Celtic Tree Astrology
Before
Western religionists looked
to the stars for patterns that rule
the temperament and fate of mankind,
the Celtic Druids discovered
similar patterns in their
immediate environment. Trees, rather than stars, form the basis of
Celtic Tree Astrology.
Many
years of observation, something
the ever-patient and aware Druids
were very good at, led Druids to
believe the substance of a person's life could be found by examining
earth cycles and the lunar calendar.
There are echoes of traditional astrology here, too; just as
star signs follow monthly cycles, so do tree signs. The Druid calendar
is only slightly different, following instead a sacred moon cycle.
By
watching how trees were affected
by lifespan and seasons, the Druids
came to associate trees with personality
types. One tree might be a warrior, while another tree is a
nurturer, depending on how they behave in their
environment. Studying
trees was no chore for Druids;
they believed trees to be containers
of immense wisdom, and to learn from them was to learn the
secrets of the world.
It
was not a stretch to match tree
personalities with human
personalities. The Druids associated each phase of the lunar
calendar with a tree
and depending on what day
someone was born, the related tree governed his or her
personality. This reasoning gave rise to the Celtic
zodiac. And,
based on the traits he or she
shared with the tree, patterns in his or her life could become clear,
and to some degree predictions could be made.
The
Celts believed there could be no
separation between man and nature;
that by walking on this earth we
are touched by it, and it by us. Therefore the comparison of flora
and fauna to human personalities and energy was
completely normal in the
Druid perspective. And many
years later, when the Roman calendar was established
and the new wave
of astrologers found
constellations in the stars, they too were given mostly animal-related
names and shapes. For example, Cancer the crab's metaphor is that
Cancerians retreat into their shells. For Druids it was no different;
people born into the Holly tree became metaphorically
vigilant and
protective, like the spines of a
holly leaf that shield the tree.
The
oldest Celtic calendar known is
the Coligny calendar, from the 1st
century BCE. However, the Celtic
lunar calendar of Tree Astrology has been much modernized over
the centuries. Depending on which
interpretation and author you read, there are slight
discrepancies between the specific phase dates.
But a generally accepted
calendar is:
December
24 – January 20
(Birch tree)
January
21 – February 17
(Rowan tree)
February
18 – March 17 (Ash
tree)
March
18 – April 14 (Alder
tree)
April
15 – May 12 (Willow tree)
May
13 – June 9 (Hawthorn tree)
June
10 – July 7 (Oak tree)
July
8 – August 4 (Holly tree)
August
5 – September 1 (Hazel
tree)
September
2 – September 29
(Vine, general)
September
30 – October 27 (Ivy
vine)
October
28 – November 24 (Reed)
November
25 – December 23
(Elder tree)
There
are two things that should be
noted when considering Tree
Astrology. The first is that the Druids only studied the trees in their
environment. Therefore, the only flora in the system are indigenous to
Celtic areas (such as the British Isles and parts of Europe). The
second is that much of what we know about Druid beliefs has been passed
down and filtered through generations, with some modern thought added
to the mix. Purists argue conventional Tree Astrology has been tainted
by the New Age
movement.
As
a rule of thumb when consulting
any astrology if it resonates
strongly with you then it's something
worth investigating, whatever its origins.