|
|
Post by artanaro on Dec 6, 2005 15:36:00 GMT -5
Here goes the information from various cultures on the Birch tree. Also put results of communications with trees and shamanic journeys here.
BIRCH
QUENYA : NELDOR(NELDORIN)
SINDARIN : BRETHIL
|
|
|
|
Post by artanaro on Dec 10, 2005 21:24:25 GMT -5
Birch Botanical and Common Names Family Betulaceae Betula pendula syn. B. verrucosa (Silver Birch) Betula utilis (Himalayan Silver Birch) Betula alba, Alnus acuminata, Betula pubescens (White Birch; Spanish: Alamo Blanco, Abedul; Nahuatl: Aylin, Tepeylin) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cautions The leaf should not be used for edema when there is reduced cardiac or kidney function. Birch tar can cause skin irritations and is no longer recommended because of the possible presence of cancerogenic hydrocarbons. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Description Native to Europe from the northern Mediterranean regions to Siberia and to temperate regions of Asia, it is also found in North America. The tree is handsomely deciduous, reaching 100 feet in height, with pale gray papery bark, toothed leaves, and catkins in the spring. The birch flourishes in woods, thickets, and in private gardens. The leaves are collected in the wild during the spring. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- History The medicinal use of the tree has been known since the earliest of times, but it was also known to have other valuable uses. Its name is thought to have derived from the Sanskrit "bhurga", meaning "tree whose bark is used for writing on". Although the tree was known to classical writers, it was Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval abbess and mystic who wrote about herbal medicine. She was the first European to document its medicinal properties. In the Highlands of Scotland, birch sap is tapped in the spring and drunk as a treatment for bladder and kidney complaints. Its name in the Nahuatl (Aztec) language was derived from the location of the tree. Aylin means "birch growing by water". Tepeylin means "birch growing in the mountains". The Aztecs used the leaves in a formula for an enema to treat dysentery. They also used the bark in a liquor to "clear the bowels" and in a salve to heal wounds. In Sonora, the plant is still used for wounds and indigestion. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Actions antiseptic astringent anti-inflammatory diuretic -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key Components saponins flavonoids tannin volatile oils (including methyl salicylate) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Medicinal Parts Leaves, bark, sap. A German study indicated that the leaves were useful in treating bacterial and inflammatory diseases of the urinary tract. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remedies infusion made from the leaves for the removal of waste products in the urine thereby treating kidney and bladder stones, rheumatic conditions, and gout. sap as a diuretic oil or expressed liquid from the leaves in preparations for eczema, psoriasis, and other chronic skin complaints lotions made from decoctions for chronic skin problems ointment for rheumatism and gout decoction of the bark on chronic skin conditions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Traditional Uses Birch tar is a clear, dark brown oil obtained through a distillation process and used for parasitic infestations of the skin and other chronic skin complaints. It is also a constituent of Unguentum contra scabiem used in the treatment of scabies. The leaves are used with other diuretic herbs to reduce fluid retention and swellings. The bark can be macerated in oil and applied to rheumatic joints. The Himalyayan Silver Birch is used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for convulsions, dysentery, hemorrhages, and skin diseases. Mexicans use the leaves in a diuretic tea. from www.innvista.com/health/herbs/birch.htmArtanaro |
|
|
|
Post by artanaro on Dec 12, 2005 14:42:40 GMT -5
the Birch according to Norse Runic Lore:
The Silver Birch (Betula pendula) is a slender and graceful tree which grows in profusion in Scandinavia and is regarded there as 'the shaman's pillar', providing access to inner-worlds. The word birch is derived from a root which means 'bright, shining, or shimmering', referring not just to the glittering bark but to the tree's inner light. Its resilient wood was often used to make cradles, indicating its protective properties and symbolic of rebirth and new beginnings.
The tree's silvery-white trunk symbolizes purity and clarity, indicating that purity of motive and clarity of intent are essential in any shamanic endeavour.
Like UR, the Rune with which it is associated, the Silver Birch characterizes new beginnings and the upsurge of energy usually associated with things that are fresh and new. It stresses the need to be free from those things that have now served their purpose and might block progress if they are held on to. Silver Birch and the U-rune can help to strengthen the image of what is desired and bring inot sharp focus the intention. Furthermore, they guard the image from diffusion.
Silver Birch can be a helper in guiding you along the rightful path of your Soul's journey. It can help you to release things that are limiting your progress, teaching you that endings are part of the cycle of growth, and providing you with the stimulus to accept the challenges of a fresh cycle of activity and the opportunity to forge new relationships.
from Rune Power by Kenneth Meadows.
Artanaro
|
|
|
|
Post by artanaro on Dec 20, 2005 17:07:50 GMT -5
Letter : B
Word Ogham of Morainn : FEOCHAS FOLTCHAIN , faded trunk and fair hair.
Word Ogham of Cuchulain : MAISI MALACH .i. CRECADD, browed beauty, worthy of pursuit
Word Ogham of Oengus : GLAISEM CNIS, most silver of skin.
Physical Level
There are two types of birch, the silver birch and the downy birch. The silver birch, with its drooping branches and straight, silvery-white trunk, is a very distinctive tree indeed. It can grow to fifty feet in height and reaches higher up hillsides than any tree other than the rowan. The small leaves are on alternate sides of the stalk and are thin and shiny with ragged edges, but with a straight base adjoining the stem. The tree produces purple male catkins, with smaller, green, female catkins. These come out around April, and often stay on the tree right through to the start of winter, at which time they break into scales and winged seeds and are carried off by the wind. The wood in unusual, showing no difference between the heartwood and the outer sapwood.
The downy birch can grow as high as 80 feet. Its bark is usually red, and its branches do not droop like the silver birch, but tend to be twisted. The leaves and stalks of the downy birch are hairy underneath, with less ragged teeth and a triangular base. Its light leaves are carried far by the wind and rot easily, giving the ground much nutrition. This fertilizing aspect of the dying leaves helps other trees, such as the oak and beech, to establish themselves where they might not have otherwise. The effect of this is that the oaks and beeches soon grow taller than the birch, and eventually kill it off by depriving it of light. So the birch is both a colonizer, or breaker of new ground, and a tree which sacrifices itself for the benefit of others.
Birch woods help to sustain a variety of other life forms. Birds such as the redpoll and tit feed on its seeds. The mottled umber moth caterpillar eats its leaves. Heather and bilberry thrive on the acid-rich soil that birch favors. The small leaves cast a light shadow on the ground beneath the tree, which encourages grasses and other plants to grow. This, in turn, brings rabbits and deer to graze in the birch woods. The bark of the birch is very tough, and survives long after the wood has rotted away, leaving a hollow tube where once had stood a proud tree. Various fungi grow on the dead trees, especially razor strop and bracket fungus on the trunk, and fly agaric on the roots.
An invigorating tea can be made from steeping half a dozen birch leaves in a pint of boiled water. This is especially beneficial to people suffering from arthritic and rhuematic conditions. Be careful, though, as it will cause frequent urination. A beneficial side -effect of this is that it breaks down kidney and bladder stones. It is a powerful antiseptic which can clear up infections in these regions. It is also a good antiseptic mouthwash for those suffering from mouth ulcers. An inhalation made from hot water and a handful of birch leaves is very good for clearing a blocked nose or stubborn catarrh.
Mental Level
The birch has been places at the start of the Tree Ogham as a tree of new beginnings and opportunities. To say that any work, magickal or mundane, must start with its own beginning is an obvious statement, but this split second in time is extremely important, and should be recognized for what it is. From a magickal point of view, when you commence any magickal or Otherworld Work, you unconsciously put yourself into a different frame of mind at the very moment you form the idea to do the Work. Recognizing this subtle change in consciousness when it happens is very important; it is an opportunity to make a statement of our intentions behind the magick about to be Worked. We may also carefully consider how to achieve the magick. This mental preparation will be recognized by those in the Otherworld who may be willing to assist us. This is a way of saying plan ahead. It is realizing a very real change within yourself as you give birth to a new idea. This is the deeper meaning in the birch tree's physical attribute of colonizer and starter of new things on the physical level, which can be used during Otherworld journeys as a signifier of new areas of Work or new contacts about to be made. In the Old Irish Legend, Toruigheacht Dhiarmada Agus Ghrainne, " the Pursuit of Diarmaid and Grainne," the first tree named is the birch , which heralds many magical adventures.
It is a good technique to begin your Otherworld journey from the middle of a small birch wood, to provide a conscious signal to your Otherworld guides that you intend to start some new Work. Envision yourself awakening in the Otherworld at dawn, in the center of a small clearing surrrounded by young birch trees. Feel the freshness and newness of the day. Feel the vitality and eagerness coursing through your body as you awaken to this new Otherworld day. Realize the potential for change and new beginnings that each dawn brings. Spend a moment studying the birch trees, feeling their presence and vitality. Be aware that, as you move out of the little clearing, you are taking the first steps in this Otherworld setting, and the first steps into a whole new area of Work that will one day manifest on the physical level.
Should a birch tree, or birch wood, crop up spontaneously during a Working, it is an indication that something or someone in the Otherworld is about to make a new contact or start a new area of Work of which you may not have been aware. It is not only you who will think up new things to do on the mental or spiritual level; sometimes the inhabitants of the Otherworld decide that something needs to be done on a physical level, and they may well call upon you for assistance. One way they will bring this to your attention is by gently guiding you to a place of birch trees during an Otherworld journey. Communication between people of this world and the people of the Otherworld can be very difficult, especially if the communication is initiated by the Otherworld. You must be on the watch for such attempts.
Spiritual Level
The name for the birch in the Tree Ogham, Beithe, has two meanings in Irish. It can mean "being" in the sense of the verb to be, and it is also a noun meaning , " a being", in the sense of an entity or life force. From a spiritual point of view, the birch is a symbol for the ideal toward which you should be Working - a state where you are prepared to give up that which is your own to help the common good. It is a symbol of being totally unselfish and caring for the needs of others through preparations that help others flourish.
The birch's place at the start of the Tree Ogham serves to set everything else in motion and in its correct order. Throughout the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, it is a tree of physical sacrifice, which brings forth new life that will regenerate itself and place it back at the beginning of things."
from Celtic Tree Mysteries by Steve Blamires
One more interesting fact : The silver birch is a type of entrance to the Otherworld, for in Celtic myth animals and objects connected to the Otherworld are often albino. Birch is a feminine, Faery tree known in folklore as the Lady of the Woods, and like the fair-haired, otherworldly women of Celtic myth, it carries the call to adventure for the questing hero. Where the birch points, ther one must follow, for its branches hold the keys to the unfolding of destiny.
Enjoy
Artanaro
|
|
