Rowan - Luis

The Ogham I associate with the time around Imbolc (21 Jan – 17 Feb) – is Luis, also known as rowan. Luis, pronounced ‘Loo-eesh’ is the Celtic name for rowan or Sorbus spp. Other common names for it include mountain ash, rune tree, witchbane, witchenwood, quicken or ‘quickbeam’. Those who know their Lord of the Rings lore may remember Quickbeam as an Ent, and indeed he is a mountain ash. Rowan trees can be found quite commonly in Utah - they enjoy high elevation and grow well in rocky soil, often near water or along the edges of woods. They can even be found growing not from soil at all, but from fissures of rocks. These are called ‘flying’ or ‘journeying’ trees; growing in liminal spaces between earth, air and water.  

Physical Properties

Luis is a shrubby tree with pinnate leaves that have on average 12-14 leaflets, reminiscent of ash’s leaves. When in bloom, it has clusters of delicate five-petaled white and yellow flowers which become bright red berries and are one of the easiest ways to identify these trees. The berries are high in vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and good as jellies or syrup - the pulp and seeds must be strained out as they contain toxic prussic acid. The jelly and syrup have been used historically for gout and the fresh juice of the berries can be used as an oral rinse and mild laxative. Unripe berries should only be used externally (lotions/poultices). The fresh flowers can be made into an infusion which helps kidney disease. Modern practitioners use tisane made from ground bark and flowers to help with digestive/stomach disorders.

Magical Properties

The tiny star shape on the the rowan berry and its red color associates it with lordship and protection - historically, equal armed crosses symbolizing the four elements were cut on St Helens Day (Christianized Elen) from rowan branches and bound with red thread. This indicates that this tree has ties with the goddess Elen of the Ways - remember that the Rowan tree can grow in a variety of soil and non-soil, and so is known as a flying or journeying tree; connecting it with the shamanic pathways.  The coming and going between this and other world. The spiral of ingress and egress. It is called 'quickening'; when we cross a threshold we often have to give something. To cross from this world to otherworld, we have to give up our physical body, return our matter to the earth. Rowan holds this threshold between the worlds for us.

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.

Personal Experience

I went into the snowy mountains of Utah to find a rowan tree I had seen in summers past. There was avalanche danger in the area I was in, but I was determined to ask Luis for a wand so I could honor it and work with it and learn the oghams on a more personal level. The new moon transitioning us from the time of Beith to Luis was just a couple of days away. I had hiked this trail many times before, but never while it was covered in quite this much snow. Many feet of snow. The perspective shift was notable, seeing things from several (or more) feet higher than I ever had before and realizing that my feet were not touching earth - but water. The feeling of being in a liminal, unearthly place was palpable. The forest was silent but for the crunching of my feet in the snow and my breathing as I began the ascent. A helicopter swept over at regular intervals, presumably looking for people who had been caught in avalanches. A grim thought, but I was determined and willing to take the risk for this shamans quest. I told the spirits of the land why I was there and what I was doing. They asked me to pass quietly, respectfully, and to leave offerings of food. Along the way I made several offerings of nuts and fruits to the land. The air smelled of crisp, clean snow, and the most pure scent of pine I have ever encountered. The deciduous trees were bare, yet had buds and shoots beginning to grow – spring in its modest beginnings as winter begins to give way. The trees looked bare, but they were alive with the promise of all the water surrounding them in the form of ice and snow; poised and ready for the wheel to turn toward summer once more.

I traveled silently, watching, listening, offering prayers and gratitude for safe passage. Finally I arrived at the crossroad of the trail where I knew the rowan trees I had first met 10 years ago grew. The snow made the landscape somewhat unfamiliar, and was getting much deeper and more difficult to tread through as I got to higher elevations. I knew I would need snow shoes to get much further than this. I searched the area and hoped beyond hope that we would be able to identify the tree at this time of year, with little to no leaves or bright red berries to find that are its hallmark. I got still and quiet, and found myself called toward crossing the deep snowy bridge over the water. Hoping that I did not fall through snow into icy water, I carefully picked my way across the path. Just beyond the bridge I saw it; a few dried red berries and pinnately compound leaves clung to its sparse branches. Adjacent to it I saw two pieces of wood crossed one over the other, forming the rune Gebo [X], and animal tracks criss-crossing in the shape of Gebo as well… It became clear that Gebo and Luis make a good pairing. Up to my thighs in snow, I delicately reached out and touched its branches and spoke to it. I told it of my purpose, and my desire to learn from it, and I asked for a small length of wood for this purpose. It had a partially broken branch that it told me I could take. My partner and I left a small offering bag of precious stones and other talismans for the dryad and spirits of the land. We sat with and thanked the dryad as we quietly ate and shared our lunch, and promised to come back in the growing season.

As I descended the mountain, I began to see rowan trees e v e r y w h e r e. It was inconceivable that we had not seen any of them on the way up the trail, I had been looking around in wonder and awe the whole time and surely would have seen any number of them. I even found a spot halfway down the trail where we had made an offering of food on the way up...under a rowan tree. We had looked directly at it, but had not seen. I came to understand that a tribute, an offering, a sacrifice had to be made in order to cross the threshold into seeing and knowing this ogham. The physical exertion of the hike, the food and gifts we offered were fitting sacrifices for the exchange (gebo) of this knowledge. This second tree also had a wand for me. A perfect length of wood with dried leaves and berries on it, resting across two other branches as if being proffered by a pair of hands. I was in awe at the powerful and potent magic of this tree, and I was incredibly grateful for the gift of a second branch. As we continued our descent we were given wands of pine, birch, and ash as well. I had made my desire to work with the trees known... and they responded. My partner channeled a message for me on the way down, and said that “the oghams are my inheritance… my birthright… and they are where I will find my power” As I let these words sink into my subconscious mind I felt the response arise; “May I be worthy of crossing this threshold, through Luis, into the realm of knowledge and conversation with the venerable spirits of the trees.”

And so it is.

Divinatory Meanings

A quickening is at hand. Passing through thresholds or gateways of revelation or evolution. A call to be prepared physically and/or mentally for coming change. Protection or a need for protection.

Walking the Grove

If you wish to bring the trees into your own practice, one of the easiest ways to do this is to simply sit in meditation with a tree. If you are able to go find one in nature you can sit with it or create a vibrational essence to work with. That may not always be possible to do. You can work with the trees without leaving home as well. Find some images of the tree online, in a book, or find an ogham tree oracle deck – get acquainted with what the tree looks like and build a picture of it in your mind. If you have a piece of the wood, berries, or leaves, (always taken with respect and permission) place them on your altar.  With whatever method is available to you, set a timer for 5-10 minutes, get quiet with it and let the tree tell you about itself. Keep something nearby to make notes on as things come to you - keep it simple - one word or short sentences. Don’t force it. Walk away from it and come back later. Sleep. Dream. Let things percolate. This process will teach you a lot about yourself and the trees, if you let it.