| Tree lore and folklore | In Scandinavian myths the ash tree was known as yggdrasil, the ‘Tree of the World’ and the ’Tree of Rebirth and Healing’ and was thought to have healing properties. In Britain, the ash was also regarded as the healing tree. Gilbert White knew of occurrences in Hampshire where children had been through an ash ritual to cure a broken limb or rickets. Ash leaves or keys are supposed to bring good luck or true love and ward off witchcraft. On the Isle of Man the ash tree was to protect and purify springs. Culpepper recommended the leaves to cure an adder’s bite, whilst a concoction of them in white wine ‘helpeth to break the [gall] stone and expel it and cure the jaundice.’ In Essex the tree was known as the ‘widow-maker’ because of its lethal habit of splitting as it was felled. There are many rhymes associated with the ash, one from Surrey being: If the oak comes out before the ash, ‘Twill be a year of mix and splash. If the ash comes out before the oak, ‘Twill be a year of fire and smoke [i.e. a drought] Another from Scotland with an opposite meaning is: Ash before oak, the lady wears a cloak, Oak before ash, the lady wears a sash. In Hampshire and Sussex it was the custom for children to carry ash twigs to school on Ash Wednesday – those arriving without them would have their feet stamped on by their classmates. |
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