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The Divine Forest, typified by the Sacred Grove or Nemeton was hallowed ground for the Celts who worshipped their Goddesses and Gods in natural spaces. Sacred Groves were the settings for ceremonies, meetings, and sanctuaries. For instance the Galatian Celts met at the Oak Sanctuary once a year to discuss crucial tribal concerns. Woods were so sacred to the Celts and played such a significant role in their overall cultural existence that at one time the Celtic heartlands in Northern Europe and Southern Germany were almost entirely covered with trees. The Druids, who travelled widely among the Celtic tribes, were also the keepers of the Celtic Calendar which corresponded the months with the Celtic Tree Alphabet and the vowels of the Ogham. The Celtic Year then was divided into thirteen months with an extra day or two adjustment at the end of the year. So for each of the months there was a corresponding tree from which an overall Tree Calendar emerged.
Even though there were thirteen months in
the lunar Celtic Calendar, only eight seasonal festivals were celebrated. The
two solstices and two equinoxes marked the passage of the four seasons, while,
the four fire festivals inbetween the passages commemorated the changes that
ensued. There was also a Celtic Druidic Zodiac based on Treelore. The thirteen
signs of the Celtic Druidic Zodiac, unlike the twelve signs of the Graeco-Roman
Zodiac, were based on trees rather than constellations.
The thirteen trees of the Druidic Zodiac were Birch, Rowan, Ash, Alder, Willow, Hawthorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, Vine, Ivy, Reed, and Elder. For example, the timeframe from December 24 - January 20 which in the Graeco-Roman Zodiac corresponds to the constellation of Capricorn, was called Beth, The Zodiac Sign of The Birch Tree. Often called the Lady of the Woods, the Birch was strong and sturdier than the Oak Tree despite its slender beauty. While the wood of the tree produced many useful products like broom handles, the bark of the Birch was once used for writing, As a Druidic herbal remedy every part of the tree had valuable uses throughout the Celtic Calendar year. Druidic Ovates were the realms travellers who journeyed to both the ancestral past and the future shores for inspirational knowledge for the guidance and benefit of the tribal clans. Their specialty was Treelore. Utilizing this Treelore Wisdom along with plants, herbs and other healing modalities the Druidic Ovates worked with the fires of transmutation, transformation, and regeneration to restore Wholeness and Wellness to both the land and the people.
All trees were sacred to
the Celts because they were imbued with the holiness of Tree Spirits, who were
one of the many spiritual kindred sharing the planet with humans. Druids sought
answers to the eternal questions revolving around the unfoldment of the life
cycles of diverse lifeforms... Continue on
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