Tree of the month....The Ash

[Bundle 2]

Its a great tree.Probably my favourite but anyway I have come to regard its beauty over the years. Some facts of interest include.....

Native to the uk, the wood burns green.

Compound leaves (bi-pinnate)

Trees are known to be hamaphrodite being able to have male and female limbs within the same canopy or wholly male trees become wholly female.

Wood characteristics are "ring porous" or "diffuse porous".

Take a look at a cross section next time you are ringing up.

Also heard this tree referenced many a time as "widow maker", presumably for its propensity to barber's chair during felling which can be quite violent and unnerving to the uninitiated....

[Gerbutt]

Since ancient times some have believed that the first man was created from the branches and flesh of the Ash tree (and also of the oak). The Ancient Greeks thought that at the beginning of time cloud-ash was produced spawning small melia which came together and resulted in humanity being created. (The oak was thought to produce the first man and the trees themselves were called the first mothers). Perhaps if it can create man this is also why the ash tree was thought traditionally to hold many curative powers.

Stories and legends abound for this tree. Some connected with the supernatural and often with negative energies, whilst others have a root within specific belief systems such as Paganism or Christianity. One mythological belief focuses on when Christianity was brought to Northern Europe, the Scandinavian gods of the North were obviously affected by this new belief. They were transformed into witches and the ash became their favourite tree. In 'Phantastes' Dr. George MacDonald tells how the 'Forest of Fairyland' was a place visited by witches. There was an ash tree in the forest which was thought to be an ogre, or at least people thought that evil forces dwelled there, and on 'Walpurgis Night' it was said that the witches ate the tree buds so that there would not be any on 'St. John's Night'. To keep 'Askafora' (Eschenfrau) or wife of the ash content an offering had to be given on Ash Wednesday. She was seen as a particularly evil spirit who wrought havoc when not satisfied with events around her.

The seeds of the Ash have long been used in love divination. If the seeds did not appear on a tree the owner was thought to have been unlucky in love, or a future venture would not be successful. By repeating the following traditional English (UK) verse the inquirer would soon have the identity of their intended revealed:

 

 

Love Divination Verse

'Even-ash, even-ash, I pluck thee,

This night my own true love to see,

Neither in his bed nor in the bare,

But in the clothes he does every day wear.'

 

 

In the North of England (UK) it was thought that by a woman placing an Ash leaf in the left shoe, she would be fortunate enough to meet her future spouse immediately.

Another traditional English (UK) verse was held to have the power to reveal weather information:

 

 

Weather Changes

'If the ash leaf appears before the oak,

Then there'll be a very great soak.

But if the oak comes before the ash,

Then expect a very small splash.'

 

 

To ward off negative energies and personal misfortune the following English (UK) verse was thought to aid those who came upon an Ash tree and picked a leaf from a branch:

 

 

'Even ash, I do thee pluck,

Hoping thus to meet good luck.

If no good luck I get from thee,

I shall wish thee on the tree.'

 

 

Having found a leaf by chance, success and happiness would be doubly assured if the Ash leaf was kept upon the person or worn openly.

A wonderful Norwegian love story tells of 'Axel Thordsen and Fair Valdborg'. The two were never a couple in life but upon death they were buried close to each other. An Ash tree was planted on each grave. As the trees grew to the same height the branches inclined and became entwined.

In the story of 'Lay le Fraine', that translates as the 'Adventures of the Ash' or the 'Lay of the Ash Tree', a twin is deserted by the mother. It is left at the door of an abbey underneath an Ash tree. This French romantic tale says that the infant is found by as abbess. She called the child 'Le Fraine' because of it being found under the tree.

Another legend from Scandinavia tells of how a giant once gave an Ash tree to a community. He proceeded to instruct them to place the Ash tree on a church altar. The giant told them that he wanted to destroy the church. Rather than follow this perhaps sacrilegious instruction, the people deposited the Ash tree on top of a grave. It immediately burst into flames.

There is no Ash tree in the churchyard of 'Nortorf, Holstein'. According to Saxon legend one may eventually grow into a tree, as each year an Ash shoot appears. On 'New Year's Night' each year it is cut down by a white horseman riding a white horse, and every time a black horseman with a black steed tries to stop him. The white horseman thought fends off the black horseman's challenge. It is said that the tree will grow when the black horseman succeeds in challenging his opposite. When this happens the tree will be tall enough for a horse to be tied underneath it, and so the king will be able to fight a mighty battle with his army. The horse under the tree will belong to the king and will stand there all the way through the battle. If this happens, the king will become more powerful than before.

[sean]

Inonotus Hispidus

 

Hosted here on Ash.

 

The fruiting bodies vary from two and a half inches to twelve inches across and one to four inches thick. When the brackets first appear they are fleshy with a light brown upper surface and a velvety appearance with a white under surface. Once the brackets become more mature they are much darker on the upper and under surfaces and they lose their soft velvety appearance.

 

The decay of Inonotus hispidus has been classed as a white rot decay fungi, attacking cellulose and lignin at a similar rate especially on Ash. This affects the compression and tension timber at the same time, this in turn can cause the timber to become very brittle, depending on the characteristics of the timber infected.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

The Ash is a much underated tree, its ecological contribution is great.

 

The boring insects favour it over most others if Ash is avaliable.

 

Hispidus and bacterial cankers offer refuge to bats insects etc

 

The term previously mentioned (widow makers) is a term used generaly for Elm but also Oak, Ash and Beech as heavy limbs (summer branch drop etc) often killed a man ploughing the fields. It was custom to fell the tree and bury the man in a coffin made from its timber.

[Danavan]

Our sons second name is Nion, after the ash he was born under! He was born in Sept though!! It was mainly to do with the place & tree that we thought looked apon him due to his impaciance to enter this world!?

I think the trees that we are ment for will apear at the most inapropriate moments to our minds, but will & do show us a way we have not seen befor..If we have the time to see..

I know this has nothing to do with the meaning of the rise of the sun god ect but it made us feel good. This is somthing that .......Nion will learn in time we hope.

 

Likeing your avitar too Nion?

Edited February 27, 2010 by Danavan

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Nion

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This article contains Ogham text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Ogham letters.

 

Ogham letters

Aicme Beithe Aicme Muine

ᚁ Beith ᚋ Muin

ᚂ Luis ᚌ Gort

ᚃ Fearn ᚍ nGéadal

ᚄ Sail ᚎ Straif

ᚅ Nion ᚏ Ruis

Aicme hÚatha Aicme Ailme

ᚆ Uath ᚐ Ailm

ᚇ Dair ᚑ Onn

ᚈ Tinne ᚒ Úr

ᚉ Coll ᚓ Eadhadh

ᚊ Ceirt ᚔ Iodhadh

Forfeda

ᚕ Éabhadh

ᚖ Ór

ᚗ Uilleann

ᚘ Ifín ᚚ Peith

ᚙ Eamhancholl

 

Nion is the Irish name of the fifth letter of the Ogham alphabet, ᚅ, probably meaning "fork". In Old Irish, the letter name was Nin, a name which is notable for referring both to a specific letter, and to any of the Ogham letters in general.

 

The Bríatharogaim have:

 

costud síde "establishing of peace"

bág ban "boast of women"

bág maise "boast of beauty"

The glossators of the Ogam Tract and the Auraicept na n-Éces seem to refer to at least two Irish words nin, meaning "part of a weaver's loom", and "a wave". The corresponding adjective ninach is glossed as gablach and used as a synonym of cross, and the word seems to be roughly synonymous with gabul "fork, forked branch", and is thus a plausible base for a name for "Ogham letters", which after all (at least the consonants), look like forks or combs. The second nin seems to be cognate with Welsh nen "roof, heaven", with a meaning of "loftiness", with an adjective ninach "lofty". The kennings are explained by the glossators that weavers' beams were erected as signs of peace. The "arboreal" tradition claims the word as ash-tree, concluding that looms were made of ashwood. In some instances, the association with ashwood, which is best known as the raw material for spears, the kenning was amended to "destruction of peace". McManus (1988) suggests that the word for "forked branch" was applied to the olive branch, the shaking of which in Irish tradition requested an interruption of a battle. The kennings related to beauty, on the other hand, are maybe somehow dependent on the second meaning of "lofty".

 

found this on wiki

 

dont know what happened here but that isnt what I coppied from wiki!

Edited February 27, 2010 by Tony Croft aka hamadryad
WTF

[mixedangased]

going going gone:001_smile:[ATTACH]30764[/ATTACH]

 

.

Edited February 27, 2010 by Monkey-D
Edit picture

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

going going gone:001_smile:[ATTACH]30764[/ATTACH]

 

WHY.... why..... why?

[mixedangased]

firewood ,

as the main stem was hollow about 2/3rds up and dropping limbs

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

but its in an open field?

 

pollard it/reduce it etc etc, bloddy shame, was a big ash