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Thorsons
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First published by Thorsons 1998
Copyright © Jacqueline Memory Paterson
Jacqueline Memory Paterson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780722537787
Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780008240462
Version: 2017-01-13
And do you remember what secrets the trees told us as we lay under their shady branches on the hot midsummer days, while the leaves danced and flickered against the blue, blue sky? Can you tell what was the charm that held us like a dream in the falling dusk, as we watched their heavy masses grow dark against the silvery twilight sky?
C. E. Smith, Trees
CONTENTS
| IRISH/GAELIC | Ioho |
| OGHAM |
 |
| RUNIC |
 |
| RULING PLANET | Saturn |
| ABILITIES | Guardian to the Door of Rebirth. Rest after the struggle of life. Divination. Dowsing. Bows. To do with the element of Earth. |
| SEASON | Winter |
| YEW | Taxus baccata. Evergreen. POISONOUS. |
The yew tree helped form the great primeval conifer forests which dominated the earth long before the advent of broadleaved trees. It lives for over 1,000 years and it is thought that many living yews pre-date Christ by many thousands of years. The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire is claimed to be up to 9,000 years old. Many yews are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and one of the oldest weapons found is a crude yew spear from the Old Stone Age.
The yew gains its capacity for great age from its particular growth of shoots or branches, which root into the ground and grow to form new trunks. These then join the main trunk and become part of it, which gives yews huge fluted girths. It takes 150 years for the main trunk to form and then the yew continues its growth widthways. In old age it continues to grow, even with a completely hollow trunk. This has given yew a reputation for immortality and has made it a symbol of life after death. The yew is common in churchyards and in undisturbed country areas examples are still found of ancient yew avenues.
Unlike other conifers, the yew produces no cones. It is known to be deadly, for its leaves and fresh seeds contain a poison called Taxin.
Because the seed-making process of the yew is dependent upon the wind, it produces extraordinary amounts of pollen, which when released can cover large areas with its yellow dust. On warm spring days the air is filled with its golden shimmer.
CUSTOM & LEGEND
An old folk-tale tells why yews are ‘dressed’ so darkly. When the yew was a young species, in times when there were few people, it thought that all other trees were more beautiful, for their colourful leaves could flutter in the