Reed Moon
28th October - 24th November
The Reed is the twelfth Moon of the Celtic Year, and the time to dream.
Withdraw from the outer world, to look within you and reconnect with
the past. Light a candle for loved ones who have died and you may
receive a message from the spirit world as this is the time of Samhain
(Halloween) and All Souls Day. The month of Reed is a good month for
using music in magick, especially music made by bagpipes and flutes,
and also for doing divination.
Reed is a name given to a family of hardy, large grasses (the most
common marsh reed being Phragmites australis) and the species belongs
to the grass family Gramineae. It can be found along lakes and riversides,
marshes and other shallow waters, and even ditches. They can grow
in shallow water, or in dry places.
Common Reed is an upright perennial that grows up to 12 feet tall.
It has a large stalk, called a culm, which can be an inch thick.
The culm is hollow inside. Leaves of Common Reed are long, sharp,
bluish-green blades, and alternate on its tall stalks. Leaf blades
are approximately one inch wide and are flat or rolled. Plants grow
in dense, single-species or monocultural stands. Plume-like flower
spikes six to twelve inches long form at the tops of the plants.
Flowers are tiny with lots of silky hairs. Large purple flower heads
turn gray and fluffy in late summer as they go to seed. They remain
on the plant throughout the winter. The plant spreads through the
growth of rhizomes or by seed. Aerial stems rise from joints in
the rhizomes and aerial shoots that are knocked over can take root
and produce new shoots at the nodes. The prostrate stalk sends out
runners that generate new plants. Stout rootstalks, often exceeding
20 feet in length, interlock to form a dense network that can withstand
fires, mowing and other forces that damage stalks and leaves. The
underground network of rhizomes has an expansion rate of about three
feet per year, but in nutrient-rich areas can spread up to 30 feet.
Plants can spread by wind-blown or bird-deposited seeds, by movement
of the rhizomes, by maintenance equipment in highway ditches, or
by the action of tidal ice.
Reed grass often forms thick stands. A stand is an area where one
species of plant takes over so there is hardly any room for other
plants. The strong fibrous roots need water to survive. Therefore,
reed thrives in marginal wetlands and in return for a habitat, it
purifies and stabilizes the rivers, streams marshes and lakes it
borders. The Druids believed the Reed was a tree because of its
dense root system. The dense roots push through and bind the saturated
earth, which is thought to link reed with the Underworld, the realm
of the dead and the hidden.
Common Reed flowers have several different parts. First, they have
a panicle, which is a long stem. On each panicle, there are many
spikelets. Each spikelet has up to seven small reddish flowers on
it. The flowers are less than an inch long. Later, the flowers die
and small gray fruits with many seeds take their place. The flowers
are borne in large plume-like terminal panicles between March and
September. .
Arundo can rapidly invade streambanks and roadside habitats from
a few planted individuals. When established, it has a strong ability
to out compete and completely suppress native vegetation. Because
it propagates vegetatively, it can form rather pure stands, often
at the expense of other plants. In some areas it may so totally
invade irrigation ditches as to reduce their water-carrying capacity
Giant Reed Leaves are corn like, long lanceolate with both surfaces
hairless, and clasping stem with conspicuous whitish base. They
measure 45 to 76 cm long and 2.5 to 10 cm wide near base. Giant
Reed flowers August to September. Terminal erect dense plumes of
whorled stemmed flowers to 1 m long. Husks hairy, membranous with
several veins, and greenish to whitish to purplish.
The root is diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient and galactofuge. An
infusion is said to stimulate menstrual discharge and diminish milk
flow. A paste of the root is applied to the forehead to treat headaches.
Isolated alkaloids have been experimentally shown to raise the blood
pressure and contract the intestine and uterus. The rhizome or rootstock
is used in the treatment of dropsy. Boiled in wine with honey, the
root or rhizome has been used for treating cancer. The plant contains
the alkaloid gramine. This is said to be a vasopressor, raising
the blood pressure in dogs after small doses, causing a fall in
larger doses. The stems have been used as splints for broken limbs.
Giant reed has played an important role in the culture of the
western world through its influence on the development of music,
which can be traced back 5000 years. The basis for the origin of
the most primitive pipe organ, the Pan pipe was made from A. donax.
Reeds for woodwind musical instruments are still made from the culms
and no satisfactory substitutes have been developed.
The Reed is linked to the Playful Greek God Pan, who was full of
mischief. This spirited deity was a Satyr (half man, half goat)
and the son of Hermes and a nymph. He is thought to enjoy causing
alarm or panic to lone travellers in the marshes and woodlands by
stirring and rustling the leaves and branches, so the traveller
believes they are being watched.
Even before its musical qualities were appreciated, Egyptians used
giant reed as early as 5000 B.C. to line underground grain storage.
Mummies of the Fourth Century A.D. were wrapped in arundo leaves.
Other uses for giant reed include: basket-work, garden fences and
trellises, chicken pens, crude shelters, fishing rods, arrows, erosion
control, livestock fodder, pulp and ornamental plants. Cut reeds
were used were also used as pens and symbolized wisdom and scholarship.
The Reed represents the mysteries of death being Identified with
the submerged or hidden dryad.. In fact the Fire Feast of Samhain
celebrates the dead and on Samhain, the boundary between the Otherworld
and this world dissolve. It is a night of great divination as it
represents the hidden roots to all life. The Reed is associated
with with being both a savior and custodian. Pwyll, the Celtic ruler
of the Otherworld was given "The Stone", one of four treasures
given to him for safekeeping. The Stone represents the right of
the kings and queen to have divine power. Thus the Reed is also
the symbol of Royalty. The White Hounds represent the dogs that
guard the lunar mysteries
Reed people are complex, tenacious and fearless, forceful and less
inclined to compromise, will make both powerful friends and enemies
as their initial response is inclined to be impatient and impulsive.
Proud and independent, they have great strength of character and
rarely compromise. They thrive on challenge and have an innate belief
in their own destiny. If you were born under this sign, you, too,
have secret strength, and perhaps secret motivations, as well.
Reed Fact File
Scientific name: Phragmites australis
Height:
Leaves: tough, grass like
Fruits: wind blown seeds
Flowers: purple-brown, long plumes that bloom in midsummer to autumn
Distribution: Global and the plant favours many of the damp lowland
areas of Northern Europe. It is a fast growing resilient and integral
part of many habitats and landscapes, earning it the respect of
the Celts.
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