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Botanical name:
Taxus baccata
Name
origins: The yew's botanical
name refers to its past uses - "taxus" is connected with "toxon" which
is Greek for "bow" and with "toxicon" which is the Greek word for the
poison used for arrows.
Folklore:
The Yew represents everlasting life
and continual rebirth. There are Yews alive today which are reputed to
be 1,500 years old. In the Celtic past the tribal elders and leaders
were buried under Yews in the belief that the tree would keep their
knowledge and wisdom available for the future use of the tribe.
Traditionally, ogham
sticks were made of yew.
Magickal
uses:
The Yew represents direct
contact with our past, and the old wisdom which we find deep within
ourselves. It also speaks to us of fresh growth arising out of death,
perhaps of our old selves, or old ways of thinking. It is a wonderful
wood for runes or ogham sticks and can be used for contact with
ancestors. |
