Bile Tortan - Sacred Tree of Ireland
"Bile Tortan, Eo Rossa, Craebh Mughna, Craebh Dathi, Bile Uisnigh were five ancient trees which sprang up in Erin in the reign of Conaing Begeglach. He was joint High King of Ireland with his brother or half-brother Eochu Fíadmuine... Conaing ruled the northern half of Ireland, Eochu the south.
He held a certain assembly at Tara . . . and they saw coming towards them from the west a man of wonderful size, carrying in his hand a branch of a tree bearing apples, nuts, acorns, and berries. . . .
He told them he had come from the place of the sun's rising in the east to the place of its going down in the west, to know why it had stood still for a day, and having obtained the cause of this irregularity that he was now on his return again to the east.
He shook the produce of this branch on the ground; and these being taken up by various persons and planted in various localities, produced these wonderful trees which were all blown down in the seventh century. "
From:Survivals in Belief Among the Celts, by George Henderson, [1911]
29 November 2010 saw the passing of a dear tree friend at An Tobar
It is coincidental that it was only a couple of week's before that Martin led us in a meditation that included this tree.... it will be sadly missed. See below for more information on what this tree represented.
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Prayer
Bile Tortan - I ask that you bless my coming and going today. Please give me strength and courage to get through the joys, challenges and happenings of the day.
Just as your roots plunge downward, deep within the earth, in the creative core, may I experience harmony and balance, as crystal rivers roar.
Just as your trunk soars upwards deep into the universe, in the creative soul, may I experience harmony and balance, as timeless rivers roll.
Just as you resolve core and soul, growing certain, full with wisdom, may I withstand the winds of strife and enjoy the gentle breeze.
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Anchored - Grounding
Trees and humans are held on the earth by the mysterious action of gravity. This is a 'good thing' as it keeps us within the protective shield of the earth's atmosphere. And we need that to survive, for we are basically children of the air. Humans exist through the constant flow of breath in our bodies. If we floated off into outer space, with no oxygen tank on our backs, we would die. Yet we are also on a planet held by gravity in our spiralling galaxy, which is part of the unimaginable Universe. During meditation and ceremony we ensure our firm connection between these two, earth and the cosmos. We stop physically moving through the atmosphere and become anchored, like a boat in safe harbour, at one place.
To bring this state into conscious awareness we may start by 'grounding' ourselves. We imagine a thread going from the base of our spines into the earth, through the many layers of the earth, to the centre. Here the thread anchors us. Then from the top of our heads we imagine a cord linking us through the many layers of the blue sky above our heads to the centre of the Universe. Here the thread anchors us.
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Modern Day Bile Tortain Strange weather we are having. A local man saw a bright orange light in the garden and later found a magnificent cedar (actually a Monterey Cypress) tree split in two. This particular cedar was a massive tree a few hundred years old growing in Ardbraccan, Co. Meath. Maud Gonne would certainly have known about this particular tree and was keen to revive the ancient practice of Tree Worship in the area . Whether it just split in two or was hit by lightning or a meteorite remains to be determined. However, a few centuries ago in the same area stood the Bile Tortain , one of the five sacred trees of Celtic Ireland. A tree of special significance and imbued with magical properties, even mentioned by Columb Cille. Bile meaning sacred tree and Tortain a tribe in the area. Bile was also the Irish god of life and death and from the same root word we get Bealtaine -our season of life unfettered. It was considered a national land mark and associated with the sovereign reign of kings. Indeed the King was often seen as a tree with branches outstretched protecting the people. Whenever a Bile fell it was followed with a catastrophic change in the world order. Circa 763AD the Bile Tortain fell and with it the reign of the sons of Aed Sláne. Archetypal trees are central to many world cultures and are often depicted as an axis mundi, the centre around which all life revolves. Damage to the tree is typically met with tragedy. In the bible, for instance, there is the story of the fall from grace for eating off the tree of knowledge which was in the centre of the garden of Eden. How strange then that this magnificent Cedar which is a modern day contender for the role of Bile Tortain and would have seen the rebirth of Sovereignty in Ireland in the early 1900s has seen the end of our economic sovereignty less than a century later. Might we guess what happens next. History may hold a clue. Pictured split in two and frozen in snow the modern day Bile Tortain. Art imitating life? |
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Brehon Law
Everyday life in Medieval Ireland was guided by a legal system based on civil rather than criminal regulations. Trees, being of great economic and practical use, were given extensive protection. They were classified into five groups:
- Airig Fedo, ‘Nobles of the Wood’ (Chieftain Trees) which included Oak, Hazel, Holly, Yew, Ash, Scots Pine and Wild Apple.
- Aithig Fedo, ‘Commoners of the Wood’ (Peasant Trees) which included Alder, Willow, Hawthorn/Whitethorn, Rowan, Birch, Elm, Wild Cherry.
- Fodla Fedo, ‘Lower Divisions of the Wood’ (Scrub Trees) which included Blackthorn, Elder, Spindle Tree, Aspen, Juniper, Whitebeam, Arbitus.
- Iosa Fedo, ‘Bushes of the Wood’ (Bramble Trees) which included Bracken, Bog Myrtle, Gorse/Furze, Bramble/Blackberry, Heather, Broom, Wild Rose/ Dog Rose.
In some cases the penalty for unlawful felling a ‘Chieftain Tree’ could be the same as the penalty for killing a human chief.
