From Roots to Leaves, Branches to Bark
The Goddess Tree Grows
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IVY

Hedera Helix

11th month of Celtic Tree calendar, September 30 - October 27
11th consonant of the Ogham alphabet - Gort

Planet: Moon, Saturn
Element: Water
Symbolism: Fidelity and Fertility, Protection, Healing
Stone: Opal
Color: Indigo
Bird: Lark, mute Swan, Swallow
Deity: Ariadne, Artemis, Arianrhod, Pasiphae, Dionysus, Bacchus, Osiris

Medicinal properties:
All parts of the ivy plant are poisonous if ingested...Ivy should never be used for self medication or given to others. Medicinally ivy was used for toothaches, as an astringent, and as an aid to bring on menstruation.

Magickal properties:
Ivy is carried by women (and brides) for good luck. Wherever it is grown or strewn, it guards against negativity and disaster. Use ivy in fidelity and love charms. Ivy is magickally paired with Holly.

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"Oh roses for the flush of youth,
And laurel for the perfect prime;
But pick an ivy branch for me
Grown old before my time."
~Christina Georgina Rossetti, 1862

LESSON OF THE IVY - from The Wisdom of Trees by Jane Gifford
Ivy reminds us of the movement of the heavens and the way this is reflected on earth. It has the ability to bind all things together. It can wander freely, linking tree to tree, or form dense thickets that block out the light and restrict passage. Ivy brings shelter or overwhelming darkness and reminds us that where there is life, there is also death. Ivy represents the wandering of the soul in its search for enlightenment and it carries a warning to be sure of the direction of your desires so that you avoid being ensnared by them. True progress is made, however, when all the lessons of the preceding trees have been linked together with ivy, in such a way that the light can still enter and no limb need break.

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Now is now.
Are you going to be here or not?
A delicious question. Spend this day living fully in your reply, even if you're unable to let go of yesterday entirely.
When you give yesterday more power than today, does it enhance the here-and-now?

Healing Cards, by Carolyn Myss and Peter Occhiogrosso

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The Great Goddess
Arianrhod

Arianrhod is a Welsh triple Goddess and a moon Goddess.
She is an overseer of life and death, of time and karma.
She represents each of us, our own destiny and self power, authority, and protection.

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In England it was once believed that if ivy refused to grow on a grave it meant the soul was unhappy in its other world.
If it flourished on a young girl’s grave, it meant she died of unrequited love.

Pressing a leaf against her heart, a girl would hopefully repeat:
"Ivey, Ivey I love you
In my bosom I put you
The first young man who
speaks to me,
My future husband he shall be."

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Simplicity

She stands in the center
of the forest
In her hands
are berries and blossoms picked
along the way
She is waiting for something
Once, a long time ago
a promise was made
There were documents
and signatures
Now there is none of that
Only a lone woman
with her gifts

Cindy Ruda 2006, and We’Moon’08

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Image from The Faces of WomanSpirit, A Celtic Oracle of Avalon

Ivy represents the embracing and confining female principles of life.
Ivy is a symbol of the Goddess because it grows in a spiral, one of the Goddess' symbols.

Place some ivy on your altar to symbolize your spiritual journey through the Wheel of the Year: in winter we follow the spiral energy down and within, and in the spring we follow it up into the light for our own symbolic rebirth.

Dreaming of ivy can foretell of a broken engagement.
If ivy grows on a tree in your dream, you may have grief.
If it grows on a house you may have wealth.
If it is growing on a friend’s house in your dream, then they may have good health.
If you dream of a potted ivy plant you will have happiness.

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Tuesday October 7, 2008 - Waxing Half Moon in Capricorn
Tuesday October 14, 2008 - Full Moon in Aries
Tuesday October 21, 2008 - Waning Half Moon in Cancer

Celtic Moon Sign for Ivy Moon
Ivy travels everywhere - it spreads happily and thrives in many places where no other greenery could survive. Its determination to reach through obstacles toward light and nourishment is well known, too. If you were born under this tree sign, your networking abilities will further both your personal goals and the purposes of your "cause" - whatever that might be. It's important that you use this talent to reach out, like the ivy, in a productive way. Don't allow yourself to bind others to you, or to be bound by guilt, worry, or fear of the future.
Written by Kim Rogers-Gallagher, and Llewellyn's Witches' Datebook 2000

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A Crone Stone
reading from Gwendolyn
The Waning Moon

In this stone I see an ebbing moon, falling leaves and an acorn.

Allow the cycles to end and the changes to happen; knowing a new something is soon to emerge. It can be wonderful!

visit cronestones.com for more about crone stones

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My inner being is serene and peaceful.

Happiness, fulfillment, and purpose in life are all inner concepts.
If you don't have inner peace and serenity, then you have nothing.

Inner Peace Cards by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

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Pray Peace

This letter is a labor of love, from Gwendolyn
Permission to share freely, please in its entirety, with links and credits
Feel free to contact me: gwendolyn@thegoddesstree.com
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from Moon Bee Acres
There is a branch for you to sit upon with a beautiful view.
Climb up into her arms, and stay for a spell.
Feel her roots, her bark, her branches, her leaves.
She is shade, shelter, a home, a hide-away.
She is an escape.
She rocks you to sleep in your hammock.
She holds up your birdfeeder, your wind chimes, and your decorations.
She embraces anyone who loves to climb.
In the spring she offers life, and in the fall she gives her own.
She does not judge.
She just is.

Gwendolyn
thegoddesstree.com

www.thegoddesstree.com/MotherNature/Ivy.htm
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