Yew is the oldest of trees
Published: Mon, 07/08/13
Yr is associated with Ulla and there isn't much about him in
the 'official' cannon of mythology. Ivar mentions oral
traditions that after the failed attempt to get Baldur back from
Helheim Odin would spend six months of each year with his son and
leave Ull to take charge in his place, hence summer and winter.
Yes there is the Greek myth of Persephone which is probably the
inspiration for this idea. There was also a story that Ull was
Skathi's second husband after she separated from Njord since
their lifestyles were much more compatible. While we are about it,
when I met Ivar and began training with him the village I lived in
was on the bank of the River Hull and I had to cross it to get to
Beverley where Ivar lives. The Hull was probably named after Ull
and that area was certainly part of Danelaw. Okay I am scratching
around here so lets move onto the tree.
The Yew is a very long lived tree. In fact it never really needs
to die at all in the way that a Birch, Oak or Beech does at the end
of its lifespan. The Yew just grows in a circle, dying in the
middle and expanding as new growth is added at the edges. So the
original tree becomes almost a grove and yet it is essentially the
same tree. Yews are often found in ancient churchyards. There
have been all kinds of stories about this. One of the best being
that Yew trees were grown in the safety of a churchyard because
they were such a valuable source of wood for making longbows. These
longbows were essential for the defense of the realm. Actually you
need a tall, straight Yew to make a longbow stave, the kind that
grows in Spain. So the importation of longbow staves was an early
example of an international arms trade even if those same bows were
later used against the people of the country that grew them. Does
nothing ever change?
In many cases the Yew trees in church yards predate the church
building, possibly by many centuries. The Yew as probably the
original focus of religious veneration and the church is the much
later addition.
Yr is about continuity and contact with our past and who we are.
If Yr comes up in a reading it is quite likely that there will
have been a bereavement recently or the consequences of a
bereavement are significant. Not all readings are nearly so
literal of course so and Yr reminds us of the importance of who we
are, where we came from, what we have inherited from our ancestors.
Yr is about our sense of where we have come from and thus, where
we are going. In a world of instant gratification Yr reminds us of
our past and the immense value of accumulated wisdom. We can't
really make sense of our lives without it.
Well, that is the sixteen runes covered, have a look at the rune
pictures at my Pintrest pages if you haven't done so already.
http://pinterest.com/iandf/rune-paintings-by-k-j-butcher/