Sacred and Silent ~ The Everlasting Yew

On occasion we are blessed with an occurrence in our lives that touches us deeply.  I am of the belief that too often such opportunities are lost to us because of the multitude of noises we allow to clutter our thoughts and mind each day.  Such moments are often sitting silently not in the foreground but in the shade of life. 

 

Some time back I read “The Sin Eaters Last Confession” as well as “Walking With the Sin Eater” by Ross Heaven.  (Another such blessed occurrence in my life).  Although I loved both books tremendously, the one thing that seemed to stay with me more than anything from them was to take my time walking through nature (as well as life).  Tromping along heavy footed, not looking where you are going will almost always assure that you will step on something that you should have taken the time to savor.  I have implemented this act into my life and have been rewarded in so many ways.  From the tiny little blue flowers that cover my yard in the early months of spring to my wonderful experience and true introduction to the Yew Tree.

 

I had wrote about the Yew in my earlier Celtic Tree Lore series.  I had regurgitated all the attributes of it and its many forms of symbolism as well as uses etc.  Yet I did them without a personal connection to this wonderful tree.   I love how life has this wonderful little way of helping us to learn from our folly at times.  This was my experience with the Yew. 

 

Once a people pleaser I think forever a people pleaser.  Even when you come to grip with the fact that you can not make everyone happy all the time, you still have a yearning to try as best you can.  This is somewhat my motto with my crafting of runes.  It took some time to come to a point where I felt I could actually craft a set of runes for someone else.  I have always felt that the crafting of ones own tools is best and infuses the strongest amount of strength into them.  Yet because of consistent requests I finally began to do so for others.  Still I wanted to help incorporate as much as I could of the one requesting them into my crafting.  This included an attempt to craft from any type of wood requested if I was able to obtain it.  My first experience with this was mesquite, which I was able to obtain via my son who was working in the Texas Panhandle near New Mexico, a place where Mesquite grows in abundance.  It was a lovely experience and likewise I obtained a special love for the wood. 

 

My courtship with Yew was a bit more drawn out and lengthy.  A set which was requested in October of 2012 and did not get filled until just this last month, a time of almost six months.  What started as a customer who did not know what form of wood she wanted took a winding road of decision until she finally arrived at the Silent Yew.  Her explanations for its choice via correspondence coupled with my own research on the tree would lead me on a journey of respect, admiration and a sincere adoration for the tree.  She eventually sent me a branch from a Yew she had in her yard. Upon its arrival let me say it was love at first sight.  A beautiful branch of almost 5 feet with foliage still attached.  

 

As I said earlier, it is always best when the experience can be a personal one.  The lessons seem to stay with one longer and the imprint and connection is that much stronger.  In the coming days, I would like to share with you some of the wonders I have come to learn from the Yew.  I hope you will come and take the journey with me.