Send a Birthday Tree based on the Celtic Tree Alphabet (Ogham Calendar).

THIS MONTH: BROOM - Cystisus scoparius

Celebration Days, October 31st- Halloween, Samhain.
November 22nd -St Cecilia's Day, Patroness of Music and the arts.
Broom is the emblem of the Royal dynasty - The Plantagenets.
Cytisus is a genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs found in Europe. West Asia and North Africa and together are known as broom. They all have fragrant pea-like flowers. Our Broom prefers acid soil but will survive almost anywhere. It is a sheltering plant offering protection from the elements. Although it appears delicate it can bend with the wind and of course as its name suggests it makes an excellent broom.
Brooms golden vanilla scented flowers appear for a couple of months from late spring to early summer. It is a delicate and elegant plant and to see its beautiful yellow flowers in stark contrast to the rough windswept places where it is found growing most prolifically.
It has long been associated with royalty. It was favoured as an emblem of nobility by the lords of Brittany and thence became the emblem of the Plantagenets who ruled England for more than 300 years. A carving of broom with open pods is to be found on the robes of King Richard 11 on his tomb in Westminster Abbey.
Broom is a medicinal plant traditionally used in the treatment of all diseases associated with excessive revelry. Ancient Celtic texts which discuss the deeper meanings behind the ogham alphabet underline this link between broom and the healing arts. In the Ogham of Cuchulain it is the beginning of heroic deeds and healing, and in that of Aonghus it is called the robe of physicians. All parts of broom have healing potential and have close links with Mercury and all deities who preside over the healing arts.
The main medicinal component is sparteine, in very large doses it can create hallucinations. It is sometimes thought to be the reason behind the link between broom and witches, and the notion that witches ride on broomsticks. It is also associated with Bacchus and other gods of wine and revelry. Broom was used magically in spells of purification and protection. It is said to useful for dealing with poltergeists! A symbol of astral travel it has long associations with healers and magicians.
Falling at the end of the Celtic year broom reminds us to take stock, the importance of our, physical, mental emotional and spiritual well being. A time to start afresh with a new year ahead for us all.
Colour Blue, Planet The Moon, Stone Opal, Polarity Masculine, Element Water,
Deities Mercury, Morpheus, Bacchus.
Royalty, Cleansing, Healing, Psychic Protection, Astral Travel
The birthday Broom comes in 3 litre pot in a hessian sack tied with a blue ribbon symbolizing the Broom, a hand written message card and planting instructions. With it will come the Symbolism & myths of the Broom.
Broom ~ Cystisus scoparius, Approx height when sent 100cm (39¼").

THIS MONTH: Elder - Sambucus nigra

November 25th - December 21st

The Elder is a small tree, rarely reaching more than five metres. It prefers lime - rich soil but is able to grow most anywhere producing flowers and fruit even in dense shade. An elder in bloom is said to herald the true arrival of summer and by June is covered in creamy sprays containing hundreds of five - petalled flowers. They have a delicious smell and make a wine or cordial that tastes like Muscat grapes. In Irish folklore, anyone who falls asleep under a flowering elder might never awaken, for the fragrance of the flowers can transport you to the faerie realms. The small green berries hang down in bunches & ripen to a dark rich purple at the end of summer and can be made into Elderberry wine. Virtually every part of the elder was useful medicinally and is known even today amongst herbalists.

Numerically the elder is the ultimate tree of the white goddess whose prime number is five. The Elder reminded the ancients of the need for honour and dignity at all times. It is most associated with regeneration and magic and was often used to undo evil spells. The Celts believed that people's perception and memories of their lives would affect the way one was perceived in the otherworld. Therefore it was important to live a good and honourable life.

The Elder mother was believed to dwell in the tree and her English name was Lady Elhorn. She worked strong magic punishing all those who used her host tree cruelly. It was believed that the elder mother could cure all mankinds ills. The enormous medicinal value of the elder was known by the Celts, the Britons and the Romans and certainly many before them. The Church had a rather ambiguous attitude to Elders because of its desire to crush anything pagan so for many years it was considered to house evil although the elder was also said to be the wood of Christ's cross.

Colour Dark green, Planet Venus, Stone Olivine, Polarity Feminine, Elements Water.
Seasons Summer, Deities Hel, Hela, Holda, Holda Hilde.
Judgement + Transformation, Death + Regeneration, Fate + The Inevitable.

THIS MONTH: Silver Birch - Betula pendula

Birch was the first tree to colonize Europe and North America after the last Ice Age so it is fitting that it should be the first consonant of the Tree Alphabet. Besides being one of the daintiest trees it is also one of the hardiest. One of the first trees to leaf, it is easily recognized by the tracery of its delicate green leaves, twigs, branches and white trunk. It is fast growing and acts as a nurse tree by offering protection to slower growing trees like oak and pine. Because its leaves are small and cast a light shadow other plants are easily able to grow in its shelter and this in turn encourages insects, birds and animals into the woods.
The first ogham inscription made in Ireland was said to have been written on a switch of birch. Birch bark makes exceptionally potent magical parchment. In Irish legend the lovers Diarmid, King of all Ireland and the goddess Grainne made their home in the shelter of birch twigs as they fled from their pursuer, Finn Mac Coll. For the Celts the birch was the 'Tree of Inception' of new beginnings, birth, springtime and young love. In parts of Wales, a girl would give her sweetheart a piece of birch as a love token. Associated with the pioneer spirit, birch implies the breaking of new ground and survival under extreme circumstances. As a bringer of strength and protection in adversity, the tree nurtures new life and its wood is believed to help ward off evil. Hence the tradition of making babies cradles from birch. Carrying a birch talisman is likewise said to protect you from harm.
The birch tree plays an important part in many of the year's oldest celebrations. It is the traditional Yule log that was burned during the midwinter ceremonies to drive out the old year while welcoming in the new. This old festival falls at the same time as the later Christian celebrations of the birth of Christ. A birch trunk is also traditionally used as the maypole because of its associations with fertility, birth and springtime. It is the tree most associated with the youthful aspect of the White Goddess, particularly in her role as bringer and protector of new life. The triple goddess appears in cultures throughout the world in 3 guises, maiden. mother and crone. The white bark is the goddess's mark and this colour is also said to denote close links with the fairies.
For the Welsh Celts it is the tree of Arianrhod, who is in charge of the Silver Wheel of the Heavens and who presides over birth & initiation, and of the virginal goddess Blodeuwedd, who was created from 9 types of flowers as a consort for the Welsh sky god, Lew. The Anglo-Saxons used the birch to create Eostre, goddess of fertility and springtime. For the Nordic people the birch was the tree of Frigga, the Babylonians called her Ishtar and the ancient Egyptians, Isis. In Teutonic mythology, the Last Battle of the World will be fought around a birch tree.
The birch is the Cosmic Tree of Celtic shamanism. Druids visualized its white trunk when climbing up through the different planetary spheres to communicate with the World Spirit. Various origins of the word 'beith or beth', variations of the Gaelic name for birch, are given the meaning 'existence, enduring, world and shining one'. It symbolizes a fresh start, giving us courage and determination.

Sweet bird of the meadow, soft be thy nest
Thy mother will wake thee at morn from thy rest,
She has made a soft nest, little redbreast, for thee,
Of the leaves of the birch, and the moss of the tree.

Colour White, Planet Venus, Stone Crystal, Polarity Feminine, Elements Air/water
Deities Arianrhod, Blodeuwedd, Frigga, Frigga, Freya, Eostre
Inception, Purity + Cleanliness, Love + Friendship, Birth + Initiation