Yew
The keeper of eternity
Nature of the tree
The yew grows very slowly and can live for more than a thousand years. It loves the shade and often stands quietly in the undergrowth. Its needles are dark green and soft, its seeds wear a bright red mantle. Almost every part of it is poisonous – it asks for mindfulness. In Europe it has long stood by churches and graveyards, as a tree between life and death, between the worlds.
Inner attitude
The yew is patient and deep. It has time, a great deal of time. It knows passing away and returning, and fears neither.
The essential qualities
- ancient
- patient
- transforming
- earnest
- enduring
It keeps what outlasts time.
Meaning
The yew calls when a farewell, an ending or a great transition lies ahead. It teaches you to meet what is transient with calm and to root yourself in what remains.
Voice of the tree
«Everything passes and returns. I am here.»
Encounter & working together
You meet her by old churches, in graveyards and in shady mountain forests. Sit quietly near her and look at her needles and red berries – touch them only with your eyes and your heart.
Pay attention to
- where something may come to an end
- where you need patience with yourself
- where what endures lies in your life
The yew works when you are ready to meet change in stillness.
Essence
I root myself in what remains and let the transient go.
