Hi Sarah,
Back in september you explained how to make a necklace from the elder tree.I have made one for a friend as achristmas present and I`m very pleased at how it has turned out--so thank you.
In folklore it was believed thatwitches lived within the tree and so before you cut it down the following phrase must be said.
Lady Ellthorn,give me of thy wood,
And I will give thee of thine,
When I become a tree.

Merry yule everyone

Linda

Hi Linda

I'm so pleased your necklace has been a success and I hope your friend enjoys wearing it.

Elder is one of our trees with perhaps the richest folklore. Chris Howell has a useful book about its history and uses and Glennie Kindred includes it in her Tree Ogham book.

Rather than thinking of Elder as having witches hiding within the tree, I always like to think of it as "Mother Elder", the tree which stands guardian over its nearby space, to be treated with respect and valued for the cornucopia of "treatments" it offers to us.

Judith Bergner, in her book "Herbal Rituals" has a lovely story about an elder tree which was cut down in a New York park by the authorities and mourned by the women who used to gather from her, then in the spingtime, a new sapling grew from the roots nearby and blossomed, showing how strong the spirit of the tree actually was.

Best wishes

Sarah

Hi Linda

I'm glad that you enjoyed making Sarah's elder necklace, if you live anywhere near the cotswolds I can heartily recommend Sarah's workshops for working with wood. A few years ago my hubby and I made some necklaces using disks of hazel wood that we then burnt designs into and finished with yacht varnish. They were well recieved by all, one of our friends asked us if we could make a matching set of earrings lol!

If you fancy sharing a photo of your handy work after the recipient has recieved it so as not to spoil the surprise then please do. It would be nice to see what others make. If you don't want to create a network54 account and a photobucket account in order to do that. you can always email the photo to me and I'll add it to the post for you.

Yule tidings to you and yours also - Debs

Re witches and elder---It was with an ironic smile that I mentioned that bit of folklore,being a hedgewitch myself.I love the elder tree and if we were asked to list our favourite trees,it would be be in my top three.
I`ve recently read a book by Peter Conway,that if my memory is correct,is called Tree Medicine and it was a mine of information.
Thank you both Sarah and Debs for your comments and as I live in Dorset,maybe I might be able to get along to some of Sarah`s workshops.

Linda

Hi Linda

I bought Peter Conway's book in Glastonbury about 2 years ago and haven't looked at it yet! (I've been distracted by Susun Weed, Stephen Buhner, Germaine Greer and Gordon McClelland this year and hardback books are a bit heavy to take on the train, which is the only time I have to read!) If you're interested in tree lore and energies, you might want to try Nigel Pennick's two Ogham books which are excellent.

The dates for all my workshops next year are on my Springfield Sanctuary site http://www.springfieldsanctuary.co.uk . Apart from the winter workshops that I'm holding in my kitchen each month, the ones at the Sanctuary don't have any main theme. I try to ask people before they come what they'd most like to do and then we include that during the day. We usually make an oil and lots of herb teas and sometimes tinctures or vinegars and flower essences when the sun shines for three consecutive hours! You get to identify herbs that are growing and to gather whatever is in season - including nettles in March!

I seem to be developing a reputation for sending people to sleep (in a good way!) so if you're feeling stressed, I can usually guarentee you'll be thoroughly chilled by the time you've finished. (Ask Debs, but not about the valarian!)

Best wishes

Sarah

Forgive this ramble..... I'm working on ideas to go in a 'crafts' section, things you can make for the self or the home using herbs and spices, this led me to think about Sarah's elder necklace. This reminded me, that a while back I made a necklace with juniper berries. All you need is a sharp needle and some thread (I actually used embroidery thread! Cut it as long as you like, making sure you have enough to tie the ends together when finished. Be careful with the needle though sometimes if you don't go down the centre of the juniper berries they can split. You could always get some elasticated thread as well and make a bracelet to match if you're that way inclined!

It made me wonder what other herbs and spices you could use to make aromatic jewellrey? I bet someone, somewhere has written a book on the subject?! I tried allspice berries but they didn't work out, I couldn't get the needle through them and it seemed to fiddly to get the dremel drill on each of the berries. Rosebuds work as do rosehips, but the rosebuds go very brittle after a while. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Debs