Elder moon

December 17, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

In the Druid tree calendar, the Elder is the 13th and last tree of the year. It closes the year ( 25 November and ends the 23 December) and stands for death and rebirth. It was considered as a sacred tree by the Celts. Elder is the “tree of death and life“. He embodied the infinity of life: in winter the tree was “dead” – in spring it awoke to new life.

History

Germanic tribes like the Frisians buried their dead under the Ellhorn (elder) near the house.
The Teutons revered the elder and offered it bread, milk and even beer.
The similarity of the name of Holunder (elder in German) and Holda, the mother goddess from Germanic mythology, is not accidental. The name Holda (also Holla or Hohe, in Grimm’s fairy tales: Frau Holle) means the “radiant one”. Holda was worshiped as a house goddess, like Hestia. Her offerings were brought to the elder bush. Holda was also the patron saint for people & plants. She was able to heal people from illness. In her the goodness of mother earth and the radiance of heavenly light were equally embodied.
Freya, the Germanic goddess of love and fertility, is also said to have a special relationship with the elderberry bush and live in the Holler.
As long as people believed in Frau Holle, it was forbidden to fell or damage a elder bush. Illness and death, it was said, were the consequences.
In the course of Christianisation, St. Nicholas replaced Frau Holle. The elder branch he held in his hand – a symbol of fertility – turned into a rod.
It is said from the 17th and 18th centuries that people asked forgiveness for the elder when they had to cut it down. Only widows & children were allowed to cut them down.
An old belief says that it is a sign that a deceased has found his peace when an elderberry branch planted on his grave begins to grow.
References to the elderberry is also found in the Bible: the cradle of the baby Jesus is said to have been made of elder wood, the Holy Family is said to have rested under an elder tree on their flight to Egypt. Hence the belief that the elder is one of the trees that are not struck by lightning. The cross of Christ is said to have been made of elder wood Judas is said to have hanged himself from an elder tree.

Moonwork

Because a damaged Elder tree can regrow and a replanted branch can root from itself, the Elder tree represent the power of energy renewal and regeneration. This lunar month offers the energy to end the year mindfully and get ready for a new start

In the dark days of the end of the year, our energy goes inwards to feed our inner journey, to feed our heart’s desire. To start the new year, with this past year wisdom, we need to gather the lessons and release that does not serve us anymore. Indeed, it’s time to make an annual evaluation, by acknowledging old patterns restricting our growth and happiness and heal the eventual wounds. Taking time to evaluate what we have learned this last year and how we want to move one next year. Therefore time is needed to listen to our dreams, concentrate, go back to our roots in order to create new dreams for the New year which are blessed to become true during this moon .

Botanical

The latin name of Elder is Sambucus nigra is composed of "Sambucus" which in ancient Greek comes from  "sambúkē", a string music instrument, made from the wood of the elder tree.  "nigra" means "black", and refers to the dark berries.

Since Hippocrates, the Elder has a very great fame. We use the flowers, leaves, the second bark, berries for multiple domestic or medical uses. 

Berries and flowers have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing properties. Berries work on the airways and are  prepared as cough syrup.

Gender: Female
Planet: Venus
Element: Water
Divinities: Holda, Hestia, Freya
Powers: Protection; Counter-spell; Healing; Prosperity.

Elder makes the strict and rigid person softer and gives to the too soft person structure and clear boundaries.

H.C

Smell training for odour loss

December 8, 2021.Reading time 2 minutes.

There are many people who have lost the smell and taste after having corona. It differs per person for how long they don’t smell a scent, for one it is about 10 days and for the other it is months…. Losing our 5th sense affects one’s ability to form and maintain close personal relationships. Without our nose, our environment, our taste, and the contact with our family becomes flat. Loosing the smell dimension gives the feeling of being isolated and cut-off from the world. This feeling can lead to depression.

The good news is that with loss of smell (after corona), you can train the sense of smell through olfactory training with essential oils.

For the training you will need the following essential oils:
rose
lemon (citronella) or lime 
eucalyptus
clove
mint 
jasmine 
thyme 
mandarin


Carry out the smell training as follows:
1. take a bottle with oil
2. Look carefully before smelling which fragrance you are using
3. hold this about 3 cm below your nose. It is important that the
oil does not touch your nose
4. relax and take a slow, deep breath through your nose. If you go too fast
inhale, the smell does not enter properly
5. repeat 4 times; you have inhaled the scent a total of 5 times
6. rest for 1 minute before moving on to the next fragrance
7. Repeat the above steps for all fragrances. You can choose the order yourself
choose scents

Repetition of the smell training
Repeat the 7 steps preferably 2 times a day, for example in the morning and in the evening. It is important that you continue the training for as long as needed.

Sources: University Wageningen, Reuk- en smaak centrum