The Liminal Yew

The Liminal Yew

What better plant to explore for this Samhain blog than the Yew, a highly toxic tree, spiritually associated with death, rebirth and the hidden wisdom of the Other realms. I live opposite a beautiful Yew that is currently adorned with ruby-esque berries or arils and although the fleshy part of the berry is apparently safe to eat, I have never plucked up the courage to do this. Yew trees are dioecious which means that trees are either male and produce pollen, or female and produce berries. However, some dioecious plants are able to “change sex” or become monoecious and this has been observed in the Fortinghall Yew, in Perthshire, Scotland, a male tree that has started growing berries on just one branch.

Speaking of the Fortinghall Yew, its average age is considered to be around 5000 years old and may even be up to 9000 years old making it one of the oldest non-clonal trees in Europe. Yew trees can have an entirely hollowed out trunk, with the living outer layer providing the sustenance and keeping the tree alive. However, some folklore cautions against falling asleep within such a trunk or even under the branches as the sleeper may fall into a permanent state of unconsciousness.

To harm a Yew is said to bring bad luck upon one and even branches brought down in the wind were said to be unlucky as they had the ‘spirit of the storm’ within them. However, on another note, it is said that using a Yew walking stick will help one find a safe path by banishing evil spirits that may cause delay or waylay the traveller. When looking at the patterns and shapes on the yew tree bark, the mind can sometimes distinguish faces from the swirls and whorls and these are said to be the faces of the dead, rising towards heaven, freed from their earthly constraints.

And next time you pass a Yew tree in a graveyard (a common occurrence due to the Yew’s sacred association with death), remember this rather spooky and also quite beautiful belief that every skull buried under and around the tree will have a yew root growing through its mouth. I personally think I could rest easy knowing that I was literally connected to such a beautiful tree.