The Alder

The third letter of ogham is fearn, and is associated with the alder tree. The alder also stands for the fourth month of the Celtic Tree Calendar, March 13 through April 14, and holds within it the vernal equinox. This may be one underlying reason that the alder is so prominent in Celtic folklore. Its name derives from the old English, "ealdor", meaning chieftain. In fact, the red dye made from its bark was applied to the faces of real Celtic chieftains and kings during sacred ritualistic ceremonies! Faerie folk used a green dye obtained from the alder's catkins to render their clothing invisible to the human eye! The alder protected the secret places of the faeries as well, and is also said to have stood guard by surrounding the "Isle of Apples", or Avalon - the otherworld. Perhaps the alder is associated with hidden places due to its affinity for wet and boggy land where most did not venture. One of its folk names is the "king of waters". When underwater, its timber is highly resistant to saturation and actually becomes stronger. It is for this reason that the alder was highly prized for the construction of bridges, the piles being driven deeply into the earth under the water, as well as for the foundations of Venice!
But the alder also possesses a fiery nature. "The Battle Witch of the Woods" was the hottest in a fight according to the epic Celtic poem, "Battle of the Trees", in which the Celtic god, Bran, carried the branches of the alder into battle. Furthermore, although its timber makes a poor fuel, it does make an excellent charcoal which has been used to warm Celts for centuries. The alder's mystical strength lies in its ability to balance and harmonize elements of fire and water.
Practically speaking, the alder has many uses, applied by ancient as well as modern Celts. Its sticky leaves can be strewn around the house to trap fleas and other small pests (maybe this is an older application, but nonetheless, a mighty important one!). And, as long as we're on the subject of infestations, its bark can be boiled in vinegar resulting in a sort of liniment which can be applied topically to rid oneself of pesky lice and other undesirables. The alder is quite renowned for its ability to soothe inflammation, a distillate of its bark being especially effective as a gargle for sore throat. Its leaves can be used in a poultice and applied to any swelling for relief. And, if your dogs are barking (achy feet), you can slip a few alder leaves into your shoes to put the bounce back in your step! (I just might try that one!) The alder has astringent properties as well, and was popularly applied to battle and accidental wounds to stop blood flow before 911 was available. Dried powdered bark has even been used as an ingredient in toothpaste as its astringent qualities are good for the gums!
Its not hard to see why the alder has been a favorite tree of the Celts. I hope you picked up a little bit of interesting information. Check out my alder links if you'd like more in depth reading, and if you've learned to love the alder, you can get an alder tee shirt in the Trees as Irish Celtic Symbols section of my shop.

The Willow

The willow tree is symbolized by the fourth letter of the ancient ogham alphabet which is called saille. (See ogham links and 1/23/08 blog post: What the Bleep is Ogham?) There seems to be some confusion, in my mind anyway, about which time of year is associated with the willow. Some sources give February as the month of the willow and the ancient prechristian festival of Imbolc, celebrating the stirrings of spring, as its "holiday". However, most sources state April 15th through May 5th is the lunar month of the willow in the Celtic Tree Calendar, the fifth month. As such, the willow would be the tree associated with May day, or the ancient festival of Beltane and would also occur around the time of the Christian Easter. There does seem to be a thread connecting the willow to a modern custom of Easter. It seems that an ancient creation myth involves a serpent (a familiar fellow in mythology) who hid two red eggs among the branches of the willow for protection until hatching. One egg held the embryonic earth while the other housed the sun. The willow, having done its job well, witnessed the universe and all life burst forth upon their hatching. It is thought that the tradition of hiding Easter eggs at this time of year emanates from this myth! The ancient Celts associated the willow with the moon and Caileach, or the crone aspect of the triple goddess who during this month morphs into the maiden aspect. Characteristics of this goddess and the willow tree are interwoven. The willow was revered as a tree of dreaming and enchantment. Poets, priests and priestesses would meditate in its groves for inspiration and its groves were considered sacred. Beyond its mystical value, the willow has a very practical side to its nature of which the ancients were well aware. Due to their flexibility, willow branches are the material of choice for weaving baskets. In fact the word willow may be the root for the word wicker,as well as words such as witch,wicked and Wicca. It is said that the witches broom is bound with willow twigs! Nature herself provided the ancients with the essentials of life, including medicine. It turns out that our Celtic ancestors were no strangers to the benefits of modern medicine! They would brew a bitter tea from the bark of the willow and use it as an analgesic, especially for arthritic pain. They even understood that it helped reduce fevers! Turns out, salicylic acid is what made the tea bitter - the main ingredient in aspirin! There is even an old folk name for the willow - "witches' aspirin". The willow has long been associated with grief and mourning, perhaps due to the weeping nature of its branches. It is, therefore, a popular resident of the cemetery. However, its uses have been more than decorative in the past. There was a tradition of planting a willow directly above a grave site in hopes that the departed loved one's spirit would rise up into and become part of the tree, and, it was believed, attain immortality.

These are but a few of the interesting connections between the ancient Celtic willow wisdom and our lives today. Of course, that wisdom was grounded in the knowledge that life was sustainable only by nature herself. It's probably a good thing to to be reminded of that as we discover these connections. Perhaps this is why we find these ties to the past so fascinating!
If you like the willow image, you can get it on a shirt from my shop, The Nature of Things!