|
Berkano: (B: Berchta, the birch-goddess.) Birth, general fertility, both mental and physical and personal growth, liberation. Regenerative power and light of spring, renewal, promise of new beginnings, new growth. Arousal of desire. A love affair or new birth. The prospering of an enterprise or venture. Berkano Reversed or Merkstave: Family problems and or domestic troubles. Anxiety about someone close to you. Carelessness, abandon, loss of control. Blurring of consciousness, deceit, sterility, stagnation. |
BJARKA - Hornbeam- Blackthorn Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) was once known as 'the great provider' because of its great fertile qualities and inner strength. Its strong, smooth white wood was used in olden times for ox-yokes and the cog-wheels of water mills and windmills. When cut back, its twigs were used as fire lighters. The pale-green vagina-shaped leaves turn brilliant yellow then fade to pale brown in autumn, adding much beauty to a woodland scene. The tree bears separate male and female catkins. The male catkins droop down and are sometimes referred to as 'lamb's tails', while the much smaller female catkins are set in pairs with red stigmas. These ripen into a nutlet with a papery brown wing which carries the seed in the wind. The nutlet seeds are attractive to birds and squirrels who carry those they fail to eat further afield to produce 'offspring'. Hornbeam has the resilient qualities of BJARKA with which it is associated and, like a mother who ultimately releases her offspring to find their own way in the world, encourages us to discover and live our own uniqueness for the 'mother' cannot walk our path for us. |