Elderflower Tree
by Wild Thing
Title
Elderflower Tree
Artist
Wild Thing
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
I just love these trees and have been drawn to them since I was a small child. Given my heritage, it's no wonder. They have been revered by the pagan community for centuries and long before Christianity. Additionally, they have medicinal value as well. Read on about this amazing tree...
Sambucus (elder or elderberry) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence. It contains between 5 and 30 species of deciduous shrubs, small trees and herbaceous perennial plants.
The genus occurs in temperate to subtropical regions of the world. More widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, its Southern Hemisphere occurrence is restricted to parts of Australasia and South America. Many species are widely cultivated for their ornamental leaves, flowers and fruit.
The leaves are pinnate with 5�9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is 5�30 cm (2.0�11.8 in) long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-colored flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries (rarely yellow or white).
HISTORY, MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE
The name Elder, is probably derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 'Aeld', meaning fire. Another old name for Elder is Ellhorn, hinting at the use of hollowed Elder branches as a furnace. Old names like Holler, Hylder, Hyllantree, and the German word Holunder all refer to an ancient vegetation Goddess, Hylde Moer, as she was known in Denmark. Once upon a time, the Elder-tree was considered sacred to this Goddess, and the tree's gifts were regarded as her blessings. It was commonly believed that Elders were inhabited by a tree dryad who was thought to represent the soul of the tree or sometimes was seen as an aspect of the Goddess herself. If treated well and honoured appropriately, the dryad was a most benevolent spirit that blessed and protected the people who cared for it. Thus, Elders were often planted around the house and on the farm where they served as a shrine to the Goddess whose protective powers could be invoked by making prayers and offerings to the tree. Since Elders never seemed to get struck by lightening, having it grow near the house was believed to protect the house as well. There was a widespread taboo against cutting Elders down, or burning any of its wood, which lasted well into this century. It was thought that the dryad would take out her vengeance against the offender by hunting them down and punishing them with bad luck or, as was believed in Rumania - with toothache. According to ancient folk beliefs toothaches were thought to be caused by supernatural forces and were often considered a divine punishment, or else, caused by evil spirits. The only legitimate reason for cutting down an Eldertree or taking any part of it was to use it for medicine or as a protective charm - and even that only with the consent of the resident dryad. To ask for consent the person would bend their bared heads, fold their arms and solemnly exclaim:
'Lady Ellhorn, give me some of thy wood,
and I will give thee some of mine when it grows in the forest.'
For more on the Elderflower Tree go to: http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/plantprofiles/elder.php
Uploaded
July 13th, 2015
Statistics
Viewed 669 Times - Last Visitor from Cambridge, MA on 04/18/2024 at 7:14 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet