The Magic of Trees: A Guide to Their Sacred Wisdom & Metaphysical Properties - Tess Whitehurst 2017

Ash
The Trees

Arare variety of ash tree lines many of the residential streets in my California hometown, including the street I grew up on. Not a friendly tree by any means, but also not an unfriendly one, ash (Fraxinus) is like a scientist or a soldier staring the great abyss in the face with a somewhat unsettling degree of neutrality and calm.

Please note that while the ash has long been named as the world tree from which the Norse god Odin hung during his spiritual rite of passage, that tree is in fact now believed by many scholars to be a yew.

Magical Uses

Advanced Magic

The wisdom of the ash is aligned with the Druids. At least one Druidic staff made of ash wood has been discovered, and the tree is powerfully aligned with the archetypal, omnipresent, white-bearded magician known as Merlin. For advanced magical knowledge and know-how, often and regularly spend time with an ash tree and request the tree’s sponsorship and masterful support.

Broom Making

A broom with a handle made of ash is a powerful magical tool for sweeping away every sort of non-neutral energy and generally clearing the decks. (There’s no need to actually touch the floor with it, just glide above it to sweep the energy instead.) Additionally, it can be a magical tool for connecting with the Infinite and safely traversing realms. For this purpose, place an ash broom in your magical circle while meditating or visualizing.

Fairies

It’s said that in locations where oak, ash, and thorn all grow, fairies dwell. While fairies are often perceived as sweet, loving little creatures, if you really tune in to them (or read classic fairy tales!) you’ll know that, in fact, they are not exactly friendly and not exactly evil either. Rather, like nature, if you treat them well they will reward you handsomely, and if you treat them ill they will punish you in a most uncompromising way. As we’ve seen, this is an important aspect of the ash tree’s wisdom.

Justice

The Greek goddess of justice and righteous revenge, Nemesis, is said to carry an ash branch. And it’s no wonder: ash—like the uncompromising silence and vastness of space—has an impersonal, leveling, karma-activating quality that can be magically directed with great effect. For example, if someone has genuinely wronged you, and you are consequently in a legal skirmish of some sort, ash can powerfully assist with your efforts to bring this person to justice. But do be aware that once you enlist ash’s support, if you have behaved shabbily in even the slightest of ways, you will also receive your just deserts.

ASH RITUAL TO BANISH INJUSTICE

Visit an ash. Touch the trunk and mentally convey the situation you’d like assistance with. Respectfully gather nine ash twigs. Once you’re back home, light a black candle and use it to safely, successively burn each twig in a cauldron or a large pot.

Protection

Highly protective in the most honorably masculine of ways, an ash tree in front of the home can be enlisted to powerfully defend all inhabitants from harm, while simultaneously ensuring that the inhabitants themselves conduct themselves with the highest possible integrity. (To be sure, the inhabitants will still have free will, but they will find that the universe will not give an inch if they knowingly behave unfairly toward another living being.) Additionally, carrying a bit of ash wood (or incorporating it into a charm) will protect against ill will, and will additionally protect from drowning, snakes, and accidents.

Wand Making

Wise, powerful, and adept at nuanced calibration, ash provides an excellent wood for wands created specifically for the purpose of assisting with physical healing.

Magical Correspondences

Element: Air

Gender: Masculine

Planet: Mars