass the sick child between a cleft of an Ash sapling that has been split for this purpose.
"To heal warts, one is
to prick them with a new needle and then insert them in an Ash tree
chanting, 'ashen tree ashen tree, pray buy these warts off of me.'
"To help with dreams, leaves were placed beneath the pillow. The ash was used in sea rituals because it represents the power of the water. For desire of a new born to be a singer, the first nail parings were buried under the ash tree. To gain love of the opposite sex, one would carry the leaves. With spells requiring focus and strength of purpose Ash would be used to help link the inner and outer worlds. Ash wood is one of the nine sacred woods and deemed suitable for burning in ritual fires especially for Yule. Brooms would be made traditionally from ash staff, birch twigs and willow bindings. Carry Ash leaves and wood to catch sight of the unicorns. The winged seed pods would be carried for fertility charms."
Source: Tree
Totems and Birchfire's Herbs
"Of traditions and superstitious associations with the Ash there is apparently no end. Evelyn mentions the still lingering practice of passing sickly children through a split made in its stem, as a charm against various disorders; and another practice was to bury a shrew-mouse, which was supposed to bewitch cattle, in a hole in the stem, when a few strokes with a branch would cure the lameness or cramps which the mouse was believed to have caused. Many a rustic, probably, to this day believes that some dire calamity will befall the Crown or country in a year when there are no
'locks and keys' on the Ash – a belief which may have only originated in the fact that probably in no year is the tree altogether without fruit, the fruit having for centuries been known in England as
'keys' or 'locks and keys.' Popular weather-lore has various rhymes as to the probability of a wet or a dry season according as the Ash comes into leaf before or after the Oak; which, however, seem to be diametrically conflicting with one another in different counties.
"It is no doubt from the green hoariness of its smooth bark that this beautiful tree derives its popular name in German and English, and few contrasts in tree coloration are more beautiful than its dead-black buds and delicately green young foliage against this ash-gray bark."
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