THE THREE RAYS ESSENCE Three Rays Essence - ASH & ELESTIAL CRYSTAL The Three Ray Essences is about the alchemy of healing, unity within the physical body, the mental body and the spiritual body. It is the Sacred Trinity, which enfolds all Life. From a vision given at the Chalice Well in 2002, the guidance for this union was gifted. Three hooded figures arose from the Well head, one holding the cross, for the devotional Ray, the other holding the pentagram, for the Earth healing ray, and in the centre, this figure held the Caduceus, the alchemical, hermetic ray. This powerful vision holds the key of knowledge and wisdom on many levels. It is the embodiment of all energies that flow and within the sacred Avalon, This essence was created with an ancient Ash near the beginning of Paradise Walk, the ancient Druid walkway, near Glastonbury Torr. This walk leads to the two sacred Oaks, Gog Magog.
THE ASH TREE Common ash is very tall and the branches grow to form a dome shape. It flourishes on a lime-rich soil; one of the best examples is the limestone “pavement” in the Peak district. The bark is green-grey and with age it splits causing fissures to form up its trunk. The wood is coarse grained, pure white and exceptionally tough and because of these qualities is used for making oars, handles for axes, hammers, hockey sticks, tennis rackets and skis. In fact any tool that will require many hard knocks. Though grown for its timber, the ash comes in different forms; such as the Weeping Ash, a popular and ornamental tree. YGGDRASIL: THE MIGHTY TREE OF LIFE Yggdrasil is the Scandinavian name given to the mighty Ash, as the fountain of Life, immortality and the eternal. This legend has passed through time, to reach us, in this present day, where so many aching hearts are searching for spiritual and cultural validation that is our bedrock of life: if the Ash really represents the immortal aspect of humanity, then this legend is a real manifestation to underpin that supposition. True cultural wisdom is eternal and will seep through the crevices, like deep spring water through wizened and craggy rocks, the hardened and cynical element to our modern, destructive societies, it trickles still onto our consciousness. For me, this is a miracle, among many, our clogged minds will not acknowledge. If we did, if we all drank that trickle, then we would see the vast ocean it sprang from and come together in respect, trust, care and intimacy: the four elements of Love. The gods meet in council beneath the branches of Yggdrasil: its roots are in the depth of the underworld. The trunk passes through Middle Earth, and the branches are in the Heavens. The tree unites the three worlds. From its roots rises the fountain Hvergelmir, the source of all rivers and earthly time. The dragon Nidhogg, the Dread Biter, representing the malevolent forces of the universe, constantly attacks the root. Odin’s charger browses on its leaves, and in its boughs, the eagle of light and the serpent of darkness are in perpetual conflict. The squirrel, Ratatost, carries dual energies of the mischief-maker, the Heyoka and the constructive messenger between the three worlds. There are the four stags in the branches, representing the four winds, which browse on the leaves. The leafs are renewed by the attention of the Three Norns or Fates, who water the tree. The solar cock, symbolising vigilance, is sometimes depicted in the branches. The nine worlds of Yggdrasil are:
The Well of Wyrd is in Asgard. The Three Norns dwell there, weaving the fate of humanity. It is called Valhalla. The Three Fates are: Urd (fate), Skuld (being) and Verthandi (necessity). They nourish the tree, which is constantly decaying due to the creatures that browse upon it. Thewell of Mimir, somewhere in Midgard, contains the oracular head of Mimir, a wise giant killed in battle. The well of Mimir is also a metaphor for the starry deeps of space and the night. Odin hung on the world tree for nine days and nights to gain wisdom. Hanging on a tree was a magical practise to induce altered states, hence the Tarot card of the Hanged man, who is traditionally depicted with a serene expression and the crossed legs of the enlightened. I know that I hung on a windswept tree’ None gave me bread, (Stanzas 138-139, The Havamal) Extract form the Enchanted forest by Yvonne Aburrow.
"Yggadrasill was the epitome of the guardian tree and its legends strengthened the traditions of planting such trees near settlements, homes and sacred sites. Conceptually it marked the centre of the universe around which everything flowed it it united the heavens and the earth. When the end of the world threatened, Yggdrasill reputedly shook and trembled, as it was believed by many tribes that souls were born in its branches. As the tree’s life was constantly renewed, it was symbolic of the constant regeneration of the universe by which mankind can attain immortality." "In the northern creation myths, the gods created humans form two ash trees on the seashore, and placed them onto the earth. The earth itself had been created from the body of Ymir, a giant who appeared from the initial fusion of fire from the South and ice from the North. The original natures of a man and woman were created though the World Tree, and named Askr and Embla respectively. As a source of new life, or life continuous legend tells how a man and a woman shelter in the World Tree during terrible winters, feeding on the tree’s mead-like liquid until they step forth to re-people the earth in the following spring." Excerpt from Tree Wisdom by Jacqueline Memory Paterson Most European peoples were of mixed but common descent, and their myths, deities And Rites were mainly variations on a theme. Celtic tribes had an ash god named Gwydion, who is identified with Odin. It was he who became supreme in pre-Roman Britain, replacing the ancient British alder god Bran. Some tribes placed the Ash god as their chief deity, recognising their sacred king in his earthly incarnation. One of his duties was to make rain, and for this he used ash sprigs. Primeval legend tells of a time before agriculture, when the samaras, the seed bearing ash keys, were consumed as a staple part of daily diet. Even recently they were preserved in salt and vinegar and eaten as a pickle. Magical lore associated with Ash Excerpt from The Enchanted Forest (the magical lore of trees) by Yvonne Aburrow.
Three Rays Essences |