THE TREE AND ITS SYMBOLISM

Betula Utilis Jacquemontii

Birch is the first tree to grow on bare soil, it represents the rebirth of the forest and is useful for new beginnings. It represents the female principle and is often known as "Lady of the Woods," with its long, slender branches reaching gracefully toward the sky. It grows most often in groves, rarely singly and out of a common, joined trunk so that many appear to grow from the One.

It represents the rebirth of the Sun from winter's solstice, and from the decay of the mysterious elder. The Birch and the Elder stand on either side of the one Nameless day. They represent a link between life and death, the Birch being the beginning of all things. The birth of new life. Energetic and spontaneous. It is associated with the training of Druids. 

To prepare for the new, we must free ourselves of the debris of the old, and birch can help us do this, for when we are lost in the forest, the shining whiteness of the birch trunk leads us onward - offering guidance and orientation in the darkness of our journey.

 A tree of extreme hardiness, Birch thrives in places where Oak could not. It represents common, everyday work performed to make a living. It is known for its protective qualities; in ancient times brooms made of its twigs were used to drive out spirits, dirt, and harmful things; or used to start Beltane fires. A small piece carried on the person prevents kidnapping by the fairy folk. Birch wreaths are given as lovers' gifts and its branches in the house bring good luck.

Robert Graves allocates Birch to a month stretching from December 24th to January 20th, using a calendar of thirteen months. Both Caesar and Pliny reported that the Druids divided their year into lunar months. Other traditions hold the Birch in high regard. The shaman of the Siberian Gold Eskimos climbs a birch tree at the high point of an initiation ceremony, circling its trunk nine times. The Buryat and the Central Asian Altai shamans carve nine notches in the trunk of a young birch - representing the steps they must take to ascend to heaven. The birch shares with the Ash the distinction of being used as a representative of the Cosmic World-Tree - the Axis Mundi. This tree links the Underworld with Middle Earth and Heaven Above. The shaman climbing the Birch uses it as a sky-ladder to symbolise his ability to visit other worlds.

In Britain the Birch was often used for may-poles - our version of the Axis Mundi around which we turn and turn. Babies were often born as a result of the Beltane celebrations, and birch was used to make their cradles, for if birch is the tree of birthing the new, what other wood is more fitting for the newly born?

Or as a memorial for those who are newly born into Heaven?