Yew Celtic Tree Lore - Ioho in the ogham

The tree of the Ovate in Druidry is the Yew.  At Kingley Vale, in  Hampshire, the yews are one the oldest living things in Britain. In  fact the yew trees at Kingley Vale are probably on slightly younger than the  ancient yew tree in a church yard  in Fortingall, Scotland which is said to 5000 years old.   it was a custom  for Druids to plant a groves of yews.  Sited at the foot of Kingley Vale the yew grove is sculpted by time and harsh winter storms. From the central trunk yew branches tower 60 feet or more  skywards and then bend down to the earth.  Where the branch touches it roots and from it springs a new yew tree, but still attached to the parent branch. Even from the empty heartwood of these ancient yew grows a younger yew.  It hard to distinguish which is the original tree. Yew is know as the everlasting tree.

The yew grove at Kingley Vale and the yews planted along the path to the top of Bow Hill  mark a ceremonial route to a series of bell and bowl barrows also known as The King's  Graves,  Walking into the grove of  yews there is a real feeling of awe  and sense of the sacred similar to walking into a cathedral but these trees pre-date Christianity. The yews and Kings Grave date to the bronze age. It is said that the ghost of dead warriors haunt the hill.  The yew is the longest lived most mysterious and sacred trees. Only ivy will  grow in the shade of the yew tree as it is toxic except for the flesh  of the  berries but the black pip are highly poisonous.

The yew is the 20th tree of the Ogham and is know known by the Celtic name Ioho  it is a chieftain tree shown the same respect as the oak.  The yews' energy  represents, death, rebirth and transformation in the never ending cycle of life.   It also provides access to the ancestors. Sometimes tribal chiefs were  buried under a yew to combine  with the dryad of the tree so that the his  wisdom would still be accessible to the tribe.  The Celts believed the yew groves marks the entrance to the otherworld.   This is where those journeying to the meet the ancestors may enter the otherworld.  Yew groves also provide sanctuary and healing and in the present time its bark from the yew may be the source  of healing for some cancers.

With Reiki Blessings

MerryB