Ash Moon Celtic Calendar
February 18th - March 17th

The ash, Tree of Life, rules the third month in the Celtic Calendar, a turbulent seasonal time of rains and storms. This traditionally connected the ash to the element of water and fire (the Celts believed the tree was associated with the lightning) and to certain Celtic traditions. This is the perfect time to travel or to plan your path ahead in every aspect of your life. It is a good time to start planning your summer holiday and to acclimatise your body to spending time outside. In ancient Europe, the winter's ice began to thaw during the Celtic Months of Ash. People ventured out of their homes and villages for the first time since the darkening days of late autumn. It is perhaps for this reason that this month is linked with journeys of all kinds.

There are about fifty species of the Genus Fraxinus, and cultivation has produced and perpetuated a large number of distinct varieties of which the Weeping Ash and the Curl-leaved Ash are the best known. The Common Ash is a tall handsome tree readily distinguished by its light grey bark, which is smooth in younger trees and rough and scaly in older ones. The inner surface is yellowish or yellowish brown is fibrous and nearly smooth. It has large compound leaves divided into four to eight pairs of lance-shaped leaflets, an arrangement that imparts a light feathery arrangement to the foliage. The leaflets have sharply-toothed margins and are about 3 inches long.

In April or May before the appearance of the leaves, the black flower-buds of the previous year's shoots expand into small dense clusters of a greenish white or purplish colour, some of the minute flowers having purple stamens, others pistil only, and some both, but all being devoid of petals and sepals, which owing to the pollen being wind-borne, are not needed as protection or to attract insect visitors. After fertilization the oblong ovary develops into a thick seed-chamber with a long strap-shaped wing, which is known as an Ash-key (samara). Bunches of keys hang from twigs in great clusters, at first green and then brown as the seeds ripen. They remain attached to the tree until the spring when they are blown off and carried away by the wind to considerable distances from the parent tree. They germinate vigorously and grow in almost any soil.

Of old, ash bark was used to make quills and was employed for tanning nets. The bark is astringent and together with its leaves has medicinal uses, which fetch prices worthy of the labour it takes to collect it. Ash bark has been employed as a bitter tonic and astringent, and is said to be valuable as an antiperiodic. On account of its astringency, it has been used, in decoction, extensively in the treatment of intermittent fever and ague. The decoction is odourless, though its taste is fairly bitter. It has been considered useful to remove obstructions of the liver and spleen, and in rheumatism of an arthritic nature. The Ash is also believed to cure warts. If you prick the tree with a pin, then use the pin to cross the warts three times saying, "Ash tree, ashen tree, pray buy this wart off me", then put the pin back in the tree. Hopefully the warts will swiftly disappear!

The wood of the ash is a valuable commodity, due to the quickness of its growth and the toughness and elasticity of its timber, in which quality it surpasses most other trees. The wood is heavy, strong, stiff and hard, and takes a high polish. It shrinks only moderately in seasoning and bends well after. It is the toughest and most elastic of our timbers and was used in the old days, and still is today, for spears, bows and arrows. Ash wood is used for more practical purposes than that of any other tree, being so elastic that a joist of it will bear more pressure before it breaks, than one made of other wood. Ash wood always fetches a good price being next in value to the Oak and surpassing it for some cases, for it matures more rapidly than Oak and is just as valuable as a sapling wood.

Before synthetic materials became available, ash wood was in endless demand by railways and other works for building carriages, coaches and wagons. It was also used for axe handles and spade-handles, ladders and carts, walking sticks, hoops, hurdles and crates, and a whole multitude of uses in the countryside for agricultural purposes. It also makes the best oars and the toughest of shafts for carriages. In its younger stages it is called Ground Ash, which is much used for hop poles, for which it was extensively grown. Ash wood also makes excellent logs for burning; giving out no smoke and the ashes of the wood makes very good potash. The bark is collected from the trunk and the root with the latter being preferred. It contains the bitter glucoside Fraxin, the bitter substance Fraxetin, tannin, quercetin, mannite, a little volatile oil, gum and malic acid.

In Ireland, the Celts thought that their homes would be consumed by fire if they cut down the ash. Through its connection to water, the ash is a sacred tree of the sea gods. It was the Druids who specifically assigned it to the powerful Irish sea god Manannan mac Lir. He was thought to be older than even the Tuatha de Danaan, the pantheon of deities that ruled Ireland. To the Celts, ash was a wood of balance, containing energy from which wands of personal power were crafted. This is because ash is strong, and even its most slender limbs are hard to break.

Qualities associated with ash include wisdom and spiritual knowledge when meditated upon. Oak, ash and thorn were called the Faerie Triad. Ash is often used for the shaft of a witch’s broom stick. When ash is cut, it releases a red sap resembling blood. By burning ash wood at Christmas time (Yule) you will receive prosperity and if you want your newborn child to be a good singer bury its first nail parings under an ash tree.

In Norse cosmology, the giant ash tree,Yggdrasil, was the axis point upon which the universe spun. Yggr was one of the many names of Odin, and the usual interpretation is 'Horse of Yggr', since Odin in a sense rode the tree when he hung upon it. The tree is repeatedly called 'the ash Yggdrasil', and a possible reason for the choice of an ash might be the bunches of 'keys' which hang from the branches like bodies of tiny men, recalling the practice of hanging sacrificial victims from trees. The first man, Ask, was created from the ash, while the first woman, Embla was formed from the elm. The ash has also peculiarly wide-spreading roots, and in descriptions of the tree, its roots are said to extend to various regions of the Underworld. The roots of Yggdrasil are said to extend into different realms.

People born under this sign are thought to be uncommonly attractive. They are of slender make, rather elegant with smooth movement. Vivacious and impulsive. Ash individuals want everyone to care about them, do not care for criticism, are ambitious, intelligent, talented, they like to play with fate, can be egotistic, very reliable and trustworthy, faithful and prudent lover, sometimes brains rule over the heart, but they take partnership very seriously.

Ash Tree Facts

Scientific Name: Fraxinus Excelsior.
Height: Can reach 25m.
Wood: Grey bark, strong and light wood.
Leaves: Long tapered shape.
Flowers: Large, black buds in the winter, small purple clusters of flowers in the spring.
Fruit: Winged Fruits.
Distribution: Also common in the UK, the ash is also found in Europe, North America and Asia in red, white, green and black varieties.

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