Patti M. Walsh

Along with the oak and thorn, the ash (Óir in Irish) was one of three trees sacred to the Druids.

In the Celtic Tree Calendar, based on the work of poet Robert Graves, the ash tree is associated with the Ash Moon, which reigns from February 18 to March 17. The calendar assigns a tree and a letter from the Ogham alphabet to each lunar month. The ash tree is linked to noin, the fifth letter, which is represented by the symbol N.

Ogham letters have kennings, i.e., metaphorical meanings that evoke particular essences. Noin’s kennings make it inherent to the establishment—or destruction—of peace, the “boast” of women and beauty, and the need for support on a journey.

Noin is derived from an Old Irish word meaning “forked” and “lofty,” an apt description of the tall and graceful ash tree. Ash trees often grow together, forming a domed canopy. Their leaves move in the direction of sunlight. Sometimes the whole crown may lean sunward.

Think about that as a symbol of hope.

Uses

Strong, tough and elastic, ash was the traditional wood of choice for chariot and coach axles, oars, tool handles, and weaponry.

Not only is its sap a quick fire-starter, but the wood is dense and burns for a long time with an intense heat, whether seasoned or green. As a valued firewood, ash is one of the traditional woods used as a Yule log.

Ash is associated with growth and endurance. In an ancient practice known as coppicing, ash (and other) trees are repeatedly cut back to near ground level to encourage new growth. The base, or “stool,” promotes rapid regrowth of new, straight poles from the base. Coppiced woodlands also provide habitats for songbirds, insects, and small mammals.

Ash trees were also believed to have healing and magical properties. The sap was used as medicine, often related to child health. Newborn babies were popularly given a teaspoon of ash sap as a tonic. In folklore, sick children were passed naked through a cleft in an ash tree. Placing ash berries in a cradle will protect the child from being abducted as a changeling by the faeries.

Yggdrasil

The sacred ash tree known as Yggdrasil (pronounced EG-drə-sil) is essential to Norse mythology.

In the Eddas, a 13th-century work by Snorri Sturluson, Yggdrasil was the center of the universe. Known also as the world tree, its massive trunk reached up to the heavens; its boughs spread over the Earth, connecting the nine dimensions of existence; and its roots dug into the Underworld, the world of the dead and sacred wells filled with knowledge, wisdom, and fate.

Perched on its highest branch was an eagle, whose keen eye represented wisdom and might. A dragon, who represented destruction, dwelled far below. The squirrel Ratatoskr ran up and down the tree carrying messages between the two. This ongoing exchange of messages represented the eternal battle between creation and destruction, a key concept in Norse mythology.

To learn more about the Yggdrasil, check out the video, The Yggdrasil’s Secret: The Real Name of the World Tree of the Vikings and Norse Mythology.

The Vikings, incidentally, were referred to as the Aescling meaning “Men of Ash.”

Celtic Connection

While the ash has strong links with the Vikings, it holds its own in Irish Celtic mythology. The Gaels also believed the ash tree was the Tree of Life, the link between heaven and earth, a symbol of universal order. Ash trees are frequently found near holy wells.

Furthermore, in Irish folklore, mature ash trees are symbolic of the wellbeing of the land itself. Through their symbolic link with water and wells, ash trees epitomize healing and fertility. According to Sylvia Thompson, writing for The Irish Times, ash trees safeguard the livelihood of farmers. Traditionally, ash twigs were placed around milk churns or on the tails of cows to protect the milk from mean-spirited faeries.

Thompson also points out that seventh-century Brehon Law divided trees and shrubs into four classes, depending on their timber, edible fruit and nuts, spiritual, or medicinal properties. Ash was one of nobles.

Writing for The Druids Garden, Dana O’Driscoll, Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America, notes that ash has uses within western herbalism. She notes that Native Americans used the different parts of the ash as a laxative, a childbirth tonic, an aphrodisiac, a diuretic, and a salve for sores and itchy skin.

In European Folk Magic, druids carried ash wands. Even today, ash leaves are used to attract or deflect romance, protect against accidents, and prevent disease. Because of its flammable sap, ash quickly starts a fire, thus earning it an alchemistic reputation for lighting up dark places.

Ashen Fate

The emerald ash borer, a jewel beetle native to northeastern Asia, is an invasive species that is highly destructive to ash trees native to North America and Europe, including Ireland. Its larvae feed on the inner bark of the ash and kills the tree.

But researchers have discovered that some ash trees are surviving the blight. They are not only borer resistant, but can even kill the beetles’ larvae, leading to offspring trees that are even more resistant than their parents. By cloning and crossbreeding surviving trees, researchers are developing resistant trees.

Perhaps the researchers are heeding the Ogham noin’s kennings related to the relationship between creation and destruction, or the need for support on a journey.

Perhaps they are, in essence, placing ash berries in an orchard cradle that will protect the saplings from being abducted by nefarious faeries.

Or perhaps, the researchers are working for Ratatoskr, the Yggdrasil squirrel. The current message he carries is one of hope, healing, magic, and life.