Pagan Christmas by Christian Rätsch Read Free Book Online Page B

last reminder that a human being should not come near a sacred tree!
    FINK 1983, 50
    Because of its shrublike growth habit, the pine was less suitable for use as a Christmas tree than the fir or spruce. Nevertheless, because of its ritual significance, it was considered a sacred tree, which can be seen easily in the name heiligföhre (sacred pine wood).
    Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) on the Gulf of Corinth.
    MAGICAL AND FOLK USE
    Pines are a symbol of immortality and resurrection. The idea that lucky children could find treasure hidden under Föhren (pine wood) may come from the tree’s long history as an object of pagan worship (Fink 1983, 50). Like fir and spruce, the perfume of pine needles and pine resin was considered “forest incense.”
    Larch
    Larix spp., Pinaceae
    Larix decidua P. Mill (European larch)
    Larix occidentalis Nutt. (western larch, hackmatack, western tamarack)
    Larix sibirica Ledeb. (Siberian larch)
    Larch fungi (Fomitopsis officinalis, syn. Laricifomes officinalis) on the tree’s trunk suggest a shamanic ladder to heaven. There is evidence that the larch fungi was used as medicine in the time of Ötzi—the 5,300-year-old “iceman” mummy found in an Alpine glacier. (Woodcut: Tabernaemontanus, 1731)
    OTHER NAMES
    Hackmatack, lärche; lärchenbaum, tamarack
    Unlike other evergreen, needle-bearing trees, the larch turns gold in autumn and loses its needles in winter. Even though the larch is different in this respect from classic evergreen needle trees, one can find larches in the Alps (for example, in Tirol or Switzerland) that are worshipped as “holy larch” or “Mother of God tree.” People put offerings or votive gifts in the hollow wood of their stems, including items such as teeth, coins, and small, hollowed-out balls of turf.
    In Kaserackern, near Wolfsgruben (south Tirolia) there was a “holy” larch. In some nights it was on fire, burning to the skies; yet it was never consumed, and in its branches a human voice was sighing. The tree was considered enchanted and was worshipped. The folk belief had it that the tree was from an age, long ago, when the pagan world still reigned (Fink 1983, 48f).
    Folk legends hold that angels and devils fought in the branches of larch trees. Larches were also considered dancing and resting places for forest and mountain fairies. This is why they are dedicated to the säligen, the forest women, and the horned animals of the forest.
    When the yew (Taxus baccata) bears its red berries, it looks like a decorated Christmas tree.
    Yew branch with red berries. Contrary to popular belief, the fruit is not poisonous; the red flesh (seed coat) has a sweet, slimy, fruity flavor. The seeds, leaves, and bark contain the strong poison taxin. The fear of yew fruit seems to have the same background as the fear of bird berries. The edible red berries were demonized because they were among the holy fruits of the druids.
    Yew
    Taxus spp., Taxaceae
    Taxus baccata L. (English yew)
    Taxus brevifolia Nutt. (Pacific yew)
    OTHER NAMES
    Aiw yew, common yew, yew tree, tasso
    Yews grow in temperate forests in Europe, North and Central America, and parts of Asia and the South Pacific. This dark tree, with its slimy, bright red berries, can grow as tall as 18 meters (about 60 feet) and may live as long as 750 years. With a trunk diameter of 1 meter (about 3 feet), the oldest yew in Germany—the so-called Hintersteiner yew in the Allgäu, near Bärgündele—is estimated to be around two thousand years old (Hecker 1995, 168). If we could only decipher the rustle of the wind in the soft needles of its tangled branches, this veteran yew might be able to tell us much about the great changes of history.
    The yew gets its name from the Gothic aiw, meaning “always, eternal, evergreen” (Prahn 1922, 142). This etymological root reveals several layers of meaning: knowledge of the great old age yews can reach; the Germanic interpretation of the tree as a symbol of eternity; and the use of