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 Cabin fever, receiving energy, spiritual in-gathering, putting gas in the tank, the seed taking root, darkness, wanting to go now, don't go pull on the shoots to make the plants grow faster, impatience, prudence, don't push the river, fidgeting, nervous energy.
Summary: things are activated but the change is not yet noticeable, this is a tricky time because we must resist the urge to "do something". Faith and the cultivation of faith.
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Fraxinus excelsior
Common names: Common Ash, Weeping Ash
Description and Habitat: A tall tree, growing to a height of 70 to 100 feet depending on the species. It is distinguished by its light-gray bark and compound leaves, divided into four to eight pairs of lance shaped leaflets, tipped by a single one. The leaflets have sharply toothed margins and are about 3 inches long. In April or May, depending on the season, before the leaves appear, the black flower buds on the previous year's shoots expand into dense clusters of greenish white or purple color. After fertilization, the oblong ovary develops into a thick seed-bearing chamber, known as an Ash-Key. The keys hang from the twigs in great clusters, turning from green to brown as they ripen, they will stay attached until the following spring, when they are blown off and carried away by the seasons' strong winds.
 - There is archeological evidence that the ancient Irish used ash wood to make their spear shafts.
Aside from being made into spear shafts, it was used for bows, and in Ireland as well as in Wales, both oars as well as coracle slats were made of the wood. A palisade of ash trees was found at Clonfinlough, in Co. Offaly. Ash wood when burned gives off very little smoke. A prose from a poem in the "Poem Book of the Gael" edited E.M Hull illustrates the value of the wood as food for the fire:
"Ash-logs, smooth and grey,
burn them green or old
Buy up all that comes your way-
Worth their weight in gold."
 - There are several recorded instances in Irish history in which people refused to cut an ash, even when wood was scarce, for fear of having their own dwelling consumed by fire. Even it's shadow was believed to blast the crops or grass it fell across.
In the Cad Goddeu, the prose of the Ash reads, "Cruel is the Ash". The tree itself may have figured in Bealtinne rites and the seedpods may be used in divination. Some famous Irish Ash trees were the Tree of Uisnech, the Bough of Dathi and the Tree of Tortu. A descendant of the Sacred Tree of Creevna, also an Ash, was still standing at Killura in the nineteenth century; its wood was a charm aginast drowning and emigrants to America during the potato famine carried it away with them piecemeal. According to Graves, as part of an archeological find in Anglesey, an Ash "drudical"wand with spiral carvings was found, it may date to the 1st century of the common era.
In Norse tradition the first man was created from an Ash tree, the first woman from an Alder. Old English customs included using a carved branch, in the shape of an equal-armed cross, as protection against drowning. Carrying the leaves was also reputed to help bring the traveler safely home. Another instance of mobility involved the Welsh god Gwidion's horse, which was named after the Ash.
In England where the ash was believed to be especially beneficial, children were passed through a fork in an ash tree, this was supposed to protect them from rickets and hernias. Scottish children were given the astringent sap of the ash to drink as a protec-tion against illness and negative influences.
There is also a body of lore concerning its protective nature when it comes to snakes, tradition has it that a snake will not touch the wood or its leaves.
Considered a "noble" tree in the Brehon Law, this denomination is given because its timber is used for supporting the King's thigh (for making regal thrones) and for the shaft of weapons.
 - Parts used: leaves and bark, fruit(keys)
Ash bark is collected from the trunk and the roots, the latter being preferred. It has been used as a bitter tonic (digestive difficulties). Its astringent properties make it useful as a decoction in cases of intermittent fever and influenza. It was also considered useful to remove obstruction from the liver and spleen and in rheumatism of an arthritic nature.
The leaves have diuretic, diaphoretic and purgative properties and are employed for their laxative action especially in cases of gouty and rheumatic complaints. The distilled water of the leaves, taken every morning is considered a good treatment for dropsy and obesity. An elixir in white wine is reputed to dissolve gall-bladder stones and cure jaundice.
The fruit of the different species of Ash are regarded as somewhat more active than the bark and leaves. The Ash Keys were held in high repute by some physicians, who used them as a remedy for flatulence. In recent times they were pickled in salt and vinegar and sent to the table.
In North-America, the tribal people used the inner bark of the White or American Ash (Fraxinus americana) an emetic or strong laxative, to remove bile form the intestines, as a 'tonic' after childbirth. It was also used relieve stomach cramps and fevers, to promote sweating and urination and as a wash for sores and wounds, itching, lice, and snake bite. The inner bark was also chewed and applied as a poultice to sores. The seeds were thought to be aphrodisiac.
Note:
This meditation is purely my own experience. I included it here for inspiration not emulation. Because our hearts and spirits hold different visions, each individual will have their own unique experience. --Willow Ragan
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