Straiff & Huath - Blackthorn Hawthorn
Huath is also associated with the goddess Blodeuwedd (pronounced ‘blod-eye-weth’) and holds the concepts of sovereignty and empowerment as well as obstacles and barriers. In this case we are talking about empowerment in relation to sovereignty and becoming more confident in advocating for oneself and setting boundaries to maintain that connection to inner authority. This can manifest as harsh lessons or ordeals, and it is up to us to be able to shift our perspective and see what lessons are being taught amid pain and difficulty. We see this with Blodeuwedd in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi. She figures into the story of Llew Llaw Gyffes – cursed by his mother not to be able to marry a woman of the race of the earth.
Fearn - Alder
Fearn can be a wise advisor about personal empowerment and assertiveness in the physical and practical acts of self-preservation. Remember, service is about putting your own wants and needs aside when it is appropriate. This means we also need to understand when it is appropriate to stand up for ourselves and to advocate for our true needs. You cannot be of service if your own basic needs aren’t being met. It’s like trying to pour from an empty cup. Fearn can help us find strength, endurance, and new ways of moving into greater alignment that were previously unseen, just as the alder tree emerges from murky muddy waters into the shining world beyond.
Onn - Gorse - Broom
Onn is about giving ourselves the permission we need to initiate to the next level of a path rather than having it granted by some outside authority. We can grant ourselves entry into new worlds of being through the self-initiatory mysteries that Onn can teach us. We can rebuild and rejuvenate ourselves after a wildfire in our life has burnt away the dead undergrowth, sweeping away the ashes with broom, armed with the wisdom from the ash spear, to rebuild ourselves stronger than before, ready to work on deeper mysteries in alignment with our soul’s purpose. Profound change is possible when we surrender to the purifying fires of life passing over and through us and allow these experiences to shift our perspective.
Nion - Nuin - Ash
The ash spear holds the power of transmutation – to change the essence of a thing. Compare this with transformation which is change in the form of something – to change the external form of a thing. This can be as simple as changing one’s clothes – for example changing from wearing jeans and a t-shirt into ritual robes. It can also mean projecting one’s consciousness temporarily into another form such as a rock, tree, or animal. Transformation is a powerful shapeshifting ability in its own right as those who understand the magic and power inherent in self-expression as a form of art can confirm. Transmutation occurs at a deeper level. It’s the type of changes that occur when we go through difficult or profound moments in life that leave us feeling changed from the inside out. It is difficult if not impossible to return to one's original state after a transmutational event. A classic example of this would be a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.
Luis - Rowan
Rowan holds the liminal mystery of coming and going – thresholds and gateways. It reminds us that any time we pass through a portal, we are going somewhere and leaving where we were behind. Whether traveling from a house out the door to the yard, or between this world and the other world when you are born or die, Luis holds the threshold of crossing portals. This process of crossing is also known as quickening, as there is a forward motion to moving through a portal. Birth is a quickening, and a central theme at Imbolc. It is the quickening of the land at the beginning of the new wheel as we pass through a portal, a turning point of the Sun as we invariably move once again toward Summer.
Beith - Birch
Beginnings are initiations – setting things in motion through creation, activation, fertility. Its sets the wheel in motion once more at the beginning of the return of the sun. Its ability to self-sow shows its unstoppable gradual forward movement which pushes stagnant energy away. The tree itself appears so gentle and delicate, but its vitality and hardiness make it a fierce initiator of change either through gentle, gradual guidance or with fierce and persistent strength. When it colonizes an area after some sort of destruction, it is also restoring the flow of life energy of the land - this flow encourages flexibility of mind, body and spirit in us when we work with it; especially useful during new beginnings.
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